I've been fascinated by this character for awhile as it has a few essential traits that I simply adore. The fact that the fallen came to be whole-cloth while I was walking down the street only helped ground my fascination with it.
Since my Storyteller (as this is a solo game) has the equally annoying, and opposite, habit as a player of falling in love with a new character / game idea every month or two (I exaggerate), we even ourselves out.
Anyway, since there was some renewed interest in the system due to the free release with the latest nWoD demon variation, I thought I'd give out some information on my latest demon - host combination. Creating a Fallen Angel is no simple process but it can be a *hell* of a lot of fun.
Also, since Shaitan is gender fluid, I will be switching male and female pronouns with carefree abandon up until I start talking about the host.
SHAITAN
The Angel
Shaitan was an Eminence 5 Namaru / Devil who was one of the minor lords of the First House who held the important responsibility of checking up on other people's interpretations of their fragments of God's plan, providing a second opinion on some of the difficult bits. Since each Fallen could only read / hold so much of God's plan, Shaitan held no piece of her own and though he might have read most of God's plan over the years, she could never remember more than the vaguest hints of it.
Since the rest of her House had this very important and sacred text to hold, and he did not, she felt very lonely and marked out as differently. Luckily, with God's *love* to fill her, he didn't notice it very much or, at least, didn't actually know what that feeling was meant to be. While the other Fallen didn't react too well to being told they might be wrong, his halo provided a calming effect that helped her get his point across.
When he heard Ahrimal's prophecy that something terrible lay in store for humanity, she simply had to support giving them a fair warning. After all, God had given no definitive answer and surely that meant they were meant to take the initiative? One should always protect one's younger siblings and Adam and Eve were nothing if not the Fallen's younger siblings.
SHAITAN
The Early Days of The War
Shaitan was shocked at God's reaction and the curses It flung at humanity when so many of them stayed with the newly Fallen Angels. When Lucifer created the five legions, Shaitan immediately joined Silver as exploring the taboos made sense to him. What could be more taboo than finding some way to elevate her younger siblings to an almost equal standing so that they could help decide their own fates? He selected two other Fallen Angels who were lovers, Fell Knight Arekhala (a Halaku called "Death's Warm Embrace") and Fell Knight Shaestiel (a Lamashtu called "Summertime's Rainfall"), and gathered over a hundred humans to settle three villages.
These three villages were to be build by human hands, with occasional advice and assistance from other Fallen, and to begin with they were rather ramshackle affairs as the humans could hardly comprehend tools let alone use them. The trio persisted with them and whenever a new social tactic, tool or experiment were to be performed, Shaitan practised informed consent - giving them the full information and letting them decide. Shaitan spoke out about the importance of informed consent at many Silver Legion gatherings. For now, while the Fallen and Loyalist clashed with song and flair, the Silver Legionnaires mostly ignored him simply because there was no need for it.
After all, what Fallen would do something to a human that wasn't necessary and in their best interests? Why ask a baby if they would prefer better warmth? Mother knows best and so do the Fallen.
SHAITAN
The Time of Atrocity
When Caine slew Abel in adulation of God, the world was thrown into chaos. So many Fallen recoiled from the act, devastated that their beloved humans would introduce such a terrible concept into their hearts. The stain spread and, in too many cases, consumed the Fallen so affected. Here was a weapon! Here was so much potential! Many a Silver Legionnaire leapt onto the opportunity it offered them.
Shaitan was saddened by the invention of violence but placed no blame in humanity. Either it was a flaw designed by God in one man *or* it was the direct result of a sentient race whose minds were birthed in warfare and family feuds. He argued against the cruelties performed by the Silver Legion, stressing again and again the necessity of kindness, forethought and informed consent.
(My contribution to the following was simply that I had been earmarked for an experiment that left me with horns, lashing tail, and claws which were so marked by evil that it slowly infected me with torment ... a matter which was exacerbated by the cruel acts I was forced to perform during the process which further cemented their position. My Storyteller created the Who, What and Why).
It didn't take long for her enemies to see a use for her. The Duchess of Knives, a Silver Legion Malefactor, wanted to create a more powerful version of the Fallen and so she chose several Fallen to be recipients and several Fallen to be donors. She used tools designed by no less than Fell Knight Gipontel himself to draw the full essence of the donors into their natural weapons (the donors being mostly Rabisu) and then implanted them into the recipient Fallen. The other recipients died.
Shaitan lived.
Lucky her.
The second post can be found here.
P.S. I need a little more time to work on Lore of Patterns before I put it up but you should hopefully see it up in the next couple days.
I'm enjoying this run-through of how you created a character, thanks. I'd have struggled to make anything this deep because of lack of setting knowledge, but it's a nice template.
ReplyDeleteThe initial character fit on the back of an envelope in tiny print and the host was a male amnesiac who'd been shot (let the Storyteller develop it) but this is what it broadened out into over the years. All of the core concepts were there at the start but some of the specifics were filled in later on.
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