VENDETTA RHAPSODY
LIGHTNING TAKESHI
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 15 STR 5 12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 HTH Damage [1] 20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7 18 CON 16 13- 13 BODY 6 12- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 15 EGO 10 12- ECV: 5 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 14 COM 2 12- 12 PD 9 Total: 12 PD (6 rPD) 10 ED 6 Total: 10 ED (5 rED) 4 SPD 10 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 15 REC 16 36 END 0 30 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 121 Movement: Running: 9"/15"/18"/30" Leaping: 3"/6" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers 15 Takeshi's Glock 21's: RKA 2d6, +1 STUN Multiplier (+1/4); STR Minimum (STR Min. Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1), OAF (-1), Beam (-1/4), Real Weapon (-1/4), 13 Charges (-1/4) plus Equipment Doubling, [13] 17 Deadly Accurate I: Find Weakness 14- with All Guns; Affected as normal sight (-1/2), Does Not Apply Against ED, MD, or PowD (Affects only PD and rPD) (-1/2) 18 Deadly Accurate II: Targeting Skill Levels: +6 vs. Hit Location modifiers with All Attacks 15 Deadly Accurate III: Area Of Effect Accurate (up to One Hex; +1/2) for up to 45 Active Points of any firearm; OIF (firearms of opportunity; -1/2), END 2 8 Tanto: HKA 1/2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Ranged (+1/2); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), STR Minimum (STR 5; -1/4) Martial Arts: Gangster Brawling Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 4 Disarm -1 +1 Disarm; 25 STR to Disarm roll 4 Kidney Blow -2 +0 HKA 1d6 +1 4 Low Blow -1 +1 2d6 NND 4 Punch/Backhand +0 +2 5d6 Strike 2 Weapon Element: Clubs, Fist-Loads 65 Extremely Tough: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% plus Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% plus Damage Resistance (6 PD/5 ED) 6 Swift in Combat: Running +6" (9"/15" total); Only To Make Half-Moves in Combat (-1), END 1 22 Rage of Susano-o: Change Environment (thunderstorms) 8" radius, -2 to Normal Sight PER Rolls, -2 to Normal Hearing PER Rolls, -1 OCV, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes, Multiple Combat Effects, Personal Immunity (+1/4), MegaScale (1" = 1 km; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); No Conscious Control ( Only activates when Takeshi is angry; -2), Gradual Effect (5 Minutes; -3/4) 25 Divine Resilience: Healing 1 BODY, Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2) Perks 4 Figure in Local Tong: Contact: Figure in Local Tong (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources) 11- 5 Figure in Local Mafia Gang: Contact: Figure in Local Mafia Gang (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 11- 3 Bodyguard License: Bodyguard License: Concealed Weapon Permit (where appropriate), License to practice a profession 2 Yakuza Gang Member: Yakuza Gang Member: Gang/organized crime group member of prominence or importance Talents 7 Lucky Shot: Deadly Blow: +1d6 ([firearms]) Skills 10 +2 with HTH Combat 3 Fast Draw 13- 1 Gambling 8- 3 Language: Engrish (completely fluent) 0 Language: Japanese (idiomatic; literate) 5 Rapid Attack (Ranged) 3 Shadowing 11- 3 Stealth 13- 7 Streetwise 14- 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged) 4 WF: Small Arms, Blades, Thrown Knives, Axes, and Darts Total Powers & Skill Cost: 279 Total Cost: 400 200+ Disadvantages 10 Dependent NPC: Susumu Terajima (Yakuza trainee) 8- (Normal) 5 Distinctive Features: Extensive Full-Body Yakuza Tattoo (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Enraged: When Betrayed, When a Clan Member is Victimized, When Witnessing an Outrageous Violation of His Code of Conduct (Common), go 11-, recover 11- 15 Hunted: Second Syndicate 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 15 Hunted: St. Louis Police Department 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Mildly Punish) 10 Hunted: Yakuza 11- (As Pow, NCI, Watching) 10 Physical Limitation: Uniquely affected by/susceptible to Shinto prayers, rituals, and traditions (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: Disturbed By/Seeks Answers to the Mystery of His Parentage (Uncommon, Strong) 20 Psychological Limitation: Yakuza Code of Honor (Giri-Ninjo) (Common, Total) 10 Reputation: Organized Crime Figure, 8- (Extreme) 5 Reputation: Son of a God, 11- (Known Only To A Small Group) 5 Rivalry: Professional (Yakuza or other Gangster/Hitman), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry 15 Social Limitation: Yakuza Gang Member (Frequently, Major) 50 Experience Points (7 points unspent) Total Disadvantage Points: 400
Background/History: Takeshi was raised by his mother in the "A-Bomb Slums" outside of Hiroshima. Drawn by the yakuza image and the world of giri-ninjo, he ran away from home at 15 and joined a lower-tier gang of the Kanto Hatsuka-kai in Tokyo.
The first indication that there was something different about Takeshi occurred when he was tattooed. He eschewed the parlors with modern electric tattoo machines and went to have his tattoo work done in the traditional, more painful and expensive style by an old master with a hand-held tool. Takeshi gritted his teeth in pain as the master started, then slipped into a trance. When he woke up a week later, the master lay dead from karoshi (overwork). Takeshi now sported a full-body tattoo extending from shoulders to buttocks and stretching around to his chest and arms, a grand work of art that should have taken weeks of sessions to complete. The tattoo design was not what he had requested, but instead featured Susano-o, the Shinto god of storms.
Later, Takeshi's gang was drawn into hostilities between the Kanto Hatsuka-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi, who were muscling their way into Tokyo. He attended peace negotiations between the two families, but things went wrong when a Yamaguchi soldier taunted Takeshi about the death of one of his gang brothers. Takeshi drew his gun. After a series of events that Takeshi cannot clearly recall, he found himself standing in the negotiation hall among the bodies of dead gangsters, some of which were...steaming. A thunderstorm was raging outside, and the power for several blocks around the hall was out. He himself was riddled with bullet wounds, but recovered from his injuries with alarming speed.
The Kanto Hatsuka-kai president himself arranged for Takeshi to be quickly shuttled out of Japan. Takeshi was sent to St. Louis, where an associated yakuza gang (the Kenro-gumi) runs money-laundering operations to process income earned by the Kanto Hatsuka-kai gangs in Japan. Takeshi acts as a kanbu (executive) in the Kenro-gumi, and looks out for the physical safety of the bosses and underbosses of the gang.
Personality/Motivation: Takeshi takes the yakuza code of honor (giri-ninjo) very seriously. This code embodies the concept of giri, which is the sense of duty, honor, and obligation. In the context of the yakuza gang life, this principle specifies loyalty to one's oyabun ("father figure") and one's gang brothers (kobun, or shatei). The yakuza code also includes the concept of ninjo, or empathy. For yakuza, ninjo specifies a sense of generosity and sympathy towards the weak and disadvantaged, and a proscription against killing "civilians" or drawing them into gang conflicts.
Takeshi's mother never talked about his father. The stories of Takeshi's tattooing and the event at the negotiation hall, the reactions that Shinto priests have had to Takeshi's presence down through the years, and Takeshi's unbelievable toughness, his amazing ability with a gun, and his sometimes-violent temper, have collectively resulted in the legend that Takeshi is the son of the Susano-o. For reasons that Takeshi does not understand, this story bothers him greatly, and he is very much interested in learning the truth behind his parentage.
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Powers/Tactics: In a fight, Takeshi uses his twin Glock 21 pistols at range, and his tanto (knife) and rough-house brawling style in close quarters. He can generally place a bullet anywhere he wants, and has the ability to soak up an amazing amount of damage.
Takeshi is barely aware of the fact that thunderstorms form whenever he gets angry.
Takeshi is uniquely sensitive to Shinto prayers, rituals, and traditions. For example, he cannot commit violence in or at a Shinto shrine, including any house with a small private shrine. Rituals intended to appease the kami (Shinto gods) will pacify Takeshi; prayers intended to summon kami will draw Takeshi to whomever is uttering the prayer; and any Shinto priest can dispel the storms that accompany Takeshi's rage.
Campaign Use: Takeshi's gang, the Kenro-gumi, was initially established to launder money from operations back on the Home Islands, generally through the many Japanese restaurants present in St. Louis. The Kenro-gumi has since expanded into gambling and is setting up prostitution and methamphetine operations, but has run into resistance from the St. Louis "Hop Alley" Tongs and the Second Syndicate.
Takeshi has contacts in a tong and a local mafia gang. As a member of Kenro-gumi, he can also call upon their resources to a limited extent (subject to approval by the gang boss).
Appearance: Relatively tall for a Japanese man. Wears dark clothes and sunglasses. See accompanying pictures.
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