Monday, December 13, 2010

Red Sonja

I was thinking after yesterday's post on Red Sonja and what system to run her in. While certainly nearly any flavor of D&D would be fine, I also think there is another very good choice. Army of Darkness. The comics have a vibe about them that has always reminded me of the Evil Dead movies. Not so much the humor, but the darkness.
Red Sonja, the comic, is now published by Dynamite, which also gives us the Army of Darkness Comic and the Army of Darkness/Xena crossovers. Given I have down all of that for Army already, then it make even more sense.

Of course given the source material it also makes sense to stat Sonja up using OD&D.  My favorite OD&D like product is Spellcraft and Swordplay by Jason Vey and using his Hyborian Age Supplement.

Red Sonja of Hyrkania (Army of Darkness)
Very Experienced Hero

Life Points 76
Drama Points 20

Attributes
Strength 6
Dexterity 5
Constitution 6
Intelligence 4
Perception 4
Willpower 5

Qualities
Promised One (Choosen of Scáthach)
Acute Senses Vision 1
Attractiveness +3
Hard to Kill 6
Fast Reaction Time
Natural Toughness (+4 to Armor)
Nerves of Steel
Resistance (cold) (she grew up on the Steppes)
Situational Awareness

Drawbacks
Adversary (lots)
Honorable (Minimal)
Humorless
Love, Tragic (various significant others and offspring)
Mental Problems (Mild Cruelty)

Skills
Acrobatics 7
Art 0
Crime 3
Doctor 2
Driving/Riding 4
Getting Medieval 9
Influence 2
Knowledge 4
Kung Fu 5
Languages 4 (varies on which comic)
Notice 5
Occultism 2
Science 0
Sports 1
Wild Card

Combat
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Sword 14 35 Slash/stab
Punch 14 12 Bash
Dodge 14 Defense action
Parry 14 Defense action

Red Sonja of Hyrkania (Spellcraft & Swordplay)

Warrior (Fighting Woman): 8th Level
"Every great fantasy swordsman, from Robert E. Howard's barbarian hero to Tolkien's great returned King are warriors." - Spellcraft & Swordplay, p. 11

Strength: 18
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 17
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 11
Charisma: 18

Attacks: 7+5 (7 attacks per round, +5 to any one attack)
Hit Points: 56
Alignment: Neutral (Unaligned)
AC: 5
Sword: 1d6+3

According to Jason's rules the Hyrkanians are a horse culture. They also take a -2 to save vs any sort of mind-affecting magic, including illusions. (Save vs. Wisdom)

+2 to Con-based Saves


Red Sonja vs Red Sonja vs Red Sonya
The Red Sonja in the comics now is not the same as the Red Sonja of a few years ago.  In the current comics the woman calling herself Red Sonja is actually the reincarnation of the first Red Sonja.  The Wikipedia article gives a rough overview, but it also mentions another "Sonja". Red Sonya of Rogatino was not "the she devil with a sword" we all know and love, but rather a "gun-slinging warrior woman of Polish-Ukrainian origin" from the 16th Century.

What they had in common was coming from the same general area (Hyrkania/Ukraine), of course red hair and the temper to match.

Given the change in the comics one is tempted (and I often am) to say this is another reincarnation of the first Red Sonja (which of course is backwards since Sonya came before Sonja).  Works for me.

Given that, who is to say when the next time Red Sonja is reincarnated, and what system.

ETA: A pic of Red Sonya originally posted by Mikeyboy over at Red Sonja: She Devil with a Sword.

2 comments:

matthew appleseed said...

You to need to change dex to 18 minimum on red sonja and lower str to 16-17.
In the books (over 50 comics and at about 3 books) I read she fight with
more with dex then str.
Other stats I would raise wisdom to 14-15, She has out smarted a lot of people
in her travels and knew when to duck.
This is a hero after all.

Ps I bought most of your books on divethrrpg and hope you make one for shamans for
old school rpgs you did some great work on witchs keep upthe good work.

Conrad Knight Socks said...

Disagree about strength. Yes, she uses a lot of dexterity, skill and agility in combat but Sonja has proven time and again that she's stronger than practically any man out there below Conan's level - there are multiple instances of her beating huge men at armwrestling in comics and then some truly outrageous feats on occasion that push her into the 'superhuman' category. She was blessed by a goddess after all.