From: thmartin@romulus.rutgers.edu (Miss Animerica)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime,rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: RANMA 1/2 Role Playing Game
Date: 14 Oct 92 01:51:36 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.anime
Organization: Rutgers Anime

00gdwessel@bsu-ucs.uucp asks:
> How does one go about getting the RANMA 1/2 rpg???

Perhaps i misled you when i referred to Mike Ellis's Ranma 1/2 RPG in
a recent post, which used Champions.  If you want to try running one,
these were our house rules:

GROUND RULES

This campaign uses Champions 4th edition rules, by the book except for a
few minor changes.  This is a heroic, not superheroic, campaign, so heroic
rules apply.

   GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
   Anime theme based on such shows as Ranma 1/2, Kimagure Orange Road,
   Maison Ikkoku, and the like.  The emphasis is on player interaction,
   but there will be a good deal of marital arts and other diversions to
   keep things interesting.

   Motto: Love and Tears, Panda and Kempo

   IMPORTANCE OF PCs:
   Not very.  Everybody is a first year student in high school.  You
   aren't superheroes trying to save the world, you're trying to get
   into college and not screw up your life more than necessary.

   CAMPAIGN TONE:
   Morality:   Some cross-over between Good and Bad.  What is good for
               you may not be good for your friend or someone who loves
               you.
   Realism:    Neutral.  Swings between very realistic and very romantic.
               Allowances are made for drama.  The laws of physics tend
               to be the first things to go, the laws of the heart the
               last.
   Outlook:    Things may eventually work out.  Maybe.  And it's hell
               getting there.
   Continuity: Mostly serial.  Storyline is present and enforced, with
               some flights of total fancy.

   PHYSICAL WORLD:
   For the most part quite real.  The only exceptions at this point are
   the martial arts that do patently impossible things, curses, and minor
   exceptions for dramatic effect.  Magic is very rare, and the only
   magic the PCs may start with comes from Jusenkyou, the cursed springs.

   CHARACTER BUILDING GUIDLINES:
   Starting points for PCs:                  75
   Maximum points in disadvantages:          75
   Max points from one disadvatage category: 30, unlimited psychlims
   Characters have normal human characteristic maxima.
   You can carry normal technology at no point cost.

   Power Levels     Beginning Range   Maximum
   Attack Powers    0 points          25 points (unless GM approved)
   Defense Powers   0 points          Unlimited
   Skill Rolls      N/A               As high as you can afford

   CAMPAIGN RULES:
   Hit Location:                Yes
   Knockdown:                   Yes
   Long Term END:               No
   Limited Pushing:             No
   Jumping Distance by Mass:    Yes
   Language Similarity:         Yes


HOUSE RULES

For the most part this campaign will be quite realistic, and will
conform to standard Champions rules and/or the Laws of Physics.  But,
since this campaign is also comedic, and some of the PCs will have
abilities like superpowers, there will be times when the seemingly
impossible will happen.

The most common occurrence of this is the knockdown rules.  Often, for
effect, an attack will do more knockdown than it normally would. People
won't take more damage from being knocked back further, but it happens.
Or a STR 7 girl (and only girls) will punch that martial arts death
machine through the roof.  It won't do him/her (mostly him) any damage,
but it happens.  However, in major fights, I will stick to the rules
unless otherwise stated.  If the rules are not explicit, then I will
make the fairest judgement I can.

No 2x noncombat velocity for movement.  It only complicates things.

If you want anything that is "not recommended", you'll have to talk to
me and justify it first.

   EVERYKID SKILLS:
   You have familiarity with these skills for free.  If you want to be
   better at them, you buy them higher, as usual.  You could also sell
   back the 1 point of familiarity if you want to be totally inept at
   something.

      8- Breakfall
      8- Climbing
      8- Concealment
      8- Conversation
      8- Paramedic
      8- Stealth
      8- Shadowing
      8- AK: (country raised in)
      8- AK: Setagaya Ku
         There probably won't be any game events outside the Setagaya Ku
         area, unless you go on a field trip.  Tokyo is huge, even the
         cabbies aren't familiar with all 23 wards.  So, the AK: Tokyo
         everykid skill from last time has been focused down to Setagaya
         Ku.  AK: Japan covers knowing generally where the major
         landmarks are, like the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, for example.
         But you won't be visiting it.

      8- AK: Greater Tokyo Public Transport
      8- KS: College Exam
         All students who plan to enroll in college must take the
         college entrance examination.  Each university or college has
         their own separate exam varying in difficulty, but the same
         areas of knowledge are covered.  Preparing for this exam is the
         whole purpose of high school academics.  As such, your skill at
         high school depends on how well you prepare for the exam.

         If you want to do well at school, buy this up.  1st year
         students can usually get by with an 8-; seniors need a 14-
         minimum.  On tests and papers, this skill is your primary roll.
         Supplementary skills, like Chinese History 12-, may help in some
         classes.  Since this is an all-encompassing skill, and very
         critical in the long run for college bound PCs, a base roll of
         9+(INT/5) costs 3 points, and +1 to your roll from then on in
         costs 2 points.

         Negative modifiers for not roleplaying the studying (could be as
         simple as saying "I study for four hours that night.", or you
         could describe in detail).

      8- KS: High School Society and Bureaucracy
         High school has its own little society, just like everywhere else.
         The older you are, the more you tend to know, and the more
         authority you get to wield.  If you want to do something like
         putting something over on a teacher, or skipping class, you
         roll on this skill.  If you ever move up a grade, your roll
         will go up a level.

      8- PS: (musical instrument) [DEX-based]
         If you went to grade school in Japan, you learned two instruments,
         one keyboard, and one other.  You remember one well enough to
         play some of the time.  Choose any traditional instrument from
         Japan, China, or the West.  Pianos and violins are most common.
         No electric instruments.  Saxophone is fine.  Your PREsence
         affects your ability to perform in concert.

      8- TF: Bicycle or TF: Skateboard

      4 points of your native language (normally Japanese)
      1 point of a foreign language studied in school, which in
         Japan means English (public schools have no electives).

   You also get:
      Perk: Middle Class
         Family has middle class income, no money problems, nice house.

   CHARACTERISTICS:
      Last time, they were hyperinflated to the max.  The average INT of
      the PCs was over 20, the average COM and DEX well above 16.  That's
      just too much.  You're all supposed to be playing incoming high
      school students.  Granted, these are heroic teenagers, but the
      characteristics were just too high.  To counter this, I'm
      recomending the some things.  In case you've forgotten, it's 75
      base + 75 disads.

      The average NPC will have characteristics like:
           7 STR
          10 DEX
          10 CON
           8 BODY
         7-8 INT
         7-8 EGO
         7-8 PRE
          10 COM

      Build your PC accordingly.  If you keep a 10 INT, you're of adult
      intelligence, and smarter than your average teen.  There's usually
      no need to buy up to 13 or so.  If you happen to be running a girl
      who never does any sports, a 5 STR is more appropriate.  If you're
      running a MADM, then an 18 DEX isn't too unreasonable, BUT for
      anyone else not considering a sports career, it's too much. This
      chart should give you an idea of where your character should lie:

          DEX       INT            STR               COM
       7  Clumsy    Dull           Average minus     Homely
      10  Average   Above average  Weekend athlete   Average
      12  Graceful  Bright         Athlete           Cute
      14  Athlete   Kyoto U.       Sumo wrestler     Pretty
      16  Gymnast   Waseda U.      Weightlifter      Beautiful
      18  Olympic   Todai          Circus strongman  M. Tokyo contestant
      20  ***Wins gold medals in Olympics/Nobel Prize/M. Japan pageant***

        SPD
      1 Slooow
      2 Average
      3 Athlete
      4 3 minute mile

      Under NO circumstances may ANY characteristic be above 17 (yes,
      17) without GM approval.  If I don't specifically tell you that a
      stat above 17 is OK, then it isn't.  And make sure you get it in
      WRITING from me.  And remember, if you have to go to that much
      trouble to get it from me, it's probably not worth it.  The same
      goes for folks who want SPD 4.  No exceptions.

      Another house rule:  Characteristic costs are totalled, with their
      fractional parts if any, and then rounded to get the total cost.
      If the fractional part of the total is 1/2, round up, not down.
      No free points of COM or END (which cost 1/2 character point), but
      you can split a character point between them.

      Extra strength:
         Some characters have more STR than they appear to.  For example,
         Ryouga is deceptively strong, able to fritter away concrete
         walls, bend and rip out telephone poles, and so forth.  If you want
         to have this type of strength, you'll need a VERY good reason to
         have it, and you'll need to buy anything above 10 with Invisible
         Effects.  I will NOT charge you double the cost above 20 for
         this kind of STR, but I'm not very likely to let it in the game
         to begin with.  Things more likely to convince me to let you
         have it are power limitations on it like:
            Only against inanimate objects (-3/4)
            x5 END cost (-2)
            Extra time: 1 turn (-1)
         Makes for a nice PRE attack, but considering the power level of
         this game, I don't want people doing 8d6-10d6 punches on each
         other.

   SKILLS:
      Whatever you like, at reasonable levels.  People who take totally
      useless skills like Combat Driving: Skateboard, probably deserve what
      they get...

      Roll                 Chance
        8-  Mediocre        25.9%
        9-                  37.5%
       10-  Average         50.0%
       11-                  62.5%
       12-  Rather skilled  74.1%
       13-                  83.8%
       14-  Well trained    90.7%
       15-                  95.4%
       16-  Expert          98.1%
       17-                  99.5%
       18-  Master         100.0%
       19-  Godlike        100.0%

      Skill levels over 16- require an excuse.  (And it'll have to be
      better than "Well, it's nice to have 18- Breakfall.  Makes jumping
      off of cliffs safer.")  Note that a roll of 18 is a critical fail,
      so there's always a 0.5% chance of failure no matter how skilled
      you are.

      Sports Skills:
         PS: High School Sports has been cancelled.  Since you couldn't buy
         it up, it seemed pretty pointless.  If you don't buy up a
         particular sport, I'll use a DEX roll at -5 or so.

         Games will be run by rolling skill versus skill to see determine
         how the game is going at each interval.  For team sports, each
         team will be assigned a skill level in general.  If you want to
         make a big play, you make a skill roll, and how much you make or
         don't make it by determines the result.  Bonus modifiers for good
         roleplaying. Bad roleplaying gets you on the GMs bad side.
         Exception: Martial arts sports, like judo or sumo wrestling, are
         resolved by normal combat.

   MARTIAL ARTS MANEUVERS:
      This campaign uses the Ninja Hero rules for superpowers and
      martial arts, with one or two exceptions.  It is classifed as a
      Wild Martial Arts campaign, and if you're designing your own
      martial arts system, you can use the optional martial arts
      manuvers (with up to 8 points per manuver).  If you do use the
      optional rules, clear it with me first if you go over 5, make a
      two base manuver, or do anything similarly nasty.

      Anybody can buy martial arts, but you don't really need them
      unless you plan on fighting a lot (attracting attention from
      teachers, parents, possibly the police, and so on).  You probably
      don't need Acrobatics, Breakfall, or Combat Skill Levels unless
      you're in the same situation (or a gymnast for the former).  If
      you aren't into martial arts, streetfighting or the like, spend
      the points on something that makes your character more
      interesting, like Bonsai 11- or Japanese Tea Ceremony, 14- (If you
      buy this and roleplay it correctly, getting the details right, I
      guarantee it's worth experience points.)

      If you do buy martial arts, be creative. Streetfighters can just
      take a punch, a kick, a block, and a disarm (for example) but if
      you plan to succeed your father at the dojo, you'd better have a
      neat individual style to go with the fancy location.

      I'm discontinuing the free 5-point maneuver.  If you want martial
      arts, you'll have to buy a minimum of 10 points of martial arts
      maneuvers.

   POWERS AND MARTIAL ARTS:
      The Ninja Hero rules for Wild Martial Arts campaigns are used with
      powers.  You can incorporate superpower-like abilities in your
      martial arts style.  A badger stylist might have Tunneling, for
      example.

      Many of you may want to do the kind of acrobatics Ranma does.
      Walking along the top of a fence is an Acrobatics maneuver.
      You could use a little Superleap to hop along the tops of bamboo
      poles -- as long as you keep moving, you don't necessarily have to
      stop to balance yourself.  But when you stop, then you have to
      make an Acrobatics roll (at a tremendous minus).  Or you could use
      limited Flight to balance on things that are patently impossible
      in this world, like a pair of twigs floating in a stream.
      (Someone without the Flight could jump to the twigs, then would
      promptly go SPLASH.)

      You can buy an absolute maximum of 25 points in any power before
      advantages and disadvantages.  Note that I've lowered the minimum
      of some of the restricted powers.

      If you put limitations on your power, it should be reasonable.  If
      I think it's unreasonable, I'll veto it, so see me for approval if
      you think it might be overly powerful.

      For example, Kunou might have Energy Blast bought with his bokutou
      as an OAF, for wind force attacks with those rapid-fire stabs.
      Keep the RKA's and HKA's to a minimum, or limit them to property
      damage and other flashy shows.  PCs who use killing attacks on
      other people with any frequency will be dealt with by the
      authorities.

      Another house rule is that, like previous editions of Champions,
      the minimum cost of a power is 1 point.

      Not recommended:
         Anything with a STOP sign next to it in the rule book
         Crossing the line between Martial Arts Death Machine and superhero
         Any mental power
         Absorption
         Change Environment
         Drain
         Transfer

      Disallowed:
         Shapechanging without a curse
         Density Increase
         Force Field
         Force Wall
         Telekinesis

      Restricted powers (for humans):
	 Size:	      Only if you're a really exceptional physical specimen.
                      A sumo wrestler could have 5 points of growth.

         Movement:    No minimum cost.
                      No 2x distance, additional or otherwise.
		      See specific movement powers.

         Flight:      For acts of balance that are impossible, like
                      standing on a pair of sticks floating in a lake,
                      or very difficult, like perching atop a bamboo
                      pole.
                      1" human max
                      Only to balance on something (-1/4)
                      Requires Acrobatics skill roll (-1/2)
                      Recommended:
                      Only to balance on something
                         that can support your weight (-1/4)

         Superleap:   8" human max total jumping (including 1"/5 STR base).
                      Requires Acrobatics skill roll (-1/2)
                      As the limitation implies, you must have at least
                      3 points of Acrobatics.

         Teleport:    For simulating impossibly fast/silent movement.
                      Prereq: Must have at least Speed 4 or Stealth 9-.
		      ONLY short range.  No specific locations.
                      ONLY you.  No Usable By/Against Others.

      Note: How much Jumping is too much?
         To keep things in perspective: the fence on the school's roof
         is about 10m off the ground.  You'd have to leap up 5" (10m)
         to grab the fence, just over the edge of the roof.  Even
         Ranma could not leap the school building in a single bound.

         The window ledges on the second and third floor are about 2"
         and 4".  With 4" of jumping and some Acrobatics, you could
         bounce off the second floor ledge to the third ledge, off that
         to the edge of the roof, and once more to clear the fence,
         with each of the 4 jumps taking one phase.  With 8", you can
         jump up 4", leaping small (2-story) buildings in a single
         bound.  That's about where Ranma and Ryouga are at.  As for
         the rest of us, mortals have 10 STR, which is 2" of jumping,
         and 1" of jumping up. That's about enuf to grab the roof of a
         supply shed and pull yourself up.

   CURSES:
      The story of Jusenkyou:
         In the remote Pa-yen-k'a-la mountains in the Tsinghai region of
         China is a very obscure martial arts training place known as
         Jusenkyou ("Land of cursed springs").  Jusenkyou is full of
         more than 100 springs, each with its own tragic legend.
         Thousands of years ago, various kinds of creatures drowned
         tragically in each cold spring, and ever since, anything else
         that drowns in the same spring comes back to life, but with a
         curse -- they turn into the same kind of creature, when
         splashed with cold water, and turn back when splashed with hot
         water.  So, when Ranma was thrown into Nyan-nii-chuan
         ("Girl drowning spring"), he resurfaced as a girl.

      Some PCs and NPCs have acquired curses from the springs of
      Jusenkyou.  If you want a curse, remember two things:
      1. Curses make your life harder, not easier.
      2. You need an excuse for being in that remote part of China.

      It's unknown whether drowning in another spring replaces the
      original curse with another or adds curse upon curse.  Just don't
      do it.  If Ranma didn't have to leave China so hastily, he might
      have tried it.

      Jusenkyou is an independent source of character points.  In other
      words, Jusenkyou curses are free!  (Although you'll probably have
      to spend 1 point for Perk: Passport to get there, unless you
      swim, like Ranma.)

      If you simply switch sex or otherwise stay a similar human with
      about the same skills, just do it as a simple Shape Shift.  You
      don't have to do a complete write-up; just note which stats change
      to what, and leave it at that.  (Ranma loses a skill level or two
      due to shorter reach, but the points go into something equivalent,
      like COM. :)

      However, if your stats change massively, or if you turn into an
      animal, you should use Multiform, and include the full range of
      effect on your new form.  Your alternate form's total points must
      be less than or equal to your base form's total points (75+75).

      Example:
         Multiform, 1 form with X total points
            +1/4 Trigger: cold water on, hot water off
            -2   Independent
            -2   No conscious control
            -5/4 1 charge, recoverable
         Total = X/5 x 1.25 / 6.25 = X / 25

         For shapeshift, you'd also have to take
              +1   0 END, Persistent
         but you don't have to write it all out if you don't want to.
         I really want the writeups for the Multiforms, however.

      You don't get a disadvantage just for having a curse.

      If you become an animal that's especially large or small, you'll
      need to buy some expensive Growth or Shrinking on the cursed form
      (with the Persistent advantage and Always On limitation).  You can
      go as far as 30 points of Shrinking or 20 points of Growth.  I
      don't want anything larger than a small elephant running about.
      (No kamikaze were-whales!)

      Animals can get extra limbs (trunks, prehensile tails) or limited
      Stretching (trunks, a baby giraffe's neck) at low power levels.
      Anything that simulates an animal is legal.

      The GM does not like venomous snakes.  Big animals that scare
      people are apt to be long-term visitors in the zoo.

      I'd like there to be a 50-50 ratio of cursed-uncursed PCs, but
      no more than that.  Less will be OK, but probably not as funny.

   TALENTS:
      Not recommended:
         Anything with a STOP sign next to it in the rule book

      Anything else is fine, but take it easy on the Find Weakness.

   PERKS:
      Anything appropriate to a Japanese teenager.

      Everyone gets Perk: Middle Class, but it's more like "Well Off"
      for game purposes.  You get a comfortable home/dojo/apartment (to
      an American; palatial by Japanese standards), with your own room!
      (Unless you want to room with a sibling, or I want you to.)

      Fringe benefits are appropriate.  Best the average PC could expect
      is a passport and an ATM card.

      You have enough money to take the bus and buy lunch at
      Makudonarudo (McDonald's).  You could have a walkman, a stereo in
      your room, and a bunch of CDs.

      You can own a bike or a skateboard, but no motor vehicles.

      Bases are not recommended (you can just hang out at the Abcb), but
      if you MUST have one, we'll talk.

      If you want to spice up your lineage:

      Samurai ancestry                  2 points
      Member of the true aristocracy    2 points
      Related to the imperial family    5 points

      Plus the irritiation everybody else feels when you brag about it.
      Ninja ancestry is free, but your teacher may start throwing
      shuriken at you for no good reason.

   DISADVANTAGES:
      You've got up to 75 points in disads, but you don't HAVE to spend
      all of them if you don't want to.  Try to make them appropriate to
      a bunch of slightly weird Japanese teenagers (plenty of Psychlims
      are fine) and avoid things like missing eyes, limbs, severe
      psychological disorders, and the like.

      Many of Takahashi's characters have something they can't handle
      or are very bad at.  For example, Ryouga has absolutely no sense
      of direction, Akane is a comically bad cook, Ranma is phobic about
      cats, Mendo is afraid of the dark, and so forth.  This is a good,
      fun kind of disadvantage.

      Another standby for this game is disbelief in curses.  Ranma
      changed in Kunou's arms, but Kunou just thought Ranma was a
      hypnotist.

      You should consider somthing your character cannot deal with.
      Like fear of the dark, cats, heights, or inability to cook, swim,
      or do some other reasonably common thing.  Disbelief in curses is
      the standby for this campaign.

      Age is irrelevant here for the PCs, unless you have some kind of
      aging curse.

      Berzerk is good for Martial Arts types (and enraged works well for
      sports stars, possibly giving a bonus to your skill roll).

      DNPCs tend to be younger siblings.  I'll let you get away with
      having another PC as a DNPC (I have enough characters without lots
      of NPCs), but only if it's well done.

      Public ID and Private ID are irrelevant here unless I feel like
      somebody need more points because of a really nasty curse.

      Hunted and Watched are good, if you supply a good background.
      Alternatively, you can just put down Hunted: To Be Announced, and
      a point level, and wait for me to come up with something either
      when I fill in everybody's common background, or maybe spring
      someone on you later in the game.  If you have suspicious parents,
      you might make them a Watched.

      Reputation is a good disad.  Many of the character stereotypes
      have some type of reputation.  If you've been a martial artist for
      a while, or are an Ultimately Cool Girl, or a really perverted
      guy, you probably have a reputation (good or bad).  On the other
      hand, if you're new in town, you don't have one.

      Foreigners get a Distinctive Feature (concealable, noticed and
      recognizable) disad of 10 points automatically for their
      appearance, and may have another for their accent.  Roleplaying
      counts.  This could be bought off partially by living in the area
      for a long time and fitting in well, and spending the points.

   APPEARANCE:
      Anime characters tend to look very Caucasian, and rarely look
      Asian.  To simulate this, while still making it obvious just who
      is who, I'm allowing the following: all people who are racially
      Asian may have one "unusual" feature.  This can be green eyes,
      orange eyes, blonde hair, purple hair, etc.  Unless so desired,
      this will be accepted as totally normal, and will arouse no
      comment.  You can't have more than one thing unusual, though, and
      your skin and facial features will still make it clear that you
      are Asian.  Koreans, that tribe of Caucasians living in Northern
      Hokkaido, and Burakumin (if you don't know what it means, don't ask,
      I'd rather not deal with it in my game) may be born in Japan, but
      they still all count as non-Japanese.

      Foreigners can look any way they want.  Native Japanese are ALWAYS
      recognizable as such, and a non-Asian foreigners are ALWAYS
      recognized as being foreign.  Foreigners of Asian descent may
      blend in, but it will eventually become evident just where you
      originated.  If the players have any doubt at the beginning, I
      will clarify things immediately.  ("No, the green haired girl in
      your class is NOT a foreigner.  And she doesn't have horns,
      either.")

   AGE:
      I messed up ages and years badly in the last game.

      Japanese high schools run for three years, equivalent to our soph
      through senior years.  The years are called 1st year, 2nd year, and
      3rd year, and you should refer to them as such; I will.

      In Japan, when you are born, you're are considered 1 year old.  On
      your first birthday after your actual birth, you turn 2.  So
      Japanese ages reckoned as one year ahead of the West.

      Ranma and Akane are 16 years old, or 15 in Western terms.  They're
      also first year students, so by extrapolation:

         1st year (soph) = 16 (15 Western)
         2nd year (jr)   = 17 (16 Western)
         3nd year (sr)   = 18 (17 Western)

      So you all should be 16 as of the beginning of the school year, on
      the first school day in April.  Try to keep this straight.  To avoid
      confusion, all ages I mention will be by Japanese reckoning unless
      otherwise noted.

   HEIGHT:
      Japanese people are short.  How short?  Well, the national average
      for men is around 163 cm (5'4") and the women are under 152 cm
      (5'0").  Naturally, as teens you haven't gotten your full growth
      yet, so the average for boys will be around 152 cm (5'0"), girls
      147 cm (4'10") or so.  (Girls get their full height faster than
      boys.)  You should scale your character accordingly.

   METRIC VS. IMPERIAL:
      Japan used to use sun and kan like we use inches and pounds, among
      other units.  Fortunately, Japan adopted the metric system in
      1924, which has been strictly enforced for official use since
      1966.  Conveniently, the Champions also use meters and kilograms.
      So, for your future reference:

         Metric   Imperial             Imperial  Metric
         1 cm  ~= 0.4 in.              1 in.  ~= 2.5 cm
         1 m   ~= 3.3 ft. = 1.1 yd.    1 ft.  ~= 0.3 m
         1 kg  ~= 2.2 lbs.             1 lib. ~= 454 g ~= 0.45 kg

      To make things easier for both of us, it would help if you listed
      your height and weight in both metric and Imperial units.

If we get into a formal combat, it'll be role-played over the MUDs, and
the full scale rules will be used.

Character depth counts more than everything else combined.  Concentrate
on your character's likes, dislikes, quirks, and habits.  You don't have
to take up martial arts or a curse just to have them.

You should have a pretty good idea of what types of characters I'm looking
for these days, but just in case you're wondering about what I'm looking for
in a 'typical' PC or NPC, I'll give an example of each.  (Note: For my PC
example, I updated one of the alternates from the original game, Koie
Shizenobi.)

Name: Koie Shizenobi
Age: 16 (15 Western)
Sex: Female
Height: 147 cm (4'10")          Hair: Black, down to waist
Weight: 43 kg (95 lbs.)         Eyes: Gray

Characteristics                              Rolls
---------------                              -----
       Primary         base max rate  cost   [9+(characteristic/5)]
     7 STRength       | 10   20 @  1 |  -3   STRength     11-
    16 DEXterity      | 10   20 @  3 |  18   DEXterity    12-
    13 CONstitution   | 10   20 @  2 |   6
     7 BODY           | 10   20 @  2 |  -6   PERception   11- [INT]
     8 INTelligence   | 10   20 @  1 |  -2   INTelligence 11-
     8 EGO            | 10   20 @  2 |  -4   EGO          11-
     8 PREsence       | 10   20 @  1 |  -4   PREsence     11-
    14 COMeliness     | 10   20 @1/2 |   2
       Figured         ----          |
     2 Physical Defense  2 |  8 @  1 |   0 [STR/5]
     3 Energy Defense    3 |  8 @  1 |   0 [CON/5]
     3 SPeeD           2.8 |  4 @ 10 |   2 [DEX/10+1]
     5 RECovery          5 | 10 @  2 |   0 [STR/5+CON/5]
    26 ENDurance        26 | 10 @1/2 |   0 [CONx2]
    22 STUN             22 | 10 @  1 |   0 [BODY+STR/2+CON/2]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Characteristics total:                                           9

Skills
------
    Martial Arts Maneuvers: (Kung Fu-Wing Chun Style)
    maneuver         phase OCV DCV effect
    Martial Block     1/2  +2  +2  Block, abort                   4
    Martial Dodge     1/2  --  +5  Dodge, vs. all attacks, abort  4
    Legsweep          1/2  +2  -1  STR+1d6, strike; target falls  4
    Kick              1/2  -2  +1  STR+4d6, strike; 2d6+7 hit loc 4
    Punch             1/2  +0  +2  STR+2d6, strike; 2d6+1 hit loc 4
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Martial arts total:                                 24

    Combat Skill Levels
    +2 Range Skill Level: Needles                        3
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Combat skill levels total:                           3

    Basic Skills
12- Acrobatics                          [DEX]            3  DEX
12- Breakfall                           [DEX]            3- DEX
 8- Climbing                            [DEX]            -
 8- Concealment                         [INT]            -
 8- Conversation                        [PRE]            -
 8- Paramedic                           [INT]            -
 8- Shadowing                           [11-]            -
 8- Stealth                             [DEX]            -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Basic skills total:                                  6

    Knowledge Skills                    [INT, 11- for 2]
 8- KS: Exams                                            -
 8- KS: High school society & bureaucracy                -
11- KS: Chinese literature                               2
13- KS: Ancient Chinese culture                          4
12- KS: Buddhist monastery life                          3
 8- AK: China                                            -
 8- AK: Setagaya Ku                                      -
 8- AK: Greater Tokyo public transport                   -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    KS total:                                            9

    Professional Skills           [11- for 2]
15- PS: Flute                     [DEX]                  6- DEX+3
12- PS: Singing                   [PRE]                  3
    ------------------------------------------------------
    PS total:                                           12

    Languages                           [INT]
(4) Mandarin  (native)                                   -
(3) Japanese  (completely fluent, accent)                4
(1) English   (basic convo)                              -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Language total:                                      4

    Transport Familiarity               [8-]
    TF: Bicycle                                          -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    TF total:                                            -
------------------------------------------------------------------
Skills total:                                                   58

Perks
-----
    Middle class                                         -
------------------------------------------------------------------
Perks total:                                                     -

Talents
-------
13- Combat Sense, INT+2                                  5
------------------------------------------------------------------
Talents total:                                                   5

Powers
------
                   base max rate
Run       6"/12m  | 6"  10"   @2 |
Swim      2"/ 4m  | 2"   5"   @1 |
Jump      1"/ 2m  |[1"/5 STR] @1 | running
Jump up  .5"/ 1m  |              | up=jump/2

Missile Reflection, reflect thrown objects at attacker  25
Superleap 5"
   Requires Acrobatics skill roll       (-1/2)
      Total = 5 / 1.5 ~=                                 3
Flight 1"
   Only to balance on something
     that can support her weight        (-1/4)
   Requires Acrobatics skill roll       (-1/2)
      Total = 2 / 1.75 ~=                                1

Multiform, 1 form, Porcupine
   Trigger: cold water on/hot water off (+1/4)
   Independent                          (-2)
   No conscious control                 (-2)
   1 charge, recoverable                (-5/4)
      Bought by independent point source                 -
------------------------------------------------------------------
Powers total:                                                   29

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total points spent:                                                     101


Disadvantages
-------------
Enraged when insulted by etchi guys
   in 11-/out 14-                                        8
Psych: Afraid of being splashed by cold water
   (common, moderate)                                   10
Code: Protects animals
   (common, strong)                                     15
Rival: Martial artist who knocked her in the pool        5
Distinctive Feature: Chinese appearance
   (concealable, noticed and recognizable)              10
Distinctive Feature: Chinese accent
   (easily concealable, noticed and recognizable)        5
----------------------------------------------------------
Disads total:                                           53

Base points:                                            75
----------------------------------------------------------
Total points available:                                128

Name: Porcupine (PO-RU-KU-PA-I-NE)
(Note: No cost.  Points are totaled to make sure the cursed form
       would not cost more points than the uncursed form.)

Characteristics                              Rolls
---------------                              -----
       Primary         base max rate  cost   [9+(characteristic/5)]
 1/-20 STRength       | 10   20 @  1 | -30   STRength      9-
    13 DEXterity      | 10   20 @  3 |   9   DEXterity    12-
    10 CONstitution   | 10   20 @  2 |   0
     3 BODY           | 10   20 @  2 | -14   PERception   10- [INT]
     7 INTelligence   | 10   20 @  1 |  -3   INTelligence 10-
     8 EGO            | 10   20 @  2 |  -2   EGO          11-
     3 PREsence       | 10   20 @  1 |  -7   PREsence     10-
    12 COMeliness     | 10   20 @1/2 |   1
       Figured         ----          |
     1 Physical Defense  1 |  8 @  1 |   0 [STR/5]
     2 Energy Defense    2 |  8 @  1 |   0 [CON/5]
     3 SPeeD           2.3 |  4 @ 10 |   7 [DEX/10+1]
     2 RECovery          2 | 10 @  2 |   0 [STR/5+CON/5]
    20 ENDurance        20 | 10 @1/2 |   0 [CONx2]
     8 STUN              8 | 10 @  1 |   0 [BODY+STR/2+CON/2]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Characteristics total:                                         -39

Skills
------
    Martial Arts Maneuvers: (Porcupine Style)
    maneuver         phase OCV DCV effect
    Martial Dodge     1/2  --  +5  Dodge, vs. all attacks, abort  4
    Killing Strike    1/2  -2  +0  1/2 d6 HKA (2 DC)+v/5, strike  4
    Fast Strike       1/2  +2  +0  STR+2d6, strike                4
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Martial arts total:                                 12

    Basic Skills
12- Acrobatics                          [DEX]            3  DEX
12- Breakfall                           [DEX]            3- DEX
15- Climbing                            [DEX]            9- DEX+3
 8- Concealment                         [INT]            -
 8- Shadowing                           [11-]            -
 8- Stealth                             [DEX]            -
11- Survival                            [11-]            3
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Basic skills total:                                 18
------------------------------------------------------------------
Skills total:                                                   30


Powers
------
                   base max rate
Run       2"/ 4m  | 6"  10"   @2 |                      -8
Swim      1"/ 2m  | 2"   5"   @1 |                      -1
Jump      4"/ 8m  |[1"/5 STR] @1 | running
Jump up   2"/ 4m  |              | up=jump/2
Note: Jump is at +40 STR for x1/16 mass

Shrinking, 20 levels            20
   0 END, Persistent                    (+1)
   Always on                            (-1/2)
      Total = 20 x 2 / 1.5 ~=                           27
Enchanced sense, smell                                   5
Armor (Quills), 4 rPD                                    6
Tunneling 1", 1 DEF                                      5
------------------------------------------------------------------
Powers total:                                                   34

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total points spent:                                                     27


Disad:
------
Phys: No fine manipulation
   (frequently, greatly impairing)                      15
Phys: Colorblind
   (infrequently, slightly impairing)                    5
Distinctive Feature: Mildly malodorous                   5
Hunted: Natural predators
   (as powerful, appear on 8-)                          10
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disads total:                                                   35

Base points:                                                    75
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total points available:                                                 110

Background
----------
Family relations: She was brought up by monks since she was 5 in a Buddhist
                 temple in North Western China in the mountainous areas.
                 There she was taught music and martial arts.  The monks at
                 the monastery had agreed reluctantly to care for her
                 upbringing when her parents died.  Her uncle in Japan (on
                 her mother's side) agreed to take care of her when she
                 reached 12.  At 12, whe was shipped off to Japan as a
                 porcupine to live with the Koie family.  At first baffled by
                 the instructions to pour hot water on the little well-behaved
                 ball of quills, Mrs Koie recieved a pleasant surprise when
                 she attempted to wash the little ball in hot water in
                 preparation to donate it to the Tokyo Zoo.  In Tokyo,
                 Shizenobi now learned the attributes of being a girl in
                 Japan going to high school.

        Jusenkyou:  Unfortunately while she was training in China, guess what.
                You got it, the famous pools.  She fell a very strange pool...
                Now when cold water is splashed on her, she turns into a cute 6
                pound porcupine, with some very VERY long quills.  The monks
                were not amused at attempting to train a porcupine when it
                rained, but did enjoy the opportunity.  Show-zen-chiow was
                what they called her (that's small needle ball).  As a result,
                she became very good at throwing long slender needles, often
                passing letters written on light cloth to the Abbot by
                throwing them from trees 30 meters through the Abbot's window
                to a wooden support beam no farther than 15 cm from where
                the Abott sat.  Though he was not amused at first, the
                Abbot and Shizenobi established a semi-long distant means
                of communication by catching the thrown needles, removing the
                message with one stroke and then throwing the needles back
                at the sender for the sender to catch.

Skills:

        Martial Arts: A variey of attack and defense techniques.
                Porcupine Style is her favorite, a technique that was
                improvised for her as a style for all seasons by her teachers
                in NW China. She was also trained by the monks at blindfolded
                combat, training her ears to read sounds as her eyes read
                light, so that she could fight at night in pitch black if
                she was attacked by road bandits.

        Hobbies: Loves to play the flute.  Her favorite hobby in China was
                got to the nearby forest stream, climb on a high rock and play
                as the sun set.  She also enjoys martial arts because "it
                helps me think about life."  She goes to martial arts practice
                whenever she can after classes.  When asked what style of
                martial arts is her favorite, she replies "porcupine style"
                to the bewilderment of her friends learning karate and judo.

        Personality:  She's very polite, naive in some ways (she's only been
                in Japan for 4 years), moderately shy (she's never seen
                so many poeple, particularly people HER age), and very
                patient, an attribute she learned from the monks.  This later
                attribute gives her an aura of elegance as she goes about her
                daily chores since she almost never seems to be rushed.
                Her calmness at times drives her friends crazy, but they
                usually laugh it all out later.  Shizenobi thinks very little
                of city guys who pride themselves on what she considers the
                "useless trivialities" of other guys who hit balls with
                pieces of wood.  She absolutely loves nature and small animals.
                In China, one of her closest friends was a little squirrel
                she called "little ball of fur".  To her, all animals are
                really people in their animal form and so she gives animals
                lots of love, since that's the way she would like to be
                treated.  She believes people who are cats are the luckiest
                since they get to live in houses and seem to lounge around
                all day, and here she has to be a human to live in a house
                and she's got to work real hard.  Her dream is to be fully
                human (as opposed to part porcupine), and so waits for the
                day when she will stay human when cold water is splashed on
                her.  This is what the monks told her.  (Well, you couldn't
                very well tell a cute little girl that she's cursed for the
                rest of her life could you?)  She believes little kids who
                don't change in cold water are cursed since they don't
                have a choice.  She is absolutley afraid of, not water, but
                changing in deep water. She tells her friends who go swimming
                and want her to come along that "porcupines don't swim very
                well and neither can I" and refuses to go anywhere near a
                large deep body of cold water.  (She has however thought
                about going swimming if it is guaranteed that the pool is
                heated and the showers have hot water (you might say she ain't
                taking any chances)).
                The types of guys she likes are guys like...Tofu-sensei.  She
                absolutely hates the Kunou and Ryoga types since their types
                are "rash, brainless, and too willing to use force to massage
                their ego."  Yes, she doesn't like their types.
                She has a very nasty temper when you get her mad, but it
                usually takes a lot to set her off.  Her patience is much
                shorter with Kunou and Ryoga types, than it is with other
                people.  Generally, her patience is longer with girls than
                it is with guys, because she hasn't seen too many girls
                at all or knows what they're talking about most of the time.
                When she was learning Japanese, she used the masculine
                forms, since she's learned from males all her life, it wasn't
                all that unexpected that she should learn from her uncle, so
                she thought.  Her auntie had to teach her the appropriate
                feminine forms, but in her speech, she still sometimes uses
                "watashi" instead of atashi and a few others, when she
                refers to herself.  She feels most at home with other girls
                who know and enjoy martial arts.

Appearance:     She is rather attractive, definitely very cute.  She's very
                soft spoken and usually doesn't talk very much.  She talks
                softly a lot to herself and small animals.  She's trusted
                for her honesty and absolutely abhors violence as a means of
                settling a dispute.  Because of this, she is well known
                among her friends for breaking up fights before they resort
                to blows, by interposing herself between the 2 combatants,
                using force if necessary to prevent one side from hurting the
                other.  She has long black hair running down her back to her
                waist and has grey eyes.

                She sometimes wears her hair up secured in place by 5 or 6
                5 " needles (all acting as one).  When she's not wearing them
                in her hair, the needles are pinned to her purse. Usually, she
                sticks the needles so that they on the outside of her purse,
                each needle parallel to each other in fingers reach of her
                hand for easy accessibility.

Wardrobe:       School attire is fixed, no choice there.

                Out of school, she doesn't like to wear dresses.  She likes
                wearing Chinese clothing (the kind Ranma wears) usually
                white (white being her favorite color).  She likes her clothes
                simple and light, but non-revealing (monks pounded that into
                her).  On more appropriate occasions she wears blue jeans
                and usually a t-shirt or a simple blouse for occasions that
                require a little bit more formality.

Locomotion:     She likes to walk to school to enjoy the scenery and to look
                at the little birds and animals and flowers that most people
                ignore on their way to school.  This is not to say she's
                outwardly a nature freak, just outwardly a little more
                concerned with nature than most other people.

Daily ritual:   Everyday as the sun sets, in her room, or in the park, or
                wherever she may be to view the sun set, she plays her flute,
                usually playing the same sad songs she learned in China,
                stopping only when the last finger of light disappears from
                the horizon.

Name: Ozama Takuji (NPC)
Age: 16 (15 Western)
Sex: Male
Height: 157 cm (5'2")           Hair: Black
Weight: 54.5 kg (120 lbs.)      Eyes: Blue

Characteristics                              Rolls
---------------                              -----
       Primary         base max rate  cost   [9+(characteristic/5)]
    10 STRength       | 10   20 @  1 |   0   STRength     11-
    14 DEXterity      | 10   20 @  3 |  12   DEXterity    12-
    13 CONstitution   | 10   20 @  2 |   6
    10 BODY           | 10   20 @  2 |   0   PERception   10- [INT]
     7 INTelligence   | 10   20 @  1 |  -3   INTelligence 10-
     7 EGO            | 10   20 @  2 |  -6   EGO          10-
    13 PREsence       | 10   20 @  1 |   6   PREsence     10-
     8 COMeliness     | 10   20 @1/2 |  -1
       Figured         ----          |
     2 Physical Defense  2 |  8 @  1 |   0 [STR/5]
     3 Energy Defense    3 |  8 @  1 |   0 [CON/5]
     3 SPeeD           2.4 |  4 @ 10 |   6 [DEX/10+1]
     5 RECovery          5 | 10 @  2 |   0 [STR/5+CON/5]
    26 ENDurance        26 | 10 @1/2 |   0 [CONx2]
    21 STUN             21 | 10 @  1 |   0 [BODY+STR/2+CON/2]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Characteristics total:                                          23

Base OCV: 5
Base DCV: 5

Skills
------
    Martial Arts Maneuvers: (Karate)
    maneuver         phase OCV DCV effect
    Block             1/2  +2  +2  Block, abort          4
    Punch, Snap Kick  1/2  +0  +2  STR+2d6, strike       4
    Knifehand Strike  1/2  -2  +2  1/2 d6 HKA (2DC)      4
    Side or Spin Kick 1/2  -2  +1  STR+4d6, strike       5
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Martial arts total:                                 17

    Combat Skill Levels
    +2 Combat Skill Level with hand-to-hand             10
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Combat skill levels total:                          10

    Skill Levels
    +1 Overall skill level                              10
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Skill levels total:                                 10

    Basic Skills
12- Acrobatics                          [DEX]            3  DEX
12- Breakfall                           [DEX]            3- DEX
10- Bribery                             [PRE]            3  PRE
10- Bugging                             [INT]            3  INT
12- Climbing                            [DEX]            3- DEX
12- Combat Driving: Bicycle             [DEX]            3  DEX
 8- Concealment                         [INT]            -
 8- Conversation                        [PRE]            -
11- Gambling                            [11-]            3
10- Interrogation                       [PRE]            3  PRE
 8- Paramedic                           [INT]            -
 8- Shadowing                           [11-]            -
12- Stealth                             [DEX]            3- DEX
10- Streetwise                          [PRE]            3  PRE
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Basic skills total:                                 30

    Knowledge Skills                    [INT, 11- for 2]
 8- KS: Exams                                            -
 8- KS: High school society & bureaucracy                -
 8- AK: Japan                                            -
 8- AK: Setagaya Ku                                      -
 8- AK: Greater Tokyo public transport                   -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    KS total:                                            9

    Professional Skills                 [11- for 2]
 8- PS: Piano                           [DEX]            -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    PS total:                                            -

    Languages                           [INT]
(4) Japanese  (native)                                   -
(1) English   (basic convo)                              -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    Language total:                                      -

    Transport Familiarity               [8-]
    TF: Bicycle                                          -
    ------------------------------------------------------
    TF total:                                            -

    Weapon Familiarity
    WF: Common melee weapons                             2
    WE: Staff                                            1
    ------------------------------------------------------
    WF total:                                            3
------------------------------------------------------------------
Skills total:                                                   79

Perks
-----
Contact: Rival gang             (help on 11-)            2
Favor: Rival gang               (help on 14-)            1
Contact: Low level Yakuza       (help on 8-)             1
Follwers: 4 gang members (10), at 75 base points (15)   25
Middle class                                             -
------------------------------------------------------------------
Perks total:                                                    29

Talents
-------
11- Find Weakness, group of attacks (karate)            20
    Defense Maneuver                                     5
------------------------------------------------------------------
Talents total:                                                  25

Powers
------
                   base max rate
Run       7"/14m  | 6"  10"   @2 |            2
Swim      2"/ 4m  | 2"   5"   @1 |
Jump      1"/ 2m  |[1"/5 STR] @1 | running
Jump up  .5"/ 1m  |              | up=jump/2

Superleap 5"
   Requires Acrobatics skill roll       (-1/2)
      Total = 5 / 1.5 ~=                                 3
------------------------------------------------------------------
Powers total:                                                    5

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total points spent:                                                     161


Disadvantages
-------------
Psych: Bully
   (very common, moderate)                              15
Reputation: flake (only at school)
   (sometimes recognized 8-)                             5
Rival: Random PC                                        15
Hunted: Rival gang
   (as powerful, appear on 11-, mildly punish)          10
Unluck, 1d6                                              5
Phobia: Cute fuzzy animals (stuffed or not)
   (very common, strong)                                20
DNPC: Little sister
   (slightly less powerful, appear on 8-)                5
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disads total:                                                   75

Base points:                                                    75
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total points available:                                                 150

Background
----------
Takuji's a pretty standard NPC villain type, not too powerful, but his gang
and contacts make him reasonably nasty, and if he gets a chance to use his
find weakness in combat he can be quite effective.  Takuji's a bully, but with
a rotten reputation as one (at the school).  Nobody really takes him seriously
other than his gang (and they're not exactly models of stability themselves).
This tends to really make him angry, and want to prove himself all the more.
His one claim to fame is a contact made with some local yakuza, but it's not
really much of a contact. They regard him as a possible goon a couple of years
down the line, and might give him a few tips every once in a while.

Takuji's main weakness is his little sister, who is in Junior High.  While she
rarely shows up, her influence in his life is the reason nobody takes him
seriously.  She's spent her whole life beating up on him, and his parents have
forbidden him to strike back, even though he could probably mop the floor.  A
decade of being constantly bombarded with stuffed animals, hard candy, and
"Hello Kitty" paraphernalia, he's a little touchy about the subject.  In fact,
he goes nuts when he's exposed to cute, fuzzy animals and other such things.
When his sister shows up he's even worse.  This caused him to lose his cool in
a major confrontation, and his subsequent loss of reputation.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime