General Information
Alias: Bang Pitung, Jago Pitung, Banteng Betawi, Salihoen
Gender: Male
H/W: 168 cm, 66 kg
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Attribute: Man
Armaments: Machete, keris
Catalyst: An old
peci, a broken wine bottle
Parameters
STR: C
END: D
AGL: B+
MAG: E
LUK: C
Class skills
Presence Concealment |
D+ |
A lower-than-normal ranking for this skill, Assassin possesses it as a formality. He can hide his presence and avoid detection, but it diminishes in the moments before an attack. The + modifier activates when in the wilderness.
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Personal Skills
Silat Betawi |
B+ |
Assassin is a master of pencak silat, and was trained in styles of the Betawi people. For Assassin it is a style fundamentally learned for revenge, which manifests in his aggressive approach that utilizes quick movement and deceptive reach. With a machete and keris as his weapons, Assassin becomes a ruthless whirlwind that refuses to give the opponent space to react. |
Jago |
A |
Jago are a class of folk hero for the Betawi people. They lead and fight for their community, earning their reputation through physical prowess and mystical renown. Although present for much of Betawi history they truly grew in prominence in response to the Dutch colonization, and especially in the 19th century.
It is no exaggeration to say that Assassin is the most celebrated jago in Indonesian history, beloved for his bravery, and so gains this skill at its highest rank.
To be a jago one must be strong, both in body and in faith, and also be a capable champion of their people. For this reason, it is a skill compositing Natural Body, Protection of the Faith, and Charisma, all at B-rank.
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Biting the Lion |
C+ |
A skill for those national defenders who, with pride beating in their soul, stand against an oppressive force. Fitting for Assassin, for the Dutch Lion was the iconography of oppression at that time.
When fighting on territory considered his own or an ally’s, Assassin gains a STR and END bonus. Alternatively, this bonus is always in effect when fighting against those of Dutch origin.
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Disguise |
C |
Disguises were how Assassin and his gang both evaded colonial authority and enacted their heists. Those anecdotes have sublimated into a skill that allows Assassin to instantaneously change his appearance. Insightful skills of equal rank or higher are required to peer through the disguise, for even Assassin’s presence as a Servant is minimized. Those without such a skill are almost always convinced that Assassin’s disguise is his identity.
Although Assassin is an expert at disguises, it isn’t infallible. He can’t change his actual physical body, and he may get certain details about an outfit wrong. And of course basic logic can cast suspicion on Assassin’s disguise, especially if something he says does not check out.
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Noble Phantasm
Dagger of the Blessed Hero
Keris Salihoen
Rank: D
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: 0-1
Max Targets: 1 Person
“All my life, my family has guided me. Rejoice; this battle is dedicated to them.”
Legends say that Si Pitung was invincible thanks to his keris. True or not, those stories of magical prowess have sublimated into his keris as a Noble Phantasm.
Its true name is derived from Si Pitung’s birth name, Salihoen. As is traditional in Javanese culture, Si Pitung’s keris once belonged to his father, and his father before him, and so on. These family heirlooms are said to instill the wielder with bravery, and can even sometimes carry spirits within them.
Si Pitung began his fight because his family was unjustly targeted by the Dutch oppressors. In other words, he only used his heirloom for violence for the sake of his family, which later expanded into the sake of his people.
The mystical stories regarding his keris and his nature as a Heroic Spirit has created a keris that is, in essence, his family. They are always there, always watching, looking onto their descendant as he fights the bloody fight. And it is not just his direct family either, but the family he found as well; the priest, the blood brother, the farmers, and so on.
Effectively, Assassin gains a defensive sixth-sense that tells him of nearby danger. He may not always understand it, but when he follows that sense it is always just in the nick of time. His family, the people he fights for, protects him in turn for his efforts.
There is but a single weakness to this special defense, which is what managed to kill Si Pitung in the end: a golden bullet.
Noble Phantasm
Courageous Dance of the Seven
Pituan Pitulung
Rank: C
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: –
Max Targets: –
“Alone? No, no. You see...
I never fight alone.”
Derived from the origin of Si Pitung’s true name, pituan pitulung, which means ‘group of seven’ in Javanese. Famously, Si Pitung’s six allies would dress as him in order to confuse pursuers.
As a Noble Phantasm, it sublimates that story with Si Pitung’s responsibility of a jago. Si Pitung takes responsibility for those acting under his command in such a way that they can be considered the same as him.
Si Pitung can create six other clones of himself. They are equivalent to him in nearly every way, possessing all his skills and parameters, except that they always disappear after a single hit. These clones can act independently and can always communicate with each other, while simultaneously possessing no maximum distance from each other. This means that Si Pitung can effectively be in seven places at once, wreaking unparalleled havoc. On the other hand, fighting Si Pitung with all his clones is like fighting seven Servants at the same time.
A True Name release allows Si Pitung to actualize the clones as truly himself, hooking into his legends of impossible escapes that could only be mystical. Si Pitung’s existence is ‘suspended’ among all his clones at the moment of True Name release, causing them to act at highest degrees of synchronicity. At any time Si Pitung can actualize any one of the clones, making that clone the true Si Pitung.
Again, there is a single severe weakness, which is considered conceptual in nature. A golden bullet will always find its way into the true Si Pitung no matter what.
Personality
Si Pitung is characterized by his legends as generous, pious, and brave. And in many ways he is all of these things, for he is, of course, a jago. Hoisted onto his shoulders is a responsibility be all of these things and more. He will even refuse to call himself ‘hero’, because that word does not describe his aspirations in the same way that he would like. To him, his friends are family, and it is his duty to provide for them food and money. In exchange that family looks up to him and provides trust, safety, a place to come back to. That is the duty of a jago.
This give-and-take baked into his way of life is reflected onto the way he behaves around everyone. Life is full of debts, small and large. All are owed something, just as we all owe something else in turn. He will never leave those debts unpaid for long, but at the same time expects others to do the same for him. Being jago aside, this is simply the way life is for him. Otherwise Si Pitung treats everyone as a good friend or, if he isn’t too partial to a person, an interesting challenge besides. With a frank mouth he’ll say just about anything that comes to mind.
This well-meaning nature may seem to contrast with his recorded ruthlessness. It is well known that Si Pitung has no love for traitors, and even shot one down in broad daylight because the traitor was responsible for his friend’s capture. By the Dutch colonists, Si Pitung was regarded as little more than a bloody bandit; he cared as much for the Dutch as he did for his fellow countrymen. But what the Dutch failed to understand about Si Pitung was that his devil-may-care attitude regarding violence was only indicative of what was to come. Less than traitors, Si Pitung harbored no love or mercy for the country’s colonists and their allies, and he’d gladly spit on their faces given the chance. But seeded deeper into that is a reverence for the act of violence itself.
Battle is divinity.
It is the way of the pious, who believe that their blood lives in the soil. Utilizing all means of violence to achieve victory is not only the natural way of things, but itself a ritual that embodies the cycle of existence. Such is it that his generous, pious, and brave character can survive contact with his ruthless violence and lying tongue. To be jago is to embody the venerable act of debt-exchange in its fullest, all while accepting that bloody combat and all its contingents are merely an extension of that exchange. Si Pitung has no qualms in this, even if the colonists were quick to label this as ‘barbaric’ and ‘primitive.’ This way of life is no less than the colonist’s, and Si Pitung would argue that it is, in fact, the proper way of the world.
“When it comes down to it, there is no shame or glory in winning and losing. Only that something is given, and something is taken. Merely by existing we are forced to accept that reality. In the end, I’m only taking back what’s been taken. Get it?”
Legend
A Betawi jago from the 19th century, Si Pitung wreaked havoc upon the Dutch colony of Batavia during his operations. The historical man is wrapped in stories, and the man himself isn’t exactly keen on ‘solving’ the myth of himself. But the story so goes like this:
A young boy named Salihoen was born to loving parents during the height of colonial Indonesia. Taught by Hadji Naipin as a Muslim, he grew up steeped in Betawi culture and religious piety.
One day, Salihoen’s father, a merchant, was attacked by Dutch bandits and had his goods stolen. The boy took after them to retrieve the goods, and defeated the bandits. From then on he became recognized as a jago by his village folk. Carrying on his newly born responsibilities, he sought to master pencak silat and to continue providing for his family. He defended his village and led offenses in the ever-flowing trade of resources.
In this living ecosystem of jago, they would have gone unnoticed if they had kept simply to themselves. But Salihoen saw a debt unpaid. He looked to those people living comfortable in their city called Batavia, grown greedy and complacent atop the efforts of his kinsmen. Daring to tread where no jago would, Salihoen took his group to heist riches from the Dutch and its supporters.
After the first heist his legend blossomed in whispers and rumors and newspaper and radio. Through this he came to be known as Si Pitung, alongside his six allies who dove headfirst into danger with him. They robbed and killed, returning to the people what had been taken from them. His legends are eventually exaggerated, some say that he’s invincible or impossibly fast, or that he would regenerate after a fatal wound. It seemed that Si Pitung was untouchable, and his allies only grew.
It was only a matter of time, though, for Si Pitung to meet his match. A policeman known as Hinne began to stalk his operations ruthlessly. He was Si Pitung’s greatest match, but even he could not kill the bandit. Hinne recognized that, no matter what, Si Pitung’s supporters would always be present to hide him. No amount of anonymous tips could catch Si Pitung; Hinne needed something drastic.
Indeed, if Si Pitung’s family were his greatest strength, so too must they be his greatest weakness.
Hinne convinced all but one of Si Pitung’s six closest allies to betray their leader. On the following heist, he was finally corralled into a spot without support, and without escape.
BANG! A bullet found its way into Si Pitung’s spine. Hinne had finally done it.
It is said, though, that even as he was dying on the floor, SI Pitung managed to laugh. It is not known for what he was laughing. His last request before he died was a bottle of wine, a strange drink for a dying Muslim to request.
Nevertheless, Si Pitung was buried as a Muslim. Legends had permeated the atmosphere around him so much that policemen were placed around the grave, to ensure that Si Pitung didn’t return to life. But even after death, Si Pitung’s rally against the Dutch became an inspiration many years later for the revolutionaries, the Pemuda of Indonesia, once they too had to take arms against the same enemies.
Violence to take, and violence to take back. Against the enemy, there is no such thing as remorse. Si Pitung lived a divine life, and through the mythos of Indonesia, it has been revered.
Dialogue
Summon: “Yo! Assassin here! So, you’re my Master huh? I’m sure we’ll get along just fine, heh. Oh, my name? Of course! The man you’ve summoned is Si Pitung. I won’t disappoint, promise.”
Wish for the Grail: “I think if I were to answer seriously… the thing I’d want from the Grail is… Well, the only one that didn’t betray me in the end was Dji-ih. I wonder how he’s doing. I don’t have any regrets in life, but I’d like to see him again”
Likes: “Uh, food, duh! I mean, who doesn't, right? Speaking of, I’m having a craving for soto right now… Don’t worry, these things come in group portions!”
Dislikes: “Things I don’t like? Well, I guess I just don’t see things that way. It’s not that I hate things, but more… some things are harmful, so I cut them off, yeah? And I’ve cut off a lot of bule. Orang bule and traitors.”
Billy the Kid: “Light attitude, heavy shoulders. Guy needs a break.”
Chevalier de Saint-Georges: “That’s some fancy swordplay, moneybags. So that’s how they’re trained over there. I always wondered, y’know. It’s cool but… well, it doesn't look like much.”
Heinrich Schliemann: “Now that… is a strange man. Is he alright? Should I stay away from him? You know what, I’ll stay away.”
Nostradamus: “Hah, prophecies! I appreciate the offer, old man, but I don’t want to know what a crusty codger like you thinks of my future. I'll make it myself, thanks.”
Robin Hood: “I’m told that you and I are alike. Take from the rich, steal from the poor and all that. But I wonder, is that really true…? I don’t mean anything by it, but I just don’t think you and I are on the same wavelength.”
Unas: “THIS GUY GETS IT! REACH! HEAVEN! THROUGH! VIOLENCE!”