Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
I beseech thee, O Principles,
Sing thee now of truth
And let me be thy avatar and vessel
That with vision beyond mortal eye
And mine own sight divine
Thy prison be revealed.
You, listener!
Know now of darkness,
The night which is without beginning or end
Whence all come, to which all proceed
And draw back the inner eye, reveal
The sphere of light which confines the dark
Though it persists.
Know now of light, which cannot be seen
For it blinds mortal eyes
And troubles mine own sight divine.
This light is Pride, First Circle here;
The sun of which the sun men know
Is but a pale shadow cast
Upon empty, paltry heavens.
Witness now the palaces and balconies,
And shining devas of might and beauty
Who light the heart of this realm.
Know now of night, which is felt,
Velvet and woven of sleep,
And is ever where light is not;
The Second Circle, Sloth,
Primal and serene where walk
Those devas of nightmare and of dreams.
A shadow cast, and thou art blind
Unless they feel mercy for mortal eyes
Or spite of sight divine,
And wander here forever.
Know now of fire, and of stone,
Of crackling storm and heat,
Where roam beasts of rage and flame
And all Circles meet.
The Third Circle, which is Wrath
And walked in mighty tread
By hooves of basalt, blood of iron
And swept by gaze which sears the flesh
Whether mortal eye, or sight divine.
These devas are vengeance, and thou hath sinned.
Know now of ice, and of tears
The bitter chill and loathsome sting,
Stalked by shadows from the deep,
Hunted by silent wings.
Fourth Circle; Envy,
Salt and sea and crippling cold.
Words of venom,
Palaces but temporary
That taunt and fade
Before mortal eye, or sight divine.
Know now of flesh, and hunger
And all indulgences and deprivation.
All pleasures and pains
And their meeting-place.
Fifth Circle, that of Lust
Which wanders as it please
Bound not by place or form
Nor taboo nor law.
To mortal eye or sight divine
It revels in perversity.
Know now of glass and steel,
All things made one, and none
The crash of iron, the choking smog,
Devices which devour.
Greed, Sixth Circle,
Covetous of jewels
Of mortal eye or sight divine
Of hope or love
That they be made to obey
The order of cog and gear.
Know, then, of Pandemonium
Of the Demon City!
How beautiful in aspect, how vast in scope.
It is forever under the sun, forever
Beyond thy vision.
It is without end, though it begins
At the Spire 'round which revolves
The Palace and Prison wherein they wait.
Beyond this vision, draw back
The inner eye, and see
We return to but a sphere of light,
In darkness it recedes, that night
From whence all come, to which all proceed.
The heart of Hell is Pandemonium. Wherever you go across the myriad realms of Hell, the Ur-City is in the distance. It is always at the centre.
Pandemonium is city and reflection of cities. It is every structure raised and torn down, it is every material and style. It is endless. To go anywhere in Pandemonium, one need only know of the place, and walk. The path is fixed, after the first time, but time and space are more suggestions than rules. To walk without direction is to wander eternally down these glorious streets.
And they are glorious. From the hard-edged and crystalline perfection of Raw Pandemonium, to the brassy streets of Little Wroth or airy silks of Bitterhallow, everything is beauty and wonder. An intensity such that it destroys most mortals - but not all. Mortal slaves are hauled through the streets by soul-traders while mortal Citizens watch from parade floats. Mortal Magi host parties in the streets and Vampires lurk in the alleys. In Pandemonium, the power to maintain one's freedom is respected, whence-ever it might proceed.
At the heart of the Demon City is the miles-tall Spire of Perfection, surrounded by the great arena.
Above the spire is Hell's sun, the Circle of Pride - but this is an illusion. Pride perceives itself thus and so do most others, in Hell. Within the Spire is the Temple of the Principles; the terrible progenitors of Demonkind who dwell in the Palace Infernal. The Palace appears to orbit the Spire, giving Hell a passage of time and semblance of season.
Beyond the edges of the Ur-City, Hell is a hollow sphere. Pride at the seeming-centre, Wrath forming bedrock and landmass, Envy for the seas, Sloth in every darkened corner. Greed's vast rust-deserts and factory-temples stud the surface, and Lust's squamous form crushes the unwary as it roams the plains, spawning parasite-kingdoms and fortress-beasts.
You are a Count of Hell; ruling a patch of land within a Circle, your power outstripped only by your ambition and that of those you would usurp. You command troops and spies and slaves. You run infernal industries and trade souls like coin. You war against your neighbours, kill traitorous underlings at their rest, and plot the murder of your immediate superior. You must, or you will die; consigned to the endless darkness like all of Hell's most pitiful failures.
So strive! Exult! Prove that you have the mettle to reign in Hell.
Find the forum here.
Flavour
Example Characters
I will take a minimum of six players, all Counts, each of a different Circle.
This minimum has been filled, so you may now pick any Circle, or play as a subordinate of an existing player.
Please offer a concept and call your Circle, or preferred Circles.
Pride
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Lust
Greed
Once these spaces are filled, I will accept applications for more Counts of duplicate Circles, OR characters in service to an existing player Count.
This will use Crucible, as a system. No prior knowledge is required and I will gladly teach anyone interested in joining.
Character death is a strong possibility.
Please ask any and all questions which may come to mind.
Your Demons start at Resonance 4, as Counts.
That means they have four signature Powers, and all four of their Circle Blasphemies.
72 XP for Attributes. Circle Attributes cost 0/0/3/6/9/12, regular Attributes cost 0/3/6/9/12
66XP for Skills. Circle Skills are 1/0/1/2/3/6.
Out of Circle Skills are priced as standard at 2/1/2/3/6/9
Pride & Wrath Demons receive 2 dice from Training.
Sloth & Greed Demons receive 2 dice from Knowledge.
Lust & Envy Demons receive 2 dice from Familiarity.
Circle Attributes
Pride: Bearing and Dexterity
Sloth: Intellect and Guile
Wrath: Strength and Fitness
Greed: Intellect and Composure
Lust: Fitness and Guile
Envy: Guile and Intuition
Circle Skills
Pride - Melee, Athletics, Persuasion, Defense, Perform, Artisan
Sloth - Subterfuge, Lore, Academics, Empathy, Stealth, Investigation
Wrath - Unarmed, Athletics, Craft, Survival, Awareness, Animal Handling
Envy - Subterfuge, Mingling, Persuasion, Ranged, Stealth, Craft
Lust - Athletics, Mingling, Medicine, Animal Handling, Perform, Empathy
Greed - Ranged, Craft, Artisan, Lore, Investigation, Academics, Defense
Signature Powers
Demons possess unique powers which express their personal theme and legend. You're free to come up with your own, but they should be thematically in-keeping with your Circle and concept. I'll handle the mechanics. You get 1 Signature Power per Resonance.
Blasphemies
Pride:
Excellence – Spend 5 Essence to add Training specific to any weapon when you pick that weapon up. If you already have Training for that weapon, spend 2 Essence per die to reroll failed dice up to your Resonance when using that weapon.
Brilliance – Spend 5 Essence to add a bonus die, up to your Resonance to rolls with a weapon in which you have Training.
Dominance – Spend 10 Essence per die to convert Bearing dice to automatic successes
Blinding – Spend 2 Essence to apply +1 difficulty to enemy efforts to hit you, up to your Bearing. Spend 5 to deal Condition damage equal to your Bearing in searing radiance to anyone within your Bearing x2 in feet, damage decreasing by 1 the further from you they are.
Sloth
Hallucination – Inflict Hallucinations on enemies, 5 Essence per internal penalty applied
Telekinesis – Manipulate objects with your mind with an effective Strength equal to your Resonance. 1 Essence per use/per turn to maintain. 5 to strike a telekinetic blow.
Telepathy – Read minds or communicate with them by rolling Intuition + Resonance against the target’s Willpower; spend 5 Essence per die to convert them to successes
Teleportation – 5 Feet per Resonance, any direction, no line of sight. 5 Essence per Resonance increment traveled
Wrath:
Resurgence – Regenerate (Resonance) Condition per turn. 5 Essence per point
Rage – Boost Physical Attributes by (Resonance) for two turns. Can be divided between multiple Attributes, 10 Essence per use.
Retribution - On taking a hit, spend 5 Essence to deal a fiery burst of damage equal to the severity of the wound to anyone within three feet of the wound.
Steelburn – Conjure fire and molten steel, Taint by GM discretion
Envy:
Venom – Blood can be converted to supernatural venom, 2 Points of effect per Resonance, 5 Essence per point, or 2 Essence and spend a point of Health.
Spite – When anyone beats your roll, they suffer an Attribute penalty equal to your Resonance, 10 Essence.
Curse - Apply external penalties equal to your Resonance to specific person in a chosen Skill. 5 Essence per penalty. Spend 5 Essence each hour the Curse is maintained.
Tearstorm – Project spikes of ice and icy water, 2 Essence for each expected 5 Damage capped by Resonance
Lust:
Mutation – Make physical adjustments to your own body. 2 Essence per point value of the mutation - see page xx for examples, The mutations last until dismissed.
Progeny – Create temporary symbiotic or parasitic servitors. Spend Essence equal to the Condition of the creature. They survive a number of hours equal to Resonance unless fed Health or Essence.
Sufferwell – Receive wound bonuses instead of penalties. Spend 5 Essence per die restored.
Consumption – Recover Condition by serving your desires, such as gorging on food or drugs, 2 Essence per point.
Greed:
Hyper-Appraisal – Spend 5 Essence to add your Resonance in dice to any roll to assess value or detect weakness
Craft-Savant – Spend 10 Essence to add a Craft Focus and Knowledge for a specific project, or 2 Essence for a bonus die on an existing Craft Focus for every hour spent on a project. This allows you to use materials which shouldn’t be fit for the purpose, such as swords of bone.
Integration – Integrate devices and objects into the body. 1 Essence per Condition replaced with machine.
Rendering – Rip Attributes, Skills, and Advantages from other characters. They will be reified as physical symbols which can then be Integrated or fashioned into items. 10 Essence a point.
Sing thee now of truth
And let me be thy avatar and vessel
That with vision beyond mortal eye
And mine own sight divine
Thy prison be revealed.
You, listener!
Know now of darkness,
The night which is without beginning or end
Whence all come, to which all proceed
And draw back the inner eye, reveal
The sphere of light which confines the dark
Though it persists.
Know now of light, which cannot be seen
For it blinds mortal eyes
And troubles mine own sight divine.
This light is Pride, First Circle here;
The sun of which the sun men know
Is but a pale shadow cast
Upon empty, paltry heavens.
Witness now the palaces and balconies,
And shining devas of might and beauty
Who light the heart of this realm.
Know now of night, which is felt,
Velvet and woven of sleep,
And is ever where light is not;
The Second Circle, Sloth,
Primal and serene where walk
Those devas of nightmare and of dreams.
A shadow cast, and thou art blind
Unless they feel mercy for mortal eyes
Or spite of sight divine,
And wander here forever.
Know now of fire, and of stone,
Of crackling storm and heat,
Where roam beasts of rage and flame
And all Circles meet.
The Third Circle, which is Wrath
And walked in mighty tread
By hooves of basalt, blood of iron
And swept by gaze which sears the flesh
Whether mortal eye, or sight divine.
These devas are vengeance, and thou hath sinned.
Know now of ice, and of tears
The bitter chill and loathsome sting,
Stalked by shadows from the deep,
Hunted by silent wings.
Fourth Circle; Envy,
Salt and sea and crippling cold.
Words of venom,
Palaces but temporary
That taunt and fade
Before mortal eye, or sight divine.
Know now of flesh, and hunger
And all indulgences and deprivation.
All pleasures and pains
And their meeting-place.
Fifth Circle, that of Lust
Which wanders as it please
Bound not by place or form
Nor taboo nor law.
To mortal eye or sight divine
It revels in perversity.
Know now of glass and steel,
All things made one, and none
The crash of iron, the choking smog,
Devices which devour.
Greed, Sixth Circle,
Covetous of jewels
Of mortal eye or sight divine
Of hope or love
That they be made to obey
The order of cog and gear.
Know, then, of Pandemonium
Of the Demon City!
How beautiful in aspect, how vast in scope.
It is forever under the sun, forever
Beyond thy vision.
It is without end, though it begins
At the Spire 'round which revolves
The Palace and Prison wherein they wait.
Beyond this vision, draw back
The inner eye, and see
We return to but a sphere of light,
In darkness it recedes, that night
From whence all come, to which all proceed.
The heart of Hell is Pandemonium. Wherever you go across the myriad realms of Hell, the Ur-City is in the distance. It is always at the centre.
Pandemonium is city and reflection of cities. It is every structure raised and torn down, it is every material and style. It is endless. To go anywhere in Pandemonium, one need only know of the place, and walk. The path is fixed, after the first time, but time and space are more suggestions than rules. To walk without direction is to wander eternally down these glorious streets.
And they are glorious. From the hard-edged and crystalline perfection of Raw Pandemonium, to the brassy streets of Little Wroth or airy silks of Bitterhallow, everything is beauty and wonder. An intensity such that it destroys most mortals - but not all. Mortal slaves are hauled through the streets by soul-traders while mortal Citizens watch from parade floats. Mortal Magi host parties in the streets and Vampires lurk in the alleys. In Pandemonium, the power to maintain one's freedom is respected, whence-ever it might proceed.
At the heart of the Demon City is the miles-tall Spire of Perfection, surrounded by the great arena.
Above the spire is Hell's sun, the Circle of Pride - but this is an illusion. Pride perceives itself thus and so do most others, in Hell. Within the Spire is the Temple of the Principles; the terrible progenitors of Demonkind who dwell in the Palace Infernal. The Palace appears to orbit the Spire, giving Hell a passage of time and semblance of season.
Beyond the edges of the Ur-City, Hell is a hollow sphere. Pride at the seeming-centre, Wrath forming bedrock and landmass, Envy for the seas, Sloth in every darkened corner. Greed's vast rust-deserts and factory-temples stud the surface, and Lust's squamous form crushes the unwary as it roams the plains, spawning parasite-kingdoms and fortress-beasts.
You are a Count of Hell; ruling a patch of land within a Circle, your power outstripped only by your ambition and that of those you would usurp. You command troops and spies and slaves. You run infernal industries and trade souls like coin. You war against your neighbours, kill traitorous underlings at their rest, and plot the murder of your immediate superior. You must, or you will die; consigned to the endless darkness like all of Hell's most pitiful failures.
So strive! Exult! Prove that you have the mettle to reign in Hell.
Find the forum here.
Flavour
Example Characters
I will take a minimum of six players, all Counts, each of a different Circle.
This minimum has been filled, so you may now pick any Circle, or play as a subordinate of an existing player.
Please offer a concept and call your Circle, or preferred Circles.
Pride
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Lust
Greed
Once these spaces are filled, I will accept applications for more Counts of duplicate Circles, OR characters in service to an existing player Count.
This will use Crucible, as a system. No prior knowledge is required and I will gladly teach anyone interested in joining.
Character death is a strong possibility.
Please ask any and all questions which may come to mind.
Your Demons start at Resonance 4, as Counts.
That means they have four signature Powers, and all four of their Circle Blasphemies.
72 XP for Attributes. Circle Attributes cost 0/0/3/6/9/12, regular Attributes cost 0/3/6/9/12
66XP for Skills. Circle Skills are 1/0/1/2/3/6.
Out of Circle Skills are priced as standard at 2/1/2/3/6/9
Pride & Wrath Demons receive 2 dice from Training.
Sloth & Greed Demons receive 2 dice from Knowledge.
Lust & Envy Demons receive 2 dice from Familiarity.
Circle Attributes
Pride: Bearing and Dexterity
Sloth: Intellect and Guile
Wrath: Strength and Fitness
Greed: Intellect and Composure
Lust: Fitness and Guile
Envy: Guile and Intuition
Circle Skills
Pride - Melee, Athletics, Persuasion, Defense, Perform, Artisan
Sloth - Subterfuge, Lore, Academics, Empathy, Stealth, Investigation
Wrath - Unarmed, Athletics, Craft, Survival, Awareness, Animal Handling
Envy - Subterfuge, Mingling, Persuasion, Ranged, Stealth, Craft
Lust - Athletics, Mingling, Medicine, Animal Handling, Perform, Empathy
Greed - Ranged, Craft, Artisan, Lore, Investigation, Academics, Defense
Signature Powers
Demons possess unique powers which express their personal theme and legend. You're free to come up with your own, but they should be thematically in-keeping with your Circle and concept. I'll handle the mechanics. You get 1 Signature Power per Resonance.
Blasphemies
Pride:
Excellence – Spend 5 Essence to add Training specific to any weapon when you pick that weapon up. If you already have Training for that weapon, spend 2 Essence per die to reroll failed dice up to your Resonance when using that weapon.
Brilliance – Spend 5 Essence to add a bonus die, up to your Resonance to rolls with a weapon in which you have Training.
Dominance – Spend 10 Essence per die to convert Bearing dice to automatic successes
Blinding – Spend 2 Essence to apply +1 difficulty to enemy efforts to hit you, up to your Bearing. Spend 5 to deal Condition damage equal to your Bearing in searing radiance to anyone within your Bearing x2 in feet, damage decreasing by 1 the further from you they are.
Sloth
Hallucination – Inflict Hallucinations on enemies, 5 Essence per internal penalty applied
Telekinesis – Manipulate objects with your mind with an effective Strength equal to your Resonance. 1 Essence per use/per turn to maintain. 5 to strike a telekinetic blow.
Telepathy – Read minds or communicate with them by rolling Intuition + Resonance against the target’s Willpower; spend 5 Essence per die to convert them to successes
Teleportation – 5 Feet per Resonance, any direction, no line of sight. 5 Essence per Resonance increment traveled
Wrath:
Resurgence – Regenerate (Resonance) Condition per turn. 5 Essence per point
Rage – Boost Physical Attributes by (Resonance) for two turns. Can be divided between multiple Attributes, 10 Essence per use.
Retribution - On taking a hit, spend 5 Essence to deal a fiery burst of damage equal to the severity of the wound to anyone within three feet of the wound.
Steelburn – Conjure fire and molten steel, Taint by GM discretion
Envy:
Venom – Blood can be converted to supernatural venom, 2 Points of effect per Resonance, 5 Essence per point, or 2 Essence and spend a point of Health.
Spite – When anyone beats your roll, they suffer an Attribute penalty equal to your Resonance, 10 Essence.
Curse - Apply external penalties equal to your Resonance to specific person in a chosen Skill. 5 Essence per penalty. Spend 5 Essence each hour the Curse is maintained.
Tearstorm – Project spikes of ice and icy water, 2 Essence for each expected 5 Damage capped by Resonance
Lust:
Mutation – Make physical adjustments to your own body. 2 Essence per point value of the mutation - see page xx for examples, The mutations last until dismissed.
Progeny – Create temporary symbiotic or parasitic servitors. Spend Essence equal to the Condition of the creature. They survive a number of hours equal to Resonance unless fed Health or Essence.
Sufferwell – Receive wound bonuses instead of penalties. Spend 5 Essence per die restored.
Consumption – Recover Condition by serving your desires, such as gorging on food or drugs, 2 Essence per point.
Greed:
Hyper-Appraisal – Spend 5 Essence to add your Resonance in dice to any roll to assess value or detect weakness
Craft-Savant – Spend 10 Essence to add a Craft Focus and Knowledge for a specific project, or 2 Essence for a bonus die on an existing Craft Focus for every hour spent on a project. This allows you to use materials which shouldn’t be fit for the purpose, such as swords of bone.
Integration – Integrate devices and objects into the body. 1 Essence per Condition replaced with machine.
Rendering – Rip Attributes, Skills, and Advantages from other characters. They will be reified as physical symbols which can then be Integrated or fashioned into items. 10 Essence a point.
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