[UA] Achetype: The Soldier (War)

[Royal Minister of Stuff]

You know, maybe "unknown soldier" would be a better
approach to this archetype.  Imagine if the soldier
was someone who had to follow conflict -it didn't
matter what cause or nation.  The unknown soldier
would be a guardian of other soldiers and a reflection
of the highly-romantized "commarederie" of troops
under fire.

Rather than a nation, the Unkown Soldier would arrise
from the ranks of a troop or unit, particularly one
which disliked or distrusted this person.

In this case, Roland the Headless Thompson gunner
might be the revenant of an Avatar who would fit
nicely into an international campaign.

--- eti at mb.sympatico.ca wrote:
> 
> Ok.  The core rulebook hints at it, and I know
> passes have been
> made at it on the list before, but here's my attempt
> at it: The
> Soldier, a.k.a. War.  Please, do what y'all do best
> to it.  :)
> 
> ___________________
> Erik Isford
> Edits the quarterly Mr. Teapot fanzine.
> 
> 
> The Soldier (War)
> 
> Attributes:
> 
> The first human to heft a rock and smash a leopard
> or another
> human in the defense of a mate, or for the
> furtherance of his
> family group’s well-being became the chosen defender
> of that
> family group.  Mate and young cowered in the bush
> while any new
> threat was met by the same furry hominid, who
> gestured and
> hooted and hefted rocks until the threat was abated
> or he was
> destroyed.  Quickly, this way of life spread from
> family group
> to family group as defender met defender and family
> met family. 
> In this way, after The Mother and The Savage but
> before The
> Hunter, The Soldier, or War, came to be.
> 
> The Soldier is the recognized protector of a given
> population -
> chosen by circumstance, intentional nomination, or
> an impartial
> draft; it’s all the same.  The Soldier is the
> individual who
> fights so that others don’t have to, and is
> recognized for such.
>  The Soldier is a very old archetype, one of the
> first, and is
> consequently one of the simplest and most radically
> bipolar
> archetypes.  The positive side of The Soldier is
> protective: the
> shining knight who mans the walls against invaders
> and protects
> the castle against the threat of outside hordes. 
> The dark side
> of The Soldier is oppressive, choosing to protect
> the defended
> population from itself through strict regimentation,
> scrutiny,
> rules and regulations, and the ever-present threat
> of violence
> for non-compliance.
> 
> The Soldier designates a population to protect, and
> defense of
> that population is the reason for this archetype.  A
> Soldier’s
> chosen population is any self-defined community that
> accepts,
> requests, or demands the Soldier’s protection, and
> the
> responsibility for which the Soldier accepts.  
> 
> Note, please, that The Soldier is not The Martyr,
> for The Martyr
> has no choice but to sacrifice him or herself for
> the good of a
> cause.  The Soldier is not The Executioner, for The
> Soldier is
> neither offensive nor defensive by definition, but
> is instead
> reactive and dynamic in the face of opposition. 
> Finally, The
> Soldier is not The Hunter, for The Hunter pursues a
> prey, and
> The Soldier’s enemy does not need to be tracked.
> 
> Taboos:
> 
> Consciously decline a request or plea for service
> from the
> soldier’s chosen population.  Choose not to act in
> the defense
> of the population’s "side." Betray the Soldier’s
> population. 
> Surrender when victory is still an attainable goal.
> 
> Symbols:
> 
> In history, the spear, the shield, and the suit of
> armour
> denoted The Soldier.  Now, though the old symbols
> hold some
> power still, the modern military uniform,
> many-pocketed pants,
> helmet, and rank designation mean "Soldier" to the
> common
> person, as do assault weapons and heavy long rifles.
> 
> Suspected Avatars in History:
> 
> Interestingly, The Solider is likely one of the most
> oft-channeled Archetypes of the twentieth century. 
> Think about
> it: how many uncles or grandparents do you have who
> have a "war
> buddy" story, where their Sarge, or their PFC, or
> their whatever
> made an impossible shot at a critical moment, or who
> was
> nigh-unsurprisable, or was absolutely unflappable in
> the face of
> absolute carnage?  No one likely got too high in the
> Avatar:Soldier skill, and certainly very few
> returned servicemen
> would choose to stay in The Soldier’s path, so the
> Godwalker (if
> there is one) of The Soldier was reasonably safe
> once open
> global conflict subsided after Vietnam.
> 
> Specific historic avatars include James Ewell
> "J.E.B." Brown
> Stuart, Gen. Smedly Butler (who may have had a trip
> through The
> House of Renunciation), Fumio Nakahira, and
> countless Unknown
> Soldiers, may they rest in peace.
> 
> Channels:
> 
> 1%-50%: Flip-flop any attack against an established
> enemy -
> i.e.: Someone belonging to a population that is
> actively trying
> to harm the defended population, or is actively
> trying to harm
> the Soldier.
> 51%-70%: If the avatar fails a violence or self
> check, the
> avatar can re-roll the check using the
> Avatar:Soldier skill in
> place of the avatar's Mind stat.
> 71%-90%: With successful use of the channel, the
> Soldier's
> initiative is taken as a success at the level of the
> character’s
> Avatar:Soldier skill.
> 91%+:  The Soldier can take a round to prepare and
> make an
> Avatar:Soldier skill roll.  If the roll is
> successful, the first
> successful attack the Soldier makes in the next
> round does
> damage equal to the Soldier’s Avatar:Soldier skill. 
> Per the
> prior two channels, the Soldier must be acting in
> the defense of
> or the service of his or her protected population. 
> While
> preparing (breathing calmly, choosing targets,
> humming the
> Battle Hymn of the Republic, whatever), the Solider
> cannot do
> anything that requires concentration or involved
> action. 
> However, the Soldier is not immobile, so anyone
> attempting to
> attack a preparing Soldier does not get any extra
> positive
> shifts.  The Soldier can prepare, attack, prepare,
> attack, and
> so on for each subsequent round as long as the
> Soldier is able
> to act.  Soldiers cannot get multiple consecutive
> rounds of
> massive attack with multiple consecutive rounds of
> preparation,
> though.  Sorry.  Further, the avatar only gets
> enhanced damage
> on the first successful attack made in the attack
> round - no
> splitting the attacks and dishing out 300 points of
> damage in a
> single round.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> UA mailing list
> 
=== message truncated ===


=====
-- Rp Bowman, Royal Minister of Stuff
The Electronic Nation of Yokeltania:
http://www.geocities.com/yokeltania/

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