So was thinking of trying something with a Snake themed Hero

Due to concepts such a Reptiles Are Abhorrent, you rarely see heroes using reptiles as an Animal Motif unless that reptile is dragon.

However, I recently started thinking about the idea of a hero with a snake theme. There are plenty of famous mythological snakes that can be mined for inspiration.

I'm thinking he would be a Swordsman (unoriginal I admit, but hey, this is the site that promotes Tropes Are Not Bad), and his attacks are named after different snakes. Like a Iaijutsu technique called Cobra Fang that would work like a Counter-Attack, and maybe some kind of high speed Stabbing technique or Flash Step based maneuver.

Higher level attacks would have names based on Mythological snakes like Orochi The Hydra, Salamanders (I know, those dudes are more Lizards than snakes, but I might mess with that one), and Jormundgandr.

Finally, a Super Mode, or something else called Ouroboros, which he starts up by removing his Hooded Bad Ass Longcoat and light armour (which he jokingly refers to as scales), by what he calls Shedding his outer skin.

So yeah, heavily into the snake theme, but the guy is pretty heroic (saves people, is honourable(though not without reason, and has a good sense of humour. Also smart, but not a genius.

What do you guys think? It will likely never happen, but it's fun to think about these things, so I'd like to hear any suggestions.

edited 15th Aug '13 5:11:43 PM by HandsomeRob

I think a more appropriate weapon choice for a snake-based character would be Dual Wielding short swords or, even better, daggers.

Keep in mind that snakes, particularly venomous ones, are all about stealth and ambush. The dual daggers motif would mimic the two fangs of a snake, and daggers, being easy to draw and conceal as well as being short range, are very conducive to surprise attacks.

edited 18th Aug '13 12:22:45 PM by somerandomdude

Well, I wouldn't say it's necessary to imitate the themed animal. In some cases that can come off as being so overly emphasized to the point that it ends up being impractical for the sake of theatrics.

I get that, but if you're going to mimic a snake's attacking style, it has to be stealth based, because that's how snakes attack.

Daggers or knives, as I said, are easy to draw and conceal. And if you have two, you can strike with either hand.

Hmm. Good point.

That being said, the reason I chose a sword is because he plays with the concept of a Hero (he has an Animal Motif not usually associated with a heroic character, and the weapon plays to that)

His personality isn't what you would expect from a Snake themed hero as well.

What would you expect from a snake-themed hero?

Solid Snake.

...Personality-wise.

legendary (ouroboros, immortality, etc), but is pretty much "normal" if you get to know him... like Solid Snake.
also, he experienced something that made him "shed his skin" and change.

Truthfully, I'm still giving it a lot of thought.

I'm not even sure if anything will come of this, but it's fun to theorize and ponder it.

this (existing snake themed Anti-Hero) might help a bit. don't concentrate on powers and motifs. just flesh out the characters and the motifs will naturally follow.