Professional Combat Athlete
The professional combat athlete is a well trained and hearty person who has devoted his career to the pursuit of athletic excellence in the most dangerous sports the galaxy has to offer. More civilized people call these games barbaric and primitive, but with all the glitz and glamour spread over the mainstream gladiatorial contests, it can often be hard to judge impartially. Unlike the popular mock combat television programs found on Earth, many of those in space are the real thing. Technology may not allow the weapons to kill as easily as they were designed to, but the damage they inflict is real, and in the less legal of arenas, there are no safety measures and the weaponry is battlefield grade and combat proven to kill. The professional combat athlete considers himself a warrior. There may be no wars on his peaceful homeworld or he might simply have his own drive to conquer without enslaving, but whatever brings out the fighter in these characters certainly can not be subdued. Which is not to say that all combat athletes are rabid and bloodthirsty, they just have a trait within them that produces a need for recognition of their skills, wether it is the personal recognition that comes from the acquiescence of a downed opponent or the very public roar of a large crowd.
Player characters can be from any level or aspect of the professional sports lifestyle, including top stars looking for "real" excitement or danger (much to the chagrin or against the wills of their employers) or burnt out has beens that missed their chance or just can't sit still after retiring before they even reached middle age. The O.C.C. focuses on the combat athlete because they are the ones most likely to become involved in an adventuring career for any number of reasons. They also will have the most appropriate skills for a player character adventurer. Anyone wishing to play another kind of athlete should simply drop the more combat oriented O.C.C. skills and replace them with more general physical skills. The actual income and resources of the character are totally up to the gamemaster, but a wealthy sports star in the group could be a good excuse to give the characters a spacecraft or other expensive piece of equipment; however, the character's level of experience will generally equate to their level of success and standing in the circuits (and ultimately their income).
Characters of this type on Earth will be rare and mostly perform in underground or criminally organized arenas. Legal combat sports on Earth are very rare and limited, especially compared to those found in a galactic setting. The legal bouts on Earth will involve either extensive protective measures or very concise rules on victory. The illegal versions will often have varying rules, from precautions rivaling their legal counterparts to something as simple as "Stay in the ring and anything else goes." Freelancers in both the legal and illegal sides of combat sports, both terrestrial and galactic, take a number of risks. They rarely have significant backing and are thus vulnerable to accidents or pressure that could get them killed in matches, they risk death and permanent injury after matches due to a general lack of medical attentions (they have to provide their own), and they must rely on their own resources to arrange participation in their bouts (which can often involve a good bit of legwork). Earth based combat tournaments are also less frequent than those in a galactic setting, but they normally have much larger pay-offs.
Note that the vast majority of these combat athletes are melee and unarmed fighters. The modern weapon and military type skills available below would be chosen by those who prefer to specialize in the deadlier ranged combat circuits (Yes, they do exist; paintball is kids play to these guys).
Attribute Requirements: Above average physical attributes are highly recommended, especially for the big time circuits.
O.C.C. skills
Wrestling
W.P Knife
W.P. Blunt
Zero Gravity Combat: Elite
Hand to Hand: Expert
Other Skills
Choose ten other skills from the following list. At least four must be additional weapon proficiencies and two must be physical skills.
Communications: Radio: Basic only.
Domestic: Any
Electrical: Basic Electronics only
Espionage: Detect Ambush, Detect Concealment, Sniper, tracking and Wilderness Survival.
Mechanical: Basic Mechanics only
Medical: First aid and Paramedic (counts as two skills) only
Military: Camouflage and Recognize Weapon Quality only
Physical: Any (+15% where applicable)
Pilot: Basic: Any
Pilot: Advanced: None
Pilot, Advanced: Hover Craft and jet pack skills only
Pilot Related: Navigation only
Rogue: Any except Computer Hacking
Science: Mathematics only
Technical: Any
Weapon Proficiencies: Any
Wilderness: Any
Secondary Skills:In addition to the above skills, the character can select six secondary skills from the secondary skill list on page 47 of Heroes Unlimited, second edition. As usual, these skills receive none of the bonuses listed above. The character can select three additional secondary skills at levels 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15.
Standard Equipment: One high quality weapon appropriate to each weapon proficiency the character has (These weapons are +1 to damage no matter their type, i.e. W.P. automatic Pistol might have a corresponding TGE Smooth Slide Forty that does 4D6+1 damage per round; W.P. Blunt could have a Kisentite mace that does 2D6+3 damage, etc.), one additional weapon of choice which is the character's personal favorite (receives +1 to strike instead of the +1 to damage because of the character's familiarity with it), one suit of heavy stylized armor (mainly for show, but does have an A.R. of 14 and 150 S.D.C.), a suit of light fighting armor (normally the suit used in the ring, when armor is allowed, it has an A.R. of 14 but only 75 S.D.C.), a vehicle of choice appropriate to skills chosen and the character's level of success, first aid kit (or IRMSS if successful/wealthy enough), fine quality pen to sign autographs with, and 1D4 sets of stylized outfits to match their image in the ring (The grittier, illegal fighters may argue that they do not have "images" or wear "Stylized costumes" for their bouts, but every snarl and each razor sharp spike is just that. You just might not want to point it out to 'em).
Optional Cybernetics: One hand weapon (claws, blades, or knuckle spikes are common) or a bionic skull (prevents the character from being knocked out by unarmed attacks unless the attacker has metal or mineral hands).
Starting Money/Salary: 3000 credits per month. Unless the character is a contracted professional (which exist on both sides of the legal divider line), income will be sporadic or require constant travel. Competitions are held almost constantly across the galaxy, but their locations are never conveniently spaced. Like the professional athletes of Earth, the most successful athletes that contract with the largest corporations or leagues/teams can make from 7000 to 15,000+ credits per month, but these athletes would not be allowed to roam about and endanger themselves by adventuring.
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