(Aster came down, quelled a warring faction of Mars and passed a vision of traveling to another star. Thus they prepare for the seemingly impossible challenge of going to another star.)
Culture:
The Exodites are fixated on preparations for the Great Work, the grand effort to build fleet of massive generational ships that will ferry the faithful to a new star, another Light of the Heaven that is beckoning for the Children of the Heavens to come forth and join it. But to cross the Qlippoth and the void in a journey potentially lasting a potentially incalculable period of time where the Light does not shine will require great preparation, faith, technology, order, and shipbuilding arts a magnitude greater than anything in existence. This is well-acknowledged, yet the vision was clear: such feats are possible, such a journey can be made reality. It is only a matter of time and labor.
Stemming from the Great Work is the wish to spread the Will of the Work to others, so they too can contribute to the Work. In practice this entails preaching/advertising of the vision to go to another star, mass export shipbuilding to both practice for the Great Work and demonstrate their empowered designs that strive to dive into the Qlippoth and endure a myriad of lesser threats, and finding ways to relate the Work to the beliefs and Gnosis of other nations so that a multitude of different cultures and societies can be brought to the Welcoming Star.
Socially, the Exodites are fixated upon "Release". Release from the boundaries of Earth to expand across the system. Release from the system to become one with the stars. And on a personal level releasing from material desires to become one with higher purpose. Thus most citizens and encouraged to indulge in hedonistic excess in their early years and embrace the tiring of it and transition to levels of spiritual and philosophical thinking as they age. This also entails renting out mercenaries to other nations to both fuel the Work and help the Children of the Heavens purge their violent desires out before embarking on the Journey, as well as acquire more technology and wisefolk to further augment the shipyards.
Gnosis: The Ark
The Exodite gnosis is centered around their plans to travel to other stars, with their culture and society and techbase becoming fixated upon the construction and improvement of greater vessels to ferry them through the void. A starship is more than a vessel to them, they are living beings and holy cathedrals in their own right. Thus while Exodite ships are spacious and meant to be for extended habitation, this never compromises their durability and endurance across even deep-void journies. If there is any vessel of the System that could possibly dive into the Qlippoth or worst hazards of the system and survive, it would be a Exodite ship.
Meanwhile the shipyards are the second expression of the Ark mentality, of mighty manufactoriums sustained by the tireless labors of thousands capable of forging the arks of the heavens. Industry, production, and means of enhancing labor are just as critical as the ships themselves. Augmented limbs, robotic workers, personal enhancers via Forms or technological drugs, exo-skeletons with servos and facets of endurance, all are wanted for the Work. The Work is All.
Stats:
Sword: 1 "The Work must be protected."
Stave: 1 "We have little need of land, we are already more at home among the stars."
Banquet: 5 "All are welcome to join us when the Journey begins. And we will be happy to brave the dangers of the dark first so you may be able to follow more easily."
Coin: 6 "Coin matters as much as faith to the Work."
Crown: 7 "The Work is All. All is the Work. We all serve the Work together."
Holding here for now. Is this concept valid or should I come up with another? Not planning on the actual exodus being a thing in this game unless it's a long runner, but a prototype Ark and expeditions into the Qlippoth are something I'd be striving for from the start. Meanwhile my array of Heroes would be available as mercenaries to work across the system.
Name: The Union of New Babel
Location and Capital: New Babel, the lands once known as the fertile Crescent.
History: WIP
Culture: [WIP] The Union is a nation of scholars, first and foremost. Their government is technocratic in nature, putting those who are the most learned and respected in their fields in charge of the government agencies pertaining to such fields. The heads of each Agency make up the Babel Council, who collectively decide on the Foreign and Domestic Policy of New Babel. As a culture that places knowledge so highly, teachers, professors, and archivists are among the most respected professions in Babel. Similarly, those who destroy knowledge, whether it be by burning down libraries or hacking databases, are among the most detested persons in New Babel.
Gnosis: New Babel believes in the two central Tenets. The First Tenet, is that there is no limit to how close a thing can come to a Supernal Form, and Second, that knowledge is the truest path to the Supernal. Now, this is all very theological, but in practice, it means they are a nation of scholars and scientists, always in the pursuit of innovation and enlightenment. Some of them wield technology and science to reach the Supernal. while others rely on arcane knowledge and spiritual enlightenment.
Their cities combine floating Towers held aloft by Words of Power, with flying cars powered by Fusion reactors utilizing the Supernal Form of Fire. Their armies contain technological machines of war marching alongside Monk-Warriors who lay waste with Words of Power. Their centers of power are Temples to Science and Progress and Innovation. It could be said that the Nation itself invokes the Form of Babel, the Tower built by the combined efforts of all humanity, reaching for the Heavens.
Stats:
Sword: 5
Stave: 2
Banquet: 3
Coin: 7
Crown: 3
This is just what I have done for now, I'll get more stuff done later.
Neighborhood technology is known for its excessive showmanship of bright lights and loud noises. Flying saucers, tripods and laser beams are the norm. Neighborhood scientists spend most of their time finding ways to improve the livelihood of their citizenry or rediscovering Martian machines of war determined to maintain their lead over their tribal neighbors.
I get that you're not quite done yet, but I'm still gonna step in. As it is, it doesn't fulfill any of the parts of Gnosis that's supposed to be about the pusedo-religious/actual religion bits about your nation. If it's not done yet, I apologize for jumping in early.
I get that you're not quite done yet, but I'm still gonna step in. As it is, it doesn't fulfill any of the parts of Gnosis that's supposed to be about the pusedo-religious/actual religion bits about your nation. If it's not done yet, I apologize for jumping in early.
As for fantastical elements, why take some inspiration from Adam Kadmon? Each of them a fragment of Heaven's perfect creation. You could also have Recke be some type of Messiah, inspired by Asters. Just some suggestions.
Each one would define the basic attitude and mode of operation for the Bloodlines, which in turn would determine the attitude of the Consortium based on which Bloodline held position of CEO.
Each one would define the basic attitude and mode of operation for the Bloodlines, which in turn would determine the attitude of the Consortium based on which Bloodline held position of CEO.
No, I was thinking more metaphysically. Like, I dunno, does the Wrath bloodline get sweet berserker powers through mantling the Supernal Form of Fury? Stuff like that.
No, I was thinking more metaphysically. Like, I dunno, does the Wrath bloodline get sweet berserker powers through mantling the Supernal Form of Fury? Stuff like that.
Mm. So each Bloodline gets thematic powers. Okay. Next question. On a more cohesive whole, why is this a Thing? For what reason did Recke or whoever decide to breed gene-lines of people who exemplify virtues and vices?
Mm. So each Bloodline gets thematic powers. Okay. Next question. On a more cohesive whole, why is this a Thing? For what reason did Recke or whoever decide to breed gene-lines of people who exemplify virtues and vices?
Think of him as a an Atheist Howard Houghs, who had his world view shattered by the revelations of the 60s space program. This made him a fanatic who was obsessed with mans imperfections and virtues. He of course believed that he was the man to exemplify the best and worst of Humanity.
Think of him as a an Atheist Howard Houghs, who had his world view shattered by the revelations of the 60s space program. This made him a fanatic who was obsessed with mans imperfections and virtues. He of course believed that he was the man to exemplify the best and worst of Humanity.
Basically each of the Clone Bloodlines embodies 1 vice or virtue. So when the Alpha Recke Bloodline holds position of CEO the entire Consortium has the Gnosis of Patience. But if the Beta Bloodline were to take over the Gnosis would change to Envy. With all that that implies. Its both a political ideology and religion wrapped into one for each Bloodline and the Guilds that support them as vassals.
Basically each of the Clone Bloodlines embodies 1 vice or virtue. So when the Alpha Recke Bloodline holds position of CEO the entire Consortium has the Gnosis of Patience. But if the Beta Bloodline were to take over the Gnosis would change to Envy. With all that that implies. Its both a political ideology and religion wrapped into one for each Bloodline and the Guilds that support them as vassals.
I'm asking for the overarching Gnosis. Why does Recke need to create Bloodlines? For what purpose? Not the 'individual' Gnosis, the overarching one, so to speak.
I'm asking for the overarching Gnosis. Why does Recke need to create Bloodlines? For what purpose? Not the 'individual' Gnosis, the overarching one, so to speak.
My idea is that the individual Gnosis becomes the overarching one, depending on who is in power.
Lore wise, why the original Recke set out of this path of what pre-Revelations Humanity would consider madness has been lost. All that remains are the fruit of his labors, the fourteen bloodlines and there constant struggle for ideological supremacy within the Consortium.
The only thing that matters to the Clones are the ascendency of there "beliefs" and to a lesser extent a strong Consortium. Currently the Alpha Bloodline rules, so the Gnosis of the Consortium is Patience, long term planning, decade spanning plots, intrigue of a slow, almost glacial pace. All internal policy, and external diplomatic relationships are dictated by this Gnosis.
However, should the Alphas fall from rulership, and a bloodline like the... say Gammas take over, with the Gnosis of Wrath. You would have a militaristic Consortium, participants of blood fueds, agressive expansion, war production, and barely constrained hostility towarda others.
My idea is that the individual Gnosis becomes the overarching one, depending on who is in power.
Lore wise, why the original Recke set out of this path of what pre-Revelations Humanity would consider madness has been lost. All that remains are the fruit of his labors, the fourteen bloodlines and there constant struggle for ideological supremacy within the Consortium.
The only thing that matters to the Clones are the ascendency of there "beliefs" and to a lesser extent a strong Consortium. Currently the Alpha Bloodline rules, so the Gnosis of the Consortium is Patience, long term planning, decade spanning plots, intrigue of a slow, almost glacial pace. All internal policy, and external diplomatic relationships are dictated by this Gnosis.
However, should the Alphas fall from rulership, and a bloodline like the... say Gammas take over, with the Gnosis of Wrath. You would have a militaristic Consortium, participants of blood fueds, agressive expansion, war production, and barely constrained hostility towarda others.
Nation Name: The Dragonkin Republic Location and Capital: Beneath the surface of Venus, Central City History:
When the supernal creatures first began streaming into the world, many an organization and special interest group were set up. The Dragonkin Republic can trace its roots to one of these initially created by a wealthy man, Drake Filligan, who was obsessed with all things draconic. This "Association for the Integration of Dragonkind" (AID) had the publically stated goal of finding ways to peacefully integrate dragons into society. One of the ways they supported that goal what was to conduct and fund research into draconic biology and eventually the Supernal metaphysics behind "what makes a dragon a dragon"? In the process, they discovered and remade ancient rituals purported to be able to ascend a base human into a god-like draconic form by calling upon the Supernal Form of the Dragon, a ritual reported used by the ancient Dragon-Emperors of old.
Over the course of many years, a select group of dragons and humans worked in secret and developed a new modern-and much more generalized-form of the ritual that would infuse one's very being with the Form of the Dragon, it bestows anything it's used on with power, wisdom, intellect, majesty, and-of course-a more glorious form; even improving beings that were already dragons or dragon-like. The only flaws of this ritual being that it required the blood from another dragon, the ritual could only ascend one's form so far (based on the quality of the dragon blood used) and the darker sides of being a dragon, namely their greed, pride, and wrath, were also infused into someone- effectively twisting their personality to varying degrees (even if they were already a dragon).
Drake Filligan was the first to (publically) undergo this new "Ritual of Draconic Ascension" and this marked a new era for AID. Drake soon renamed himself to Drakan Regalis and the name of the organization was changed to "Insitute for Draconic Advancement" (IDA). Their goals changed from simply integrating draconic beings into society, to having such beings rule over society and to transform everyone into dragons. They dabbled in every art imaginable to create in Drakan the most perfect specimen of Dragonkind and many used his blood for their weekly, and even daily, rituals. Not everyone was on board with this at first, but that was nothing that a few cycles through the Ritual couldn't fix!
The result was that IDA in the span of a single decade had fallen deep, deep into their own hubris. In that span of time, they turned most of the dragonkind population towards their cause under the guise of providing "Draconic Injuvination" treatments which- while it did bring them closer to the Supernal Dragon Form, also brainwashed the patients with their ideals. They also inserted agents into many levels of different governments or brainwashed people already in those positions using a wide variety of methods, notably (again) their Ascension Rituals and also supernal hypnotism and the occasional geas. It wasn't long before they deemed their preparations for world domination complete (though the fact that people were starting to catch on that the IDA was up to something sinister did force them to speed up their timetable).
In one grand move, they changed their name again to "The Dragonblood Ascendancy" and openly declared a war of conquest against the entirety of the Earth, having sunk so deep into their pride that they considered themselves to be literally unstoppable. Leading their army was Drakan, now having used a modified (and most would say corrupt) form of The Ascension Ritual to transform himself into a being of fire and destruction via the sacrifice of many dragons and dragonkind (including his own sons)- what little sanity he had managed to hold on to before this point left him entirely as he completed his downward spiral into hubris and madness. Meanwhile, the IDA's dragonkind agents launched simultaneous coups and government takeovers against all the major nations of Earth (some were even successful).
Predictably, the peoples of the Earth united and rose up against the Ascendancy in what would come to be called "The Dragonblood War" (which despite it's near-global impact was honestly just another disaterous event in a line of other such events- such were the early years of the After Revelations era). They were lead by an extremely charismatic man who used the threat of the Ascendancy and other such threats to unite the nations of Earth. Under this man's guidance, a strike team of heroic individuals was created and they were extremely successful in disrupting Ascendancy operations and would eventually go on to slay Drakan- who soon degenerated into more than a mindlessly rampaging beast. In the shadows, they were aided by defectors from the Ascendancy who, upon noticing and researching the Ascension Ritual's negative mental effects, had been preparing in secret for this eventuality as well as working to create a safer (even if it had to be less potent) version of the Ritual. These defectors, as a reward for their cooperation, were allowed to secret themselves off to another planet. They ended up secreting themselves away beneath the surface of Venus.
Even though the new defunct Dragonblood Ascendency did have a research base on Venus's surface, it still was difficult for them to settle in as it had relied on shipments of goods to stay operational and habitable. It has taken many years, but the survivors have managed to eke out an existence there- even managing to flourish thanks to their research into mining and terraforming methods. Now calling themselves The Dragonkin Republic, they live in an artificial paradise nestled within a system of caverns and have legions of mining and manufacturing drones and AIs at their disposal. Though they have not been focusing merely on just the material this entire time, they have also been intense effort put forth to study the spiritual.
They have refined their Ritual, now calling it The Ritual of Draconic Attunement. It does not do much in the way of physical changes anymore, it instead seeks to draw one's soul closer to the Supernal Dragon Form and letting the physical changes ripple out from there- resulting in much lessened psychological changes as they are not directly altering the structure of the brain anymore. Though the greatest accomplishments of this new Ritual is that it no longer requires dragon blood-nor does it strictly require any other material component and that its benefits theoretically have no upper limit (though it does have diminishing returns). They rarely use the Ritual of Attunement anymore, though they regularly use a variant of it to imbue their nonsentient works and crafts with the power of Dragons.
During all this time, they have lived in strict isolation and rarely have had contact with other polities, even neighboring sub-Venusian ones. This is due to the fact that they strive to see that their predecessor's mistakes are not repeated (and as such their Rituals are kept highly secret). Though a few years ago, due to a border skirmish with another nation they were forced to reveal their existence to the solar system at large, lest the other nation do it for them. The border skirmish has at least been settled peacefully since then. The Dragonkin Republic still lives in relative isolation, rarely conducting trade with others except for the importation and exportation of cultural goods (art, media, books, video games, etc) and luxury goods. Everything else they make themselves. They have seen an influx of dragonkin (and other) immigrants ever since they have graciously decided to open their borders, more so because of how attractive their standards of living are and the promise of bettering oneself than any other reasons.
Culture:
Being descended from scientists and other intectual types, the Dragonkin place a lot of faith and trust in the scientific method, rationality (in the sense of trying to be reasonable/open to reason), and their advanced theo-technology. They tend to apply those to the solutions to all their problems (those are their "hammers" so to speak). The Republic is open to engaging diplomacy, though mainly just because solving their issues that way is more cost-effective than rolling out their military forces. Their citizens are taught to independently verify everything they know (but not so much to "question everything" due to the sheer amount of alternate answers one can find thanks to metaphysics). This has led to the Dragonkin backing up their answers and verifications with many repeated experiments and even complex mathematical equations which they use to try and describe how the world, and in particular their specific supernal-based methods, function.
They model their technology after the Supernal Dragon Form in accordance with their Gnosis, finding that it allows them to create more powerful, wiser, and effective machines and computers. As a result, their tech-bases errs more on the side of advanced dragon-like advanced computing devices and autonomous drones with semi-sapient AI- magitech rather than straight-up magic. They use their tech to live lives of luxury and free themselves to engage in higher pursuits. Sleek dragon-like drones scurry in and out of every nook and cranny with bigger servitor models attending to people's individual needs and requests. Kobold-class drones do all the grunt work of mining and construction, overseen either by an AI or a Dragonkin. Older drone models appear to be more mechanical and boxy, but newer ones have a more organic-like appearance and are sleeker- being readily mistakable for living creatures. The drones posess varying degrees of sentient and sapience depending on their intended tasks, but all of them have at least a low-level of it due to all of them being enhanced to channel the Supernal Form of the Dragon (and dragons are generally living thinking beings).
Architectural and artistic designs take after the art deco style and include draconic motifs and patterns.
The Dragonkin place heavy importanance on learning and mastering the basic sciences and education and then furthering your education by pursuing a certain field of science and studying the Supernal Form of the Dragon.
Gnosis: Draconic Perfection through Science
Those of the Dragonkin Republic believe that Dragonhood is the natural evolutionary pinnacle of all life that results in perfected beings. They consider all other forms of advancement and perfection to be unnatural, though to them that just means they consider any other paths to perfection to be ones that wouldn't not happen naturally on their own. Though they are not against accelerating the process of evolution as evidenced by the fact that they seek to transform themselves into various perfected reflections of one of the many facets of the Supernal Dragon Form, calling these facets the Draconic Ideals. Most people will only focus on two Ideals, treating one as the primary and the other as the secondary- though some pursue multiple Ideals and it's not uncommon for someone to change the Ideals they're going after every few years.
The Dragonkin undertake these transformations with the utmost care, taking precautions so that they don't fall prey to the more negative aspects of dragonhood- namely the boundless greed, pride, and wrath that led to the fall of their predecessors, The Dragonblood Ascendency (who are still remembered with hatred to this day as tried to conquer the Earth). They collectively call these negative traits "The Draconic Sins" and the Dragonkin are taught to resist their call. Giving into The Draconic Sins is called "Falling" and those that so are correspondingly called "Fallen".
Their primary ritual that all members perform is The Ritual of Draconic Attunement. It draws one's soul ever so closer to their chosen Draconic Ideal, though must be performed frequently or else the attunement could fade- as such most perform this daily. Eventually, the changes to the soul are reflected in the body, resulting in an overall increase in one's physical and mental attributes. These changes can be accelerated with the application of more intensive Rituals of Transformation, but they are used sparingly lest they draw one closer to The Draconic Sins. Albiet, those that are in the miltary do tend to undergo Transformative Rituals much more frequently but are given much more rigorous spiritual instruction and forced to meditate regularly in order to counteract their increased risk of Falling. There is one area in which they do more freely use the Transformative Rituals and that is in the manufacture of weapons, machines, and other nonsentient objects that they wish to draw more closely to the Draconic Form (as the Attunement Ritual doesn't tend to work very well on such things). They do not solely rely on the Draconic Form of all their needs and branch out into other Forms that are related to the Draconic Form such as Strength, Might, Wisdom, Majesty, Fire, Resilience, and more (though mainly only so far as they can be put under the umbrella of the Draconic Form).
Aside from their carefully researched and crafted Rituals, they do have one more Supernal tool up their sleeves: Dragonspeak. This is a form of Dervied Godspeak which itself is derived and refined from Ancient Draconic (particularly the one that the ancient Dragons of Asia used). It was with this power that they were able to terraform their cavernous homes into lush paradises. They have uncovered many destructive uses of their Dragonspeak, though (save for those who are in the army) they shy away from them save for their utility applications. They even have further derived what they call Lower Dragonspeak which is used as their national language and forms the basis of their Draconic Sorcery and a lesser form of the Ritual of Attunement which is called the Prayer of Draconic Alignment- lines of it are often used as a blessing before setting forth to complete a moderately difficult task.
The Dragonkin are loathe to share their secrets unless one immigrates to their nation and undergoes a lengthy education process- this is before they are even allowed to undergo the Ritual of Attunement. Those who are particularly virtuous can get fast-tracked at least.
Aspects: Drones without Number, Kamikaze Drone Tactics, Your Hulls will be Breached and your Systems Disabled
Fleet Template
Name: Wyrm Dragoncraft Drones
High Concept: Combat Superiority Fightercraft
Trouble: Short Operating Time
Aspects: Space and Air Capable, Extreme Heat Beams, Tearing your Ships apart in Melee
Army Template
Name: Predator Dragoncraft Drones
High Concept: Mechanical Close Combat Eviscerators
Trouble: Can't Take a Beating
Aspects: Armor-Piercing Chainsaw-Claws!, Jets for Wings, "How did it get in here!?!"
Heroes:
Three Heroes
Name: Self Explanatory.
History: Self Explanatory.
Legend: The real meat and bones. Legend is what your hero excels in. It's basically a skills section. However, I'd like for it to include flaws and failings in addition to superpowers. For example, if I was statting out Achilles like this, I would put down his temper and his Heel on top of his invincibility.
Name: Self Explanatory.
History: Self Explanatory.
Legend: The real meat and bones. Legend is what your hero excels in. It's basically a skills section. However, I'd like for it to include flaws and failings in addition to superpowers. For example, if I was statting out Achilles like this, I would put down his temper and his Heel on top of his invincibility.
Name: Self Explanatory.
History: Self Explanatory.
Legend: The real meat and bones. Legend is what your hero excels in. It's basically a skills section. However, I'd like for it to include flaws and failings in addition to superpowers. For example, if I was statting out Achilles like this, I would put down his temper and his Heel on top of his invincibility.
As much as you want them too. But like, unless you're explicitly backing them up with an army, in a conflict they still have the same 'damage output,' so to speak, as a single hero.
The Gnosis I'm going for is that their civilization collectively is trying to mantle the Form of Enlightenment, both technological and spiritual, basically. All of their stuff is trying to pursue that in one way or another.
The Gnosis I'm going for is that their civilization collectively is trying to mantle the Form of Enlightenment, both technological and spiritual, basically. All of their stuff is trying to pursue that in one way or another.
That's good and all, but what kind of tangible effects does it have? If you're chasing after the Form of wisdom, there should be something backing you up.
Nation Name: The Venusian Supplicantate of Amor
Location and Capital: The Ethereal City of Communion, Venus
History: It was only natural that the celestial body named after an ancient goddess of love and fertility would become home to a legion of followers devoted to the abstract ideal of love. What had begun as one of many cells in the Progeny of the Revolution with their own peculiar approach to the question of driving the world to equality would spawn something altogether different. Fifty years ago Sister Ashanee of Gessen was merely the elected leader of 57 likeminded fellows in the slums of Earth, who yearned for a utopia of total equality. Though the group was close knit and self-sustaining, sister Ashanee was disheartened by the small size of the group, and the various fractures in the rest of the Progeny. To truly make Humanity equal, surely more were needed, yet why did so few desire such a good outcome, and how did so many who shared such a vision come to blows with one another?
The answer that Sister Ashanee found was that people, including no least the Progeny, were simply lacking in Love. It was such a fundamental and ancient concept, at the core of any living creation, but in the rush of "civilization" and expansion to the cosmos, the importance of Love had been lost and replaced with divisive concepts and beliefs. Equality was all well and good as a goal, but to strive for it for the sake of it missed the purpose of life, equality must come in pursuit of true Love and coexistence between all living creations. As Sister Ashanee explained this new Revelation to her fellows, they quickly came to realize the veracity of her words, and came to have the utmost faith in her new teachings based around universal Love. The type of love was unimportant, romantic, familial, platonic, sexual, all types of Love were the same at their core by this new teaching.
With these new values of Love, more relatable and immediately connectable to the average person than abstract concepts of equality, the numbers of Sister Ashanee's following swelled. Soon hundreds were gathering to hear her words on Love, and such was her conviction that all who attended attested to the spiritual encouragement they felt from simply listening to her. The growth of Sister Ashanee's following brought troubles with it though. Many in authority felt that the followers of Sister Ashanee and the obsession with Love constituted a threat to their position and power, resulting in crackdowns against the growing following. The ever expanding numbers also strained Sister Ashanee's ability to support them materially, and much of her following was destitute. A solution to this state of affairs was needed.
And a solution would be found when Sister Ashanee told her followers of a vision that had been revealed to her. This vision showed her the millions of destitute around Earth, and the larger cosmos, and told her of the importance importance of bringing harmony to them, and to those who had lost sight of Love in the face of material wealth. All people had been misled and lost sight of true purpose, necessitating travel to spread the word of Love to everyone. And travel Sister Ashanee and her followers did, embarking from one city to another, crossing boundaries both political and geographic to save more souls through Love. Everywhere they went more became drawn to the words of Sister Ashanee, with some even taking to praying her as their savior. And as these prayers and the adoration of Love spread to hundreds, and then thousands and tens of thousands, reports of miracles enacted by Sister Ashanee came to be reported. The sick and ail she attended to would become healthy again in record times, and by almost divine providence some of her longest followers survived major accidents with nary a scratch on them.
Needless to say, a evergrowing roaming band of the impoverished moving between nations was not looked upon favorably by the powers that be. As time went on, authorities made life more and more difficult for Sister Ashanee and her devout, with several being thrown in jail for vagrancy, loitering, and other "crimes" commonly utilized to keep the poor in line. Though Sister Ashanee would lead her followers to new pastures when local authorities became too severe, it continued to pain her that there was no place of refuge for her band of those devoted to Love. Various attempts to appeal to major political forces and law enforcement, but the preachings of Love had little impact on those corrupted by power and committed to whatever the local god there was. Sister Ashanee longed for a place of safety where her people could grow and prosper, and leave an example for the rest of Earth and the Cosmos to see the true benefits of a life devoted to Love.
An opportunity for such a thing would be unexpectedly presented to her after seven years spent preaching on Earth. Wealthy billionaire philanthropist Chenzen Geutilla met Sister Ashanee by chance when he was making an appearance at a charity event that Sister Ashanee had been in the vicinity of. Though Sister Ashanee was known to Geutilla by reputation, he had never much thought of meeting her, but within minutes of conversation with her, he became wholly committed to her vision of a world united by love, and more specifically of a utopia when her ideals could safely flourish. Through multiple animated conversations Geutilla and Sister Ashanee they came to a decision, the future for the Sister's movement would be found not on Earth, but on Venus.
Venus, the Goddess of Love, was considered a fitting patron for Sister Ashanee's growing movement, and the planet that bore her name would be a most fitting location for the new utopia. At great cost Geutilla would purchase several asteroids in the clouds above Venus, and on them build a magnificent city to house Sister Ashanee and her devout, to become a model for all others to aspire to. The construction took years, and life remained difficult for Sister Ashanee's roaming band, but their faith never wavered, and their preaching for Love continued to draw both adoration and ire. With Geutilla's support for the group becoming increasingly public, the once folk-like following Sister Ashanee had grew at an unprecedented rate, making her a minor international celebrity on Earth. Her miracles became more common and more extreme, terminal cancer patients claimed they were cured after one touch. With the increased association of Venus with the movement in preparation for the move to Venus, many began to claim that Sister Ashanee was the reincarnation of Venus herself.
Tragically, the rising star of the Sister would be cut down at a premature apogee. Authorities in one of the Earth nations, terrified of the meteoric rise of Sister Ashanee, conspired to have her murdered, hoping that without their leader the group would fall apart. Though the sudden loss of Sister Ashanee was a great blow to her followers, they did not lose hope. Her supporters, including Geutilla, vowed to continue her mission, and pushed ahead with the Venus colonization project, which would see its first permanent residents arrive within a year of her death, roughly fourteen years after she had first embraced Love as her guiding light. The new colonists would literally deify Sister Ashanee in their new home, declaring her to be the reincarnation of Venus, stolen away by corrupt forces who could not bear the truth of her message. They would christen their new utopia as the Ethereal City of Communion, a place of unity and holy sanctification.
In the Ethereal City there was no wealth, no division, no stratification, all were equal and bonded together through their Love. The followers would adopt the name Amorites, from the Latin word for Love, in recognition of the origins of their Goddess. Hundreds of thousands would make the journey across the cosmos to Venus for the Ethereal City, but once all of sister Ashanee's followers had arrived, the migration slowed to a trickle. Despite the promise of spreading their message even further with a model of inspiration, no more seemed to be joining them. Many believed the cause was the death of Sister Ashanee, as no one else could perform miracles to the extent she could, though some of her most devout and longest followers were indeed capable of miracles. Though all intended to continue on their Goddess' legacy, none considered themselves worthy to act as her successor, and collective action was proving insufficient to attract broad support and perform as great miracles as Sister Ashanee had.
This conundrum left the Amorites at a loss, and they continued on with their isolated existence for several years, hoping to either finally inspire the rest of the Cosmos or to think of a new course of action. and almost miraculously, one presented itself to them. During Sister Ashanee's time leading the Amorites, many children had been born to them over the years, and raised within the group, receiving many blessings from the Sister during times of hardship. Such blessings had greatly helped the children survive hard winters and other deplorable conditions, and were well appreciated by the Amorites as a whole, but none had thought anything particularly special lay with the children. This was a mistaken assumption though, which came to be revealed as the children of the Amorites entered their late teens. As they entered the latter stages of puberty, it was discovered that they possessed a great propensity for miracles than even Sister Ashanee's most devout followers, some of the teens even rivaling the reincarnated Goddess herself. Thus they became known as the Godborn.
The Godborn quickly took action to change the nature of the Ethereal City, rendering all old forms of health services obsolete, and experimentation on the limits of their miracles quickly followed. The Godborn found that with training and practice they could achieve flight, maneuver the asteroids on which the city rested, and most troublingly influence the minds of others. It had been discovered by accident, a Godborn trying to calms the nerves of one of the scant few immigrants who arrived as they struggled to acclimate to the new culture they had entered. While the individual was calmed, the change in personality was so abrupt and drastic, bringing them entirely within the mindset and mannerism of the Amorites in seconds, that even the Godborn who had done it was confused. Subsequent questioning of those involved soon revealed the startling extent of the powers of the Godsborn, able to invade and rewrite the minds of others.
While most were troubled by this, and many questioned how it was possible with powers that they had thought were based on Love and healing, one Godsborn stepped forward to offer a different explanation. Love was not about sacrifice and servitude alone argued Sister Malleka Deeshin, but instead it was also about harmony and understanding. The aspect of harmony in particular was at the heart of Sister Ashanee's faith and power, and by extent so it was with the Godsborn. This was why they could fly and manipulate objects, by becoming in harmony with the environment around them. Thus the changing of another's mind was not invasive and overwhelming, but a new type of harmony, brought about on those who lacked the enlightenment to be with the Amorites. Sister Deeshin argued that to enact such changes on others was a mercy, as it freedom them from the evils of division, material desires, and foreign deities.
This was a profound discovery for the Amorites, who had never really questioned the finer workings of the powers they had before. Few could really argue that Sister Deeshin's explanations were factually wrong, and no one was really willing to explore a possibility where the powers they had received from Sister Ashanee were in any way morally dubious. Most importantly with this discovery, the Amorites found a new purpose in their eventual goal of achieving total harmony through Love. If they could not successfully save the cosmos by preaching and leading by example, then they would take direct measures instead, and compel the divided rest of humanity to adopt the ways of the righteous.
But this would be no easy task. Converting those in the Ethereal City proved easy enough, but when the Godsborn ventured outside it to make more converts from other cities on Venus, they discovered their power to be greatly reduced. Harmony proved a double edged sword, giving them great strength and power in places they were well in tune with, but sapping their strength in alien lands. Attempts to convert in foreign lands quickly proved futile for all but Sister Deeshin, whose power as a Godsborn, while not unprecedented within the Ethereal City, proved exceptionally less affected by the change to the outside world. It was still a much longer process outside the city than in it for her though, and due to its inefficiency, within a year, further conversion missions would be cancelled.
Instead the Amorites decided that if they could not bring conversion to the outside world, then they would bring the outside world to the Ethereal City. In pursuit of such a goal, they began kidnapping people from other cities on Venus, bringing them to the City afterwards for conversion. The biggest issue found with this policy was the difficulty in capturing foreigners without attracting the attention of law enforcement. Any risk of killing the involved could not be afforded, and despite the many skills the Amorites had and had developed, none were experienced kidnappers (or at least none who would admit to it) nor were there any trained chemists. To compensate for these shortcomings, Sister Deeshin would once again step up, developing an application of the harmonic Love powers that she called a spell, which would imbue an item with "harmonic resonance" which would align a person's consciousness with the item, which as an inanimate object meant the person lost consciousness. In such a way a person touched with such an item would be instantly knocked out, and since the power was directly tied to the object and physical contact, it retained its utility outside the City.
The next two and a half decades would see these important discoveries and foundations be used to facilitate possibly the largest mass kidnapping scheme in the annals of recorded history. Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages, genders, creeds, races, and species were taken and converted to become model Amorites. The initial kidnaping teams were soon deemed inefficient, and so the Amorites would develop a military dedicated entirely to the capture of more converts. Operating more akin to pirates than a formal military, the Amorite Legions would attack lightly defended locations on Venus' surface, or raid civilian vessels. These actions greatly distressed everyone else on Venus, who took more and more precautions against Amorite attacks, which only led to the Amorites developing their strategies and tactics to more and more resemble a professional army, as well as developing a dedicated naval force, though it is treated in most respects as an extension of the army.
The Amorites remain a long ways away from their goal of universal harmony and Love, but they remain convinced that with enough time and dedication, they will succeed.
Culture: All Amorites consider each other as equals, and generally refer to each other as siblings to indicate this. Though there is no formal leader of the Supplicantate, major decisions for the polity are made by an informal council of leading Amorites, generally consisting of the remaining direct disciples of Sister Ashanee as well as the most powerful and respected of the Godsborn. New Godsborn have been continuously being born, as those who are blessed by a Godsborn as a child have a strong chance to become a Godsborn themselves, though it is not universal as it was for those blessed by Sister Ashanee. The existence of the Godsborn and their semi-privileged status is a de facto shortcoming in the supposedly egalitarian Amorite society. New converts to the Amorites are considered full equals and ably integrated into the culture. Even those scant few who willingly migrate to the Supplicantate still ungo mental adjustment, to ensure the integration process goes smoothly; only native born Amorites do not undergo mental adjustment.
Gnosis: Harmony, the concept of unity and interaction between all things. The steadfast belief in harmony, specifically in the form of love, powers the miracles and abilities of the Amorites, drawn from the original capabilities of Sister Ashanee. The powers of harmony can be applied in many ways through imaginative interpretation of the idea of harmony and bonds. However, the harmonic powers used by the Amorites are largely dependent on the users attunement with the environment around them, which in practice means most Amorites have severely reduced abilities outside of the Ethereal City. The ships of the Flying Legions have also been attuned with Amorites over the years, and act as mobile areas of strength for Amorites as well. Most Amorites possess some powers from their beliefs and attunement in the Ethereal City, but these powers are still quite limited, with only the Godsborn, those blessed at birth by Sister Ashanee or another Godsborn, can truly use the Harmonic powers to the greatest potential.
Swords: 5
Staves: 1
Banquet: 4
Coin: 5
Crown: 5
Armies: Two Armies
High Concept: Melee Legions/Militant Evangelicalists
Trouble: No weapons with range beyond a few meters
Aspects: The Supplicantate's Legions are formed entirely behind the principle that ranged warfare is hereticaly impersonal, and against the notions of Love that drive the nation. Though not as vehemently opposed, the very idea of murder is disdained by the Legions, since it is the goal of the Supplicantate to spread Love, harmony, understanding, and compassion to all peoples. Therefore, it is only natural that the primary weapons of the Supplicantate's Legions are blunt spears and nets imbued with spells of submission. The goal in battle is not to kill or destroy the opposing side, but to subdue them, capture them, and afterwards bring the light of Love to them, incorporating them into the Supplicantate. To partially compensate for the obvious shortcomings of lacking major ranged weapons, each legionary has a shield and armor blessed by Amor to protect them from the cowardly assaults of the unenlightened.
Fleets: Two Fleets
High Concept: The Return of Ramming and Boarding Actions
Trouble: No ranged weapons
Aspects: The Suppllicantate's Flying Legions and in many ways simply an extension of the regular Legions. Since destruction of enemy vessels at a distance would be both cowardly and wasteful of human life, the prefered mode of combat for the Flying Legions is ramming and boarding enemy vessels to subdue their crews by non-lethal force. Due to the more confined spaces of vessels, imbued swords are the weapons of choice for the Flying Legion Marines, rather than spears, and while they keep shields for protection, they are smaller to better fit the conditions. Knock-out gas is also utilized in boarding actions. The ships of the Flying Legions are designed with strong forward armor and powerful engines, to most effectively get them close to their targets to ram and board. Like the regular Legions, the goal is the capture and conversion of the unenlightened.
Heroes:
Name: Sister Malleka Deeshin
History: One of the oldest Godsborn, and unusually gifted with her powers outside of the Ethereal City for reasons that have never been clear. One of the chief architects for the current approach to "foreign policy" for the Supplicantate, a respected theorist on Harmonic powers, and is generally looked to as a leader in times of crisis. [WiP/see nation history]
Legend: Capable of using near to the full extent of Harmonic powers after only a very short time in a location. Where most Godsborn take a year or more to fully attune, Sister Deeshin can do so in a little over a week. She is also very cunning and intelligent, responsible for most of the Amorites' understanding of Harmonic power. However, she is physically weak, and due to rarely engaging in strenuous activity, as well as her age pushing fifty, she does not have much stamina.
Name: Sister Tressol Verness
History: WiP
Legend: While not as absurdly fast at attunement as Sister Deeshin, Sister Verness is uniquely skilled at the art of conversion. Most Godsborn cannot perform conversion outside the Ethereal City, with many of the stronger one struggling to do so fully even on the ships of the Flying Legions. Even Sister Deeshin can take a long time on conversions outside well attuned areas. Sister Verness on the other hand can perform a full conversion on a person she is touching in seconds, even in places she has only just arrived. Though Sister Verness is an actual front line combatant, unlike Sister Deeshin, Sister Verness' combat attunement rate is not particularly exceptional, taking her several months to reach her full power, and she is no more well armed or protected than an average Amorite Legionary.
Name: Brother Lorem Bicov
History: WiP
Legend: Uniquely among Amorites, Brother Bicov is a warrior. To virtually every other Amurite, conflict and fighting is merely a necessary evil on their path to harmonic utopia. Brother Bicov revels in fight though, feeling truly alive when his life is on the line. This is helped by his ability to achieve harmonic resonance with himself, allowing him to greatly augment his strength or other attributes, making him an exceptionally dangerous living weapon. However his attunement rate is average for a Godsborn, and his happiness in combat makes his fellow Amorite exceptionally wary of him, particularly when he recklessly disregards plans to have a better fight.
