Chapter 2 - Part 4 - Qualities And Drawbacks - Section N

## Nanjin Adept

8-POINT QUALITY

The Nanjin is a secret order of cave-dwelling monks from Pajaur, wherever that is. They have developed a
mystic method of "seeing with the heart," allowing their adepts to see without needing eyes. A Nanjin-trained
assassin plucks out his own eyes and relies exclusively on this mystical sense. But self-mutilation is not necessary.

A Nanjin Adept can sense his surroundings, making it impossible to blindside him. Your character is immune
to the effects of darkness or invisibility and gains a +2 to all Perception rolls (this is cumulative with any Acute
Senses bonuses). The Fast Reaction Time Quality is an added bonus (with no extra charge). Finally, the
Nanjin's supernatural abilities grant him +2 to close combat attacks and defenses. These benefits are only
applicable against living or moving foes.

When combined with the Physical Disability (Blindness) Drawback, a Nanjin-trained character can
"see" a monochromatic world around him with enough concentration (reading and close visual work is not possible). In a fast-paced combat situation, a nearby assailant who has no body temperature and does not
breathe or move is invisible to a blind Nanjin.

## Natural Armour

1-POINT PER LEVEL QUALITY

Some demons and other critters have really tough skin, as good as or better than a suit of armor. In some
cases, it is armor that has been mystically grafted onto their skin, which raises all sorts of personal hygiene
problems best not considered too deeply. Natural Armor subtracts its value from any damage your character takes (just like regular armor. The damage is reduced before any modifiers (for Slash/stab or Bullet weapons for example) are taken into account. Natural Armor 10, for example, would subtract ten points of damage from every attack that hits.

## Natural Toughness

2-POINT QUALITY

Your character is seriously thick skinned (and we're not talking emotions here). He has four points of Armor Value against blunt attacks, such as fists, steel rebars, sideswiping vehicles, and the like. Bullets and slashing attacks are unaffected. This Quality is common among professional boxers, bouncers, and bodyguards.

### Melee

This covers your basic razor-sharp claws, big nasty teeth, horns (real goring horns, not the namby-pamby knobs at the top of Lorne's head), steel bands that wrap around hands, and other (un)natural weapons. The
more deadly the implement, the more it costs. Those given below assume that the weapon causes Slash/stab
damage. If it causes Bash damage instead, lower the cost by one. If the weapon is retractable, a one-point
kicker is added to the cost.

The total multiplier on the natural weapon may not be greater than the character's Strength or Constitution. A
monster with a Strength of five and Constitution of four cannot have a natural weapon greater than 4 x Strength damage. Making the claw, spike, talon, horn, or other implement of destruction retractable means easier blending for those who can pass for human. Otherwise, it's just cool among the monster set.

Delivering damage with a natural weapon requires a Combat Maneuver that brings it into play. A claw would use Punch, a horn Head Butt, and a serrated shin Kick.

Small: One point; 2 x Strength damage.

Medium: Two points; 3 x Strength damage.

Large: Three points; 4 x Strength damage.

Extra-Large: Four points; 5 x Strength damage.

### Ranged

If the weapon is detachable (and throwable) or launchable instead, double its cost. These missiles have normal thrown or pistol ranges depending on how they are used. If they can reach out and touch someone like a rifle, the damage is halved (before armor or damage modifiers).

The total multiplier on the natural weapon may not be greater than the character's Strength or Constitution. A
monster with a Strength of five and Constitution of four cannot have a natural weapon greater than 4 x Strength damage. Making the claw, spike, talon, horn, or other implement of destruction retractable means easier blending for those who can pass for human. Otherwise, it's just cool among the monster set.

## Nerd

3-POINT QUALITY

Your character is one of the smart, maybe brilliant types, more comfortable with a book or a computer than
with other people. Nerds don’t have many friends (except maybe online), but hey, in a few years they will make their first million bucks and will be able to buy new friends. Nerds gain +1 to any two mental Attributes, to a maximum level of six (bonuses cannot be stacked on one Attribute); +2 skill levels to be added to any one of the following: Computers, Knowledge, or Science; -1 penalty in any roll involving social situations (due to either prejudice against them, or their own social ineptitude). These characters are prime candidates for the Emotional Problems or Misfit/Outcast Drawbacks.

## Nerves Of Steel

3-POINT QUALITY

A character is almost impossible to scare. Whether too dumb or too tough is open to question, but she remains unruffled even in the face of unspeakable horrors. This is key in keeping dry cleaning bills down. She is immune to fear except when confronting the strangest supernatural manifestations, and gains a +4 bonus to rolls even then.

## Nosy Reporter

5-POINT QUALITY

The Truth is out there, and if your Cast Member has his way, it's going to be on the eleven o'clock news. Your character has an uncanny ability to pry into other people's business and make it public knowledge. It doesn't make him many friends, but he gets his name in the papers a lot. If course, reporters in a world filled with skeletons and deadites soon discover the world is a very dark and complex place, and that most newspapers and TV stations cannot handle the truth. Might be time to open a rogue website and spread the news yourself.

Nosy Reporters get a +1 to both Intelligence and Perception, +1 to the Notice skill, and a +1 to a skill related to their field (crime reporters get, duh, Crime, while a political beat type raises his Knowledge Skill). Your Kolchak also gets two points worth of Contacts to represent assorted sources of information.

On the minus side, these characters cannot restrain their innate inquisitiveness, and they almost always end up in trouble. Whenever your character tries to resist his curiosity (deciding that, for example, meeting alone with an unknown source at midnight in the cemetery might not be a good idea), he must make a Willpower (doubled) roll.