Remo Williams, the Early Books

[OddHat]

A 250 point version of Remo, at a power level just around where he was in Books 1 to 3.

REMO WILLIAMS, THE DESTROYER - EARLY BOOKS

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

20 STR 10 13- Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2]

20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7

18 CON 16 13-

14 BODY 8 12-

13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-

13 EGO 6 12- ECV: 4

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

14 COM 2 12-

 

6/9 PD 2 Total: 6/9 PD (0/3 rPD)

6/9 ED 2 Total: 6/9 ED (0/3 rED)

4 SPD 10 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12

8 REC 0

36 END 0

33 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 99

 

Movement: Running: 6"/12"

Leaping: 4"/8"

Swimming: 2"/4"

 

Cost Powers END

Sinanju, Sun Source of the Martial Arts

6 1) Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)

Notes: Remo can take considerable punishment even in the first book.

10 2) Tapping to find the weak spot: Find Weakness 11- with With knife hand

Notes: This is the skill that lets Remo and Chiun achieve some of their most amazing breaking tricks.

Sinanju

Note: Sinanju actually contains virtually the entire list of martial arts maneuvers. These are just the maneuvers Remo seems fond of in the early books.

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

4 Nerve Punch -1 +1 4d6 NND

4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort

5 Breaking Throw -2 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA 1d6 +1 , Disable; Target Falls

4 Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort

4 Knife Hand -2 +0 HKA 2 1/2d6

4 Punch/Snap Kick +0 +2 10d6 Strike

4 Root +0 +0 55 STR to resist Shove; Block, Abort

4 Shove +0 +0 55 STR to Shove

16 +4 HTH Damage Class(es)

 

Perks

6 Contact: Chiun, Master of Sinanju (Contact has extremely useful Skills or resources, Very Good relationship with Contact) 8-

Notes: Chiun can be described in several ways, but early on he was mainly a Contact. The relationship would grow much deeper over the course of the series.

7 Contact: Harold Smith (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has extremely useful Skills or resources, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Good relationship with Contact) 8-

Notes: As the head of CURE, Smith is arguably an organization contact.

2 Deep Cover

Notes: Remo goes through endless covers working for CURE. You may wish to charge him more for this.

15 Fringe Benefit: Diplomatic Immunity, License to Kill

Notes: So long as he works for CURE, Remo is able to get away with murder.

3 Anonymity

Notes: Legally dead, his paper trail carefully erased.

 

Skills

Sinanju Skills

Notes: All of Remo's physical skills were well into the Superhuman range by the twentieth book or so, but early on he could be bested by highly trained normals.

3 1) Acrobatics 13-

3 2) Breakfall 13-

3 3) Concealment 12-

3 4) Shadowing 12-

3 5) Stealth 13-

3 6) Sleight Of Hand 13-

3 7) Seduction 13-

Notes: The Thirty Two Steps to Sexual Ecstasy, plus his natural charm

3 8) Language: Korean (completely fluent)

3 9) Analyze: Style 12-

3 10) Interrogation 13-

12 11) +4 with Martial Maneuvers

3 Scholar

1 1) KS: CURE (2 Active Points) 11-

1 2) KS: Criminal Law And Procedure (2 Active Points) 11-

1 3) KS: Marine History And Traditions (2 Active Points) 11-

1 4) KS: Sinanju (2 Active Points) 11-

Police Officer

Notes: Remo should probably know more about the business of being a cop. However, we don't see him use that knowledge.

2 1) PS: Police Officer 11-

Marine Sniper

Notes: Remo's skill list could be much longer. In particular, he should be an expert with small arms. However, we never see Remo using most of his Marine training.

2 1) PS: Marine 11-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 151

Total Cost: 250

 

100+ Disadvantages

15 Hunted: CURE 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

15 Hunted: Rogues Gallery 11- (As Pow, Harshly Punish)

Notes: Remo has one of the best rogues galleries out there, from Mister Gordons to Nuihc to Kali to cyborgs, monsters and madmen of every description. Most of them are just a bit less personally powerful than Remo, a few are more so. Rather than list them one at a time, I prefer a single listing. Note that his more interesting foes rarely stay dead for long.

20 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Very Frequently, Major)

Notes: Over time Remo will buy this down, but he never completely gets rid of it.

15 Social Limitation: Secret: The existence of CURE (Frequently, Major)

10 Psychological Limitation: Patriot, loyal to his country and thus to CURE (Common, Moderate)

10 Psychological Limitation: Cold blooded killer, casually violent. (Common, Moderate)

Notes: Remo does not kill over minor insults in the same way as Chiun, but he uses violence very casually, and thinks nothing of killing when he needs to.

10 Psychological Limitation: Overconfident and Impulsive, often makes very poor choices (Common, Moderate)

10 Psychological Limitation: Stubborn and Moody (Common, Moderate)

5 Psychological Limitation: Will not willingly use non-improvised weapons, never uses guns (Uncommon, Moderate)

15 Physical Limitation: May only eat minimally processed foods. Affected badly by drugs or alcohol. (Infrequently, Fully Impairing)

Notes: Remo’s relationship with food is variable in the early books. He gobbles down duck in oyster sauce, yet gets sick as a dog from a hamburger. Generally, drugs, alcohol or processed foods will at the least rob Remo of his extra DC until they pass through his system, and may render him completely helpless at the GM's discretion.

10 Physical Limitation: Hopeless with even simple mechanical devices (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing)

Notes: This waxes and wanes through the series, but generally Remo has trouble using any device more complicated than a basic telephone. Move any attempts to use mechanical equipment at least one or two steps down the time chart.

15 Sinanju Bonus

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 250

 

Background/History: His name was Remo, and if you're a fan of the books, you know the drill.

 

Marine turned Cop, framed for a crime he didn't commit, recruited into a secret government organization to save his country by killing those outside the law. The Dead White Night Tiger of Sinanju, destined to serve as the Avatar of Shiva and to be buried in the Arlington Cemetery under his own name.

 

The most important person in Remo's life is Chiun, Master of Sinanju, Remo's mentor, father figure and eventual partner. Early in the series Chiun primarily offers advice and training, but he soon moves on to full co-star status. Chiun is not a typical old Martial Arts Master; he is bloodthirsty, arrogant, self-centered, racist, and he nags. When written well, this is vastly entertaining. Chiun's Sinanu skills are superior to Remo's in the early books, and only now after thirty years has Remo finally surpassed the older man. Both characters have mellowed considerably in that time.

 

Also important to Remo is Harold Smith, head of CURE. Brilliant, fearless, ruthless, patriotic to the bone, and skilled at fading into the background, in WWII Smith was one of America's most successful OSS Opperatives, earning the nic-name "The Grey Ghost". President Kennedy tapped Smith as head of CURE, a government agency so secret that only the President knows of its existence, and so powerful that the president can give the director of CURE only one order: Shut down. Using his mastery of the bureaucratic arts and near-unrivalled computer skills, Smith has effectively become the most powerful man in America. Only his incorruptible nature has prevented Smith from becoming America's secret Emperor. Remo often bickers with Smith, but Smith, Remo and Chiun have formed an emotional attachment over the years that none will openly acknowledge.

 

The Destroyer series has passed 150 books and comics and is still going strong. Very much in the spirit of the pulps, Remo uses his increasing powers to face a long list of superhuman and supernatural foes. The better books in the series include a solid dose of satire and parody. Not all of the books have been gems, and some can be offensive, but on the whole the early books hold up well, and Warren Murphy's active interest in the stories has helped maintain the quality of the series.

 

Personality/Motivation: Remo is an idealist and patriot at heart, with a genuine desire to do good. The fact that he most often does good by killing people bothers him more and less at various times over his career. He is somewhat overconfident, and tends to act before he thinks. This conceals the fact that he's actually fairly bright when he sits down and works through a problem.

 

Remo is loyal to Chiun, Smith, and the United States of America, usually in that order. He is also loyal to his friends and his many lovers, but that hasn't stopped him from killing a few of them. Later on his loyalty to America will be partially replaced by loyalty to Sinanju and the Sun No Jo tribe, and his relationship with Smith will worsen. His bonds to his daughter, son and biological father will prove stronger than his bonds to CURE.

 

For all that Remo thinks of himself as a good guy, his bloodthirstiness should not be underplayed, especially in the early books. He kills his way through legions of Mafia toughs and gang members, and colludes in the deaths of more than a few people who commit no crime worse than disturbing Chiun or discovering the truth about CURE. He tortures to get information, seduces and abandons women, and half-cripples a shallow ex-girlfriend for insulting him. The early Remo is an anti-hero, using despicable means to achieve noble ends. Later, he becomes more clearly heroic.

 

Quote: That's the biz, sweetheart.

 

Powers/Tactics: At the start of his career Remo is not much more than an exceedingly highly trained and very tough martial artist. His power increased very quickly, and this build is somewhat minimalist. However, at this stage of his career, ordinary thugs with guns were a threat, and non-Sinanju martial artists had some chance of matching Remo.

 

Remo starts out dealing with foes by striking from surprise, and his famous bullet dodging isn't much more than an Acrobatic Half Move and Dodge. Take a look at the Ultimate Martial Artist for some ideas on how Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Concealment play into the use of Sinanju in combat. Remo won't hesitate to strike by surprise, and he will generally go for a killing blow.

 

When Remo first starts manifesting truly superhuman powers, a missed blow could cause Remo serious injury. If you choose to upgrade him, consider giving him a Martial Arts VPP with Requires a Skill Roll and Side Effects.

 

Campaign Use: At this level Remo is a playable Dark Champions or modern Pulp character. He also works well as a rival or ally for your heroes. As an opponent he's not a great choice; Chiun will not let Remo's killers live, and even the most stripped down version of Chiun should be built on as many or more points as the best Martial Artist in your campaign world. The full modern builds of Remo and Chiun clock in conservatively at 700+ points.

 

I considered having Remo purchase Chiun as a follower, but due to Chiun's level of independence that seemed inappropriate. To make Remo less powerful, drop some of his DCs. To make him more powerful, give him a Super Skills and Martial Arts VPP and add 10 or more to all of his primary characteristics. At his best, Remo should be the top Martial Artist in a given campaign setting.

 

Appearance: A slender dark haired man of average height with "the deadest eyes I've ever seen", dressed in chinos, a t-shirt, and expensive Itallian shoes. His wrists are exceptionally thick, almost freakishly so. Women find Remo exceptionally attractive.

 

Remo Williams by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapier. Character sheet by Robert Dorf.

[RDU Neil]

Re: Remo Williams, the Early Books

 

Great write up... everything except the "Very Good Relationship with Chiun!"

 

"You move like a pregnant yak!"

 

(Ok... that was the movie, but hey...)

[OddHat]

Re: Remo Williams, the Early Books

 

Great write up... everything except the "Very Good Relationship with Chiun!"

 

"You move like a pregnant yak!"

 

(Ok... that was the movie, but hey...)

 

Thanks.

 

Oddly enough, in Hero terms, later in the series Chiun becomes Slavishly Loyal(!?!).

[specks]

Re: Remo Williams, the Early Books

 

Don't forget he is the incarnation of Shiva. Perhaps this is a secret as well. I think this was hinted by Chiun in the early books but I'm not sure.

 

Just my $.02

[OddHat]

Re: Remo Williams, the Early Books

 

Don't forget he is the incarnation of Shiva. Perhaps this is a secret as well. I think this was hinted by Chiun in the early books but I'm not sure.

 

Just my $.02

 

It's on the high powered sheet. In the early books, if Remo had died, that would have been it. It took some time for Chiun to train him to the point where he became worthy to host Shiva.

[OddHat]

Re: Remo Williams, the Early Books

 

High power version is up HERE.