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Because come on guys, how could I pass this one up?
There is an folk tale that says:
"You can summon the Devil by placing four black candles
at the corners of a crossroad."
This is because the Devil, in his infinite pride,
cannot refuse a wrestling match.
And you just supplied the ring.
Iconic Wrestlers
Pretty much everyone knows that professional wrestling is fake - it doesn't really matter that it is, because watching two people beat on each-other is always fun.
But have you ever thought about the characters they play? How elaborate they are? People say there's power in symbolism and worship, and what's better than the worship and praise shouted at you by the crowd when you're in the ring, facing another fighter down?
On a certain level, those rigged matches are realer that real.
Iconic Wrestlers all possess the following traits:
El Toro Never Removes His Mask
An Iconic Wrestler pulls power from his act - all Iconic Wrestlers possess a Persona, the mark of who they are in the ring. A Persona consists of a character and a costume; as long as an Iconic Wrestler is in character, he may use his Expression in place of his Brawl for unarmed combat and calculating the benefits of merits, can build (and hold) Heat, and can spend either Willpower or Heat to downgrade damage from an attack by one step (it's traditional to shout something about how that was nothing). He can also yell catchphrases and walk around in costume without it looking or sounding hokey.
With My Own Two Hands!
Even when outside his temple, in the grim robes of his everyday life, an Iconic Wrestler can still throw down with the rest of them! An Iconic Wrestler has additional Health Levels equal to his dots in Expression, and can "walk off" personal tilts that don't involve limb loss with an Instant action worth of grand-standing. He also gains three dots of Fighting merits that have the Grapple, Striking, or Movement tags; he purchases such merits with the rules for Style Tags given here. He may use his Expression in place of his Brawl for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.
Welcome to the Ring, Where Pain is God, and I'm The Pope! (Building Heat)
The intensity of a fan's worship, the purity of their faith... that's ambrosia, right there. As long as an Iconic Wrestler is in his Persona and has some non-combatants around him, he may build Heat, the flow of attention generated by the visceral, cathartic thrill of violence. He may hold an amount of Heat at once equal to the higher of his Presence or Stamina; he may gain any amount of Heat in a round, but can only spend one Heat per round. By default, he gains Heat in the following ways:
As the amount of Heat an Iconic Wrestler holds grows, the effects it has on the people watching grow as well; characters with the Plain Reader merit (or who otherwise have violence as a personal Breaking Point) are automatically considered to have spent Willpower to resist the effects of Heat. The effects are calculated using the highest amount of Heat a given Iconic Wrestler has held in a Scene, rather than the current amount; the effects of Heat do not stack with the Heat built by other Iconic Wrestlers.
Snap into a Slim Jim! (Gimmicks)
All Iconic Wrestlers have a Gimmick, which serves as their calling card in a fight. He gains four Gimmick points; he may purchase a dot of Universal Contracts or a Seeming effect for one point or a Dread Power for two points; if your table uses Dread Powers with dot rating, he may instead buy a dot of Dread Powers for one point. He gains anything he purchases with these points as a Gimmick; he spends Heat in place of Willpower or Glamour to activate the effect, and may spend Heat over multiple turns if the Gimmick costs more than one Heat. If a Gimmick calls for his Potency or Wyrd, it is normally one; this increases to two in any Scene where his Heat has hit Wildfire levels.
A starting Iconic Wrestler has the above traits, as well as 10 dots of Merits. They may purchase Supernatural merits; however, they lose their benefits while in their Persona. Also, they may purchase the following Tricks for three XP each; they retain the benefits while outside their Persona:
Extra Gimmick
You gain two additional Gimmick points, which you may spend normally.
Face
Prerequisites: Presence •••
You're a "good guy" - people love to see you win. You gain Inspiring merit; once per Scene when using the Inspiring merit, you gain Heat equal to your Successes.
Special: You cannot have both this Trick and Heel; you can, however exchange it for Heel if you do so vocally and publicly.
Grandstander
You gain 9-again on all social rolls made to intimidate, impress, or open Doors as long as you have built up at least a Torch level of Heat this Scene. If you've hit Bonfire levels, you achieve an Exceptional success on such rolls with three Successes instead of five.
Heel
Prerequisites: Intimidate ••
You're a "bad guy" - you're vicious, and get your power from being an asshole. You gain the Air of Menace merit as long as you possess this Trick; in addition, you can gain Heat from Forcing Doors.
Special: You cannot have both this Trick and Face; you can, however exchange it for Face if you publicly "redeem" yourself.
Jobber
You're a born loser - you gain the Cursed ("Someone's going to put me in the hospital") merit. In addition, you may reflexively transfer any Heat you build to another Iconic Wrestler who's nearby.
Make My Truth in the Ring
As long as you have at least one Heat, you may choose to open a Door instead of taking a move when grappling. If your Heat has hit Wildfire levels this Scene, Exceptional Successes on rolls to open doors open three Doors instead of two.
Manhandle
You can make an additional move whenever you successfully control a grapple; you cannot forgo this move to gain additional Heat.
No Sell
You may spend both Heat and Willpower when downgrading damage to reduce the damage by two steps; this reduces Aggravated damage to Bashing damage, and otherwise allows you to ignore any damage the attack would have dealt. If you would gain any Tilts from that attack, you don't.
There is an folk tale that says:
"You can summon the Devil by placing four black candles
at the corners of a crossroad."
This is because the Devil, in his infinite pride,
cannot refuse a wrestling match.
And you just supplied the ring.
Iconic Wrestlers
Pretty much everyone knows that professional wrestling is fake - it doesn't really matter that it is, because watching two people beat on each-other is always fun.
But have you ever thought about the characters they play? How elaborate they are? People say there's power in symbolism and worship, and what's better than the worship and praise shouted at you by the crowd when you're in the ring, facing another fighter down?
On a certain level, those rigged matches are realer that real.
Iconic Wrestlers all possess the following traits:
El Toro Never Removes His Mask
An Iconic Wrestler pulls power from his act - all Iconic Wrestlers possess a Persona, the mark of who they are in the ring. A Persona consists of a character and a costume; as long as an Iconic Wrestler is in character, he may use his Expression in place of his Brawl for unarmed combat and calculating the benefits of merits, can build (and hold) Heat, and can spend either Willpower or Heat to downgrade damage from an attack by one step (it's traditional to shout something about how that was nothing). He can also yell catchphrases and walk around in costume without it looking or sounding hokey.
With My Own Two Hands!
Even when outside his temple, in the grim robes of his everyday life, an Iconic Wrestler can still throw down with the rest of them! An Iconic Wrestler has additional Health Levels equal to his dots in Expression, and can "walk off" personal tilts that don't involve limb loss with an Instant action worth of grand-standing. He also gains three dots of Fighting merits that have the Grapple, Striking, or Movement tags; he purchases such merits with the rules for Style Tags given here. He may use his Expression in place of his Brawl for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.
Welcome to the Ring, Where Pain is God, and I'm The Pope! (Building Heat)
The intensity of a fan's worship, the purity of their faith... that's ambrosia, right there. As long as an Iconic Wrestler is in his Persona and has some non-combatants around him, he may build Heat, the flow of attention generated by the visceral, cathartic thrill of violence. He may hold an amount of Heat at once equal to the higher of his Presence or Stamina; he may gain any amount of Heat in a round, but can only spend one Heat per round. By default, he gains Heat in the following ways:
- Whenever he wins a roll to control a grapple, he may forgo one or both of the moves he is eligible for to instead gain an equal amount of Heat.
- Whenever he would open Doors while social maneuvering, he may forgo opening Doors to instead gain an equal amount of Heat. He cannot generate Heat when Forcing Doors.
- He gains one Heat whenever he takes a Beat due to having damage in his right-most Health Levels.
As the amount of Heat an Iconic Wrestler holds grows, the effects it has on the people watching grow as well; characters with the Plain Reader merit (or who otherwise have violence as a personal Breaking Point) are automatically considered to have spent Willpower to resist the effects of Heat. The effects are calculated using the highest amount of Heat a given Iconic Wrestler has held in a Scene, rather than the current amount; the effects of Heat do not stack with the Heat built by other Iconic Wrestlers.
Spark - One Heat
An Iconic Wrestler that has built any amount of Heat can clear a room - people around him subconsciously give him space, both physically and socially. While this normally doesn't have an overt effect, it does mean that anyone who attempts to break up a fight or argument between an Iconic Wrestler and someone else must spend one Willpower to do so.
Torch - Lower of Presence and Stamina
Paradoxically, the haze of violence around him both pushes people away and draws them to him. Once he has reached this level of Heat, he may reflexively spend Willpower to draw the attention of everyone who can see or hear him. Normally, this fades after a few seconds; however, this can allow him to set up a distraction (or just draw a crowd). If he's in a fight or argument at the time, paying attention to something else after he draws your attention costs one Willpower.
Bonfire - Higher of Presence and Stamina
The sweet siren song of watching a fight can overwhelm all but the staunchest of pacifists; anyone watching may choose to regain one Willpower once per scene if they cheer, catcall, or otherwise vocally (but non-physically) involve themselves in a fight involving an Iconic Wrestler who has built this much Heat. If anyone cheers, the Iconic Wrestler gains additional Willpower for satisfying his Vice this scene; if at least one person cheered, he rolls one die and gains additional Willpower equal to the Successes. A handful of people cheering gives him 9-again on this roll; a crowd gives him 8-again instead.
Wildfire - In Excess
If an Iconic Wrestler would gain Heat beyond his limit, the crowd goes wild! Literally. Anyone who gains Willpower this Scene due to involving themselves is considered to have satisfied their Vice with the Iconic Wrestler's help. More sinisterly, anyone who regains Willpower through this means makes a Breaking Point roll at -3 at the end of the Scene - on anything but an Exceptional Success, they gain the Vice-Ridden [Persistent] condition, gaining a Vice related to watching violence without interference; on a Dramatic Failure, they also gain the Cynical [Persistent] condition.
He loses one Heat whenever he regains Willpower through rest, and loses all of it when he drops his Persona.An Iconic Wrestler that has built any amount of Heat can clear a room - people around him subconsciously give him space, both physically and socially. While this normally doesn't have an overt effect, it does mean that anyone who attempts to break up a fight or argument between an Iconic Wrestler and someone else must spend one Willpower to do so.
Torch - Lower of Presence and Stamina
Paradoxically, the haze of violence around him both pushes people away and draws them to him. Once he has reached this level of Heat, he may reflexively spend Willpower to draw the attention of everyone who can see or hear him. Normally, this fades after a few seconds; however, this can allow him to set up a distraction (or just draw a crowd). If he's in a fight or argument at the time, paying attention to something else after he draws your attention costs one Willpower.
Bonfire - Higher of Presence and Stamina
The sweet siren song of watching a fight can overwhelm all but the staunchest of pacifists; anyone watching may choose to regain one Willpower once per scene if they cheer, catcall, or otherwise vocally (but non-physically) involve themselves in a fight involving an Iconic Wrestler who has built this much Heat. If anyone cheers, the Iconic Wrestler gains additional Willpower for satisfying his Vice this scene; if at least one person cheered, he rolls one die and gains additional Willpower equal to the Successes. A handful of people cheering gives him 9-again on this roll; a crowd gives him 8-again instead.
Wildfire - In Excess
If an Iconic Wrestler would gain Heat beyond his limit, the crowd goes wild! Literally. Anyone who gains Willpower this Scene due to involving themselves is considered to have satisfied their Vice with the Iconic Wrestler's help. More sinisterly, anyone who regains Willpower through this means makes a Breaking Point roll at -3 at the end of the Scene - on anything but an Exceptional Success, they gain the Vice-Ridden [Persistent] condition, gaining a Vice related to watching violence without interference; on a Dramatic Failure, they also gain the Cynical [Persistent] condition.
Snap into a Slim Jim! (Gimmicks)
All Iconic Wrestlers have a Gimmick, which serves as their calling card in a fight. He gains four Gimmick points; he may purchase a dot of Universal Contracts or a Seeming effect for one point or a Dread Power for two points; if your table uses Dread Powers with dot rating, he may instead buy a dot of Dread Powers for one point. He gains anything he purchases with these points as a Gimmick; he spends Heat in place of Willpower or Glamour to activate the effect, and may spend Heat over multiple turns if the Gimmick costs more than one Heat. If a Gimmick calls for his Potency or Wyrd, it is normally one; this increases to two in any Scene where his Heat has hit Wildfire levels.
A starting Iconic Wrestler has the above traits, as well as 10 dots of Merits. They may purchase Supernatural merits; however, they lose their benefits while in their Persona. Also, they may purchase the following Tricks for three XP each; they retain the benefits while outside their Persona:
Extra Gimmick
You gain two additional Gimmick points, which you may spend normally.
Face
Prerequisites: Presence •••
You're a "good guy" - people love to see you win. You gain Inspiring merit; once per Scene when using the Inspiring merit, you gain Heat equal to your Successes.
Special: You cannot have both this Trick and Heel; you can, however exchange it for Heel if you do so vocally and publicly.
Grandstander
You gain 9-again on all social rolls made to intimidate, impress, or open Doors as long as you have built up at least a Torch level of Heat this Scene. If you've hit Bonfire levels, you achieve an Exceptional success on such rolls with three Successes instead of five.
Heel
Prerequisites: Intimidate ••
You're a "bad guy" - you're vicious, and get your power from being an asshole. You gain the Air of Menace merit as long as you possess this Trick; in addition, you can gain Heat from Forcing Doors.
Special: You cannot have both this Trick and Face; you can, however exchange it for Face if you publicly "redeem" yourself.
Jobber
You're a born loser - you gain the Cursed ("Someone's going to put me in the hospital") merit. In addition, you may reflexively transfer any Heat you build to another Iconic Wrestler who's nearby.
Make My Truth in the Ring
As long as you have at least one Heat, you may choose to open a Door instead of taking a move when grappling. If your Heat has hit Wildfire levels this Scene, Exceptional Successes on rolls to open doors open three Doors instead of two.
Manhandle
You can make an additional move whenever you successfully control a grapple; you cannot forgo this move to gain additional Heat.
No Sell
You may spend both Heat and Willpower when downgrading damage to reduce the damage by two steps; this reduces Aggravated damage to Bashing damage, and otherwise allows you to ignore any damage the attack would have dealt. If you would gain any Tilts from that attack, you don't.
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