Solomon
Kane, Puritan Wanderer (Literature) ◊ Power Level — 8
Somber,
Gloomy, and Pale of Face
“He never sought to analyze his motives
and he never wavered, once his mind was made up. Though he always acted on
impulse, he firmly believed that all his actions were governed by cold and
logical reasonings. He was a man born out of his time — a strange blending of
Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a
touch of the pagan, though the last assertion would have shocked him
unspeakably. An atavist of the days of blind chivalry he was, a knight errant
in the somber clothes of the fanatic. A hunger in his soul drove him on and on,
an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things, avenge all crimes
against right and justice. Wayward and restless as the wind, he was consistent
in only one respect — he was true to his ideals of justice and right. Such was
Solomon Kane.”
2
2
3
4
3
6
2
3
Defense
Offense
Initiative +6
Dirk +9 (Dangerous 1, Damage 5)
Musket +6 (unreliable Damage 5)
Ranged +4
Rapier +9 (Dangerous 2, Damage 6)
Snaphaunce Pistol +6 (unreliable Damage 4)
Unarmed +6 (Damage 4)
Acrobatics 1 (+3), Athletics 4 (+8), Close Combat: Blades 3 (+9), Expertise: Theology 5 (+7), Insight 3 (+6), Intimidation 4 (+7/+16**), Investigation 4 (+6), Perception 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Flintlock Firearms 4 (+6)
*+4 With
**With Wages of Sin
Benefit: Ambidexterity, Defensive Roll 1, Equipment 4, Fearless, Improved Initiative 1, Quick Draw, Startle, Uncanny Dodge
Equipment
Dirk
Rapier
Musket
Snaphaunce Pistols (2)
◊Saxon Savagery: Enhanced Advantages 6, +linked, -uncontrolled; Enhanced Stamina 1+linked,-uncontrolled; Enhanced Strength 1 +linked,
-uncontrolled — 5 points
◊Staff of Solomon: +indestructible -removable; Damage 2 +affects insubstantial, +bane, +Strength-based; Senses 1 — 5 points
Complications
Kane is motivated by his desire to mete out justice and to combat mortal and
supernatural evils in the name of his faith
Character Points Abilities 50 + Powers 67 + Advantages 11 + Skills 16 + Defenses
10 = Total 154
Earnest Entreatment
◊Descriptors – divine, good,
variable
◊Effect – Variable 3 • 18 points
Earnest Entreatment (Variable)
◊Modifiers – uncontrolled: -1/rank
◊Action – standard
◊Requirements – celibacy; pursuit
of simplified religious doctrine and worship; strict religious discipline
◊Range – Personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – Kane may gain traits
suitable to overcoming supernatural foes
Description
“God of Hosts," Kane muttered, "grant me aid! My hand it is
which must lift the ancient curse from this dark land.”
By invoking his faith in God, Kane
can gain any trait needed to overcome a supernatural foes. Kane has no direct
control over this power; he can ask for divine guidance but it may not be
granted him.
When aid is granted, Kane gains 15
points in traits designed to target the weaknesses of supernatural antagonists
and protect him from their strengths.
Kane must remain celibate and
practice his Protestant faith to use this ability.
Implacable
◊Descriptors – talent
Gaping Maw (Enhanced Traits 4 and
linked Immunity 5)
◊Modifiers – linked: +0/rank; sustained
+0/rank (Immunity)
◊Action – free
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – +4 bonus to Will;
immune to interaction skills
Description
“Tell me more of these devils, for by the God of my people, this deed
shall not go unavenged, though Satan himself bar my way.”
—Solomon Kane
Kane’s fanaticism grants him
improved mental fortitude and resistance to temptation. He gains a +4 bonus to
his Will defense and Immunity to interaction skills.
Lonely Vigil
◊Descriptors – mental,
preternatural
Lonely Vigil (radius Supernatural
Awareness which penetrates concealment)
◊Modifiers – unreliable: -1/rank
◊Action – none
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – permanent
◊Results – Kane may be able to
sense the presence of effects with the supernatural descriptor
Description
A cold hand touched the spine of Solomon Kane. Whether the sounds
registered on his conscious ear or on some un-sounded deep of soul or
sub-feeling, he could not tell, but he knew that somewhere within his
consciousness there reechoed the tramp of monstrous feet from within that
ghastly mausoleum.
After acquiring the Staff of
Solomon from his blood-brother N’Longa, Kane develops the ability to sense when
supernatural forces are at work nearby. When any effect with the supernatural
descriptor is nearby, the gamemaster secretly rolls to determine if Kane’s
awareness is sensitive to it. On an 11 or higher, Kane is entitled to a
Perception check to notice it. Kane’s awareness functions in all directions and
penetrates all barriers (although effects like Concealment can counter it normally).
Note: Kane possesses this ability as a result of his connection to the Staff
of Solomon, however it need not be on his person for him to use it.
Menace made Manifest
◊Descriptors – fear, talent
◊Modifiers – linked: +0/rank,
sustained: +0/rank
◊Action – free
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – Kane gains a +4 bonus
to Dodge defense and Toughness
Description
“I am thinking that I would trade my soul's salvation to face you and
your sword, alone and unarmed, and to tear the heart from your breast with my
naked fingers.”
—Solomon Kane
Kane is surrounded by a palpable
aura of menace which gives pause to his enemies. Kane has a +4 bonus to his
Dodge defense and Protection 4.
Saxon Savagery
◊Descriptors – ancestral, rage,
talent
◊Effect – linked Enhanced Advantages 6, Enhanced
Stamina 1, and Enhanced Strength
1 • 5 points
Saxon Savagery (uncontrolled,
linked Enhanced Traits)
◊Modifiers – linked: +0/rank,
uncontrolled: -1/rank
◊Action – free
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – Kane gains combat
feats, +1 Stamina and +1 Strength when outraged by evil or injustice
Description
He saw only a huddled cluster of grisly shapes that sucked and tore at
something between them. And Kane went mad. With a scream that cut through the inferno
he bounded up, slaying even as he rose. Even in the act of lunging up from bent
knee he drew and thrust, transfixing a vulture-like throat. Then whipping out
his rapier as the thing floundered and twitched in its death struggle, the
raging Puritan charged.
Although inherently kind and in
possession of remarkable self restraint, the sight of great evils or injustice
(for example the cruelties of slavery) ignite within Kane an uncontrollable
fury. At such times he gains Enhanced Stamina 1, Enhanced Strength 1 and the
following advantages: All-Out
Attack, Instant Up, Move-By Action, Power Attack, and Takedown 2.
These traits last until his rage
passes or the object(s) of his outrage have been destroyed or properly humbled.
Somber Stare
◊Descriptors – fear, talent,
visual
Somber Stare (selective, perception
area, subtle Affliction 8 limited to one subject with check required)
◊Modifiers – area: +1/rank, check
required: -1 flat point, limited: -1/rank, selective: +1/rank,subtle: 1 flat
point
◊Action – Standard
◊Requirement – Intimidation check
◊Area – one subject able to
perceive Kane with a visual sense
◊Duration – Instant
◊Results – one target impaired
(one degree), disabled (two degrees), or paralyzed (three or more degrees)
◊Resist – Dodge and Will
◊Overcome – Will
Description
Yet the sombre expression of Solomon Kane never altered, and his
condor-like stare seemed to transfix the miser.
With his steely gaze fixed, Kane
can cow the will of lesser men. Kane must succeed an Intimidation check (DC 11)
as a standard action. The target of Kane’s gaze then attempts a Dodge
resistance check with a DC equal to Kane’s check result (up to 18) to shy away
from this grim glare. If this check fails, the subject must attempt a Will
resistance check (with the same difficulty) or become impaired from mortal
terror. If the check fails by two degrees, the subject is disabled, or paralyzed
with three or more degrees of failure.
The effects of Kane’s Somber Stare
are only noticed with a DC 20 Perception check.
Staff of Solomon
◊Descriptors – magic,
preternatural
◊Effect – Array: Create Supernatural
Barrier or Damage 2; Detect Magic; Mystical Sending • 21 points
The Staff of Solomon (Strength-based
Damage 2 with affects Insubstantial and Bane 2; Communication 3; Create; Senses 1)
◊Modifiers – alternate effect: 1
flat point, indestructible: 1 flat point, removable: -5 flat points (Staff of
Solomon); check required: -7 flat points, continuous: +1/rank, impervious:
+1/rank, quirk: -1 flat point, stationary: +0/rank, subtle: 2 flat points, proportional:
-1/rank, reduced range:-1/rank (Create); bane 2: 1 flat point, affects
Insubstantial: 2 flat points, Strength-based: +0/rank (Damage); check required:
-5 flat points (Communication)
◊Action – Standard (Create and
Damage), free (Communication), or none (Senses)
◊Area/Range – close (Create and
Damage), by rank (Communication), or personal (Senses)
◊Duration – instant (Create and
Damage), sustained (Communication), or permanent (Senses)
◊Results – varies by power (see
text)
Description
“I see naught but a staff — sharp-pointed and with the head of a cat on
the other end — a staff with strange infidel carvings upon it.”
—Hassim
The Staff of Solomon is a mystical
artifact crafted in a time before the world that is out of a wooden material
not of this Earth. It bears the cat-head of Bast and ancient hieroglyphics
which were added only recently in its time. Occultists and mystics easily
recognize it as an object of preternatural might with unyielding influence over
the strange things which creep within the darker corners of the world. It is
believed to be have been wielded by Moses to work wonders before the Pharaoh. Yussef the Hadji recognized it
as the scepter of the Israelites referred to in Numbers 24:17 and as King Sulieman’s
weapon of rebuke in his conquest of the djinn and other supernatural evils.
This mighty artifact provides
access to the following powers which are doubtlessly but a small portion of its
capabilities:
◊Supernatural Rebuke 5
Lifting the ancient staff, struck with all his power into the centre of
the Horror. And he felt an unnameable, immaterial substance meet and give way
before the falling staff.
The Staff of Solomon can be
wielded as a weapon and is particularly effective against supernatural foes.
Against such entities it has a Strength-based Damage rank of 4 and affects such
beings even if they are insubstantial. The staff can deal bludgeoning or
piercing damage when wielded against supernatural creatures.
When used to strike any other
creature, the Staff of Solomon is merely a particularly well-balanced and
durable staff; it is Strength-based Damage 2 and can only deal bludgeoning damage.
◊Mystical Sending 7
“When you want me lay this on your breast, fold your hands on it and
sleep. I come to you in your dreams.”
—N'Longa
The possessor of the Staff of
Solomon can use a form of mystical communication to contact intelligent beings possessing
magical sensitivity (Detect Magic; see Senses). The staff’s possessor must
succeed an Expertise: Magic check (DC 15) to perform the sending. This is a
free action, but can only be performed once per round. The Mystical Sending
effect rank is equal to the wielder’s check result minus 15 (up 3).
◊Mystical Sensitivity 1
To his slumbering self it seemed that he walked through a thick fog and
in this fog he met N'Longa, true to life. N'Longa spoke, and the words were
clear and vivid, impressing themselves on his consciousness so deeply as to
span the gap between sleeping and waking.
The possessor of the Staff of
Solomon has a mystical sixth sense. It has no range, limiting detection of
magical effects to interactions with the Insight skill and awareness of magics targeting
the staff’s possessor.
◊Warding 17
“No dead man come now.”
—N'Longa
As a standard action, the wielder
of the Staff of Solomon can attempt to create a transparent Warding barrier
against supernatural beings. The wielder must succeed an Expertise: Magic check
(DC 17) to form the barrier. The Warding effect rank is equal to the wielder’s
check result minus 17 (up the wielder’s power level). The barrier is stationary
and fills an area centered on the staff. Beings or effects with the
supernatural descriptor (whether corporeal or incorporeal) cannot cross the
barrier, but other creatures or objects are unimpeded. The barrier remains
until destroyed, nullified or dismissed.
The sum of the barrier’s volume
and Toughness rank must be equal to or less than the Warding effect rank. With
an effect rank of 8, the barrier’s proportions can range anywhere between 30
cubic feet with a Toughness of 8 to 250 cubic feet with a Toughness of 0 (see Ranks and
Measures for
more about volume rank). The barrier’s Toughness is impervious, making it
immune to Damage effects equal to or less than half of its Toughness rank.
Notes:
•The Staff of Solomon’s vast power
is calculated according to an assumed series power level of 8, however its true
power is limited only by the occult skills of its wielder. If the wielder is
sufficiently skilled, the effect ranks and point cost for them should be
adjusted upwards. In addition, some wielders (such as N’Longa) are capable of
additional feats. Most of these can be considered a temporary alternate effect
gained by spending a Victory Point.
•Due to his lack of arcane
knowledge, Kane is effectively unable to use the Staff of Solomon’s Mystical
Sending and Warding powers. Therefore, the point cost associated with these
powers are not included in his character point summary. If he becomes
sufficiently capable to use these powers, he must purchase this ability with
character points accordingly.
Wages of Sin
◊Descriptors – talent
◊Modifiers – uncontrolled: -1/rank
◊Action – free
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – Kane gains a +9 bonus
to Intimidation checks targeting the guilty
Description
“Saints and devils!" raged the Wolf. "What does he look like,
this Kane?”
“Like—Satan—“
—Two dead men
Kane is a merciless judge of
sinners according to his Puritan values. When Kane knows the subject(s) sin,
the gamemaster should apply a +9 bonus to his Intimidation checks against them.
When using extra
effort or a victory point to perform a power stunt, Kane is most likely to use his Somber
Stare as the base power as it is the only offensive power under his control. He
is most likely to gain another offensive power or enhanced traits when
performing a power stunt. Any effect gained must cost 18 character points or
less and should have the talent descriptor.
Here are some examples:
Headlong Haste
◊Descriptors – talent
◊Effect – Enhanced Acrobatics 6; Enhanced Agility 3;
limited Enhanced Athletics 3 • 10 points
That Hated Light (Enhanced traits
9 and limited Enhanced Traits 3)
◊Modifiers – limited: -1/rank
(Enhanced Athletics)
◊Action – free
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – until the end of the
scene, Kane gains +6 to Acrobatics, +3 to Agility, and +3 to Athletics checks
made while running
Description
Kane, moving with the dynamic speed of a famished wolf, fired the second
pistol with as little effect, snatched his long rapier from its sheath and
thrust into the centre of the misty attacker.
Kane can drive himself to almost
superhuman haste when pressed. As a power stunt, he can gain +4 to Acrobatics,
and +3 to Agility. He also gains a +3 bonus to Athletics made to increase his
speed rank by running. These bonuses last until the end of the current scene or
until Kane is unable to sustain them.
Note: With Enhanced Agility, Kane’s Initiative bonus increases to +9 and his
Dodge defense increases by +3 as well.
Bifold Blades
◊Descriptors – talent, variable
Bifold Blades (multiattack, removable,
split Damage 7 with variable descriptors)
◊Modifiers – multiattack: +1/rank,
removable: - flat points, split 1: 1 flat point, variable: 2 flat points
◊Action – free
◊Requirements – two melee weapons
◊Range – personal
◊Duration – sustained
◊Results – Kane gains a close
Damage rank of 7 with multiattack and split while wielding two melee weapons
◊Resist – Toughness
Description
The flickering rapier parried the whistling scimitars and the Arab died
on its point, which seemed to hesitate in his heart only an instant before it
pierced the brain of a sword-wielding warrior. Another attacker dropped his
sword and leaped in to grapple at close quarters. He was disembowelled by the
dirk in Kane's left hand, and the others gave back in sudden fear.
Kane can fight multiple foes with
whirling fury. As a power stunt, he can gain a Damage effect rank of 7 when
using two melee weapons in either hand. He can also split this Damage rank by
any amounts totaling 7 between two targets (6/1 or 4/3 for example) making a
single attack check and comparing the result against both target’s defenses.
In addition to being able to split,
the effect(s) can hit multiple targets or a single target multiple times with
the same standard action. If Kane’s Damage effect(s) target a single foe
and the attack succeeds by two degrees, the DC of the target’s resistance check
increases by +2. If Kane’s attack succeeds by three or more degrees it
increases by +5 instead. If Kane’s Damage effect(s) target multiple foes he
rolls one attack check against each target within a close arc around him with a
-1 penalty to the check per target.
This effect lasts until the end of
the current scene or until Kane loses one of his weapons.
Note: If Kane wields his customary
dirk and rapier for this effect, he uses his +9 Close Combat: Blades skill.
Otherwise, he uses his Fighting modifier of +6.
Shower of Lead
◊Descriptors – talent
◊Modifiers – accurate: 1 flat point,
diminished range: -2 flat points, limited multiattack: 4 flat points, partially
limited Damage: -1 flat point, ranged: +1/rank, quirk: -2 flat points,
unreliable: -1/rank
◊Action – standard
◊Requirements – two pistols
◊Range – 16 feet
◊Duration – instant
◊Results – Kane gains a ranged
Damage rank of 6; Damage rank increases to 8 against targets without Protection
◊Resist – Toughness
Description
Then he drew and fired with unerring aim and the monster veered wildly in
midair and came whirling and tumbling out of the sky to crash at his feet.
Kane can fire lead shot from both
of his heavy pistols to devastating effect. As a power stunt, he can gain a
Damage effect rank of 8 when firing one pistol in each hand. This attack is
accurate giving him +2 to his attack check, however the Damage effect is
partially limited; targets benefitting from a Protection effect resist against a Damage
rank of 6 instead.
Kane can hit multiple targets or a
single target multiple times with his Shower of Lead using the same standard
action. If Kane is firing on a single foe and the attack succeeds by two
degrees, the DC of the target’s resistance check increases by +2. If Kane’s
attack succeeds by three or more degrees it increases by +5 instead. Kane can
also target two foes who are close to one another. In this case, he rolls one
attack check against each target with a -1 penalty.
Notes:
•Due to the limited range of lead
shot, Kane can only attack at close range. He cannot fire effectively at
targets further than 16 feet away using Shower of Lead.
•Shower of Lead relies on Kane’s
pistols or similar weapons. He cannot use this power without two firearms and
the length of time required to load them usually means that it can only be used
once per scene.
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