Cost Powers END
40 Kiai Powers: Multipower, 80 point reserve, all slots Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1)
3u 1) Healing Kiai:
Healing 4d6 (Simplifi ed Option) Invisible Power Eff ects (Normal Sight; +¼), Ranged (+½); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1)
24
3u 2) Daunting Kiai:
Aid PRE 4d6, Invisible Power Eff ects (Fully Invisible; +1), Self Only (-½); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1)
24
2u 3) Painful Kiai:
EB 4d6, No Normal Defense (defense is ear coverings [such as earmuff s] or making an EGO Roll at -3; +1); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1)
12
1u 4) Deadly Kiai:
RKA 1d6+1, Invisible Power Eff ects (Normal Sight; +¼), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1)
9
ever, since each use takes a Full Phase to activate, the character cannot turn them both on at the same time; he could use one on one Phase, and the other on a later Phase.
DISADVANTAGES
Many of the HERO System Disadvantages are especially appropriate to martial artist characters, or have special functions in a martial arts cam-paign. On the other hand, some of the Disadvan-tages are quite inappropriate.
AGE
Age is a very uncommon Disadvantage in mar-tial arts adventures. For example, despite his seeming age, the ancient Chinese kung fu master who trains the hero is usually lithe, vigorous, and tough enough to thrash the hero (at least, until the fi nal stages of training). For this reason, GMs should never require characters in martial arts campaigns to take the Age Disadvantage; they can be 90 years old and still have the same Characteristic Maxima as younger charac-ters. (Like younger characters, they have to pay double for any INT, EGO, or PRE above the campaign Char-acteristic Maxima.) Since Age doesn’t aff ect DEX and SPD, an aged character with Extra DC to make up for his lack of physical strength can still be a very eff ective martial artist.
DEPENDENT NPC
DNPCs in martial arts adventures are more at risk than in many other genres. Martial arts adven-tures are oft en revenge melodramas, so DNPCs are abused and killed a lot more frequently than in other genres. Characters taking DNPCs should bear this in mind.
Th at doesn’t make the DNPC less of a limitation than in other genres, though. DNPCs get in trouble just as oft en, and the trouble is oft en worse. If an enemy kills a DNPC, you can be sure that the PC has quite a few other cousins, naive younger siblings, and lovers to act as the DNPC in the next adventure.
If the PC gets tired of this, he should buy off the Disadvantage. If he doesn’t, and just starts let-ting his DNPCs get maimed or killed because it’s inconvenient to rescue them, or he gets bored with the whole aff air and decides not to avenge them, then he’ll certainly pick up a nasty Hunted to replace the DNPC — the family and friends of the DNPC, intent on killing the PC for his neglect of his responsibilities and/or the insult to their clan.
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES Distinctive Features: Style
Th e martial arts Style Distinctive Feature which accompanies most styles is bought as a con-ditional Distinctive Feature, built this way: Not Concealable (15 points), Always Noticed And Rec-ognizable (+0 points), Detectable By Large Group (-5 points). It has three functions.
First, any martial arts practitioner observing the character with the Style Distinctive Feature will, with a simple PER Roll, recognize the style (unless
it is some strange, secret art, in which case he rec-ognizes that fact). If the character does not have a Style Distinctive Feature, it takes a successful KS roll of the art being practiced, or with the GM’s per-mission an INT Roll at a -2, to recognize the style.
Second, since (in martial arts adventures) many martial arts styles and schools are enemies or competitors, the Style Distinctive Feature acts as a “Major Prejudice” factor to practitioners of the enemy style. (On the other hand, other practitio-ners of the same style may decide to help the char-acter against their mutual enemies.)
Th ird, a character using the Analyze Style skill on a target with a Style Distinctive Feature receives a bonus to his Skill Roll; see the description of that skill.
Other Types Of Distinctive Features
Other Distinctive Features which frequently appear in martial arts adventures include:
Bearing: Th e character has a distinctive attitude which makes him easier to recognize. Th e feudal samurai has this Disadvantage. It becomes a strong habit of the character, a habit which is very hard to break, so it is bought this way: Conceal-able (with major eff ort), Is Noticed And Recog-nizable: 10 points.
Ninja Night-Suit: Th e ninja night-suit (also called the igabakama) is a common Distinctive Feature in many martial arts campaigns. If the character usu-ally wears traditional ninja garb when performing his martial arts heroics, he should take this Disad-vantage. (Note that a ninja character doesn’t have to wear a distinctive ninja outfi t. Most players prefer for their characters to do so, however.)
Igabakama Distinctive Feature (Modern):
Ninja Night-Suit (Easily Concealable, Noticed And Recognizable): 5 points.
Igabakama Distinctive Feature (Feudal Japan): Ninja Night-Suit (Easily Conceal-able, Causes Extreme Reaction [fear and loathing]): 15 points.
Scars: The character has facial scars, usually from a previous martial arts fight with an oppo-nent who will appear in some later adventure.
Bought as Concealable with Disguise Skill, Is Noticed And Recognizable: 10 points.
Tattoo: The character wears tattoos, either purely decorative ones or ones which identify his clan, business, or martial arts school. Bought as Easily Concealable (under clothes), Is Noticed And Recognizable: 5 points. If the tattoo is of a famous, hated order, it might instead be: Easily Concealable (under clothes), Causes Extreme Reaction (hatred). If only martial artists recog-nize the tattoo, subtract 5 points because only a Large Group sees the feature as distinctive.
Yakuza Mutilation: Some members of the Japa-nese yakuza (organized crime families) apologize for grievous mistakes by cutting off parts of their fi ngers and off ering them to their lords (a practice known as yubitsume); if this token of apology is accepted, he does not have to kill himself for his mistake. Characters can buy this as Easily Conceal-able (wear gloves), Causes Major Prejudice.
HUNTED
Hunted is a Disadvantage which is both very common and quite rare in martial arts adven-tures. This is because in the HERO System, Hunt-eds are ongoing Disadvantages. The characters are often Hunted by the same villain across years of play-time.
In martial arts adventures, characters are Hunted all the time... but it’s not usually the same Hunter. At the end of one adventure, the charac-ters obliterate their enemy; at the beginning of the next, they make a new enemy who won’t rest until the heroes are dead. Sometimes the new enemy has some connection to the last one (for example, he’s the former Hunted’s brother); other times he’s brand new. Therefore, in campaigns dedicated to martial arts adventures, characters could take a Hunted Disadvantage which looks like this:
Example: Hunted 11- (As Pow, NCI): 20 points.
The exact character(s) Hunting the heroes change from adventure to adventure as they’re killed and replaced... but enemies constantly Hunt the PCs, so the PCs should get the Disad-vantage points for that.
PSYCHOLOGICAL LIMITATION
Several Psychological Limitations, mostly codes of behavior, are appropriate in these cam-paigns. They include:
Code Of The Buddhist Monk (Common, Strong: 15 points): This is the code of most Buddhist monks. It mandates that the char-acter cannot initiate violence (though he can defend himself); he must remain celibate;
he cannot eat red meat. Historically, many monks did not take this limitation; it’s not required of the Buddhist monk, merely rec-ommended.
Code Of The Bushi (Common, Total: 20 points): This is the code of the Japanese war-rior/retainer. Samurai had it; so did many ninja. The Bushido Code demands absolute obedience to one’s lord, even if he orders the character to kill himself or destroy every-thing he loves. This means a samurai char-acter often finds himself in situations where his own goals conflict with his lord’s, and his Psychological Limitation demands he follow his lord’s dictates above his own desires.
A cruel thing to do to a samurai character is to insult or dishonor him, then have his lord order him to leave the person who insulted him alone. This places the character in a position where he either has to kill himself or wait, suffering from the insult and resulting loss of face, until his lord rescinds the order.
Code Of The Chinese Knight (Very Common, Total: 25 points): The Chinese knight’s code of behavior demands he right any wrongs he sees, correct any social injustices, keep any oaths of loyalty he takes, and meet all obli-gations he accepts. He must always honor good people and spend all his money on good deeds and good times.
Code Of The Chinese Master (Common, Strong: 15 points): The Chinese master’s code of behavior demands he never refuse a challenge from another fighter. He can, if he chooses, answer a challenge by directing one of his students to meet the challenger; he usually does this to “screen” challengers so he only has to fight the best opponents.
Code Of Vengeance: A character with this Disadvantage is driven to acts of vengeance. How often he feels the need to take revenge determines how much the Disadvantage is worth.
Must Avenge All Insults to Friends, Family, Protected Parties or Self (Very Common, Total: 25 points): The character must exact revenge on anyone who insults his friends or relatives, anyone under his protection (or whom he suddenly decides to protect), or himself. Most insults require only the vengeance of a good beating. Maiming, an attempted assassination, or any other vicious insult requires him to kill the insulter.
Must Avenge All Insults To Self (Common, Total: 20 points): This is like the one above, but only applies to insults directed at the PC.
This Disadvantage can also be defined as Must Avenge All Insults To Self And Lord for the same point value (a samurai would buy the Disadvantage that way).
Must Avenge Murder Of Any Friend, Family Member, Or Protected Party (Uncommon, Total: 15 points): The character must kill the murderer and anyone who collaborated with him or ordered the murder. This really becomes a limitation when the relative was killed “properly” — he was a crook and was killed by a cop or a hero, for instance.
Gunslinger Mentality (Common, Strong: 15 points): A character with this Psychological Limitation must challenge any martial artist whom he hears referred to admiringly or who demonstrates great skill in his presence. He must find out who’s the better fighter, and won’t rest until the other fellow fi ghts him. (A particularly unscrupulous gunfi ghter-mental-ity villain will capture or kill a hero’s DNPCs and friends to force him to fi ght.)
REPUTATION
Many positive Reputations, such as being a master or highly skilled fi ghter, should be bought as Perks, since they benefi t the character in many ways. Such a Reputation may also draw challeng-ers and the like to the character, but that doesn’t make the Reputation a Disadvantage.
Some disadvantageous Reputations for martial artists include: