COMICS-DERIVED CHARACTER ADAPTATIONS
JOHN BLACKSAD
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 15 STR 5 12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 HTH Damage, [3] 15 DEX 10 12- 15 CON 5 12- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-/14- 14 EGO 4 12- 18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 ½d6 7 OCV 20 5 DCV 10 3 OMCV 0 5 DMCV 6 3 SPD 10 Phases: 4, 8, 12 6 PD 4 Total: 6 PD (0 rPD) 4 ED 2 Total: 4 ED (0 rED) 6 REC 2 30 END 2 11 BODY 1 27 STUN 4 Total Characteristic Cost: 96 Movement:Running: 14m/28m Leaping: 4m/8m Swimming: 4m/8m Cost Powers & Skills Martial Art: Dirty Tricks Learned In The Gutter Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Choke Hold -2 +0 Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND 4 Elbow Smash/Punch +0 +2 5d6 Strike 3 Headbutt +1 +0 5d6 Strike 5 Takeaway +0 +0 Grab Weapon, 25 STR to take weapon away 5 "Seen So Many Incredible Things": +10 PRE; Only To Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1) 4 Claws: HKA 1 point (1d6+1 w/STR); Reduced Penetration (-¼), END 1 7 Rapid Fire: Autofire (3 shots; +¼) for up to 60 Active Points of any non-Autofire firearm; OIF (any non-Autofire firearm of opportunity; -½), Not While Targeting (-½) 2 Swift: Running +2m (14m total), END 1 2 "Blessed With A Fine Sense Of Smell": +2 PER with Normal Smell Perks 3 Fringe Benefit: False Identity (3 different ones—John H Blackmore (Customs Inspector, FBI Agent, Smoke Agency Debt Collections) 2 Fringe Benefit: Private Investigator License 1 Fringe Benefit: Weapon Permit 3 Well-Connected 1 1) Contact: Jake Ostiombe, boxer 8- 3 2) Contact: Otto Liebber, scientist and old friend (Very Good relationship with Contact) 11- 8 3) Contact: Police Commissioner Smirnov (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has very useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 14- 6 4) Contact: Weekly (reporter for What's News) (Contact has useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 14- Talents 22 Danger Sense (self only, out of combat, Function as a Sense) 12-/14- 3 +1/+1d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters) Skills 3 Acting 13- 2 AK: "The Line" (depressed suburb) 11- 3 Charm 13- 2 CK: The City 11- 3 Conversation 13- 5 Deduction 13- 1 Forgery (Identity Cards) 12- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 3 Lockpicking 12- 2 PS: Private Detective 11- 5 Shadowing 13- 3 Stealth 12- 3 Streetwise 13- 1 Tactics 8- 0 TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles 3 WF: Small Arms, Knives 3 Scholar 4 1) Former History Major: KS: History 14- 2 2) KS: History Of The City And Its Suburbs 12- 2 3) KS: Jazz 12- 1 4) KS: The Law Enforcement World 11- 1 5) KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 8- 1 6) KS: US Army History And Customs 8- Total Powers & Skill Cost: 146 Total Cost: 241 175+ Matching Complications (50) 10 Hunted: Senator Gallo 8- (Mo Pow; NCI; Watching) 10 Hunted: the police 8- (Mo Pow; NCI; Watching) 15 Psychological Complication: "Chosen To Walk The Dark Path" (Common; Strong) 5 Psychological Complication: Dislikes Rats (all cats do) (Uncommon; Moderate) 15 Psychological Complication: Makes Good On His Promises (Common; Strong) 15 Social Complication: Black-Furred (i.e. Minority) (Very Frequently, Minor) 66 Experience Points 241 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: Born in one of the of the many City neighborhoods, John Blacksad spent much of his early life running from the police. Fortunately, he was saved from form leading a pointless life of crime by his friend Otto Liebber, and Otto’s father Friedrich, a man John calls simply “The Minister.” John even tried to follow Otto into college, trying for a degree in history, but only lasted for a year before being expelled.
John was in the military during World War II. His branch and posting are unknown (the US Army in his skills is a guess), but he states “I would have preferred never to have seen what I saw over there.” After the War, he returned to the City of his birth, becoming a private investigator.
Personality/Motivation: Between the War and his experiences as a PI, John feels he’s no longer a “civilized person.” He was happy once, when he was in love with the actress Natalia Wilford, but circumstances drove them apart. He tried to regain that happiness with the writer Alma Mayer, but once again, circumstances—in the form of the Red Scare—made it impossible. So he spends his time investigating the dark underbelly of life, interacting with some of the worst of the worst, walking, as his quote below states, “the dark path in life.”
While John may feel he’s no longer civilized, he still has a strong moral streak. He will do what it takes to see a kidnapped child freed or a murderer found, and won’t hesitate to use violence (be it fists or a gun) to put down an attacker. Police Commissioner Smirnov considers him a useful tool (actually, a weapon, to be honest), that he can point at the otherwise untouchable people of the world, the people politics force him to leave alone. John also tends to keep promises—he takes Cotton’s ashes to Las Vegas (even though it results in a major hit to his fiances) and goes to great lengths to undo Liebber’s actions in Red Soul.
Quote:> "The whole sordid tale had left a bad taste in my mouth. I was breathing in a vicious atmosphere of hate, vengeance, and corruption. From that day forward, that has been my world. A jungle where it’s been survival of the fittest—where people act like animals. I had chosen to walk the dark path in life... and I’m still on it."
Powers/Tactics: A tall, strongly built man, Blacksad prefers to use his mind to resolve issues, by taking notes and talking to people, but can handle himself in a fight. He knows a number of underhanded fighting tricks, and will use them if needed, but also has a powerful right cross. Having seen a lot in the War, he’s hard to scare or intimidate, and refuses to back down from most threats. While his claws can shred the leather shell of a punching back, he normally doesn’t use them in a fight, but has carried a revolver (normally .38 Police Special), and more than once has shown the ability to empty three rounds into an attacker in a matter of moments.
Appearance: John Blacksad is, in effect, a black-furred cat-headed human. Unlike most anthropomorphic characters he doesn’t have a tail (but some people in his world do.) The space under his nose and around his mouth is white. He normally dresses in a suit and tie, with a trench-coat over that.
Designer's Notes: John Blacksad comes from the Spanish comic Blacksad (which is written for the French comics market.) It details the various cases John finds himself in, including hunting for the killer of his old flame, dealing with white supremacists, and the anti-Communist Red Scare. Although a touch late for the Pulp-era (seeing as it’s the early to mid-1950s) it’s still a great film noir read. A hardback collecting the first three stories is available from Dark Horse Comics, titled simply “Blacksad.”
(John Blacksad created by Juan Diaz Canales and Junjo Guarnido, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
John Blacksad's Hero Designer File
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