Chaste Hero
rating: 0+x

White hands cling to the tightened rein,
Slipping the spur from the booted heel,
Tenderest voices cry, "Turn again,"
Red lips tarnish the scabbarded steel,
High hopes faint on a warm hearth-stone
He travels the fastest who travels alone.

(from) L'Envoi to The Story of the Gadsbys Rudyard Kipling

Basic Information

The Chaste Hero is somewhat like the Celibate Hero in that neither one is interested in the opposite sex. They differ in that while the latter has renounced all women, the former doesn't know they exist. The Chaste Hero seems unaware of sex and is oblivious to maidenly charms. This is common in very young heroes; once they hit puberty, though, you gotta wonder why they haven't discovered girls yet.

For some inexplicable reason, girls seem to be attracted to the Chaste Hero, sometimes making him a Chick Magnet (or, you might say, a Chased Hero).

Of course, given all the various (apparently) female monsters1 out there apparently seeking a human hero as a mate, this may be the safest option.

Sources

  • Works well - initially at least - for Terry Pratchett's Captain Carrot - who, like Siegfried below, was raised by a dwarf (or rather in a dwarvern community).

Game and Story Use

  • The Chaste Hero makes a good character type for young NPC sidekicks.
  • His unfamiliarity with women can make for some good comedic bits.
  • He can also work as a PC, provided that the player doesn't mind occasionally being the butt of the joke
    • Comedianne Anna Russell, in her analysis of Der Ring des Nibelungen, says that when the hero Siegfried, who has been raised along in the forest by a dwarf and never seen any women, finds the Valkyrie Brunhilde and removes her armor, he utters the greatest understatement in all of opera: "This is not a man!!!"
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License