User blog:Kyran Kandosa2/An PSA on Berserks and other "Rage Mode" Semblances, Part 1: The basics

I've noticed that there is at least a small trend on this wiki to create OCs which have "Rage Mode" or "Overdrive" type abilities. These are all more or less similar to Berserks. I'm no scholar, but I do know a bit about how real-life Berserks operate, thanks to my research on the topic turning up material by an actual practitioner of the Berserk tradition. I intend to share a bit of what I've learned, in the hopes that people will read it, and take notes to help improve their writing about OCs with Berserk attributes. I will, of course, link my sources so you can see a more detailed explanation than the brief summaries I will provide here. First and foremost, we must define our terms. The Beserks are part of a family of nearly-extinct martial and religious practices which rely on an special state of consciousness, Somafera, meaning "The Body Wild". As they are the most well-known tradition, I will stick to refering to practitioners of Somafera as Berserks for sake of convenience.

Due to an large degree of similarity, Somafera is believed to have it's origins in an rare genetic condition known as Intermittent Explosive Disorder(IED) or Militant Explosive Disorder(MED), depending on one's terminology. This condition creates an defect in the brain's impulse control center. MED is related to epilepsy, and is often correlated with epileptic symptoms. When the affected host is put under sufficient mental or physical stress, they undergo an Somafera trance. In it's raw form, Somafera is effectively an hyper-charged fight-or-flight response, strong enough to unlock the body's normal limits and reduce the affected individual to an purely animal mental state in the process. With proper mastery of the trance, Somafera can be activated at will, and allows the user to retain control, becoming an warrior with very few peers. Virtually nobody without this genetic condition has ever accessed Somafera. Those that have generally do so after years of training, and mostly in a way that is often described as hellish, at best, due to their minds not being wired for it like born practitioners are.

Berserks: The original Berserks were warrior-shamans, serving as priests to the chief Norse god, Odin, patron of Death, War, Poetry, Wisdom, and more relevantly for us, Fury. They were often treated as nobility, in order to retain their services as warriors and laborers. Today, Berserks are the most populous of the known Somafera traditions. Each Berserk typically experiences an involuntary personality shift when inside the trance. This normally involves assuming the identity of an predatory animal of some kind, though ancestral spirits, deities, demons, or even simple insanity are also known. An rare few even possess more than one alternate identity, though which one asserts itself during a trance is entirely random. Bear-totem Berserks, known as Bjornsterks, were the most common in ancient times. In modern times, the Wolf-totem Berserks, or Ulfhednar, seem to be the most numerous. The alter ego an Berserk assumes in their trance is involuntary, and directly impacts their fighting style. Bjornsterks, for example, seem to rely primarily on brute force, while Ulfhednar are much more flexible and cunning, constantly changing their approach. This alternate personality is known to bleed into the primary one. For instance, an Ulfhedinn will often display an violent streak towards anyone or anything that is a percieved threat to them or their "pack"(friends/family).

In Part 2, I plan to address the actual capabilities and limitations involved with the Somafera trance.

In Part 3, I will discuss the triggering and mechanics of Somafera.

In Part 4, I will discuss how these things might impact an RWBYverse OC if they have the mixed blessing of being an Somafera practitioner.

Sources:
 * http://www.uppsalaonline.com/
 * http://uppsalawayland.tripod.com/id2.html
 * http://uppsalawayland.tripod.com/intermittentexplosivedisorderandtheberserkergang/