It's Darna, heroine of the Phillipines!

OddHat · April 24, 2009

Originally named Varga, Darna is the Filipina Mary Marvel or Wonder Woman, an iconic character created by the legendary Mars Ravelo and endlessly re-imagined.

This version was created for my Hong Kong Superheroes GenCon game.

VARGA

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

10/60 STR 0 21- Lift 102.4tons; 12d6 [6]

14/24 DEX 12 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8

13/33 CON 6 16-

10/20 BODY 0 13-

13/18 INT 3 13- PER Roll 13-

13/18 EGO 6 13- ECV: 6

15/25 PRE 5 14- PRE Attack: 5d6

12/22 COM 1 13-

3/25 PD 1 Total: 25 PD (0/12 rPD)

3/25 ED 0 Total: 25 ED (0/12 rED)

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

19 REC 0

66 END 0

67 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 40

Movement: Running: 6"/12"

Flight: 15"/240"

Leaping: 12"/24"

Swimming: 2"/4"

Cost Powers END

Varga Form, all slots Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

Notes: Must shout "Varga" to transform, may be prevented by preventing her from speaking, full phase action

40 1) Strength of Apolake: +50 STR (50 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 5

32 2) +20 CON (40 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

16 3) +10 BODY (20 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

4 4) Allure of Dian Masalanta: +10 COM (5 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

8 5) +10 PRE (10 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

24 6) Speed of Anitun Tabu: +10 DEX (30 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

36 7) Flight 15", x16 Noncombat (45 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 4

36 8) Shield of Apolake: Armor (12 PD/12 ED), Hardened (+¼) (45 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

5 9) +6 ED (6 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

14 10) Wisdom of Bathala: (Total: 18 Active Cost, 14 Real Cost) Bump Of Direction (3 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) (Real Cost: 2) plus +5 INT (5 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) (Real Cost: 4) plus +5 EGO (10 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) (Real Cost: 8)

14 11) Love of Mayari: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Self-Contained Breathing) (17 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

7 Life Support (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Longevity: Immortal; Sleeping: Character only has to sleep 8 hours per week)

18 Mercy of Dian Masalanta: Healing 2 BODY, Can Heal Limbs, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½) (50 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 ¼), Self Only (-½)

24 Telepathic Influence: Multipower, 30-point reserve, (30 Active Points); all slots Only In Heroic Identity (-¼)

2u 1) Mind Control 6d6 (30 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 3

2u 2) Telepathy 6d6 (30 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 3

2u 3) Mind Scan 6d6 (30 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 3

2u 4) Ego Attack 3d6 (30 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 3

2u 5) Allure of Dian Masalanta: +30 PRE (30 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-½), Only In Heroic Identity (-¼) 3

Perks

2 Reputation: It's Varga! Defender of the Philipines! (A medium-sized group) 14-, +1/+1d6

Skills

3 Linguist

3 1) Language: Cantonese (completely fluent; literate) (4 Active Points)

3 2) Language: English (completely fluent; literate) (4 Active Points)

1 3) Language: Japanese (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)

1 4) Language: Mandarin (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)

0 5) Language: Tagalog (idiomatic; literate) (5 Active Points)

3 Oratory 14-

3 Persuasion 14-

3 Seduction 14-

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 310

Total Cost: 350

200+ Disadvantages

20 Hunted: Alien Enemies 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)

15 Hunted: Mobsters and Criminals 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)

10 Hunted: Phillipine Government 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)

10 Hunted: Dark Varga 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish)

15 Psychological Limitation: Protects the Innocent above all else (Common, Strong)

15 Psychological Limitation: Kind Hearted and Merciful (Very Common, Moderate)

10 Psychological Limitation: Devout Catholic (Common, Moderate)

15 Dependent NPC: Ding (brother), Grandmother 8- (Normal; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs)

15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity: Narda Ravelo (Frequently, Major)

25 Experience Points

Total Disadvantage Points: 350

Background/History: Sometimes she remembers it one way, sometimes another, but the heart of the story is always the same.

Orphans Narda and Ding lived with their grandmother in a small villiage near Manila.

One clear night, Narda, still a child, saw a falling star, and heard the crash of a meteor nearby. Running to investigate, she found a glowing white stone. On the stone were strange characters, letters of no Earthly language. Somehow Narda could read the word. The word was a name. The name was Varga.

Without knowing why, Narda swallowed the stone, and shouted the name. The child vanished, replaced by a supernatural warrior woman. A legend began.

Over the years, Varga has fought snake women, gangsters, strange cults and monsters of every description. At first Varga and Narda were two people sharing a single body, but as time went on their personalities merged, and now the adult Narda is identical to Varga, even sharing a few of her powers. Ding and Grandmother still remain in Narda's life, and Varga has become the champion of the Philippines.

Personality/Motivation: Kind hearted and a devout Catholic, Narda sees no choice but to use the powers of Varga to protect the innocent and serve the world. She briefly flirted with working directly for the government of the Phillipines, but found the corruption she encountered too much to tolerate. She is both fascinated and disturbed by her ever growing knowledge of the world's secret history.

Quote: "Surrender! You cannot stand against me."

Powers/Tactics: Varga has a number of powers of psionic origin. These include superhuman strength, a psychokinetic force field, enhanced reflexes, flight, and telepathy (including telepathic projection).

Against most foes Varga will wade in punching, relying on her strength and toughness to see her through. Against foes she can't overcome directly, she will attempt to use her Telepathic abilities. Varga is fast enough to abort to a dodge or dive for cover when facing those few enemies powerful enough to seriously harm her.

Varga's most subtle power is her telepathically enhanced Allure. Always persuasive, able to stir crowds and build friendships, using her Allure Varga can cause enemies to lose confidence, or even turn them into allies. (The Allure slot of her MP adds +6 to her PRE skills and 6d6 to her PRE attacks; use it when amazing feats of persuasion are called for).

Campaign Use: Varga is based on Mars Ravelo's Darna, a character created in 1947 in the Philippines as a Filipina Captain Marvel; other influences included Wonder Woman, Superman, and in her later incarnations Ultraman. This version of the character is scaled to fit into a convention game. With a 60+ year publication history and many hit movies and TV shows, despite her American inspiration, Darna is a true Filipina Heroine.

For the 2005 TV version of Darna, drop her STR down to 35, add some basic Martial Arts, add slots for Heat Vision and Concussive Blasts to her MP, lower her PD to 15, drop the regeneration, and add Missile Deflection and throwing disks (an EB). The write up above is a Golden Age comics version.

Appearance: Narda is an attractive Filipina apparently in her early twenties. As Varga, she becomes astonishingly beautiful. Dalisay normally dresses conservatively, while Varga wears a revealing costume in red (see picture).

Killer Shrike · April 24, 2009