Shanna the She-Devil Hero
Real Name: Shanna O'Hara.
Occupation: Adventurer, warrior, former graduate ecology student.
Identity: Publicly known.
Legal Status: Dual citizen of the United States and Kenya with no criminal record in either country; adopted member of the Fall People tribe of the Savage Land.
Other Aliases: She-Devil, She-Leopard (epitaphs given to her by her opponents).
Place of Birth: Kenya, Africa.
Marital Status: Considered married by Savage Land customs; legally single in her birth country.
Known Relatives: Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder, common-law husband); Gerald (father); Patricia (mother); Parnival, Lord Plunder (brother-in-law).
Group Affiliation: Partner of Ka-Zar and Zabu.
Base of Operations: Fall People Village, Savage Land.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: LOST WORLD OF THE SAVAGE LAND #13.
History: Shanna O'Hara was the daughter of an American-born Kenya wildlife preserve warden. As a child, Shanna would occasionally be found observing a pack of lions, and more than once would be found playing with the cubs while the adult lions watched. One of her father's co-workers, however, panicked one day and shot one of the lions; this incident has led to Shanna's lifelong distrust of firearms. Shanna's father, seeking to avoid another incident, sent her back to the States to live with her mother.
As she grew older, Shanna studied ecology and veterinary medicine, intending to follow in her father's footsteps as an African preserve warden. As part of her graduate studies, she had to do field research; she decided to do her graduate research in the Savage Land, an apparently artificial prehistoric jungle nestled in the mountains of Antarctica.
Upon entering the Savage Land, Shanna was amazed at how untouched by modern man the place was. She hired a local, Ka-Zar, as a guide; she soon found that she and Ka-Zar had a lot in common, particularly when she met his companion, the sabertooth cat Zabu. The more time she spent in the Savage Land and with Ka-Zar and Zabu, the more at home she felt. It wasn't long before a romance blossomed between Shanna and Ka-Zar.
Shanna and Ka-Zar became embroiled in the sorceress Zaladane's attempt at conquering the Savage Land. Even later, she learned of Ka-Zar's history when they encountered his older brother, Parnival Plunder, the Plunderer, and his alliance with a team from Roxxon Energy Company to exploit the resources of the Savage Land. Shanna and Ka-Zar are now considered married according to the Fall People's customs; their continued adventures in the Savage Land are as yet unrevealed.
Age: 26.
Height: 5' 8".
Weight: 140 lbs.
Eyes: Green.
Hair: Red.
Uniform: Leopard skin leotard open down to her navel, small knife sheath on one arm, armband made of animal teeth on the other arm.
Strength Level: Shanna possesses the normal human strength of a woman her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: None.
Other Abilities: Shanna is a skilled if untrained hand to hand combatant, and has developed into a skilled huntress and tracker. Her fighting style has been likened to that of a large cat. She has an affinity with wild animals that sometimes seems superhuman, enabling her to walk among packs of carnivorous animals without incident. She maintains her skill as a veterinarian.
Weapons: Shanna has been known to use a steel bowie knife and a sharp stone spear.
442 points
Attributes: ST 13 [30]; DX 15 [100]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 14 [40].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d/2d-1; BL 34 lbs.; HP 13 [0]; Will 13 [5]; Per 14 [10]; FP 14 [0]; Basic Speed 7.50 [5]; Basic Move 7 [0]; Dodge 11.
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0]; Savage Land Speech (Native Spoken/Illiterate) [3]; Swahili (Accented) [4].
Cultural Familiarities: Savage Land [1]; Sub-Saharan Africa [1]; Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Acute Hearing 3 [6]; Acute Taste and Smell 3 [6]; Animal Empathy [5]; Animal Friend 4 [20]; Appearance (Very Beautiful) [16]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Daredevil [15]; Flexibility [5]; Hard to Kill 3 [6]; Hard to Subdue 3 [6]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Night Vision 3 [3]; Stalker 4 [20]; Very Fit [15]; Voice [10].
Perks: Call of the Wild [1]; Extra Option (Bulletproof Nudity) [1]; Rapid Retraction (Kicks) [1]; Rapid Retraction (Punches) [1]; Razor Kicks [1].
Disadvantages: Bad Temper (12) [-10]; Easy to Read [-10]; Impulsive (9) [-15]; Pacifism (Reluctant Killer) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Friends and Family) [-5]; Stubbornness [-5]; Truthfulness (9) [-7].
Quirks: Broad-Minded [-1]; Dislikes Guns [-1]; Gone Native (Savage Land) [-1]; Responsive [-1].
Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX+0 [4] – 15; Animal Handling (Big Cats) (A) IQ+3 [2] – 16*; Area Knowledge (Savage Land) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 12; Bolas (A) DX+0 [2] – 15; Bow (A) DX+0 [2] – 15; Brawling (E) DX+2 [4] – 17; Camouflage (E) IQ+5 [1] – 17†‡; Climbing (A) DX+3 [2] – 18§; Expert Skill (Ecology) (H) IQ+0 [4] – 12; Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [1] – 16#; First Aid/TL0 (Human) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 12; Hiking (A) HT+4 [2] – 18†; Jumping (E) DX+1 [2] – 16; Knife (E) DX+1 [2] – 16; Knot-Tying (E) DX+1 [2] – 16; Mimicry (Animal Sounds) (H) IQ+1 [2] – 13¥; Mimicry (Bird Calls) (H) IQ+1 [2] – 13¥; Naturalist (Earth) (H) IQ+0 [4] – 12; Navigation/TL0 (Land) (A) IQ+4 [2] – 16†; Observation (A) Per+0 [2] – 14; Parry Missile Weapons (H) DX+1 [8] – 16; Pharmacy/TL0 (Herbal) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 10; Riding (Theropods) (A) DX+3 [1] – 18*; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 14; Spear (A) DX+0 [2] – 15; Stealth (A) DX+3 [1] – 18†; Surgery/TL8 (Big Cats) (VH) IQ+0 [8] – 12; Survival (Jungle) (A) Per+1 [4] – 15; Survival (Plains) (A) Per+1 [4] – 15; Swimming (E) HT+1 [2] – 15; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 15; Thrown Weapon (Knife) (E) DX+1 [2] – 16; Thrown Weapon (Spear) (E) DX+1 [2] – 16; Tracking (A) Per+4 [2] – 18†; Traps/TL0 (A) IQ+0 [2] – 12; Veterinary/TL0 (H) IQ+3 [2] – 15*; Veterinary/TL8 (H) IQ+3 [2] – 15*; Weather Sense (A) IQ+1 [4] – 13; Wrestling (A) DX+1 [4] – 16.
Techniques: Attack From Above (Knife) (A) def+2 [2] – 16; Choke Hold (Wrestling) (H) def+3 [4] – 16; Kicking (Brawling) (H) def+2 [3] – 17.
Starting Spending Money: $4,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).
* Includes +4 from Animal Friend.
† Includes +4 from Stalker.
‡ Defaulted from Survival (Jungle).
§ Includes +3 from Flexibility.
# Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
¥ Includes +2 from Voice.
Role-Playing Notes:
Shanna has essentially "gone native" in the Savage Land, becoming more at home there in the wild than in the civilization she grew up in. She has a fierce temper but is also fiercely loyal to her friends and husband.
Design Notes:
1. Shanna is one of the few characters I'll explicitly give the Extra Option Perk to (p. PU2:20); in her case, for Bulletproof Nudity, as fitting her "jungle girl" motif.
2. Shanna's social traits are calculated for a TL8 campaign. In a campaign set in the Savage Land, she would gain High TL +8, increasing her point value by 40 points and reducing her Starting Wealth from $30,000 to $250; giving her a higher level of Wealth would not be inappropriate.