1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 12: Heroes Unlimited

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    I have always loved Palladium's settings, from Robotech to TMNT to Rifts, so let's try Heroes Unlimited:

Books Used: Heroes Unlimited (1st ed)
Approximate time to create: 40 min

Korsanian Vambrae  - Magic Hero (Mystic Study)

IQ  13
ME  13
MA  11
PS  8
PP  9
PE  11
PB  10
Spd  7

Alignment: Principled
HP:  15
SDC:  33

Education Level: Doctorate or PhD
Skills:
Archery
Prowl  81%
Swimming  85%
Climbing  85%
WP Staff
WP Sword
WP Targeting
Computer Operation  95%
Intelligence  77%
Photography  85%
Writing  69%
Criminal Science/Forensics  70%
Paramedic  85%
Pathology  80%
Medical Doctor- diagnose 105% treat  95%

Secondary Skills:
Cook  50%
Fishing  60%
Land Navigation  40%
Wilderness Survival  40%
Basic Electronics  40%
Basic Mechanics  40%
Auto Mechanics  50%
Pilot: automobile  80%
Language  55%
Art  40%

Wizard Abilities:
Astral Projection
Familiar Link
Recognize Enchantment  60%
Sense Evil  100'
Sense Magic  200'  24%
Magic Combat  (can cast 2 spells per turn, max 8 spells per day)

Spells Known:
Anti-magic Cloud
Dispel Magic Barrier
Negate Magic
Exorcism
Expel Demons/Devils
Invisibility (self)
Globe of Silence
See the Invisible
Sphere of Invisibility
Decipher Magic


    The thing about Palladium games is that while I love their settings, the mechanics leave something to be desired.  Attributes are pretty much useless, unless they are 16+ (and you roll 3d6 for them) at which point they give benefits to other scores.  I didn't waste the time writing them out, each one is  two words but after you play a bit you get used to just using the abbreviations.  The system is modern, so instead of riding the faelynx he has a car, or would if I could find where to roll my starting cash.  I lucked out on the education level with the PhD, it gave a huge bonus to all my skills.  But the fixed skill percentages is a screwy system.  I like the idea of hit points and SDC, you lose SDC first as fatigue and bruising and hit points last as actual wounds and death.  SDC is a big number (usually) that increases easily, hit points stay small.  It's not a bad idea, and works okay in practice (though has some quirks like all point-based health systems) - however when they added the mecha-level MDC things went sideways fast.
    I did not expect this character to convert well, this system was for nostalgia's sake like Marvel, but it actually did not do too bad.  I had extra spells to learn so I went with the invisibility and exorcism and silence - but they do kind of fit the concept.  The biggest shift was from fantasy to modern era, but otherwise he stayed fairly close.  I did play a whole lot of Palladium in my younger days, and while it is an okay system I am not dying to play it again.