Name: The Shadow (magazine version) Val Char Cost 23 STR 13 18 DEX 24 15 CON 10 18 BODY 16 18 INT 8 18 EGO 16 25 PRE 15 14 COM 2 10 PD 5 8 ED 5 4 SPD 12 10 REC 4 30 END 39 STUN Characteristic Rolls: STR: 14-, DEX: 13-, CON: 12-, INT: 13-, EGO: 13-, PER: 13- Run: 10", Swim: 2", Jump: 4 1/2", Lift: 600 kg Cost Powers END/Roll 8 +4" Running (10" Total) 11 Mental Defense 15 10 25% Physical Damage Reduction vs. Normal Damage Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll Martial Manuevers 5 Boxing Jab (Defensive Strike), +1 OCV, +3 DCV, STR Strike 5 Boxing Hook (Offensive Strike), -2 OCV, +1 DCV, STR+4D6, Strike 4 Boxing Block (Martial Block), +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 3 Wrestling Slam (Martial Throw), +1 DCV, STR+v/5; opponent falls 3 Wrestling Take Down (Sacrifice Throw), +2 OCV, +1 DCV, STR; you fall, opponent falls 4 Wrestling Escape (Martial Escape), +15 STR vs. Grabs 3 Wrestling Hold (Martial Grab), Grab, +10 STR for hold only 3 Acting 14- 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Bugging 13- 3 Concealment 13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Combat Pilot: All Aircraft 13- 3 Cryptography 13- 3 Contortionist 13- 3 Criminology 13- 9 Disguise 14- 3 High Society 14- 3 Interrogation 14- 3 LS: Russian, fluent with accent 2 LS: Hindi, fluent 2 LS: Tamil, fluent 2 LS: Cantonese, fluent 3 Lipreading 11- 3 Lockpicking 13- 3 Oratory 14- 3 Persuasion 14- 7 Shadowing 13- 3 Sleight of Hand 13- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 14- 3 Systems Operation: Radio Broadcasting, Audio Engineering 13- 9 Ventriloquism 14- 2 CK: New York City 11- 2 KS: Criminal Underworld 11- 2 PS: Hypnotist 13- (INT-based) 2 Familiar with Small Arms 2 Familiar with Common Melee Weapons 9 +3 with Pistols 6 +3 with Ranged Combat (Pistols) 3 Transport Familiarity: All Air Vehicles 3 Talent: Ambidexterity 3 Talent: Combat Sense 13- 5 Talent: Defense Maneuver 3 Talent: Double Jointed 3 Talent: Fast Draw 13- 5 Talent: Resistance 100+ Disadvantages 10 DNPC 11-: Any of his various agents, normal, useful skills 20 Hunted 11-: The Police, more powerful 20 Hunted 11-: The Mob, more powerful 20 Hunts Criminals, total 20 Mysterious and Scary, total 15 Secret IDs: Lamont Cranston, playboy; Kent Allard, pilot; Lin Chang, curio dealer 20 Extreme Reputation 14-: Murderous Vigilante/Mysterious Avenger 20 Sinister Laugh, concealable with effort, causes terror 85 Master of Darkness bonus OCV: 6 (9 with Pistols); DCV: 6; ECV: 6; Mental Def.: 15; Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 PD/rPD: 10/0; ED/rED: 8/0 Costs: Char.: 130 Disad.: 145 Powers: + 200 Base: + 100 Exp.: + 85 Total: = 330 Total: = 330 Source: Maxwell Grant (Walter B. Gibson), "The Living Shadow," 1931, first in a series of pulp novels originally published in "The Shadow -- A Detective Magazine." The magazine continued until 1949. Background: Ask a modern comic book reader who the cloaked avenger of the night is and you'll probably get the answer "Batman." However, Bruce Wayne borrowed much of his schtick from an earlier "wealthy young man about town," Lamont Cranston alias The Shadow. The Shadow began as the host of radio dramatizations of Street & Smith Publications' detective stories. However, his scary voice and sardonic laughter so excited listeners' imaginations that he began taking a greater and greater role in these stories and eventually took over the show. His success on the air encouraged the publishing house to issue "The Shadow" magazine, featuring adventures in which the character took center stage. The Shadow developed into two related but distinct crime fighters, although both are masters of stealth, misdirection and ventriloquism On the printed page, The Shadow is a mysterious gun-toting vigilante for whom "Lamont Cranston" is merely one of several secret identities. The real Lamont Cranston, whose big-nosed profile closely resembles the crime fighter's, left for Europe after giving The Shadow permission to use his name and fortune. Although there have been hints that he might be former World War I flying ace Kent Allard, readers have never really found out who The Shadow is or what motivates him to scare the bejabbers out of miscreants. He simply exists, melting out of the shadows to spare the life of an innocent or to take the life of an evildoer. In addition to plenty of hot lead, he uses stealth, trickery, and a network of skilled informants to baffle both the police and the mobsters who are his prey. Lacking body armor and overt superhuman abilities (unless you count his uncanny marksmanship), The Shadow needs his magician's bag of tricks to survive in a world where all hands are against him. He makes occasional use of gadgets but is much less dependent on them than Batman or the Green Hornet. Eerie and unpredictable, he is as scary to his friends as he is to his foes. Those friends include Burbank, who acts as The Shadow's radio dispatcher; Clyde Burk, a crime reporter; Cliff Marsland, an underworld insider; Harry Vincent, The Shadow's chief investigator; and Tapper, an expert on locks and safecracking. There are many others whom The Shadow calls upon periodically to provide specific expertise. Many of them are people whose lives he has saved. Margo Lane, The Shadow's lover, migrated from the radio show to the novels but plays a much smaller role in his published adventures. Although these agents respect their boss and provide important services for him, they (except for Lane) don't have any sort of personal relationship with him. Most of the time they get their orders second hand from Burbank. Why do they obey him? Would you want to defy a guy who cackles like a maniac and packs a pair of .45 automatics? The agents and most of The Shadow's alter egos are based in New York City, the world's largest metropolis in the 1930s. While he finds ample adventure at home, The Shadow battles felons around the globe. In one instance, he traveled to Moscow to crush the backers of a Russian spy ring operating in the United States. Powers and Abilities: The radio show presented a character with the occult ability to render himself invisible. The literary Shadow manages to project himself into places where he isn't physically present by a variety of means. In addition to being able to throw his voice, he is a master of audio recording and broadcasting. Hidden loudspeakers and microphones, unauthorized telephone lines, concealed phonographs and radio receivers enable The Shadow to remotely instruct his agents and give cryptic warnings to both authorities and lawbreakers. His agents usually install these devices, but he also does the work himself. The Shadow's mastery of escape rivals that of Harry Houdini, and his skill at disguise that of Lon Chaney, Sr. He lacks the mystic mental abilities of his radio counterpart but is a competent hypnotist and persuasive speaker. Gunplay is his forte. The Shadow lurks in the darkness watching for the muzzle flashes of his opponents' weapons, using them to accurately fire his own shots. He rarely misses. Another favorite tactic is to sneak away through the ranks of his enemies so that they end up shooting at each other. The Shadow's methods are lethal but no more so than those of Dick Tracy, another famous crime fighter who launched his career in 1931. Disadvantages: Unlike Tracy, who has an entire police force to back him up, The Shadow is on his own. Both the good guys and the bad guys are out to get him, everyone from the local beat cop to the Bolshevik army. Although his aides occasionally rescue him, more often he's the one bailing them out of trouble. And he has no comfortable, permanent secret identity to relax in. His alter egos, even that of Lamont Cranston, are merely tools to enable him to gather information. On his days off -- if he takes days off -- he is still The Shadow. Height: cm (5'10"), Weight: kg (140 lbs), Sex: Male, Race: Caucasian Appearance: Most people who have encountered The Shadow recall only his piercing, hypnotic gaze and mocking laugh. Those rare individuals who have actually seen him describe a tall, thin, hawk-nosed figure swathed in a great black cloak and slouch hat, the lower portion of his face concealed by a tall collar or long scarf. He carries a bulky pair of .45 automatics. The Shadow wears black gloves when the occasion demands it. More often, his pallid, spidery hands are exposed, revealing a magnificent fire opal ring on his left hand. The ring was originally one of the crown jewels of Russia's Romanov dynasty. How he acquired it is yet another unexplained mystery surrounding The Shadow. Other Appearances In addition to radio and magazines, The Shadow has also appeared multiple times in movies and comic books. He was featured in "The Shadow Strikes," Grand National Pictures, 1937; "International Crime," Grand National Pictures, 1938; "The Shadow," Columbia Pictures, 1940, a 15-chapter serial; "The Shadow Returns," "Behind the Mask," and "The Missing Lady," Monogram Pictures, 1946; "Invisible Avenger," Republic Pictures, 1958; and "The Shadow," Universal Studios, 1994. Street & Smith published a Shadow comic book from1940 to 1947. Archie Comics did a version from 1964 to1965. The Shadow returned in 1973 via DC Comics and appeared in various limited series and graphic novels through 1992. That year, Dark Horse Comics picked up the torch and did various limited series and graphic novels until 1995. The Shadow also appeared in a 1988 Marvel graphic novel. ============================ Hero System write-up by Kevin Scrivner