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RFC: Philosophy of a hero
RFC: Philosophy of a hero
#1
I'm currently in the process of reading through game logs and creating a character to use in DRAG0NFLIGHT's long-runnning Mekton game, which is shaping up to be a semi-parody Sentai type, basically a Sixth Ranger who gets unstuck in time at the end of his season and winds up with the dimension-hopping crew. One of the parts I'm putting serious effort into, though, is his ethics and mental background, so he's not just a cutout while still being at least somewhat mutated from a straight SI avatar. Therefore, I'm asking for opinions on how fitting the following material is for a four-going-on-65-thousand color Hero of Justice, and doing so here as well as in the game forum because there's more traffic and more people who know me as a regular here. I suppose this could go under Other People's Games or even Fanfiction, but it's not REALLY either aside from being about a game character and a couple of shout outs.

Wall-o-text mode engage!

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In order to know what Justice is, we must first be sure about what it is not. Finding the edges is always the beginning.

Justice is not "law." Justice does not even *recognise* law, though when a society is working as it should, laws are just.

Justice is not "order." Justice does not recognise hierarchies or categories. Though again, in a just society there will rarely be cause to act in a manner that causes major disruptions.

Justice is not "revenge." Merely dealing out punishment to wrongdoers doesn't undo their crimes, and unless educational or fatal doesn't even prevent future injustice.

Ultimately, Justice is "equality." Every sapient being having the chance to fulfill their needs and wants by their chosen methods. Unfortunately, since people's desires often conflict with each other and even themselves, absolute justice is, in practical terms, impossible. In such cases, a Justice Agent must find a path which inflicts the least injustice and follow it unflinchingly, with minimal effective force and always remembering to temper and soften the iron grasp of Justice with Compassion, lest their actions become Tyranny and thereby unjust. Justice means meeting honor with honor, truth with truth, and courtesy with courtesy. Futher, it means treating the dishonorable, untruthful, and discourteous with as much honor, truth, and courtesy as possible without allowing or being used to cause injustice, both as an example and to give them the opportunity to amend their ways. For the elite Danzai Soldiers of Justice Agents Danzaivar, their unparellelled ability to exert force usually means they are matched against the most terrible foes, those who would run roughshod over the lives of millions if left unchecked. Even then, an enemy who shows that they have amended their ways and demonstrates themselves to have become an Ally of Justice will be greeted as a brother.

In the words of the noted populist philosopher and major financial contributor to the Danzai Foundation, Wesley Melvin Rotheschild Newcomb IV, Duke of Newcomb-on-Earthside, "Aliens, mutants, mad scientists, whatever... Everybody gets a chance to not mess with me and Earth's babes. The smart ones take that chance, the rest I have to educate." Legend says that the Duke then cocked his shotgun, announced that class was in session, and vaulted over the wall he had been sheltering behind to charge a position held by porcish Law And Repression Dominance officers, but recordings recovered from the crater end there.

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Before becoming Danzai White, Daisuke Kiyomizu was doctor and has sworn the Hippocratic Oath, which he takes quite seriously. The specific wording involved is as follows:

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures that are required; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

Wherever I may practise medicine, I will act for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male patients.

What I may see or hear in the course of treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of any patient I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart or a cancerous growth, but a sick living being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and forever remembered in death, but if I break it may the reverse be the case. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

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In addition, he does his best to live by the principles of Lunarian Jujitsu, as laid down by founder Nami C.:

I. There is ignorance and there is wisdom, there is turmoil and there is peace, there is death and there is life. Only by acknowledging that which you wish to change can you affect it.

II. Fortune favors the prepared. It is better to have ten plans you never need than no plan, whether for matters of conflict or peace. Simple plans for a limited circumstance are best, as they can then be assembled to fit the complex situations that the universe often presents.

III. Know where you are weak and where you have strength, when to press forward and when to retreat. There is no victory in death, no defeat in escape from a superior foe, but you must temper this rule with the consequences of your actions. Few indeed are battles with no greater stakes than pride.

IV. Meet honor with honor, truth with truth, and courtesy with courtesy. Treat the dishonorable, untruthful, and discourteous with as much honor, truth, and courtesy as you may without being used for unacceptable ends. Give assistance where it is needed if it lies within your capabilities.

V. To dismiss the importance of joy is to dismiss that which makes life worthwhile. Make time for fun and laughter, even if it is no more than a quip during a lull in battle.

VI. An agile mind is the most powerful weapon in any warrior's arsenal. There is no knowlege that is without value if one can but recognise the appropriate circumstance and adapt theory into practice to suit.

VII. An honorable foe may honorably surrender, the treacherous must be subdued if they call for mercy. Regardless, the plea of surrender should be heeded even if prisoners can only be stripped of their combat equipment and released.

VIII. There is no such thing as an unfair advantage or dishonorable tactic in a battle to the death. Sieze every advantage, use every tactic to make greater advantage, and strike without hesitation until the enemy has fallen and can not rise.

(Fenspace regulars with good memories will note that this is recycled from the philosophy that my character Wave Convoy codified to be the founding principles of his style of martial arts, named Metallikato after the fictional style in G1 Bludgeon's tech spec write up. At least, i think it was Bludgeon... anyway, this is because it's the best I've come up with that I personally would agree with, even if I lapse from the principles now and then in practice. Since a version of G1 crossed with Beasties is in continuity for the Chrono Racer campaign, I renamed the martial art to something innocuous.)

To put it more succinctly: Use the force, be prepared, know yourself, be excellent to each other, party on dudes, read a book, and have a heart, but don't stop 'till they drop.

- CD
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
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#2
while interesting, and certainly maxims that would fit well in any sentai/band-of-heroes framework, I'm a little confused about the different tacts the three creeds take.

Is your character a doctor/nurse that has risen to the call? Or someone that would have a reason to hold a (rather detailed) hippocratic oath as a major pillar of their ethos?

The 1st and 3rd seem closer together (though there could easily be conflict between them given the right circumstances). But they also read like something off a plaque, or out of a book. Not something that a still learning warrior would distill on his own. (at least I assume they are still learning if they only have one season of experience under their belt)

But back to what I think the major point of the post was: how do you make your character more interesting/deeper than the standard cutout?

Conflict.

Not 'protagonist vs the-world' or even 'protagonist vs antagonist' conflict (given that you only control one side of those conflicts in an RPG).

Rather 'protagonist vs themselves', someone who is trying to live up to one of those creeds, and isn't sure if they are.

'I can do better' can be either an uplifting or a crushing statement depending how someone applies to themselves. And given the broad scope of all three creeds, there is plenty of room make a character who is very interesting.
-Terry
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"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
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#3
Yes, he is a doctor - and has already been through at least one "season" as an active hero, as well. When teh regular Danzai Soldier team gets their powers drained and get stuck in comas, he's their primary doctor. When the Danzaitron device that would restore them has teh final part, the control element, destroyed by enemy action before it can be assembled, he uses his own body as the control element and successfully revives the Danzai team, but his body vanishes and is thought to be destroyed by the backlash. Instead, he finds himself in a hidden section of the Big Z command ship, where the ancient supercomputer which runs it is secretly assembling a new Dantitan, DanPheonix. He masters the powers of Danzai White (mostly) but still has trouble with the Danzai Teleport, and is therefore chronically late to help the other Danzai Soldiers in battle, but after many trials they storm Darken Castle Shady Nexus, defeat Darken Army and Big Dark Master, and destroy Darken King, but he doesn't teleport out in time as Shady Nexus unravels and gets stuck in the space between worlds until the dimensional wake of the Chrono Racer pulls him out after it.

The first an third are things I wrote, the second is a slightly edited copy of the Wikipedia version of the Hippocratic Oath - the first would probebly be something the Danzaivar Foundation put together, the second is what he swore as part of the formal ceremories to recieve an MD, the last is the philosophy of a martial arts school. Mainly, I wanted to see if anyone caught conflict points I was missing, putting the three together. What were you thinking might clash?

- CD
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
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#4
As the hand of character development moves ever forward, more details of the past are revealed. Here then are quick blurbs on the other members of the Justice Agents Danzaivar special operations Danzai Soldiers, and an "episode summary" covering the events leading to his empowerment. This is probably heading further into fanfiction territory, if loosely, since my paradigm for this is a "reimagined" successor series to "The Legend of Danzaiver" which is supposed to be "the original TV series" following the sentai hero Danzaiver from the Evil Zone PlayStation game. If you're not familiar with Evil Zone, it was a very simplistic versus fighter (you could go through the whole thing with the D-pad and triangle button, and even adding the oh-so-complex "block on Square" mechanic that's still only two buttons) that never the less had the unique framing mechanic of each character having their fights introduced and concluded with a voiceover as if they were anime episodes following that character's path through the game, and stories for each character that are engaging enough to overlook the decidedly underwhelming voice acting. Anyway, you're not here for that, you're here to make the unread messages" graphic go away! Wait, no... really? (Puppy-dog eyes) I'll... just post my stuff...

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The Danzai Soldiers:

Danzai Black: Oldest on the team at late 20s, he had several years' experience as a normal officer before the Danzai Gear was produced. Ridiculously strong and tough. Dantitan type: Tortoise

Danzai Blue: Basically Eury from original Danzaiver, aged up to be a bit less creepy with the harem-anime-style competing over Danzai Red with her twin. Speedster and acrobat, with one of only two fully flight-capable Danzai Gear. Dantitan type: Hawk

Danzai Green: Euly, as for Eury. Special abilities based on stealth and illusions, can go intangible. Dantitan type: Wolf

Danzai Red: Hot blooded shonen protagonist with spiky hair & sideburns, basically a rookie version of Sho, the original series' Danzaiver. His power is awesome, as in kicking logic to the curb and winning on sheer determination and guts. Well, that and shooting big balls of lightning. Dantitan type: Tiger

Danzai Orange: Sieg Blaise, token gaijin, has the second flight-capable Danzai Gear. Sniper-type. Dantitan type: Crane

Dantitans: All combat capable separately, but only DanPheonix has a humanoid form of its own. To combine, DanTortoise forms the legs, then DanTiger attaches as the body core. DanHawk and DanWolf attach on either side as the arms, and DanCrane becomes the head and wings. Like the Dantitans themselves, Grand Titan is piloted via a merge system, and has special abilites that change depending on which of them is in primary control, with the other four taking support positions in a shared cockpit. Heavenly Grand Titan, formed by having DanPheonix become extra armor parts, broke this pattern in that Danzai White remained merged at and provided his special power of healing at all times, even as the normal round-robin piloting of the main team continued unchanged. The currently merged main pilot could enter a shared imaginary space with him where time passed in seconds to the perceived minute, and the others in the cockpit could communicate freely via an intercom like they do with the main pilot, but he never actually joined them in it. It is unknown if doing so would have allowed Heavenly Grand Titan to use two of the normal team's powers at once, but likely.

Episode 8: Don't say "quit!" A new Danzai Soldier!?

Summary: Upset with the need to hold back and gather information on a Darken Army operation, Danzai Red argues fiercely with Danzai Black. When an opportunity appears, he charges ahead and gets in a pinch, requiring the rest of the team to come to his rescue. Disheartened, he considers quitting from Justice Agents Danzaivar. Arisa Shade overhears him while spying on the team, and tailors a Darken Beast for seduction to further drive a wedge in the team. Suspicious of the new rival, Euly and Eury follow them and attempt to interfere, but Sho catches them. In his anger, he proclaims that he really will quit and storms away! With the Danzai Soldiers in disarray, Arisa Shade corners them one at a time and drains their powers with the Dan Zan Cross-Out Shot. When the Darken Beast finally attacks, Sho faces an impossible battle! Returning to the Danzai Foundation to reactivate the implanted summoning device, he discovers Arisa just as Danzai Black finally succumbs to her attack. But, before he can act, the Darken Beast pounces Sho from behind!

(commercial break)

Escaping again from Arisa and her Darken Beast, Sho reaches the lab of Dr. Daisuke Kiyomizu and has the Danzai Gear reactivated. With it, the infiltration-type Darken Beast is easily dispatched, and he deals Arisa a wound that forces her to retreat, but not before having his own energy greatly drained. Collapsing as soon as the battle is over, Sho and the other Danzai Soldiers are brought to the medical lab, but cannot be revived without renewing their powers with the Danzaitron device that originally granted them, and if not done soon they will die - Sho is in espescially bad shape because he continued to fight even with most of his power drained. Because it was disassembled and stored in separate locations for security, this requires full effort from the regular Justice Agents, as Darken Army monsters are running rampant without the Danzai Soldiers to keep them contained. After several close scrapes, Dark Master makes a personal appearance to destroy the last component still in transit: the control element that regulates the Danzaitron's power.

(commercial break)

Knowing that it is the only chance for the Danzai Soldiers to survive, and that they are the only chance for the world to survive, Dr. Kiyomizu uses his own body as the control element for the Danzaitron, and vanishes in the burst of light as it is activated. Revived, the Danzai Soldiers quickly dispatch the Darken Beasts and confront Arisa Shade. Cornered, she uses the Big Power spell on herself and becomes Cheshire Arisa, but with the team members switching their special abilities Grand Titan counters every attack and corners Cheshire Arisa, before Danzai Red switches into primary control and defeats her using Giga Lightning Drive. Afterward, the Danzai Soldiers attend a funeral for Dr. Kiyomizu, where Sho makes a speech reaffirming his commitment to the Justive Agents and to working as one with the team. As Euly and Eury glomp him from either side, the scene pulls back to reveal the profile of an unknown Danzai Gear watching it on a monitor.

New ED theme and animation, though the scenes showing the new Danzai Soldier have him and his Dantitan as blacked out silhouettes.

(In the season finale, it's revealed that Daisuke allowed everyone to continue to think he died because he feared it would shake Sho's resolve again if Daisuke turned up alive, after dedicating himself to the Justice Agents in honor of Daisuke's self-sacrifice. Sho slaps him on the back after he apologises for allowing their grief to continue, and tells him that of course he'd never really leave for good. Except, in this version, Daisuke didn't manage to teleport out of the collapsing Darken Castle before the pocket dimension dissappeared... which means he's not there to become Danzai Gold for the second season either. Uh oh...)

Specific questions for comment: Does this justification for hiding his survival come off as at least plausible to maintain suspension of disbelief? Does Sho's brush with self-doubt and hot-blooded-rookie-rebellion work well enough, at least at this summarized level?(Given that it's meant for the doctor's character background, not Sho's.) Is there any part of this that really ought to have more detail, again given that it's character background material?

- CD
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
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#5
No, it all reads just fine to me...
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-

NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children
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