Character: Jamal Jackson, Shaolin Brother X

A character for OWoD: Demon Hunter X, created by Thanatos02.

All of my characters follow the same basic rules, as noted here, though I don't expect anybody else to follow them. All of the characters are starting characters as outlined in the books. In generic books where a setting is assumed, I build a character that would fit in the setting. Where no setting is assumed, I build towards the contemporary era as the setting allows. In games that have no set point values or start character generation rules, I'll list specific guidelines built towards my assumptions of a 'beginning' or starting character.

My rules regarding fat-splats or series of games that utilize the same core mechanics is that when rules create suitably diverging types of characters, I'll construct one per setting I own. (For example, using Exalted, Dragon-Blooded and Solars are sufficiently different. In OMage, Order of Hermes and a Hollow One are not sufficiently different. In games with classes, different classes are not enough. They must essentially be different characters. Other people's opinions on what are different 'enough' really arn't my area of expertise. I build in good faith.)

In any event, should the character posted not be according to the assumed structure of the Challenge Wiki, it will be alter shortly, and was probably the result of a time crunch. Thanks! I hope you have as much fun with this as I did. ^_^

Campaign

Demon Hunter X is a weird splat, with its bad-ass mortal protagonists. By definition, mortals generally get their asses handed to them in a fairly significant way, but in the World of Darkness, there really are a host of extras, bennies, and mystical upgrades that really don't change the basic nature of a mortal character.

But, if you're not playing Strike Force Zero (which seems best for a group whose on board), you're in a weird spot. Shih are meant to go toe-to-toe with the supernatual, which means that I can see one being in a mixed group of right-minded kuei-jin, vampires, mages, or other splats. OTOH, they'd probably do fine in a group of their own, or combined with other higher-powered mortal subgroups such as those from the Sorcerer book, rogue ghouls, or Hunters Hunted.

Canonically, there was a Hunter that met up with a skeptical Shih in stateside, even.

Jamal was fun, and I gave him an assortment of weapons despite his low (non-existant) resource dots. I assume they were gifts or stolen at some point, either of which is easily imagineable. When I made him, I imagined a mixed group of mortals or supernaturals in Harlem playing an anime/blaxploitation flavor.

Character Stats

Name: Jamal Jackson, aka "The Shaolin Brother X"
Player: K Weston
Concept: Corruption-Hunting Samurai Brother
Nature: Caregiver
Demeanor: Bravo
Superior: Old Han

Attributes:
Strength: ***
Dexterity: ****
Stamina: ****

Intelligence: **
Wits: ****
Perception: ***

Charisma: **
Manipulation: *
Appearance: **

Skills:
Talents:
Alertness: ***
Athletics: ***
Brawl: ***
Dodge: ****
Empathy: *
Intimidation: ***
Streetwise: ***

Skills:
Firearms: **
Melee: ****
Martial Arts: ****
Stealth: **
Survival: **

Knowledges:
Linguistics: * (Cantonese)
Medicine: *
Occult: ****

Background:
Mentor: ***
Contacts: ***

Virtues:
Conscience: **
Self-Control: ****
Courage: ****

Qiao:
Qiao of Mo Kung: **
Qiao of I Shen: *
Qiao of Yu An: *

Yin Chi: 4
Yang Chi: 4
Willpower: 7
Humanity: 6
Techniques:
Chi Breaker
Prone Attacks
Hundred Star Shower

Equipment:
Katana!
Boot Knife
Throwing Stars
.45 Revolver
Pack of playing cards
Musashi's Book of Five Rings
Rumpled packed of cigerettes
Sweet jacket

Character Description

He's got a katana! Shit yeah! Trenchcoat-Katana guy is an RPG.net staple for WoD, but since he was actually trained in Japan, (Conceptually, anyhow. Feel free to make it a ram-dao or a long sword, or something.) and he sure as hell doesn't pack a trenchcoat.

Jamal Jackson is a combat character. I mean, that's it. Demon Hunter X is the White Wolf game of killing supernatural entities or ferreting out crime, but the beginning stat allocation pretty much makes sure that you're a combat badass of a certain magnitude. You're required to put 4 dots in Melee, but not in Subterfuge or whatever. So there you go. The dudes and ladies of Strike Force Zero is much more balanced, but my idea was blaxploitation kung-fu inspired by Afro Samurai and Shaft.

But he's got good Contacts, a fistful of Intimidate, and a good Streetwise score. He's rolling four dice, minimum, so that's ok I guess. Pair him up with a wise-cracking sidekick and a usually-offscreen computer hacker/nerd, and you're good to go.

Commentary

If wishes were exp., I'd have Firearms 4, Craft: Calligraphy 2, and one or two more Qiao. But I don't.

Compared to a lot of starting characters, Shih get a lot of bonus points, fantastic stats, and a huge spread of abilities. The book details Bridge after Bridge of neat Qiao for experianced Shih, but without a full 7 points from flaws, it's impossible to buy more than one extra one. You begin with 21 freebie points, but are obligated to spend at least 8 on four different skills required to be above rank 3 because of character creation rules. So while I'm cool with the extra points, I still feel like I'm being straight-jacketed.

Bonus neat fact, though. I checked, and the required expenditures are pretty forgiving because they're devided evenly between Talents and Skills such that you can make either of the primary and leave secondary for the other one while not damaging your left over freebie points.

Still, I would prefer a less narrow approach. Free techniques are ok, though.