Archetype (Storyteller System)

Trademarks of the early Storyteller System, nature and demeanor are attributes describing the personality of a character. Nature and demeanor are both expressed as archetypes, with a different set of archetypes per game line, with certain common ones.

A character's Nature is their basic personality, their fundamental behavior and perception of the world. When a character acts according to their nature, they regain willpower (in the old World of Darkness, this was the primary method of regaining willpower).

The Demeanor, in contrast, was the image the character projected to the outside world. It did not impact the character's attributes as Nature would, but instead was effectively how the character wanted to be perceived.

For example, a character with a nature of Child and a demeanor of Celebrant would regain willpower in situations where he gets someone to nurture or protect him, but overall acts like someone who enjoys life. His nature could manifest through a high degree of dependency, such as by partying until incapacitated and depending on someone to walk him home, provide a ride, or the like.

As a rule, Demeanors can be changed by characters with relatively little effort - they are, after all, surface impressions. Natures can be changed inly in response to major events, and should require roleplaying. A change in Nature represents a major shift in a character's attitude and outlook.

In Exalted, characters do not have Demeanors, only a Nature.

In the revised Storyteller System, nature and demeanor were eliminated in favor of Virtue and Vice.