Jester

Jester is one of Night City's most enigmatic criminals, and also one of the most sought after. Like his namesake The Joker from the Batman series, Jester prides himself not only on his criminal genius, but on his unique sense of humour. The uniqueness comes mainly from his propensity of, and fondness for, pure destruction. Jester is a freelance criminal who'll work for whoever is paying the most, and whoever is offering the most entertaining job. Police suspect him of involvement in the Darling jewel thefts of 2025, when the $5m. exhibition of gems at the Town Hall was raided, and more recently, the theft of a Picasso work from the Smithson Institute in Seattle. Like all great criminals, though, he has made sure there is no concrete link to connect him with any of his crimes and remarkably, he lives a pretty normal life, walking openly in the City, untouched by police having nothing on him and perhaps more tellingly, fearing reprisals.

Jester is highly sought after, both within the NCPD and among other criminals seeking his expertise. He has a reputation for tackling the trickiest, most daring jobs with ease, and it is this skill which makes him such a hot property. Jester can command a well above-average cut of any operation he takes part in, simply because he is worth it. When you're ripping off the Titanic of banks, it's worth slipping the guy with the know-how a few extra creds to keep him happy.

Juves face as much danger in him as anyone. He is indiscriminate in his targets; if someone's paying the money, he'll do the job, whether it's taking out a politician or a twelve year-old kid. That said, Jester has no particular qualm with either kids in general, or the revolution. It's leaders wouldn't like to admit it, but the Eden Cabal have made use of his services on more than one occasion, and can't afford to get on his bad side. For this reason, players will have to be wary and respectful of his talents. If they come into conflict with him, they can expect a little package under their car sometime soon.

Personality

Nothing is known of Jester's origins, background or history. He first appeared in the Night City area around 2021, along with the waves of cyberpunks flooding to the heart of their movement. He remained a bit-part player on the scene until 2023, when he is believed by police to have taken part in an elaborate heist to free Arasaka from their ownership of a cache of hi-tech equipment worth a princely sum. From then on, Jester rose in the Night City criminal scene and by now, there are few in the area who haven't at least heard of his name, if not seen his famous likeness.

Jester is not a particularly skilled fighter, and he does not profess to be. He is more of a thinking man's combatant, preferring if at all possible to win his battles before they've even been fought. He takes great care in his preparations, almost militaristically, and for as long as he keeps on producing the goods, few will challenge him - so he doesn't really need to fight, anyway. In the hairy situations he has found himself in, Jester has acquited himself as you may expect any normal young man to - pretty averagely. Rumours in criminal circles say he was once beaten heavily by a security guard whilst on a job in another city, although no-one particularly wants to say this to his face.

In the past, Jester has shown he has a nasty, vengeful streak. When a cop has gotten in his way on a job, he's always gone back later to avenge what he sees as a challenge to his might. Employers who've messed with him have often gone boom - literally - a few weeks thereafter. His grudges seem almost petty, if the rumours are true. This can probably be attributed to his character more than any particular event - Jester is just a plain old vindictive man, who happens to be a master criminal.