Inverse - Thoughts on literary archetypes in Inverse.
I'm paying attention to some of the archetypes that are emerging within the Inverse game I'm running. I wonder if I'm just now paying attention to these things and they've always been there, or if this game is more steeped in a prose structure than I had figured.
Anyways, some of the characters I've created for the game, and what they really are:
Edor Salix: he's the Hero archetype. As I ask Tygress what she thinks about him, and ask her if she considers him to be a "hero", I realize that not only is he a hero, he was made specifically to be one. He's a non-presuming young male, who has put others' safety and well-being before his own. He's a person to admire. He also doesn't consider himself to be heroic or courageous... just a guy who did what he thought was right when others didn't. I think about his pursuit of Imilia, and how she really represents the hero's ideal... the unobtainable goal. If Salix is the hero saving lives, then Imilia is the hoi polloi whom he's trying to please, but who never recognizes him.
Rand Panthis: he's the Anti-hero. He does nothing of merit or value, yet is the strong male figure, whose actions irrevocably change those around him. He has done nothing in-game that can be describe as "good". The best that can be said about him is that he's stated that he'd "rather not murder someone". He's also the wounded figure who is eternally in flight from his own heritage and responsibility, yet continually demands loyalty and responsibility from those he travels with. He's also continually hounded by those who demand he take his position of leadership. As Tygress puts it, he's Aragorn. Trick is... he's still very much in the balance, and at this point, he's equally capable of taking a path that is destructive.
Duvane: he's sort of the embodiment of the "evil that protects the good". Whether it's an attempt at self-redemption, or some kind of compulsion to maintain one good thing in his universe, then he's chosen to be the guardian of someone he thinks of as pure. However, he still very much participates in the ruin of peoples' lives, though he obeys his own particular code of behavior. He certainly feels the need for redemption, but he is well beyond actual redemption. Thus, it must be vicarious. He also represents the power of evil... the actual immediate strength and power, both physical and social, that comes from exploitation, intimidation, and murder. And thus, he uses his power to protect the innocent whom he choses, for whatever reason he has.
Malist Letorr: he is the ultimate lawful type, whose rigid worldview has allowed him to participate in minor degrees of repression and harassment of others. Within his own mind and eyes, everything in his world is correct and upright, even though he promulgates tyranny. The trick here is that he really does buy into the Tython ideal, without being a zealot about it (that would be his wife). There is a high degree of tragedy to his existence, unable to recognize how low he really is, or perhaps recognizing his reality subconsciously, and that fueling his need to improve upon his surroundings. Though his values are very strong... he is fiercely devoted to his immediate family, to the constructive elements of the Tython ideal (that being literacy, architecture, and civil service), and he is a man who is an "accomplisher", not just a planner. Perhaps this is something Salix identifies with... both of them get things done, and they serve the public good. The great difference being that Letorr uses others to do the gritty work, while Salix rolls up his own sleeves. Salix is also able to look beyond his own family and species, and extends his influence to all whom he sees as needing assistance, versus Letorr, who will always put Tythons before other races, and will always put his family before other Tythons.
Torby Chingo: the Groll patron represents, at least superficially, the struggle of minorities to achieve the station of the empowered of society. He has managed to forge out for himself a station of Patron within the little backwater outpost, and continually pushes himself, and his clients, to gather wealth, fame, and respect. However, he is constantly required to work harder than a Tython to get what he has, and he is always having to struggle socially. He has achieved wealth, but not as great as, say, Redalis. He has managed to achieve a degree of reknown, though not always favorable. And the one thing he still lacks, even among his own people, is respect. To what degree must he become what he despises to achieve the same station?
Ok, that's enough right now. Just some food for thought.