Phil Cho
Lady Shiva
DC Comics Character
Power Level 11 ( 180 PP )
Lady Shiva wrote:I believe in letting people do as they wish, as I do myself. Sometimes, of course, what I wish to do is kill them and they do not wish to die. This gives life interest.
ABILITIES
Strength 4
Stamina 6
Agility 6
Dexterity 4
Fighting 10
Intellect 2
Awareness 5
Presence 3
SKILLS
Acrobatics 6 (+12), Athletics 8 (+12), Close Combat [Unarmed] 6 (+16), Deception 5 (+8), Expertise [Martial Arts Styles] 18 (+20), Expertise [Streetwise] 6 (+8), Insight 5 (+10), Intimidation 12 (+15), Investigation 3 (+5), Perception 5 (+10), Persuasion 2 (+5), Stealth 6 (+12), Slight of Hand 2 (+6), Treatment 8 (+10)
ADVANTAGES
Assessment, All-Out Attack, Benefit [Status (1)], Chokehold, Connected, Contacts, Daze [Intimidation], Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll (4), Diehard, Fast Grab, Favored Foe [Martial Artists], Improved Critical [Unarmed] (2), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative (2), Improved Trip, Languages (3), Move-By Action, Power Attack, Precise Attack [Close, Concealment], Redirect, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown (1), Trance, Uncanny Dodge, Well-Informed
POWERS
•
Martial Artist Damage 2(Strength-based) [ 2 PP ]
•
Master of Forms Feature 1 (Assessment Advantage uses Expertise [Martial Arts Styles] in lieu of Insight) [ 1 PP ]
□
AE of Strength: Dim Mak Affliction 4 (
Resist: Fortitude;
Recover: Will;
Conditions Fatigued and Impaired, Disabled and Exhausted, Incapacitated;
Extras: Extra Condition, Progressive, Reversible;
Flaws: Inaccurate [1], Limited to Humans, Tiring) [ 1 PP ]
DEFENSE
Dodge (10)
Base 4
Parry: (12)
Base 2
Fortitude: (8)
Base 2
Toughness: (6/10) ——
Will: (12)
Base 7
WORKSHEET
Attack: 16 Effect: 6 Total: 22 (Martial Arts)
Attack: 14 Effect: 4 Total: 18 (Dim Mak)
Dodge: 10 Tough: 6/10 Total: 16/20
Parry: 12 Tough: 6/10 Total: 18/22
Fort: 8 Will: 12 Total: 20
ABILITIES [ 80 pp ] +
SKILLS [ 46 pp ] +
ADVANTAGES [ 35 pp ] +
POWERS [ 4 pp ] +
DEFENSES [ 15 pp ] =
180 PP TOTAL
BACKGROUND
Real Name: Sandra Wu-San
Alias:
Jade Canary, Paper Monkey, Sandra Woosan
Occupation: Assassin
Base of Operations: Mobile
Height: 5’8” (1.73 m)
Weight: 141 lbs. (64 kg)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Notable Relatives: Cassandra Cain/Batgirl III (daughter), Carolyn Wu-San (sister, deceased), O-Sensei (Godfather)
Race/Species: Human
Identity: Public
Status: Citizen of the People’s Republic of China with criminal record.
Lady Shiva, Sandra Wu-San, is possibly the world's greatest martial artist. She has been both a ruthless villain, ruthless anti-villain, and (occasional) anti-heroic vigilante. Her motivations are based purely on what interests her. This has lead her to mentor several other fighters: Richard Dragon, Black Canary, the Question and the Batman. Having dedicated her life to the study of combat, she is a human weapon living for the thrill of a good fight. Her daughter is the vigilante Batgirl III (Cassandra Cain), who she conceived with assassin David Cain as the perfect warrior. She has been involved with the Birds of Prey, the Brotherhood of the Fist, the League of Assassins and the Secret Society of Super-Villains.
Lady Shiva suffers from a similar problem of guys like Persuader of the Fatal Five with his “Atomic Axe” that can cut through anything (and so he never hits anyone), Cottonmouth of the Serpent Society with his jaws that can bite off heads (and so he never bites anyone), or Sabertooth
and Wolverine who are master martial artists who can heal any wound (and so despite being master martial artists don’t know how to dodge or block). See… Lady Shiva is routinely hailed
in universe as the deadliest martial artist in the entire world. But she’s an evil villain (sometimes an neutral anti-villain ) who mostly either fights mooks (who anyone can beat), villainous jobbers (who anyone can beat), or actual heroes… and she always has to lose to the hero in the end. Narrative demands are a harsh mistress.
So for thirty-odd years, Lady Shiva has existed as something of a “jobber to the stars.” If a writer has a new hero that they want to push and need to establish they have top tier mêlée skills, they bring in Lady Shiva. Only about half the time will the hero getting the push actually definitively win a fight against Shiva (and even rarely will they win “clean” [looking at you Tim]), usually the fight will get interrupted by a greater scope villain or some other delay. Shiva will say something about how she respects the hero’s skill and leave.
Lady Shiva has a rep
in universe, so clearly any attempt to adapt her into RPG stats needs to give her stats make it credible… After all, there are numerous instances of Richard Dragon, Bronze Tiger, Black Canary, Batgirl III, Oracle, and the Batman all calling her the deadliest and/or greatest martial artist. Even if we allow for some degree of hyperbole in those statements, it’s a serious rep. But the narrative logic of comics means she usually doesn’t get to win fights against the heroes or inflict permanent death upon any big name bad guys. So, what I’m left with is a slightly over-costed, slightly under-capped, and
hyper-focused PL 11.
She’s a serious threat to guys even of the Batman’s caliber, but not an insurmountable obstacle for a clever hero on par with her or even a team of lower tier heroes if they coordinate.
In a straight-up, head-to-head, one-on-one, hand-to-hand fight Lady Shiva is going to dominate anyone who doesn’t have some level of Impervious Toughness, Intangibility, or other defensive superpowers. Shiva lacks any inherent Penetrating attack, so she’d need to acquire a weapon, use a power stunt, or adopt some other tactic if faced with a hardened target (and then she’ll give lower tier heroes with those powers a really rough time).
Lady Shiva also has some issues dealing with crowds. Goodness knows, her to hit modifier and damage DC means she’ll massacre any average Minion she lays a hand on… But with only Takedown (1) and no fancy movement effects, it’s going to take her a while to fight through a gang of goons. Of course, as an Assassin Lady Shiva usually doesn’t waste her time on the hired help. Sneaking or intimidating her way past the goons to go straight after her target.
Lady Shiva is actually kind of bad at stealth. Well, not really. She’s bad at stealth by the standards of the Batman Family, merely being highly capable and not stupefyingly good at vanishing into thin air.
Oh, one last important detail: In the post-
Crisis timeline, Lady Shiva grew up in Detroit.
Having a back up weapon is smart but a pistol is not just comparable to a GL ring. I didn't read much of him but was able to stop a tsunami from hitting a costal city when colossal and colorful Dr. Manhattan looking guys were conjuring natural disasters with the ring. PL 12 seems a nice fit for him.
