Military Mystic Assassin

kjames91 · July 2018

Hey there!

So in PRIMUS, would it be out of the ordinary for a soldier who practices mystic ninja (e.g the hand, Elektra, etc.) in a PRIMUS organization? For example, a monk type figure who had a past life of being an assassin.

breadite · July 2018

Now when you say last life do you mean his former job or literally a part life.

Because depending on the answer that'd be what stretches my suspension of disbelief. Not that he happens to be able to do ninja stuff.

kjames91 · July 2018

More of a past life occupation. I think a one handed would be better than the monk style, I said previously. I should’ve been more clear on that part. Having a soldier with no weapons would be off for sure. A ninja who wanted to learn the healing arts of martial arts, but has a dark past of assassins. That feel.

breadite · July 2018

Then not only would it be out of place it wouldn't really push the story in that direction either. The police doesn't allow people with criminal records join the force and PRIMUS is essentially the police figuratively (and almost literally) on steroids. I find it too far of a stretch to say they hired a killer for hire (even a former one)

They also wouldn't teach him much of anything in regards of mystic martial artists.

Might I suggest Zhu and his dojo? Zhu is a Chinese martial artists who runs a dojo in Millennium City with his pupil Steve Chase. Steve is also a member of The Champions as the pistol using mystic martial artist Nightwind.

Given the overall story you've given so far they'd probably make a far better fit for a redemption story for a mystic martial artist than PRIMUS would.

kjames91 · July 2018

Gotcha. The idea did seem far stretched, but I thought I would pitch it. I guess the only way a ninja could work is if he was in Intelligence division, I guess?

breadite · July 2018

It's far less that he's a ninja and far more that he's a former criminal. And Not even a light one. A full blown contact killer

kjames91 · July 2018

So what about a ranger class in XCOM 2? I tried looking up military branches that still practice swordsmanship, but they no longer do. Could that ranger class somehow work?

markhawkman · July 2018

well, modern militaries still train hand-to-hand, but with smaller weapons than swords. Also... some do actually train something akin to gunkata.

bulgarex · July 2018

I mostly agree with breadite. PRIMUS is the federal Justice Department's law-enforcement agency tasked with responding to "supercrime" threatening America's interests. It has stringent standards regarding who can join -- certainly not former assassins. PRIMUS also prefers to promote from within the organization, rather than hire outsiders.

However, America's superhuman assets are far more diverse than just PRIMUS. The Department of Defense has a number of superheroes working for it, either for the DoD as a whole, or assigned to particular branches of the military. The American intelligence services also employ supers, although their identities and activities are highly classified. Both parties have made use of various supers in black ops, and would almost certainly have use for a "mystic ninja." Although they would probably never consider a former assassin as a member in good standing, given that you describe your character as seeking redemption, he might have a Suicide Squad-style arrangement with the government, i.e. service in exchange for eventual pardon for past crimes... assuming he survives.

kjames91 · July 2018

Awesome. Thanks for the info y’all. I’ll keep this info in mind.

bulgarex · July 2018

kjames91 wrote: »

So what about a ranger class in XCOM 2? I tried looking up military branches that still practice swordsmanship, but they no longer do. Could that ranger class somehow work?

Interesting online forum discussion of modern nations/cultures whose militaries still use swords, and the circumstances under which they do so: https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-cultures-that-still-use-swords-in-combat

markhawkman · July 2018

I feel the need to point out that daggers such as bayonets are still used in the US military. And there are courses in how to use them that are taught by the military. But these blades are usually not longer than 12 - 18 inches.

jonsills · July 2018

markhawkman wrote: »

I feel the need to point out that daggers such as bayonets are still used in the US military. And there are courses in how to use them that are taught by the military. But these blades are usually not longer than 12 - 18 inches.

One of my favorite anecdotes comes from bayonet training, from when my father was drafted shortly after the Korean Conflict ended.

Their bayonet class was being taught by a young butterbar (that's a second lieutenant, for those not versed - barely an officer at all, really) who had clearly never been in combat. At one point, one of the recruits got his bayonet stuck in a training dummy, and the LT assured him that if this ever happened in the field, the correct procedure would be to clear the body from the blade by firing a single round from the rifle.

At which point their DI, a combat-veteran sergeant, spoke up. "Begging the lieutenant's pardon, sir, but with all due respect, if I have a round left in my rifle, I'm not using my bayonet yet."

markhawkman · July 2018

I actually spent more time learning to use it as a single handed dagger than rifle mounted.

bulgarex · July 2018

In a world where swords can have qualities beyond the realistic, it would not be unreasonable for someone with military training to learn to use one outside of that training. For example, the villain Scimitar (Champions Villains Vol. 3) is a former UNTIL agent, a product of the agency's failed "Future Soldier Program" which granted him physical enhancements, but induced rampant paranoia leading him to flee UNTIL and become a mercenary. On one job he acquired a questionite scimitar, with which he's become adept enough to take it as his trade name. But he also carries an energy "blaster" pistol for when he needs to attack someone at range.

Military Mystic Assassin

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