ROBERT E HOWARD CHARACTERS
SOLOMON KANE
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH Damage [4] 19 DEX 27 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6 20 CON 20 13- 14 BODY 8 12- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-/16- 20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 7 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 10 COM 0 11- 11 PD 4 Total: 11 PD (3 rPD) 10 ED 3 Total: 10 ED (3 rED) 4 SPD 11 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 8 REC 0 40 END 0 34 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 116 Movement: Running: 7"/14" Leaping: 4"/8" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills Martial Arts: "English" Fencing Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 3 Cut +2 +1 Weapon Strike 4 Froissement -1 +1 Disarm; 30 STR to Disarm roll 5 Lunge +1 -2 Weapon +4 DC Strike 4 Parry +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Riposte +2 +2 Weapon +2 DC Strike, Must Follow Block 5 Thrust +1 +3 4d6 Strike 4 Void -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 0 Weapon Element: Blades 10 "Iron Hard Fists": HA +2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 15 "Can Survive Great Wounds": Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 2 "Long Easy Stride": Running +1" (7" total), END 1 1 Night Vision: +2 PER with Normal Sight; Only To Counteract Darkness Modifiers (-1/2) 2 Sharp Ears: +2 PER with Normal Hearing Perks 9 Contact: N'Longa the Juju Man (his blood brother) (Contact has extremely useful Skills or resources, Very Good relationship with Contact) 13- 2 Reputation: "Dangerouser than a wolf" (all through Europe and beyond) 11-, +2/+2d6 Talents 6 "Can Survive Great Wounds": Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) 3 "Carries His Life In His Hands": Lightsleep Skills 16 +2 with All Combat 6 +2 with English Fencing 3 Climbing 13- 5 Defense Maneuver I-II 3 Fast Draw (Blades) 13- 3 Navigation (Land, Marine) 12- 3 Oratory 13- 1 PS: Army Captain 8- 1 PS: Buccaneer 8- 3 PS: Knot-tying 13- 1 PS: Sailor 8- 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Tactics 12- 3 Tracking 12- 4 TF: Equines, Large Wind-Powered Boats, Small Rowed Boats, Small Wind-Powered Boats 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) 7 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Early Firearms, Javelins and Thrown Spears, Off Hand, Thrown Knives, Axes, and Darts 3 Linguist 2 1) Language: African river-tribe dialect (completely fluent) 1 2) Language: Arabic (Classical) (fluent conversation) 1 3) Language: Bantu (fluent conversation) 0 4) Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 1 5) Language: French (fluent conversation) 1 6) Language: German (fluent conversation) 1 7) Language: Italian (fluent conversation) 1 8) Language: Spanish (fluent conversation) 3 Traveler 2 1) AK: Africa 12- 1 2) AK: Caribbean 11- 2 3) AK: England 12- 1 4) AK: Europe 11- 2 5) AK: Mediterranean 12- 1 6) AK: Middle East 11- Total Powers & Skill Cost: 180 Total Cost: 296 125+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Puritanical Garb (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 10 Distinctive Features: Style (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Large Group) 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima 20 Psychological Limitation: Driven To Aid The Weak And Fight Oppression (Common, Total) 15 Psychological Limitation: Fearless In Battle—will not flee a single foe (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Puritan Morals (Very Common, Moderate) 15 Social Limitation: Puritan, a religious minority (Very Frequently, Minor) 86 Puritan Swordsman Bonus 296 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: Tall, pale of face, and dressed in somber black garb, Solomon Kane wanders the world of the late 16th Century. Born in the county of Devon, his Puritanical beliefs put him at odds with Queen Elizabeth, who has been known to oppress Puritans (and others) ruthlessly. Thus, he tends to to stay away from England for long periods, seeking adventure on the high seas and the Continent. A various times in his career he has been a galley slave, chained to the oar of a Turkish ship; a worker in the Moorish vineyards of the Barbary Coast; a footsoldier fighting the Indians in the New World; a buccaneer, preying on Spanish shipping; a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition; and a captain in the French army. Unfortunately, Howard's stories aren't too clear as to which order these events come in.
After wandering about England, Europe, and the New World, Kane ends up in Africa. There he befriends a man named N'Longa. N'Longa is a "Juju Man" (i.e. a witchdoctor) and becomes Kane's bloodbrother. After Solomon helps N'Longa overthrow the evil chief of N'Longa's tribe, N'Longa gives Solomon Kane the staff of Solomon, a powerful magical item. With that in hand, Solomon sets off into the African interior, seeking out some unknown and undefined evil that seems to be calling to him. This evil force is never stated however, as Howard never finished several Kane stories dealing with his adventures in Africa before he took his own life on June 11, 1936.
Personality/Motivation: Kane is often described as a fanatic, and although this term tends to bring up images of wild-eyed screaming zealots, it does fit him to a certain degree. For the most part, Kane has a fanatical devotion to Divine Providence, and always feels his own actions are in the right, and the proof of his righteousness is found in his successes. Interestingly, although Kane feels his actions are the result of logic and reason, they are often performed on sheer impulse and acted on without question. He never tries to second guess himself or others, and once he commits to an action will not depart from his course (within reason). For example, he will not flee from a single foe, and will stand and fight in any one-on-one encounter, even if his opponent is obviously of supernatural origins. Although he comes across as a bit of a fascist, Kane's saving grace is his unwavering urge to right any and all wrongs, as well as his desire to protect anyone weaker then himself (which, in his case, is most everyone). He is honorable to a degree, does not kill without reason, is interested more in justice than law, and cares little for liars, thieves, and swindlers.
Quote: "These things be deeds of some power of evil. The lords of darkness have laid a curse upon the country. A strong man is needed to combat Satan and his might. Therefore I go, who have defied him many a time."
Powers/Tactics: First and foremost, Kane is an excellent swordsman, nicknamed by Sir Frances Drake "Devon's king of swords." His style is economical and workmanlike; with little in the way of flashy or "trick" maneuvers. He is also quite strong, and is said to have killed men with his bare hands. However, unlike Howard's more famous creation, Conan, there are limits to Kane's strength. He is also quite fast, and his speed is often described as similar to a famished wolf's. I gave him a 19 DEX as he wasn't quite as fast as one or two characters, and is never thought of as unbeatable in pure speed.
As with virtually any Pulp-era character (and Howard's specifically) Kane can absorb a huge amount of punishment and remain alive. Instead of giving him a high BODY score, I felt Combat Luck and Damage Reduction simulated this effect quite well. Note that while Kane's Combat Luck may keep him from taking any actual BODY damage, his appearance will reflect the abuse he has been put through. So, while Kane may not be down any BODY after a fight, he will still be bruised, battered, cut, and bloody.
The rest of Kane's powers are meant to simulate his Pulp-era nature. He can punch (and kick) quite hard, and is powerful enough to break a man's jaw with a single blow. He also seems to be able to see in the dark far better than most people, although not so well as to qualify for full Nightvision. Finally, his extensive skill set is an attempt to define both the things he is described doing in various stories, as well as his highly varied background.
Kane normally arms himself with a long rapier, two heavy wheellock pistols, and a dirk. He has also carried a matchlock musket.
Appearance: Solomon Kane stands some six feet (or more) in height, with a build best described as lean. He is said to be broad shouldered, deep chested, with long rangy limbs, with little to no fat on his body. His hair is black and worn to the shoulders, his long face is clean shaven, while his eyes are such no one can really say what color they are. Kane dresses all in close-fitting black clothing, typically, consisting of boots, trousers, jacket, cloak, and a featherless slouch hat. At least once he did wear a silk sash of brilliant green around his waist.
Designer's Notes: Solomon Kane makes for a sharp contrast to Conan the Cimmeran. He cares little for treasure, women, power, or most any of the staples of adventure fiction. Instead he is driven by a curiosity of the unknown, as well as a desire to right any wrongs he sees, regardless of who was wronged. Kane is also more "human" than Conan. This is not to mean that Conan is some sort of inhuman monster, but that Conan's abilities often seen superhuman in nature.
Those who want to read the Solomon Kane stories need to keep an important fact in mind, Howard was a product of his times. While well read, and interested in history, geography, and science, Howard, much like several other Pulp-era writers (specifically H. P. Lovecraft), had fairly racist opinions about how the world should be, and who would/should master it. However, I do find it interesting that Howard has Kane befriend a black man, and sets a large portion of his stories in Africa, where he aids, and is aided by, a number of black natives.
Finally, a few comments on the Staff of Solomon (a.k.a. Sulieman). I didn't give it to Kane on his character sheet as it is a really powerful magical item and would look a bit out of place when compared to all his other "swashbuckling" skills. For starters, the Staff is older than most recorded civilization, and probably dates back to the Hyperborean age (presuming that Kane's world and Conan's world are one and the same). It is a length of hard wood about 5' long, with a cat's head carved in one end, while the other has been sharpened into a point. The staff is apparently unbreakable and can be used as a simple club, doing 5d6 of Hand Attack damage. The sharpened end is an HKA. The staff's magical properties are never defined, but at the very least it can be used to strike ghosts (Affects Desolid), destroy vampires, command djinn and efreet, and dispel (or protect against) hostile magic. Kane himself uses it to Mind Link with N'Longa and N'Longa uses it to swap minds with a young native warrior for a time.
Solomon Kane's Hero Designer File
(Solomon Kane created by Robert Ervin Howard, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
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