Okay, so! Time for me to campaign for
my particular character build.
I should note, I'm campaigning both for the "build" (aka the initial Skill selection),
and for the name and background and general "idea".
William Ryder's concept is that of a man who draws people to him like moths to the flame, despite initially presenting as a weird, and possibly terrifying, sort of pseudo-cult-leader type. I'm still ruminating on the particular window dressings, I don't want to copy Bray Wyatt
too directly, but this is the direction I want to go.
Charisma is far and away the most key skill for this, and I'd really really like to make sure it's one of our first three skills. We're coming in as a complete Stranger; no one in this crowd knows us. And while, yes, this
is a Kayfabe Quest where everything is real, and so if we fight hard enough we'll win (because it's
not pre-determined, and so we're not told pre-match who wins), getting the crowds to love us is a big deal. If we have Charisma from the start, we can have the crowd
eating out of our hand even if we're basically a Backwoods Doom Prophet. Per
@King Arthur , Charisma is about Momentum, and I'd wager that's going to be true in the ring and out of it.
To me, Technique represents a foundational skill that's about how you tie everything together, as well as likely the skill that covers doing "slam" moves (like Dirty Deeds, or Sister Abigail, or the like).
@King Arthur can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm reading a combination of Technique and Charisma at the start as (likely) being a character with excellent
Ring Psychology. If we have great Ring Psych from the start, we're going to do a lot better at getting over with the crowd.
Being a big, powerful, flashy character gets us over for our first few matches, especially if we win early and win often. But Charisma and Technique (if I am in any way on-the-money about how all the Skills interact) will get us over
even if we lose, and they're what will
keep us over with the crowds.
My 3rd skill is one I'm willing to negotiate about, though I'd note that several other posters want it, is Durability. To me, the ability to "laugh off" at least a few hits or moves, especially in the initial parts of our first match, will add to our mystique. This is something we then capitalize on with our Charisma (work the crowd a bit, do some in-ring emoting, etc.), and that we can use to turn the tables when our opponent thinks we're laid out (aka use Technique to shift the advantage in our favor).
I'd be willing to negotiate and change Durability to something else, maybe Power, Striking, Submission, or Dirty Skills, but I want to at least try and campaign for my build as-is.
I think playing an unknown character (a Stranger) with an eerie, otherworldly theme, who can work the crowds, keep match momentum going and tie all his moves together, and who can stand up to more punishment than one would think, is a great combination. I propose that the Charisma, Technique, and Durability foundation will let us build up the character in virtually any other skill area later on. If we can get the crowds behind us early on, even if it's to get an arena of 15,000 people simultaneously booing when we walk in (MAXIMUM HEEL HEAT), we're gonna go far. Remember, we can make people love us, love to hate us, love to fear us, etc., but either way the point is that we evoke some kind of strong response when we show up.
I think that playing an eerie supernatural-tied character can appeal to those of you/us who want a more-than-mundane wrestler, and the foundation I've proposed will let us have the more varied, exciting, and nuanced skillset others among us are seeking. I do understand that "possibly-bad-guy who everyone loves to hate" isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'll also say my goal is to have a character who presents as at least sort-of-villainous....who the crowd
still cheers for every time.
To use the example of Bray Wyatt, here's a man who constantly talks as if he's one of the major players from the Book Of Revelation, who may or may not be demon-possessed in-story, who constantly calls himself "The Eater Of Worlds", has referred to himself as one of the Four Horsemen, claimed to have consumed the Power and Soul of both the Undertaker and Kane, and just generally
ought to be the
biggest heel/villain character, and get the same reaction, among the roster.
Instead, the
instant his music plays, crowds of tens of thousands
go wild and light up their cell phones, giving him an entrance to his Fireflies that's replicated across the world. People
love this guy. When he won the belt, people were chanting "YOU DESERVE THIS" all throughout the arena.
That, my friends, is my goal.
Now, with that all said, I'm definitely open to discussing my various choices, and how all of us can come to something of a consensus on name, skills, etc.
@EvaUnit01 ,
@LostDeviljho ,
@Vesvius ,
@Kaizuki ,
@Vebyast
