EDIT x7: Finishing touches...
- Revised "Dim Mak" alternate effect to be in line with PL limits.
- Boosted Protection "Iron Shirt Chi Gung" to raise Toughness a little, since [MENTION=20711]hero4hire[/MENTION] mentioned our defenses being too low.
- Added "Breaking Blow" alternate effect to his Legendary Fist, removing Deception ranks to pay for 1 pt.
- Merged Movement and Leaping into same power "Grasshopper Step / Wire-Fu" for simplicity, and removing Dimensional & Water-walking effects, thus freeing up points.
- Removed Counter Illusions from Senses "Eyes of the Jade Dragon", re-investing those 2 pts into boosting Fortitude and Will defenses.
- Uploaded updated PDF character sheet.
[SBLOCK=Edit History]
EDIT x6: After reading the rules further – including
Power Profile: Martial Powers – I made a few changes:
- Simplified his Leaping power.
- Created a "Grasshopper Step" Movement power to portray classic Wuxia moves.
- Added Agile Feint advantage (and redirected some skill points from Deception into Acrobatics).
- Reduced Presence by 1 rank to pay for the difference.
- Added Features (esoteric style, hands as weapons) to Li Po's Legendary Fist power, reducing Penetrating to pay for them.
- Added Descriptors to his powers.
- Added comic book style logo thanks to [MENTION=6801242]GreenKarl[/MENTION]
EDIT x5: Overhauled "Dim Mak" Weakening power after advice from [MENTION=6810779]jonathonhawke[/MENTION].
EDIT x4: Revised the Deflect point-buy on "Heavenly White Tara's Mudra" with Limited flaw to reflect how kung-fu movie monks can deflect/redirect/reflect punches, kicks, thrown weapon, blowguns, and arrows – but not firearms or energy blasts.
EDIT x3: Turned out I was miscalculating how the Strength-based modifier to Damage works for point buy. Fixed now!
EDIT x2: Looks like I did the point-buy for his Abilities wrong.
It comes out to 60 instead of 50 like I'd thought. So I need to rework things substantially... Sigh. On the plus side I've found an
auto-calculating M&M3e editable PDF sheet! OK, all fixed now!
EDIT x1: I changed a few things around, most importantly:
- Differentiated my character from [MENTION=6801242]GreenKarl[/MENTION]'s Tarantula by selecting different Advantages, changing Dim Mak to be a Weaken effect (which AFAIK no one else has taken yet), and tweaking his Leaping power a whole lot.
- Incorporated [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION]'s advice about making the staff its own power.
- Changed his hero name to
Legendary Fist Mythic Fist Mystic Fist (thanks [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] 
)
[/SBLOCK]
Mystic Fist
Kevin Zhang is the 21st earthly incarnation of the legendary Li Po known also as the Immortal Grasshopper or the Mystic Fist. However, on the streets of Freedom City he sometimes goes by the name of Nightstick (his persona before gaining powers), or by less-than-sympathetic sensationalist magazines as the Kung-Fu Killer.
Totals: Abilities 54 + Defenses 19 + Skills 20 + Advantages (inc. Equipment) 15 + Powers 42 = 150
Abilities [54 pts]
STRENGTH 3
STAMINA 4
AGILITY 4
DEXTERITY 3
FIGHTING 5
INTELLECT 2
AWARENESS 4
PRESENCE 2
Defenses [19 pts]
Dodge 9
Toughness 8 (see Iron Shirt Chi Gung)
Parry 9
Fortitude 9
Will 9
Offenses
Initiative +8
Unarmed, powerless +10 (Close, Damage +3, Crit 20)
Bola +7 (Ranged, Snare 3)
Boomerang +7 (Ranged, Damage +4, Crit 20)
Legendary Fist +10 (Close, Damage +9 (STR), Crit 20, Multiattack, Penetrating 1)
Boot to the Head +14 and DC 11/16 Fortitude (Close, Damage +6 (STR) and Special, Crit 20, Split 1)
Breaking Blow objects only, +7 OR routine 17 and auto-crit on hit (Close, Damage +13 (STR), Penetrating 13)
Dim Mak requires grab, Fortitude DC 20 (Close, Special)
Nine Palms Diagram Dodge DC 16 (Close Area Burst 30’, Selective, Damage +6, half damage)
Forced Astral Projection Will DC 15 (Close, Special)
Frenzied Demon Staff +10 (Reach, Damage +10, Crit 20, Split 1)
Skills [20 pts]
Acrobatics (AGL) 5 (+9),
Athletics (STR) 3 (+6),
Close Combat (FGT) (Unarmed) 5 (+10),
Close Combat (FGT) (Bludgeoning) 5 (+10),
Expertise (INT) (Photography) 2 (+4),
Insight (AWE) 1 (+5),
Intimidation (PRE) 2 (+4),
Investigation (INT) 4 (+6),
Perception (AWE) 4 (+8),
Persuasion (PRE) 2 (+4),
Ranged Combat (DEX) (Throwing) 4 (+7),
Stealth (AGL) 1 (+5),
Vehicles (DEX) 2 (+5)
Advantages [15 pts]
Combat
Agile Feint – use Acrobatics bonus in place of Deception to feint and trick in combat
Improved Disarm – no penalty to attempt a disarm, and target doesn’t get opportunity attack
Improved Grab – grab and maintain grab with one arm & not vulnerable while grabbing
Improved Initiative [1] – gain +4 initiative
Improved Smash – no penalty to attack objects held by another creature
Move by Action – move both before and after your action
Redirect – if you trick an opponent using Deception, you can redirect a missed attack against you from that opponent to another target adjacent to you as a reaction
General
*Equipment [4] – gain 20 points of equipment
Instant Up – rise from prone as a free action
Trance – through a minute and DC 15 Awareness check, enter a death-like trance
Skill
Favored Foe (Martial Artists) – gain +2 Deception, Intimidation, Insight, and Perception vs.
Languages [1] – Tibetan (in addition to starting with English & Mandarin)
Powers [42 pts] (Origin – Chi/Mystical)
Eye of the Jade Tiger
Senses rank 2 (Danger Sense (sixth sense) 1 + Mystic/Chi Awareness (sixth sense) 1) + Modifier: Dimensional +1/rank [4 points]
Training, Chi/Mystical
- When you would be surprised, make a DC 10 (GM may raise) Perception check. One degree of success means you’re not surprised, but can’t act. Two or more degrees of success mean you’re not surprised and may act during the surprise round.
- Sense the use of Mystic/Chi effects at close range, even Subtle [1] ones, with a DC 10 (-1 per 10-feet) Perception check.
- Can sense into Mystic Dimensions.
Grasshopper Step / Wire-Fu
Leaping rank 1 + Movement rank 2 (Slow Fall, Trackless) + Flaws: Limited (solid surfaces) -1/rank, Tiring -1/rank [2 points]
Training, Chi/Mystical
- Leap 15 feet as a free action.
- By using Extra Effort or incurring a level of fatigue, you can use a free action to…
- Fall any distance without harm or arrest fall on a handhold, so long as you’re near a solid surface like a building.
- Cross over any solid surface without disturbing it or leaving a trace.
Iron Shirt Chi Gung
Protection rank 4 + Extra: Feature 1 [5 points]
Training, Chi/Mystical
- Gain +4 Toughness.
- The Feature allows him to root to the Earth, applying this +4 bonus to resist attempts to knock him down or forcibly move him.
Li Po's Legendary Fist
Damage rank 6 (Strength-based 9) + Extras: Alternate Effects +6, Features (esoteric style, hands as weapons) +2, Multiattack +1/rank, Penetrating +1 [24 points]
Training, Chi/Mystical
- Toughness DC #: -1 resistance / dazed & -1 resistance / staggered & -1 resistance / incapacitated.
- Multiattack vs. Single Target: for two degrees success resistance DC +2, for three or more +5.
- Multiattack vs. Multiple Targets: target up to 6 creatures, with corresponding penalty to each attack.
- Covering Attack: ally within sight (but not in close combat) receives benefits of Cover vs. enemies within line of sight and Close Range of you; enemy can ignore the cover but you gain a free attack against that enemy.
- Bypasses Impervious Resistance 7 or less.
- Esoteric Style: Only those familiar with Shambala Vale can recognize your martial arts style or use Assessment or Analyze Style on you.
- Hands as Weapons: In situations where being armed is important, you are always considered armed, even when you have no weapons in-hand.
- Switch between >>“styles” (Alternate Effects) 1/turn as a free action.
>>BOOT TO THE HEAD (Damage rank 3 (Strength-based 6) + Extras: Accurate +2, Split +1, Subtle +2 ##LINKED## Leaping rank 1 + Effects: Attack 0, Split +1 ##LINKED## Affliction rank 6 + Extras: Extra Condition +1/rank, Split +1 + Flaws: Limited Degree -1/rank) [17]
Training, Chi/Mystical, Esoteric Style (Tae Kwon Leap)
- May be used as a surprise attack completely undetectable to all but masters of Tae Kwon Leap.
- A target hit must make a DC 11 Fortitude check or be pushed up to 15 feet away, knocked Prone, and be Compelled to attack you. If the Fortitude check succeeds but doesn’t reach DC 16, the target is Dazed and Hindered instead.
- You may split the damage, push effect, and Affliction conditions between two targets as you wish.
>>BREAKING BLOW (Damage 10 (STR 13) + Extras: Penetrating 13 + Flaws: Affects Only Objects -1/rank, Inaccurate -1) [17]
Training, Chi/Mystical, Esoteric Style (Fa Jin One-Inch Punch)
- Toughness DC 28, bypasses Impervious 24 or less.
>>DIM MAK (Weaken rank 10 + Extras: Incurable +1, Progressive +2/rank, Reversible +1 + Flaws: Grab-based -1/rank, Side Effect -1/rank) [18]
Training, Chi/Mystical, Esoteric Style (Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique)
- You must successfully grab a creature before using Dim Mak, the effect occurring automatically as a Reaction.
- Target must make a DC 20 Fortitude check. On a failure, target loses ranks from Stamina equal to the difference between the check result and the DC divided by 2, up to a maximum of -5.
- If Stamina is reduced to -5, it is Debilitated, leaving target dying with -5 Fortitude vs. death.
- Dim Mak strikes are cumulative (max -5), cannot have its effects countered by another power without the Persistent modifier, and lost Stamina points recover naturally 1 point per turn.
- Progressive Weaken effect reduces Stamina each round until the target successfully resists. Make a new resistance check for the target at the end of each turn; failure weakens the target’s Stamina further, while success stops the Progressive Weaken.
- Side Effect: When Dim Mak is used in anger, dishonorably, or in any way the GM judges to be a “dark arts” application, you suffer a Complication (e.g. Disability, Power Loss, or Weakness).
>>REDIRECT ATTACKS (Deflect rank 9 + Extras: Reflect +1/rank, Redirect +1/rank + Flaws: Limited (melee/thrown/primitive projectiles only) -1/rank) [18]
Training, Chi/Mystical, Esoteric Style (Heavenly White Tara's Mudra)
- When taking the Defend action vs. melee or primitive projectile attacks targeting Dodge/Parry, you can use Deflect 9 in place of an active Defense for others as well as yourself (on a roll of 10 or less add 10).
- Reflect: You can reflect attacks back at the attacker as a free action. First, you must successfully deflect the attack, then make a normal attack check using your own attack modifier to hit with the reflected attack. It has its normal effect if it hits.
- Redirect: You can redirect attacks you successfully deflect at any target within the attack’s normal range, as Reflect, above. You must have the Reflect extra to take this one.
>>NINE PALMS DIAGRAM (Damage rank 6 + Extras: Burst Area +1/rank, Selective Attack +1/rank) [18]
Training, Chi/Mystical, Esoteric Style (Nine Palms Diagram)
- Close Area (30 feet), target whoever you want.
- Dodge DC 16 to “take half effect rank” (i.e. rank 3).
>>FORCED ASTRAL PROJECTION (Movement 5 ranks (Dimension Travel mystic 2, Permeate 3) + Extras: Affects Insubstantial +2, Affects Others +1/rank, Attack +0, Mystic Dimensional +2, Reach +1, Reversible +1) [16]
Training, Chi/Mystical, Esoteric Style (No-Touch Ghost Finger)
- Make an attack to touch a target at Reach, who gains a DC 15 Will resistance check. The target can be in this world, in a mystic dimension like Shambala Vale, or insubstantial. An affected target has an out-of-body experience (i.e. forced astral projection) corresponding with one of these effects:
- The target is shifted across dimensional boundaries (e.g. from a mystic dimension into the world or from the world to a mystic dimenion). If the entity is extradimensional in nature, this works like a banishment. Against creatures of the normal world, however, their body remains behind but cannot be targeted until they return to it – which happens automatically if someone tries to target them.
- The target is pushed through physical objects in a direction of your choosing, forcibly moved up to their speed, phasing through intervening objects as if insubstantial.
- The target receives a momentary vision of a mystic dimension as their soul leaves their body. The effects of this are left up to role-playing and the GM.
Grandfather of Flowers (Pei Min’s “Frenzied Demon Staff”)
Damage rank 10 + Extras: Reach +1, Split +1 + Flaws: Activation -1, Easily Removable -2 per 5 points, Quirk -2 [7 points]
Equipment, Magical
- The staff must be activated with a Move action, causing it to extend from both sides and causing the floral Tibetan runes engraved on its surface to glow a pale green.
- The spirit of Pei Min, a Tang Dynasty general known for his peerless swordplay, inhabits Fen Mo Gun (“Frenzied Demon Staff”) and may subtly influence you to fight on against overwhelming odds, to answer a slight to your honor with a duel, or to take other potentially brave but foolhardy action. The spirit of Pei Min can also increase the Damage rank (left up to GM), as well, potentially turning a blow intended to be non-lethal into a killing blow, but when this happens is entirely up to the GM.
- Additionally, possession of the staff is a status symbol that others from Shambala Vale may consider you to be unworthy of and seek to challenge you for possession of the staff.
*Equipment (20 pts)
Costume [2] (Comm-link, Night vision goggles)
Motorcycle [10] (
Kawasaki Ninja)
Utility Belt [8]
Audio recorder • 1 point.
Bolas: Snare 3 (Resisted by Dodge; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobilized) • 1 point.
Boomerangs: Ranged Damage 1, Strength-based • 1 point.
Camera • 1 point.
Flash-Bangs: Ranged Burst Area Dazzle 4 (Resisted by Fortitude; Vision Impaired, Vision Disabled, Vision Unaware). • 1 point.
Mini-tracer • 1 point.
Restraints • 1 point.
Smoke Pellets: Ranged Cloud Area Visual Concealment Attack • 1 point.
Background
...work in progress...
Complications
Motivation: Acceptance: Being trained in the Shambala Vale and awakened to mystical powers of Chi, Kevin feels alientated from those around him even when in the midst of the city he calls home. Finding a sense of belonging has been a struggle his entire life, only amplified by the traumatic training he underwent in Shambala. Moreover, he is struggling to clear his name of association with the “Kung-Fu Killer” that sensationalist journalists are running with, hoping to earn the acceptance of Freedom City as one of its heroes.
Motivation: Responsibility: Though the monks of Shambala Vale advocated withdrawing from the world, Kevin feels he has a responsibility to defend Freedom City from the ###evil ninja cult###. At the same time, he is torn by his responsibility to defend Shambala as keeper of the Grandfather of Flowers staff.
Bad Reputation: The so-called “Kung-Fu Killer” is wanted for questioning in a string of murders involving a vigilante master of martial arts. While Kevin probably is guilty of killing someone (see “Secret” below), the media and cops are going after the wrong guy, and he intends to clear his name.
Honor: The way of the peaceful warrior is bound to a code of honor. Never to kill except in a duel to the death or in self-defense. To cause harm only as a last resort. To announce oneself and martial lineage when facing an enemy for the first time.
Identity: Kevin once prowled the streets under the codename “Nightstick” as an independent photographer belonging to a citizen watchdog/witness group. Only his closest friends and family know he was “Nightstick” – an identity which earned him enmity among organized crime. However, since returning from Shambala Vale, no one knows his identity as the “Mystic Fist.”
Secret: Though the way of Shambala is not to kill except in the most extreme of circumstances, Kevin violated this precept when he became lost to a battle rage while wielding the Grandfather of Flowers staff…the details are foggy even to Kevin…but he fears that the bloody memories are of him killing someone who didn’t deserve to die…
Potential PC Connections
[MENTION=6810779]jonathonhawke[/MENTION] Prometheus (as detective Luke Papadopoulos) might be partnered with the crooked beat detective Jimmy Pham, my PC’s uncle?
[MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] Sandra's Grimoire may have once been kept in a library in Shambala Vale for safe-keeping... maybe there's information in there that my PC wants access to, and despite being tasked by mystics of Shambala with retrieving lost artifacts, he's more interested in other concerns pertaining to the campaign villain(s)? Or maybe you want to translate a certain magical passage only a "disciple of Shambala" can read?
[MENTION=6801242]GreenKarl[/MENTION] Tarantula’s eight-limbed nemesis the Widower might have been the NPC “killed” by my PC’s improper use of the Nine Palms Diagram or Dim Mak (see his "Secret" complication)…maybe accidentally struck during some kind of gang fight and fell into the same river that Tarantula fell into? Some kind of cosmic fate thing?
[MENTION=6855204]tglassy[/MENTION] Hawk might be a different breed of billionaire from his father, but that doesn’t mean that media didn’t thoroughly drag his name through the press in regards to that R&D accident which spewed toxic chemicals. What if my character was the photographer on a story that created a lot of bad press for Hawk, with behind-the-scenes photos my PC took illegally?
