Captain Cambodia

[Ranxerox]

I was thinking about what sort of foreign reception Captain America:The First Avenger was likely to get, and I decided that it is not really important to me how the movie makes foreign audiences feel about the U.S. What I wanted some kid watching it in Phnom Penh to walk away thinking what would Captain Cambodia be like and how could he be more like Captain Cambodia. Then I thought, "Hey, Captain Cambodia has a ring it. I should do a write-up of Captain Cambodia."

 

So here he is:

[b]Captain Cambodia - Duong Savonn[/b]

[b][u]VAL[/u]   [u]CHA[/u]   [u]Cost[/u]   [u]Total[/u]   [u]Roll[/u]      [u]Notes[/u][/b]
25    STR     15   25      14-       HTH Damage 5d6  END [2]
25    DEX     30   25      14-       
25    CON     15   25      14-
20    BODY    10   20      
18    INT     8   18      13-       PER Roll 13-
23    EGO     13   23      14-       
20    PRE     10   20      13-       PRE Attack: 4d6
9      OCV     30    9
9      DCV     30    9
8      OMCV  15    8
8      DMCV   15   8
14    PD      12   14/19             14/19 PD (0/5 rPD)
14    ED      12   14/18             14/18 ED (0/4 rED)
6    SPD     40   6                 Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
12    REC     8   12
55    END     7   55
55    STUN    18   55
24    RUN      6   24m                END [3]
8    SWIM     2   8m                END [1]
10    LEAP     0   10m                10m forward, 5m upward

[b]CHA Cost: 296[/b]

[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]POWERS[/u][/b]
20     [b][i]Quick Tie[/i][/b]: Entangle 5d6, 5 PD/5 ED (50 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Entangle Has 1 BODY (-1/2), OIF (Ropes, cords, clothes and other objects of opportunity ; -1/2) - END=5
33     [b][i]Jhāna Nerve Strike[/i][/b]: Blast 5d6, Attack Versus Alternate Defense (Power Defense; +1) (50 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) - END=5
7     [b][i]Healing Through Meditation[/i][/b]: Healing BODY 3d6 (30 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Hour, -3), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2) - END=3
11     [b][i]Jhāna Blow[/i][/b]: Armor Piercing (+1/4) for up to 55 Active Points of Hant to Hand Attacks (14 Active Points); Requires A Roll (13- roll; -1/4) - END=1
10     [b][i]Disciplined Mind[/i][/b]: Mental Defense (10 points total) - END=0
30     [b][i]Evasive[/i][/b]: Deflection, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points) - END=0
27     [b][i]Jhāna Awareness[/i][/b]: Detect Physical Objects A Large Class Of Things 13- (Unusual Group), Partially Penetrative, Sense, Targeting - END=0
8     [b][i]Agile[/i][/b]: Leaping +6m (10m forward, 5m upward) (Accurate) - END=1
6     [b][i]Fast[/i][/b]: Running +6m (24m total) - END=1
7     [b][i]Climbs Like a Monkey[/i][/b]: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Climbing Skill; -1/2) - END=0
      - END=
10     Resistant Protection (5 PD/4 ED) (15 Active Points); OIF (Bullet-proof Silk Costume; -1/2) - END=0

[b]POWERS Cost: 169[/b]

[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]MARTIAL ARTS[/u][/b]
     Martial Art: Bokator
4      1)  Block:  1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort
5      2)  Roundhouse Kick/Knee Strike:  1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 11d6 Strike
4      3)  Punch/Elbow Strike:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 9d6 Strike
3      4)  Leg hook:  1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, Block, Target Falls
4      5)  Lion fang strike:  1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 3d6
3      6)  Monkey Wrap:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 45 STR for holding on
4      7)  Nerve Strike:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 3d6 NND
3      8)  Dragon Tail Sweep:  1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 8d6 Strike, Target Falls
4      9)  Escape:  1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 50 STR vs. Grabs
4      10) Disarm:  1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 45 STR to Disarm
8      11) +2 HTH Damage Class(es)
1      Weapon Element:  Staffs

[b]MARTIAL ARTS Cost: 47[/b]

[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]SKILLS[/u][/b]
3      Acrobatics 14-
3      Breakfall 14-
3      Charm 13-
3      Persuasion 13-
3      Oratory 13-
3      Climbing 14-
3      Concealment 13-
3      Sleight Of Hand 14-
3      Stealth 14-
3      Contortionist 14-
3      Deduction 13-
3      Tracking 13-
2      Survival (Tropical) 13-
3      Paramedics 13-

3      Linguist
0      1)  Language:  Cambodian (Khmer) (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)
1      2)  Language:  Cantonese (basic conversation)
1      3)  Language:  English (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)
1      4)  Language:  Japanese (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)
1      5)  Language:  Mandarin (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)
1      6)  Language:  Thai (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points)
2      7)  Language:  Vietnamese (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)

3      Traveler
2      1)  AK: Cambodia (3 Active Points) 13-
2      2)  AK: Phnom Penh (3 Active Points) 13-
1      3)  AK: South-East Asia (2 Active Points) 11-
2      4)  CuK: Cambodian Customs (3 Active Points) 13-

3      Scholar
1      1)  KS: Bokator (2 Active Points) 11-
1      2)  KS: Royal Cambodian Army (2 Active Points) 11-
1      3)  KS: Super-villains of South-East Asia (2 Active Points) 11-
1      4)  KS: Theravada Buddhism (2 Active Points) 11-
1      5)  KS: Traditional Medicine (2 Active Points) 11-

2      PS: Soldier 11-
2      PS: Farmer 11-
3      PS: Meditation 14-

16      +2 with HTH Combat
10      Defense Maneuver I-IV 
2      WF:  Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons

[b]SKILLS Cost: 104[/b]

[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]PERKS[/u][/b]
6      Positive Reputation (A large group) 11-, +3/+3d6
3      Well-Connected
2      1)  Contact:  Chen Pich, petty thief and street hustler (Contact has useful Skills or resources) (3 Active Points) 11-
4      2)  Contact:  Police Detective Pok Chantrea (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) (5 Active Points) 11-
3      3)  Contact:  Sargent Kim Sovann (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has useful Skills or resources) (4 Active Points) 11-
14      4)  Contact:  The Tiger Squad (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources), Organization Contact (x3) (15 Active Points) 11-
17      5)  Contact:  Tokyo Super Squad (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact), Organization Contact (x3) (18 Active Points) 11-

[b]PERKS Cost: 49[/b]

[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]TALENTS[/u][/b]
12      Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED)
27      Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Function as a Sense) 13-
3      Simulate Death
3      +1/+1d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters)

[b]TALENTS Cost: 45[/b]
[b][u]Value[/u]  [u]DISADVANTAGES[/u][/b]
15     Hunted:  King Cobra crime cartel Frequently (As Pow; Harshly Punish)
15     Hunted:  Cambodian government Frequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Watching)
20     Psychological Complication:  Strives To Follow The Noble Eightfold Path (Very Common; Strong)
20     Psychological Complication:  Protects the Innocent (Very Common; Strong)
15     Psychological Complication:  Cambodian Patriot (Uncommon; Total)
5     Negative Reputation:  Buddhist Superhero Who Avoids Killing and Unnecessaty Violence, Infrequently

[b]DISADVANTAGES Points: 90[/b]

Base Pts: 400
Exp Required: 310
Total Exp Available: 0
Exp Unspent: 0
Total Character Cost: 710

 

Background to follow.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Appearance:Captain Cambodia is tall and lithely musceled. His costume is patterned after the Cambodian flag. He wears a short-sleeved red shirt with a picture of the famous Angkor Wat temple in white on it's chest. His pants are royal blue. He sports a gold belt sash and a checkered blue and white head scarf called a krama. In combat he usually ties his head scarf so as to completely cover his face including his eyes. When amongst friends, the krama is worn on the top of his head or removed altogether revealing his friendly dark eyes and smiling, handsome medium brown face, and his short black hair.

 

Captain Cambodia's original costume was made for him by an old woman in the village in which he grew up. After this costume was torn in a fight over an apparent misunderstanding with China's Tiger Squad member Technocrat, the Chinese government provided him with a replacement costume made of special bullet proof silk. Captain Cambodia thanked them for the fine costume they made him, but removed its hidden tracking devices before taking it home with him.

 

Powers/Tactics:Captain Cambodia believes in using no more violence than the situation requires (though he doesn't actually have a CvK) and his first option is usually to either tie his opponents up either with his belt or arm sashes or other convenient cloths and cords including sometimes the opponents own clothes though that usually requires a successful disarm move first. If entanglement is not feasible he will to try to stun them with nerve strikes. Captain Cambodia's jhāna, equivalent to zen, allows him to perform nerve strikes on individual who possess resistant defenses. If he finds it necessary to use attacks that can potentially hurt his opponents he is capable of bypassing half of his opponents PD by striking their weak points.

 

Captain Cambodia's jhāna also allows him to fight in the dark, blindfolded (which is how he normally fights!) and to perceive opponents and dangers behind barriers with a defense of 4 or less.

 

Background:Corporal Duong Savonn of Royal Cambodian Army was part of a company sent to secure a Viper nest that had been cleaned out (without diplomatic permission) by the Tokyo Super Squad. Savon overheard the leader of the Tokyo Super Squad, Tō, telling his commander that not to let any of his men go to level B2 because it was unsafe. Duong Savonn's squad was sent to investigate level B2. When Corporal Duong mentioned what he overheard to his commander, the commander barked at him, "Who do you take orders from? The Japanese or me?"

 

Level B2 was like something out of sci-fi novel or some sort of drug trip. Fabulously complex machines lay about the place mostly in ruin, ripples of light shimmered in the air and neither time nor space seemed to work as they were suppose to. Still, Duong Savonn did his best follow his orders, taking many pictures and writing notes on what he saw, heard and felt. Then one of his squad mates had a seizure and Duong and the other members of the team evacuated him to the surface. However, leaving the strange environment of level B2 was not the end of it. Savonn and everyone else who had been down there got sick ... very sick.

 

The days that follow were a blur of pain and brief snippets of awareness. A doctor telling a nurse that it was not radiation poisoning but that he didn't know what it was. Being given strange drugs that did not seem to help at all. Overhearing, "Two-thirds of them are dead and those that still live will be dead soon." Waking, still in pain in the back of his uncle's bike cart. "It's alright boy, I'm taking you home," his uncle said. Coughing up bitter liquid and having an old women slap his face. "Drink it! It is medicine! It will make you better!"

 

Then, one day, Savonn woke up and he felt better ... weak and very hungry, but better. When he called out, a monk came to answer his call. Asking questions of the monk, Savonn learned that he was at the Buddhist monastery just outside his home village and that he had been there for just under a month. The monk brought him food and then more food as Savonn's appetite seemed to know no bounds. The monks at the monastery encouraged Savonn to eat, meditate and when he felt ready to work and exercise.

 

As he recovered, Savonn's uncle visited him often. It was during one of these visits that Savonn told his uncle that he felt well indeed he felt great and that it was time for him to go back to the army. His uncle laughed. When asked what was funny, his uncle replied, " You can't go back to the army, they have you listed as dead! And anyway no one would believe that you are same man that I carted away from the hospital."

 

Duong Savonn's uncle reached into his satchel and pulled out a mirror and presented it to his nephew. Savonn gasped. He was so much bigger than he used to be. He had thought that the monks were simply smaller than he had remembered them, but now he could see that it was he who had grown. He looked enough like his old self that someone might be able to believe that he was a larger, hardier brother or cousin of the man that he had been, but no one would ever mistake him for that man.

 

In the days that followed Savonn, who had stopped using his family name Duong since no one would believe he was Duong Savonn, divided his time between the monastery and helping out at his uncle's farm. In addition to having grown following his illness, Savonn discover that he seemed to have almost limitless energy and it was easy for him to put in a full days worth of work at both places each day. Savonn also noticed that his focus and awareness both while meditating and living his life was much better than it had ever been before. Savonn thought about joining the monastery as a monk, but wasn't quite sure that he was ready to make that step. In any event, there did not seem to be any rush to figure out what he wished to do with his life.

 

Then something happened that would be as life changing for Savonn as the strange things he encountered in level B2. While on trip to the province capital of Prey Veng to get supplies for his uncle's farm, Savonn saw poor woman with two children beset by a gang of robbers intent on taking the woman's few possessions and maybe more. Without even thinking about it Savonn confronted the gang of bandits and told them to leave the woman alone. The robbers drew weapons and attacked Savonn, but Savonn amazed himself with the ease with which he defeated the criminals. The last bandit went down on his knees and begged Savonn not hurt claiming to be even poorer than the woman who he had been mugging and that was the only reason that he had joined the gang. Savonn tied the man up and told the woman to go get the police to arrest the robber and his fellow gang members.

 

On his way back to his village and in the days to follow, Savonn thought deeply about his encounter with the muggers and what sort of country poor prey upon one another. He thought about the corruption that he had witnessed while in the army and among merchants and government workers in everyday life. He also thought about the Khmer Rouge and the atrocities that they once committed. None of these things seemed to square with the goodness that he saw normal Cambodians all the time. Eventually, he decided that Cambodia was a nation that had gotten confused amidst the pull for modernization and all the strange competing ideologies, and that it just needed an example to remind it of its own goodness and own greatness.

 

He would be that example.

 

Personality/Motivation:Captain Cambodia has mastered the art of hunting monsters without becoming one himself, or for that matter losing his idealism and innocence. In many ways he is a Silver Age hero living in a frequently Iron Age world, but somehow he makes it work for himself. Despite all the horror that he has seen and its been a lot, he remains friendly and even playful. In a fight he is likely to pull a table cloth off of a table (without disturbing the dishes and glasses on top of the table), use it to tie his opponents ankle to their elbow and then use a dab of plum sauce from the meal to draw a happy face on his opponent.

 

Captain Cambodia's swashbuckling ways don't prevent him from taking those things are important to him very seriously. He is strongly committed to being a role model, to the greatness and the goodness of Cambodia , and to his religion (though he is never preachy about it). However, his religious nature does not exclude him from taking an interest in females or them from taking an interest in him, and he has been in a number of (mostly) chaste romantic relationships.

 

Quote: "Don't just do something. Sit there."

 

Campaign Use: Captain Cambodia is most likely to be encountered in southeast Asia and can make a useful guide or adventure catalyst for PCs that venture there. However, Captain Cambodia is not exclusively limited to southeast Asia and has many adventures in exotic locals (for Cambodians) such as Japan, Europe and even the United States, so he can really be encountered anywhere. As a representative of a third world country he makes a different sort of flag suit than the PCs are probably use to, and as a devout Budhist he can act as a counterpoint to Christian and Muslim characters.

[Lucius]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

I'll have to come back and reputize this later

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Captain Palindromedary

[Enforcer84]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

I like him. I like him a lot.

[Badger]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

So, does he fight the Khmer Rouge any?

[lemming]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Great writeup.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

So' date=' does he fight the Khmer Rouge any?[/quote']

 

Well, AFAIK the Khmer Rouge doesn't really exist anymore as an organization. Cambodia still has plenty of members of the Khmer Rouge walking around, and if they were doing anything illegal Captain Cambodia would certainly fight them. However, he does not believe in holding on to anger, seeing it as a fetter against acheiving spiritual enlightment, so he would not pursue former members now living law abiding lives.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Is he at all political, or is he more a "spirit of the nation" character who doesn't care much about politics but does care about Cambodia's welfare?

 

More significantly, how is he view by the various people who have tried to rule Cambodia while he has been active? I seem to recall reading throughout the '80s and '90s that Captain America had a great deal of trouble with the more shadowy elements of the US government, to the point of handing over the shield and costume on more than one occasion only to get back in later. Would something similar be faced every so often by Captain Cambodia?

[assault]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

This reminds me of the Superhero Squad episode where Wolverine joined the All-Captains' Squad as Captain Canada.

 

The other members were: Captain America, Captain Australia, Captain Brazil, Captain Britain, and Captain Liechtenstein.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

This video of Bokator grandmaster San Kim Sean was the inspiration for Captain Cambodia's Quick Tie power.

 

 

 

And this for those of you who aren't familiar with it (like me before I started researching this character) is the Cambodian flag upon which his costume is based.

 

 

And finally his hero designer file

[Lucius]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Impressive, but still looks to me more like a grab than an entangle.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary notes that Lucius is knit picking again

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Is he at all political, or is he more a "spirit of the nation" character who doesn't care much about politics but does care about Cambodia's welfare?

 

More significantly, how is he view by the various people who have tried to rule Cambodia while he has been active? I seem to recall reading throughout the '80s and '90s that Captain America had a great deal of trouble with the more shadowy elements of the US government, to the point of handing over the shield and costume on more than one occasion only to get back in later. Would something similar be faced every so often by Captain Cambodia?

 

More a non-political spirit of the nation character. He has no direct ties to the government though they do try to keep an eye on him. I didn't want to add more complication to his already long background, but he isn't usually called Captain Cambodia inside of Cambodia. At home he has a name that translates roughly as "Righteous Ghost". It is mostly abroad that he is referred to as Captain Cambodia. Still, as Righteous Ghost he is much admire at home and a Captain Cambodia he is respected abroad, so elements of the Cambodian government could conceivably want to harness this good reputation through an imposter Captain Cambodia. There is no reason that storyline couldn't be done.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Impressive, but still looks to me more like a grab than an entangle.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary notes that Lucius is knit picking again

 

That is just because we never see him tie a knot at the end and move on. There isn't anything stopping him from doing so though.

[phoenix240]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

This video of Bokator grandmaster San Kim Sean was the inspiration for Captain Cambodia's Quick Tie power.

 

 

 

And this for those of you who aren't familiar with it (like me before I started researching this character) is the Cambodian flag upon which his costume is based.

 

 

And finally his hero designer file

 

 

That's pretty cool. I hadn't heard of the style before.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Yes, bokator was a major find in researching this character. It was the martial art of the Angkor empire which once ruled the South Asain peninsula. Both the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese did there best to eradicate it and I'm sure huge amounts of knowledge was lost. Still, even in its current diminished form it is a broad style that covers kicks, punches, knee and elbow strikes, grappling, ground fighting and weapons use.

[Bloodstone]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

This video of Bokator grandmaster San Kim Sean was the inspiration for Captain Cambodia's Quick Tie power.

 

If you're curious, you can see many similar techniques performed with the sarong in various styles of Silat.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

I really felt sorry for the poor guy who had all those tie-up maneuvers used on him. It is probably a sign of respect that he kept on getting up.

[1Channara]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]39518[/ATTACH]

[Bloodstone]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

I really felt sorry for the poor guy who had all those tie-up maneuvers used on him. It is probably a sign of respect that he kept on getting up.

 

Why's that?

 

He's taking soft, safe falls on mats.

He's not actually being hit with any force

He's playing along to make the techniques look good (screaming, kicking his feet to make being dragged around easier).

He's plenty flexible to deal with some of the contortions and he's not even being seriously strangled by any of the wraps ...not that being strangled or choked is a big deal once your used to it.

 

A big part of training in almost any martial art is learning how not to get injured during practice... and then trusting your teachers and fellow students to hurt you without actually injuring you. There's a big difference there. Plus, if the teacher is using him for a demonstration, there's a good chance he's an experienced student, knows what's coming and is both ready and willing to deal with it.

[lemming]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

Why's that?

 

He's taking soft, safe falls on mats.

He's not actually being hit with any force

He's playing along to make the techniques look good (screaming, kicking his feet to make being dragged around easier).

He's plenty flexible to deal with some of the contortions and he's not even being seriously strangled by any of the wraps ...not that being strangled or choked is a big deal once your used to it.

 

A big part of training in almost any martial art is learning how not to get injured during practice... and then trusting your teachers and fellow students to hurt you without actually injuring you. There's a big difference there. Plus, if the teacher is using him for a demonstration, there's a good chance he's an experienced student, knows what's coming and is both ready and willing to deal with it.

Yep. Having been flung about during drills similar to that you only get hurt if either of you do the wrong thing. (And even then, the demonstrator should be able to do the correct action anyway.

 

I was always picked when some wiseguy would go "I don't see how this technique would work on someone much taller than me."

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

I really felt sorry for the poor guy who had all those tie-up maneuvers used on him. It is probably a sign of respect that he kept on getting up.

 

Why's that?

 

He's taking soft, safe falls on mats.

He's not actually being hit with any force

He's playing along to make the techniques look good (screaming, kicking his feet to make being dragged around easier).

He's plenty flexible to deal with some of the contortions and he's not even being seriously strangled by any of the wraps ...not that being strangled or choked is a big deal once your used to it.

 

A big part of training in almost any martial art is learning how not to get injured during practice... and then trusting your teachers and fellow students to hurt you without actually injuring you. There's a big difference there. Plus, if the teacher is using him for a demonstration, there's a good chance he's an experienced student, knows what's coming and is both ready and willing to deal with it.

 

What Bloodstone said.

 

I would like to add that this "poor guy" is studying with a grandmaster. Indeed he is studying with the sole surviving grandmaster of his style. A more normal situation (at least here in the US) is for your sensei's sensei to have studied with a grandmaster. Sometimes the connection isn't even that close. So you can take comfort in the knowledge that there is a good chance that one day the guy being thrown around in the video will have one day have a school of his own, and have students of his own to throw around.

[Ranxerox]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]39518[/ATTACH]

 

Wow. That is a great piece of work! I would rep you if I could!

 

However, while that is a great Captain Cambodia, he doesn't look anything like the Captain Cambodia that I described. If one of the artist who frequent the site would make a picture of the Captain Cambodia that from my description, I would be willing to give more than rep. I would be willing to pay a commission. Anyone interested in taking me up this offer, please drop me pm so we can arrange terms.

[Lucius]

Re: Captain Cambodia

 

A captain's commission?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary explains to Lucius the difference between a commission offered and a commissioned officer

[kahuna's bro]

captain Cambodia AKA righteous ghost not bad

[TheQuestionMan]

The Shadow Lord's Shadow Army. 

 

Could be cool. 

 

QM