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Old 03-23-2013, 11:44 PM   #1
NineDaysDead
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Default [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

Who's Who 2 gave Hitler Will 18, that's really very high, just what did he do to deserve such a high willpower score?
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Old 03-24-2013, 12:07 AM   #2
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

Certainly he thought he did. And there is this film called Triumph of the Will. His purposes were evil, but as far as I have read he really did stick to them.

Edit: For example, during the Beer Hall Putsch another Nazi was shot dead while walking arm-in-arm with Hitler. That shows some physical courage. I'd even say he was about as good a candidate as anyone for Unfazeable and/or Indomitable.
His Iron Cross 1st Class from WWI has been called questionable, but I expect there was something backing it up.

He also was apparently able to dominate most people by talking to them. Kind of like LBJ, I suppose. When Hitler wasn't able to get to someone, he apparently got quite upset. Guderian writes about this in his memoirs.

Edit2: Well, not Unfazeable - displays of emotion were one of his specialties. But Indomitable, sure.

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Old 03-24-2013, 03:41 AM   #3
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

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Edit2: Well, not Unfazeable - displays of emotion were one of his specialties. But Indomitable, sure.
Can't someone with Unfazeable pretend to have emotions, via the Acting skill?
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Old 03-24-2013, 03:58 AM   #4
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

Sure, but late in the war Hitler really fell into uncontrolled rages´.
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Old 03-24-2013, 05:06 AM   #5
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

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Edit2: Well, not Unfazeable - displays of emotion were one of his specialties. But Indomitable, sure.
Can't someone with Unfazeable pretend to have emotions, via the Acting skill?
Sure, but late in the war Hitler really fell into uncontrolled rages´.
You can still display emotion with Unfazeable, it's really just Immunity to Fear [15]. You could certainly have a character with Unfazeable and Bad Temper.
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Unfazeable comes with roleplaying advice because it's a wholly unrealistic mental trait and no gamer is likely to have a hope in hell of roleplaying it well. While fictional physical and social traits can be reduced to game mechanics, it's harder to do this with made-up mental traits in an RPG, where playing a role is at least part of the point . . . hence the advice. But you're free to ignore the advice and simply treat it as Immunity to Fear and Intimidation [15], sure.
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Old 03-24-2013, 06:45 AM   #6
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

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He also was apparently able to dominate most people by talking to them. Kind of like LBJ, I suppose. When Hitler wasn't able to get to someone, he apparently got quite upset. Guderian writes about this in his memoirs.
I don't know about LBJ, but lots of generals and politicians - types of people who usually seem to be quite strong-willed - tried to stand up to Hitler at various points and almost all failed. A few managed it, occasionally. Guderian managed it at least once, by his own account.

So while a GURPS numerical Will score is going to be a bit arbitrary, a high one is justified. Hitler's will did eventually give out, and he accepted that the war was lost, but only very close to the end. Telling him this was no good; he had to realise it for himself.
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Old 03-24-2013, 06:59 AM   #7
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

Will 18 is ridiculous.

Unless I'm mistaken, Who's Who was written at a time when the game system lacked certain refinements like Unfazeable. That said, I wouldn't give Unfazeable to Hitler. Indomitable, maybe, with Will about 15 (until his mental illness undermined that).
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Old 03-24-2013, 07:09 AM   #8
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

He would certainly have Stubbornness.
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Old 03-24-2013, 07:39 AM   #9
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

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Unless I'm mistaken, Who's Who was written at a time when the game system lacked certain refinements like Unfazeable.
You are mistaken. Who's Who 2 was published in 1999, Unfazeable appeared in Compendium 1 in 1996, but I think it might have first appeared in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon.
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That said, I wouldn't give Unfazeable to Hitler. Indomitable, maybe, with Will about 15 (until his mental illness undermined that).
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Old 03-24-2013, 07:40 AM   #10
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Default Re: [WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

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He would certainly have Stubbornness.
Yes, which is probably why he has it in his Who's who write up.
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