[UA] The Prince, on a white horse, returns!

[Sean Holland]

Second attempt.  Feedback and comments are welcome.

        The Prince (on a white horse)

     Once upon a time, years and years ago there was a little
princess and she was very sad for her mother and father had died. 
Before the princess appeared a traveling prince riding upon a white
horse.  He had a regal bearing and a kind smile.  The prince
wrapped the princess in a rose-scented embrace and gently wiped
the tears from her eyes
     "Little one," he said, "who bears up alone in such deep
sorrow.  Never lose that strength or nobility, even when you grow
up.  I give you this to remember this day.  We will meet again.  This
ring will lead you to me, one day."
     Perhaps the ring the prince gave was an engagement ring. 
That was all well and good, but so impressed was she by him that
the princess vowed to become a prince herself one day.
     But was that really such a good idea?
                                        
     -Revolutionary Girl Utena

     Attributes: The Prince (on a white horse) is the archetype of
the Hero who rescues the Princess from the Palace of Thorns, the
Prince who lifts the curse of Eternal Night from the Kingdom, the
clever young man who outwits the Ogre-Sorcerer, saves the
Princess and marries her.  This is the avatar of the Prince out of
fairy tales, but remember until they were 'sanitized' in the 19th
Century, fairy tales did not always have happy endings . . .  Further,
the Prince symbolizes hopeless, but glorious and noble, causes. 
The avatar of the Prince often find themselves as martyrs to their
beliefs or cast as the leader of doomed rebellions.
     Sometimes alone, but never without friends, the Prince
overcomes all hardships to succeed in his goal, while remaining
noble and true through it all.  The Prince rises above the common
level of things, showing other people what can be done through
nobility and hard work.  While the Prince is idealistic and good, he
is not always wise, his causes may end up generating suffering
(such as leading a poorly planned rebellion) or getting those who
help him killed or injured.  The Prince may blind himself to the
results of his actions or accept them and risk losing his idealism. 
Equally, the noble nature of the Prince can be manipulated by the
cynical for their own ends.  It can be a difficult task to be noble and
true at all times.  The Prince is an archetype of heroic tragedy as
least as much as it is one of adventures and happy ending.
     The Prince does not need to be of royal blood, nor every a
royalist.  There have been avatars of the Prince that espouse
anarchism, communist revolution, democracy and even among the
ranks of the Hitler Jurgen.  Some students of the invisible clergy
have said that the avatar would be better titled the Youthful
Idealist.  While other believe that the older conception still holds
and that only a prince of the blood (or someone working to become
a prince in reality) can hope to become a Godwalker of this
archetype.
     Traditionally Avatars of the Prince have been young men
but that may be changing . . .

     Taboo: The Price can never abandon an innocent in need. 
They can only give minimal help (calling 911 for an accident victim,
giving a sandwich to a staving man) but they cannot ignore them. 
The prince must fight with honor, as long as his enemy fights
honorably and even if his enemy is ignoble he will never stoop to
villainy to win.  Now, trickery and cleverness (such as disguises)
are perfectly acceptable.  The prince must never behave in a cruel
or vicious manner, with one exception: Poetic Justice.  If a villain is
well known for, say, throwing his enemies to the crocodiles, the
prince is perfectly justified in leaving the villain to his fate when the
villain falls into his own crocodile pit.
     No one has succeeded in channeling the Avatar of the
Prince past the age of 40 either.

     Falling and Evolving:    While the Prince is noble and good,
what they may become if they leave the path . . .  Even the
ascended Archetype of the Prince is said to have fallen from the
path of youthful idealism and passed through the House of
Renunciation, but still the Archetype remains, pure and unspoilt.
     The Prince is an mercurial avatar, for as soon as the avatar
obtains the goal of his final quest he usually becomes something
else, most often a king (or if they fall, something else entirely, often
a persona radically at odds with that of the price).  The path of the
Prince is closed to those who lose their idealism (hardened 10 in
any madness category or by the judgement of the GM) who then
fall from the way of the Prince and are usually transformed to other
paths (the Pilgrim being one of the most common).
     When one evolves (or falls) from the path of the Prince,
with the GM's permission, you may transfer up to 90% of your
Avatar skill to another Avatar skill (though 50% is more likely).  If
you have fallen from the path of the Prince you must make rank 10
Self, Helplessness and Unnatural madness checks (without the
benefit of the Prince's second channel naturally).  You may also
adjust your passions to fit your new persona (again with GM's
permission) which can be quite different from that of the youthful
Prince.

     Symbols: White horse, a noble's sword, cloak, a rose, a
banner (often tattered or bloodied).

     Suspected Avatars in History: Jason.  The young Beowulf
of the sagas (the older Beowulf shows how the Prince can evolve
into a new Avatar path).  Dick Whittington, who according to
legend entered London penniless and through luck and much effort
became Mayor of London (again evolving as an Avatar). 
Minamoto no Yoshiie, "the samurai of the greatest bravery under
heaven."  The Duke of Monmouth.  Bonnie Prince Charlie.  Che.

Channels:
     01-50: A Quest!  When on a noble quest (such as finding
the princess or defeating the evil witch), you will find that those
who share your goals will aid you.  When entering a new area
(village, town, castle), you may make an Avatar: the Prince roll to
stumble across an ally that will aid you in your quest.  The ally will
only rarely risk their life or livelihood, but will provide information,
shelter, and, perhaps, a hiding place.  When dealing with these allies
and their friends, you may substitute your Avatar: the Prince skill
for Charm or other social skill.  You must not abuse the hospitality
of these allies or you will break your taboo.
     When on a quest, the avatar of the Prince finds that
serendipitous things happen to them, primarily this is the realm of
the GM, but once per quest you may reroll any one roll or force the
GM to reroll any one roll used against you.

     51-70: Remain Noble You may call upon your inner nobility
and stout heart to resist the corroding effects of madness.  On any
madness check that would result in you gaining a second (or more)
failed notch or a sixth (or greater) hardened notch, you may make
an Avatar: the Prince check, and, if successful, negate the gaining
of that notch.
     The Avatar of the Prince becomes extremely resilient of
body as well as of mind.  You heal an additional wound point
whenever you would normally have wound points restored.  ("You
shouldn't be out of bed with that sword wound."  "My lady needs
me, I must go.")
     Lastly, the Avatar's serendipity increases to the point where
he may make two rerolls per quest.

     71-90: Refuse Advantage "I see you are unarmed, I shall set
aside my sword and we can settle this like gentlemen."  When you
confront an enemy who is better equipped, has superior numbers or
if you choose to put aside any obvious advantage you have from
equipment (or magick), you can tap into the power of the Prince. 
You must physically and verbally confront your enemy but no
Avatar roll is required.  For the duration of the confrontation, you
receive a +5% shift on all skill used against your opponent and take
-5 points of damage from their attacks.
     If your enemy takes advantage of your noble posture by
producing a better weapon or calling in outside aid, your bonuses
triple (and they work against anyone who aids your enemy) and
you can retrieve and use any items, weapons or powers that you set
aside while still keeping these bonuses.  ("It is too late for your
henchmen to help you now, Baron.")

     91+: The Fates Provide At this level, your serendipity has
become a force to be reckoned with.  Whatever you need to
complete your quest will become obtainable, though often only with
great effort.  ("The only thing that will kill that Witch is the venom
of the rare Blue Amazonian Lightning frog." "Luckily for us that
the 'Wonders of the Rain Forest' exhibit just opened at the Zoo.")
     The very strands of fate now bend to protect you when you
are on a quest, all attacks against you are at -5% and all matched
failures on attacks against you are treated as BOHICAs.  Nor are
you ever surprised by an attacker, a flicker of movement, a stray
shadow or the glint of light off of a telescopic sight always alerts
you in the nick of time to react.

"However, as St. Reptillicus reminds us in his 27th Epistle to the
Greengrocer, 'Some nights you can't get a drink off the cuff anyplace.'"

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