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Eloquent Conversationalist
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 Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:09 am
Heroism 101
The Fundamentals of Being a Hero
Introduction - What is a Hero?
www.dictionary.com he·ro[heer-oh] –noun, plural -roes; 1. a man (or woman) of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his (or her) brave deeds and noble qualities. 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.
What is a hero? We all have our own ideas about what heroism is. And in reality, no one should need to read the definition to know what a hero is. They can be called by many names; hero, heroine sometimes for females, champion, ideal, paladin, even protagonist for literary works. But one thing stands true above all else.
Heroes are the good guys.
They stand between evil, and save the world and the people in it from all sorts of dastardly plans. There are many different types of heroes, just as many different types as there are villains. And just like villains, it takes more than just a cool title to make yourself a hero. It takes an unbreakable resolve to fight for a cause. It takes determination, motivation, and sometimes, self sacrifice to protect those that cannot protect themselves.
So, if you have the will and courage to stand up for others, and the determination to make the world a better place, then you're already on your way to becoming a hero, and this thread will help you decide how to become a hero, and what type of hero archetype you might fall into. The road to becoming a hero is not as simple as being a goodie-two-shoes. It takes a certain level of situational awareness, and a powerful will to stick to what you know is right. This thread will help to point you in the right direction, and send you down the path to being a true hero.
If you've ever felt compelled to help someone in their time of need, no matter the cost to yourself, then you're already one step closer to your goal.
Essays:
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:16 am
Tutorial 1
The Pure Hearted Hero
We are warriors, Warriors of Light,
An army for freedom, defenders of life.
Warriors, Euphoria will rise,
Returning from Darkness, We bury all lies.
-Freedom Call (Warriors)
We will raise swords with valor, this Black Winter Night,
Sing of Power and Glory for All!
We will never surrender, we stand strong and fight,
For the King and the Crown, we'll come through!
-Dragonforce (Black Winter Night)
Courage. Valor. Purity. And an unyielding resolve to protect.
These are but a few qualities that the Pure Hearted Hero possesses. An evil thought nary exists within these heroic individuals. Their hearts are pure, their intentions are honest and noble. They are often young and idealistic persons, making them perfect for anime and game characters, and will fight tooth and nail for what they believe to be right. A paladin is often associated with this kind of heroism. However, these noble persons are not the easiest type of hero to play as.
A Pure Hearted hero must be willing to make some sort of self sacrifice if it can mean saving a few lives. And this must also mean that the Roleplayer in question, despite possibly knowing the outcome of these actions will be detrimental, must be able to have their hero act accordingly. Obviously, some actions are simply ridiculous and could be avoided by weighing chances of survival and using lots of common sense, however, many situations will call for your hero to act and save lives, no matter the cost to their own well being.
Always kind, respectful, and fiercely loyal, the Pure Hearted Hero is sure to make friends among other heroes due to their warm nature and soft hearts. They are usually dressed in white, or other bright colors that compliment their inner spirit, and are often associated with "Light" or "Holy" magical abilities, but it is not uncommon to find these heroes wielding other magical powers either, which gives this hero type much potential when it comes to battle. Their determination and resolve to protect is a powerful ally that can drive them to push through debilitating situations in order to reach their goal.
However, that same desire to protect can be their Achilles Heel when it comes to dealing with villains. Some villains will resort to underhanded tactics such as using innocents as shields, or bargaining items to force the Pure Hearted Hero into submission, or to get them to act in a certain way. Sometimes there are ways out of these situations, but other times, the hero's pure nature forces them to give in and surrender.
Some examples of Pure Hearted Heroes are...
Cless Albion - Tales of Phantasia the Animation
Lloyd Irving - Tales of Symphonia
Goku - Dragonball Series
Vash the Stampede - Trigun
Ash/Satoshi - Pokemon Series
Naruto Uzumaki - Naruto
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:29 am
The Vigilante - Coming Soon.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:01 pm
The Makeshift Hero "You shot yourself!" "It seemed like a good idea at the time." The Makeshift Hero isn't the kind of person who rushes out into danger just because his strong sense of justice tells him that there are wrongs to be righted. He doesn't go around looking for criminals to punish or villains to smite in the name of justice... he just has a seriously bad case of "wrong place, wrong time". He doesn't go looking for it, it just seems to come to him. Making a deposit on the day a bank gets robbed. Accidentally coming across a group of criminals loading up a van with stolen electronics in a dark alley. Having a seat on a hijacked airplane. Delivering a pizza to someone with a mob hit out on them at the same time a would-be made man is doing the same. The real difference between a victim and a makeshift hero is how they handle the situation. You're not a costumed protector. You're not running around all day and night wearing full plate armor and carrying seven different types of weapon. Sometimes all you've got on you is your keys and a pocket full of change, and you just have to make due with what's available. Yeah, doing what's right can hurt sometimes. You'll get hit, cut, shot, and burned. You'll fall out of things, fall into things, and probably get the s**t kicked out of you in the process. But damnit, you're not just going to sit there and do nothing. John McClane. Seriously. Watch some Die Hard.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 6:01 pm
The Hardened Soldier
"Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed, knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars; when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags."
A former Navy SEAL, an ex-Delta oprerator, an SAS sniper, a Force Recon Marine. They don't need superpowers or transformations or anything like that. Give them a few good pieces of hardware and a worthy cause to fight for, and they will turn up aces.
The Hardened Soldier has the experience and training of his former post in whatever field of combat he served in (or is still a part of), not to mention the connections in the government. In fact, they might be hired by the government itself to do some offhand jobs. Whether still in the system or not, they have what it takes to get things done on their lonesome.
The thing about these guys is that they don't just let the baddie get away, they will kill them absolutely, and in the most efficient way possible. After all, why the hell let the guy live? You do that and you'll end up having him back, stronger, faster, meaner and with more buddies. No, better take him out before he calls for backup.
Not only is this going to rub the pure-hearted hero the wrong way, but should this go outside the bounds of society or the law, this could turn them into a Vigilante. If not, then they're pretty much covered for it.
If in a group that has no idea what they are doing, they take the lead and can more than likely get everyone to survive. If things seem to be going south, they cut their losses and keep moving, pushing forward to the eventual goal. Better to do it alone than with someone who doesn't know how.
On the other hand if they're in a quite competent group that already has a good leader, they're even more effective. Usually they become the wisdom of the team, providing sound tactical advice, or the shock element, crushing anyone before them into dust. Hey, someone's gotta do it.
When they lose, they know how to get away, and quickly. Escape routes aren't just a thing for the bad guys to use, and these guys probably have a few planned out, just in case the s**t hits the fan. If, in the worst case scenario, they're going to die, well hell... they will take as many of their foes with them as possible. Either option is better than being captured.
These guys like using tech to their advantage too, and usually have a few good tools around, just in case things get interesting. Night vision, laser designators, what have you. They'll use any advantage they can get over their foes. If they have piloting skills or can drive a vehicle, that's even better.
Just take note, some of these guys aren't the pure-hearted hero. They're worldly, sometimes jaded, have a rough sense of humor, and cuss quite a bit. Not to mention that if they're acting outside of the law, it's not going to be for some kind of justice. More than likely, they'll be out for payback.
But if you need someone to get a dirty job done, they are the ones to turn to.
Read Rainbow Six, seriously. Splinter Cell and the Paladin of Shadows series (John Ringo) are also fine examples of such badassery. Read them and learn from them. For the damn-near vigilante version of this, watch Shooter. The ultimate example of this so far is Spartan-117.
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:15 pm
The "Demon" Hero (Heroic goal, evil approach)
"The world is twisted, and someone needs to straighten it out, even if the world needs to be twisted even more to get there."
-Personal quote-
"For I am Zero, the man who destroys worlds! The man who creates them!"
Lelouch "Zero" Lamperouge (Code Geass)
The unsung heroes. They almost completely follow the path of the villain, but instead target the evil of the world with their power. These kinds of heroes can also partly qualify in many of the villain categories, being anywhere from front-line men to manipulators.
The "demon" hero's life is often one of personal solitude, though he brings many people together under one goal, he himself is forced to be the bad guy and make the decisions no one else would think to make. He often loses many of the people that were closest to him, and is forced to make his old allies into enemies. He is often referred to as a 'demon' or a wicked being by these heroic enemies, but even if he is not on the path of an ideal hero, others often fail to see that he stands to oppose a darker threat than they know of.
Some "demon" heroes eventually end up becoming full villains, and some end up failing, leaving the world worse than before. But the ones that succeed often end their quest tragically, dying at the hands of a true hero who he allows to take the glory. This is sometimes even intentional, with the "demon" hero planning their death to end the chain of hatred they began.
Though he is anything but pure, there is no hero stronger of heart than the "demon" hero. He is willing to destroy not only the world, but even himself to make the world better. It takes a strong man to take up a sword and protect others from evil, but it takes even greater strength to destroy your own soul and kill the ones you wish to protect to make the future brighter. Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass) ((If you can point out any others, then send it to me and I'll update the list.))
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 4:19 pm
The Chessmaster
"Just remember, there's not just a black side on the board."
This one's usually reserved for villains. They manipulate people, events, and emotions to provide the most desirable outcome on all ends. They understand that strategy is not choosing a single path to victory, but making it so that all paths lead to victory.
Thing is, the good guys can do this too.
These characters know, without pause, who their enemy is, what they are capable of, what they like and what they hate. They know how predictable they are and their routines. And they know how many people hate/like/couldn't care less about them.
If they don't know, they sure as hell will find out. Spies are not just for the baddies; remember that.
These guys know what they are doing at all times, even though the orders they give will sometimes be extremely skewed. But if they are charismatic enough, a simple "trust me" will do. More often than not, if they have their heads on straight, it will work, and those they order around will be bolstered by the leadership of a good Chessmaster.
Like all heroes, one thing stands perfectly clear... The Chessmaster wants civillians alive and well, and their support. In strategy if a populace hates you, your team's not going to get very far. Make friends, and strive to keep them. It's what gets you the wins. A loyal circle of followers will solidify this character's plans and maintain his or her defenses.
Aside from that, this is war. There are going to be losses. It all depends on how you handle those losses. These characters are unique because they are sometimes willing to let a valuable position be taken in exchange for the coup de grace, and in lesser terms, a good position be sacked for an even better one. It's all about exchange.
This goes for the people who are fighting, too. You lose a few troops? Got someone pinned down? If it's in the plan, good! The Chessmaster makes someone think they're winning... then proves that they're not. They will have someone fighting on the front line to make a showing, and then throw the left hook that the villain won't see coming until it's too late. It's best not to do this too often, though.
The end goal of all these means will be one of two things.
Saving The Day is usually the goal. If they can drive an opponent back to whence they came with minimal loss of property, manpower, and innocent lives, all the better. If not, stop them from doing any more damage than already done. This is defensive.
The second goal, and the more desirable one, is The Wipeout. This is where the character has set up all pieces before hand and is prepared to go for the throat. The bad guy is ready for what is not coming straight for them, and they will win, more than likely. But guess what? The Chessmaster is at the villain's front door (if they're not already behind it), and they will win bigger. The result, if cleanly pulled off, is the total elimination of the enemy. No survivors, no base to come back to.
Game over.
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