The Ascended Romeo.

This is a rough draft of the “male lover” archtype I’m working on for a campaign. The description isn’t great, but that’s probably ok: just imagine Romeo and you’ll know what I’m getting at.

Archtype: Romeo

Sometimes refered to as “The Striving Lover”, Romeo is the patron saint of young men, head over heels in love and determined to win her heart. Romeo helps men overcome obstacles to fufilling their love, whether that comes through wooing women or sneaking around her parents. Some Occultists feel that Romeo was part of the last Godhead, and that he created Elephants. (When a young elephant bull comes of age, the older males chase him out of the pack. He makes his way on his own, and tries to sneak back into the pack at night to make – no, really.)
On the positive side, Romeo encourages love, and helps couples come together. He helps get around laws and parents meddling in romance. (At least one Avatar swears the Archtype orchestrated the US Civil Rights movement, simply because miscegenation laws offended him.) On the other hand, Romeo does not help keep existing couples together, and he doesn’t encourage men to treat women well except so far as they need to to win the women’s heart.

Symbols: Poetry, nice clothes, backseats of cars, nice hair, et cetera.

Taboos: Love must be your number one priority. Anyone who persues a relationship casually or has more important things in his life is not channeling Romeo. This also makes it pretty difficult to keep using this Arhchtype while in a longer term relationship. Note that cheating on a women is not taboo. You have to make love your first priority, specific lovers are another thing entirely. Deliberately hurting or endangering a woman (except for the cause of another woman) is also taboo, since you’re in effect putting something else (whatever reason you’re hurting her) above her.

Masks: Zeus, who despite being married with kids (not to mention the King of the Gods) was constantly trying to get in the pants of one women or another.

Historical Figures: King Edward VIII of England, who abdicated the thrown of Britian to marry a British Divorcee. Dukes joke about Presidents Clinton and Kennedy, but given the taboo, it seems unlikely.

Channels:

1-50%: If you like a women, you can give them the sense that you think they’re special. To do this, you simply have to look at the women. (smiling and looking them in the eye is perfered, although staring at their breasts works too.) This channel might make a woman feel loved (if she’s your wife), honored (if you’re the President), or dirty (if you’re a unwashed stalker boy.) Either way, it probably gets her attention, and might give you a shift on Charm or Lie rolls.

51-70%: Fight to defend your woman, her honor, or whatever: If a combat is related to protecting a woman (literally or metaphorically), then you can use the Masterless Man’s first two channels as if they were your own. (this doesn’t tie you to the Masterless Man archtype in any way, the effect is just the same.) You don’t have to be in love with the woman in question, but there has to be a woman and she has to be in some sort of danger.

71-90%: If you’re with the woman you love or are trying to reach her, then you (both) become very hard to notice. You may use this to make people ignore you (if its plausible – Just a Harmless Drunk this ain’t), to appear like a plain and ordanairy person (even if you’re really a Celeberity), or give yourself a bonus to more mundane skills like “Walks in Shadows” or “Hide behind Bushes”

91%+: You may overcome any barrier to being with or taking care of your love (the one exception is her disinterest – sorry, you’ve got too woo her first.) If your lover is wounded and you’re rushing her to the hospital, traffic is good and all the lights are green. Doors open (literally) of their own accord, the grand canyon closes itself temporarily, angels carry you to your destination. (yes, its quite kitsch) Human beings who might oppose your love swollow their doubts or are overruled.

Note that “taking care of your love” means keeping her healthy and well fed. It does not mean making her rich or drawing a bath of her enemies blood. The Archtype (played by the GM) reserves the right to turn down requests it doesn’t like, and never uses this channel for violence.