Scar

Scar
Rank	Player Controlled
Affiliation	Mercenaries Clear Sky Player's Choice
Equipment	Trenchcoat Vintar BC Leather jacket AKM-74/2

I guess my options are pretty limited...
― Scar

Scar (Шрам) is the protagonist and playable character of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky.

Background

Not much is known about Scar's past, but he is a proficient veteran mercenary stalker who most likely went to the Zone for self-interest. Scar is initially unaffiliated with any faction and works for whichever faction is the most lucrative to him. As a freelancer, his actions are tied to his employer's wallet rather than their ideals.

Scar has an unusual affinity with the Zone as he is able to survive two deadly emissions, one of which is the largest in the Zone's history. According to Clear Sky's Professor Kalancha, the emissions energize Scar's abilities, giving him extraordinary reflexes and strength, but will, if not stopped, eventually burn his nervous system and kill him or turn him into one of the zombified stalkers. This revelation drives Scar to hunt down Strelok, whose reaching the center of the Zone is hypothesized by Clear Sky's Lebedev to be the reason for the emissions.

He never vocally speaks and thus, it is hard to determine his personality. What is known about Scar is he dislikes the State Security Service and he outright refuses to give in to temptation from Major Khaletskiy's offer to help him. He also would not hesitate to "kick Mitay's ass" for his rude behavior but only does not do so because the rest of Duty would retaliate. Scar also seems to have a dry sense of humor, as Lebedev points out during their interaction at the beginning of the game.

Storyline

Scar is first seen escorting a group of ecologists in the Great Swamps during the introductory cutscene of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. The ecologists and Scar are caught in the first blowout emission, which wipes out the ecologists and leaves Scar barely alive. Lebedev later informs Scar that he was almost torn to shreds by a pack of pseudodogs after surviving the emission, having been narrowly rescued by a Clear Sky patrol squad.

After being picked up by Clear Sky, Scar is taken to the faction's base to recover. This is where the player assumes control over Scar, first meeting Lebedev, then helping Clear Sky regain control over the Swamps and capture the southern exit to the Cordon from the Renegades, and then venturing further into the Zone. Scar is constantly updated by Lebedev concerning issues about Strelok and is ultimately led to the Chernobyl NPP in his quest to stop Strelok from reaching the center of the Zone.

Scar's motives for chasing down Strelok are not very clear, as even after leaving the Swamps (and therefore being relatively safe from Clear Sky, as they are isolated to the Swamps for the most part) he still keeps contact with Clear Sky and follows their orders, even if the player does not officially join Clear Sky again after leaving the Swamps. It's possible he still fears for his safety, as they threat with "silencing him" if Scar does not follow Strelok and stop him. It could also be because he doesn't want another huge emission to occur, possibly changing the Zone even further or killing him. Either way, it seems his own interests guide his actions, much like they did prior to the great emission.

At the CNPP, after Scar incapacitates Strelok, another emission is unleashed that kills most of the Clear Sky strike force in the area. Scar is presumably either killed, turned into a zombified stalker, or inducted into the ranks of the Monolith. The most likely outcome is that Scar is killed by the emission, as outside of scripted emissions (the first being the intro cutscene, the second being shortly after the player first takes control of Scar) he will die if not in shelter. Furthermore, he is at the ground zero of the emission, likely making it far more lethal than being further away from it. Nevertheless, his fate is never fully resolved.

Trivia

• Scar has striking grey-white eyes, short, white stubble, and a long face.
• He is the only true silent protagonist in the STALKER games. While he does "talk" when conversing with other characters, Scar does not speak vocally unlike Strelok and Major Degtyarev.
• As seen in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky's introductory cutscene, Scar's preferred weapon before being hit by the Great Emission is most likely the Vintar BC. He is also seen wearing a trenchcoat in the same cutscene.
  • The same Vintar BC, which Scar loses upon being caught in the Great Emission, can be picked up by the player in the northernmost part of the Swamps by the anomaly on the railway tracks, near the Agroprom Research Institute entrance point. Its magazine is empty and its condition is completely depleted. Curiously, it's positioned in front of the aforementioned entrance in which Duty can provide the ammunition for it at the earliest part of the game.
• The Clear Sky squad that rescues Scar does not bring back his Vintar BC. It is possible that Scar drops his weapon some distance away from where he eventually loses consciousness, potentially making the weapon difficult to locate. It could also be that the rescuing squad does not have time to look for Scar's gear due to the Renegade and mutant presence in the area. The weapon could have also been flung away due to the emission and would explain why it is in bad condition.
• When Scar wakes up in the Great Swamps, he already has an AKM-74/2 in his inventory. This constitutes a minor storyline discontinuity as he was not seen carrying it previously and was, according to his own testimony (in a dialogue with Docent Suslov), rendered "totally empty" of supplies by the Great Emission. Notably, the weapon was absent from Scar's starting inventory in versions of the game prior to 1.5.10.
• Scar's external loadout is similar to that of the Savior who also uses a Vintar BC and a leather trenchcoat, although the rescuer does not have the hood covering his head like Scar does.
• NPCs' evaluations of Scar's age vary dramatically: some stalkers (most notably bandits in the Garbage) call him an "old man". However, Sakharov and E. F. Kalancha both refer to him as a "young man", and he is called "boy" by one of the Duty and Bandit members. It is possible these lines were written before the physical apearence of Scar was created. Perhaps during devolpment Scar was intended to be a younger man.
• The only stalker to address Scar directly by his call sign is Leshiy. Everyone else refers to him as "Merc."

  

  This is the ONLY time Scar is referred to by his callsign instead of the generic "Merc"

• In one of Ghost's messages to Strelok in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, there is a reference to a Vintar BC -wielding man with a scar across his face. This is widely regarded as a reference to Scar in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan community. Scar is also indirectly referenced in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat in a note to Ghost written by Strelok.
• Professor Kalancha claims that Scar "defies the laws of science" due to surviving two emissions without protection. However, Lebedev correctly states Scar will eventually die if he keeps on being exposed to emissions.
  • Despite purportedly being able to survive emissions, Scar will die if the player does not find shelter before being exposed to a non-scripted emission during gameplay.
• Scar's name likely comes from the scar that is visible above his right eye, continuing down to the cheek under his left eye.

Footnotes

• ^{^a} In a freelance capacity without formal ties to the faction.
• ^{^b} As a temporary member and subsequent non-member affiliate.
• ^{^c} In the introductory cutscene.
• ^{^d} Starting equipment.
• ^{^e} Since official patch v1.5.10.
• Scar's scars on his face