Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 14 STR 4 12- Lift 174.1 kg; 2 1/2d6 HTH Damage [1] 23 DEX 39 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8 16 CON 12 12- 12 BODY 4 11- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12- 16 EGO 12 12- ECV: 5 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 16 COM 3 12- 7 PD 4 Total: 10 PD (3 rPD) 6 ED 3 Total: 9 ED (3 rED) 4 SPD 7 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 6 REC 0 32 END 0 27 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 101 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Leaping: 4"/8" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills Martial Arts: Kenjutsu Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Cut +0 +2 Weapon +2 DC Strike 4 Disarm -1 +1 Disarm; 24 STR to Disarm roll 4 Evade -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Lightning Stroke +2 +0 Weapon +2 DC Strike 5 Slashing Stroke -2 +1 Weapon +4 DC Strike 5 Thrust +1 +3 Weapon Strike 0 Weapon Element: Blades 22 Katana: HKA 1 1/2d6 (2 1/2d6 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); OAF (-1) plus +1 OCV; OAF (-1) plus Range Based On STR (+1/4) for up to 25 Active Points of HKA; 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), OAF (-1), [1 rc] 14 Wakazashi: HKA 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); OAF (-1) plus +1 OCV; OAF (-1) plus Range Based On STR (+1/4) for up to 15 Active Points of HKA; 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), OAF (-1), [1 rc] 35 Sweeping Strike: Area Of Effect (up to 2" radius; +3/4) for up to 55 Active Points of HKA, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4); OIF (any sword of opportunity; -1/2), Can Be Blocked (-1/4), END 2 15 Grabs An Arrow From The Air: Missile Deflection (Arrows, Slings, Etc.), Adjacent Hex (+1/2) 2 "Like Fighting A Grasshopper": Leaping +2" (4" forward, 2" upward), END 1 Perks 10 Fringe Benefit: Kirisutogomen 1 Reputation: master of the sword (among samurai and ronin) 11-, +1/+1d6 Talents 6 Chambara Swordsman: Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) 32 Dairokkan: Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Discriminatory, Function as a Sense) 11- 7 Swordmaster: Deadly Blow: +1d6 (with swords) Skills 18 "Natural Affinity For The Steel": +6 with Kenjutsu 16 "Natural Affinity For The Steel": Penalty Skill Levels: +8 vs. Hit Location modifiers with swords 2 AK: Japan 11- 10 Defense Maneuver I-IV 3 Iaijutsu: Fast Draw (HTH Weapons) 14- 3 Gambling (Dice Games, Go-Moku) 12- 1 High Society 8- 0 Language: Japanese (idiomatic; literate) 2 PS: Samurai 11- 3 PS: Street Performer 14- 5 Rapid Attack (HTH) 3 Shadowing 12- 3 Sleight Of Hand 14- 3 Stealth 14- 3 Streetwise 13- 2 WF: Blades, Off Hand Total Powers & Skill Cost: 251 Total Cost: 352 200+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Style (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Large Group) 20 Hunted: Boss Bakuchi 11- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 20 Psychological Limitation: Code Of Vengeance: Must avenge all insults to self and lord (Common, Total) 15 Psychological Limitation: "Very Spirited" (Common, Strong) 15 Reputation: dangerous swordswoman, 11- (Extreme) 10 Social Limitation: Ronin (Frequently, Minor) 5 Unluck: 1d6 57 Experience Points 352 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: As a young girl, Inazuma was given the name "Bara-no-hime," or "Rose Princess" by her father. He said she was "as delicate as a flower" but to "watch out for her thorns" due to her spirited nature. He also arraigned to have her marry a councilor of the court, a man older than Inazuma's own father. Inazuma wished to have nothing to do with this marriage and instead ran off with a young and dashing samurai named Hisashi.
With the Shogun's peace on the land, there was no positions open with other lords and soon the money ran out. Hisashi tried to make money performing sword tricks but wasn't very good, so Inazuma asked him to teach her, figuring a female swordswoman might attract crowds. The moment she picked up a blade, Inazuma felt an affinity for the sword and quickly surpassed her husband in skill. She took the name "Inazuma" ("Lightning Flash") and became a successful street performer. Her husband on the other hand....
Hisashi took to drink and gambling, usually losing any money Inazuma had made that day. Things kept on in this fashion until Hisashi made the mistake of trying to blackmail Boss Masakazu. His body was found days later, a look of horror frozen in his face. Inazuma proceeded to cut her way to Masakazu, killing all of his guards, and then him.
While Inazuma had avenged her husband's death, Boss Bakuchi, Boss Masakazu's father, wasn't so understanding, and now seeks her death. He as struck several times, with hired assassins, but each time has failed.
Inazuma first appears in Volume 10, The Brink Of Life And Death, in the story A Meeting Of Strangers. She next appears in the same volume in Lightning Strikes Twice, where we hear her origin and how she became a wanted woman wandering the roads of Japan. In Volume 12, Grasscutter, Inazuma is possessed by the spirit of Jei, and becomes, for all intents and purposes, the "new" Jei. This character sheet represents the pre-Volume 12 Inazuma, for the post Volume 12 Inazuma, combine this character sheet with Jei's. As I haven't read Volume 20 yet, I don't know exactly what she's like in combat or if her sword is black.
Personality/Motivation: Inazuma's past experiences have hardened her heart (as her quote attests) and made her quite the ruthless killer. She has killed a number of Boss Bakuchi's hired swords and assassins and shows no real remorse for the fact, going so far in once sequence as to prop the corpses up and tell them her life story. However, unlike Jei, she doesn't wantonly slaughter anyone she meets and prefers to avoid trouble (if she can)—on the other hand, she won't go out of her way to avoid a fight. She even saved Usagi from an archer's arrow, although she did state this was to repay him for a debt she owed him. At the same time, Inazuma has her pride, her strong "wild" streak (meaning she values her independence and freedom) and won't take insults without a response. All in all, Inazuma is a very dangerous woman and not to be trifled with.
Quote: "Something hardened in my heart that day."
Powers/Tactics: In a fight Inazuma makes quick, strong cuts, pulling no punches and killing a target with each sword stroke. Like her name, she's very fast, capable of snatching an arrow out of the air, and has come out on top in fights where she's been outnumbered upwards of eight to one. She rarely blocks, but prefers to go on the offensive, usually using Cuts and Lightning Strokes to slay her foes, although she has pulled such flashy stunts as Thrusting into someone behind her (without looking). She also like to move around while fighting, and Gen said fighting her was like dueling a grasshopper. Normally, Inazuma fights with just her katana, but she has been known to hold her saya (sheath) in her off hand.
Recently, Stan Sakai has come out to say that Inazuma is the best swordsman in the Usagi Yojimbo setting. This means that she is better and more skilled than Zato-Ino (who used to hold this title), Katsuichi (Usagi's sensi), Nakamura Koji (Katsuishi's rival and one of the few people to defeat Usagi in a duel), Jei, and even Usagi himself.
Appearance: A pale-furred feline, Inazuma is of average height, and looks to be as tall as Usagi, with an athletically attractive build. Her years on the road, coupled with her normally stern expression detract from her beauty to some extent. Her hair is long, black, and worn in a topknot. Her kimono is a russet color, decorated with a three-spot "paw print" pattern, while her hakama are reddish.
Designer's Notes: Inazuma's character sheet is loosely derived from the Fuzion stats for other characters given in the Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game put out by Gold Rush Games. Additional skills were derived from material in the Sengoku Role-Playing Game and from scenes in the comic series. Inazuma herself is a wholly original character, created specifically by Stan Sakai to be the new Blade of the Gods (which probably explains her "doomed" origin and outlook). Interestingly, her real name is unknown, as "Bara-no-hime" is just a nickname. The Wikipedia entry for Inazuma indicates that after possession by Jei, she gains the attentions of Sasuké the Demon Queller and Priest Sanshobo. She also isn't totally under Jei's domination and has been able to fight free for brief periods—usually just before going to sleep or after waking up. Finally, Gen, who was hunting her, called off the chase after finding some of her victims and noticing how much like they looked like victims of one of Jei's attacks.
(Inazuma created by Stan Sakai, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
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