DK's Non-Comic Book Builds: Bronx, Angela, Elisa, Xanatos

[Dark Koala]

...and this little piggy got lost and wound up in China. Again.

Ryouga Hibiki - PL 7

Abilities
Strength 5, Stamina 5, Agility 3, Dexterity 2, Fighting 5, Intellect 0, Awareness -1, Presence 1

Advantages
All-out Attack, Close Attack 4, Equipment 2, Great Endurance, Improved Critical 2: Unarmed, Improved Critical 2: Unarmed, Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Throwing Mastery 3, Ultimate Effort: Toughness

Skills
Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 4 (+9), Expertise: Survival 7 (+7)

Powers
Breaking Point Training - Protection 4
Martial Arts Leaping - Leaping 2
Special Techniques - Array
. . Breaking Point Technique 1 - Damage 9 (Inaccurate, Limited: Objects only) Linked to Weaken Toughness (Affects Objects Only, resisted by Fortitude
. . Breaking Point Technique 2 - Strength-based Damage 2, Burst Area on 7 ranks, Quirk: Damages surrounding environment
. . Lion's Roar Bullet - Ranged Damage 8, Quirk: Dependent upon depression

Equipment
Heavy Umbrella (Strength-based Damage 2, Inaccurate), Iron Cloth Bandanas (Strength-based Damage 0, Penetrating 6, Improved Critical 2)

Offense
Initiative +3
Heavy Umbrella: Close +7, Damage 7
Iron Cloth Bandanas: Close +9, Damage 6
Lion's Roar Bullet: Ranged +6, Damage 8
Breaking Point 2: Area, Damage 7
Unarmed: Close +9, Damage 6

Complications
Code of Honor: Unlike Ranma and most of the rest of the crew, who will do anything to win, Ryouga can not bring himself to take unfair advantage of his opponents...most of the time.
Horrible Sense of Direction: Ryouga gets lost even more easily than his already low Awareness score would indicate. Generally speaking, whenver he tries to go somewhere, he will wind up somewhere else. He only arrives at his actual destination when the GM decides he does.
Jusenkyo Curse: Whenever he is splashed with cold water, Ryouga changes into a small and helpless (but incredibly cute) black piglet called P-Chan. Warm water reverses the transformation.
Secret: While P-Chan, Ryouga is Akane's pet. She has no idea, although almost everyone else has known for quite some time.

Defense
Dodge 5, Parry 5, Fortitude 9, Toughness 9, Will 4

Power Points
Abilities 40 + Powers 23 + Advantages 20 + Skills 8 (15 ranks) + Defenses 11 = 102

Ranma's eternal rival, Ryouga is a guy who just can't catch a break. He is constantly getting lost and almost never makes it on time anywhere, he's in love with a girl who is completely oblivious to his feelings, he is constantly the sucker of Ranma's tricks, and oh yeah, he turns into a helpless (but adorable) little black pig when he gets splashed with cold water. To make matters worse, although ostensibley being Ranma's main rival, the two have been forced to work together often enough that they're almost allies.

Like Goku and Vegeta, it's sometimes hard to tell how big the gap between Ranma and Ryouga should be. Ryouga actually has managed to get the upper hand on his rival a small handful of times, but he's never really won a significant victory. For an iconic version of the character, I again decided on PL difference would suffice.

Ryouga's not as fast as Ranma, but he's a little bit stronger and tougher, mostly due to his Breaking Point training. Speaking of Breaking Point, there's two versions in the Special Technique array. The first is the use it was made for--breaking objects. It's sort of like Scar's Deconcstruct power, but it ONLY works on objects. Ryouga came up with a clever use for it, however, and that's the second version. By striking something in the environment (say, the ground, a large rock, or a tree) with the technique, Ryouga sends shrapnel flying outward around him. Because of his training, he is unharmed by it, but anyone else in the blast radius can take damage.

[Dark Koala]

"Don't think badly of Akane, she's really a very sweet girl...she's just also a violent maniac." - Kasumi Tendo

Akane Tendo - PL 6

Abilities
Strength 3, Stamina 3, Agility 2, Dexterity 2, Fighting 6, Intellect 1, Awareness 2, Presence 2

Advantages
Accurate Attack, Defensive Roll 3, Evasion, Improved Critical: Unarmed, Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Skills
Acrobatics 5 (+7), Athletics 4 (+7), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+9), Expertise: Martial Arts Lore 4 (+5), Insight 4 (+6), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 3 (+5)

Powers
Martial Arts Leaping - Leaping 2

Offense
Initiative +6
Unarmed: Close +9, Damage 3

Complications
Arranged Marriage: Akane is engaged to Ranma Saotome. It's something their fathers arranged, and neither of the two teenagers are very pleased about it... (or ARE they?)
Horrible Cook: Akane may not be that great of a martial artist compared to a lot of the core cast, but she is a LETHAL chef. No seriously, her food makes people extremely ill, despite her best efforts.
Temper: Deep down inside, Akane is a very kind and caring person...but that's deep down inside. On the surface, she has a violent temper, and Ranma is usually the focus of it.

Defense
Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude 5, Toughness 6/3, Will 6

Power Points
Abilities 42 + Powers 2 + Advantages 8 + Skills 16 (32 ranks) + Defenses 10 = 78

Daughter of Soun Tendo, owner of the Anything Goes Martial Arts dojo, Akane is an acomplished martial artist in her own right. Perhaps that is the reason her father chose her for an arranged mariage to Ranma Saotome, son of his friend Genma, to unite the two schools. As if it wasn't bad enough being engaged to a cocky, egotistical gender-bender, life has pretty much just gotten weirder from there...

Akane doesn't look like much when compared to the rest of the Ranma cast, but keep in mind that she used to beat up hoards of boys every day before class. She's still more impressive than Kuno, but the rest of the cast has overshadowed her with their crazy techniques and curses since early in the series.

As a result, Akane is a pretty light build. She has no notable special techniques, and only a handful of combat advantages. Keep in mind that she's still stronger than your average person on the street though, and does usually manage to contribute in the fights she participates in.

[Woodclaw]

...and this little piggy got lost and wound up in China. Again.

Ryouga Hibiki - PL 7


Complications
Horrible Sense of Direction: Ryouga gets lost even more easily than his already low Awareness score would indicate. Generally speaking, whenver he tries to go somewhere, he will wind up somewhere else. He only arrives at his actual destination when the GM decides he does.
Jusenkyo Curse: Whenever he is splashed with cold water, Ryouga changes into a small and helpless (but incredibly cute) black piglet called P-Chan. Warm water reverses the transformation.
Secret: While P-Chan, Ryouga is Akane's pet. She has no idea, although almost everyone else has known for quite some time.

Nice build.
I have to say that perhaps a full PL between Ranma and Ryouga is a bit too much, I think that half a PL will be more appropriate, but that's just me. My only other nitpick is about complications, one of the key differences between the two is that Ryouga has a very strict code of honor - which usually cases him to do stupid things - while Ranma tend to a more carefree approach.

[Dark Koala]

And now I would like to perform a magic trick for you. Observe: nothing up my sleeve... except this. And this. and THESE! And...

Mousse - PL 6

Abilities
Strength 2, Stamina 3, Agility 3, Dexterity 4, Fighting 5, Intellect 0, Awareness 1, Presence 0

Advantages
Agile Feint, Benefit, Ambidexterity, Close Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 2, Skill Mastery: Sleight of Hand

Skills
Acrobatics 6 (+9), Expertise: Martial Arts Lore 4 (+4), Expertise: Stage Performing 4 (+4), Sleight of Hand 8 (+12)

Powers
Hidden Weapons - Array(Removable)
. . Exploding Chicken Eggs - Ranged Burst Area Damage 6
. . Fist of the White Swan - Strength-based Damage 2, Accurate, Insidious
. . Scythes of Sorrow - Strength-based Damage 4, Penetrating 7, Reach, Enhanced Advantages (Improved Critical 2)
. . Smoke Bomb - Cloud Area Concealment (normal sight) Linked to Cumulative Cloud Area Affliction 6 (Impaired/Disabled, Resisted by Fortitude), Limited Degree
. . Throwing Darts - Ranged Strength-based Damage 2, Accurate, Multiattack on 4 ranks
Martial Arts Leaping - Leaping 2

Offense
Initiative +7
Exploding Chicken Egg: Area, Damage 6
Fist of the White Swan: Close + 8, Damage 4
Scythes of Sorrow: Close +6, Damage 6
Smoke Bomb: Area, Affliction 6
Throwing Darts: Ranged +8, Damage 4
Unarmed: Close +6, Damage 2

Complications
Extremely Near-Sighted: Mousse cannot see anything accurately without his glasses, and for some reason, he seldom wears them. Maybe it's because they look so dorky. This doesn't seem to actually hinder him in combat--he can still see his surroundings to some degree, but he often mistakes people and objects for something or someone completely different.
Jusenkyou Curse: When splashed with cold water, Mousse transforms into a relatively defenseless duck. Warm water reverses the transformation.
Unrequited Love: Mousse is openly and madly in love with Shampoo, and will do anything to win her affection, no matter how obviously futile his efforts may be.

Defense
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 5, Toughness 5/3, Will 4

Power Points
Abilities 36 + Powers 20 + Advantages 11 + Skills 11 (22 ranks) + Defenses 11 = 89

A boy from the same Chinese Amazon tribe as Shampoo, Mousse has been in love with her since they were both young. Unfortunately, his feelings have always been unrequited. When Ranma accidentally got himself engaged to Shampoo by defeating her in combat, Mousse tried to win her hand in marriage by defeating him. This really hasn't worked out for him.

When he first appeared, Mousse was treated as a serious and credible threat. This did not last long. Although not as belittled as Kuno, Mousse pretty regularly gets kicked around.

Mousse's Hidden Weapons array is removeable, but not Easily Removeable, even though most of the weapons could be knocked out of his hands. This is because he has so damn MANY hidden on him, it would take a rather thorough strip-search to actually disarm him.

Fist of the White Swan is not actually a useful or noteable manuever, but I included it anyway 'cause its so damn funny. Basically, Mousse pulls out a swan-shaped training toilet, whacks you with it, then conceals it again before you can tell what he hit you with. I love it.

[Dark Koala]

Nice build.
I have to say that perhaps a full PL between Ranma and Ryouga is a bit too much, I think that half a PL will be more appropriate, but that's just me. My only other nitpick is about complications, one of the key differences between the two is that Ryouga has a very strict code of honor - which usually cases him to do stupid things - while Ranma tend to a more carefree approach.

Yeah, the problem with Ranma ½ characters is that their power levels are really hard to pin down, even compared to one another. How well Ryouga stacks up to Ranma (or any character to any character, for that matter) really just depends on the plot of that story. I don't really deal with half-PL increments. I know a lot of folks here on the tank distinguish between Offensive PL and Defensive PL, but I'm avoiding that for now, since I'm relatively new at conversions. I may come back and make alterations later, though.

I definitely agree with giving him a Code of Honor complication, though. I'm going to go back and add that.

[Dark Koala]

This is why you don't go beating up strange girls--you could wind up engaged!

Shampoo - PL 7

Abilities
Strength 3, Stamina 3, Agility 5, Dexterity 4, Fighting 6, Intellect 0, Awareness 1, Presence 2

Advantages
Agile Feint, Artificer, Close Attack 3, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 3, Equipment 1, Evasion 2, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Initiative 2, Instant Up, Languages (Chinese, Japanese), Uncanny Dodge

Skills
Acrobatics 7 (+12), Athletics 3 (+6), Deception 5 (+7), Expertise: Martial Arts Lore 4 (+4), Expertise: Mystics 5 (+5), Insight 3 (+4), Perception 4 (+5)

Powers
Martial Arts Leaping - Leaping 3

Equipment
2 Chui (those club thins that look like paper lanterns) (Strength-based Damage 2)

Offense
Initiative +13
Chui: Close +9, Damage 5
Unarmed: Close +9, Damage 3

Complications
Jusenkyou Curse: When splashed with cold water, Shampoo transforms into a normal house cat. Warm water reverses the process.
Obsession: Shampoo will stop at nothing to be Ranma's bride, and is perfectly willing to use very dirty tricks in pursuit of that goal.
Phobia: Shampoo apparently has an intense fear of frogs.

Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6/3, Will 6

Power Points
Abilities 48 + Powers 3 + Advantages 18 + Skills 16 (31 ranks) + Defenses 13 = 98

Shampoo is a member of a Chinese amazon tribe that lives near the Jusenkyou springs. While on their training mission, Ranma and his father accidentally stumbled upon the tribe, and Ranma defeated Shampoo in hand-to-hand combat. Apparently, an amazon woman is bound by their customs to marry the man that can beat them in a fight, and so Shampoo became Ranma's 2nd fiances (or third, if you're already counting Ukyou). Shampoo is extremely dedicated to ensuring her marriage to Ranma, and often employs dirty tricks and crazy mystical techniques in her pursuit of him.

Power Level became a real problem here. Shampoo is clearly stronger than Mousse or Akane, but making her equal to Ryouga doesn't really feel right, either. Maybe Ryouga needs to be upped in PL to match Ranma...I'm not sure at this point. But Shampoo's sitting at PL 7, at least for now.

Shampoo is a nimble and agile fighter, relying mostly on speed and accuracy in combat. As far as I can remember, Shampoo didn't really have any noteable techniques that she used more than once. Most of them were crazy things like memory-erasing hair wash and mind-control accupressure and such nonsense. If anyone has suggestions as to techniques they think should go on her character sheet, feel free to supply them.

[Blitz]

Oh, man, we are not on the same page when it comes to power levels for that bunch... That's cool, though. I'll build them for my own use on an entirely different scale.

[Jabroniville]

Cool Ranma stuff. Despite my nature as an anime-nerd from the before-time (in the long-long-ago) when "Astro Boy" was in repeats and "Sabre Rider & The Star-Sherrifs" first came out (and later when I actually discovered what anime WAS with "Sailor Moon"), I never saw much of "Ranma". I got into anime at a time when getting tapes was FREAKING HARD (especially if you lived in a city below 100,000 in population... no big anime sellers), and so it was one of those things that I only HEARD about, back when scouring the "Anime Web Turnpike" was the big thing.

By the time I finally got into it, I noticed how quickly everything went into "formula"- they spent two seasons introducing all the characters, and then went into the "Whacky Hijinks", as I'm assuming they got ahead of Rumiko Takahashi's manga and just had to make stuff up in a holding pattern . Some of it was quite funny, but I feel like I missed the boat by not being a teenager when I first saw this slapstick, fanservicey series.

Nice work so far- anime characters are more difficult than comic book characters to pin down in PL by a WAYS- manga writers tend to just throw crazy feats out there without thinking about them, have MUCH more established "Tiers" (Japanese are obsessed with tiers... even their pro wrestling, sports manga and fighting manga all have these specific tiers that guys are locked in to), and a tendency (especially in boys' manga) to give guys a notable upgrade in power with EVERY arc. So a PL 8 Ranma fits as well as a PL 11 Ranma would- it all depends on which storyline, which era, and which interpretation you want to go with.

[Blitz]

I've never seen the anime, only read the manga, but there is no single story arc where I would rate Ranma below an 11, and that's being conservative. In terms of strength, agility, and toughness, he compares favorably to Spider-Man, but he's a better fighter.

This is a response to Jabroniville, not trying to tell you what to do with your builds, DK. I, personally, would put Ranma at 11, Ryouga, Shampoo, and Kuno at 10, and Akane and Mousse at 9, but that's me.

[Dark Koala]

Nice work so far- anime characters are more difficult than comic book characters to pin down in PL by a WAYS- manga writers tend to just throw crazy feats out there without thinking about them, have MUCH more established "Tiers" (Japanese are obsessed with tiers... even their pro wrestling, sports manga and fighting manga all have these specific tiers that guys are locked in to), and a tendency (especially in boys' manga) to give guys a notable upgrade in power with EVERY arc. So a PL 8 Ranma fits as well as a PL 11 Ranma would- it all depends on which storyline, which era, and which interpretation you want to go with.

This is the reason why I won't touch series like Naruto or Bleach--the power escalation is ridiculous, and it makes it almost impossible to accurately gauge a character's overall power, and even if you do, it could be outdated after next week's episode. This was true of DBZ, too, but it's been over for a long time and it's easier to look at objectively and as a whole. Ranma ½ is an odd case though, because power level tends to fluctuate up AND down. Ryouga is a big offender here. Sometimes, Ranma only beats him as a technicality or through sheer luck, while at other times, he's no match for Ranma at all.

I also got into anime way back in the early days, when it was still called "Japanimation" and even Cartoon Network hadn't started showing it yet. I got into Ranma and a couple of other series mostly because our local Blockbuster was weird, and had a lot of anime in the foreign section. That, and for some reason, a Ranma½ video game made it stateside (I think it was called "Ranma ½ Hard Battle), and my friends and I had a blast with it even though we had never (at the time) watched the series.

I've never seen the anime, only read the manga, but there is no single story arc where I would rate Ranma below an 11, and that's being conservative. In terms of strength, agility, and toughness, he compares favorably to Spider-Man, but he's a better fighter.

This is a response to Jabroniville, not trying to tell you what to do with your builds, DK. I, personally, would put Ranma at 11, Ryouga, Shampoo, and Kuno at 10, and Akane and Mousse at 9, but that's me.

Really? Kuno is a higher PL than Mousse and Akane? I guess that just goes to show how much your mileage may vary when it comes to Ranma characters. Tatewaki is actually my favorite character, but with the exception of a small handful of stories (his first appearance and the watermelon slicing one are the only instances I can think of), I'd say he's pretty much the bottom of the barrel in terms of power.

I actually see the Ranma cast as only a few notches above the Scott Pilgrim universe in power. Most of their feats are only borderline superhuman, and as I mentioned in my Ranma build, I think a lot of that can be justified by a higher Hero Point economy due to the numerous and frequent complications these characters have. Again, though, this is only a matter of opinion. It's not like there's ever been a crossover event with Spider-Man or Scott Pilgrim or anything else for that matter, so it's hard to establish a precedent.

[Blitz]

Ranma can't handle 100 tons, but he can lift 40 ton objects readily under less-than-ideal circumstances, consistently. He can take shots on the chin that create craters ten feet deep and a hundred yards across, and only be dazed, and eat shots from monsters like Pantyhose Taro without serious problem. His agility is consistently Spider-Man level, odd positions and locations coming naturally to him. After some additional training, he can throw 318 punches so fast that they look like a single punch to most people. Akane was proud of herself for noticing that there were multiple punches in there. With a little setup, Ranma can create tornadoes. He is at least on a level with some of the great comic book martial artists. He's not DBZ level, but he's approaching it. Pantyhose Taro or Herb would probably make decent opponents for Piccolo and Gohan and the guys instead of Nappa and Vegeta. I'm not sold on Hero Points accounting for his outrageous baseline abilities.

Yes, Akane is a PL lower than Kuno. She was able to fight with him almost evenly for a while, when he didn't know who she was, and she doesn't have his crazier showings, like carving chunks of stone off with the air pressure from his sword, dozens of perfectly directed cuts slicing melons into neat, even portions several at a time, pretty much anything.

[Dark Koala]

You do realize that DBZ characters are routinely thrown through mountains, right? And that in his first appearance, Vegeta shot an energy blast that threatened to destroy the earth? (Given, this was probably an exaggeration, since Freiza later failed to completely destroy a planet in one shot, but still.)

I'm afraid we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. As you said, we are not on the same page at all. I could cite instances and rules mechanics that support my stance (the relative fragility of objects in M&M, the fact that Power Attack can radically increase damage output at the cost of accuracy, etc), but I don't think either one of us are going to change our minds. I'm glad you liked my other builds, though, and I am genuinely sorry that my Ranma builds didn't live up to your expectations. Hopefully, you'll see my future efforts more favorable.

[Arthur Eld]

You do realize that DBZ characters are routinely thrown through mountains, right? And that in his first appearance, Vegeta shot an energy blast that threatened to destroy the earth? (Given, this was probably an exaggeration, since Freiza later failed to completely destroy a planet in one shot, but still.)

Except Vegeta totally destroyed a planet with a single beam before he arrived on Earth. That always bugged me about Frieza being unable to destroy Namek. But it does serve as further proof that PLs fluctuate in any given series, even one that, unlike many American comics, is written by one person.

[luketheduke86]

You do realize that DBZ characters are routinely thrown through mountains, right? And that in his first appearance, Vegeta shot an energy blast that threatened to destroy the earth? (Given, this was probably an exaggeration, since Freiza later failed to completely destroy a planet in one shot, but still.)

Except Vegeta totally destroyed a planet with a single beam before he arrived on Earth. That always bugged me about Frieza being unable to destroy Namek. But it does serve as further proof that PLs fluctuate in any given series, even one that, unlike many American comics, is written by one person.

Actually I'm pretty sure Frieza could have out right destroyed the planet but then he made a comment about how he accidentally held back to much.

You have some really wonderful builds here DK and I am ALWAYS happy to see more Fullmetal Alchemist builds here on ATT . I've never actually seen Ranma before but I may have to check it out now. Can't wait to see what build you do next!

[Blitz]

As you like. Your thread. I'm still looking at things like Pantyhose Taro, Herb, and Saffron, of all things, and wondering how PL 8 even comes close, but whatever.