Charr and the effects of stress
This has been talked about just a bit on the GW2RP boards, but I wanted to go a little further with it.
The topic of discussion was role playing mental health issues, and in particular, the example of PTSD cropped up. Which is understandable, for a world like Tyria where there is a constant threat of war, such things would come into play.
But something struck me as very dismissive. I often run into this when the topic comes around to the charr and mental illness. The automatic response seems to be that any charr with mental illness, such as PTSD, would be turfed from their warband and barred from the Black Citadel and shunned from charr society.
That is, firstly, very problematic, and secondly, extremely dismissive of how the charr would act around such things. To automatically assume that a race bred for war would have no use for anyone with a mental illness is, without a doubt, greatly underestimates exactly what the charr are capable of.
Given the in game examples of what could be called classic mental illnes, the charr know well enough that these things exist and that even they can be affected by them. A prime example is Tybalt Leftpaw. Remember, he wasn’t cast out of charr society, he left on his own. His warband did force him out but he left the Citadel on his own after an accident caused the death of many of his bandmates. Tybalt, while appearing lighthearted and having a sense of humour, does display classic signs of self doubt, anxiety and depression.
Another example is given to the player from Vesta Scorchpath. Vesta speaks of another charr named Salina. Stating Salina was rescued from a Flame Legion camp and has been invaluable as a guide. Vesta says Salina is still a little feral after being held captive by Flame, and that she’s endured unspeakable things. Salina is obviously a survivor of abuse and possibly rape. The way Salina was introduce was well done, without giving the player the immediate information, but just enough to put together that Salina has survived abuse.
Then there’s Lorzohaz Huntblood, found at Almuten Estates in Gendarran Fields. She remains with the winery as she waits for her warband. She’s been there for over six months (now for several years), still waiting. Most likely she’s in denial that her warband is most likely gone and she’s not accepting that they possibly could be. She’s just following orders to wait for them.
Those are just a few examples of charr that could be, and most likely are, suffering from some form of mental illness.
But I doubt the charr would give up so easily on anyone that is suffering from some form of mental illness, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and so on. They’re probably very aware of the fact that constant combat has an affect on the mental health of their soldiers. After all, everyone from the highest tribune all the way down to a farm hand considers themselves a soldier. They all work, in their own way, for the betterment of the Black Citadel. Everyone’s job is just as important as everyone else. You can’t have soldiers without having doctors. You can’t have a standing army without having the agricultural system to feed them.
The charr, being masters of industry, most likely are masters of knowing just how fragile the mind is. It’s not strength to hide this, it’s strength in knowing when one of your bandmates is suffering. There’s most likely warbands built around the idea of tending to those very soldiers who do in fact suffer from PTSD. The best way back into a fight is to heal, and the mind like the body, needs time.
The charr are not mindless beasts bent of destruction and war. They’re very intelligent, strategic, and resourceful. They’d be aware that their lifestyle can have extreme shock to their system, body and mind. And so they’d make sure there are those in place who can deal with and help soldiers carry on.
This isn’t coddling. It’s meeting a problem head on and finding a way to deal with it. The charr are like that. They see a problem and they find a way to deal with it. Each of the Legions would most likely have warbands dedicated to medicine, dedicated to mental health and even dedicated to overseeing that each frontline warband is taken care of. Those ‘bands that are have a better opportunity to take down objectives and complete missions.
We only see the charr as mindless beasts bent on war. But by removing that stereotype or removing that perception, the charr become far more interesting and much deeper in their entire society.
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