Go on... make my Gladiator

[lou_tennant]

In response to a post by Hyperman (http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/76564-my-character-building-technique-how-to-build-hero-system-characters/?p=2333720) on Tasha's topic regarding character building techniques, I wish to throw down the gauntlet.

 

I said:

 

Don't get me wrong, I would love to do it Tasha's way, but I always run out of points - hence crippling the character, then chucking it away in favour of something very simple.

 

 

Hyperman said: 

 

There are plenty of munchkins around that would happy to help you out with fitting your concept to a budget.  We like challenges. 

 

 

SO... I challenge you. I personally have been building HERO characters for more than 25 years, but I would be interested how you make the concept fit the points.

 

A few caveats to consider:

 

• HERO 5er, Fantasy Hero in the Turakian Age setting
• 75+75pts
• Standard Everyman FH package deal
• Cultural package (allow 5 points) - can provide specifics
• Gladiator package deal, and ought to have (in my opinion) most/all of the MA moves given his skill level - can provide specifics
• I have highlighted elements in the background that I think have to be included in the build.
• His physique should be strong, tough and very efficient.

 

The background/concept.

Raegan the Bastard

Illegitimately born to a servant/slave women (unknown to Raegan, his father was the son of the Noble to whom his mother served) he was weaned and cared for until he was 2 years old. By then the noble could see that the baby was healthy and, whilst he wasn't mean, he knew he could not continue to support a Mother and baby in return for the Mother's duties. So he spoke to a noble he knew that owned a stable of Gladiators. Then he gave Raegan's mother the choice; leave his employ with the baby, or give up the baby to become a gladiator. It would at least give the boy a chance, probably better than he would have otherwise. What little he made from the sale, he would consider them even with regards his leniency and support of this bastard child.

 

So started Raegan's education & training. For the most part he was always called 'The Bastard' or similar; "Fetch the Bastard", "Where's the Bastard?" and "You little Bastard" where phrases he grew up with.

He had his first proper bout when he was 7, using wooden weapons. By the time he was 12 he was on the main 'circuit' - having had many successes and, whilst his body had yet to properly develop, his technique and concentration were beyond his years.

 

The next few years saw his techniques develop and gradually placed him firmly in the top few of the circuit. His owner was ready to take him farther a field and did so. He was a good match for many that he faced, and rather than just killing his opponents he respected them, giving them a chance to stay down once he was in a position to do so. During his bouts he was extremely focussed and his senses became more acute to possible threats, this seem to give him an appearance of Luck as he seemed to avoid all sorts of threats at the last minute perhaps with nothing more than a scratch.

 

Wounds (even serious ones) were treated by the various magical healers that stable owners and/or arena’s retained. This would mean that even beaten opponents with near-fatal injuries could be ready for the arena without too much of a delay. After a time Raegan (and his owner) discovered that his body seem to take on a portion of this healing, as such his body could heal moderate injuries in a matter of hours. Whilst this did not make him overtly confident (he couldn't be the only one) it did remove any lingering fear he had.

 

He became respected by the crowds and his opponents, but this success also meant less opportunities for his owner to make good money from his bouts. His fights featured more and more opponents and he quickly developed his style to allow him to move from one opponent to another with a calculating efficiency.

 

His owner looked at options, to make him a trainer, to setup more and more ridiculous fights (but that would cost a lot), or possibly sell him.  A shame really, Raegan’s success had become his downfall.

 

Before this could happen a wizard [the patron to be] from across the sea came to speak to Raegan’s master. He had seen him in action and wanted to know if he was for sale.  The wizard had need of a bodyguard and general all-round capable individual to do things for him. What luck, what a coincidence, Raegan could be sold without any need to pay the extortionate fees on the slave market and he could use the monies, this would not be IOU’s, nor credit against local services or other such bartering, this would be real money. He accepted, and Raegan’s new employer took him with him.

 

So begins a new chapter in Raegan’s life.  What he didn’t know was a couple of loyal followers had seen him leave and they decided to follow. On their arrival in [Aarn] they met with the Wizard to find out what was happening to Raegan, and was it anything that they could help with?

He told them that Raegan was not a free man, he would be earning his keep – that said, he would consider their help if they wished to offer it – he might even pay them something.

 

The hangers-on (25+25pt followers)

• An apprentice wizard who master & sponsor died before he completed his schooling, without the funds to stay he hasn’t been able to continue his training. His love of the arena and awe for fighters/gladiators/soldiers etc led him to study Aeromancy & Wizardy as he might be able to ‘rub-shoulders’ with some of these legends.

• A female fighter from over-the-seas that has been studying gladiators as they seem to be a purer form of combat master than other fighting types. She also has a thing for Raegan, his drive and focus are legendary.

 

 

My hurried build has him at 220 points at present (80 points of which are disadvantages).

 

[bubba smith]

nice origin

[Tasha]

Post your build. I tried to build the character and I don't have a good sense of them still.

One thing that I would recommend is perhaps look at Characteristics to lower, Not buy every maneuver that the MA has. Abandon the Danger Sense (it's a bit expensive)  Also the 25 hanger's on probably don't need to have points spent on them They are just part of the Character's background.

 

Specifically WHAT MA style are you using? What weapons does the character see as their "signature weapon".

 

[NuSoardGraphite]

I will post one for you as well. it's a fairly straightforward build. no crazy powers outside a few subtle talents. mostly characteristics and combat skill levels and martial arts. most of the characteristics and skill levels and some of the martial arts will come from the warrior culture package (he was raised among gladiators from the time he was 2 so that qualifies for warrior cultural package) and the gladiator variant of the light fighter package.

 

Additional skills will be things like rapid attack, defense maneuver etc to help facilitate him fighting multiple opponents well. the martial arts will make him a terror in one on one duels, and his skill levels will make him proficient with all common melee weapons (and several uncommon ones) with an obvious bias towards the sword and shield combo with a proficiency in shield bashes.

 

He wont have much in the way of non combat skills other than his turakian everyman set, a streetwise with focus on warrior/gladiator cultures, some perception bonuses and maybe some pre skills. He shouldnt be literate, because he grew up a slave, and unless a slave is specifically a scribe or secretary, there's no need to teach them to read and gladiators doubly so.

 

Talents will probably be a few low key to help him be victorious in the arena. combat luck, deadly blow (some special finishing move) and some aviodance ability (extra dcv levels ?) nothing too fancy, as fancy get you killed in his line of business.

[lou_tennant]

nice origin

 

Thanks, I thought it felt pretty good, but always nice to hear it from someone else.  The GM likes it.

 

Post your build. I tried to build the character and I don't have a good sense of them still.

 

One thing that I would recommend is perhaps look at Characteristics to lower, Not buy every maneuver that the MA has. Abandon the Danger Sense (it's a bit expensive)  Also the 25 hanger's on probably don't need to have points spent on them They are just part of the Character's background.

 

Specifically WHAT MA style are you using? What weapons does the character see as their "signature weapon".

 

 

Where/How is the best way to post the build?

 

Lowering Characteristics is a possibility, but they are only 73 points, and trimming them much more than 10% will hamstring him alongside a general fighter, yes he has moves, but if he can't deliver them quick enough... Once the build is up you can see what you reckon.

 

I don't have Danger Sense - just Combat Sense - he is very focussed in combat and has a sense of his surroundings enough to fight blind or visually hampered, but outside of combat - whilst perceptive - he does not sense danger any more than other experienced fighters might.

 

The Gladiator package uses the Weapons Combat MA from Ultimate MA - I can post if necessary (in fact I have both packages as images but can't quite work out how to post content into 'my media').

He doesn't have a signature weapon as the weapons used would vary to provide added entertainment, perhaps one of different weapons around an arena for the Gladiators to select. To represent this weapons mastery I have bought various weapon elements with the MA package.

A Gladiator at the top of his game _should_ have all the moves, it is what helps to separate him from those with a couple and just starting out.

 

I will post one for you as well. it's a fairly straightforward build. no crazy powers outside a few subtle talents. mostly characteristics and combat skill levels and martial arts. most of the characteristics and skill levels and some of the martial arts will come from the warrior culture package (he was raised among gladiators from the time he was 2 so that qualifies for warrior cultural package) and the gladiator variant of the light fighter package.

 

Additional skills will be things like rapid attack, defense maneuver etc to help facilitate him fighting multiple opponents well. the martial arts will make him a terror in one on one duels, and his skill levels will make him proficient with all common melee weapons (and several uncommon ones) with an obvious bias towards the sword and shield combo with a proficiency in shield bashes.

 

He wont have much in the way of non combat skills other than his turakian everyman set, a streetwise with focus on warrior/gladiator cultures, some perception bonuses and maybe some pre skills. He shouldnt be literate, because he grew up a slave, and unless a slave is specifically a scribe or secretary, there's no need to teach them to read and gladiators doubly so.

 

Talents will probably be a few low key to help him be victorious in the arena. combat luck, deadly blow (some special finishing move) and some aviodance ability (extra dcv levels ?) nothing too fancy, as fancy get you killed in his line of business.

 

Thanks, I would like to see how he could be built by others. I am using talents alongside his very reduced skill set, MA & characteristics. I have him with 10-12 points of skill levels (some for using armour, some for hit location & a couple of general ones - the MA moves have enough variation to give him an extra edge. Warrior culture - I agree. Sought of a 'Spartan' lifestyle.

 

I went for Follow Through Attack, rather than Def Man or Rap Att.

 

Yep very few skills which will make him like a fish out of water for most things than combat, how does one bargain, society, manners - he knows little of these things - not a 'thug' but very little understanding. Not sure abiout streetwise - he hasn't spent any time 'on the street' - perhaps FAM only. Not literate - I agree, it is a waste of resources to teach gladiators to read.

 

Yep, function over fancy - again I have Combat Luck and Fearless, I opted not to have Deadly blow due to "rather than just killing his opponents - he respected them, giving them a chance to stay down once he was in a position to do so." Do unto others... philosophy, he felt (a little unusually) that all gladiators are brothers-in-arms not enemies.

 

 

Cheers for all this so far.

[lou_tennant]

Here are the packages I have used.

 

Also Raegan 1st draft in HD, and pdf (for those that don't have HD).

Raegan the Bastard.hdc

Raegan.pdf

[lou_tennant]

 

Where/How is the best way to post the build?

 

 

Answered my own question by looking a little closer at reply options... 

[Lucius]

.

A Gladiator at the top of his game _should_ have all the moves, it is what helps to separate him from those with a couple and just starting out.

 

 

"Reason from effect." Most of the umpteen martial arts maneuvers are just variations on trading OCV for DCV for damage. With a very basic Martial Arts package that includes the few things you CAN'T get except via Martial Arts you can get the same effects with Skill Levels, limited STR, etc.

 

 

 

That Bastard

 

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [1]

15 DEX 15 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5

15 CON 10 12-

12 BODY 4 11-

8 INT -2 11- PER Roll 12-

8 EGO -4 11- ECV: 3

15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6

6 COM -2 10-

 

5 PD 2 Total: 11 PD (6 rPD)

5 ED 2 Total: 11 ED (6 rED)

3 SPD 5 Phases: 4, 8, 12

7 REC 2

28 END -1

28 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 38

 

Movement: Running: 5"/10"

Leaping: 3"/6"

Swimming: 1"/2"

 

Cost Powers END

Extremely focused and his senses became more acute

3 1) +1 PER with all Sense Groups

Avoid all sorts of threats at the last minute

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

Nothing more than a scratch

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

His body could heal moderate injuries in a matter of hours

5 1) Rapid Healing

Respected by the crowds and his opponents

3 1) Reputation (A small to medium sized group) 14-, +3/+3d6

Move from one opponent to another

3 1) Running 3", Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a Turn or more to reset; +¼) (7 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -½), Restrainable (-½), Requires A Tactics Skill Roll (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 20 Active Points; -¼) 2

 

20 Techniques develop and gradually placed him firmly in the top : Multipower, 30-point reserve, (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-½)

3m 1) +20 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-½), Limited Power Does not increase lift or encumbrance (-¼)

4m 2) +10 DEX (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-½)

 

 

Technique and concentration

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

3 Basic Strike +1 +0 5d6 Strike

3 Legsweep +2 -1 4d6 Strike, Target Falls

4 Charge +0 -2 5d6 +v/5 Strike, FMove

Periodic table of Weapon Elements

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

14 Weapon Element: Axes, Maces, Hammers, and Picks, Blades, Clubs, Fist-Loads, Flails, Homemade Weapons, Javelins and Thrown Spears, Nets, Polearms and Spears, Staffs, Thrown Knives, Axes, and Darts, Thrown Rocks, Two-Handed Weapons, Whips

 

Skills

Cultural Package

5 1) Arbitrary Tax: Custom Skill

Gladiator Skills

2 1) KS: Gladiators, things gladiatorial 11-

8 2) WF: Common Gladiatorial Melee Weapons, Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Flails, Off Hand

Developed his style

12 1) +4 with Martial Maneuvers

Calculating efficiency

5 1) Tactics 12-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 109

Total Cost: 147

 

75+ Disadvantages

10 Psychological Limitation: rather than just killing his opponents he respected them (Common; Moderate)

5 Reputation: "Appearance of Luck." Assumed to be a lucky gladiator., 11- (Known Only To A Small Group)

10 Distinctive Features: Style Disadvantage (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

10 Psychological Limitation: Remove any lingering fear (Uncommon; Strong)

10 Success had become his downfall. Unluck: 2d6

20 Social Limitation: Raegan was not a free man, he would be earning his keep (Very Frequently; Major)

10 Dependent NPC: hangers-on 11- (Slightly Less Powerful than the PC; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Group DNPC: x2 DNPCs)

 

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary thinks he needs an Extra Damage Class in Martial Arts

[Ndreare]

Lucius you should feel ashamed of yourself. This is fifth eddition, strength needs to end with a 3 or an 8, do Str 18 Dex14 and Con 18, That will use up hi three remaining points and make him a lot tougher.

[Lucius]

Lucius you should feel ashamed of yourself. This is fifth eddition, strength needs to end with a 3 or an 8, do Str 18 Dex14 and Con 18, That will use up hi three remaining points and make him a lot tougher.

You're probably right....although STR ending in 3 or 8 is not that important, no Skills depend on it.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary points out that in any case the character can increase STR by up to 20 and DEX by up to 10, though not at the same time

[Ndreare]

Ending with 3 or 8 optimizes figured abilities and as you point out the occasional Str roll.

[lou_tennant]

not to mention the extra half dice of damage.