Luzifer
03-08-2007, 01:41 PM
And They Touched the Face of God
*Approved by LPS*
Story and Elements of Chaos
The World That Was:
The world had advanced far. There were still unpleasant elements, the poor still had not received their due and languish in the urban core of the society. However, that did not hurt the overall optimism of the age. Everyone worked for the betterment of society. Everyone struggled to make there Ideal world. Some through essays, some through politics, others through litigation, and others simply restricted there paradise to their own, small, sphere of influence. But all had hope. There were dreams floating in the air to be tasted. Dreams. Dreams, which were so breakable.
This was the world when the Shard of Tetragrammaton fell on Cainaan.
The Dissension and the Fall of the Shard of Tetragrammaton:
Cainaan was a town like any other. The high school students went out past curfew and the convenience store was robbed on occasion. Small houses dotted the towns rolling hills, despite the towns small flaws it was a good town. The public schools had improve greatly since the turn of the last century. The college acceptance rate was 95%. Young men and women left the town to pursue their dreams.
This town was slated to die.
February, 19th 2XXX was the day time decided to stop. When the Tetragrammaton, god of all things, decided the worlds time was over and that Rebirthing had to occur. It was 2:21:13 in the morning when the clocks stopped, when the phoenix closed its eye on its pyre and went to sleep.
It was at this time when an object known now as the Shard of Tetragrammaton fell to earth and the dissension began.
The Birth of Chaos:
When the Shard fell on Cainaan, the world ceased to be. There was no explosion. No great shattering of the sky. A stone merely fell from the earth and in the blink of an eye the world was changed. The world that came forth was Chaos. The state of uncreation.
Chaos is world of strangeness, black trees grow twisted and stretch wizened charcoal fingers across the sky. Valleys bend in rivers of air. And cities of rubble appeared over night. These cites, or the remains of them, have been given the names Pandemonium, Sodom, Tartarus, and Gamora. Outside of these “safe” semi-cities the land is crawling with demons and angels and all manner of spiritual beasts and monsters. Manifestations of human elements that were broken to pieces and fell to the ground when the human souls that supported them receded into the Anima, the collective conscious. Most dangerous of these is the Legions. It is a massive coagulation of wayward ill will, the results of wars that occurred in the human world and remain as massive groups of demons that terrorize even the cities.
There is still hope though. Some humans still walk the earth. There was no rhyme or reason to who came, some were new born babes, some people on their death beds. However, some of them are able to survive. They wander the world with one goal in mine. To rebirth the world.
However, the humans have slowly begun to change. They themselves are turning into demons. Some merely into humans with wings while others are undergoing a slow but complete metamorphosis. The power of Anima, begins to fill their veins. They grow more in touch with the world of anti-existence. But they still remember, even as they shift from the world of creation into its parody that they were human and they still desire, once more, to see the human world reborn.
They all have different goals in rebirthing the world. All wish to create their own utopia however, they disagree about the specifics of what that utopia should be. For this they have been divided into six schools of thought based on three Ways. For now they wander without direction. They know not how to rebuild. In order to do that they must return to the only piece of the former world that remains.
Cainaan.
Three Journey Forth:
When Cainaan was wiped out three appear to have survived the devastation. They walked into Chaos in separate directions but each bears the mark of there existence, the Sigil of Definition.
Each of these three boys now journeys with a band of other humans. All seeking to one day rebuild the world, they all now set their sites for the city where they will soon meet and be known to each other, Pandemonium
The Three Ways and their Duals:
There are three Philosophies that govern the demons, Harmony, Dissonance, Order, Conflict, Individualistic Humanism and Societal Humanism. In addition to being the basis around which demons form there bands they also are the channel through which Anima manifests itself. Each Philosophy allows Anima to be made manifest in different ways.
Each Philosophy is actually one half of a greater whole, which make up the three Ways. However, they each have a different method of interpreting their particular Way which cause them to have opposite points of view in most matters. Two people of Opposite Philosophies in the same Way rarely get along.
Please note these philosophies and ways are not absolutes, a Follower of Conflict can agree with an Individualistic humanist in some respects and a Harmonian might see the good in Order. However, pick the one that best suits your character.
The Way of Noumena:
Harmony – Dissonance
Both Harmony and Dissonance believe in following the intuition and not using ones mind too much. They believe the human body, as a natural entity knows exactly the right think to do and that reason only screws things up. At times they can seem childish, filled with wonder at the world because they don’t allow their minds to turn every minor miracle into a coffin of reality.
Harmony and Dissonance have one major dispute that causes great disagreement between them. Followers of the Philosophy of Harmony believe that people should be calm and at piece, intuiting things from the perspective of the world. They often try to break down the barriers between their mind and the world around them so that they can be one with the world and follow its guiding will. After all, we are all but cells in the organism of life. Can there be any other path but to become one with the being that we are part of? (For further reading on Harmonians look up Zen Buddhism and Taoism)
Dissonants disagree in that they believe there own individual human bodies are just as valid as the world around them. They follow there emotions and rarely take the time to think out their actions. Where a Harmonian might be calm and peaceful most of the time a Dissonant is prone to huge mood swings and are highly unpredictable. They despise any authority over themselves and therefore dislike the Harmonian idea that life is some greater being of which we are a part, they see life as more of a chaotic tangle and don’t really care to figure it out. They roll with the flow of things. After all, why look for happiness outside ones self when on has it right here? (For further reading on Dissonants look up Anarchism and the Epicureans)
Goals: Harmonians wish to make the new universe one where all creatures and people are profoundly aware of there place and are instinctually connected with one another in an era of peace and joy.
Dissonants want to make the new universe one where all things are able to follow whatever emotion they feel like at the time. Everyone is happy just being himself or herself and can instantaneously sense their own intuitive needs.
The Way of Phenomena:
Order – Conflict
Both Orderites and Conflicters believe in the power of will. They wish to create a world shaped by human will and reason. They see emotions and intuition as inherently flawed since they can never be translated to another person and therefore like intrinsic value in the real world. There fore they feel that only with reason can on truly understand the world around them, it is through logic and understanding the world speaks.
Orderites believe that mankind requires piece and prosperity above all other things. That the reason that mankind was given a rational mind was so that he could use it to create a world were all the laws of logic were followed and every one can be happy in the flush of an eternal utopia. They believe that to this end all other things come second, and they will often use any measure to obtain it. Though the may sometimes come off as cold to the needs of others it is only when they believe there demands to be irrational or when they think that if the person would tolerate being unhappy now they will be rewarded later with a more peaceful world. Not afraid of sacrifice, these rigid people believe that if humans are put into a completely orderly environment they will eventually turn good. After all, isn’t peace and prosperity the goal of all people? (For further reading see Confucianism and Machiavelli (not machiavellian but the man himself))
Conflicters believe that mankind should always seek conflict to test there reason and abilities. Often times they are warriors who love to test their will power against others. Like Orderites they are not afraid of sacrifice however they do not feel a peaceful world is what is necessary. They wish to be at all times in conflict so that there will can become great, in effect, they believe the will and reason are there own ends and not means. However, despite how it may appear not all conflicters believe in physical fighting. A large number of philosophers and other thinkers belong to this group. They live for putting there ideas against those of others to determine there worth and are also particularly fond of taking someone else’s idea and analyzing it and find its holes. To this effect they are great devil’s advocates. Finally they believe in rule of the strong, be it intellectually or physically. After all, what is the purpose of the world except to perfectly reason it out and create the ultimate will that can shape it? (For further reading look up Nietzsche)
Goals: Orderites wish to make a world where there are exactly laws which are perfectly rational and fair so that there will be justice for all people and it is there this path that utopia can be achieved.
Conflicters wish to make a world of battle and intellectual conflict. The rules would be set by the one who’s will can not be broken and whose intelligence is beyond reproach. However, the rules are not absolutes and are not to be followed merely respected.
The Way of Humanity
Individualistic Humanism – Societal Humanism
The Humanists, both sides, differ from the other two way in that they do not focus on one half of the human consciousness. Where as a phenoms believe in logic and will and noumens believe in feeling and intuition, the humanists either do not care to make a distinction or respect both sides. They believe first and foremost in the perfectibility of mankind, that humanity has infinite potential and that any threat to that potential is beyond evil. Happiness to the Followers of the Way of Humanity is often times a tertiary concern
Individualistic Humanists believe that humans can only be perfected on the individual level, that one can only perfect one’s self and that one must dedicate oneself entirely to that goal. Though they may sound aloof and tending to live alone this is not always the case, they may see contact with others as a perfectly reasonable way of improving themselves, either through exposure to new ideas or through the emotional power they can draw from others. That’s not too say there are the occasional hermits it merely indicates that though they are Individualistic it merely means that all actions they take are in some way tied towards improving themselves. They spend many hours studying, training, and meditating. After all, isn’t the perfection of ones own being the primary concern of all men?
Societal Humanists focus on the improvement of mankind as a whole but do not normally subscribe to any particular method by which this can be accomplished. In most cases they believe that the human society itself knows the best way to get stronger however there are certain things they will not stand for. Particular among these is any individual or group of individuals undermining humanity, debasing it. Societal Humanists also spend much time improving others. They often spend time teaching and nurturing others to try and seek a pan-human ascension to perfection. Others are watchdogs, they protect humans from weakening influence and are not above the use of cruelty to obtain those ends. A common doctrine among Societal Humanists is that they will be perfected only when everyone else is perfect to, that humanity must obtain perfection as a single entity. After all, isn’t the perfection of humanity the purest of goals?
(Please note I made up these last two paths of thought, though they are loosely based on humanism. If you wish further reading that is all I can point you towards.)
Goals: Individualistic Humanists wish to make a world where each individual works purely for there own improvement. Each person is loyal only to themselves and seek a personal enlightenment and the perfection of their own being.
Societal Humanists wish to make a world where all strive to improve each other and to protect one another from any influences that might weaken them or keep them from enlightenment.
Anima:
Anima is the collective consciousness of mankind. Right now it is swelling almost to bursting because so few humans souls actually exist since the world is currently in Chaos.
Anima flows through all people and most “spells” are merely manipulations of it. All humans possess Anima and however, its takes a demon or angel or other spiritual being to physically manipulate it. Humans can, after they begin to become demons, manipulate it in limited ways. Even the most minor of actions takes immense focus so at the beginning of an individuals descension into demon/angelhood he or she can only perform single small actions that he or she spends a great deal of time memorizing the motions for.
Anima can be manipulated in different ways depending on the individual’s philosophy. For example, those of the Way of Noumena cannot force their Anima, they must flow with their own Anima and allow it to work itself, they control the Anima by allowing it to control them, much like a swimmer in a river does not fight against the current but rather flows with it to keep from drowning.
Followers of the Way of Phenomena bend Anima to their will, these normally, like the swimmer going against the current the phenom becomes exhausted more quickly, however, can perform actions which a noumen cannot or, more precisely, wishes not to do. Those of the Way of the Phenom must remain actively involved in manipulating there Anima.
Followers of the Way of Humanity, manipulate Anima in a strange way. Unlike the other two, which consciously act with the intent of using Anima, humanists do not. They act irregardless of whether or not Anima is with them and sometimes Anima deigns to go with their action. There are no Humanist mages.
Mutation:
The humans who were brought into this world lost a key component of there humanity in order to come her. There definition. They became undefined beings. To this extent their own bodies have slowly begun to mutate and change.
What this will do in RP terms is that slowly over the course of the RP, your character will begin to mutate. How far this mutation goes is up to you and what form it takes is up to you as well.
Sample Character Sheet
Name:
Age (at time of Dissension):
Sex:
Appearance (Picture if you wish)
Class: (All start off as human)
Philosophy: (Harmony, Order, Dissonance, Conflict, Individualistic Humanism, or Societal Humanism)
Mutation(s): Only one minor mutation to start
Ability(s): Again, Only one minor ability to start
Weapon: No advanced technology. Think pre-gunpowder.
Personality:
Bio: (If you do not wish to give a long bio here to keep certain aspects of your character secret you can also PM me the bio)
Starting Group: (Choose one of the three characters, Mastema, Samael, or Macht)
Sample Characters:
Character’s that I will be Rping:
Please note these next three characters are unique and don’t have a Philosophy. There is a reason for this. However, if you look at there personalities you will notice that they have a lot in common with one of the philosophies. So pay attention in case you were confused as to how any of the Philosophies would work in the case of an individual character.
Name: Mastema Vassago
Age: Unknown (appears 17)
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Angel%20Sanctuary/angel_sanctuary.jpg
(sorry to anyone whose seen me use this image before but I absolutely love it)
He doesn’t have wings though
Class: Human
Philosophy: Unknown
Mutation(s): White hair
Ability(s): Minor Auraic Peace (His Anima seems to flow through his veins and allowing him to flow with the will of the world to a small extent.)
Weapon: None. Uses fists and gloves.
Personality: An incredibly calm boy who rarely bothers to act. He likes to watch events unfold and let them shift him. He bends with the worlds flow and lets it shape his path. He seems wiser then his age might indicate and is almost immediately aware of the emotions and feelings of others. Serene, he is a lake of support to those who look to him, to everyone else he might seem like an idiot and rather slow.
Bio: Nothing is known about him save that he was one of the three survivors from when the Shard of Tetragrammaton landed in Cainaan.
Starting Group: His own.
Name: Samael Samigina
Age: Unknown (Appears 19)
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.serdec.com/angelsword/img/scans/6-atsilouth/17-lucifer06.jpg
his hair covers one eye.
Class: Human
Philosophy: Unknown
Mutation: Fell Eye, which is covered by hair (does not see real world. Most of the time out of focus but focuses when he is thinking. Sees world in abstract concepts)
Ability: Grace of Anima (Sometimes Anima will chose to aid Samael and he will move with supernatural speed and celerity)
Weapon: Scythe
Personality: An apathetic young man who rarely bothers with anyone outside of himself. Spends most of his time alone or avoiding contact with others. His visible eye is often closed in seeming meditation. He spends many hours training and thinking but can be quite mean-spirited to others if they press for his attention, preferring to be left alone to his own thoughts. Occasionally makes comments about someone being a “sinner”. Many of these faces are just ways for him to cover up strong feelings of inadequecy he possesses towards himself.
Bio: Nothing is known about him save that he was one of the three survivors from when the Shard of Tetragrammaton landed in Cainaan.
Starting Group: His own
Name: Macht Wille
Age: (Appears about 15)
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Angel%20Sanctuary/setsuna_leather.jpg
Class: Human
Philosophy: Unknown
Mutation(s): Telepathic Link with his Sword
Ability(s): Weak Shadow Manipulation (Can bend shadows to his will to a small extent granting him the use of Shadows Divination)
Weapon: Sword (its name is Eligos)
Personality: A lover of all things battle related. Normally a cool, albeit sometimes cruel, person however, once battle begins he goes almost crazy with battle lust. Outside of combat he is actually quite intelligent and carries many books with. Argumentative at the best of times, but don’t take it personally, its not that he dislikes you or disagrees its just he loves fighting and arguing.
Bio: Nothing is known about him save that he was one of the three survivors from when the Shard of Tetragrammaton landed in Cainaan.
Starting Group: His Own
Final note: All three of these characters have this symbol http://z.about.com/d/altreligion/1/0/R/S/2/slucifersigil.jpg tattooed somewhere on there bodies. Mastema on his torso, Samael over his throat, and Macht on his forehead
Sample Characters Up For Grabs:
Feel free to take and use these characters. Just say your taking them and if you have any specific questions about personality or anything you might want to ask just send me a PM.
Name: Shania Belia
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/dna/Karin.JPG
Class: Human
Philosophy: Order
Mutation: Sky-blue hair
Ability: Frail Illumination (Bending the light of the sun, which is now lost to this world, she can create light from nothing granting her the Blinding Flash)
Weapon: Knife
Personality: Energetic but have a certain amount of brokenness to her that comes from a life on the street. Now that she has been granted the opportunity to help shape the next world she has become brighter and happier. One of ceaseless activity she can’t understand how Mastema can be so passive.
Bio: Lived on the streets for most of her life after it became apparent her mother couldn’t take care of her. She became quite street wise and her ingenuity allowed her stay alive, at least physically. For many years she become to shrivel emotionally as she continued to feel ostracized from those around.
However, now that she is in Chaos she is recovering and hopes to make a world where the poor and forgotten are supported. She was the first person to meet Mastema in Chaos and has traveled with him since that time, though that’s not to say she agrees with him. His tendency to let the world act and her experience of having the world act cruelly to her are irreconcilable.
Starting Group: Mastema
Name: Seraf Woodward
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Angel%20Sanctuary/lucifer.jpg
Class: Human
Philosophy: Societal Humanism
Mutation: Large blade which comes from the back of his right hand
Ability: The Lost God’s Hand ( Occasionally Animic Power will focus in his right hand and causing a bright white light and demons struck by it will be desummoned from the world)
Weapon: Hand Blade
Personality: A calm thinker and at times, a heartless pursuer of the human good. He is somewhat dismissive towards others but is quick to lecture others if at any moment they show the slightest bit of incompetence. This can be incredibly annoying but it is done with the best of intentions. He never lies, however, he is quite eloquent and his words might seem to mean something other then what they say.
Bio: He grew up in a wealthy home, sheltered from the sufferings of humanity until he began his college education. When he read about the defunct systems of keeping humanity stable he decided he would become a lawyer to write the wrongs he saw keeping humanity from obtaining perfection.
He later joined a law firm that specialized in cases dealing with human rights and worked tirelessly to destroy every law that he called a “sin against humanity”. He rarely cared about the justice of the particular case but rather about its greater effect on society as a whole, at one point argueing for a group of murders simply because they had not received a consul when there confessions had been taken and successfully got there charges dismissed.
He occasionally lectured at colleges and taught all who would listen about the value of the pursuit of the greater human good, which transcended any individual or even group of individuals.
Once he became part of Chaos he wander aimlessly until he met Macht. Though he sometimes argues about the correct path to human good with Macht, he has taken some inspiration from the boy in his pursuit of creating the next world. He considers Macht a son.
Starting Group: Macht’s
Name: Edena Xiphi (pronounced Chifi)
Age: 21
Sex: Female
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Berserk/berserk_casca.jpg
Class: Human
Philosophy: Dissonance
Mutation: Tattoos along her back that glow pale green when she is emotional- which is often.
Ability: Sense (Anima flows through her at all times and this grants her a heightened awareness)
Weapon: Rapier
Peronality: Chaotic. She is a person who is quick to anger and just as quick to forgive. She seems sad whenever she doesn’t have her mind occupied which is rare because she often seems to go out of her way to stay busy. Loyal to herself above all others and sometimes flippant, she’s not really that bad once you get to know her.
Bio: Born in a small country town, she had a reputation for being discordant even then. She had a habit of stealing things even in her youth and for a while had a criminal record as a petty thief. She fell in with the wrong crowd for while but when she was about 18 she fell in love with a man and in order to keep from having to be apart from him while being incarcerated she stopped her criminal activities.
They live happily for two years. However, six months before the Shard of the Tetragrammaton fell on Cainaan, the young man died. She then fell back into her previous ways and at the time of the Dissension was languishing in a cell where she could do nothing but think about her loss. Now that she’s out she avoids thinking about it by any means necessary.
While in Chaos she met Samael and tried to steal his scythe, however, he defeated her but spared her life. For some reason, she took this to mean he likes her and now hangs around him, driving him insane with her affection for him. She often gets angry at him but that’s just because she can’t keep her mood stable for any length of time. Samael has more then once tried to ditch her but she keeps coming back. Much to his chagrin.
Starting Group: Samael
Game Master’s Notes:
Here are some things too keep in mind as you design your character and RP.
First, no over powered characters. If I see if I see a character that seems to be over powered I will not accept it and ask you to please change it. Remember, all the characters are normal people before the Dissension. A typical father. A young high school girl. Nothing more. No ninjas with amazing superhuman strength or biologically engineered soldiers.
Second, when Rping, remember this is probably going to be a very long RP. Don’t rush your character growth, otherwise you’ll get stuck doing the same thing over and over.
Third, please be detailed in your personalities and Bios. Even you have something you don’t want to reveal yet, you can send it to me so no one has to know before you are ready to reveal it. I’d like to see well-developed characters.
Fourth, if you have any requests about things that you want your character to do or have occur during the course of the plot send me a pm and I’ll see if I can accommodate you.
Fifth, You may be wondering why I had everyone set there class to human yet still included it as a slot. This is because every 20 pages or so I’m going to request that everyone still involved repost there character sheets in the sign up thread. There are several reasons 1) it allows me to keep track of who is and isn’t still in the RP 2) you can adjust your class depending on how your character has mutated and/or strengthed over those aforementioned 20 pages and also include a brief summary of what happened to him, and finally it allows other people to keep up, having 10 or so people strengthening constantly can get confusing, especially if you have to leave for a week for some reason. This will allow everyone to be on the same page and allow those who might have missed something to keep up without reading 15 back pages of text.
Sixth, have fun or I will destroy you.
*Approved by LPS*
Story and Elements of Chaos
The World That Was:
The world had advanced far. There were still unpleasant elements, the poor still had not received their due and languish in the urban core of the society. However, that did not hurt the overall optimism of the age. Everyone worked for the betterment of society. Everyone struggled to make there Ideal world. Some through essays, some through politics, others through litigation, and others simply restricted there paradise to their own, small, sphere of influence. But all had hope. There were dreams floating in the air to be tasted. Dreams. Dreams, which were so breakable.
This was the world when the Shard of Tetragrammaton fell on Cainaan.
The Dissension and the Fall of the Shard of Tetragrammaton:
Cainaan was a town like any other. The high school students went out past curfew and the convenience store was robbed on occasion. Small houses dotted the towns rolling hills, despite the towns small flaws it was a good town. The public schools had improve greatly since the turn of the last century. The college acceptance rate was 95%. Young men and women left the town to pursue their dreams.
This town was slated to die.
February, 19th 2XXX was the day time decided to stop. When the Tetragrammaton, god of all things, decided the worlds time was over and that Rebirthing had to occur. It was 2:21:13 in the morning when the clocks stopped, when the phoenix closed its eye on its pyre and went to sleep.
It was at this time when an object known now as the Shard of Tetragrammaton fell to earth and the dissension began.
The Birth of Chaos:
When the Shard fell on Cainaan, the world ceased to be. There was no explosion. No great shattering of the sky. A stone merely fell from the earth and in the blink of an eye the world was changed. The world that came forth was Chaos. The state of uncreation.
Chaos is world of strangeness, black trees grow twisted and stretch wizened charcoal fingers across the sky. Valleys bend in rivers of air. And cities of rubble appeared over night. These cites, or the remains of them, have been given the names Pandemonium, Sodom, Tartarus, and Gamora. Outside of these “safe” semi-cities the land is crawling with demons and angels and all manner of spiritual beasts and monsters. Manifestations of human elements that were broken to pieces and fell to the ground when the human souls that supported them receded into the Anima, the collective conscious. Most dangerous of these is the Legions. It is a massive coagulation of wayward ill will, the results of wars that occurred in the human world and remain as massive groups of demons that terrorize even the cities.
There is still hope though. Some humans still walk the earth. There was no rhyme or reason to who came, some were new born babes, some people on their death beds. However, some of them are able to survive. They wander the world with one goal in mine. To rebirth the world.
However, the humans have slowly begun to change. They themselves are turning into demons. Some merely into humans with wings while others are undergoing a slow but complete metamorphosis. The power of Anima, begins to fill their veins. They grow more in touch with the world of anti-existence. But they still remember, even as they shift from the world of creation into its parody that they were human and they still desire, once more, to see the human world reborn.
They all have different goals in rebirthing the world. All wish to create their own utopia however, they disagree about the specifics of what that utopia should be. For this they have been divided into six schools of thought based on three Ways. For now they wander without direction. They know not how to rebuild. In order to do that they must return to the only piece of the former world that remains.
Cainaan.
Three Journey Forth:
When Cainaan was wiped out three appear to have survived the devastation. They walked into Chaos in separate directions but each bears the mark of there existence, the Sigil of Definition.
Each of these three boys now journeys with a band of other humans. All seeking to one day rebuild the world, they all now set their sites for the city where they will soon meet and be known to each other, Pandemonium
The Three Ways and their Duals:
There are three Philosophies that govern the demons, Harmony, Dissonance, Order, Conflict, Individualistic Humanism and Societal Humanism. In addition to being the basis around which demons form there bands they also are the channel through which Anima manifests itself. Each Philosophy allows Anima to be made manifest in different ways.
Each Philosophy is actually one half of a greater whole, which make up the three Ways. However, they each have a different method of interpreting their particular Way which cause them to have opposite points of view in most matters. Two people of Opposite Philosophies in the same Way rarely get along.
Please note these philosophies and ways are not absolutes, a Follower of Conflict can agree with an Individualistic humanist in some respects and a Harmonian might see the good in Order. However, pick the one that best suits your character.
The Way of Noumena:
Harmony – Dissonance
Both Harmony and Dissonance believe in following the intuition and not using ones mind too much. They believe the human body, as a natural entity knows exactly the right think to do and that reason only screws things up. At times they can seem childish, filled with wonder at the world because they don’t allow their minds to turn every minor miracle into a coffin of reality.
Harmony and Dissonance have one major dispute that causes great disagreement between them. Followers of the Philosophy of Harmony believe that people should be calm and at piece, intuiting things from the perspective of the world. They often try to break down the barriers between their mind and the world around them so that they can be one with the world and follow its guiding will. After all, we are all but cells in the organism of life. Can there be any other path but to become one with the being that we are part of? (For further reading on Harmonians look up Zen Buddhism and Taoism)
Dissonants disagree in that they believe there own individual human bodies are just as valid as the world around them. They follow there emotions and rarely take the time to think out their actions. Where a Harmonian might be calm and peaceful most of the time a Dissonant is prone to huge mood swings and are highly unpredictable. They despise any authority over themselves and therefore dislike the Harmonian idea that life is some greater being of which we are a part, they see life as more of a chaotic tangle and don’t really care to figure it out. They roll with the flow of things. After all, why look for happiness outside ones self when on has it right here? (For further reading on Dissonants look up Anarchism and the Epicureans)
Goals: Harmonians wish to make the new universe one where all creatures and people are profoundly aware of there place and are instinctually connected with one another in an era of peace and joy.
Dissonants want to make the new universe one where all things are able to follow whatever emotion they feel like at the time. Everyone is happy just being himself or herself and can instantaneously sense their own intuitive needs.
The Way of Phenomena:
Order – Conflict
Both Orderites and Conflicters believe in the power of will. They wish to create a world shaped by human will and reason. They see emotions and intuition as inherently flawed since they can never be translated to another person and therefore like intrinsic value in the real world. There fore they feel that only with reason can on truly understand the world around them, it is through logic and understanding the world speaks.
Orderites believe that mankind requires piece and prosperity above all other things. That the reason that mankind was given a rational mind was so that he could use it to create a world were all the laws of logic were followed and every one can be happy in the flush of an eternal utopia. They believe that to this end all other things come second, and they will often use any measure to obtain it. Though the may sometimes come off as cold to the needs of others it is only when they believe there demands to be irrational or when they think that if the person would tolerate being unhappy now they will be rewarded later with a more peaceful world. Not afraid of sacrifice, these rigid people believe that if humans are put into a completely orderly environment they will eventually turn good. After all, isn’t peace and prosperity the goal of all people? (For further reading see Confucianism and Machiavelli (not machiavellian but the man himself))
Conflicters believe that mankind should always seek conflict to test there reason and abilities. Often times they are warriors who love to test their will power against others. Like Orderites they are not afraid of sacrifice however they do not feel a peaceful world is what is necessary. They wish to be at all times in conflict so that there will can become great, in effect, they believe the will and reason are there own ends and not means. However, despite how it may appear not all conflicters believe in physical fighting. A large number of philosophers and other thinkers belong to this group. They live for putting there ideas against those of others to determine there worth and are also particularly fond of taking someone else’s idea and analyzing it and find its holes. To this effect they are great devil’s advocates. Finally they believe in rule of the strong, be it intellectually or physically. After all, what is the purpose of the world except to perfectly reason it out and create the ultimate will that can shape it? (For further reading look up Nietzsche)
Goals: Orderites wish to make a world where there are exactly laws which are perfectly rational and fair so that there will be justice for all people and it is there this path that utopia can be achieved.
Conflicters wish to make a world of battle and intellectual conflict. The rules would be set by the one who’s will can not be broken and whose intelligence is beyond reproach. However, the rules are not absolutes and are not to be followed merely respected.
The Way of Humanity
Individualistic Humanism – Societal Humanism
The Humanists, both sides, differ from the other two way in that they do not focus on one half of the human consciousness. Where as a phenoms believe in logic and will and noumens believe in feeling and intuition, the humanists either do not care to make a distinction or respect both sides. They believe first and foremost in the perfectibility of mankind, that humanity has infinite potential and that any threat to that potential is beyond evil. Happiness to the Followers of the Way of Humanity is often times a tertiary concern
Individualistic Humanists believe that humans can only be perfected on the individual level, that one can only perfect one’s self and that one must dedicate oneself entirely to that goal. Though they may sound aloof and tending to live alone this is not always the case, they may see contact with others as a perfectly reasonable way of improving themselves, either through exposure to new ideas or through the emotional power they can draw from others. That’s not too say there are the occasional hermits it merely indicates that though they are Individualistic it merely means that all actions they take are in some way tied towards improving themselves. They spend many hours studying, training, and meditating. After all, isn’t the perfection of ones own being the primary concern of all men?
Societal Humanists focus on the improvement of mankind as a whole but do not normally subscribe to any particular method by which this can be accomplished. In most cases they believe that the human society itself knows the best way to get stronger however there are certain things they will not stand for. Particular among these is any individual or group of individuals undermining humanity, debasing it. Societal Humanists also spend much time improving others. They often spend time teaching and nurturing others to try and seek a pan-human ascension to perfection. Others are watchdogs, they protect humans from weakening influence and are not above the use of cruelty to obtain those ends. A common doctrine among Societal Humanists is that they will be perfected only when everyone else is perfect to, that humanity must obtain perfection as a single entity. After all, isn’t the perfection of humanity the purest of goals?
(Please note I made up these last two paths of thought, though they are loosely based on humanism. If you wish further reading that is all I can point you towards.)
Goals: Individualistic Humanists wish to make a world where each individual works purely for there own improvement. Each person is loyal only to themselves and seek a personal enlightenment and the perfection of their own being.
Societal Humanists wish to make a world where all strive to improve each other and to protect one another from any influences that might weaken them or keep them from enlightenment.
Anima:
Anima is the collective consciousness of mankind. Right now it is swelling almost to bursting because so few humans souls actually exist since the world is currently in Chaos.
Anima flows through all people and most “spells” are merely manipulations of it. All humans possess Anima and however, its takes a demon or angel or other spiritual being to physically manipulate it. Humans can, after they begin to become demons, manipulate it in limited ways. Even the most minor of actions takes immense focus so at the beginning of an individuals descension into demon/angelhood he or she can only perform single small actions that he or she spends a great deal of time memorizing the motions for.
Anima can be manipulated in different ways depending on the individual’s philosophy. For example, those of the Way of Noumena cannot force their Anima, they must flow with their own Anima and allow it to work itself, they control the Anima by allowing it to control them, much like a swimmer in a river does not fight against the current but rather flows with it to keep from drowning.
Followers of the Way of Phenomena bend Anima to their will, these normally, like the swimmer going against the current the phenom becomes exhausted more quickly, however, can perform actions which a noumen cannot or, more precisely, wishes not to do. Those of the Way of the Phenom must remain actively involved in manipulating there Anima.
Followers of the Way of Humanity, manipulate Anima in a strange way. Unlike the other two, which consciously act with the intent of using Anima, humanists do not. They act irregardless of whether or not Anima is with them and sometimes Anima deigns to go with their action. There are no Humanist mages.
Mutation:
The humans who were brought into this world lost a key component of there humanity in order to come her. There definition. They became undefined beings. To this extent their own bodies have slowly begun to mutate and change.
What this will do in RP terms is that slowly over the course of the RP, your character will begin to mutate. How far this mutation goes is up to you and what form it takes is up to you as well.
Sample Character Sheet
Name:
Age (at time of Dissension):
Sex:
Appearance (Picture if you wish)
Class: (All start off as human)
Philosophy: (Harmony, Order, Dissonance, Conflict, Individualistic Humanism, or Societal Humanism)
Mutation(s): Only one minor mutation to start
Ability(s): Again, Only one minor ability to start
Weapon: No advanced technology. Think pre-gunpowder.
Personality:
Bio: (If you do not wish to give a long bio here to keep certain aspects of your character secret you can also PM me the bio)
Starting Group: (Choose one of the three characters, Mastema, Samael, or Macht)
Sample Characters:
Character’s that I will be Rping:
Please note these next three characters are unique and don’t have a Philosophy. There is a reason for this. However, if you look at there personalities you will notice that they have a lot in common with one of the philosophies. So pay attention in case you were confused as to how any of the Philosophies would work in the case of an individual character.
Name: Mastema Vassago
Age: Unknown (appears 17)
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Angel%20Sanctuary/angel_sanctuary.jpg
(sorry to anyone whose seen me use this image before but I absolutely love it)
He doesn’t have wings though
Class: Human
Philosophy: Unknown
Mutation(s): White hair
Ability(s): Minor Auraic Peace (His Anima seems to flow through his veins and allowing him to flow with the will of the world to a small extent.)
Weapon: None. Uses fists and gloves.
Personality: An incredibly calm boy who rarely bothers to act. He likes to watch events unfold and let them shift him. He bends with the worlds flow and lets it shape his path. He seems wiser then his age might indicate and is almost immediately aware of the emotions and feelings of others. Serene, he is a lake of support to those who look to him, to everyone else he might seem like an idiot and rather slow.
Bio: Nothing is known about him save that he was one of the three survivors from when the Shard of Tetragrammaton landed in Cainaan.
Starting Group: His own.
Name: Samael Samigina
Age: Unknown (Appears 19)
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.serdec.com/angelsword/img/scans/6-atsilouth/17-lucifer06.jpg
his hair covers one eye.
Class: Human
Philosophy: Unknown
Mutation: Fell Eye, which is covered by hair (does not see real world. Most of the time out of focus but focuses when he is thinking. Sees world in abstract concepts)
Ability: Grace of Anima (Sometimes Anima will chose to aid Samael and he will move with supernatural speed and celerity)
Weapon: Scythe
Personality: An apathetic young man who rarely bothers with anyone outside of himself. Spends most of his time alone or avoiding contact with others. His visible eye is often closed in seeming meditation. He spends many hours training and thinking but can be quite mean-spirited to others if they press for his attention, preferring to be left alone to his own thoughts. Occasionally makes comments about someone being a “sinner”. Many of these faces are just ways for him to cover up strong feelings of inadequecy he possesses towards himself.
Bio: Nothing is known about him save that he was one of the three survivors from when the Shard of Tetragrammaton landed in Cainaan.
Starting Group: His own
Name: Macht Wille
Age: (Appears about 15)
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Angel%20Sanctuary/setsuna_leather.jpg
Class: Human
Philosophy: Unknown
Mutation(s): Telepathic Link with his Sword
Ability(s): Weak Shadow Manipulation (Can bend shadows to his will to a small extent granting him the use of Shadows Divination)
Weapon: Sword (its name is Eligos)
Personality: A lover of all things battle related. Normally a cool, albeit sometimes cruel, person however, once battle begins he goes almost crazy with battle lust. Outside of combat he is actually quite intelligent and carries many books with. Argumentative at the best of times, but don’t take it personally, its not that he dislikes you or disagrees its just he loves fighting and arguing.
Bio: Nothing is known about him save that he was one of the three survivors from when the Shard of Tetragrammaton landed in Cainaan.
Starting Group: His Own
Final note: All three of these characters have this symbol http://z.about.com/d/altreligion/1/0/R/S/2/slucifersigil.jpg tattooed somewhere on there bodies. Mastema on his torso, Samael over his throat, and Macht on his forehead
Sample Characters Up For Grabs:
Feel free to take and use these characters. Just say your taking them and if you have any specific questions about personality or anything you might want to ask just send me a PM.
Name: Shania Belia
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/dna/Karin.JPG
Class: Human
Philosophy: Order
Mutation: Sky-blue hair
Ability: Frail Illumination (Bending the light of the sun, which is now lost to this world, she can create light from nothing granting her the Blinding Flash)
Weapon: Knife
Personality: Energetic but have a certain amount of brokenness to her that comes from a life on the street. Now that she has been granted the opportunity to help shape the next world she has become brighter and happier. One of ceaseless activity she can’t understand how Mastema can be so passive.
Bio: Lived on the streets for most of her life after it became apparent her mother couldn’t take care of her. She became quite street wise and her ingenuity allowed her stay alive, at least physically. For many years she become to shrivel emotionally as she continued to feel ostracized from those around.
However, now that she is in Chaos she is recovering and hopes to make a world where the poor and forgotten are supported. She was the first person to meet Mastema in Chaos and has traveled with him since that time, though that’s not to say she agrees with him. His tendency to let the world act and her experience of having the world act cruelly to her are irreconcilable.
Starting Group: Mastema
Name: Seraf Woodward
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Angel%20Sanctuary/lucifer.jpg
Class: Human
Philosophy: Societal Humanism
Mutation: Large blade which comes from the back of his right hand
Ability: The Lost God’s Hand ( Occasionally Animic Power will focus in his right hand and causing a bright white light and demons struck by it will be desummoned from the world)
Weapon: Hand Blade
Personality: A calm thinker and at times, a heartless pursuer of the human good. He is somewhat dismissive towards others but is quick to lecture others if at any moment they show the slightest bit of incompetence. This can be incredibly annoying but it is done with the best of intentions. He never lies, however, he is quite eloquent and his words might seem to mean something other then what they say.
Bio: He grew up in a wealthy home, sheltered from the sufferings of humanity until he began his college education. When he read about the defunct systems of keeping humanity stable he decided he would become a lawyer to write the wrongs he saw keeping humanity from obtaining perfection.
He later joined a law firm that specialized in cases dealing with human rights and worked tirelessly to destroy every law that he called a “sin against humanity”. He rarely cared about the justice of the particular case but rather about its greater effect on society as a whole, at one point argueing for a group of murders simply because they had not received a consul when there confessions had been taken and successfully got there charges dismissed.
He occasionally lectured at colleges and taught all who would listen about the value of the pursuit of the greater human good, which transcended any individual or even group of individuals.
Once he became part of Chaos he wander aimlessly until he met Macht. Though he sometimes argues about the correct path to human good with Macht, he has taken some inspiration from the boy in his pursuit of creating the next world. He considers Macht a son.
Starting Group: Macht’s
Name: Edena Xiphi (pronounced Chifi)
Age: 21
Sex: Female
Appearance: http://www.yale.edu/anime/imgarchive/Berserk/berserk_casca.jpg
Class: Human
Philosophy: Dissonance
Mutation: Tattoos along her back that glow pale green when she is emotional- which is often.
Ability: Sense (Anima flows through her at all times and this grants her a heightened awareness)
Weapon: Rapier
Peronality: Chaotic. She is a person who is quick to anger and just as quick to forgive. She seems sad whenever she doesn’t have her mind occupied which is rare because she often seems to go out of her way to stay busy. Loyal to herself above all others and sometimes flippant, she’s not really that bad once you get to know her.
Bio: Born in a small country town, she had a reputation for being discordant even then. She had a habit of stealing things even in her youth and for a while had a criminal record as a petty thief. She fell in with the wrong crowd for while but when she was about 18 she fell in love with a man and in order to keep from having to be apart from him while being incarcerated she stopped her criminal activities.
They live happily for two years. However, six months before the Shard of the Tetragrammaton fell on Cainaan, the young man died. She then fell back into her previous ways and at the time of the Dissension was languishing in a cell where she could do nothing but think about her loss. Now that she’s out she avoids thinking about it by any means necessary.
While in Chaos she met Samael and tried to steal his scythe, however, he defeated her but spared her life. For some reason, she took this to mean he likes her and now hangs around him, driving him insane with her affection for him. She often gets angry at him but that’s just because she can’t keep her mood stable for any length of time. Samael has more then once tried to ditch her but she keeps coming back. Much to his chagrin.
Starting Group: Samael
Game Master’s Notes:
Here are some things too keep in mind as you design your character and RP.
First, no over powered characters. If I see if I see a character that seems to be over powered I will not accept it and ask you to please change it. Remember, all the characters are normal people before the Dissension. A typical father. A young high school girl. Nothing more. No ninjas with amazing superhuman strength or biologically engineered soldiers.
Second, when Rping, remember this is probably going to be a very long RP. Don’t rush your character growth, otherwise you’ll get stuck doing the same thing over and over.
Third, please be detailed in your personalities and Bios. Even you have something you don’t want to reveal yet, you can send it to me so no one has to know before you are ready to reveal it. I’d like to see well-developed characters.
Fourth, if you have any requests about things that you want your character to do or have occur during the course of the plot send me a pm and I’ll see if I can accommodate you.
Fifth, You may be wondering why I had everyone set there class to human yet still included it as a slot. This is because every 20 pages or so I’m going to request that everyone still involved repost there character sheets in the sign up thread. There are several reasons 1) it allows me to keep track of who is and isn’t still in the RP 2) you can adjust your class depending on how your character has mutated and/or strengthed over those aforementioned 20 pages and also include a brief summary of what happened to him, and finally it allows other people to keep up, having 10 or so people strengthening constantly can get confusing, especially if you have to leave for a week for some reason. This will allow everyone to be on the same page and allow those who might have missed something to keep up without reading 15 back pages of text.
Sixth, have fun or I will destroy you.