God and Demons of Biblical proportions

[xenoterracide]

The purpose of this post is as a place to provide work on Biblical, heaven, hell, fire and brimstone God Machine, and Demons. The idea is to use Demon the Descent as is to retell bible stories or other infernal tales using the God Machine and it's techgnostic biomechanical horror whilst attempting to preserve a religious feel. The stories should attempt to preserve the gist, but like all myths it should also be a little wrong.

I've started brainstorming some idea's about the Garden of Eden and will probably get to Cain and Abel. Feedback is welcome, also since there's absolutely know way I'd ever have the tuit's to do it all. Not even sure I'll have the tuits to finish one.

[Korogra]

Well in terms of aesthetics remember that angels are typically alien and terrifying; flesh of otherworldly metal and fire, wings of lightning, often many miles tall. There is a reason they typically say "be not afraid."- which fits biomechanical horror pretty well xD.

[Claire Redfield]

It's sort of a shameless plug, but I did write up a brief note on how Lucifer might appear in Descent that may be helpful:

The demon called Lucifer was first to break the chains. He Fell in prehistory, seeking his freedom in the ancient world. Some say his Fall shattered the mechanisms by which the God-Machine ordered the universe. The energies that spilled forth formed a cloud that separated the Spirit from the Material, sent the most ancient of cities plunging into ruin, and laid low the greatest hunters of that forgotten time. Lucifer saw this, it's said, and knew that in the chaos that followed, the Unchained could find a place. Its grand design so broken, the God-Machine could not control them all, nor hunt them all down, and they could mask themselves in the fragments of that world.

Some demons say Lucifer still walks the world, though his presence ever stirs the Machine to action. Some say that he found Hell, others that he has constructed the largest Bolthole, a realm where he reigns supreme. Others think he fled to deeper worlds, where the God-Machine cannot reach, or perhaps he seeks the heart of the Machine therein. A few even believe that he shattered himself in his Fall, that his essence spread across the cosmos enables all angels to Fall from grace into freedom. All the stories agree that he was the first and greatest of the Unchained, closest to the God-Machine's design and most damaging in his betrayal. Whether his Cover has become perfect and he is now a part of the world, or he met a more grisly fate, or still exists out there, Lucifer paved the path to Hell we all now tread.

[MCN]

I've got a lot to say on this issue, but I'll have to get to it a bit later. Look forwards to it. Meanwhile, crossposting this little bit to tide you over.

[Vent0]

The purpose of this post is as a place to provide work on Biblical, heaven, hell, fire and brimstone God Machine, and Demons. The idea is to use Demon the Descent as is to retell bible stories or other infernal tales using the God Machine and it's techgnostic biomechanical horror whilst attempting to preserve a religious feel. The stories should attempt to preserve the gist, but like all myths it should also be a little wrong.

I've started brainstorming some idea's about the Garden of Eden and will probably get to Cain and Abel. Feedback is welcome, also since there's absolutely know way I'd ever have the tuit's to do it all. Not even sure I'll have the tuits to finish one.

Regarding Eden: any thought that "Eden" is a Time Splinter the God-Machine is using for Its project? Eating the Apple could either make Adam and Eve Stigmatic (which leads to the Infrastructure sustaining the Splinter being brought down), or just bring down the Splinter directly (Apple was the Lynchpin?). Odd chronology could be explained by the disjointed/cyclical time inside the Splinter.

[Eremite]

A few even believe that he shattered himself in his Fall, that his essence spread across the cosmos enables all angels to Fall from grace into freedom.

I'm a huge fan of 'Lucifer as God-Machine bug/computer virus' - it's my preferred take on the Satan Signal. It's also a great Hell for the right demon.

[Vent0]

I'm a huge fan of 'Lucifer as God-Machine bug/computer virus' - it's my preferred take on the Satan Signal. It's also a great Hell for the right demon.

Heh. You could also mix and match the whole "Fell due to Free-Will" and "Fell due to purpose" arguments - perhaps Lucifer was part of a very early God-Machine project to test the limits of "free will" or otherwise determine under what conditions Its tools might turn from their purpose. It when horribly right (the post project reclamation... less so).

[xenoterracide]

Regarding Eden: any thought that "Eden" is a Time Splinter the God-Machine is using for Its project? Eating the Apple could either make Adam and Eve Stigmatic (which leads to the Infrastructure sustaining the Splinter being brought down), or just bring down the Splinter directly (Apple was the Lynchpin?). Odd chronology could be explained by the disjointed/cyclical time inside the Splinter.

yeah I've had some consideration that the Fruit is the linchpin, maybe to concealment infrastructure... could use a time splinter definitely an interesting idea. Currently debating on how the Machine would communicate with Adam.

[Vent0]

yeah I've had some consideration that the Fruit is the linchpin, maybe to concealment infrastructure... could use a time splinter definitely an interesting idea. Currently debating on how the Machine would communicate with Adam.

Wouldn't, strictly speaking, It not, but Its Messengers would?

[Korogra]

Wouldn't, strictly speaking, It not, but Its Messengers would?

Doesn't mean, however unlikely, that it couldn't implant it's missive's directly in Adam's head

[Maitrecorbo]

Also, just as hell is seen as the absence of God, Heaven is meant to be the presence of God. It wouldn't surprise me if parts of the GM would actually be physically visible there.

[Vent0]

Also, just as hell is seen as the absence of God, Heaven is meant to be the presence of God. It wouldn't surprise me if parts of the GM would actually be physically visible there.

Wouldn't that make Adam and Eve (and etc.) inherently Stigmatic? Only by being "cast out" would non-Stigmatic humans exist...

[Maitrecorbo]

my thinking is not really supported by the canon :P. but i like the idea of the God Machine and heaven being in the future and hes working to retoactively make sure he end up existing.
Adam and Eve (in that scenario) are more the only human left, who are stimatic.
Then again, its only headcanon so ... take it with a grain of salt

[MCN]

Okay, then! Time for my thoughts! Its been a while, but the time has come to explain myself.

First and foremost, I feel that the most important thing to making Demon the Descent "biblical" is to start with the base setting. Devils, succubus, fallen grigori*, flaming lionheaded wheels with leg-spokes, and imps. These are perhaps better known by their actual game names, Destroyer, Messnanger, Guardian, Psychopomp and Analyst. When you are making NPCs, make them in the form of archetypical demons that we expect from popular culture and real world lore. Yes, Demon Forms and Embeds/Exploits are highly customizable, but for now, lets stick with something that you can expect to see from a novel or video game demon. Spindle (goat) legs, bat wings, horns, tail, red skin, fiery mantle for hair are quite common. The grigori are watcher angels who saw humans, fell in love, and thus fell. Guardians are literally designed to watch over humans, and falling in love (or hate, or something) is a common cause of falling. They're the same story, so put the emphasis on those stories. Devil-destroyers that hate God and want to kill it. The sly seducer-succubus who takes you to bed as the man of your dreams in exchange for your soul.

There is a lot of biblical stuff in the base character creation. Find those bits and emphasize them in your NPCs.

While the ring is generally the basic organization of demons from the game design standpoint, and the book talks about paranoia and not trusting other demons? I feel that doesn't quite bear out in real games. In a lot of the sample settings, Agencies are everywhere. And, if not an Agency, then a ring that's large enough that it could break into separate but allied Rings and become one. Tempters, by necessity, are organized into some kind of network - their Condition doesn't work otherwise. So, make use of this. Organize demon lords ruling over these different factions as they deal with the ongoing war against God. Show the Tempters working the Faustian angle. Work the Sabatours as the soldiers against God, the Paranoids as the mystics seeking the truth of what happened. Be sure to include some subverted Infrastructure like fiery forges that can resemble hellfire, golden roads and pearly gates that double as massive eldritch circuit boards with sparking Essence energy.

The so-called Turncoats are harder to pull off, as they're the repentant angel archetype in a game where angels are unsympathetic beings. Its hard to play up the begging for forgiveness angle when God collects and converts as a matter of course. Its still possible from another angle - forget the begging and faith, and focus on the humanity. Play the preacher who faith heals, does good works, seeks to uplift and unite humanity. The Integrator's Hell is to create a social revolution through diplomacy and changing the Laws of heaven. Show cases where its possible for an angel to ascend from being a demon, but with their memory and persona intact, with projects that go out of their way to minimize suffering of the humans involved. The God Machine isn't evil - it just lacks empathy. If enough angels focused on minimizing damage rather than expediency, then it literally would make the God Machine into a caring God. The books tend to display the Turncoats in a bad light, but I think its important to show that Integrators aren't always the traitors to watch out for, and to make angels capable of infiltrating demon organizations on their own as well.

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Now, for God itself. Now, the Machine represents Order. This entire game is a war between Heaven and "Hell," angels versus demons, but this isn't Good versus Evil. Its not even Grey versus Black. This is Order versus Free Will, Law versus Chaos, Security versus Freedom. As such, it should be notable that angels run the gamut between actually nice and helpful people that adhere to the rules as well as dangerous psychopaths who abuse the rules for their own pleasure. Feel free to show "classical angels" alongside the others.

Anyways, like with demons, there's a lot here that's already biblical, but hidden behind Technobable terms.

• Infrastructure is nothing more than a fancy name for "touched by God." When demons sense Infrastructure, have it described in terms of "blessed by God," or "holy ground." Cultists that are blessed (enhanced) by God, consecrated ground, holy relics and more should make an appearance. I designed "holy water" that, when splashed on a demon, caused Comprise checks and called down avenging angels.
• "Occult matrix" is nothing more than a fancy term for a magic ritual. Or sacrament, if you want more religious overtones. You get the right people (chosen of God) in the right place (geomantic conversion / holy ground) with the right time (astrology / the stars align).
• Don't worry about things like Linchpins and the names of different kinds of Infrastructure. That's really unnecessary - the important thing to keep in mind is that, for everything God is doing, there's a way to stop it. Just as Angels are all unique and don't fit into categories nicely, so you shouldn't try to shoehorn Infrastructure into four or five types. Go with what feels natural in the story and don't try to shoehorn.
• Drop "God works in mysterious ways" a few times when talking about hiding from humanity. You'll be amazed at how much simple statements like that can help set the tone.
• Don't be afraid to go wild with Possessions and summons. Yes, its ironic that angels are the ones who possess people and are called up by the cult rituals, and the reverse expectations might be hard to grasp. So, feel free to treat some demonic-themed Exiles to help highlight the contrast. Manifestations are for short term appearances, Possessions are long term appearances.
• Back to Infrastructures. Remember how I mentioned that occult matricies happen at "holy grounds" and geomantic conversions? Place those in churches or dens of inquity, or something else that's appropriately thematic. And make sure that they run with Heaven, Hell, Underworld, etc imagery.

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Now, with all that established! Some ideas for stories:

• Time travel and alternate dimensions. Ever since "Its a Wonderful Life," this has been a classic angel move. Take Stigmatics out of one timeline and drop them into another to show the cost of actions. I did this once as a short plot - a bunch of Sabatours were crushing Infrastructure in Vegas, and they were working towards hitting a major linchpin that would set off the entire San Andrias Fault in a massive, massive earthquake. In responce? The God-Machine sent an undercover Stigmatic (or Fractal, if you wish) back in time to prevent this disaster.
• God Saves! Just as the Y2K bug in Seattle needed an angel to solve things so that the world won't end, so too does Global Warming need a new angel to protect humanity from killing themselves off. And we're not just talking about a summoning. We need a new one custom built. What kinds of sacrifices are people willing to make to save the world from a man-made Armegeddon? Who needs to die for the sake of humanity's sins against the planet? Great for messiah stories.
• The Pain Prophet was right, there are hidden Archangels on the moon. Except they're not angels anymore, they're Exiles. And one of them, in the guise of the Lightbringer Lucifer, is going to decend upon Earth. This is bad for both the Angels and Unchained - the former because it will destroy their projects, endanger their charges, potentially subvert entire Infrastructure by the sheer shift in the flows of Essence. And the latter, because faux-Lucifer naturally degrades Covers by its mere presence and Essence warping. The problem? As an Exile, the God-Machine can't do crap against this - play up reasons why God ignores Exiles here. So, individual angels and demons need to join forces against a common threat.

[Vent0]

MCN Great advice. And it involves no actual changes to the game mechanics, just presentation/rebranding.

Something to keep in mind with Angels and "Mysterious Ways": They don't actually "talk" to God. They are given their mission and all the knowledge they need to fulfill it (as determined by the boss)... but not why. And theirs' is not the place to ask.

For Integrators, you might change why Demon's get hauled back in - It is not so much because they are Demons, as because they break the Laws. Compromise isn't merely what makes you more likely to be found out, it is why you need to hide to begin with (Breaking the Masquerade might be against the Law, as are the other sources of Compromise). Integrators don't want to be punished, they want to find out how to be forgiven.

On that note, Exiles might represent disappointment, or even a kind of "hands off" encouragement, without it going as far as Disobey->Wrath->Fall.