From owner-adashiel_bjzwod@miagra.ucs.indiana.edu Thu Aug 8 16:11:57 1996 Received: from miagra.ucs.indiana.edu (miagra.ucs.indiana.edu [129.79.5.181]) by mail.nada.kth.se (8.6.10/8.6.10) with ESMTP id QAA22493 for ; Thu, 8 Aug 1996 16:11:53 +0200 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by miagra.ucs.indiana.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3/1.1skh) id JAA04000 for adashiel_bjzwod-outgoing; Thu, 8 Aug 1996 09:10:47 -0500 (EST) Received: from copper.ucs.indiana.edu (adashiel@copper.ucs.indiana.edu [129.79.1.4]) by miagra.ucs.indiana.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3/1.1skh) with SMTP id JAA03990 for ; Thu, 8 Aug 1996 09:10:44 -0500 (EST) Received: from localhost (adashiel@localhost) by copper.ucs.indiana.edu (8.6.11/8.6.11) with SMTP id JAA27319 for ; Thu, 8 Aug 1996 09:09:15 -0500 Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 09:09:15 -0500 (EST) From: Abe Dashiell To: adashiel_bjzwod@majordomo.ucs.indiana.edu Subject: BJZ: (Potpourri) Souleaters in the WoD by Alexander Shearer Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-adashiel_bjzwod@indiana.edu Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: A Friend of the Family: Souleaters in the World of Darkness By Alexander Shearer (nightgaunt@earthlink.net) Andeleon's Brood "Listen to them -- the children of the night. What music they make!" -- Bram Stoker, Dracula The first of what the Tal'mahe'Ra would come to call Souleaters were, indeed, brought into this world by Andeleon during a trip to the Deep Umbra. During one journey to the Deep Umbra, Andeleon happened to wander into a gateway to the material realm of the "Souleaters." Several of the creatures saw this, and took a moment's opportunity to try and expand their realm by spreading into his. Using one of the already long-subverted creatures native to their realm as a host-form, the "Souleaters" did, indeed, trick Andeleon into partaking of their blood. They were fortunate beyond their wildest dreams, however, as Andeleon spread their progeny into his progeny, retainers, and acquaintances. The Manus Nigrum never did stop the spread in time, and these creatures of the Deep Realms made their way onto earth, where they now form a conspiratorial group known to very few, and challenged by almost no one. >From the Deep ""Any particular reason," he asked, "why you should find blood under your fingernails?"" -- Robert A. Heinlein, The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag The creatures known to the Hand as Souleaters have no proper name in English, or any other language of the known world. They can be called by a sort of literal translation of what they feel they are. In this case, they may be called The Family (this makes them sound almost mafioso, which really isn't true). This is because all members of The Family are, indeed, related. They can all trace their lineage back, eventually, to one parent, and there's a lot of, for lack of a better word, cross-breeding between them. They most definitely don't come from a realm rooted in sciences of which Technomancers would approve. Though they keep their origin in that realm (if, indeed, it is in that realm) quite secret, even from each other. What they did in this realm is well known, however. Everything has been subjugated by The Family, and everything is The Family. The Family fully intends to expand whenever possible, as it's suffering a sort of population-control problem back in the home realm. As it stands, however, no one really knows exactly how to find home again, so the few Family members who hitched a ride on Andeleon are the progenitors of all the other Familia on earth. Hopefully, when enough power has been collected by The Family, this problem can be solved. Family Biology "Humans acquire the larvae by eating undercooked meat contaminated with cysts, and the worms develop into mature adults. Large tapeworms, which may be 20 meters or more in length, can cause intestinal blockage and can rob enough nutrients from the human host to cause nutritional deficiencies. -- Campbell, Biology, Third Edition Though they don't have biology in any conventional sense, Familia do operate in a certain way (which might come as a bit of a surprise to members of the Hand who think they know how "Souleaters" work). An example could start pretty much anywhere, but the easiest place is a fully-grown Brood (another good Family synonym). Most likely inhabiting a kindred body, but also able to exist anywhere else, the average Brood is present in every part of their host's body, and have completely devoured their host's soul. However, at all times during their life cycle, such as it is, Familia contain countless smaller voices, other Familia waiting to bud into intelligence (or not, depending on where they end up). These splinter-spirits drift off into others when those others have the misfortune to taste of the life essence of the Brood (that would usually be blood, but in the rare cases of insects and plants it would be lymph and phloem fluid respectively). Once this happens, there may be several nascent Familia present within the infected victim. They expand quickly, imparting their nature to every cell of the person's body. The foolish Tal'mahe'Ra belief in eyeball-nibbling goo-creatures is the result of a series of vicious practical jokes by particularly clever Familia early on in the Shadow Crusade. In reality, there is no visible change in the body of an infected person. They do, however, slowly (or quickly) gain the ability to mold themselves into various forms. It doesn't matter whether there is one Brood, or perhaps several. These abilities are imparted regardless. However, these Familia are antagonistic, and they leave the victim's soul alone until one of them can successfully purge the others. This explains the often erratic lengths of time it takes for a "Souleater" to be fully possessed -- they may be waiting, unknowing, for hundreds of Familia to sort things out inside their body. Once that initial purge takes place, there will be one dominant Brood, with a substantial quantity of nascent, presentient Familia forming from it. These will then be spread, perpetuating the cycle. It's important to note that this doesn't mean Familia don't infect others prior to one gaining dominance. If someone is exposed during the "sorting out" period, one or more of the weaker Familia will be expelled into the newer victim, making the task of control easier on both sides. Full members of The Family tend to operate as their victim did, with no obvious changes except, if they choose to reveal it, the use of Viscissitude. Over time, the memories of the devoured soul may fade, and this can lead to the strangeness seen in certain users of Viscissitude (including loss of memory concerning one's original appearance). The defensive form of The Family deserves a special note. Known among Tzimisce as The Horrid Form, this is a Brood's way of making a vampiric body tougher and nastier to deal with. It can differ heavily in expression in non-kindred hosts, though all forms share the black, alien-like appearance in one way or another. This is not the natural form of The Family. As far as even they know, they have no natural form. Familia have no specific, globe-spanning secret meetings or languages. While they may operate this way locally, and devise codes and signs, the only universal thing about Familia is their tendency to help one another, and their one unique method of communication. Any two Familia can talk directly, without need for speaking, gesturing, or even Auspex-based Telepathy, by meeting blood-to-blood. This is a simple task for kindred, who simply need to have one of them bite the other. Truthfully, it's nearly as easy for other Familia, who can open small wounds with Viscissitude, then close them when done. The method of communication used in this conversation is alien, but could be translated with a bit of loss of meaning into very clipped, goal-specific sentences: "Problem. Vampires in city. Solution?" Of course, these could easily be fleshed out, just like many foreign language translations are. Of course, would it seem as creepy then? The Shadow Crusade The Family is hard to fight. They don't control as many people as the Tal'mahe'Ra. Of course not. They are that many people. The influence of The Family spreads from positions of power it inhabits directly much more than that of it's chief enemy, the Black Hand. This doesn't mean that vampires in The Family don't exert standard, Jyhad-style influence. It just means that there are seemingly human members of The Family who occupy government posts directly. The Family can be the ultimate Men in Black. The Family is a subtle opponent in the Shadow Crusade. Where Hand members who directly deal with the Crusade like to go in with guns blazing and swords swinging, Familia prefer to arrange things so that their opponents are misguided, confused, and eventually go away (whether this be death, or simply giving up, the result is often the same). There can be a marked sadism in members of The Family, a result of their alien natures, and they often do things which satisfy this feeling when dealing with opponents. Of course, if a member of the Hand can be captured and kept, the most likely option is infection. While the Hand can purify Vinculum, they can't prevent the infection of their members at a random, unchosen time. Web of Influence "And you cannot measure their width with your overloaded psyche Your criminal misgivings You have overanalyzed my entire web and yet barely licked the truth" -- Sara Dwyer, "Untitled" The Family are patrons to seekers of power. This includes corrupt lupines, Unseelie and Seelie fae, and best of all, Nephandi. The Family represent a controlling agent for a whole passel of Nephandi, intent on bringing about a better order by spreading Family influence on the earth and eventually bridging the gap between earth and home. Only some of these Nephandi are actually infected, though those are the most respected. Some refrain from receiving the gift of Viscissitude out of the misguided belief that they can keep their souls intact. This is pretty much never true, regardless of who the Nephandus works with. The Family work together, basically, by not really working in a unified form. This is why they're so hard to deal with. The Family is not a centralized unit, so the conspiracy is hard to break. They are experts in subtle message transfers and slipping out of tricky situations. One might catch their unwitting servants, or not-yet controlled victims, but a full member of The Family is a tricky bastard indeed. Being in the Family "And why the finished product was an embryo" -- Sarah Eggers, "The First Kill" Of course, people can play members of The Family in World of Darkness games. This is a broad, broad range of people, encompassing pretty much every character type in the World of Darkness. What may differ is the effects of being a full member of The Family. Until then, things are pretty much the same. Basics To actually be a member of The Family, or even to be infected, the character must have Viscissitude. Simply purchase the Discipline, at the normal cost (or use the varying costs in the Storyteller's Handbook to the Sabbat). In a Family campaign, Storytellers may give one (or more) free points of Viscissitude, at their discretion. Note that should characters not start as full members of The Family (that is, still simply infected and not replaced), it is entirely Storyteller's choice as to when they convert fully. Vampires The effects of Viscissitude on vampires are pretty well-covered. Note that Auspex can not be used to directly discern the presence of a Brood, though an alert vampire would certainly discern a drastic change in mood if an old friend was suddenly overcome by their infection. Once a vampire has become a member of The Family, their Humanity score is effectively zero, though they will attempt to act like they always used to act. Note that they will also still act as if they had their old Virtue levels, though they often expend Willpower to reduce or negate frenzies when they are inconvenient. Werewolves Werewolves infected with Viscissitude display the abilities of that Discipline, and can change shape with an unsettling fluidity. They will almost certainly stand out to mystical examinations as something other than completely lupine. They will not be sensed by the Gift of Sense Wyrm, but they will definitely smell unnatural, especially if completely converted. There is a defensive form for every form of the werewolf, including Crinos. This can be truly terrifying. In game terms, all of the forms might as well use the attribute modifiers for Horrid Form. If the Storyteller feels this is unbalancing, the modifiers may always be reduced. Sometimes, a new Brood is unable to deal with the Rage which the Wyrm still pushes through their werewolf frame, and the Storyteller may feel free to impose a -2 to all target numbers for Rage rolls to represent this. Note that a converted werewolf may be rejected by spirits, who can sense the creature's new status, or denied access to caerns simply by their loss of a link to Gaia. Werewolves will consider Familia to be of the Wyrm. Mages Any mage can be infected with Viscissitude, and will be able to use its effects if their mind can handle it. Nephandi may be infected as part of a Family Rebirth, voluntary or no. Some come for the power, but some are unwittingly infected as they attempt to balance power and sanity. Fully-converted mages face an iffy future. The stronger their Avatar, the greater chance they have of losing their magick. If the mage is already tainted, and this has spread to their Avatar, then it will succumb to the Brood's control easily enough. If, however, they were infected without any other corruption or taint (say, by accident) and their Avatar is fairly strong (anywhere from 3-5, depending on their own sense of purpose and strength) it may leave them. There is no set rules system for this, and it should be a judgement call on the part of the Storyteller. Of course, for a Family campaign, it's probably best to have the player and Storyteller decide together, depending on what they want the game to be like. Note that the use of Viscissitude does not, without the influence of True Magick, accrue Paradox. Wraiths No, really. The Tal'mahe'Ra aren't entirely full of it when they speak of "Souleater" wraiths. Since the Brood replaces the soul of the infected victim, a Brood who is rudely interrupted in the course of doing something important may become a wraith with a singularly bizarre set of Passions of Fetishes. Of couse, sooner or later some of these wraiths will find Enoch. They may already know of it. The only saving grace is that wraith Familia can't propagate. Changelings In a word, this sucks. Though the initial infection may seem odd, or even interesting to a Changeling, the full conversion drives the Fae half completely out, doing it great trauma in the process. Until then, very little of note happens. Mortals This includes Tzimisce ghouls. Mortals can have Viscissitude and become Familia just as any supernatural creature can. The Family treasures its more important mortal members. Mummies It could happen. Others Almost anything can become a member of The Family. In game terms, all that's usually required is Viscissitude and a Family attitude. Roleplaying the Family Playing a member of The Family, one should always remember that they are playing an alien being pretending to be a member of the World of Darkness. For the most part, they are incredibly subtle, and only a crisis will make them act at all directly. Just think of the Tzimisce -- people think they're odd and cold, but no one thinks they represent an invasion force of Deep Umbral creatures. This is a game for people who enjoy working within a conspiracy, to be sure. The easiest way to play a Brood is simply to act like whatever the Brood is supposed to be most of the time, simply remembering to push things oh so barely in the direction of expanding and helping the conspiracy. Of course, it's important to live a lifestyle that lets you infect as many people as possible. Just don't get caught, especially not by the Black Hand (unless they're this year's target). Invasion of the Body Snatchers So, the final question. Why isn't the whole world already in The Family? Well, though some of the more panicked Hand members might think it is, the truth is that the victim's will wins far more often than The Family would like. Basically, most casual contacts with Familia-tainted blood don't carry more than a few spirit fragments, and this bare minimum of fragments may fall before human will, outside protection, or a random walk on consecrated ground. This is why the easiest way to infect is repeated blood mixing (Vinculum), or full transfusion (Embrace). =============================================================================== To unsubscribe: mail "unsubcribe adashiel_bjzwod" to majordomo@indiana.edu --- Under NO circumstances send mail to adashiel_bjzwod@indiana.edu --- If you have any questions, comments or problems, send mail to adashiel@copper.ucs.indiana.edu ===============================================================================