Thursday, August 21, 2014

OSR extras (5) - Touhou project Marisa Kirisame, rpg character sheet




Touhou is an amazing thing, although very hard to explain. In its core, it's a danmaku game ('curtain of fire', 'bullet hell') where you play as little girls shooting colorful bullets against one another. But saying that is the same as saying that 'Dark Souls is just a game where you play a zombie in a dark fantasy world' or that 'Adventure Time is just stupid cartoon about the adventures
of a boy and a magic dog in a strange world'. All of those stories have such a level of density and complexity that goes beyond the first glances one may have on them.

In the case of Touhou, I find it one of the most endearing works of art nowadays. I love the plural aspect of its expression, where every single detail helps to compose the greater picture: the way the characters talk and clothe, the way they attack, their respective bullets and their patterns, the musics of the game, the way the musics are composed to create a greater arc on themselves and with themselves, the many characteristics correlated to oriental religion and mythology, the subtle criticism of the modern wasted way of life, the heartfelt atmosphere that can make brutal human devouring demons seem so lovely...

With all of that said, today I bring you Marisa! the ordinary magician from Touhou; I was saying that I'd do that for a friend of mine for a few days and now I got to it, ha! Well, as always, outside brackets is Old School, inside is New School.

Marisa, the Ordinary Magician, Human Wizard 7, Druid 3, Fighter 3, Thief 5

HD: 18 (7d4+3d8+3d10+5d6), or 51 hp
At: 11 [+9]; Magic broom 7 [+13], 2d6 damage or Danmaku (see below)
AC: 8 [12] when in the ground; -5 [25] when fighting in the air flying on her broom
SV: 12+ (see below)
All: Chaotic good
XP: 15.000

Special:

. Breaking the law!: Marisa does not follow the classic OSR rules. She has many different classes and does not suffer of any of their restrictions (as, for example, having to be True Neutral to be a druid). Her strong, tireless and hard-working nature makes her adaptable – and she can bend rules to make them fit better to her designs.

. A strange thief!: Marisa's thievery does't seem motivated by greed and desire for money and riches. All in all, she is a very 'balanced' thief, having 60% in all her skills.

. Just an ordinary magician!: Although one of the most iconic personalities in Touhou and with a great deal of power herself, Marisa's magic is truly limited – mostly light and fire based, and almost entirely attack spells. Most of her magic components come from mushrooms – hence her levels as a Druid, focusing mostly on Plant based magic. The GM should keep that in mind, as Marisa would have few utility spells memorized if encountered randomly, having mostly attack based ones. Nevertheless, she can prepare herself if the situation calls for it (look at 'Extreme Effort').

. Ze!: Marisa's quirky temperament is legendary – even though she is known as a burglar, there are not many direct assaults against her from those she steals from. Because of that, Marisa has a +3 reaction roll, and overall can get away of any sticky situation through her charisma – even though sometimes that makes her seem as just a childish human.

. Extreme effort!: Marisa can work tirelessly for hours with extreme dedication. In fact, she can muster new magical effects if needed, and create new items or potions to the GM discretion if she has time for it. And, although extremely hard-working, Marisa goes to great lenghts in hiding that from others – so her magic seem very flashy and very natural, besides the high ammount of dedication she puts into it.

. Danmaku!: Marisa can shoot lasers, fires and other similar attacks based on light and heat. Her shoots are normally focused and powerfull. When attacking with her Danmaku, it has attack 5 [+15] and deals 4d6 damage.

. Agile girl with a tiny hitbox!: Marisa is fast and nimble when on her broom, flying. Therefore, her AC goes to -5 [25] when she's in the air. And, if she is fighting someone, she probably will be in the air.

. Master Spark!: Her ultimate attack, Marisa may use her magic item 'Mini-Hakero' to invoke the Master Spark – a big 'fuck-off' laser cannon. It causes 20d6 damage (breath save for half damage) in a gigantic line of sight (probably hitting anything in front of her). She has very few and random uses of it per day, though. When she uses the Master Spark, roll 1d6, and let the die rest on the table. Then, if she wants to use it again, roll the die and you must get a higher number than before. If you can't, the Master Spark is wasted for today and must be recharged.

. Magic Items!: Marisa has a great collection of strange items in her house – the GM may name some of them as magical if needed. Besides that, she has always by her side her broom – a flying broom that seems to be undestructible – and her Mini-Hakero which is capable to create many different levels of fire.

. Poison Resistance and Cold Vulnerability: Although an almost unknown fact, Marisa is very resistance to poison (the Forest of Magic, the place where she lives, is poisonous by itself and she is fine living there) and she is also weak against cold. Because of that, Marisa is immune to most Marisa receives +2 on saves against poison and -2 on those against Cold attacks. 

. Fight through nihilism!: Marisa has an indomitable spirit. Although 'just a human', and overall pretty weak compared to the foes she encounter, she has an inner strength the sets her appart from others. When completely dedicated to a cause, with the GM's discretion, Marisa gains +49 hit points (going to 100 hps total) and, if she fails a saving throw, she can try again with a 3+, having to have lost those 2 times for the effect to heappen against her.

. Combat strategies!: Marisa goes into combat with gun's blazing. She is not afraid of using superior firepower and mobility. She will be in the air, using her danmaku, casting any spells that seem useful and will not be shy of blasting her Master Spark against her enemies. If things go awry, she will speed off away in her broom – and few creatures would be able to catch up to her in speed.

Hope you guys liked Marisa. I will be talking more of Touhou eventually – I think it would be a very, very interesting setting to try adapting to OSR. Maybe after I finish my Dark Souls one.

Until then,
Valete!.

Image:  Mokku

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