by Daniel Pond
Attributes: Vengeance is Evil turned against itself. It is the dark angel of Justice who, in fighting thouse who do evil, does evil itself. It is the hand of karma that visits violence on the violent, and perversion on the perverse. It is the hitman with a conscience and the psychopath out for justice.
Vengeance differs from other justice-obeseesed Archetypes (the Gunslinger, Executioner, Untouchable, etc) in that it is driven by rage and other destructive emotions. It is evil incarnate, but directed only against itself.
Taboo: Avatars of Vengeance cannot visit evil acts, especially violence, on the innocent. (Most avatars use their Channels to determine if someone has Evil on their soul before acting against them.) Any act of evil perpetrated on an innocent will result in the loss of all Channels until the avatar redeems herself.
Symbols: Black birds of all kinds, a bloody sword or fist, the scales of Justice, etc.
Suspected Avatars in History: Avatars of Vengeance tend not to be remembered by history, though they are a common icon in popular culture. James O'Barr may have been channeling Vengeance when he created The Crow. The Shadow and Batman are also excellent examples from fiction.
Avatars of Vengeance spend a lot of time staring into the Abyss. Eventually, the Abyss stares back… with their own eyes. These Channels allow an avatar to confront Evil and turn it against itself.
1%-50%: Know the Face of Evil. This Channel can be used in three ways. Passively, it allows an avatar to make a skill ckeck to sense immanent danger. If used against a specific individual, it allows the avatar to sense any Evil on the target's soul. (What defines "Evil" is left to the GM.) Finally, if used while touching a person or object, the avatar can "see" a single evil act that happened to or near it.
51%-70: The Abyss Stares Back. If an Evil person sucessfully attacks an avatar of Vengeance, the avatar may acquire the skill used in the attack and use it during the rest of the combat. For example, if a martial artist (who has killed an innocent person) punches an avatar, the avatar can attack the martial artist using the martial artist's kung-fu score for the duration of their encounter. Of course, if the avatar's kung-fu is higher than the martial artist's, he would just continue to use his own score.
If the avatar is acquiring a magickal skill, she also acuires one minor and one significant charge. After that, charges must be gained as dictated by the school of magick. Avatar skills cannot be acquired using this Channel.
71%-90%: Relentless. When an avatar of Vengeance is in the pursuit of Justice, nothing can be allowed to stand in the way. This Channel is used to unlock doors, open handcuffs, climb shear walls, etc... However, this only works when the avatar is chasing someone with Evil on their soul.
91%+: Death Reigns Not Over Justice. Even Death understands the need for Justice. If an avatar of Vengeance is killed in pursuit of someone with Evil on their soul, he will rise again at the next sunset or sunrise, which ever is later. This resurrection can be prevented by cremating the body and scattering the ashes to the winds. (Relentless can free a buried avatar.)