NINJA SCROLL
ZAKURO
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 10 STR 0 11- Lift 100 kg; 2d6 HTH Damage [2] 21 DEX 36 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7 18 CON 16 13- 10 BODY 0 11- 15 INT 5 12- PER Roll 12- 16 EGO 12 12- ECV: 5 18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6 8 COM -1 11- 6 PD 4 Total: 6 PD (0 rPD) 6 ED 2 Total: 6 ED (0 rED) 4 SPD 9 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 6 REC 0 36 END 0 30 STUN 6 Total Characteristic Cost: 97 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Leaping: 2"/4" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills 31 Cloud Of Black Powder: RKA 3d6, Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset; apply open flame; +1/4), Explosion (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Side Effects (explosion is centered on Zakuro if she is hit with open flame/fire; -1), OIF (multiple bamboo tubes of black powder; -1/2), Will Not Work In Areas Of High Winds, Heavy Rain, Or Under Water (-1/2), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, Only to Activate, minimum time required to salt area with powder; -1/4) 10 Bo Shuriken: RKA 1d6, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), 9 Recoverable Charges (+1/4); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-1/4), [9 rc] 27 Create Zombie: Summon 4 175-point creatures, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Expanded Class of Beings Any Type of (Formerly Living) Being (+1), Slavishly Devoted (+1); Extra Time (1 Hour, Character May Take No Other Actions, minimum time to create; -3 1/4), Gestures, Requires Gestures throughout (Requires both hands; must properly prepare the corpse; -1), OIF (fresh corpse; -1/2) Skills 8 +8 with Bo Shuriken 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Concealment 12- 5 Demolitions 13- 1 Language: Japanese (idiomatic; literate) 3 Riding 13- 3 SS: Anatomy (for making zombies) 12- 3 SS: Chemistry (for making gunpowder) 12- 1 Seduction 8- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Tracking 12- 2 WF: Blades, Shuriken 112 Total Powers & Skills Cost 209 Total Character Cost 100+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Scarred Face And Body (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima No Age Restriction 10 Psychological Limitation: Loves Yurimaru (Common, Moderate) 15 Psychological Limitation: Overconfident (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Vengeful, Especially If Spurned (Common, Strong) 15 Reputation: One of the Eight Devils of Kimon, 11- (Extreme) 20 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Very Frequently, Major) 24 Experience 209 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: Zakuro, like virtually all of the Eight Devils of Kimon, is pretty freaky. She has a scarred face and body, and wears what looks like bandages wrapping her torso. She likes to use black powder as her weapon, and nearly blows Jubei to bits not once, but twice. However, she meets her end at the hands of Dakuan, Jubei, and a gourd of lamp oil.
Personality/Motivation: Zakuro is an interesting individual (to say the least). She loves Yurimaru, but he refuses her advances as he only has eyes for Gemma. However, she is loyal to Gemma, and follows his orders (for the most part). She's notably overconfident in her ability to take out a foe (Such as her blasting apart the cliff top and then simply leaving.), and can be utterly and totally ruthless, seeking revenge at a far later date, when her target will least expect it (Such as her blasting Yurimaru to bits just as he was ready to fry Jubei...).
Quote: "The scent of blasted flesh grilled to perfection... such a lovely smell."
Powers/Tactics: I found Zakuro's powers fairly difficult to model in the HERO System, mainly because I was unsure as to what she actually was doing. At best guess, she has two separate abilities. The first is the black powder she carries on her person. She has around eight bamboo tubes of powder strapped to her body. Once opened they will spill out a large cloud of powder grains, which will detonate with great force the moment someone applies an open flame. The second is her ability to create "zombies" (for lack of a better term) out of corpses (or what look like corpses). The zombies apparently follow her orders and have exactly one ability: to detonate into a cloud of flame (Figure it as a 1d6 RKA, Explosion, Time Delay (fuse), One Charge That Does Not Recover.).
Aside from her more spectacular abilities, Zakuro also carries a quantity of bo shuriken, and is a good enough shot to sever a candle wick with one.
Appearance: Zakuro is of average height with an attractive figure. She has short, shoulder length hair, with a long scar across her face, and similar scars on her body. She dresses in bandage-like wrappings across her torso, a wide red obi (belt), and a long red cloak with long white feathers at the shoulders. She will also wear a very broad straw "sun hat" when outside.
Designer's Notes: Due to her strange powers, Zakuro needs a few extra comments.
- Cloud Of Black Powder: I'm not sure how big of an explosion to give this power. Yurimaru was caught at ground zero and ended up blasted into fragments. Zakuro finds just his right forearm (and contemptuously tosses it over one shoulder into the water.). I figured 3d6 of RKA would let one do that. When she's doused with lamp oil and set alight, the blast manages to disable a large sailing ship (and set it afire), but Jubei (who was very near by) is unharmed (however, he may have dove for cover). Other details, such as how long she needs to actually saturate an area with powder, are defined as a "best guess." She can salt an area with powder (such as a building) and set it off later, which is why I gave it "Trigger."
- Create Zombie: I can only guess that Zakuro makes the walking corpses we see (who else would?). We only see two of these in Ninja Scroll; Hanza the ninja, and a mouse. Hanza and the mouse both look alive, and both made sounds, but... At best guess the beings are for all intents and purposes, "zombies" even if they aren't actually dead (although Hanza sure looked it...). These zombies will start to smoke just a few seconds before bursting into flame.
- Bo Shuriken: Zakuro cut a thrown gourd out of the air with one of these. Game Masters might want to make them HKAs with the "Ranged" Advantage. They might also want to give Zakuro Missile Deflection versus thrown weapons and objects.
(Zakuro created by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
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