Friday, April 29, 2011

V&V A to Z: Yōkai

Character Name: Yōkai      Alternate I.D.: Yukiko Yamashita     Side: Good
Gender: Female     Height: 5'2"     Weight: 120 lbs     Age: 14
        
Physical Description: A young Asian-American teenage girl with purple skin, black hair, green eyes, and small horns on her forehead . 

STR: 24     END: 26    INT: 12     AGL: 15    CHA: 14

Level: 2nd     XP: 2,034     Basic Hits: 3     Hit Points: 32     Healing Rate: 2.1/day
Movement: 65"      Power: 77    Carrying Capacity: 985 lbs     
HTH Damage: 1d10 Damage Modifier: +1    Accuracy: +2   
Detect Hidden: 10%     Detect Danger: 14%  Inventing Points: 2.4     Inventing: 36%
Reaction Modifier: +1 good/-1 evil     Training: Heightened Expertise in HTH combat  

Powers/Talents
Adaption
Heightened Endurance B: +15
Heightened Senses: Magic Detection (range 12”)
Heightened Strength B: +15
Invulnerability: 20 pt

Weaknesses
Prejudice (demon)

Areas of Knowledge
Inheritor, Religion/Occult, Student

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Sadao Yamashita was worried. The behavior of his wife Izanami had grown increasingly erratic during her pregnancy; whenever he tried to talk to her about it she became distant and withdrawn. Finally, as the birth of their child was only weeks away, Izanami broke down and confessed to many terrible things, not the least of which was consorting with demons. Izanami feared that her unborn child would be a yōkai (demon).

Sadao was not certain if he actually believed this, but he had not become a multi-millionaire by ignoring potential risks needlessly. He called in both a local priest, and a retired hero-magician, to help oversee the birth of his daughter. As it turned out, this had been a wise move; dark forces had shown up at the child's birth to claim the girl. Both the priest and the mother died during the conflict before the magician could banish away the demons, and it is believed that their sacrifice helped to purify the soul of the newborn girl. Her non-human appearance had clearly been the result of demonic influence, and yet the magician could find no trace of demonic energy on the child.

Sadao was determined that the sacrifice of his wife and the priest would not be in vain, and vowed to raise the girl, whom he named Yukiko, as his own. Out of necessity the girl would be raised away from other children for the most part, home-schooled by private tutors. Sadao did his best to instill his daughter with a strong sense of ethics and morality, all the while trying to allow her to, as much as possible, grow up a normal girl.

His efforts would seem to have paid off. In terms of personality, Yukiko is not unlike other young girls her age; she worries that her clothes are horribly out-of-date, spends way too many hours a day on Facebook, and obsesses constantly about the Jonas Brothers and Justin Beiber.

Unlike most other girls her age, Yōkai (as she is sometimes called) has had to deal with multiple attempts to either kill her, or kidnap her to be used for dark purposes. Yukiko doesn't go looking for trouble, but when it shows up, she doesn't run away from it; she's learned the hard way that such threats are best faced head-on.

Campaign Use: Yōkai should hopefully prove to be a sympathetic ally for the PCs – she would love nothing better than to have a 'normal' life, but that is not to be. Younger PCs might find her friendship a welcome thing, as someone their own age who can hear of their various adventures without weirding out about it.

Out of necessity, Yōkai has learned a great deal of occult lore, and could prove a useful ally if the PCs have to deal with demonic foes.

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