After the Fall- Demon the Fallen in After Sundown

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Prak
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After the Fall- Demon the Fallen in After Sundown

Post by Prak »

I subjected myself to Season 3 of Lucifer finally. It wasn't really different from Season 2. Same stupid drama ripped from the most cringe-worthy of high school soap opera. Same idiot ball preventing Lucifer from just showing Chloe actual fucking proof that he's, you know, actually Lucifer.

But, it made me want to run Demon the Fallen again.

Then I started looking at doing that, and... Fuck that game. There's fuck all to actually do, just as a goddamned start. You play random no names, because all the demons you've ever fucking heard of are special DM Penis NPCs.

Just, ugh.

So I'm working on an AS hack to make something where you play a fallen angel returning to Earth, and you're explicitly encouraged to play a big name. Still working on what the fuck you do in it, but, eh, I'll get there.

So.

New Sorcery: Revelation
Revelation is the group of powers that is shared by all Fallen and Elohim on Earth. It represents pure celestial awesomeness, and is sort of a compilation of effects similar to a few different existing powers.
Revelation allows Fallen and Elohim to reveal their celestial nature to others, inspiring awe or dread, captivate their attention, heal or harm with a touch, or augment their terrestrial abilities with the merest hint of their true nature.
Basic Powers:
  • Overawe-- By revealing their celestial nature, the character can inspire awe, or dread, in a single target. They may either halt the target in their tracks, or cause them to flee, at their option. A halted target is, in essence, paralyzed, while a target made to flee runs away or cowers in terror. Either result lasts at least a number of rounds equal to the net hits, suffering a -2 die morale penalty thereafter for the remainder of the scene. Either use of Overawe is a Complex action requiring a Willpower + Intimidation or Intuition + Persuasion opposed by the target's Willpower.
  • Captivate-- The character can demand the attention of others. This is a simple action requiring an opposed roll of Willpower + Intimidation or Intuition + Persuasion against the target's Willpower. If successful, the affected target must direct all actions and attention at the character for a number of rounds equal to the character's net hits. This captivation includes looking at the character, unable to look away, unless the character issues a command to look away, making this a very good power to use with Authority powers.
Advanced Powers
  • Revelatory Form-- The character lets slip their mortal facade, showing the merest sliver of their true form. This is similar to the devotion War Form, requiring 4 power points and a Complex Action, and allows the character to transform some manner of monstrous thing, the exact nature of which is defined at character creation, though as the character advances in power, it may change subtly. It is obviously not human, often inhumanly thin, tall, stout, or simply alien in appearance. They gain a 4 damage Lethal natural attack they are free to define as they wish, and may distribute 5 points between Strength and Agility as they wish. When the character falls to fury*, they often automatically transform to their revelatory form, which, in this case, is a Simple action and costs no power points.
  • Faith Reaping-- The character draws on the faith placed in them by one of their pacts, and instead of receiving the faith freely given, takes it from the mortal's heart. This can be done at any range, provided the character and the pact they draw upon are in the same world. This is very dangerous to the mortal who made the pact, and the more compassionate celestials use it only as a matter of absolute last resort. Using Faith Reaping is a Complex action, requiring an opposed Willpower + Intimidation or Intuition + Persuasion test against the mortal's Willpower. If successful, the character gains one power point per net hit, and the mortal subject has a master passion frenzy immediately triggered, which they must resist as normal, but the threshold for their test to resist equals the net hits of the character.
Elder Powers
  • Kindle the Divine Spark-- The character can return life to a dead creature. This acts much the same way as Restoration, except for only working on creatures that are not the user. To return another to life, the character spends 2 power points, plus an additional power point for each point of potency the dead creature possessed in life. This is instantaneous if the creature has a potency of 0, or four hours for any creature with a potency of 1 or more, either way, they are returned to life with all health boxes but one crossed off, and require further healing.
The Fallen
Much like Animates, the Fallen are not born human to later become monsters. Instead, every Fallen was created as an Elohim (ie, Angel), and later rebelled against God as part of Lucifer's army, only to be cast down and mostly forgotten. After the war, beaten and defeated, the Fallen were cast into The Pit, shut off from the world they fought for, and away from the light of God. Certain of them got glimpses of the world through the centuries, as they were conjured into wise men and women's summoning circles, but, largely, the Fallen knew nothing of what happened on Earth, and they grew... despondent. Numb. Angry. Resentful.
Different Fallen reacted to the solitude of The Pit in different ways, but none of them were left unscathed by it.
Just as every other supernatural, The Fallen are capable of being Extras or Luminaries, but Extras are the great unknown masses of Fallen kind, while Luminaries are the known and named of Fallen kind-- Lucifer, Belial, Lilith, Asmodeus, Samael, and so on.
All Fallen are on a Solar power schedule. Ie, a Lunar power schedule, but they gain power at dawn, instead of moonrise. However, Fallen power does not flow from the Sun, it flows from mortals who truly believe in their existence and nature. When a Fallen returns to Earth for the first time, they regain only a single power point each dawn, the faith gleaned from the ambient human belief in angels and demons. In order to gain more than this, they must seek out mortals to, in essence, worship them. These are mortals who they specifically reveal their power and nature to, and who specifically believe in the Fallen, typically in exchange for a boon, in a relationship formally referred to as a Pact. The mortal becomes a Warlock, in essence the Extra form of a Fallen, and the Fallen gains an addition power point at dawn each day. It thus behooves Fallen to make pacts with multiple mortals, and protect these mortals, so that as the Fallen becomes more power.
The divine nature of Fallen makes them vulnerable to Celestial weapons, those that are made in Heaven or the Pit, or which have been specifically cursed or blessed by the forces of either (including Warlocks and Apostles). Weapons of this nature inflict aggravated damage on Fallen.
The Master Passion of the Fallen is a result of their torment in The Pit, and differs from Fallen to Fallen.

Fallen Starting Powers
--Core Discipline: Revelation--
Overawe
Captivate
--Basic Powers--
Aura Perception (Basic Discernment)
Revive the Flesh (Basic Fortitude)
--Advanced Powers--
Flight (Devotion)
Revelatory Form (Advanced Revelation)
Faith Reaping (Advanced Revelation)
Distinctive Flaw: Prideful

The Houses of the Fallen
After the Fall uses After Sundown, but does not take place in the same setting as AS. It has its own setting, with its own worlds, and Fallen do not join Cults. Instead, they belong to Houses, which grant two Basic Powers to fill out the standard template, as well as a Basic and Advance power from one Discipline or Sorcery, in place of those which an In Media Res character would gain from being a member of a cult.
In addition, all Fallen receive the Flight devotion in place of the personal Advanced power an IMR character would receive in After Sundown.
When the Elohim were created, God ordered them into the choirs, tiers of power and might, with the highest of the high, the Seraphim, serving God directly, tending to his throne and singing praises unending, and the lowest of the choirs, the "plain angels," tending to base creation.
The fall was explicitly antimonarchist, and the Fallen rejected the Heavenly hierarchy, but the divisions ordered by God were not just hierarchical, also dividing the powers and concerns of the Elohim. Thus, while the Fallen are very anarchic, and eschew such ideas of tiered superiority (among themselves, that is), the Angelic Choirs became the Fallen Houses, each tied to a different portfolio.

Sarafti
The Burnt

The Seraphim were the highest of the high, Elohim of living flame with six wings, and from this they were named The Burning Ones (Serapim in Hebrew). They existed to tend to God's Heavenly throne, and to sing him praises.
Those Seraphim who fell in Lucifer's Revolt became the Sarafti, the Burnt, their forms transformed from living fire to smoldering coals. They command flame and rhetoric.

House Powers
Command (Basic Authority)
Attract (Basic Magnetism)
Hand of Flame (Basic Walk of Fire)
Fire Starter (Advanced Walk of Fire)

Arurim
The Accursed

The Cherubim were as God's footmen, guarding his holy spaces, such as Eden, and transporting his throne. They are named for their blessed and blessing nature. They had two pairs of wings covered in eyes, and four heads (a man, a bull, a lion and an eagle), and feet of polished bronze.
Cherubim who fell became the Arurim, the Accursed. Their wings became horrific things, and their many heads fused into strange amalgamations of human and beast. Their polished bronze feet twisted into blackened wrought iron. Where the Cherubim protect and transport, the Arurim infiltrate and destroy.

House Powers
Hide From Notice (Basic Veil)
Clinging (Basic Clout)
Poison Heart (Basic Names of the Blasphemies)
Bind the Name (Advanced Names of the Blasphemies)

Mitganedi
The Defiant

The Dominions were celestial managers, holding authority over the lower levels and directing their actions on Earth. They are perhaps the most iconic of the Elohim, appearing as beautiful, perfect humans, and their authority is symbolized by wings of gleaming metal.
The Fallen Dominions became the Mitganedi, defying authority rather than wielding it. They are not, necessarily ugly, though some are, but all Mitganedi are inhuman and terrifying in one way or another.

House Powers
Repel (Basic Magnetism)
Suggestion (Basic Authority)
Pain Drops (Basic Depths of Despair)
Dark Night of the Soul (Advanced Depths of Despair)

Mechabbeli
The Saboteurs

Below the Dominions were the Virtues. They made signs and omens, conveying the promises of God to man. The bodies of Virtues were as perfect humans in form, but their skin is etched in angelic runes and signs.
Fallen Powers became the Mechabbeli, and where Virtues order omens and signs, Mechabbeli sabotage those heavenly events. Their forms are still perfect, but the runes that once spelled promises and covenants, now speak profane utterances and taunts.

House Powers
Quickness (Basic Celerity)
Curse of Failure (Basic Depths of Despair)
Eyes of the Night (Basic Play of Shadows)
Solid Darkness (Advanced Play of Shadows)

Heresi
The Ravagers

The last of the second tier of choirs were the Powers. They supervise the movements of heavenly bodies, the stars and planets. Their bodes are swathed in the heavens, stars and planets shining on the surface.
Powers that fell in Lucifer's Revolt became the Heresi, the Ravagers. Their bodies still show the heavens, but whereas Powers' forms show the beauty of the Heavens, the forms of the Ravagers show the Heavens' terrors-- black holes, burning suns, icy comets, and so on.

House Powers
Patience of the Mountains (Basic Fortitude)
Mesmerism (Basic Authority)
Enchanted Slumber (Basic Sands of Morpheus)
Horrid Reality (Advanced Sands of Morpheus)

Siyumi
The Enders

The second to lowest choir of Elohim were the Principalities, or the Ancient, or the Beginners. They guided and protected nations and peoples on Earth, serving as stern custodians of humanity. They appear as winged exemplars in gleaming armor, bearing weapons and restraints.
Fallen Principalities became the Siyumi, the Enders. Where Principalities shepherded nations, Siyumi prey upon them as wolves upon the flock. They still exemplify perfect human form, but their armor is grim, their weapons wicked, and their restraints have turned to bonds.

House Powers
Curse of Failure (Basic Depths of Despair)
Touch of Darkness (Lure of Destruction)
Light of Ennui (Advanced Descent of Entropy)
Aura of Decay (Advanced Descent of Entropy)

Shikuhei
The Silencers

The lowest choir of Elohim were the angels, the messengers of God. They appeared to people personally to speak God's word to them, to make promise and demand. They appear as humans, but perfect of form, and with powerful wings.
Angels who fell became the Shikuhei, the Silencers. Where angels carry the word of God, the Silencers hold the power to erase or deny that word. Their forms are the least changed of all the Fallen, though their perfect faces are twisted and wicked.

House Powers
Missing Voice (Basic Song of Silence)
Silent Toll (Basic Song of Silence)
Angels were less locked into a set of powers than other, more dedicated-to-a-purpose choirs. As such, Shikuhei chose their remaining two Basic Powers as they wish.
Last edited by Prak on Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Post by Pariah Dog »

Well on a tangentially related note. Spoilers for anyone that gives a shit about the show.
It finally ends after the idiot stops and he does reveal he is indeed the Devil. Show cancels on that note, except for the "What If" bonus episode.
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Post by Prak »

Haven't seen the bonus episode, but I was glad they fucking paid off the patience of viewers with that climax
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Post by Pariah Dog »

It airs in about 10 minutes, probably catch it tomorrow after I get up before work.

Also they didn't expect the show to be cancelled but it was probably the best finale for it.
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Post by Prak »

Oh, hey, and if anyone knows Hebrew and wants to tell me how badly I fucked the Hebrew up for the names of the Fallen houses, and how they should be correctly named, I will graciously take the help.

The World of After the Fall
After the Fall takes place in a world similar to our own, save that the protagonists know for absolute fact that the world was created by divine hands. The easiest way to reconcile this divine creation with the world as we know it is to steal the idea of layers of reality from Demon the Fallen. It's a good idea. It's a shame Demon the Fallen seemed intent on doing absolutely nothing with it.

So, on one layer of reality, Adam and Eve were created whole as the first humans, and dwelt in Eden until their temptation and subsequent exile. On another layer, humans evolved, in accordance with our current scientific understanding. For sake of simplicity, Eden was a singular location, it alone was fully formed, protected from the primal Earth as it developed "naturally." The exile of Adam and Eve from Eden coincides with the evolution of the earliest hominids, and the severance of the primary Divine Layer from the Earth.
Following the Exile, Lucifer and his rebels guided the cultural evolution of humans. While the Divine Layer was closed to humans and the Fallen, reality still has multiple layers, and on one layer, early hominids discovered tools, and made shelters and slowly developed clothing and cosmetics and sciences and on another layer, the Fallen taught Adam and Eve and their descendants these things. On one layer, early man strove against beasts and natural disaster, clawing their continued existence and their civilizations directly from the hard earth itself, and on another layer, humans fought under Fallen banners against the would-be slave catcher Elohim of Heaven.

Ultimately, Lucifer's revolt was broken. The Fallen were cast from this world into the Pit and all their earthly works, and the works of the humans who fought alongside, were covered over to be forgotten by man, consigned to the realm of myth. Another layer of reality was excised from human reach.

In the fullness of time, five more layers would be sealed away from mankind, resulting in the world we know of, where dragons and great sea serpents are myth, and the events of human religion are seen, at best, as mythologized gloss over historical events.

The Seven Seals
The Book of Revelations in the Bible is best understood as a mythologized/propagandized account of events current to the time of its writing. There are at least four or five different academic views of the text, everything from historical to futuristic to idealist views. Interrogating the Book of Revelations from a religious standpoint, or even a mythological standpoint, is heavily rooted in your personal beliefs, both in general, and your beliefs in what the Bible is.

Which I take as full license to do with it as I fucking will.

So, in the world of After the Fall, seven layers of reality were sealed away from human reach and understanding. These are the seven seals spoken of in Revelations. At the time of play, several seals have already been broken, but not all. At the very least, the last seal has remained intact, to be broken by heavenly forces when it is time to rejoin the Divine Realm to the firmament of Earth. At this exact moment, I am not inclined to figure out what all those seals correspond to precisely, and it's not exactly important. All that really matters is that the first seal made locked Heaven from Earth, and it is the last seal unbroken.

More Things In Heaven and Earth...
After Sundown takes from a very broad pool with its supernaturals. In contrast, After the Fall is primary focused on Abrahamic religious sources. This means that while there is a great variety of individual supernatural things, they fall into a comparative few categories. And instead of each of those types having the same number of subdivisions, and those subdivisions necessarily being tied to power sources, the supertypes are tied to the components of man hypothized in the tripartite view in Christian theology--Body, Mind and Spirit--based on which of the three components has been altered, removed, or obtained externally.
While the basic point of this game is to play demons seeking a return to former glory, it's entirely understandable that some players might be interested in playing non-demons, and a lot of stories that deal with demons on Earth also deal with witches, vampires, and fae, indeed a lot of traditions hold that witches and the undead come from demonic activity, and fae were the angels who took no side in Heaven's war. So too, the Bible and a lot of similar religious texts make reference to various inhuman monstrous beasts--leviathan, manticores, dragons, and so on.

The Playable Types
The Fallen
'tis better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven

Demons are alluring. Regardless of what background you look at them from, they're cool. They look fucking metal, they indulge in all those things your priest tells you are wrong, they fought a tyrannical king, and they claimed their freedom. And then they were defeated and cast out into a realm of seclusion, and tormented by their isolation. They are the ancient veteran who remembers both glorious deeds and horrible crimes committed as they pursued a cause they were certain was just, bearing the scars of that conflict. Some remain convinced the war was the right thing to do, some regret it and wish they could undo what they did. All seek a return to glory, whether as free being, or a servant of their creator.
At the start of the game, Fallen are much removed from the power they wielded before the proper dawn of time. With great effort, they can grow in power, reclaiming that of their past, or learning power anew.
The Fallen in their original form are beings of Spirit and Soul, but without Body. To return to Earth, a Fallen must obtain a human body, most frequently through possession of the spiritually dead.
Examples: Lucifer. No fallen angel has received as much attention as the one who started the fall. He's so famous that games that don't even have the christian God or Satan draw on myths and stories of him for their greatest evil.

The Risen
When you’re undead, the emphasis is on the second syllable.

The Risen are humans who have had their souls removed or altered in some way so as to be no longer human. The most notable of kinds is the Undead, from which their name primarily comes, but those humans who have transformed their souls without dying in the process fall under this category as well. This loss of a human soul has great, far reaching consequences in the cosmology of After the Fall, not the least of which being the denial of entrance to Heaven. Though some people don't care about that sort of thing, and, though some might argue, there are worse things than an eternity on Earth.
While the return of the Fallen to Earth is relatively recent at game start, the Risen started to come about eons ago, and some are truly ancient. There are very few true societies of Risen, and those that come closest are more like gangs or academic circles than true societies
Examples: Dracula, specifically the version from Francis Ford Coppola's '92 movie, in which the Count renounced God, cursing him and destroying holy symbols, to be "cursed" with vampirism.

Witches
A Witch is born out of the true hungers of her time

Whereas Fallen have acquired bodies that are alien to them, and Risen have lost or altered their souls, witches have had their spirits altered to be able to work magic. This alteration is almost always external, and typically part of some exchange or bargain (or covenant...), but occasionally, the altered spirit is inherited, and the person who made the deal is generations past. So far as the Church is concerned, all witches are evil, but while witches who learn their magic from Fallen are the most well-known, there are witches who gain their magic from dealings with the Fae, and even those who have been given the power by Heaven, though these latter witches are typically called "miracle-workers" or "Chakam.
Humans seek magic for a great variety of reasons, some wish to master their surroundings, others to help their fellows, and others simply out of curiosity. Others still didn't even seek it, and were simply given the knowledge as payment for a service or great faith, or were selected as a pawn in another's plans.

Witches are those people who have been given magical power, most often by an external source. Typically, that source is a Fallen, but Heaven and the Fae have been known to grant mortals magical power as well. So far as the forces of Heaven are concerned, all witches are evil, as witches go against (their understanding of) God's plan. This is not to say that there are not "witches" who gain their power from Heaven, there are. It's just that when a priest or a nun heals the sick, the Church calls it a miracle, not magic. Because this is a roleplaying game, Witches are just as powerful, in an immediate sense, as Fallen, it's just that, Fallen ostensibly have a higher upper limit to their power.
All magical power comes from one of three sources- the Fallen, the Fae, or Heaven. That does not mean, however, that every single witch has had dealings with one of those three powers, some witches learn their magic as part of a family tradition, and the person who struck the original deal is ten generations past.
Witches
Examples: King Solomon, the man given the knowledge of subduing demons by God in order to save a child, and who then used that knowledge to ensnare 72 demons to do great works for him to glorify God. And also bring him knowledge and treasure.

The Unplayable Types
Elohim
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

The servants of God were created not in his image as man was, and are beings of only spirit. They have no soul, and no body. Many call the Elohim angels, but that's sort of like calling all soldiers "private." It's a rank, not a descriptor of the entire kind.
Angels have no body, and so when they visit Earth, they are incorporeal, unless they have been given a body for a specific task. This body can be revoked at any time if the elohim's superiors feel it is being misused, but elohim tend to pursue their tasks with single-minded purpose. It is, in fact, almost impossible for an elohim to intentionally act out of order, though it's entirely possible for one to misstep in their pursuit of their task, and thus be punished by either immediate recall, or immediate exile. An elohim who has mis-stepped such that they have been exiled from Heaven will usually gain greater agency, but they also begin lose their body. They can either possess a new one, as a Fallen would, which will sustain itself on its own, or they can use faith to sustain their granted body (assuming it was not revoked). An elohim who has been exiled this way could be playable, but in most ways they would be a Fallen, just with a different origin.

Beasts
Here there be dragons

In older eras, where more Layers of Reality were connected, there were so many creatures that today are known only as myth. Dragons, sphinxes manticores and more can all be found in the myriad layers, some sealed away, others able, but hesitant, to touch the Fundament once more. These creatures may become pets to demons, familiars to witches, or opposition to anyone.

The Fae
'tis not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church-door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve.

Lucifer's Revolt is said to have accounted for a third of the angels. Another third, however, were undecided. They had not faith in Heaven, but were not quite swayed by Lucifer, and so, instead of being cast into the Pit, they were merely cast from Heaven, to live on the Earth among the humans who could not remember the war.
They dwell in Arcadia, a layer of reality a step removed from Earth. It is primarily accessible through Faerie Rings, naturally occurring rings of mushrooms, dead or darkly colored or particularly lush grass, or through stone circles, especially those which occurred through natural happenstance. Fae are enamored of humans, but indifferent to their concerns, much as a child who finds ants fascinating does not particularly care what they feel, or that they need their fellows, and that a jar with a leaf is not sufficient.
Examples: Oberon, Puck, the Saidhe
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Post by Shrapnel »

So, what about aliens? How do races from other worlds interact with the divine? Do they have their own gods that made their worlds (a la Primus) or is Earth unique in having divine beings?

Or is that beyond the scope of the game?
Last edited by Shrapnel on Thu May 31, 2018 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Prak »

That would be beyond the scope of this game, much as it is in AS.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Post by Prak »

The Scars of Torment

All Fallen have spent untold eons in the Pit, cut off from all but the dullest murmurs of the world and the people they rebelled for. The results of this torment were different for different demons. Some grew fearful, others turned to despair. Some demons grew resentful and angry, while others turned to an urge to literally consume anything they could, in the hopes they could grow powerful enough to escape their torment, and punish those who put them there.

Mechanically, this torment is represented by Master Passions, and, as usual, the player of a Fallen may choose the specific Passion their character suffers (Despair, Loneliness and Rage are the most common, Greed and Fear being slightly less common, and Hunger being particularly rare, and mostly unfitting for Fallen). The Fallen seek to cure themselves of this torment as a part of their return to glory, and rumors abound of mystical means by which a demon can overcome their pain, becoming once again the glorious being they were before the Fall, and those who become truly desperate to avoid their pain may turn to mortal narcotics such as opium, cocaine, or alcohol. It seems odd to consider a former angelic being succumbing to such base toxins, but the human bodies the Fallen possess render them susceptible.

In truth, the only permanent respite from the pain of torment is full obliteration. Like any emotional scar, the torment of the Pit can only be coped with, not cured. While personal strength can be of great benefit, this being represented by the skills that a player adds to their Willpower test to resist frenzy, the best shield against the effects of torment is a good support network. When a character's Master Passion Frenzy is triggered, those around them may attempt to help them resist their Frenzy, usually through trying to comfort them, or promise to help them. Characters who wish to aid another in resisting a Frenzy roll either Willpower + Empathy or Charisma + Expression against a threshold equal to that of the Frenzy. Any net hits of the assisting character's roll may then be added as additional dice for the potentially Frenzying character's Willpower test. If the character then fails their test, however, the would be comforter has only succeeded in drawing their focus.

There is one other way in which a character's companions can help them resist a Frenzy, though it only works for Despair, Fear, Loneliness and Rage Passions. A companion can remind the potential Frenzier of a specific previous event in the Chronicle where the subject character made an amazing success, fought off a threat, was backed up by the companion, or a perceived threat turned out to be harmless (respectively), and spend an Edge point on behalf of the character who is attempting to resist a Frenzy, giving them the normal benefits of spending Edge during a test.

Finally, this same support network helps supernatural beings resist the stress of existing in mortal society and hiding their nature. For each person that knows their true nature and they can confide in on a regular basis (so, other player characters, pactbonds for Fallen, but not npc contacts or employers, or supernatural characters they know but are not close friends with), the threshold for monthly Frenzy tests is reduced by 1. For example, a Fallen with only a single pactbond and no companions subtracts 1 from the threshold for resisting Frenzy each month. In the first month, a single hit is sufficient for resisting Frenzy, in the second, two, and so on. A character who is part of a four person party, who has two pactbonds, however, subtracts six from such thresholds, meaning that for the first half a year they live in mortal society, a single hit is sufficient to hold off Frenzy.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Prak
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Post by Prak »

The Risen
Every Risen was at one time human. And then something happened to alter their very soul. One very common way for the human soul to be irrevocably changed is to die. Usually, this results in the soul leaving the body and rising to Heaven, or descending into the Pit.
However, sometimes something happens that prevents that-- the soul is bound to the body and the person dies before the soul can be unbound, or the person is excommunicated, and the soul shrivels and rots within while the person is still alive. Or the soul is just afflicted by some terrible magic. However, not every risen is the result of an attack on someone's soul-- the revenant is a wandering corpse that rises from the grave in pursuit of vengeance, as an example.
Risen take aggravated damage from Silver, have a Feeding or Ritual Power Schedule, and their typical Master Passion is Hunger or Rage.

Risen Starting Powers
--Core Discipline: Fortitude--
Revive the Flesh
Patience of the Mountains
--Basic Powers--
Sensory Damper
Aura Perception
--Advanced Powers--
Restoration

The Natures of the Risen
Risen embody a large number of concepts, from merely reanimated humans, such as revenants, to humans altered by fae meddling, to restless spirits. As such, the above represent the basic Risen package. Beyond that, each risen may be quite different from its fellows. At character creation, choose one of the following packages, or work with your MC to create another fitting your concept.

Changelings
Changelings are humans abducted from their cribs by fae, a log, or an old fae, or some other decoy left in their place. The abducted infants are then raised by the fae, where they are twisted by the energies of the fae realm, and their souls are altered by a diet of fae food. Changelings have a Ritual Power Schedule, needing to perform some queer, and likely impossible for humans, activity over and over.

Changeling Powers
Mesmerism (Basic Authority)
Nimble Feet (Basic Celerity)
Hide From Notice (Basic Veil)
Changelings also select 1 more Basic, 2 more Advanced, and 1 more Basic or Advanced power, of their choice
Distinctive Flaw: Flake

Ghosts
A ghost is the soul of a deceased person who, for whatever reason, has not moved on. Perhaps they have unfinished business. Maybe they were rejected by both Heaven and Hell. Maybe they were a medium who astrally projected, and whose body died while their soul was out of it. They may have been condemned for sins not greivous enough for eternal torment, and now must beg the living for prayers on their behalf, or serve as an example (though such ghosts probably do not make for very good PCs). Ghosts have a Ritual Power Schedule, recharging their eldritch energies by repetition of a meaningful task or memory from life.

Ghost Powers
Shadow Casting (Basic Play of Shadows)
Learn the Heart's Pain (Basic Names of the Blasphemies)
Empty Body (Devotion, fills two advanced slots, so it can be turned on and off)
Ghosts also gain 2 more Basic, and 1 more Basic or Advanced power, of their choice.
Distinctive Flaw: Eerie Presence

Ghouls
There exists a strange supernatural virus that mutates a person's body and soul, binding them together into a single entity, bleaching their skin and hair, and causing them to crave the flesh of the living, particularly the brains. Ghouls are incredibly resilient, can manifest great strength, and receive the memories of the people whose brains they eat. They have a Feeding Power Schedule.

Ghoul Powers
Thaumaturgical Forensics (Basic Path of Blood)
Abyss of the Body (Basic Descent of Entropy, Zombie Virus)
Vigor (Basic Clout)
Indomitability (Advanced Fortitude)
Ghouls also select 1 more Basic, 1 more Advanced, and 1 more Basic or Advanced power, of their choice
Distinctive Flaw: Tempermental

Lich
A lich as a person who has undergone profane ritual to bind their soul to Earth in a small, protective receptical-- a clay jar, a metal box, a reliquary, or the like. Their bodies are twisted, preserved in a semi-cadaverous state, branded, or otherwise distinctive, and they are known for their magical abilities. Liches have a Ritual Power Schedule, and must be in contact with their soul jar to regain their power.

Lich Powers
Indomitability (Advanced Fortitude)
A Lich also gains 4 Basic, 2 Advanced, and 1 Basic or Advanced powers of their choice.
Distinctive Flaw: Conspicuous Consumption, Blatantly Magical, or Distinctive Appearance

Revenants
Revenants are humans who were murdered, and whose souls seek revenge for this crime so strongly they refuse to leave the mortal realm, instead binding themselves to their bodies, reanimating them to hunt their killer. However, sometimes the murderer is killed by outside interference, or the spirit's justice is otherwise deferred, and they are stuck walking the Earth. Revenants have a Ritual Power Schedule, and must obsess over their murder to regain their power.

Revenant Powers
Touch of Darkness (Basic Lure of Destruction)
Summon Spirit (Basic Necromancy)
Thaumaturgical Forensics (Basic Path of Blood)
Vigor (Basic Clout)
Devastation (Advanced Clout)
Revenants also gain 2 more Advanced, and 1 more Basic or Advanced power of their choice
Distinctive Flaw: Tempermental

Vampires
The traditional means of becoming a vampire is to be drained by a vampire. But mythology and folk lore speak of a great many ways- the souls of the excommunicated, the unbaptized, those who do not receive proper burial rites, any of these people might rise as a vampire after death. Others may simply be the result of a curse, Infernal or Divine, while others may have turned themselves into vampires through blasphemous and apostatic rituals. Vampires have a Feeding power schedule.

Vampire Powers
Vigor (Basic Clout)
Gift of Health (Basic Path of Blood)
Vampires also gain 2 more Basic, 1 more Advanced, and 1 more Basic or Advanced power, of their choice.
Distinctive Flaw: Offensive to Animals

DIY Risen
If you would rather not play one of the above types of Risen, you may make your own. All Risen have the 5 standard powers described under Risen Starting Powers. With those powers, the character should have another 4 Basic Powers, 3 another Advanced, and one more power that may be Basic or Advanced, for a total of 8 Basic powers, 4 Advanced powers, and one other that is either. Risen should have a Ritual or Feeding Power Schedule, but with MC Permission, a Lunar or Solar Power Schedule is not out of the question for the right concept.
Last edited by Prak on Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:32 am, edited 3 times in total.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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Prak
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Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Prak »

Witches
A witch is a person who has petitioned unearthly powers for magic, and won them, either through trickery, obeisance, or bargaining. While the most famous accounts of witches gaining powers are the medieval wank fics of cloistered monks, describing truly bizarre scenes of perverse sexual acts that these days just sound like a busy but fulfilling Friday night, there are also tales of wisemen granted command of demons by God, faithful priests able to heal the sick with a touch, and the lovers of faeries who return hale and hearty and possessed of queer powers.
Witches have a Ritual power source, take aggravated damage from Iron, and typically have a Master Passion of Greed.

Witch Starting Powers
--Core Discipline: Magnetism--
Attract
Repel
--Basic Powers--
Aura Perception (Basic Discernment)
Hide from Notice (Basic Veil)
2 more selected from Craft sorceries
--Advanced Powers--
2 Selected from Craft Sorceries, or Devotions.
--Additional Powers--
2 personal Basic Powers, generally Universal Powers or Craft Sorceries
1 personal Basic or Advanced Power, generally a Universal or Craft Sorcery.

The Crafts of Witches
Outside of the Coterie of the Fallen, the nearest thing to established societies among the supernatural of After the Fall are the crafts of witches. While witchcraft is a power granted by an unearthly power, it is frequently obtained through the aid of a fellowship that grew out of the earliest petitioners who sought a particular kind of art. Each Craft has two or three signature sorceries, and a distinctive flaw, and they can serve as hooks for adventures.

Goetic Arts
While witches have probably existed nearly as long as humans, one of the oldest we specifically have any kind of real account of is perhaps King Solomon, who was granted command of demons by God that he might save a youth, and then used this power to bind a further 72 demons and command them to build a temple. The witches who follow the craft of Solomon consider themselves holy miracle workers, and are loathe to work with anyone outside the craft, though coercing those outside the craft is perfectly acceptable to them.
Witches of the Goetic Arts practice the Names of the Blasphemies, Necromancy and Path of Blood sorceries, and their Distinctive Flaw is Prideful.
Faith Healers
There is no shortage of men who will sell you a quick healing in a hastily raised tent under a sweltering sun in After the Fall. These men are most commonly Goetic Art witches, but any witch who has spent a personal basic power on a Fortitude power, such as Revive the Flesh, may also take the Devotion Cleanse the Body, allowing them to spend Power Points to heal others. Goetic Art witches of a less than goodhearted bent, however, might select the power Gift of Vitae instead of the aforementioned devotion, making their healing addictive and ensuring those who sought healing will do so again.
Faoladh
The Faoladh are a craft of shapeshifters who gain their power from fae bargains, and see themselves as guardians of the innocent and infirm. They are not entirely benign, and are known to steal livestock, but a community that is under the protection of a faoladh generally agrees that the occasional loss of a cow or sheep is a very worthwhile price to pay to make sure their children and wounded sons return home safely at nightly.
Witches of the Faoladh practice the Call of the Wild and Play of Shadows, and their Distinctive Flaw is Offensive to Animals

Sabbatical
In After the Fall, while the accounts written by medieval monks are specious at best, there is truth to the idea of witches gaining power from demons at black sabbats. Instead of deviant sexual acts and worship, however, the Sabbatical witches are tutored by their demonic mentors at these sabbats, which have much more in common with weekend academic conferences than orgies, wherever they may take place.
Sabbatical Witches practice the Coil of Thorns, and the distinctive Sorcery of the house of their mentor-- Walk of Flame for Sarafti, Names of the Blasphemies for Arurim, Depths of Despair for Mitganedi, Play of Shadows for Mechabbeli, Sands of Morpheus for Heresi, Descent of Entropy for Siyumi, or Symphony of Silence for Shikuhei.
The Distinctive Flaw of Sabbatical Witches is Distinctive Appearance, as they bear some manner of mark granted by their mentor demon.

Gazing
The Gazing craft is somewhat unlike other witchcrafts. While other Witches seek a specific entity, even if they are unconcerned about the particular identity of said entity, those who practice the craft of Gazing have been given their power by an entity they could not name if they tried, at least not in any manner intelligible to others. The witches of the Gazing Craft have looked deeply where even angels and demons are not meant to look, and caught the attention of some unknowable thing in the abyss of the dark or the unfocused depths of reflection.
The Gazing Craft involves practice of Progress of Glass, Lure of Destruction, and Song of Swarms, and the Distinctive Flaw of Gazing Witches is Blatantly Magical, as every witch of the Gazing Craft has some manner of permanent alteration to their eyes-- they might have a silver, mirror-like appearance, pure black, or entirely missing. Whatever the manner of body horror, it is permanent, obviously unnatural, and does not hinder their actual ability to see.

Lilith
The Craft of Lilith is widely regarded as one of the most ancient crafts, taught to human women by Adam's first wife, the willful Lilith, made from earth and divine breath, and exiled from Eden for demanding respect as Adam's equal. Between her exile and that of Adam and Eve, Lilith dwelt among demons and monsters, giving birth to horrors who would prey upon the children of Man. Lilith's craft is almost a pure sisterhood, but only because few men seek it out. There is no official prohibition on male practitioners, provider the petitioner show proper respect.
The Craft of Lilith practices Chasing the Storm, Lure of Destruction, and Call of the Wild, and their Distinctive Flaw is Haunted, as the restless spirits of the children of men slain by Lilith's progeny pursue the witch unceasingly.
Last edited by Prak on Sat Jun 02, 2018 11:33 am, edited 2 times in total.
Cuz apparently I gotta break this down for you dense motherfuckers- I'm trans feminine nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.
Winnah wrote:No, No. 'Prak' is actually a Thri Kreen impersonating a human and roleplaying himself as a D&D character. All hail our hidden insect overlords.
FrankTrollman wrote:In Soviet Russia, cosmic horror is the default state.

You should gain sanity for finding out that the problems of a region are because there are fucking monsters there.
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