Oni Acrobat O.C.C.


The crowd roared with amazement. Never before had they seen such a show here on the planet of New Hope. When it has been under Transgalatic Empire control the, outsiders had not been welcomed. Now that they had rebelled from their former Kreegor masters, the people of New Hope welcomed the occasional preforming troop from the CCW. As Arstrovan the Magnificent made his final bow from the spotlight he made is way back to his temporary quarters in the small room that he had been assigned. He usually expected more from his hosts when he traveled, but the Free Worlds Council had more pressing matters to worry about then the luxury of it's traveling entertainers. Even if he was invited by them as a moral booster by the local government.
''It's about time!'' said the voice from behind rack of flamboyant costumes.
''You can't expect me not to leave on time with that kind of audience... Those people are starving for entertainment.'' Arstrovan commented.
''What's more important? This war or your inflated pride Artsro?''
''That question doesn't even deserve an answer!'' Arstrovan shot back.
''Listen, we need to know what kind of support we can expect. We need weapons and ships to win this war. I was told your troop were a good contact with Phase World so that we could get the things we need...''
''They are already here general... Have you looked at the ships we arrived here in?'' Arstrovan interrupted.
''We don't need rickety old transport shuttles that look ready to fall apart.'' he rebuffed.
''But you did want a dozen Ghost Ships, with spares to repair their ghost drives if need be, and that's what I brought, slightly redecorated of course. Since partial payment has already been made, I expect the rest to be done to our account promptly. Your government will make the generous offer to replace some of our old shuttles with newer ones as a token of your thanks for our charity tour of the FWC controlled planets. We will leave a dozen of our worst shuttles ships on the last planet of our tour. They also contain phase beam weapons and equipment. The best in the Three Galaxies... Oh and general, if our ships are taken by force before out tour is completed, they are set to self destruct. Any questions?''
The general smiled ''Just one... Can I get tickets for my family for your next show? They seem to be sold out.''
The Oni race is know for the fact that their psychics often develop their powers to enhance the Oni body with supernatural abilities instead of conventional psionic abilities. One of the most flamboyant and notable members of this class of psionics is the Oni Acrobat.

The Oni Acrobat is a performer and daredevil who lives for the thrill of the crowd. They often wear flamboyant colors and their daring feats are matched only by their boasting. Of all Oni psionic classes, this one is one of the most common to travel to distant worlds. Constantly looking for newer and bigger crowds to impress with their skill and bravo. Oni Acrobat groups are often extended families, with non-Acrobat family being support personnel for the group.

Powers:
  • 1. Heightened Sixth Sense: This power is a heightened variation of the sixth sense ability (see Rifts RPG, page 123). It is a reflexive, sixth-sense type power that alerts the Oni Acrobat character to the presence of danger to himself and others in range around him. This also acts as a sort of psychic radar, allowing the Acrobat to move about completely blind, avoiding hitting objects or setting off traps, by sensing the danger to himself and stopping just short of hitting things or setting off traps. Additionally, this power alerts the Oni Acrobat to when he is under observation by surveillance cameras and other systems; he gets a case of the ''jitters'' and the hair stands on the back of his neck. The character cannot be surprised by a sneak attack from behind. This power costs no I.S.P. and is a constant ability. Bonuses from this ability have already been added below.
    Base Skill: 70 percent plus 2 percent per level of experience; rolls are not required to detect danger, only to pinpoint it's source.
    Range: 90 feet plus 5 feet per level of experience.
  • 2. Super reflexes and reaction time: His enhanced sixth sense and physical training make everything around the Acrobat seem to move at slow motion. Bonuses +4 to roll with punch, fall, or impact; +6 to initiative; gets an automatic parry or dodge on all attacks, even from behind or surprise; add two additional attacks per melee and add 2D4 to P.P.
  • 3. Enhanced Durability: The physical regimen of the Oni Acrobat provides him with an additional 1D4x50 S.D.C. and 1D4x10 hit points. Add 1D6 to P.E.
  • 4. Personal Bio-Field: The Acrobat can create a psionic bio-field that protects him from harm. It protects him with an M.D.C. equal to his M.E.x2 plus 2D4 per level. It also protects him from falling damage even if depleted of M.D.C. This field can be instantly and invisibly erected around the Acrobat and whatever he is wearing, and automatically pops up to protect him from damage, even if asleep. Only if he willingly restrains the field or it is depleted can he be harmed by S.D.C. weapons. The field regenerates 1D4 M.D.C. per melee round if damaged.
  • 5. Psionic Acrobatics: The Acrobat can attempt use a combination of mild telekinesis and sixth sense to correct for any Acrobatic skill as it begins to fail. The practical end if this is that if he fails any Acrobatics skill roll he can immediately decide to correct that roll by expending I.S.P. For each 2 I.S.P. spent he can lower his dice roll by 5 percent, up to whatever amount is needed to succeed. This means an Oni Acrobat with a sufficient pool of I.S.P. can make daring leaps that defy death for as long as his I.S.P. holds out.
  • 6. Supernatural leaps and kicks: The Oni Acrobat can enhance the power of his legs with psionic energy. This means he can leap seemingly impossible distances, or kick with a force able to crack power armor. For 3 I.S.P. per melee round the Acrobat can enhance the strength of his legs to the point where they do damage as if punching with supernatural strength, or he can leap 20 feet plus 5 feet per level of experience in distance, or half that in height.
  • 7. Common Psionics: The Oni Acrobat also has a small range of conventional psionics. He may choose a total of six powers from the healing, physical and sensitive categories. I.S.P. is equal to M.E.x2 plus 1D4x10 plus 2D4 per level of experience. He is considered a master psionic.


    • Oni Acrobat O.C.C.


    Alignments: Any, but usually unprincipled or anarchist. Attribute Requirements: P.P. of 15 and M.E. of 14 are required.
    Racial Restrictions: Usually only Oni can become Oni Acrobats, but a young master psionic who is trained by other Oni Acrobats for years has a chance of developing Oni Acrobat powers. These are becoming more common as the Oni race expand across the three galaxies. Use the same experience point table as the Psi-Slayer.
    O.C.C. Skills:
  • Acrobatics: +20%
  • Dance: +10%
  • Escape Artist: +10%
  • Gymnastics +15%
  • Language: Oni: 98%
  • Language: Two of Choice +10%
  • Literacy: Oni: +10%
  • Pilot: Two of Choice +5%
  • Running
  • Wrestling
  • W.P.: Two of choice
  • Hand to hand: Martial Arts

    • O.C.C. Related Skills: Select 10 other skills. Plus two at levels 3, 6, 9 and 12. All new skills start at level one proficiency.
  • Communications: Any
  • Cowboy: None
  • Domestic: Any
  • Electrical: Basic Electronics only.
  • Espionage: Any
  • Mechanical: Basic Mechanics only.
  • Medical: First Aid only.
  • Military: Find Contraband (+5 percent) only.
  • Physical: Any
  • Pilot: Any
  • Pilot Related: Any
  • Rogue: Any (+5 percent)
  • Science: Basic Mathematics only.
  • Technical: Any
  • W.P.: Any
  • Wilderness: None

    • Secondary Skills: The character also gets six secondary skills from the previous list. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not get the advantage of the bonus listed in parenthesis (). All secondary skills start at base skill level. Also they are limited (any, only none) as previously indicated in the list.
    Standard Equipment: Starts with several sets of working clothes, usually flamboyant suits of light M.D.C. cloth with no prowl penalty, and some common items. Commonly has a digital video recorder for recording his performances, and several hundred posters containing for advertising.
    Weapons are minimal to start, and are limited to a small concealed vibro blade, an energy pistol and 1D4 extra e-clips.
    Money: Usually spends his money as soon as he gets it. Only 1D4x1000 credits are hidden away for a rainy day.
    Cybernetics: Usually frowns of cybernetics and bionics as unnatural and will only use bio-systems if absolutely necessary.
    Appearance: Oni Acrobats are always lean and flexible. The Oni Acrobats dress flamboyantly, always trying to keep themselves the center of attention. Their ''work clothes'' are light M.D.C. fabric in brilliant colors, or flashy metallics, while their dress clothes are always vibrant.

    Created by Mathew R. Ignash, February, 1998 (mathewignash@comcast.net)

    - Back to Matt's Rifts Page.-


    Authored on Amiga.