Man, has this one changed since ancient Greece…

Attributes: The Wrestler is different from the Warrior and the Masterless Man in that he seeks two things: To prove himself better than his peers, and to have this recognized by others. He seeks to inspire awe and respect, either through the cheers of his fans or the booing and fright of his enemies.

Perhaps the most dangerous archtype to strive for, the Wrestler’s avatars must be out in the open, as public recognition is one of the two most important facets for the archtype. The current Wrestler, currently believed to have ascended sometime in the 70’s, is trying his hardest to make sure nobody replaces him. Those closest to doing so have found themselves encountering difficulties (such as broken bones and torn muscles suffered by Kevin Nash, Triple H, Sid Vicious, and Droz) or choosing new paths (I.R.S. and Sting’s devotion to their faiths, The Rock turning into a Hollywood actor). It’s believed that if he fails, the Wrestler’s replacement will cause physical skill to no longer be important, and showmanship will be everything… at which point, the archtype may vanish entirely, taken over by The Showman.

The Sleepers also suspect the Wrestler of being a member of the Statosphere, and have a team devoted to following wrestling worldwide and making sure nobody ascends on camera. The current Wrestler has been more than happy to occasionally help them out… not that they realize this. The Sleepers are behind the ‘derailment’ of Stone Cold Steve Austin and his arrest on charges of wife-beating.

That being said, the Wrestler currently represents two sides of a coin, in several ways. Physical skills, and entertainment ability: while excelling at neither, he blends the two together into something new. Good and Evil: A Wrestler avatar can be either a ‘face’ (good guy) or ‘heel’ (bad guy). Changing causes their skill to freeze until they get their fans to accept the change. Fame and Obscurity: Sure, everyone knew Hulk Hogan. But how many people know Brock Lesnar?

Taboos: The Wrestler has two taboos, one that is relatively old and one that is relatively new. The older one is that the Wrestler can never, ever act as if his image doesn’t matter. If he is one of the good guys, he can’t act like in an unethical fashion where the ‘public’ (ie, not close friends and family) can see. If one of the bad guys, he can’t do heroic things in the same circumstances. The second taboo, coming about with the most recent ascension, is that the Wrestler can never acknowledge the fact that what he does is ‘fake’… that everythign is predetermined. This applies to both the “in-ring” sense of scripted endings, and the “destiny” sense of the Statosphere controlling things. That’s right… you can’t even admit that you’re an avatar unless you’re among close friends. There’s no such thing as archtypes…

Symbols: The ring, the referee, the title belt are all big symbols of the Wrestler. Someone trying for the old path might include body oil and nudity, while the “new breed” might use the broken table, the kendo stick, and the ‘Crimson Mask’.

Suspected Avatars In History: The first man to win in the Olympics is suspected of being the first Wrestler. Lou Thez is suspected of being the current avatar. Those who think Andre the Giant got it are sadly mistaken. Oddly enough, it is suspected that Jessie “The Governer” Venture is the current Godwalker… after gaining great fame from his political activity, he’s planning on returning to the ring…

Channels:

1-50%: The Shooter: For now, at least, the Wrestler must know how to actually wrestle. On a successful Avatar roll, The Shooter allows the Wrestler to use his wrestling skills for the duration of a real fight, substituting his Avatar skill for his combat skill. Oddly enough, this can only be used in a ‘real’ fight, and not for a ‘real’ wrestling match.

51-70%: The Showman: At this level of skill, the Wrestler has reached a minor level of fame (if he hasn’t already, events will conspire to make him somewhat famous), and he can use that fame and reputation to his advantage. Whenever attempting to use his reputation to influence others (be it to not fight him, to inspire someone with words of wisdom, enrage someone who hates him, make others laugh, etc, etc, etc), he may take a bonus of 1/2 his Wrestler skill to whatever social skill he is using. However, keep in mind the Wrestler’s taboos. The skill can’t be used to act contrary to the avatar’s reputation.

71-90%: The Champion: Who hasn’t heard of the Champion? As long as the avatar actually holds a somewhat famous championship title, he can use this channel. On a successful avatar roll, he can insure that anyone he meets will have heard of him and his reputation (be it for heroism or dastardly deeds), and furthermore, believe it to be real. This lasts for a period of time equal to a minute per point of skill, and can result in hordes of fans clustering for autographs, or booing loudly, or simply scampering away scared.

91+%: The Game: More than a master of wrestling skill and showmanship, avatars who have made it this far have also mastered the game of backstage politics. While it’s a challenge to get this far, once you have, you usually stay there unless you’re stupid. On a successful roll, you can recognize any threat to your status. On another roll, you can manuver things so that any lower-ranked Wrestler avatar will look bad and lose a d10 points from their avatar skill (on a match, you gain a point from beating them… on a BOHICA, you lose a d10 roll from this skill and they gain the same number). You also gain a permenant shift of +20 to any roll that involves increasing or retaining your status in an organization.