Suggested modification to the primary charm of the masterless man

The masterless man is a recurring theme in many genres. One of the more prolific of these is the ‘western’ One example of the masterless man in a western is the film Shane. The reason this is important to the masterless man is the ending of the film. Having defeated the enemies of his new friends he slumps over on his horse dead.

The masterless man, having broken a Taboo of his Archetype, loses all access to the power of his archetype.

With this in mind the following variant is offered to the first charm.

Rather than losing the ‘bonus wound points’ before the natural hitpoints. Normal wound points are lost first. The archetype is about personal strength without external control so only when the wound points of the body are depleted will the bonus wound points come into use. This makes it more critical that the Masterless man obey his taboos. To break a taboo can lead to a reduction of the ‘bonus wound points’

A simple modification but i feel it brings the first and third charms into line better. One other suggestion woulds be a requirement that the Masterless man roll to retain the wound points every time a taboo is broken.

By removing the ‘reliance on archetype’ that the bonus wound points seem to suggest masterless men are better realised. They are unable to make a connection with others because to get close is to die !