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[fleshing]

[cw: mentions of body horror, murder, death, murderdeath, mental illness, and suicide]



PLAYER
Player name: Zero
Contact: arcaneswearwords at either gmail or AIM
Characters currently in-game: N/A

CHARACTER
Character Name: Krieg (no other name given)
Character Age: Vague. 30s-ish?
Canon: Borderlands
Canon Point: After the events of Borderlands 2, including available DLC
History: Here is a rundown of his background. Following this, he joins the other Vault Hunters (i.e. playable characters) in the plot of the game, which entails joining a resistance against the charismatic, violent CEO of Hyperion, Handsome Jack, and preventing him from unleashing an alien power on all of Pandora.
Personality:

Krieg has a severe case of Dissociative Identity Disorder as a result of his slag experimentation at the hands of Hyperion. His dominant personality is the axe-wielding maniac everyone sees, while his “inner voice” is the sane, intelligent remnant of who he used to be. His peaceful side is described as a man driving an out-of-control truck with the brakes out. He can’t stop the truck, or even slow it down, but he can try to steer it out of the way of as many innocents as possible and make sure it doesn’t kill too many people in the process. In fact, that quieter, secondary personality made it explicitly clear to his counterpart that he can only slaughter those who deserve it - bandits, marauders, people who are clearly aligned against him with murderous intent. The second he turns on an innocent person, his placid side has promised to seize control and commit suicide as punishment.

That lingering part of his psyche is the reminder of who he was, but neither of them can remember much of who they were before Hyperion got its hands on them, or even why Hyperion wanted them in the first place. Krieg’s inner voice occasionally remembers Vault Hunter-like or mercenary-like activities, like opening chests full of loot or getting paid, which might explain Krieg’s aptitude in performing similar duties.

It’s only when Krieg comes across a Siren named Maya that he’s able to pull himself together long enough to actually save her life and prove that he’s more than a rambling, violent madman. Taking it a step further, he joins her and the team of other Vault Hunters in taking down the Hyperion corporation and their megalomaniac, destructive CEO Handsome Jack, who’s intent on waking an alien power inside a Vault and cleansing Pandora of its populace once and for all. Throughout this campaign, Krieg assists the other Vault Hunters in various ways - such as reviving them when they’re at low health at the cost of his own life, or deliberately soaking up both hostile and friendly bullet fire to activate his abilities. He contributes significantly to the resources and well-being of the anti-Hyperion resistance group known as the Crimson Raiders, even performing various sidequests and favors for the civilian population to help them get by. It’s clear that, as ruthless a killer as he is, he sees his fellow Vault Hunters as friends at the very least, and the members of the Crimson Raiders as innocents who not only deserve his help, but require it. He might not be coherent, but he can be merciful, even gentle enough to be on good terms with with the civilians of the Crimson Raiders.

Most of his audible statements are incomprehensible word salad phrases that straddle an odd line between horrific and absurdist, but he’s proven to be coherent when the situation absolutely requires it (such as his successful attempt in warning Maya when he first encounters, managing to stay coherent long enough to scream “TURN AROUND, PRETTY LADY!” and go on a rampage on the bandits that were sneaking up behind her). What’s more, by the end of the Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC, which - spoilers - focuses on the titular character’s inability to cope with the death of Roland, the leader of the Crimson Raiders, everyone is pictured visiting Roland’s memorial to silently grieve him. Krieg joins them without a word and somberly looks on, indicating a growth of character from raving maniac to someone a little more human.

Inventory:

- one (1) large buzz-axe
- one (1) Bandit-manufacture shotgun
- one (1) Torgue-manufacture assault rifle
- one (1) Tediore-manufacture submachine gun
- one (1) Vladof-manufacture pistol
- five (5) Maliwan-manufacture incendiary grenades
- one (1) Bandit-manufacture low-capacity shield (attached to his belt)
- one (1) seldom-used ECHO device, now useless
- two weeks’ worth of assorted ammunition
- pants and mask (Krieg evidently has no need for shirts)

Abilities: Based on a specific Hellborn and Mania build for Krieg, as one can spec skill points into different areas.

- Vault Hunter: In general, as a Vault Hunter, Krieg has a great deal of stamina and endurance. Additionally, he’s one of the tankier characters in the game, so he can soak up a lot of damage before he’s downed. He’s also the only playable character who intentionally utilizes suicidal tactics - running at an enemy with a lit stack of dynamite, skill trees based on having shields down and being at low health, and a lot of risk-and-reward strategy that often leaves him on the brink of death but dealing a lot of damage in recompense.

- Buzz Axe Rampage: Exactly what it says on the tin. His peaceful side recedes and lets his violent side deal massive amounts of melee damage to opponents in a berserker-like free-for-all of blood and combat. He's just as liable to damage himself as he is others, however.

- Hellborn: Krieg can light himself on fire. Sure, he takes damage, but it also means he can do sick things like breathe fire at people and deal a lot of incendiary damage to attackers. This hurts him a lot, so it’s kind of a risk versus rewards thing.

- Light the Fuse: He’ll run around with a bundle of dynamite and he won’t stop until he’s taken down his target or died trying. He can move scarily fast when he does this, which is why he only does it when he’s near death.

- Release the Beast: In some cases, going on a rampage will turn him into a Psycho Mutant with misshapen arms, a hideously distorted voice, and a capacity to wreak a whole lot more havoc than is typical. He can only do this if he hasn’t Rampaged recently and if his health is low enough, so it’s not a for-sure thing.

Flaws:

HAHA WELL

Krieg is a Psycho, which means he’s killed a lot of people and absolutely enjoyed doing it. Like really, really a lot of people. All of them "deserved" it in some way (however little that means on a deathworld wasteland like Pandora), whether by being murderous bandits who were trying to kill him or the amoral scientists that broke his mind in the first place. But still, he’s a monster and his rational side is fully aware of this fact and despises it. Killing things is the only way he keeps his whole "butchering and murdering" deal under some level of control, even if Krieg’s murderous side takes far too much pleasure from both dealing and receiving pain. His lucid side makes it unquestionably apparent that he thinks they both deserve to suffer and die. So yeah, lots of murder, lots of destruction, and lots of hatred and self-loathing.

He also screams to random people about his desire to conduct poop trains.

SAMPLES
Action Log Sample: HERE and HERE.