Scar

Scar
Rank	Veteran Player Controlled
Affiliation	Mercenaries (Not part of the mercenary faction but works as one) Clear Sky (By default) Player's Choice
Equipment	Trenchcoat (Lost after the emission) VSS Vintorez (Left in the swamps after the emission) AKM-74/2 (Since official patch v1.5.10)

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

Scar (Шрам), is the main protagonist and player 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 factions at a premium. As a freelancer, his actions are tied to his employer's wallet rather than 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.

Storyline

Scar is first seen escorting a group of ecologists in the Great Swamps during the introductory cut-scene 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. There Scar is caught in an emission that kills most of the Clear Sky strike force in the area, and is presumably either killed, turned into a zombified stalker, or inducted into the ranks of the Monolith. His fate is never fully resolved.

Trivia

• Scar has striking grey-white eyes, short, white stubble, and a long face.
• As seen in Clear Sky's introductory cut-scene, Scar's preferred weapon before being hit by the Great Emission is most likely the Vintar BC. He is also seen wearing a trench coat in the same cut-scene.
• 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 ammo clip is empty and its condition is completely depleted.
• Curiously, 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 patrol squad that rescues Scar does not have time to look for his gear due to the Renegade and mutant presence in the area.
• 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 jacket with a cloak, although the rescuer does not have a hood shrouding his head.
• Scar is presumably in his late 30s or early 40s, as some stalkers (most notably bandits in the Garbage) call him an "old man". However, Sakharov describes him as a young man when calling Lefty. He is also called "young man" by E. F. Kalancha and "boy" by one of the Duty and Bandit members.
• The only stalker to address Scar directly by his name is Leshiy.

  

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

• Scar is indirectly mentioned in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl in one of Ghost's messages to Strelok. Ghost describes him as a "scarred hooded guy holding a Vintar waiting for them". He is also said to have wounded and later killed Fang during the encounter. It appears that Scar was to kill Fang during the events of Clear Sky; however, Fang is said to have been "dealt with" by Clear Sky members since we never meet or kill him in the actual game. Scar was also mentioned in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat in a note to Ghost written by Strelok.
• It has been speculated by some members of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. community that Charon is actually Scar who became brainwashed after Clear Sky's failed attempt to subdue Strelok. One reason why one might suspect this is that Charon is the only stalker in Shadow of Chernobyl to carry a Vintar BC, which was Scar's signature weapon. Another is that the final cut-scene in Clear Sky implies Scar's impending brainwashing by the C-Consciousness, possibly in preparation for his induction into the ranks of the Monolith. However, there has so far been discovered no hard evidence to confirm or refute this theory.
• Professor Kalancha claims that Scar "defies the laws of science" due to surviving two emissions without protection.
• Despite purportedly being able to survive emissions, Scar will die if the player does not get to shelter before being exposed to a non-scripted emission.