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Every character has a specialty, and must fall into a Archetype of sorts in action movies. This is a listing of all of the available Archetypes in Super Awesome Action Heroes. The "Give Me Five Minutes" rule and Sweet Move Points rules are explained in the section titled Stats, Skills, and Sweet Moves. Your character's Archetype dictates not only their skills, but their personality as well. A Mystic and a Pirate will have very different reactions to the same scenario - so choose carefully.
Archetype List:
 | | Remember to always take the old man's walking stick - before he kicks your ass with it... |
Mystic:
The Mystic is deep. Very, very deep. The Mystic is so deep, that he or she may in fact be played by Steven Seagal - and man, that's deep. The Mystic is the hero who has searched for deeper meaning, and come out with some enlightenment. Perhaps they had a dark past, and are trying to make amends - or maybe they were raised by Tibetan Monks, and are trying to make their way through life outside the monastary. In any case, the fact that they have achieved at least some form of enlightenment automatically means they have mad martial art skills. I mean, it's a given.
The Mystic though, for how great he or she is, has some drawbacks. First off, Mystics have given up the darker side of humanity - which means no killing. No matter what, a Mystic cannot kill another player. If a Mystic's attack "kills" a character, the character is merely considered "unconscious," and may return later if someone else in the party doesn't do something about it. The only exception to this are situations where the Mystic "accidentally lets" the enemy character die through indirect action. The Mystic also has the greatest Combat restrictions out of any class - the only weapons they can use are Melee classed weapons that do not have a blade.
Mystic's Abilities
-Read/Cloud Minds (Give Me Five Minutes)-
The Mystic may mysteriously read a character's thoughts, and if given enough time can find out any information a person has. The Mystic can also "Cloud" minds - as in "These are not the droids you're looking for."
-Heal Wounds (Sweet Move Point/Give Me Five Minutes)-
While wounds naturally heal in this system, a Mystic can channel their personal energy to heal another character to full health. This requires both the use of a Sweet Move point, along with following the Give Me Five Minutes requirement.
-General Sweet Move (Defensive Only)-
The Mystic can use General Sweet Moves, but never as an attack.
Combat Modifiers:
+2 Non-Bladed Melee Weapons
+2 Barehands
(None else allowed)
Ninja:
The mysterious ninja - deft in movement, silent in action... they are... well, they're the Ninja. Deal with it. Be they the traditional form, or of the stranger "American Ninja" variety, they have pledged their allegiance to a Ninja clan of somesort.
Oh yeah, and they don't like Pirates.
A Ninja is best with his or her hands and melee weapons. Oddly enough, shurikens count as melee for Ninja and no one else.
Ninja's Abilities:
-Totally Disappear (Give Me Five Minutes)-
A Ninja has the ability to completely disappear in the shadows, totally. Once they have "Disappeared" they are not visible to anyone unless they speak or attack (at which point they will be clear as day to anyone around). Unfortunately this is a lot of work so it takes a few minutes - for a Ninja to disappear instantly, he or she would use a Sweet Move instead.
-General Sweet Move-
A Ninja can do a General Sweet Move. Need to flip out and kill someone? Not a problem. Need to scale a 100 foot wall in ten seconds? Not a problem.
Combat Modifiers:
-1 Guns
+1 Melee
+1 Barehands
 | | Yo ho, mateys |
Pirate:
Yo ho, mateys - a Pirate's life for me. The Pirate is the typical Swashbuckler, the high seas (or some sort of equivalent) is their home, and nothing can satisfy them more than the idea of a successful try for treasure. Needless to say a Pirate MUST have a ship (be it for the oceans if he or she is a traditional Pirate) or equivalent (y'know, a space ship if we're talking about Space Pirates). If not, they cannot be a Pirate, plain and simple.
Pirates hate Ninja for some unexplainable reason as well, but we won't spend too much time on that. A Pirate is best with guns of all sorts and Swords - but they may be too drunk to do well with just their fists.
Pirate's Abilities:
-Swashbuckle (Give Me Five Minutes)-
This is the Pirate's ability to get out of a situation just by being cool. If a Pirate is "Swashbuckling" (and yes, we know we're fudging the definition of the word here) then automatically everyone will either find the Pirate incredibly cool - or they'll attempt to kill him or her. Swashbuckle also guarantees that they can pilot whatever kind of ship they attempt to commandeer (Be it Sea Ship, Power Boat, Space Cruiser). This also means that even if they've been incredibly drunk earlier on, that they can suddenly hold their liquor or instantly sober up without further explanation.
-General Sweet Move-
Pirates (like most other Archetypes) can do General Sweet Moves. Not much more to say there.
Combat Modifiers:
+1 Guns
+1 Melee
-1 Barehands
Cowboy/Gunslinger:
The Cowboy/Gunslinger is the classic Spagetti Western stereotype. White or Black hat aside, they aren't usually big fans of any authority figure. Gambling and drinking aside, the Cowboy/Gunslinger will follow an internal rulebook and rarely deviate (be it for good or evil).
While the Cowboy/Gunslinger can be seen in any setting, be it the old west, the modern day, or the future - the idea is the attitude, and not the actual presence of Cows.
The Cowboy/Gunslinger is best with Guns. He or she has no real disadvantage with other types of weapons, but there is no real benefit either.
Cowboy/Gunslinger's Abilities:
-GunTrick (Give Me Five Minutes)-
A Cowboy/Gunslinger (outside of combat) has the ability to do absolutely ridiculous things with their gun. Besides hypnotizing people with really cool gun twirlings, the Cowboay/Gunslinger can do very strange things with a bullet, like have it riccochet around a room five times to flip a lightswitch (so they don't have to get up off the sofa).
-General Sweet Move-
The Cowboy/Gunslinger can do sweet moves. I mean really, why wouldn't they?
Combat Modifiers:
+1 Guns
 | | She can blow things up. That's cool. |
Military:
The Military Character is one who is either currently in, or at least has extensive military training. They understand weapons of all sort, and man - do they like to blow things up. Really, if you think about it, the first thing this character thinks about when he or she gets up in the morning is how big of an explosion can they create at any given moment.
They are more likely to follow orders when they are a Sidekick versus other characters - unless the Primary Character is a Scientist... they don't trust those complicated sciencey plans. A Military Character would prefer to blow things up.
Hooray for explosions.
Military's Abilities:
-Blow Something Up (Give Me Five Minutes)-
Need an explosion? Not a problem. The Military character can find a way to make anything explode if given a few minutes. Obviously this can't be done during combat (unless the explosion was set prior to combat's initialization), but any non-combat moment... kaboom!
-General Sweet Move-
Did you even doubt that they could do Sweet Moves?
Combat Modifiers:
+1 Guns
Street Tough:
The Street Tough comes from the streets, whether it's a part of their everyday life or something they've left behind. Whether it be gangs, the Mafia, or whatever, they either have, or are trying to, leave behind their wicked past and are trying to seek redemption.
While they are handy with a gun, and knives are no stranger to them, a Street Tough is best beating things with his or her own fists.
Street Tough's Abilities:
-Contacts In The Life (Give Me Five Minutes)-
Due to their irreputable past, the Street Tough has Contacts In The Life. These friendly criminal elements are handy for providing not just information, but the occasional assistance in a firefight. They are invaluable assets for a Street Tough, and likely the mission to save his or her own soul could not succeed without them.
-General Sweet Move-
A Street Tough can do Sweet Moves. Sweet Moves of redemption... that sounds like a Cat Stevens song...
Combat Modifiers:
+1 Barehands
 | | Phil thinks he's so cool... |
Spy:
Romantic, Suave, and a complete and total liar - the Spy is a classic character. From International to Industrial espionage, deception is their way of life. You never know who they are... and often neither do they.
While they can use guns and knives, their best asset is themselves. If anything, a spy must know how to improvise - and often they may find themselves unarmed.
While they prefer to not work with others in the field, they are usually fond of a strong support team over the radio.
Spy's Abilities:
-Disguise (Give Me Five Minutes)-
A Spy can, somehow, by merely changing his hat, putting on a fake mustache, and affecting a new accent somehow become completely unrecognizable to anyone else. While SOME change must be made for it to work, even the smallest will be successful. The Spy must, however, find a place to make the change out of sight from all other characters, or else the disguise will be unsuccessful.
-General Sweet Move-
The Spy has the General Sweet Move ability, which (of course) can be incredibly handy.
Combat Modifiers
+1 Barehands
Investigator:
There are several types of characters who fit into the Investigator profile - Police Detectives, Private Investigators, and really anyone else who investigates things. In actuality, this class is designed for more than just urban investigators - Trackers, Adventurers who can't find a trail, all of these people fall into this Archetype.
If they're used to combat, Investigators are most likely to be trained in the use of firearms. They are also more likely to work well with Scientists than most other Archetypes, as they usually have a solid working relationship with them normally. Without the Investigator to bring back information, the Scientist would have little to work with.
Investigator's Abilities:
-Totally Investigate (Give Me Five Minutes)-
The Investigator's main tool is the ability to "Totally Investigate" things. If there is a clue left, they will find it. If there is some cryptic message scrawled in purple lipstick on a Mayan artifact - the Investigator will find it if he or she chooses to Totally Investigate the situation.
-General Sweet Move-
The Investigator gets to have the Sweet Move Skill. Why? Because we all know that Sherlock Holmes secretly had a bad-ass spinning back kick.
Combat Modifiers:
+1 Guns
Haxor:
 | | This isn't what a Hacker looks like, this is what a Hacker in movies looks like. |
The Haxor is what every real life Hacker wishes that he or she could be. Cool, hip, and maybe a bit swank, the Haxor can pretty much make any piece of technology do what they want it to do... sometimes. Any piece of information is accessable to them though, so they can be one of the handiest Sidekicks in the world.
Unlike the Scientist Archetype, the Haxor is not completely useless in combat. While they aren't the best at hand to hand fighting or melee attacks, Haxors usually have a higher than average hand eye coordination. This means Haxors are actually more skilled at firearms than most would think, most likely because of all of the First Person Shooters they play.
Haxor's Abilities:
-1337ness (Give Me Five Minutes)-
A Haxor knows how to use any Computer. Whether it's an old 8088 machine that's been sitting around or a terminal created by an alien race called the Rengatti, the Haxor will not only know how to use it, but will know how to get it online and download porn on it. Now, this doesn't mean they can do anything plot important with it - but if there is an obvious switch, they've got a much better chance of seeing it than, say, a Ninja. 1337ness also provides an ability to impress any other Haxor or Scientist character - and any Fodder character - with their absolute hipness.
-Research (Give Me Five Minutes)-
If a Haxor has access to a computer, they can find out any thing you could possibly need to know. Whether or not that means that they hacked into the City Planning commission, or getting that blueprint to the alien ship, the Haxor can find it out. This skill only applies to information though - you can't use Research to unlock the doors of an alien deathtrap. For that, you'll need to use...
-Technology Solution (Sweet Move Point)-
While the Haxor can't do General Sweet Moves, that doesn't mean his or her Sweet Move Points are useless. No, what they can do is quite important. Are the walls closing in on the trash compactor that the players are trapped in? Technology Solution. Maybe there is an electrical panel, and you just happen to have an iPod on you which allows you to log in and reverse the polarity and... well, you get it.
Combat Modifiers:
+1 Guns (From all those FPS games)
-1 Melee
-1 Barehands
Scientist:
While Scientists may have gotten themselves out of the labcoats in modern media, they are still effectively the same people. If they weren't, who else would Jeff Goldblum end up being able to play? Anyway, their love is science, numbers, logic, and things like that. Facts are their friends, and Research their favorite companion.
The Scientist is incredibly useful in many, many circumstances - and none of those circumstances are combat. They can't shoot, they can't hold a sword, and they most definitely can't throw a punch.
Scientist's Abilities:
-Research (Give Me Five Minutes)-
Like the Haxor, the Scientist can find out any piece of information if given access to a computer. The Scientist takes it slightly differently in the sense that they also have the option to use the dreaded "Hard Copies" - Books. Again, this skill is purely for informational purposes, and is only applicable in those situations.
-Technology Solution (Sweet Move Point)-
Another skill shared with the Haxor, the Technology Solution can be used to remove the Scientist from any deathtrap or desperate situation that is based on electronics, motots, etc.
-Miracle Cure (Sweet Move Point)-
Miracle Cure is a handy skill. If the Scientist needs to find any solution based on either Chemistry or Biology, the Scientist can pull off the equivalent of a Sweet Move with their mad science skillz.
-Build Something Out of Nowhere (Sweet Move Point)-
Probably the most useful skill the Scientist has, the ability to Build Something Out of Nowhere is quite handy. Out of weapons? Well, you have a minifridge, a DVD player, and a Car Battery - we can probably build some sort of electrical cannon... You get the idea.
Combat Modifiers:
-1 Guns
-1 Melee
-1 Barehands
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