Killers of the silver screen come to life
Brutal serial killers are a uniquely American Phenomenon. It’s little wonder that their iconic status in the national psyche rivals and surpasses a good many real people – from actual movie stars, to even presidents.
Almost no-one knows who played Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers. But everyone knows who they are.
As vast as the genre is, the Slasher is a very specific kind of killer. Senseless. Unstoppable. Inhuman. Detached. Silent. Symbolic. Predatory.
Unlike many avatars, pursuing this path is a paradoxical loss of identity: everyone will know who you are, but you won’t care. The Slashers aren’t interested in ego or fame. You will be an icon without a personality. As cinema evolved, it projected its nightmares into walking metaphors – to become this avatar is more than indulging in symbology; it is to become a symbol itself.
Slashers are very specific icons in many ways; most serial killers don’t fit. Their image, while ubiquitous, is highly particular.
The Slasher is a hunter. He seeks out victims and takes them down; he does not lure them into his van (a la Jame Gumb or
Though darkness and stealth are his allies, the Slasher does not retreat from confronting his victim. He is a relentless pursuer, not a stealthy assassin. He will kick down your door, punch through your wall, jump onto your car…he will get you, and destroy you.
There may be a vague motive or motif to a Slasher’s sprees – but they are not hesitant to kill beyond those. As an icon, though, they should have some signature on their handywork, or perhaps as part of their own costume.
Whatever the motive, the Slasher’s intentions remain obscure and hidden, save the obvious one. Slashers are frequently mute and/or masked – or simply leave no survivors and do not communicate with authorities. They are beyond scrutiny and reason.
The slasher prefers melee – knives, blunt trauma, ripping, etc. Guns may be used, but they should be followed by mutilation of the corpse. The Slasher gets their very name and image from the spectacle they make of each death.
Anyone who’s seen the original Friday the 13th should know that this avatar is not necessarily male.
Masks: Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Leatherface – NOT Ghostface nor Freddy Kreuger (arguable, see below: Taboos).
Avatars in History: Ed Gein was certainly one of the pioneers of this archetype, though cinema has carried it beyond his image and lifestyle. Jack the Ripper also set the stage. Eventually, killers like Danny Rollings would follow.
Taboos: Reluctance to kill is a rank-11 self check (yes, 11 – everyone makes this check). Failing this check completely severs someone from this archetype. Furthermore, it is likely to make them consciously aware, and feel guilty, for what they’ve done. Depending on the extent of “what they’ve done,” this could be completely devastating – and bring on a whole lot of other checks.
Showing fear (or acting on a fear trigger) is a similar self-check. Tactically avoiding suicidal confrontations may not necessarily violate this taboo.
Slashers must never explicitly state their motivations. They also have no loyalties to anyone – not family, not friends, not idols or figures of authority (acting on a noble trigger also weakens the channel). Low-level channels may have respect for someone – but the second that someone is in your way, there must be no hesitation to do with them as you would do anyone else in your way.
Killing as a means to another end (unless that end is more killing, or killing a specific target) is out of sync with this avatar – though not necessarily a violation of taboo. Either way, there must be some powerful pleasure derived from the act itself: a hitman would only be able to channel the Slasher of their job is an excuse to kill, not if they kill just because it’s their job, etc.
And in case this isn’t obvious – you must kill. You lust to kill. If you go long stretches without, you’re probably inflicting pain on someone – or torturing animals, and so forth.
Lot of taboos? Deal. One doesn’t mess with some widespread, powerful cultural icons easily. Each incarnation adds something new, but also refines them. The downside, in the long run, is that as public imagination and perception shifts, the Slasher may fade – cinema culture is a fickle beast. This archetype may not be around for long (one might say the divergence of modern serial killers in media from the typical slashers is sign of its weakening).
Needless to say, all of this makes for poor PC’s. Following this path pretty much ensures that virtually every organization – occult or otherwise – wants you dead. This kind of status will cost you everything you hold dear as a human, until you hold only one thing dear…
But enough bells and whistles. What’s the good stuff?
1-50%
Much like the warrior (the two archetypes are very similar in many ways), you are psychologically resilient. Unlike the warrior, you are not able to maintain the visage or mentality of a normal member of society, however. You can handle it – but it shows. You automatically succeed all violence checks (give yourself one hardened). All other stress checks get +5% for each hardened notch you have in violence. However, all social skills get -5% for each hardened notch you have in violence.
51-70%
You have a mien of terror and relentlessness about you. If accoutred with your chosen symbols (e.g. a mask, a cleaver, etc.), anyone facing you must make a rank-7 violence check (fear of death; compare to Executioner avatars) to face you; those failing this check may not choose to frenzy. If they are facing you alone, this is accompanied by a rank-8 helplessness check. If you have just murdered someone in front of your opponent, they must attempt to flee. After they have reached a safe distance, they may repeat the violence check to return and face the killer.
To progress beyond this point in the archetype path, you must be a sociopath 10 hardened notches in at least two meters, or 35 total hardened notches). Sociopaths cannot use any of their triggers, nor can they fit in with normal society.
71-90%
A Slasher at this level is a relentless killer – and very good at it. They may substitute their Avatar skill for their Hide, Stealth, Conceal Weapon, or Forced Entry skill – and they can choose how much noise they make in those attempts (for a sudden, terrifying burst through a wall, to an eerily quiet stalk through the upstairs hallway).
91-99%
There’s a reason why there are so many Friday the 13th and Halloween sequels out there – as an icon of fear and death, you are nigh-immortal. You can only be killed by or involving someone who is somehow tied to your origin/rise as a Slasher (consider how Dr. Loomis was the only one able to stop Michael at the end of the first Halloween). How this may happen is not specified, though – like ascensions – this should be a thoroughly symbolic act. Other attempts to kill you simply do not succeed – like the warrior or the executioner, only complete destruction of your body would stop you, and even then, your body is inexplicably not found at the end of the event. (Your inexplicable reappearance may well be a hefty unnatural check for any who witnessed your “demise.”) Be wary, though – this does not stop you from being confined or trapped, and unlike the executioner, it does not stop you from being otherwise hindered from reaching your target.
It does, however, make you scary as all hell. And that’s what the Slasher is all about.
What you’ve heard:
The curreny Godwalker of the Slasher isn’t a hulking thing like his Hollywood ancestors – but a Houdini-like contortionist, with formidable body control to the point of being impervious to pain.
No-one knows what The Magician’s final channel is, but those with a strong stomach scrutinize the remains of his victims for signs. In particular, the face, in an expression of gruesome terror, is always intact.
(First go at this avatar deal. Feedback appreciated!)