Name: Roquat of the Rocks, Nome King Val Char Cost 30 STR 20 18 DEX 24 20 CON 20 16 BODY 12 18 INT 8 15 EGO 10 25 PRE 15 14 COM 2 10 PD 4 6 ED 2 3 SPD 2 10 REC 40 END 41 STUN Characteristic Rolls: STR: 15-, DEX: 13-, CON: 13-, INT: 13-, EGO: 12-, PER: 13- Run: 6", Swim: 2", Jump: 6", Lift: 1600 kg Cost Powers END/Roll 9 4 PD, 2 ED Armor 6 +4D6 HA with Scepter, -1 limit OAF Scepter 6 Immune to Aging and Disease 5 Infrared Vision 10 N-Ray Vision, -1 limit Only Through Soil and Rock 30 Tunneling 6" Through DEF 6 Material Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Acting 14- 3 Breakfall 13- 3 Bribery 14- 3 Bureaucratics 14- 3 Concealment 13- 3 Climbing 15- 2 KS: Appraisal, Precious Metals and Stones 11- 2 KS: Gemology 11- 2 KS: Minerology 11- 3 Oratory 14- 3 Persuasion 14- 2 PS: Jeweller 11- 2 PS: Miner 11- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Tactics 13- 3 Trading 14- 2 Familiar with Common Melee Weapons 1 Familiar with Thrown Knives and Axes 6 +2 Levels with Thrown Weapons 3 Talent: Bump of Direction 3 Talent: Combat Sense 13- 10 Perk: Nome King 15 Perk: Filthy Rich 100+ Disadvantages 10 Enraged 11- When Disagreed With, Recover 11- 15 Looks Like a Demented Santa Claus, concealable with effort, major prejudice 15 Dislikes Surface Dwellers, common, strong 15 In Lust with Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter, common, strong 15 Extreme Reputation 11-: Evil Tyrant 20 Suceptible to Eggs, 3D6 Damage, Instant Effect 20 Vulnerable 2x Effect From Flash Attacks 15 Secret ID: Ruggedo the Wanderer 10 Hunted 11-: The Heroes of Oz, less powerful 10 Hunted 8-: Tititi-Hoochoo, the Great Jinjin, rival sorceror, more powerful 10 Unluck 2D6 10 DNPC 11-: Kaliko, chief steward, normal (for a nome) 1 Quirk: Jolly, Smokes Pipe OCV: 6 (8 w/ Thrown Weapons); DCV: 6; ECV: 5; Mental Def.: 0; Phases: 4, 8, 12 PD/rPD: 10/4; ED/rED: 6/2 Costs: Char.: 119 Disad.: 171 Powers: + 152 Base: + 100 Exp.: + Total: = 271 Total: = 271 The Magic Belt 100 Variable Power Pool 47 Control Cost: +2 adv Cosmic Power (Any Power, Anytime); +1/2 adv 0 END, -2 limit Independent; -1/2 limit OIF Leather Gem-Encrusted Belt; -1/4 limit Incantation (User Must Declare What He Wants To Happen) Source: L. Frank Baum, "Ozma of Oz," 1907; "The Emerald City of Oz, 1910; "Tiktok of Oz," 1914; "The Magic of Oz," 1919 Background: Roquat of the Rocks is the only enemy of Oz to challenge Dorothy Gale more than once. If persistence in the face of adversity is the mark of a master villain, the underworld despot deserves a seat of dubious honor alongside Doctor Doom and Lex Luthor. By his own lights, Roquat had reason to hate Oz even before he encountered Dorothy. The nomes consider miners from the surface world thieves who plunder their carefully stored metals and gems. When the Wizard had the Emerald City constructed, he committed grand theft in the nomes' eyes. However, it was his conflict with Princess Ozma and Dorothy over the fate of the royal family of Ev that made Roquat swear to destroy them. The wicked King Evoldo had sold his wife and ten children to Roquat in exchange for immortality. Roquat agreed to the bargain and transformed the captives into ornaments to decorate his palace, but Evoldo regretted what he had done and tried unsuccessfully to get his family back. Overcome by remorse, he threw himself into the sea. Ozma travelled to the Nome King's subterranean realm with her army of 27 men, planning to either rescue or ransom the queen and her progeny. Roquat, who had untold thousands of veteran soldiers in his tunnels, was so amused by this puny show of force that he made a bet with Dorothy. His prisoners could go free if Dorothy and her friends could identify which objects the Evians had been changed into. If they failed, they also would be turned into knickknacks. The deal was a crooked one, since Roquat was sure his visitors from Oz could never identify the prisoners. When Dorothy succeeded, the enraged Nome King attempted to enchant them with his Magic Belt. However, the Scarecrow pelted him with eggs -- which are poisonous to nomes -- and Dorothy seized the belt while Roquat was temporarily incapacitated. Sure that Dorothy couldn't operate the belt's magic, Roquat commanded his army to destroy the heroes of Oz. Dorothy used the belt to turn the front rank of nome soldiers into eggs, then opened a tunnel to the surface. Once the Queen of Ev was installed in her palace, Dorothy used the belt to return herself and her friends to Oz. She then gave the artifact to Ozma. Although robbed of his source of magic, Roquat still had at his disposal the fairy realms' largest and best trained army, fantastic wealth, and the world's most skillful mining engineers. Allying himself with other enemies of Oz, he tunnelled beneath the Deadly Desert in an attempt to invade the Emerald City from below. However, the dusty tunnel made his soldiers miserably thirsty. When they burst into the courtyard of Ozma's palace they immediately drank from the nearby Forbidden Fountain. Its Water of Oblivion made the nomes forget why they had come, and a dazed Roquat marched them home. Afterward, Ozma used the Magic Belt to seal up the tunnel. Unfortunately, the Water of Oblivion was only partially effective on Roquat. He forgot his own name but, returned to his old haunts, remembered his cruelty and his enmity toward the surface dwellers. He also studied magic and learned to cast spells without the Magic Belt. His next conflict with Oz occurred when he captured and imprisoned a Colorado gold miner who happened to be the Shaggy Man's younger brother. The Shaggy Man and Tiktok travelled to Ev to attempt a rescue only to be dumped by Roquat into a giant tube that swept them through the center of the planet to the other side of the world. They emerged into the kingdom of the djinn, whose ruler was an old enemy of Roquat's. The ruler, himself a powerful sorceror, sent the Shaggy Man and Tiktok back through the tube along with the dragon Quox, who deprived Roquat of his ability to learn and use magic and drove him from the nome tunnels. Roquat fled to the surface world he so despised, his pockets stuffed with gems stolen from the royal treasury. Kaliko, Roquat's even-tempered chief steward, was made Nome King in his place. Since he was understandably out of favor with the government of Ev, Roquat adopted the guise of Ruggedo, an itenerant jeweler and metalworker. Ruggedo spent the next five years wandering through the kingdoms south of Oz and lusting for revenge against both Dorothy and his own people. His opportunity came when he stumbled upon Kiki Aru, a renegade Munchkin youth who had the power to transform himself and others into any animal form he could imagine. Ruggedo persuaded Kiki to lead the wild beasts of Oz against the Emerald City; the boy would rule Oz while Roquat would steal enough magic to restore himself as king of the underworld. While Ruggedo was attempting to persuade the beasts of Oz to attack the capital, Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wizard arrived in the forest seeking a unique birthday gift for Princess Ozma. Alarmed -- and convinced that the nome was plotting to double-cross him -- Kiki Aru turned them all into animals and the Lion into a rabbit. The Wizard, changed into a fox, followed Aru and succeeded in overhearing the magic word he used in working his transformations. He turned Aru and Ruggedo into nuts so that they couldn't speak and undo the spell, then returned himself and his friends to their proper forms. Back at the Emerald City, Kiki and Ruggedo were restored to their former selves and were tricked into drinking the Water of Oblivion. This time, the former Nome King was made a "guest" at the palace so that Ozma could oversee his re-education. The Nome King's practice of kidnapping people who wander into his tunnels is a good way to introduce the player characters to an Oz-based campaign. Many disappearances attributed to space aliens or the minions of Cthulhu are actually the work of Roquat's sentries. In addition to interfering with diamond mining in southern Africa or gold mining in Colorado, the Nome King's troops are likely to sabotage oil rigs in Texas and Oklahoma or to infiltrate underground military installations. Tour groups at Mammoth Cave or Carlsbad Caverns aren't immune to harassment, and lone spelunkers exploring less well-known caves are easy prey. Adventurers investigating strange sightings or seeking lost persons could enter caverns in Kentucky and end up somewhere else. Powers and Abilities: Most of Roquat's abilities are the product of his nome physiology. He's strong enough to have tossed the mechanical man Tiktok -- too heavy for six human soldiers to lift -- into a well. He's agile enough to throw his scepter with deadly accuracy and to dodge enchanted eggs hurled his way by the dragon Quox. Roquat can see in the dark and through soil and rock. He can tunnel as fast as he can walk. He doesn't age or get sick, and his rocky skin is naturally resistant to damage. When the Nome King is able to practice magic, he focuses on major transformations. His favorite tactic is to turn his enemies into inanimate objects with which to decorate his palace. Disadvantages: Roquat's hot temper is frequently his undoing. He lashes out even at his most valuable servants when things aren't going his way or when they fail to tell him what he wants to hear. Kaliko has survived as his chief steward only because his tongue is as quick as his reflexes. The Nome King has a soft spot, however, for Polychrome, the lovely daughter of the Rainbow. He once offered to release his Ozite captives unharmed if she would consent to be his queen -- and meant it. Polychrome refused, not only because Dorothy and Ozma are her friends but because she's underage. Like all nomes, Roquat has a fatal allergy to eggs of any type. He takes 3D6 damage if he touches or ingests eggs or egg products, cooked or uncooked. Used to living in his dimly lit tunnels, he's also sensitive to bright light and takes double effect from Flash attacks. Height: cm (5' 4"), Weight: kg (340 lbs), Sex: Male, Race: Nome Appearance: With his flowing white beard, bulbous round body, long pipe, and jolly demeanor, Roquat resembles a spindly limbed Santa Claus whose bushy white hair comes to a point on top. His merriment, however, is caused by the fate he has in store for his victims, and he easily flies into a rage when thwarted. When that happens, he resembles a demented Santa Claus. Roquat wears the gray bodysuit and slippers that are the work uniform of his people. As king he also wears a magnificent crown carved from a single giant ruby and carries a scepter with a ruby at its head large enough to make it a dangerous club. The Magic Belt is a wide leather band encrusted with gems; it fastens in the back like a cumberbund. As Ruggedo the Wanderer, his plain gray garb is considerably worn and Roquat himself is quite a bit thinner. His suit conceals numerous pockets in which he stores his jewels and tools. His crown is replaced by a black skull cap. His temperament is just as vile as it was before, but he's learned to restrain himself and is a craftier opponent. ================ Hero System write-up by Kevin Scrivner