Characters for Street Fighter

Without player characters and non-player characters, there just wouldn't be anyone left to fight with. And that, as they say, would be intensely boring - to say the least.

I try to avoid creating characters of World Warrior class. Personally, I think the ranks between 3^rd and 6^th are the most interesting, but I know some people get their kicks from making superpowerful characters. So do I, but they're the masters of ninja clans and wizard covenants, and not Street Fighters. If that makes any sense.

Mostly, these characters are Street Fighters. Therefore, they are listed according to their ranks. In addition to that, I've included the World Warriors as well, according to their published stats. If I were to use them in my own campaign, I would likely rebuild them a bit differently - so, any of my players, if you read this - be afraid. Be very afraid.

Grunts
Firefall Ninja
Lin Kuei
Lin Long Kuei (Tree Dragon Men)

Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3

Two Axes (Duelist Kung Fu)

Stone (Freestyle Boxing)

Reggie (Freestyle Western Kickboxing)

Stick (Duelist Escrima)

Thom (Freestyle Western Kickboxing)

Rank 4 Rank 5 Rank 6

Hannibal (Freestyle Western Kickboxing)

Steel Claw (Duelist Claw-Ryu)

Ashanti (Duelist Short Spear)

Black Bart (Freestyle Pankration)

Santa Claus (Freestyle Ninjutsu)

Iron Wolf (Duelist Tetsubo-Jutsu)

Jean-Jaques Lavalle (Freestyle Savate)

Rank 7 Rank 8 Rank 9

Steel Shadow (Duelist Lightning-Ryu)

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Rank 10 World Warriors Unranked

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Balrog (Traditional 10 Boxing)

M. Bison (Freestyle 9 Ler Drit)

Sagat (Freestyle 9 Muay Thai)

Vega (Freestyle 10 Spanish Ninjutsu)

Tewon Shu (Unranked TaeKwon-Do)

Word (Unranked Kabaddi)

Grunts

Grunts, mooks, popcorn, stunt monkeys. Known by many names, these are the faceless multitudes of the Street Fighter world, often placed in the way of Street Fighters as a tension-relieving measure. For some unfathomable reason, they are often clad in black, and consider themselves ninja. As if being a heliophobic, wall-climbing martial artist with a propensity for hiding in other people's closets is something great to aspire to.

Firefall Ninja - members of a strange clan of ninja, these shadow warriors demonstrate supernatural powers of flame and heat. Hired by the highest bidder, the Firefall ninja can never be kept on retainer indefinitely - their code of honor demands that they can only be hired to perform a set number of services.

[Lin Kuei] - the original Tree Men, these Chinese ninja kidnap children to train them to be assassins, and hire themselves out to the highest bidder.
[Genin] [Jonin]

Lin Lung Kuei - the Tree Dragon Men, Chinese ninja fanatically devoted to their master, the Golden Dragon Master.

Rank 1

Rank 1 characters are starting to get their feet wet. Whether they are Duelist, Traditional, or Freestyle, they are roughly the equivalent of a black belt in their chosen discipline. Though they are 'beginning' characters, they can be quite vicious in their own right - though a character may be no more than a 1^st Rank muay thai practitioner, he can still probably throw a mean elbow! And who knows - perhaps this particular 1^st Ranker was previously in another division?

[Two Axes], a Kung Fu Duelist that uses - you guessed it - two short-handled axes.

Rank 2

A few fights later, the previously humble Rank 1 has achieved Rank 2. Almost all fighters, no matter how poor they are at fighting - if they just stay in, and continue to fight, they'll attain Rank 2. You need one win, though. Rank 2 characters have received a little bit of experience, and has probably changed one or perhaps to glaring weaknesses from a Rank 1. They may have gotten a technique the didn't have, or increased it from one dot to two dots. Anyhow, one can expect that only minor differences differentiates a Rank 1 from a Rank 2.

[Stone], a powerful boxer, she is the epitome of the fighting female. She is usually found in the company of Stick and Word.

Rank 3

This rank is perhaps the rank where the competition starts getting tough. Now, you have to toe the line, and worry about keeping this many wins for every loss you have. To make matters even worse, many tournaments (at least in my experience) have a tendency to group 1^st and 2^nd rankers in the same group, and then 3^rd through 5^th rank in the same group, with the last group being 6^th rank and up. This means that a 3^rd ranker can and will encounter people with quite a few fights under their belts.

[Reggie], a Freestyle Western Kickboxing. Usually found with Hannibal and Thom.

[Stick], a Duelist. Usually found with Stone and Word.

[Thom], a Freestyle Western Kickboxer. Usually found with Hannibal and Reggie.

Rank 4

I consider Rank 4 to be the last of the 'low' ranks. At this level, one can expect to find fighters that have been around, and have developed one or two Special Maneuvers that are fairly powerful. Their combos are good, their attributes are okay, and their techniques and tactics are tested in combat, and usually found to work.

[Hannibal], a Freestyle Western Kickboxer. Usually found with Thom and Reggie.

Rank 5

Now, things are getting nasty. Rank 5 are all tried and tested fighters, and they are way better than the 'average' fighter. Many will never get above Rank 5 or 6, as their losses - often in the lower ranks - will raise their needed total of fights to a prohibitively high number. A Rank 5 may also have developed one of the more powerful Special Maneuvers, and generally have excellent techinques and good attributes.

[Black Bart], a brutal Pankration fighter. And a beautiful woman.

[Santa Claus], a Street Fighter? Believe it... or not.

Rank 6

Getting into the 'big leagues', a Rank 6 fighter is better than average in every way. Excellent attributes, excellent techniques, and a good selection of Special Maneuvers are the hallmarks of this rank and upwards. Rank 6 fighters are quite fearsome, and should be taken quite seriously.

[Iron Wolf], a wolf hybrid fighter with a big iron club!

[Jean-Jaques Lavalle], a rank 6 Savate fighter, and my own character to boot. Furthermore, he is on the board of a rather large organization, namely [Lavalle Enterprises, Inc.]

Rank 7

Only the best attain the ranks above 6. A Rank 7 fighter is even better than a Rank 6 fighter, often having developed unique maneuvers to keep that extra fighting edge in the fierce competition that the Rank 7 fighter often finds himself in. A Rank 7 fighter may also be well-known to others not 'in' the Street Fighting Circuit, as the Rank 7 character is such an excellent fighter that they may have found themselves featured in the media when (or if) they have done something spectacular in a public or semi-public spot.

[Steel Shadow], a mysterious but powerful swordfighter following the extinct Lightning swordfighting school.

Rank 8

Almost a World Warrior... but there's a world of difference in almost. A Rank 8 fighter is good enough that a World Warrior might consider accepting a challenge from one. The Rank 8 fighter finds himself in the unenviable position that it's virtually certain that he'll have to face World Warriors in the ring - sooner or later. Though this doesn't count as a 'title match' for the World Warrior, they will certainly be anxious to show that they are still strong enough to keep their title. A Rank 8 fighter is good enough that he can take on multiple lower-ranked opponents and still expect to win.

Rank 9

oetry in motion. The pinnacle of perfection. Though a Rank 9 character doesn't have to be a World Warrior, the Rank 9 character is certainly able to face a World Warrior on equal, or nearly equal, terms. Having developed several Special Maneuvers, a Rank 9 fighter will be well on his way to master his style - though it may be years until that character considers himself a master of anything. Fighters at this rank can execute maneuvers that are literally superhuman - teleporting, shooting flame from their eyes, fly - it has all happened at these ranks.

Rank 10

est of the best. Quite simply. Though any given Rank 10 character is not necessarily a World Warrior, many consider them at least the equals of the World Warriors. Legendary warriors, a Rank 10 character is admired - and often feared - as one of the truly great in his style. Rank 10 characters are usually well on their way towards Master, if they haven't already attained that grade yet.

World Warriors

ot always of the highest rank, any World Warrior has at least one claim to fame - they have defeated a World Warrior in the past. Defeating a World Warrior is the only way to be considered a World Warrior. This means that the total number of World Warriors in the world is unchanging - but exactly who is holding each position is changing from time to time. Though any World Warrior may refuse a title challenge, few do so with any sort of regularity. This would be more or less the same as admitting that their fighting skills aren't sharp enough to hold the World Warrior title any longer - thereby prompting even more challenges from would-be World Warriors.

The World Warriors are collected in their own section.

The Unranked

Not all fighters are ranked in the Street Fighter Circle. Some fight even further in the shadows, or have established power bases as enforcers, leaders of fighting tongs or ninja clans. Some whisper that some of these fearsome fighters are even stranger - thousand year old wizards, powerful dragons, evil demons, and other things out of the nightmare lands. But that cannot be true - can it?

[Tewon Shu], a TKD up-and-coming movie star

[Word], a careful Kabaddi stylist with tie-ins to organized crime, Word is usually found in the company of Stone and Stick.