S T R E E T * F I G H T E R
By Charles Daniels (xombi@basenet.net) (2 November, 1995)
When I first bought the Street Fighter rules, I was hoping for something new to drop into my WoD games, but I couldn't use them -- too many inconsistencies. So after a few gallons of coffee and then a few days of playtesting here are the changes I've come up with to add a completely human angle to the World of Darkness.
These rules are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed. The use of "Storyteller", "World Of Darkness" and the quotes, names, and concepts there from is not a challenge to the ownership of the rights to the companies associated with these works. The use of them in this set of rules is without permission.
The "World Of Darkness" and "Storyteller" series of role-playing games are published by White Wolf Inc.
Also Street Fighters deal with a new kind of damage, Stun Damage, and it is recommended that you pencil in a new set of Boxes beside the standard wound levels to deal with this. (This is a slight modification I introduced to keep track of real, solid physical damage as opposed to temporary, superficial damage so one doesn't get confused. A punch to the gut is a different type of hurt than a shotgun to the face and the rules should reflect this.)
Street Fighters are beings of conflict so let's get right down to that first off.
When a Street Fighter attacks and he is within range to reach his opponent he rolls Dexterity + Technique (whichever he's using) + 2. Use the standard target numbers for brawling attacks, though giving Street Fighters an advantage when they are using the basic attack type of their chosen style is not out of line. I'd recommend an additional +1 die for 1 type of attack per style. (Kicks for Kickboxing, Punches for Boxing,etc.)
The +2 is a bonus for the Street Fighter's skill and intense training. Storytellers may choose not to allow the bonus but will quickly see that Street Fighters are quickly outmatched and defeated in almost all combats with other WoD creatures.
Damage between Street Fighters and the Supernatural Creatures found in the WoD setting is handled slightly differently. Since most Street Fighter moves are designed to inflict stunning damage on other human beings (Though some moves are lethal, the rest can be used to inflict serious damage), as such most (ST's choice) supernatural beings in the WoD receive a bonus to resisting damage from Street Fighters. When rolling to resist damage from Street Fighters they are allowed to add 1/2 their Stamina rating in dice when they roll to resist damage.
Example: Howls-in-Rage, a Silver Fang Ahroun, is in battle with Zangief, a Street Fighter. Zangief uses his Forward Flip Knee against him for a maximum 9 Wound levels. Howls has a stamina of 6 (He's in Crinos) he gets to roll stamina (6) + bonus (3) for a total of 9 dice to soak.
Street Fighters still roll Strength + Technique + Damage bonus for damage; this way the changeover won't require so many rules changes. Also, while stun damage is, by it's nature, non-lethal, after an opponent has been reduced below incapacitated by stun damage he begins to take actual full damage.
Example: Howls-in-Rage get's a bad roll on his soak and only manages to soak 1 die of damage. Zangief on the other hand does great and get's all 9 successes. Therefore Howls takes 7 wound levels of stun damage and 1 wound level of real damage reducing him to Hurt and the penalties from there. Fortunately Howls-in-Rage is a supernatural creature and at the beginning of the next round he heals back that point of real damage and with it a point of stun damage. Though he is still stunned (Dizzied) for the round unless he spends his rage.
(Any time a supernatural creature heals a point of normal damage they automatically recover a point of stun damage as well. It's good being different.)
The only exception to the modified soak rule is in the case of damage caused by Focus based attacks. Namely Fireballs, Acid Breath, Thunderclap, etc. Damage from these are always aggravated damage and must be dealt with as such. When such attacks are dealt upon Street Fighters, they resist with Stamina + Focus. This is a direct attack by one fighter's Chi upon another, and as such Street Fighters can channel their own Chi to counter thier opponents. Mages can use their dice of countermagic against any direct focus based attack used on them. This is the only time a mage can counter a Street Fighter's use of his Chi.
The following chart is for real damage.
| Bruised | 1 hour |
| Hurt | 2 Days |
| Injured | 5 Days |
| Wounded | 3 Weeks |
| Mauled | 2 Months |
| Crippled | Same as Human |
| Incapacitated | Same as Human |
Like all healing, you must heal the more serious levels first. Healing totally from Mauled would take 2 months + 3 weeks + 5 days + 2 day + 1 hour.
Though this way makes SF's less powerful than most WoD characters they do have an advantage which begin to make up for it.
After a battle a Street Fighter may spend his Chi to Heal himself of damage, with successful rolls. With a successful roll of Focus + Stamina against a target number of 8 A SF may heal 1 wound level at a cost of 1 Chi per success. This healing takes 1 hour per Wound level and tends to leave the SF exhausted, famished, and physically weakened until he has rested and eaten for at least 1 day per wound level healed. (+1 to all difficulties until then.)
A Street Fighter may perform this healing upon himself a number of times per day (or week depending on how common damage is in your game) equal to his focus rating, though each extra attempt increases the target number by 1 to a maximum of 10. This roll cannot be botched.
Example: Zangief has just managed to beat his first werewolf in combat though now he is down to Crippled. He is going to attempt to spend his Chi to repair the savage damage done to him. He rolls his Stamina (7) + Focus (1) against Target of (8) He gets 2 successes so after meditating for 2 hours and a cost of 2 Chi he recovers up to Wounded and staggers away to a hospital for a long stay.
Option: Chi spent in this manner may take a full day per point to recover. (Use this option if you want your Street Fighters to remember that they are only mortals; they are not as wicked as the other creatures of the World of Darkness.)
For simply stun damage (like that received after a Street Fighter tournament or a basic brawl) a Street Fighter can make 1 stamina check against target number 5 every hour to recover a number of stun health levels equal to his number of successes.
Example: Zangief, on his way to the hospital gets jumped by a few street punks. This would normally be nothing to the mighty Zangief but injured as he is the punks manage to hit him for 4 stun levels of damage before he smears them up and down a wall. Tired, Zangief leans against a wall to rest and makes his check. He rolls his Stamina (7) against target (5) and scores 5 successes. By the time he collapses in the hospital the bruises from the punks are long gone.
Chi Kung Healing: Cannot be used on a vampire.
Fireballs: Though perfectly fine the way it is, do not allow your players to get away with throwing fireballs and not worrying about misses or splash effects.
Mind Reading: Treat as the Level 4 Auspex power Telepathy outside of Combat.
Telepathy: ST's Choice. (tell your players early how this works to avoid a lot of headaches, I just disallowed it myself)
Regeneration: A Street Fighter's best friend in this dark world. This will heal normal and aggravated damage as well as Stun damage. This is great for high combat games and will keep your Street Fighters alive.
These are the ones that bring up the most headaches for me. The rest are playable without really any serious changes. The new styles and Backgrounds introduced in the Players Guide are a whole different problem.
Elementalist: If I'd wanted to play a super heroe I'd a played GURPS. Don't let any of these in your games. It'll completely unbalance everything. (I don't even let them in standard Street Fighter games).
Ninjitsu: Difficult to handle correctly but if you have a player who can really role play this is the one for you. The over all flair of this type and these powers fit in great with a WoD game with just minor changes. I recommend this be used in a all or nearly all vampire game but it can (with a bit of work) fit in any game.
Speed of the Mongoose: I personally suggest granting it the advantage of a single use form of Celerity, it balances the game quickly.
Animal Hybrids: For those passion players who don't want to be a Were, nothing beats a hybrid. This particular type fits in best with an all Were game but can also go with most other WoD games as well with a little work. (Imagine the reaction from a group of players when they encounter a wolf hybrid. It should take many sessions for them to find out he's not a Were and whatever they decide to do next may surprise you. Especially if the ones who find him are Children of Gaia.)
Cyborgs: StoryTellers choice. They don't really fit the game unless you run into Iteration X alot. (Even then it's pushing it.)
The Delirium: Add the SF's Focus rating to his willpower score when determining his reaction on the delirium chart. (Those SF's with a rating of 4 or higher or considered immune to the Delirium).
Magick: While not awakened Beings, SF's who have begun to explore their Chi can (on a successful Perception + Focus roll) see coincidental magic for what it is. As such Mages will begin gathering Paradox if they continue performing magic around SF's.
(SF's with high ratings in focus, 4 or greater, automatically notice all magic performed around them and can, on a successful Willpower roll target number 8, accept that reality has changed and not signal paradox, though why they should is up to them.) SF's who have begun to develop their Chi also gain a resistance to the effects of Magic. A SF can roll his rating in focus as countermagick against any magical effect that is attempting to affect him. This protection only works for the SF unless the effect is an all or nothing area effect.
b). SF's hate to spend their Chi in this manner. When used like this It takes a SF 2 weeks to regain 1 pt of Chi. This could incapacitate a Street Fighter for far longer then he might want, and since the Chi must be spent voluntarily (though he can be Mind Controlled into it) this doesn't happen often.
c). The biggest problem of all is that most SF's who know mages exist hate them. For some reason whenever a mage suffers from paradox around a Street Fighter the SF has a chance of getting sucked into it. Whenever a mage suffers from a Paradox Backlash or falls into Quiet With a Street Fighter around (ST's discretion on range) the SF must make a Wits + Focus roll against a target number 8 or suffer the same effect or become an unwilling participant in the Mage's Quiet.
The only mages known who can normally get a SF to give his Chi to them are the Akashic Brotherhood and they normally trade Martial Arts training for it. This alliance has led to many a SF running to an Akashic temple for protection from hungry mages after his Chi. (The Akashic Brotherhood, enjoying their relationship with the SF community, tend to protect their charges well and have even begun holding tournaments within the confines of their Chantries to gather new recruits to trade with.)
Werewolves: The werewolves don't like Street Fighters much. SF's look way too much like Fomori for most Garou (the Fireballs, strange mutations and resistance to the Delirium point in that direction) Indeed, depending on the individual SF's background, they may be Fomori... Street fighters have a weird fascination with Werewolves, maybe because the lupines are one of the few things that can take a Street Fighter in close combat. Many a young SF has challenged a Garou just to see if he could win (a few actually have) while the Garou tend to win, many have garnered battle scars from the attempt.
Vampires: While the Street Fighters know very little about vampires, the kindred love the Street Fighters. Where else can you find a big, fast, powerful, near awakened being with next to no mental defenses? Street fighters are one of the most sought after ghoul-types in the world.
(Storytellers should be careful if they allow their players to get Street Fighters for Ghouls. A decent Street Fighter with access to Celerity and/or Potence can become a lethal killing machine capable of smearing a Raging Ahroun in seconds.)
While most kindred search for Street Fighters for ghouls, others have different uses for them. Recently many Brujah have begun to embrace SF's to aid them in their actions and been very surprised by the results.
When a Street Fighter is embraced, many different results are possible. Depending on his focus rating and if he has a unique background the ST should feel free to have fun causing all sorts of havoc when Chi meets Blood. The one I recommend is to subtract the Street Fighters Rating in Focus - 1 from his supposed Generation, yes this will make them lower generation than most other PC vampires but none should be lower than 8th gen, 7th if your being nice. (If you allow Elysium characters to run around embracing World Warriors then you deserve the headache you get.) To keep this from becoming a power game from there on link the Generation and Focus Rating together so one can't change without the other. In other words to improve your Focus you must also lower your Generation too.