Last X characters of a post showed into a non-vb page

[smdani]

I would like to show last 400 characters of last posts from a category in a non-vb page, just like a news system similar to slashdot.
Anyone has an idea of how to do it something like this?

Thabks in advance for your help!

[sabret00the]

apart from learning how to post in the proper place, surely you want the first x characters anyway :)