Long ago there was a campaign called The Rebellion Arc. Rebelling occurred. It began with a prison break. It ended with the death of Kethranmeer. Kethranmeer was a Soulless once known as the Beast of Beltan prison and then later known as Spineplate to the members of the group. After D'alton Braun, Derf R. Nosnam, John Johnson, and Xein Mac'fumos reunited Spineplate with his creator A'lst, he became Kethranmeer, the first of the Rankethlek. Kethranmeer died because my players were assholes that couldn't decide on which side they were fighting for and continued not choosing a side right up until Nakmander threw a meteor at Kusseth City and Kethranmeer made the choice for them. Because I feel like it I'm going to build Kethranmeer in GURPS. Which is something I've never done before. I think. Maybe.
This version of Kethranmeer will be built as a 250 point character with up to 75 points worth of disadvantages not stemming from his racial template. This is Kethranmeer is him right before he takes several lightning bolts and fingers of death on the chin from Nakmander. Well, maybe not so much. GURPS and Pathfinder are very different systems with different values ascribed different game mechanics. For instance, damage resistance and damage reduction are basically the same thing, but having damage resistance on your character is a much bigger deal in GURPS than having damage reduction in Pathfinder is. You have fewer hit point in GURPS for starters. Anyway, I see first level as being about a 75 point character, 5th level region around 150, 10th level around 250, and 20+ level as like 500. So based on that opinion on have on points and level, Kethranmeer should be like 300 or 350 points. So this is Kethranmeer 50 points or so weaker than he should be. Or something. Moving on.
First off we need to take a look at the Rankethlek racial template:
This version of Kethranmeer will be built as a 250 point character with up to 75 points worth of disadvantages not stemming from his racial template. This is Kethranmeer is him right before he takes several lightning bolts and fingers of death on the chin from Nakmander. Well, maybe not so much. GURPS and Pathfinder are very different systems with different values ascribed different game mechanics. For instance, damage resistance and damage reduction are basically the same thing, but having damage resistance on your character is a much bigger deal in GURPS than having damage reduction in Pathfinder is. You have fewer hit point in GURPS for starters. Anyway, I see first level as being about a 75 point character, 5th level region around 150, 10th level around 250, and 20+ level as like 500. So based on that opinion on have on points and level, Kethranmeer should be like 300 or 350 points. So this is Kethranmeer 50 points or so weaker than he should be. Or something. Moving on.
First off we need to take a look at the Rankethlek racial template:
Rankethlek
27 points
Attribute Ranges: ST 12+, HT 12+
Secondary Characteristic Ranges: Will 10+, SM 0 - +1 (6’ - 7’)
Advantages: Damage Resistance 5+ (Can’t Wear Armor -40%) [15], High Pain Threshold [10], Doesn’t Breathe [20], Doesn’t Eat or Drink [10], Injury Tolerance (No Blood) [5], Injury Tolerance (No Brain) [0], Injury Tolerance (No Eyes) [5], Injury Tolerance (No Head) [7], Injury Tolerance (No Neck) [5], Injury Tolerance (Unliving) [20], Resistant (Very Common: Metabolic Hazards) [30], Unaging [8]
Disadvantages: Cannot Float [-1], Fragile (Unnatural) [-50], Electrical [-20], No Sense of Smell/Taste [-5], Noisy 1 [-2], Unhealing (Total) [-30]
Special: Rankethlek may buy abilities designated as exotic and supernatural, as long as they apply psionic modifiers to them. The GM has final say in determining what may be bought as a psionic ability. This means that even though they do not have FP, they can purchase the Energy Reserve advantage to buy psionic specific FP to use for psionic powers.
Special: As unliving constructs of metal, Rankthlek do not have the ability to buy or use FP.
Special: Rankethlek may purchase HP up to 100% more than their ST attribute, rather than the normal 30% for humanoid characters.
Special: Rankethlek may purchase up to 5 levels of Hard to Kill and Hard to Subdue.
Special: Rankethlek are creatures of living metal based on the sorcerous arts used to create Soulless, and as such gain no benefit from normal first aid skills. At character creation select an appropriate metalworking skill to be treated as the First Aid skill (with the GM’s permission). Rankethlek are not necessarily always made of metal, for instance, a Rankethlek primarily constructed of wood could choose a woodworking skill as the skill to treat as First Aid.
So what does all that mean? The Damage Resistance stems from the fact that Rankethlek are metal, usually steel, so their skin has about as much protection as a suit of steel plate in GURPS. High Pain Threshold mean that Rankethlek are made of metal, so pain don't hurt them. In GURPS, when you take damage, you get a penalty on your checks equal to the damage due to the shock of the impact of something on your flesh. The penalty maxes at -4. Doesn't Breathe, Eat, or Drink are fairly obvious. Whatever A'lst did to animate the Rankethlek appears to be self-sustaining, so they don't need to recharge or undergo maintenance. You can see several varieties of Injury Tolerance up there. This is because Rankethlek are not flesh and blood creatures so they don't have blood, eyes, or brains so they're immune to anything that specifically targets any of that. They have a neck and head, but if you lop off a Rankethlek's head, he'll still be able to see, hear, and talk, so it's more a cosmetic thing than anything else. This also means that all those things they don't have can't be targeted by attacks for additional effects and damage. Rankethlek have a vitals target area, because the lightning heart that animates them can be damaged and exists in their chest. So they're still vulnerable. The Injury Tolerance (Unliving) means that Rankethlek aren't living creatures, so injuries don't fuck them up the same way they would a human. Normally impaling (x2), large piercing (x1.5), cutting (x1.5), and huge piercing (x2) modify damage that penetrates damage resistance by the amounts I've listed in parentheses. Cutting is like an axe blade, impaling is like a javelin or thrusting sword, large piercing is like a .45 caliber pistol or a large bird of prey's beak, huge piercing is like an elephant rifle (specifically the Greener Elephant Rifle found in GURPS High Tech). Injury Tolerance (Unliving) reduces that to huge piercing and impaling dealing normal damage, large piercing becoming x1/2, piercing to x1/3 (piercing normally has no multiplier on damage), and small piercing (which normally has a modifier of x1/2) to x1/5. So yeah, it suddenly becomes a lot harder to hurt things that aren't actually alive. Zombies and other undead would have pretty much all of the same injury tolerances as Rankethlek do.
After the festival of injury tolerance, we have Resistant (Metabolic Hazards). This basically means that Rankethlek are immune to anything you need a metabolism to be vulnerable to. So they're immune to poisons, diseases, vomiting, itching, and so on. Unaging merely means that Rankethlek don't get old and weak and die eventually.
Cannot float means Rankethlek don't float. Fragile (Unnatural) means once Rankethlek take enough damage, there's not enough left for their lightning hearts to keep functioning, or the lightning heart itself is too damage to sustain them. So when a Rankethlek is reduced to negative hit points equal to their maximum hit points, they just die. Game over. Electrical means that Rankethlek are in some way animated by electricity, so effects that specifically fuck with electricity fuck with them too, so any time they take a critical hit from an electrical attack, they get knocked out. No Sense of Taste/Smell are self explanatory. Noisy means Rankethlek have a penalty on Stealth checks or others have a bonus on Sense rolls to hear them, depending on the situation, because they're made of metal. Unhealing means that Rankethlek do not heal naturally. They can't take a nap like other characters and recover a few hit points, and you can't use various first aid skills on them either.
So then you see a bunch of special crap there as well. The first special entry says that Rankethlek can use psionics like Elduman can. The second one says that Rankethlek don't have FP, and they can't buy them. This means they're also immune to effects that drain FP. The third entry says that Rankethlek can buy up their HP up to double their ST in HP, rather than the normal 30% (ST 10 can have up to 20 HP instead of 13 HP.) The fourth entry allows Rankethlek to buy two abilities way above what living creatures can. So yeah, Rankethlek might just die at negative hit points, but those that buy those abilities will be able to stay conscious and keep fighting till they do. The final entry explains that Rankethlek can use an appropriate skill instead of First Aid to act as First Aid.
Alright, let's build this guy.
We'll start with his racial template modifications because he diverges slightly from normal Rankethlek. The first thing you note is that his damage resistance is higher than 5. This is because Kethranmeer was refurbished from Spineplate with some wolf-iron plating. He's also lost the electrical disadvantage because A'lst put some shielding around his lightning heart, which doesn't happen to Kethranmeer's sons. You'll also note that he's a little bit noisier than freshly made Rankethlek. This is because he was scavenging some of his parts to work on creating his five sons, so while his structural integrity is intact and just as durable, it's the equivalent of a jury rigged job, so he clatters and clanks a bit more than other Rankethlek.
So as you can see, we've already spent a lot on his characteristics and attributes. Kethranmeer's ST is 15, because he's metal and strong and stuff. 15 is like super fucking strong in GURPS. We're talking real impressive. His DX is average because he's a big metal dude weighing several hundred pounds. His IQ is slightly above average because he's spent a lot of time around smart people like Xein and A'lst and A'lst spent a lot of time teaching him. His HT is 14 because he's a tough and durable metal dude. I've doubled his HP from 15 to 30 because he is a monster to put down. I've also bought and included the appropriate cultural and language familiarity for him. I've marked him as dead broke because he never had a job and doesn't really have an income of any kind.
Points From Advantages: 61
Kethanmeer has Digital Mind because he's a prototype of his kind. He doesn't have a mind like a normal Rankethlek or Soulless would, he's a prototype. He also can't use psionics like his children can. Digital Mind makes him immune to anything telepathy related. He has Enhanced Defense (Block: Shield) because he uses a shield a lot and has developed expertise with using a shield to block incoming blows and such. We've maxed out Hard to Kill and Hard to Subdue because Kethranmeer does not quit. Ever. He spend several decades in the bottom of a mineshaft after being torn apart by a dragon and he didn't quit. He has Independent Income and a Patron because even while A'lst is off doing his thing and Kethranmeer is off doing his, A'lst is still looking out for his metal son.
The first disadvantage is Code of Honor (Soldier's) because Kethranmeer was a warrior first and foremost and not being a smelly murder hobo during a fight was important to him. I wouldn't call Kethranmeer lawful, but he definitely wasn't neutral or chaotic. He didn't kill indiscriminately and when he realized Nakmander was going to drop a meteor on Kusseth, he didn't take a cheap shot or strike from surprise. He spoke up and announced his intentions. He treated his foes with the same respect and honor they showed him. He also remained loyal to D'alton and the rest of the Robust Five. He could have peaced out at any time and left them to face foes like Reavers and Brasscoats on their own. Instead he stood with them. The three duties also kind of indicate his loyalty to his friends and family as well. The phobia is a holdover for his time as the Beast. The Beast was a savage metal creature chained at the bottom of the mines, ready to slay any living creature that came near it. Often tormented and torture by guard and inmate alike. Kethranmeer associates deep and dark places with the bloodthirsty Beast and has no desire to return to being that creature, or even recall his time as it, thus the phobia. Weirdness Magnet represents that he hands out with the PCs and weird stuff happens to them. Just as with the rough versions of the current group, Weirdness Magnet represents me the GM screwing with the group.
Points From Racial Template: 51
I supposed I could fill in his gear as well, but I still have to work one or two things out with how his blackstone maul operated, and he didn't carry around much beyond that and a shield. Hell, I could almost get away with giving him Discipline of Faith (Asceticism) as a disadvantage based on some of his behaviors. Oh well. But yeah, that's the gist of Kethranmeer there. If I were going to toss 55 more character points on here to bring him closer to what I feel he was at the end of The Rebellion Arc, I'd probably put 45 to ST (giving him a 20 in ST), adjust his HP down to 30 which would refund 10 points. I'd probably toss the rest into skills and up his Boxing, Wrestling, Shield, and Melee Weapon skills. Wee!
Edit After The Fact: So this is 245 point Kethranmeer (241 after I factor in the changes to language costs I made with cultural templates, and 238 after I factor in that I forgot a SM of +1 offers a 10% discount on HP). What would I add to bring him up to 350? This: ST+7 [63] (bringing base HP up to 22, 37 after HP increase of 15 is factored in), HP+3 [6] (bringing total HP up to 40), DX+1 [20], DR+7 (Can't Wear Armor -40%) [21] and leaves us with 2 character points left over. With Kethranmeer's hammer, he can deal out 8-28 damage crushing damage. It carries no wounding modifier, but still.
We'll start with his racial template modifications because he diverges slightly from normal Rankethlek. The first thing you note is that his damage resistance is higher than 5. This is because Kethranmeer was refurbished from Spineplate with some wolf-iron plating. He's also lost the electrical disadvantage because A'lst put some shielding around his lightning heart, which doesn't happen to Kethranmeer's sons. You'll also note that he's a little bit noisier than freshly made Rankethlek. This is because he was scavenging some of his parts to work on creating his five sons, so while his structural integrity is intact and just as durable, it's the equivalent of a jury rigged job, so he clatters and clanks a bit more than other Rankethlek.
Kethranmeer, First of the Rankethlek
245 points
6' 8" 600 lbs.
Points From Characteristics: 129
245 points
6' 8" 600 lbs.
Points From Characteristics: 129
ST: 15 [45]
DX: 10 [0]
IQ: 11 [20]
HT: 14 [40]
HP: 30 [30]
Will: 11 [0]
Per: 11 [0]
FP: NA
Basic Speed: 6.5 [0]
Dodge: 9
Basic Move: 6 [0]
Build: Average [0]
Size Modifier: +1
Appearance: Average [0]
Technology Level: 5 [0]
Cultural Familiarity: Kusseth (native), Steeltown [1], The Fallen Empire of Man [2]
Languages: Citytongue (native), Blacktongue (accented), [4], Guttertongue (accented) [4], Thoeleknair (Accented) [4], Wretchtongue (accented) [4]
Wealth: Dead Broke [-25]
Points From Advantages: 61
Digital Mind [5]
Enhanced Defense (Block: Shield) [5]
Hard to Kill 5 [10]
Hard to Subdue 5 [10]
Independent Income 1 [1]
Patron: A'lst (FoA: 6) [30]
Kethanmeer has Digital Mind because he's a prototype of his kind. He doesn't have a mind like a normal Rankethlek or Soulless would, he's a prototype. He also can't use psionics like his children can. Digital Mind makes him immune to anything telepathy related. He has Enhanced Defense (Block: Shield) because he uses a shield a lot and has developed expertise with using a shield to block incoming blows and such. We've maxed out Hard to Kill and Hard to Subdue because Kethranmeer does not quit. Ever. He spend several decades in the bottom of a mineshaft after being torn apart by a dragon and he didn't quit. He has Independent Income and a Patron because even while A'lst is off doing his thing and Kethranmeer is off doing his, A'lst is still looking out for his metal son.
Points From Disadvantages: -74
Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]
Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]
Disturbing Voice [-10]
Duty: A'lst (FoA: 6) [-2]
Duty: Rankethlek (FoA: 6) [-2]
Duty: The Robust Five (Always, Extremely Hazardous) [-20]
Phobia: Claustrophobia (SC: 12) [-15]
Weirdness Magnet [-15]
Points From Perks: 0
Points From Racial Template: 51
Damage Resistance 8 (can't wear armor -40%) [24]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Doesn't Breathe [20]
Doesn't Eat or Drink [10]
Injury Tolerance (No Blood, Brain, Eyes, Head, or Neck) [22]
Injury Tolerance (Unliving) [20]
Resistant (Common: metabolic hazards) [30]
Unaging [8]
Cannot Float [-1]
Fragile (Unnatural) [-50]
No Sense of Smell Taste [-5]
Noisy 3 [-6]
Sexless [-1]
Sexless [-1]
Unhealing (Total) [-30]
Points From Skills: 78
Amoury (IQ+3/A, TL 4 Body Armor) - 14 [12]
*First Aid skill
Boxing (DX+1/A) - 11 [4]
Crossbow (DX+0/E) - 10 [1]
Detect Lies (Per+1/H) - 12 [8]
Electrician (IQ+1/A, TL 5) - 12 [4]
Forced Entry (DX+2/E) - 12 [4]
Melee Weapon (DX+5/A, Axe/Mace) - 14 [20]
Shield (DX+4/E, Shield) - 14 [12]
Thaumatology (IQ-3/VH) - 8 [1]
Thrown Weapon (DX+2/E, Axe/Mace) - 12 [4]
Wrestling (DX+2/A) - 12 [8]
So those are Kethranmeer's skills and such. It's all pretty straight forward. He hits things with big hammers, has a shield, knows a little about sorcery from the remnants of his memories of the Fallen that first animated him, can kick down doors, repair himself, etc etc etc.
Points From Quirks:
Amoury (IQ+3/A, TL 4 Body Armor) - 14 [12]
*First Aid skill
Boxing (DX+1/A) - 11 [4]
Crossbow (DX+0/E) - 10 [1]
Detect Lies (Per+1/H) - 12 [8]
Electrician (IQ+1/A, TL 5) - 12 [4]
Forced Entry (DX+2/E) - 12 [4]
Melee Weapon (DX+5/A, Axe/Mace) - 14 [20]
Shield (DX+4/E, Shield) - 14 [12]
Thaumatology (IQ-3/VH) - 8 [1]
Thrown Weapon (DX+2/E, Axe/Mace) - 12 [4]
Wrestling (DX+2/A) - 12 [8]
So those are Kethranmeer's skills and such. It's all pretty straight forward. He hits things with big hammers, has a shield, knows a little about sorcery from the remnants of his memories of the Fallen that first animated him, can kick down doors, repair himself, etc etc etc.
Points From Quirks:
Points From Techniques: 0
Edit After The Fact: So this is 245 point Kethranmeer (241 after I factor in the changes to language costs I made with cultural templates, and 238 after I factor in that I forgot a SM of +1 offers a 10% discount on HP). What would I add to bring him up to 350? This: ST+7 [63] (bringing base HP up to 22, 37 after HP increase of 15 is factored in), HP+3 [6] (bringing total HP up to 40), DX+1 [20], DR+7 (Can't Wear Armor -40%) [21] and leaves us with 2 character points left over. With Kethranmeer's hammer, he can deal out 8-28 damage crushing damage. It carries no wounding modifier, but still.
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