[Supers] GURPS Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe, Reboot Edition

[Phantasm]

IRON FIST

Real Name: Daniel Rand'kai.
Occupation: Businessman, adventurer.
Identity: Secret.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record; citizen of K'un-L'un.
Other Aliases: Daniel Rand (his legal identity in the United States).
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Miranda (alias Death-Sting, half-sister); Wendell (father, deceased); Heather (mother, deceased); Shakari (father's first wife, deceased); Tuan (adopted grandfather, deceased); Yu-Ti (alias the August Personage in Jade, adopted uncle).
Group Affiliation: Part-owner of Rand-Meachum Enterprises; occasional ally of the Renegades and Nightwing Restorations.
Base of Operations: Chicago, Illinois.
History: Throughout the world there are a half dozen or so "immortal weapons", men and women who have achieved spiritual enlightenment through mastery of a secret martial art taught in the extradimensional realm of K'un-L'un. Founded roughly a million years ago by near-human extraterrestrials, K'un-Lun was co-ruled by the aliens' descendants and powerful beings called the Dragon Kings, who were themselves subject to the godlike sorcerer Master Khan. These men and women are not truly immortal, although many of them are extremely long-lived and active well into their nineties; the term "immortal weapon" comes from the fact that when one dies another inevitably appears to take the title and abilities of his predecessor.

Once every ten years, the realm of K'un-L'un interacts with Earth upon a mountain in Tibet, permitting passage between the two realms. Wendell Rand had, as a youth, visited the mystic city of K'un-Lun, which materialized in the Himalayas once a decade. Rand had saved the life of K'un-Lun's ruler Lord Tuan, who adopted Rand as his heir, to the resentment of Tuan's son, Yu-Ti. During his time in K'un-Lun, Rand married a woman named Shakari and fathered a daughter, Miranda Rand-K'ai.

Ten years after coming to K'un-Lun, Rand was showing Shakari the restored nexus when Yu-Ti's men attacked them. Shakari was slain, and the grief-stricken Rand returned to Earth. Within a year, he became a successful businessman and married a woman named Heather. In his absence, Lord Tuan died and became ruler of Feng-Tu, abode of K'un-Lun's departed spirits, leaving Yu-Ti to rule K'un-Lun (see August Personage in Jade). A year later, Heather gave birth to Daniel.

When Daniel Rand was nine, at roughly the time K'un-Lun was scheduled to materialize, his father decided to bring him and Heather to K'un-Lun. Accompanied by Rand's business partner Harold Meachum, they traveled to the Himalayas, but Wendell fell from a mountain ledge. Clutching the edge, Rand called to Meachum for help, but Meachum, hoping to control Rand's business shares, caused Wendell to plunge to his death. Shortly afterward, Heather sacrificed her life to protect Daniel from a wolf pack, and her spirit ascended to Feng-Tu. The denizens of K'un-Lun found Daniel and took him in, while a frostbite-crippled Meachum learned of Daniel's survival and spent the next decade preparing elaborate defenses against future attack. Recognizing the boy as his adopted brother's son, Yu-Ti nevertheless permitted Daniel to grow up as a member of the royal family, introducing Danny to his half-sister, Miranda.

Vowing to avenge his parents, Daniel Rand studied martial arts under K'un-Lun's greatest warrior, Lei Kung, while growing up in K'un-Lun. His closest friends were Miranda and a K'un-Lun boy named Conal D'hu-Tsien; in defiance of K'un-L'un law, Danny and Conal secretly instructed Miranda in K'un-L'un's martial arts. At nineteen, Rand requested and earned an opportunity to win the power of the Iron Fist by confronting Shou-Lao the Undying, a man transformed into a mystic serpent over a thousand years ago by the Dragon King Chiantang, and whose power resided within a flaming brazier. Daniel apparently slew Shao-Lao by grappling him around the neck, a feat no other warrior had ever done, and plunged his hands into the brazier, imbuing himself with the mystic energy of the Iron Fist. The act of grappling Shao-Lao to kill him apparently left Daniel with a dragon-shape branded into his chest. (Shao-Lao has since been revealed to have either survived or returned from the dead.) Somewhat jealous of her younger brother, Miranda declared her intention of also gaining the power of one of the Immortal Weapons. Angered by his niece's public declaration, Yu-Ti ordered her and Conal exiled from K'un-L'un.

As the passage to Earth was opening up, Daniel decided the time had come to obtain vengeance on Meachum, and the three of them traveled to Earth. During the passage, however, Miranda and Conal were separated from Danny; although he looked for them, they had disappeared without a trace. Danny hiked to from Tibet to Hong Kong, where he earned passage to America on a freighter.

Harold Meachum learned of Danny's arrival from K'un-L'un, and placed an open bounty of several million dollars on Danny's head. Danny tracked Meachum to Chicago, but had to contend with assassins making attempts on his life, including a number of Hand ninjas (see The Hand). One of those assassins, he discovered, was his lost sister Miranda, who had become amnesiac after gaining the power of the Death-Sting, another of the Immortal Weapons, and sent after him by Meachum's men (see Death-Sting). Danny is currently working with private investigators Misty Knight and Colleen Wing to discover a way to get to Meachum while helping his sister regain her memory (see Knight, Misty; Wing, Colleen). (Conal's whereabouts are still unknown.)
Height: 5' 11".
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Green.
Hair: Brown.
Other Distinguishing Features: Iron Fist has a dragon image that has essentially been branded onto his chest.
Uniform: Green bodysuit with a black dragon emblem on the chest, yellow gloves, yellow shoes, yellow cowl with black eye markings, yellow sash.
Strength Level: Iron Fist possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: By channeling his chi, the spiritual energy possessed by all living beings, in his right hand, Iron Fist is able to deliver an incredible blow, capable of smashing through a six foot thick brick wall or demolishing the front end of a car. Using this ability physically taxes his body, and he is normally able to perform this feat only once before needing to rest.
Other Abilities: Iron Fist is a master of an unnamed style of kung fu taught in K'un-L'un.

(stats on next page)

[Phantasm]

Iron Fist
1,038 points
Attributes: ST 14 [40]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 14 [40].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d/2d; BL 39 lbs.; HP 20 [12]; Will 14 [15]; Per 14 [15]; FP 14 [0]; Basic Speed 7.00 [0]; Basic Move 7 [0]; Dodge 14.
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0]; Han Chinese (Accented) [4]; Mandarin Chinese (Accented) [4]; Nepalese (Accented) [4]; Tibetan (Native) [6].
Cultural Familiarities: East Asian (Native) [0].
Advantages: Ambidexterity [5]; Appearance (Attractive) [4]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Crushing Attack 18d (Based on Power Blow; Armor Divisor (5), +150%; Costs 6 FP, -30%; Melee Attack: Destructive Parry, +10%; Melee Attack: Reach C, -30%; Melee Attack: ST-Based, +100%; Takes Extra Time 3, -30%; Chi, -10%) [234]; Damage Resistance 3 (Tough Skin, -40%) [9]; Danger Sense (Chi, -10%) [14]; Daredevil [15]; Detect Other Immortal Weapons (Reflexive, +40%; Chi, -10%) [7]; Enhanced Dodge 3 [45]; Enhanced Parry (All Parries) 3 [30]; Flexibility [5]; Forceful Chi 4 [60]; Hard to Kill 3 [6]; Hard to Subdue 3 [6]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Inner Balance 4 [60]; Longevity [2]; Metabolism Control 3 (Mastery, +40%; Chi, -10%) [20]; Trained By A Master [30]; Unfazeable [15]; Very Fit [15]; Very Rapid Healing [15]; Visualization (Chi, -10%) [9].
Perks: Acceleration Tolerance [1]; Attribute Substitution (Precognitive Parry based on Per) [1]; Autotrance [1]; Chi Resistance (Kiai) [1]; Chi Resistance (Pressure Points) [1]; Deep Sleeper [1]; Exotic Weapon Training (Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao) [1]; Exotic Weapon Training (Three-Part Staff) [1]; Focused Fury [1]; Iron Hands 2 [2]; Rapid Retraction (Kicks) [1]; Rapid Retraction (Punches) [1]; Skintight Outfit [1]; Special Exercises (DR 1 w/ Tough Skin) 3 [3]; Style Familiarity (K'un-L'un Kung Fu) [1].
Disadvantages: Charitable (12) [-15]; Code of Honor (Xia) [-10]; Discipline of Faith (Mysticism) [-10]; On the Edge (12) [-15]; Overconfidence (9) [-7]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]; Secret Identity (Imprisonment) [-20]; Sense of Duty (Friends and Family) [-5]; Social Stigma (Ignorant) [-5]; Vow (Vengeance) [-10]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10].
Quirks: Likes Silver Age Comics [-1]; OUCH! [-1]; Traditional Chinese Diet [-1]; Willfully Anachronistic [-1]; Won't Meet Anyone's Eyes [-1].
Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX+1 [8] – 15; Artist (Calligraphy) (H) IQ-1 [2] – 10; Autohypnosis (H) Will+3 [2] – 17*; Axe/Mace (A) DX+1 [4] – 15; Blind Fighting (VH) Per+2 [2] – 16*; Body Control (VH) HT+2 [2] – 16*; Body Language (Human) (A) Per+3 [1] – 17*; Bow (A) DX+0 [2] – 14; Breaking Blow (H) IQ+3 [2] – 14†; Breath Control (H) HT+2 [1] – 16*; Broadsword (A) DX+1 [4] – 15; Carousing (E) HT+0 [1] – 14; Climbing (A) DX+2 [1] – 16‡; Crossbow (E) DX+1 [2] – 15; Dancing (A) DX-1 [1] – 13; Detect Lies (H) Per+0 [4] – 14; Diplomacy (H) IQ-1 [2] – 10; Escape (H) DX+2 [2] – 16‡; Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [1] – 15§; First Aid/TL3 (Human) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Flail (H) DX+0 [4] – 14; Flying Leap (H) IQ+3 [2] – 14†; Fortune-Telling (Feng Shui) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 11; Hiking (A) HT+0 [2] – 14; Hypnotism (Human) (H) IQ+3 [2] – 14†; Immovable Stance (H) DX+3 [2] – 17*; Invisibility Art (VH) IQ+3 [4] – 14†; Judo (H) DX+11 [48] – 25; Judo Art (H) DX+8 [1] – 22#; Jumping (E) DX+0 [1] – 14; Karate (H) DX+11 [28] – 25; Karate Art (H) DX+8 [1] – 22∫; Knife (E) DX+2 [4] – 16; Light Walk (H) DX+3 [2] – 17*; Lizard Climb (H) DX+3 [2] – 17*; Meditation (H) Will+3 [2] – 17*; Mental Strength (E) Will+5 [2] – 19*; Observation (A) Per+0 [2] – 14; Parry Missile Weapons (H) DX+0 [4] – 14; Polearm (A) DX+1 [4] – 15; Power Blow (H) Will+6 [12] – 20†; Precognitive Parry (H) Per+4 [4] – 18†; Pressure Points (H) IQ+3 [4] – 15†; Riding (Equines) (A) DX-1 [1] – 13; Running (A) HT+1 [4] – 15; Savoir-Faire (Dojo) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Shortsword (A) DX+1 [3] – 15¥; Spear (A) DX+1 [4] – 15; Staff (A) DX+1 [3] – 15¤; Stealth (A) DX+0 [2] – 14; Survival (Arctic) (A) Per-1 [1] – 13; Survival (Mountain) (A) Per-1 [1] – 13; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 14; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 14; Thrown Weapon (Shuriken) (E) DX+1 [2] – 15; Thrown Weapon (Spear) (E) DX+1 [2] – 15; Two-Handed Flail (H) DX+0 [4] – 14; Two-Handed Sword (A) DX+1 [4] – 15.
Techniques: Acrobatic Stand (Acrobatics) (A) def+6 [6] – 15; Choke Hold (Judo) (H) def+2 [3] – 25; Hand-Clap Parry (Judo Parry) (H) def+1 [2] – 15; Jump Kick (Karate) (H) def+1 [2] – 22; Kicking (Karate) def+2 [3] – 25; Pressure-Point Strike (Karate) (H) def+0 [0] – 23; Spinning Kick (Karate) (H) def+3 [4] – 25; Whirlwind Attack (Staff) (H) def+5 [6] – 15.
Starting Spending Money: $2,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).

* Includes +4 from Inner Balance.
† Includes +4 from Forceful Chi.
‡ Includes +3 from Flexibility.
§ Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
# Defaulted from Judo.
∫ Defaulted from Karate.
¥ Defaulted from Broadsword.
¤ Defaulted from Spear.

Role-Playing Notes:
Danny is a good man who has vowed vengeance against the man who betrayed his parents and left them to die. He is still acclimating himself to the modern world, as K'un-L'un is still in a state of medieval Chinese technology mixed in with Tibetan mysticism. He's not really sure himself whether he can follow through with his vow.

Design Notes:
1. In K'un-L'un, Danny has several Social traits which are not on his sheet, most notably his Status from being one of the ruling family and Social Regard (Respected) as one of the Immortal Weapons. These traits were not included on his sheet due to their being practically useless once he arrives on Earth. Should a campaign take place in K'un-L'un, feel free to add these traits.

[Keiko]

What does Quirk: OUCH!" mean?

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Keiko

What does Quirk: OUCH!" mean?

It was in the custom quirks thread. Here's the text of what I saved:

OUCH!*
Whenever your character suffers a minor injury, dealing no more than 1 point of damage (e.g. paper cuts, a bonk on the head, stepping on a tack), or any open wound is being treated, he must make a Will roll or cry out as if he had Low Pain Threshold. This is not incompatible with High Pain Threshold. (For example, think of any cinematic hero who can take bullets and third degree burns without flinching, but then cries like a little girl when antiseptic is rubbed on a minor scratch.)

[Otaku]

Oh, this reminds me of a question I have had about Powers in general, though it was inspired by the larger Marvel multiverse. My apologies if this was discussed up thread and I missed it (or given my memory, that I asked this like two years ago and have forgotten):

You mention way back on the first page that there can be some Power Modifiers that overlap, such a Mutant vs. Psionic vs. Mutant Psionic, and how all Mutant Powers are also Super. I overall don't really agree with how they are treated as evening out (then again, when I read Marvel Comics they almost went out of their way to throw in some of each, even if the setting was focused on just one in particular), but I'm not really worried about that.

What I want to know is if there will be anything akin to "Super Chi" and if so, what qualifies? Why do I think "Chi" isn't enough? It might be due to my reading preferences, faulty memory or just skewed perspective, but it seems like some characters were constrained in a manner akin to normal chi, and as such anti-super measures shouldn't affect them, while others basically used chi to become flat out supers; this is the difference between being Bruce Lee or Goku. Though Iron Fist isn't exactly a Super Saiyan, I think he's an example that at least begins to crossover from pure "Chi" to "Super Chi". If you want another non-Marvel Universe example that regularly crosses over with Marvel, I would designate the cast of Street Fighter as "Super Chi", which is perhaps why I consider it even worth bringing up.

[Infornific]

Captain America's hth combat skills are at 18 or so but Iron Fist rates 25? THat doesn't quite seem right.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Four whole pages for the Wolverine IT:Unbreakable Bones discussion, and not one word about whether his claws are better as Claws (Talons) or Cutting/Impaling Strikers. I think that beats the Daredevil mitigated-Blindness discussion from last year! :)
.

Oh. That's easy. It's best as a AP cutting melee innate attack.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Otaku

You mention way back on the first page that there can be some Power Modifiers that overlap, such a Mutant vs. Psionic vs. Mutant Psionic, and how all Mutant Powers are also Super. I overall don't really agree with how they are treated as evening out (then again, when I read Marvel Comics they almost went out of their way to throw in some of each, even if the setting was focused on just one in particular), but I'm not really worried about that.

What I want to know is if there will be anything akin to "Super Chi" and if so, what qualifies? Why do I think "Chi" isn't enough? It might be due to my reading preferences, faulty memory or just skewed perspective, but it seems like some characters were constrained in a manner akin to normal chi, and as such anti-super measures shouldn't affect them, while others basically used chi to become flat out supers; this is the difference between being Bruce Lee or Goku. Though Iron Fist isn't exactly a Super Saiyan, I think he's an example that at least begins to crossover from pure "Chi" to "Super Chi". If you want another non-Marvel Universe example that regularly crosses over with Marvel, I would designate the cast of Street Fighter as "Super Chi", which is perhaps why I consider it even worth bringing up.

Nothing planned that qualifies. This does not mean that there won't be any, just nothing planned that can't be done by putting the Chi power modifier on Imbue. So no, no super-saiyans. The only other "immortal weapon" that'll be encountered will be his half-sister (whose whereabouts in the mainstream Marvel U has been ambiguous since the '80s).

I'm curious to know which characters you had in mind who might qualify for Super Chi, though.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Infornific

Captain America's hth combat skills are at 18 or so but Iron Fist rates 25? THat doesn't quite seem right.

Cap's due for an update. This is a large project, after all.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Nothing planned that qualifies. This does not mean that there won't be any, just nothing planned that can't be done by putting the Chi power modifier on Imbue. So no, no super-saiyans. The only other "immortal weapon" that'll be encountered will be his half-sister (whose whereabouts in the mainstream Marvel U has been ambiguous since the '80s).

I'm curious to know which characters you had in mind who might qualify for Super Chi, though.

...

I really like Capcom games, so the Vs series is never far from my mind and yes that is not canon Marvel. XD Otherwise, I would have leaned towards making Iron Fist one (with my limited knowledge of the character). A key (...I made a pun, didn't I?) is do Super countermeasures affect his chi based powers? I can't remember if Marvel has "reality stabilizers" or the like. Seems like every major comic universe has to have their own version of the Vault (no really, the way most are set-up they have to have their own version), and I think before I stopped reading Marvel comics regularly, I think they started having more than the Vault... so I could easily be thinking of a different setting. ^^'

Otherwise... I vaguely remember prison facilities where guys like Batroc and Zaran end up being influential because they lose nothing or next to nothing from their abilities, while supers (mutant or otherwise), various mystically empowered characters, etc. all do because every power modifier they can think of has been locked down. So guys like that basically rule the gen pop. It was towards the very end of the time I was reading Wolverine's solo book, he ended up in jail. Interestingly, his healing factor was also shut down and the injections they gave him were to keep him from succumbing to heavy metal poisoning due to his own adamantium skeleton (or some similar medical complication). I think physical restraints kept his claws in check, but since this was over 10 years ago, exact details are sketchy. ^^'

My apologies; I shouldn't have raised the matter until I had more clear examples in my mind Also, just to be clear, "Super Saiyan" was just a reference point and not implying an actual character... though for all I know, there could be one like that in the MU. XD