“I hunt therefore I am.”

The savage is man at his primitive best. Uncluttered by the cynicism, sedentary lifestyle and the postmodern ennui of daily existence, this human reaches ultimate potential by staying in touch with the primal impulses of early man. This, in and of itself, may not totally cast the savage out of civilization, but it prevents him from ever really feeling like a part of that world.

The savage has a hate-hate relationship with civilization. He hates the fact that civilization takes that edge off of those around him. The other people just aren’t as sharp, fast or cunning as the man who lives entirely on his wits and gets no free ride from modern conveniences. The savage will also resent any extent to which he relies on civilization or technology to survive.

Attributes: The savage may even dress and behave somewhat appropriately for a civilized setting, but you can always tell she doesn’t quite fit in. The savage will seem either withdrawn or nervous. She will bring to mind the caged big cats at the zoo.

The savage will generally exude energy, power and a certain menace to average, sedentary suburban post-moderns. He will also inspire a wistful envy. They seem a little freer than you and I; even if they aren’t entirely clued in.

Taboo: Becoming dependent on society to the point they are not active. A savage will have to walk to work, not drive or ride a subway. They also have to hunt or forage at least one meal per week. They often live near bodies of water and are avid fishermen or become addicted hunters on the weekend.

As the savage gets more attuned, her taboo gets stronger. She must eschew modern housing and climate control. The Unabomber was almost there, except that he played around with the modern conveniences of plastic explosives and the postal system.

By the time a savage gets over 90%, he should shun human communities entirely and not communicate with those who dwell within unless it’s absolutely necessary. By this time, the savage should be totally self-sufficient for food, water, heat and shelter. He’ll also have fleas and stink to high heaven.

Symbols: The club, the spear, the cave with drawings on the wall.

Suspected Avatars: Peter The Hermit, The Unabomber

Masks: Grizzly Adams, Captain Caveman!

Channels: 1-50% Nature’s Sixth Sense: The further into the woods or desert or trackless wilderness the savage goes, the more attuned he becomes to his surroundings. A successful check of this skill allows the savage a general sense of how much wildlife is in an area, what the weather will be like over the next 12 hours. It will also go off like a warning anytime a natural predator or phenomenon endangers the character. (In this second case, give the savage the chance to respond/react one turn sooner than the rest of the party. GM should secretly roll this check.)

51-70% Nature’s Ally: A successful roll of this channel will allow the savage to interact with an animal in a friendly manner. Even if that animal was sent to do the savage or his friends a lot of damage. It allows the savage to give simple commands to the animal that do not endanger the animal. For example, an evil enemy mage sets three pit bulls on the group. The savage rolls successfully on two out of three avatar checks. He can tell the two effected pit bulls to sit down and relax or go eat their dog food. He cannot tell the two effected pit bulls to go attack the enemy mage. The third dog attacks as if the savage were any other enemy.

71-90% Nature’s Servant – The savage can make animals and in some cases plants do what he wants them to. He can quite literally order any animal he succeeds on his check for to serve him unto death. He can tell his garden exactly how to grow, even in opposition to phototropism.

91-99% Full Attunement – The savage will never get lost in the woods after a successful check. She will know the time of day as if she wore a Timex. She will know the weather as if she had a Doppler radar in her backyard. She will know exactly where to hunt and fish and where any species of plant or animal can be found within 50 miles of where she succeeded in her roll.

What you’ve heard: Not much. Once someone can quite literally live with grizzly bears for ten years and not get eaten, he won’t talk to civilized people and risk cutting the ties to his avatar.