So We're Gonna See Pangaea

[CatDoom]

One of the neat things about the Slashers book is that it points out how easy it is for Hunters to turn into Slashers. One piece of fiction from the book involves a scientifically-minded Hunter who took down some kind of witch, but is now convinced that the witch's magic inflicted some kind of contamination that continues to put people at risk. He proceeded to track down and murder everyone he could find who had been touched by the witch's magic, seal them up in barrels of rock salt, and perform some kind of psudo-sciencey procedure that he believed would safely extract and contain the contaminant. In the end, he's taken down by another Hunter, protesting all the while that he's one of the good guys.

It also implies that Slashers are, in some sense, a fundamental part of humanity. As I recall, one theory is that, at some point in the distant past, humanity's survival was dependent on terrifying killing machines resembling present-day Slashers. This ties in nicely with the Neolithic Chapter's emphasis on humanity's role as the ultimate hunters (at least in the world of flesh) prior to the beginning of agriculture. In the real world, human beings were able to take down all sorts of dangerous animals thanks mostly to our complex mode of communication, our cooperative problem solving abilities, and our advanced tool use. In the World of Darkness, maybe humans had a little something more than that which made them the scariest predators in a wold riddled with supernatural terrors.

[nofather]

Slasher is a book I need to buy at some point.

It's a really nice book, but World of Darkness has pretty much killed it when it comes to antagonist books.

Obviously it's mostly for Storytellers, or players of Slashers, but it does have a new Hunter Conspiracy, VASCU. Who are sort of like psychic Profiler.

[StSword]

Yes, pangea might very well have been the origin for some shapeshifters from War Against the Pure- the fish guys were already mentioned I believe, the cats and the cockroaches could be remnants of Pangea too.

[Acrozatarim]

If memory serves, no, the changing breeds aren't known for being descended from deities, they're fluff is that they're Gaia's immune response against humanity's depredation ala wta.

Right, so in that case Changing Breeds probably don't have anything to do with Pangaea.

Some other shapeshifters, though...

[Seidmadr]

I believe that's a theory someone in the Slasher book throws around about them, too, that they are humanity's defense mechanism against the supernaturals. The white cell theory is an interesting one, in either case.

Basically.. a cross between Heroes and Beasts?

[Lyrics Of War]

Slasher is a book I need to buy at some point.

[nofather]

I believe that's a theory someone in the Slasher book throws around about them, too, that they are humanity's defense mechanism against the supernaturals. The white cell theory is an interesting one, in either case.

[StSword]

If memory serves, no, the changing breeds aren't known for being descended from deities, they're fluff is that they're Gaia's immune response against humanity's depredation ala wta.

[Acrozatarim]

Would Ferals from Changing Breeds be Pangians?

I've never read Changing Breeds; if any of the shapeshifter types from there have their origins tied in with the sorts of divinities that Father Wolf hunted then yes, they might be descended from Pangaeans. Otherwise, probably not. Changing Breeds aren't part of the Mage or Werewolf lines so I haven't addressed them in the chapter text.

[Lyrics Of War]

They could well be. I believe there is mention of other shape changers. More importantly we have potential insight into the creatures that existed in the border marches. Is it still just a thin dimension or was it it's own shadow realm before the shadow? Something like the pnumbra to the deep umbra in apocalypse? If that's the case then the forsaken are guilty of quite a lot of spiritual genocide with father wolf's death.

[Omegaphallic]

Would Ferals from Changing Breeds be Pangians?

[Dreaminggod]

It begs the question if Gauru form is going to work similarly to how it worked in the Wolves of Bau, or alternatively if all start with Father's Form, or if they are changing that. I think that it makes more sense for Werewolves, themselves, to be fundamentally more, and with Father's Form facet, it makes sense for a more free use of Gauru form to be the way to show this.

[nofather]

I wonder if this means that some of the Places That Aren't aren't places lacking a reflection in the real world, but artifacts of Pangaea.

I wouldn't personally have the God-Machine involved in responsibility for Pangaea's shift into The Gauntlet

I wasn't implying that. I'm still of the mind that it was Father Wolf's death, along with perhaps Luna's retribution.

But as of the Splintered City: Seattle book, the God Machine has a sort of container called the Apocalypse Vault where it has stashed would-be events that would end the world, if the possible futures hadn't been snipped off ahead of time. If the God Machine has alternate futures, it may have one where whatever happened to Pangaea didn't happen.

So it wasn't that the God Machine had a hand in anything or would help or hinder. But wiping out all of humanity or altering the world to such a degree that it fits Pangaea is something that would be difficult, particularly considering as someone pointed out above, most of the other supernaturals would be fervently against it. But if all it takes is to find the Apocalypse Vault and pop it open, the Predator Kings have a much easier job, even considering the defenses.

[ArcaneArts]

Close - the Hellenistic forbears of the Mysterium are the Jnanashakti.

Gah, right.

[wander]

Yeah, I can get behind that.

I wouldn't personally have the God-Machine involved in responsibility for Pangaea's shift into The Gauntlet, though I could possibly be sold on the idea of it causing occult matrix in order to keep The Gauntlet up. Why it is stopping the regeneration of Pangaea is something else entirely, though I'd like to think in some way specific Infrastructure is in place to make sure Spirits can cross over, as there are cogs in the Shadow and it has some use for Spirits in what it does, given the vibe got from it so far.