ESPERA NOCTURNA

Here are some facts characters and NPCs might know about Jade Phoenix if they succeed with an appropriate Skill Roll:

N/R: Jade Phoenix is a martial artist supervillain who’s a master of Kung Fu.

K/R: Jade Phoenix claims to have studied at the fabled Yengtao Temple, and statements by the superhero Nightwind indicate he may have had something to do with the Temple’s destruction.

-2: Jade Phoenix has many ch’i powers, including dim mak, the fearsome “death touch.”

-6: Nightwind and Jade Phoenix are old enemies.

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Appearance: Six-foot-five and weighing 225 pounds of rock-solid muscle, Jade Phoenix wears a red Kung Fu outfit with a black sash and white cuffs. He conceals his identity with a black half- face mask. Around his neck he wears a jade amulet in the shape of a phoenix (a long-tailed mystical bird).

In his civilian identity, Cong Feng favors fash- ionable men’s suits with colorful ties. His eyes, as dark as his short hair, stare piercingly at those who interest or disturb him.

Background/History: Bored, bored, bored! Kanrok of Malva was utterly bored, and the truth was he’d been that way so long he could barely remember any other emotion. The endless round of parties, concerts, plays, gambling, spectator events, and other distractions that compose Malvan society hadn’t really interested him for decades. Only watching the matches in the gladiatorial arena even began to truly spark his interest.

He’d considered using Malvan super-science to transform himself into a gladiator, but somehow that seemed too... crude, too simplistic. Then one day, at an after-the-fights party, he chanced to hear two people talking. One of them was one of the bounty hunters who kept he Phazor supplied with animals and even people for the gladiato- rial matches. Now that sounded exciting — all the thrill of the chase and the battle, without the annoyance of being on display for the crowd.

A few days of thinking about it was all Kanrok needed. When he’d made up his mind, he submitted himself to Malva’s machines and few remaining scientists for alteration. He needed to be as powerful as the prey he would chase, or even moreso, if he were to succeed. He emerged from the laboratories far more than an ordinary Malvan. Now he was Kanrok, Kanrok the Acquisi- tioner, and no one would ever escape him.

Personality/Motivation: Kanrok is a hunter through and through. He lives for the pursuit, the battle, the capture, and finally the adulation of the Phazor and his sycophants. If a particular task isn’t challenging enough for him, he’ll find a way to make it more to his liking (for example, he might decide to capture someone using only a particular type of attack, or with one arm literally tied behind his back). If he were to find the PCs particularly intriguing opponents, he might even let them go after he captures them, provided they agree to let him try to capture them again.

Quote: “No one escapes Kanrok the Acquisitioner for long.”

Powers/Tactics: Malvan technology has enhanced Kanrok both physically and mentally, giving him the power to project beams of energy (though not ones as powerful as those of his fellow Malvan Firewing), to use mental powers, to lift up to 100 metric tons, and to resist injury. However, due to flaws in the process that created him (or more accurately, flaws in the way his personal biochem- istry interacted with that process), Kanrok is more strongly affected by weakening attacks (i.e., Drains, in game terms) than other people are.

Kanrok hunts his quarry with intelligence and tenacity. He starts by researching the target so he can learn as much as possible about attacks he might face, abilities the target can use to escape him, and so on. Then he sets out to track his target down. Once he catches up to the target, 3 Fast Draw (Common Melee Weapons) 14-

2 Gambling (Fan-Tan, Pai-Gow) 12- 2 CK: Hong Kong 11-

1 CK: Millennium City 8- 2 KS: Chinese Healing 11- 2 KS: Chinese Organized Crime 11- 2 KS: The Heroin Trade 11- 6 KS: Kung Fu 15- 2 KS: The Martial World 11-

2 KS: The Millennium City Underworld 11- 2 KS: Yengtao Temple 11-

2 Language: English (fluent conversation; Hakka is Native)

3 Paramedics 12-

3 Power: Martial Arts Tricks 14- 2 PS: Smuggling 11-

3 Sleight Of Hand 14- 3 Stealth 14- 3 Streetwise 14-

12 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Common Martial Arts Weapons, Small Arms, Hook Sword, Three-Section Staff, Thrown Sword, Whip Total Powers & Skills Cost: 345

Total Cost: 6063400

Matching Complications (75) 10 Distinctive Features: Style (Not Conceal-

able, Noticed And Recognizable, Detect- able By Large Group)

20 Hunted: DEA (Infrequently, Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)

20 Hunted: PRIMUS (Infrequently, Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)

20 Psychological Complication: Casual Killer (Very Common, Strong)

20 Psychological Complication: Greedy And Ambitious (Very Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Complication: Can’t Stand

Not To Be The Best; Tries To Kill All Who Challenge His Mastery Of Kung Fu (Common, Strong)

15 Social Complication: Secret Identity (Cong Feng, Chinatown merchant) (Frequently, Major)

Total Complications Points: 75 Experience Points: 203

170 n Kanrok The Acquisitioner Hero System 6th Edition

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

60 STR 50 21- Lift 100 tons; 12d6 HTH damage [6] 28 DEX 36 15-

30 CON 20 15-

20 INT 10 13- PER Roll 13- 24 EGO 14 14-

30 PRE 20 15- PRE Attack: 6d6 9 OCV 30 9 DCV 30 9 OMCV 18 9 DMCV 18 8 SPD 60 Phases: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 32 PD 30 Total: 32 PD (32 rPD) 32 ED 30 Total: 32 ED (32 rED) 20 REC 16 60 END 8 20 BODY 10

66 STUN 23 Total Characteristics Cost: 423

Movement: Running: 12m Flight: 50m

Cost Powers END

90 Energy Beams: Multipower, 90-point reserve 8f 1) Standard Blast: Blast 12d6, Alterable Origin Point

(eyes or hands) 8

Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼)

7f 2) Wide Blast: Blast 10d6, Alterable Origin Point (eyes or hands) 7

Area Of Effect (1m Radius; +¼)

7f 3) Smashing Blast: Blast 9d6, Alterable Origin Point (eyes or hands) 7

Double Knockback (+½)

8f 4) Stunning Blast: Blast 8d6, Alterable Origin Point (eyes or hands) 9

NND (defense is Power Defense; +1)

60 Enhanced Malvan Mind: Multipower, 60-point reserve 6f 1) Mental Domination: Mind Control 12d6 6 6f 2) Mindscapes: Mental Illusions 12d6 6 6f 3) Mental Agony: Mental Blast 6d6 6 60 Mindspeech: Telepathy 12d6 6 60 Mindseeking: Mind Scan 12d6 6 120 Energy Net Projector Gloves: Entangle 9d6, 9 PD/9 ED 0

Takes No Damage From Attacks (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½)

32 Enhanced Malvan Physiology: Resistant (+½) for 32 PD/32 ED 0 60 Enhanced Malvan Physiology: Physical and Energy

Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% 0 15 Enhanced Malvan Mind: Mental Defense (15 points) 0 10 Enhanced Malvan Physiology: Power Defense (10

points) 0

3 Malvan Longevity: Life Support (Longevity: 800-year

lifespan) 0

75 Graviton Flight: Flight 50m 0

Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½)

Skills

30 +3 with All Combat 3 Combat Piloting 15- 5 Cramming 2 AK: Earth 11- 2 AK: Malva 11- 2 KS: Earth Superhumans 11- 2 KS: Malvan Entertainments 11-

3 KS: Malvan Gladiators And Gladiatorial Combat 13- 3 Stealth 15-

1 TF: Personal-Use Spacecraft Total Powers & Skills Cost: 686 Total Cost: 1,109

400 Matching Complications (75)

20 Hunted: Justice Squadron (Infrequently, Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)

20 Hunted: UNTIL (Infrequently, Mo Pow, NCI, Capture) 15 Psychological Complication: Hunter Mentality; Wants To

Pursue And Capture The “Big Game” Among Superhu- manity (Common, Strong)

15 Psychological Complication: Always In Search Of New, Exciting Challenges (Common, Strong)

10 Vulnerability: 1½ x Effect from Drains (Common) Total Complications Points: 75

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he prefers to subdue his quarry with a good, rousing battle; he only uses his Entangle once it’s clear he’s beaten his foe or the foe is unworthy of further combat. In situations where he only wants to capture one person out of a group, he tries to set up a distraction to occupy the others while he focuses on the one he wants.

Campaign Use: Kanrok is meant to be powerful enough to take on most superteams singlehan- dledly. If he’s not, improve him so he is or give him “minions” (either Malvan robots, or supervillains he’s hired for the job) to help him.

To make Kanrok tougher, just equip him with whatever Malvan devices he needs — Malvan technology is so advanced it makes even super- science from Earth seem primitive. He could, for example, easily have his Energy Net Projector Gloves altered so that they can affect Desolidifed targets. To weaken him, get rid of one of his Multi- powers so that he’s either a physical or a mental threat, but not both.

Associates, Allies, And Adversaries: Kanrok looks on just about every superhuman, particularly the powerful ones, as a potential quarry and fodder for the arena, so he doesn’t make friends with them. At the top of his list of targets is Firewing, for returning him to the Malvan arena would bring Kanrok not only great acclaim, but rewards from the Phazor sufficient to buy a dozen planets.

Appearance: Kanrok is a male from the planet Malva, and as such has golden-bronze skin, large eyes, feathery eyebrows, and reddish shoulder- length hair. When pursuing superpowered quarry he wears black boots, pants, gloves, and a sort of vest-like shirt. He doesn’t carry any gadgets or weapons that are visible to the naked eye.

Background/History: Born to an impoverished family living in a poor neighborhood, Tara Lemick never felt neglected or deprived. Her parents didn’t have much money, but they had lots of love to shower on her. Thriving in such a supportive environment, Tara did excellently in school. Even after she was old enough to go to work and help support the family, she continued to get straight As.

Tara’s hard work won her a full scholarship to a prestigious university, where she majored in Elec- tronic Engineering. Her specialty was force fields, and in her senior year she invented a revolu- tionary new form of force field technology. At first she considered selling it and making a fortune, but her conscience nagged at her. How would that help people? She was lucky — she had enough smarts and support to get into college and make something of herself. Too many people never had that kind of opportunity.

KANROK THE ACQUISITIONER FACTS