Name: Doctor Fu Manchu Sources: "The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu," Sax Rohmer, 1913 (first in a 12-novel series); "Drums of Fu Manchu." Republic Pictures, 1940 (15-chapter serial); "Master of Kung Fu," Mavel Comics, 1974-1983. Val Char Cost 10 STR 18 DEX 24 10 CON 10 BODY 25 INT 15 25 EGO 30 25 PRE 15 10 COM 4 PD 2 4 ED 2 4 SPD 12 4 REC 20 END 20 STUN Characteristic Rolls: STR: 11 -, DEX: 13-, CON: 11-, INT: 14-, EGO: 14-, PER: 14- Run: 6 ", Swim: 2", Jump: 2", Lift: 100 kg Cost Powers END/Roll 6 Immune to (further) Aging and Disease Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Bureaucratics 14- 5 Electronics 12- 3 High Society 14- 3 Inventor 14- 3 Interrogation 14- 3 Linguist 0 LS: Mandarin, native, lit. 1 LS: Arabic, fluent, lit. 1 LS: English, fluent, lit. 1 LS: Russian, fluent, lit. 1 LS: Tibetian, fluent, lit. 3 Mechanics 11- 3 Oratory 14- 3 Paramedic 14- 3 Scholar 2 KS: Medicine 12- 2 KS: Archeology 12- 1 KS: Chinese History 11- 1 KS: Western History 11- 1 KS: Academic Subculture 11- 3 Scientist 2 Physics 12- 2 Chemistry 12- 1 Pharmacology 11- 1 Geology 11- 1 Genetics 11- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 14- 3 Weaponsmith (slugthrowers) 11- 1 Fam. w/ Pistols 2 Fam. w/ Common Melee Weapons Kung Fu Maneuvers 4 Punch (Martial Strike), +2 DCV, STR+2D6, Strike 4 Block (Martial Block), +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 Dodge (Martial Dodge), +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects all attacks, Abort 10 Talent: Eidetic Memory 100+ Disadvantages 10 Age 60+ 10 Evil Green Eyes, strong reaction, concealable 20 Honorable, total 10 Watched 11- Chinese Government, more powerful, NCI 10 Reputation 11- Evil Genius 10 Enraged 14-, recover 11- When Motives Questioned 15 Hunted 14- The PCs, less powerful 5 DNPC: Daughter, less powerful, useful skills 5 1D6 Unluck 21 Supervillain Bonus OCV: 6; DCV: 6; ECV: 8; Mental Def.: 0 ; Phases: 3,6,9,12 PD/rPD: 4/0; ED/rED: 4/0 Costs: Char.: 100 Disad.: Powers: + 100 Base: + 100 Exp.: + Total: = 200 Total: = 200 Background: Dr. Fu Manchu is an elderly Chinese physican and scholar who has been dabbling in Chinese and international politics since the Empress Dowager's ill-fated reign. A distant heir to the Manchu throne, he tried to strengthen the dynasty and limit Western influence through a program of kidnapping, assassination and terrorism. Since the dynasty's demise, he has advised some of the succeeding regimes and has waged a clandestine war against the West (particularly Great Britain) as head of the Si Fan, a secret international murder society. Viewed by the British as a ruthless killer, Fu Manchu sees himself as a patriot fighting to build a strong, independent China. To achieve his ends, he has worked with the Russians and the Japanese, although he trusts neither of them. He secretly nurses the hope of restoring the Manchu dynasty with himself as emperor but is political realist enough to put that dream on the back burner. Dr. Fu Manchu's greatest weapons are his vast intellect and his horde of skilled assassins. A master physician and pharmacologist, he's concocted a wide variety of drugs, poisons and gadgets with which to control, incapacitate or eliminate influential Westerners. He's too old to do much damage in personal combat, so he prefers to direct complex schemes from behind the scenes and allow his agents to do most of the bloodletting. Fu Manchu's crimes are mysterious: victims die (or become comatose) suddenly and without apparent cause. Hypnotized subjects attack their friends or commit thefts and can't remember doing it afterward. People with knowledge useful or dangerous to the Si Fan disappear without a trace. Height: cm (6' 11"), Weight: kg (118 lbs), Sex: Male , Race: Chinese Appearance: "Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources, if you will, of a wealthy government ... and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu Manchu." -- Sir Denis Nayland Smith, the doctor's longtime opponent Campaign Use: Dr. Fu Manchu is the man who put the "super" in supervillain. In his 60-year career (80-year if you include his appearance in Marvel Comics) he has occasionally been thwarted but never captured or defeated. He has suffered apparent death, disability, bankruptcy, disavowal by the Chinese government, betrayal by associates and always comes roaring back with unwavering commitment to his goals and yet another sinister plot to hatch. In the process he has transformed the Si Fan from a medieval assassins guild to a modern terrorist organization. During his career, his relationship with China has changed. Before World War I he was funded and supported, albeit unofficially, by an influential faction in the Chinese government. By the mid-1930s the doctor was clearly operating on his own, his imperial associations and abitions having made him a pariah at home. By the time of the Cold War, China's Communist officials were as eager to get their hands on Fu Manchu as the British government. They considered his criminal activities a counter-revolutionary embarrassment even though most of Fu Manchu's efforts were directed against their capitalist foes. If we haven't heard much from the doctor during the past two or three decades it's probably because his goals have been achieved. China is again a respected international power able to shrug off Western meddling. The British Empire that Fu Manchu so passionately hated no longer exists. And China's official espionage community is efficiently siphoning off Western technology without outside assistance from the Si Fan (as recent scandals over U.S. nuclear secrets and Chinese campaign contributions attest). How many superheroes can boast of that kind of track record? This version of Dr. Fu Manchu is geared toward a 1930s pulp-era campaign. Game masters who want to use him in a more current setting should update his skills and abilities accordingly. He typically has technology which is fifty years ahead of its time. However, he's not a gadget lover. Keep in mind that part of what gives the doctor his distinctive style is his use of arcane drugs, ancient but effective assassins tools, and trained exotic animals to commit his crimes. He's probably invented a microwave weapon that could fry the good guys, but when they get in his way he'll slip a yard-long Indonesian centipede into their bedrooms to finish them off. ===================== Hero System write-up by Kevin Scrivner