Background/History: As an actress in the Hong Kong film industry, Haifeng Tsung never actually intended to be a superhero. What she wanted was to be a respected action-adventure star who did all (well... most) of her own stunts, much like Michelle Yeoh. Then, while rummaging through a store room filled with various props suitable for period performances, she found a matched set of folding "war" fans. Seeing as she already knew how to incorporate fan use with her wu shu skills, it seemed the perfect opportunity to engage in a little practice and see if she could convince a fight choreographer (or two) to let her use them in her next film (or two).
Then she literally blew the house down. Well... almost.
Standing in the wreckage of what had once been a fairly orderly sound stage, Haifeng quickly realized these were no ordinary war fans. What exactly they were, she had no idea, but she wasn't going to wait around in the ruined studio and try and explain what happened to whomever showed up. Ducking outside in an attempt to escape the studio grounds before being discovered, Haifeng soon made another discovery—the fans allowed her to fly!
Several hours of trial-and-error mayhem later, Haifeng ended up on one of the innumerable Hong Kong islands. Finding herself alone, she decided to experiment with the fans in earnest, and soon determined they allowed one to command the very air itself, to push it about, to form powerful gusts and blasts, defensive shields, or even propel oneself through the air. Giddy with excitement, she contacted her agent, Tony Xie, and told him what she had found. Tony, for his part, realized he either had a gold-mine on his hands, or the makings of a disaster. The trick was putting it all together the right way....
After of late nights of brainstorming, Tony and Haifeng had come up with a plan—she'd become a superhero, using the power of the fans, her Hong Kong-cinema experience in stuntwork, and her martial training to combat "crime" in and around the city. Once she was good and established (not to mention a media darling) then the truth would be revealed, and Haifeng would certainly become Hong Kong's (and possible Hollywood's) hottest cinematic property!
Personality/Motivation: Haifeng loves excitement. While beautiful enough to be a leading lady in virtually any film, she prefers to work in period films, often playing the part of a "kung fu goddess in a tight dress," kicking bad-guy butt and taking names. As Tien Feng Mo, she brings that same level of enthusiasm to being a superhero, often with somewhat disastrous consequences. While certainly meaning well, Tien Feng Mo isn't always as careful as she should be with her wind-based powers, and unintended property damage is a common result of her superheroic exploits. However, this is not to say she's totally reckless and out of control. Tien Feng Mo does realize the seriousness of what she is doing, even if the end result (fame and fortune) is a bit base. In fact, Tony's plan to make her a film star by way of being a costume crime fighter has started to bother her. She'd like her motives to be a bit more pure and less mercenary, since, to be honest, it plays right into Communist China's constant arguments on the evils of capitalism.
Quote: "Hah! Did a life of crime make you stupid? Do you really think you can escape from someone who commands the very air itself?"
Powers/Tactics: Mastery of the Gentle Crane Fist style was one of the things that allowed Haifeng to break into film. It is highly reminiscent of White Crane Kung Fu, and features a lot of circular movements (such as sweeping blocks, hand strikes, and kicks) that translate well to film. Haifeng has gone so far to train in various weapons forms as well, all of which allow her greater flexibility in setting up the fight choreography for a scene. Since gaining the self-titled "Fans of the Four Winds," she gone to great lengths to incorporate them fully into her fighting style.
In combat Tien Feng Mo usually puts all of her levels into her DCV, allowing her to avoid having to abort to Blocks or Dodges and constantly press her attack. Any time she does Block she will invariably follow up with an Arm Sweep Return, using one of her fans to add a little more power to the strike. She also likes to launch surprise punches and kicks through clever use of her Sleight Of Hand skill (defined as snapping fans open and closed while moving behind them). Game Masters should handle this in the same way as someone using Monkey Style Kung Fu (see The Ultimate Martial Artist).
When not fighting hand-to-hand, Tien Feng Mo will still swirl and spin about, even if in the air, flipping the fans open and closed, and hurling various air blasts about as needed. Although her Air Punch can wreck as small car, Tien Feng Mo normally has no desire to actually hurt anyone, and will often settle for her various Area Of Effect attacks to toss around agents (especially Triad mooks). Her favorite attack is the Wind Gust, which easily sweep a small mob off of its feet.
If pressed, Tien Feng Mo will take to the air, raising an Air Shield while she tries to either find a better vantage point to attack from, or if outnumbered and/or outclassed, to escape outright.
Appearance: Tien Feng Mo stands about 5'4" with an athletically curvaceous figure. She wears a tight-fitting backless knee-length dress cut up to the hip on the sides. It is sky blue with white trim and has a yin-yang symbol centered on her chest. She also wears sheer black fingerless full-length gloves and thigh-high stockings with short white boots. Her hair is bound up into two buns with long white ties. As Haifeng Tsung she wears contemporary Western fashions, lets her hair down, and adds a pair of reading glasses.
Designer's Notes: his character design was inspired by a drawing I saw in a hentai doujinshi titled Alice in Sexland (see accompanying artwork). The image was a wind sprite/spirit, who could fly (carrying others with her), and used two huge folding fans as props. Working from this base, I decided to create a 400-point superhero, keeping the main elements (fans, costume, and air control), and then add in the rest as I saw fit. The end result is what you see here.
I originally planned to give Tien Feng Mo a 60-point Multipower, but several slots (all taken from the UNTIL Superpowers Database) cost far more, and since most of her attacks do little base damage (6-7d6), I felt increasing the Multipower's reserve wouldn't be that out of line. As it is, she's fairly weak offensively, with only one major attack (her 12d6 EB), and a lot of minor ones (granted many of them are Area of Effect and/or Double Knockback). Add in the fact she only has 40 END, but can easily burn 30 END a Turn and her role as a fire-support character (as opposed to a mainline fighter) becomes obvious. After one playtest, I dropped her Force Field down to 20 DEF and 0 END (from 30 DEF at full END).
If you want to make Tien Feng Mo more powerful, drop her personal END to around 30, but then give her an END Reserve through her fans (dividing the END Reserve in half if one fan is lost), that can only be used to fuel any fan-related powers (such as the Multipower, Leaping, and Flight). You also might want to increase each of her Multipower attacks by 1d6 (except for Air Punch).
As a final note, I give some comments by HERO Message Boards poster Oddhat:
I love the origin. I've always been fond of the Crime Fighting Movie Hero type. Adding in the found artifacts give it a nice Silver Age feel that also wouldn't be out of place in a Manga heroine story. She could go slightly darker as well considering the real world of Hong Kong cinema and its ties to Triad life. Very solid character. :)
(Character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)