[UA] A new avatar, or a new flavor?

[Ted Prodromou]

(crossposted to www.unknown-armies.com)

The Faithless Servant

Ever fawning, ever in the Master's trust and
confidence, but never truly loyal.

A leader needs followers who can be trusted, and this
makes a leader vulnerable to betrayal. The Faithless
Servant exploits this trust, serving a leader in name
while betraying the leader in deed.

A Faithless Servant's life depends on the good will of
his leader, and a Faithless Servant is tremendously
capable of manipulating the leader and keeping her
trust. Servitude, to an Avatar of the Faithless
Servant, is an opportunity to burrow into a structure
and crumble it from the inside. Embezzlers,
whistleblowers, and informants all take part in this
archetype.

Not all Faithless Servants are villains; literature
and history are full of stories of an agent of
wrongdoing recanting his ways and turning on his
master to assist the side of right at the last moment.

Typically, a Faithless Servant acts against his master
on a constant basis, building up to a great, final
betrayal which ruins the master. The exact path to
this can vary; some Faithless Servants take a lazy
road to this betrayal, always disloyal in potential,
while never truly acting on their inclinations. Others
ambitiously seek to destroy their superiors.

This archetype is closely related to the archetype of
the Necessary Servant, and Faithless Servants often
work to portray themselves as loyal servants. Some of
those who are in the know about archetypes claim to be
an Avatar of a less harmful Archetype, such as "The
Sycophant" or "The Toady." Such claims are not
necessarily smokescreens to create an opportunity for
betrayal; a Faithless Servant can remain a toadying
sycophant indefinitely without weakening the
archetype. Some low-level Avatars never betray their
masters, spending their time fawning and sniveling.

Attributes: The Faithless Servant is more concerned
with their status in the eyes of their master than in
the master's actual welfare or the duties of their
position. A Faithless Servant typically behaves just
short of being suspicious until the final moment of
betrayal, while often making empty gestures of
loyalty. The Faithless Servant is almost always a
source of praise and fawning, giving empty comforting
advice and telling the master what he wishes to hear.

Taboo: The Faithless Servant must be in the active
employ of a superior of great stature. The exact
nature of the master's power can vary, but the
superior must somehow be powerful or important.
Leaving the employ of a superior weakens the
archetype, as does the decline of your master's
stature. There is one exception to this: if your
betrayal causes your master's downfall, you can switch
to a new master without any weakening of your
connection to the archetype.

Symbols: Daggers, especially stuck through the back.
Hunched-over posture. False praise. Whispering tones.
Simple but clean peasant's clothing. Anything related
to secretive communication: signet rings, wax seals,
or encrypted emails. Standing behind or beside a
throne.

Suspected Avatars in History: Judas Iscariot, whose
name is synonymous with betrayal. Benedict Arnold, who
betrayed the United States to the British. From the
Bible, Potiphar's wife, who slept with Joseph and many
others behind Potiphar's back. Brutus, who slew his
adopted father Julius Caesar for the good of the Roman
Republic. Qin Hui, who put the Chinese hero Yue Fei to
death on false charges. The tragedies of Shakespeare
are filled with Faithless Servants, including King
MacBeth and, perhaps a literary favorite of betrayal,
Iago.

Masks: The most common mask is Lucifer (Christian),
who was the most favorite servant of Jehovah before
the uprising, but others exist.

Channels

01-50% You can influence the mood of your superior.
With a successful Avatar: The Faithless Servant skill
roll and a brief conversation, you can make your
master feel happy or sad, angry or afraid, confused or
content, threatened or safe. This only influences
general feelings, not specific situations or
personality. If used within ten minutes of the
superior gaining a Failed notch from a failed Stress
check, you can convert it into a Hardened notch on the
same Madness Meter.

51-70% You can influence the mind of your boss
further, by directing your superior's hostility to a
scapegoat of your choice. This also requires a brief
conversation with your superior and a successful
Avatar: the Faithless Servant skill roll. This can
only be used when something has gone wrong, and it can
definitely be used to move blame away from you.

71-90% You project a veil of innocence around
yourself. With a brief conversation and a roll against
Avatar: the Faithless Servant, you can convince anyone
(not just your master) of your innocence and
trustworthiness. They will believe nothing negative
about you for the next hour, but will instead see you
as honest and trustworthy. After the hour is over, how
the subject views you will depend on your behavior,
but they will not automatically feel hostility toward
you.

91-98% At this level, your capability for betrayal and
avoidance of consequences reaches truly supernatural
levels. Any time something bad happens to you, you
can, with a successful Avatar: the Faithless Servant
roll, pass that misfortune along to your superior
instead. While this will often take the form of a
coincidence, it can take very blatant form if
necessary. This definitely can include injuries, as
well as harm from your superior. Powerful Faithless
Servants become nearly invincible.