I once played a character called La Pied (french for "The Foot").

This was back in the late 80's while I was still in high school. Balynar's reminiscing got me thinking about him. I used to do role-playing games almost weekend, usually Champions but sometimes Shadowrun. I have to say overall that La Pied was my favorite character. He was a Superhero character that was a master of savate which I understand is a form of martial arts originated in France and has a pretty good following in Canada. There are a finite number of origins out there (you know: mutant, accident, bit by a radioactive bug...that type of thing) so I usually start with looking at one or two characters that have qualities I like and kind of going from there. In his case, I decided that I was going to make him a Canadian action movie star (a la Wonderman) who made his way into films after winning a number of high profile tournaments. He had a bit of a Jackie Chan type personality with a Spiderman style taunt. He became a "Superhero" when he was kidnapped by a group of bad guys and experimented on (ahh, the old experimental change angle).

I use to religiously watch these old black and white martial arts movies that came on every Sunday afternoon. They were the hokey over-the-top type something more than human characters that more than stretched credulity(perfect for Superheros). There was one movie in particular in which our hero would soak his body in some type of liquid day in and day out until finally he became hardened against blades. Okay kind of cool power but I hated the "soaking in wine" thing. At this time I was also studying both Biology and Chemistry so I had a little knowledge (all that is required for a plausible origin for a Superhero). I determined that what the bad guys did was force a type of cancerous mutation of his epidermal tissues which in essence strengthened the cell walls by tightening the membranes in such a fashion that nothing higher on the periodic table than atomic # 7 could pass through. Yup, you guessed it, his body now processed the nitrogen in the atmosphere (bonus points if you can determine his byproducts). One of the visible affects of this change is that every inch of this body was a deep crimson. La Pied was rescued for the bad guys clutches by a Superhero team before the brainwashing could be concluded and he spent half a year in a form of chemotherapy that stabilized his cancer. In repayment, he helped to Superhero team whenever he could (and his movie schedule allowed) fighting crime and injustice. (cue theme music)

Why does any of this matter? I'm getting to that.

La Pied was not a Superman, Thor, or even Captain America type character whose presence in and of itself could change the outcome of a battle. He was overconfident, showy, and thought it was as important to look good as to be good. When he won his fights it was because he tormented his opponents into getting sloppy or they underestimated him due to his flippant demeanor. He went out and had fun with his enemies confident that, in the end, he'd still be standing.

At one point, the game master needed to have one of us captured to progress the plot so he sent 3 nasties out to get La Pied while he was on a date at this beautiful scenic Italian restaurant. Well in true form La Pied played with them, taking time to kiss his date, doing actions that would not hurt the bad guys but embarrass them (spagetti in the face). He got the out of the immediate area where innocents could than flee while systematically taking the bad guys out one by one. In the end, the game master had to send 4 more reinforcements to take him down. Here is the point, when I played him in character, he succeeded beyond expectations. When I tried to play him straight, he always failed. Dice rolls would not go my way and even simple henchmen could take him out.

The reason he is probably my favorite character because I see a lot of me in him. I also found that if I stay true to who I am (at work, in a tournament, on the battle field) I am much more successful. If I try to play the role of a "brick," "energy projector," or "mentalist," I find the dice rolls don't go my way. When I take the field against a Knight, Count or Duke with the mentality that "I'm going to make you my bitch" AND have fun with the attempt, the dice rolls go my way.

Side bar: I know this analogy is killing some of you who've been for years fighting this "it's not role-playing damned" mentality that a lot of newbies have but bare with me.

You see, at my vigil one of the overwhelming themes was "don't change who you are." Here I thought his meant don't become a jerk. Since then, I've remembered the story about when Amalric first moved to Atlantia and fought in his first Crown in Kingdom. At "lay-on", he proceeded to take a marginal Oldcastle stance. Now anyone who knows Amalric knows that man can't fight Oldcastle. He hadn't been practicing it and his learned style is almost its antithesis. He went out in two. Next Crown he went back to his proper form and went to the quarters. My fighting has been so bad of late that Duke Cuan decided to remind me of the "goob or god" theory. The short of this theory states your first year after being knighted you'll either become a killing machine, plateau, or look like shit. Guess where I'm falling?

Well, it is time to change that. I need to stop being concerned about proving myself and just keep fighting my fight in the manner that got me to this point. Growth and stretching your skills is excellent when buttressed by a secure understanding of what you are doing and why you are doing it. I have to remember that I do it for fun, exercise, and to honor those who inspire me to greater heights. That is all. I will continue to grow as a fighter while learning from others but I'm moving mentally back to just proving to myself that I can do this game.

Time to roll the dice.

Anyway, For Them What Care...there it is.

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