Saturday, April 13, 2013

Weekend Write-Up: El Santo!

Doctor Who is noted for it's tendency to enter into just about any genre imaginable. From it's roots as a "historical" series for kids in the early days with Hartnell to it's flashy spy adventures during Pertwee's era and the Gothic horror of the early Tom Baker, the series has covered almost every imaginable...except one.

The Luchador Movie!

To quote Wikipedia
The sport of Lucha Libre (Mexican professional wrestling) became so popular in Mexico, that it spawned a genre of Luchador films (wrestling/action/science-fiction/horror films) starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in the sport. These masked superheroes engaged in battles against a range of characters from spies, to vampires and Martians. Luchador films were produced quickly on a modest budget and were reminiscent of American B-films. Nearly all lucha films included fist-fighting and wrestling action sequences which were choreographed and performed by the stars themselves without the aid of stunt doubles. The genre's popularity peaked during the mid-60s to early-70s.
And the icon of Lucha film is El Santo (The Saint) who starred in 52 films all together. It's easy to think of the Doctor as the national super hero of Great Britain, then Santo is without a doubt the national super hero of Mexico.

My idea is not so much to create a "historical" Santo based on the life of the actual man, but the larger than life super hero of the movies. A man who regularly fights off Martians, Vampires, Mad Scientists and the occasional Aztec Mummy would have no trouble at all fitting in with the Doctor.

 El Santo

Awareness 3
Coordination 5
Ingenuity  4
Presence 3
Resolve  4
Strength  4

Good Traits
Brave
Psychic Training
Tough

Bad Traits
Adversaries-multiple (major)
Code of Conduct - must wear mask at all time (major)
Distinctive- the whole world knows his name and that mask!


Skills
Athletics 4 (AoE: wrestling)
Fighting 4
Knowledge 5
Marksman 1
Science 3
Subterfuge 3

Tech Level 4 (1950's-60's)
Story Points 12

Legend of the wrestling ring and idol of millions, El Santo is not just a talented athlete but an all around Renaissance man and true hero for his efforts at stopping numerous villains who have threatened the world.  He's regularly contacted by various officials and world leaders to deal with unexpected and unusual problems that come up.

Adventure Hooks



Aztec Mummy Robots vs the World!- There has long been speculation of a connection between the ancient Aztecs and the Egyptians. The source of that connection is the Osirians. The ancient alien race that shaped the early history of humanity.  As part of Sutekh's battle plan, he hid a number of his service robots in a secret temple deep in the Amazon. When an archaeological dig uncovers the long hidden pyramid, it sets the robots off on an uncontrolled rampage. Thankfully the players and their new pal Santo are there to help stop them.

The Squared Circle - The planet Chanograt is being invaded by the Vl'hurgs. The Chanograti are a peaceful race and can do nothing against the villainous and powerful raiders. But the Vl'hurgs are a sporting race, and will call of the should the Chanograti find a Champion who can best their greatest warrior.  So the players hop off to Earth to recruit the most natural hero in this situation: El Santo!


3 comments:

  1. Have you read any of the Senor 105 novellas? The title character is a luchador fighting unearthly enemies in a style reminiscent of El Santo. Senor 105 is a spin-off from the Iris Wildthyme books, Iris herself being a spin-off from the Doctor Who novels and audios.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't heard of those. But then I can't say I really followed the numerous book and audio spinoffs.

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  2. I'm digging the Hitchhiker's reference with the Vl'hurgs.

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