Play Guide/FAQ

[dungeonmasters]

Demons

What am I ICly doing here?

The year was 2000, and the predictions were right. It's been ten years since the end of the world as they knew it, and you, the demonic invaders, have come to reign supreme. Still, your plans for this world have not ended-- your people came here for a reason, a goal not yet achieved. The prophecy that predicted your achieving entrance to Gehenna promised one other thing: a relic that would open the door to all realms, where Hell could achieve the prominence of the Creator that cast them out, and the universes could be rewritten to your whims. The relic, however, has yet to be found, and the prophecy hinted that the time is not yet ripe. Soon, soon.

In the meanwhile, though, demons bide their time. Some are amassing their own forces, attempting to expand their legions so when the relic is revealed they are in the best position to take it by force. Others enjoy their freedom from the strict hierarchy of Hell, reveling in the pleasures of the mortal world. Most are distracted, embroiled in the politics or dramas of their lives in the new world, with their priorities being somewhere between those focused only on recruiting, and those focused only on their short term gain.

What am I OOCly doing here?

Playing a demon, you need to unlearn some of the rules DW RP might have taught you. While in other RPs, you might not want to rock the boat too much, in Gehenna, playing a demon, you will be encouraged to start whatever trouble you think might be interesting. While godmodding other people's characters is still not acceptable, if there's anything plot or setting-wise you think might be interesting to make happen, and is within the realm of possibility for your character, you can just go for it! For instance, if a Plague-Carrier demon wants to start a plague of one effect or another, as a distraction from whatever scheme is being carried out, or your Devastator wants to kidnap people for a battle-royale, you can post on the OOC comm to inform people, and see who wants to participate! Instead of having mod NPCs be the big movers and shakers, we want players to decide what's happening in the game, and affect the politics and plots themselves!

What's that bit about expanding Legions? How do we go about that?

So, with demons vulnerable only to their own infernal powers, there are humans clamoring to make pacts so they can use these powers for their own. All demons have the power to create a pact with a human, granting them the same "type" of power the demon has. But. . . for a demon to want to grant a human power that could be used against them, they must be getting something out of it. And they do-- as humans use their infernal powers, they gain corruption. If a human dies, their soul corrupted enough by their power-use, the demon can claim the dead human for their infernal legion. It's a risk in the short term, but with any luck, it will pay off in the long term. Most demons try and keep a cordial relationship with their contractor(s), so the human is less likely to see the end game of this relationship as a downside, and use their power more freely.

So if demons don't gain corruption for power-use, how are they power-capped?

Gehenna not being the native world of the demons, they use magic to maintain their manifestations. As they use more magic, they weaken their physical incarnations: where humans get soul corruptions, demons get tired out or physically weaker-- the more powerful they are, the less tired or weak. But this weakness, tiredness, it won't kill them. In the very worst case, if they use up all their infernal reserves, they'll discorporate, vanishing physically until they have the power to manifest again. It won't kill them. . . however, if they get killed because they used up too much magic, and didn't have any power left to defend themselves, that's not quite the same.

Natives

What am I ICly doing here?

The year was 2000, and the predictions were right. The end of the world was nigh: not caused by the y2k bug (though it didn't help) but by the demons that tore through, from their reality to yours. You couldn't fight back--the demons are only hurt by their own powers, powers not you of us possessed. By the time you figured out the "loophole", it was too late, and demons had taken firm root as Gehenna's rulers.

But even if this is the way things are-- who says they have to stay that way? You don't know why the demons have decided to rule humanity instead of destroying you, but you may yet make them regret that choice. Whatever they're after, here-- it's possible you can beat them too it. It may be a fine line to walk, risking corruption and your soul: but there's a way to gain power, now. You've made it this far, surviving in this world, and maybe all you want to do is keep surviving. But maybe that's not enough. Maybe you have a pact, and as you walk down Gehenna's streets, you tell yourself, soon, soon.

What am I OOCly doing here?

Playing a human, you don't have quite as much IC ability to do things like start the usual DW events, status effect plagues or hold balls in Judecca Heights. But that doesn't leave you out in the cold: as a human, there's plenty of plot to be had too, sabotaging demons, holding secret meetings, playing politics to turn demons against each other: if you can manage to get them to tussle with each other, that's less of them for you to fight. And while humans may not be necessarily running things, they're definitely participating. After all, it's usually the humans that are targeted by things like kidnapping rings, or status effect plagues. The corruption their powers cause also gives humans a lot to work with, plotwise: the way it affects their characters, and their relationships with others. . . And, if their corruption progresses far enough. . . the demon holding the other end of the contract may demand their due, and recruit the tarnished soul for their legion. . . or worse.

What's this corruption that was mentioned?

Further explained in depth over here, corruption is the after-effect of a human channeling demonic powers, using them as their own. In general, negligible uses of powers are uses of power that don't affect anyone else, positively or negatively, and come with no corruption cost. Minute uses are using the power in ways that inconvenience others, or give you a minor advantage, the costs that come with them are minor: small corruptions are usually just a slight exaggeration of an already existing trait, or getting something minor, like a verbal tic. A standard level power usage is something directly dangerous or beneficial, but not something that will win a battle or turn things around completely in that one use. Corruptions with standard usage are middle of the road, they're noticeable changes, but not radical ones. Major power uses are power uses that are trumps, big game changers. With the major level of power use, corruptions are also powerful, but not all-consuming. Massive power uses are anything godmode level-- powers that can level or create buildings, win wars, or shield from them. While technically possible, massive power usage almost never happens, as the corruptions that come with them can override the personality completely.

Outsiders

What am I ICly doing here?

Whatever this world once was-- it's hell now. The year was 2000, and the predictions were right. The end of the world was nigh: not caused by the y2k bug (though it didn't help) but by the demons that tore through, from their reality to this one. Demons that couldn't be fought, except by the use of their own powers. The people of this world weren't going to take this lying down, but by fighting back using those powers, they risk corruption-- and swelling the infernal ranks.

This is where you come in: they reached out, for those compatible with the powers. Those that had some innate ability to channel them, without a pact. Corruption will still be a danger for you, but no demon will lay claim to your soul. You've been told, of their end of the world, and they pleaded for help. It's dangerous, they told you, and they told you all the rest of it too. The choice was yours, and, for whatever reason, you said yes.

What am I OOCly doing here?

Having elected to play an outsider, you'll be playing the only non-native set of characters in the game. This means, without needing to AU, you can play a fandom character! OCs and AU fandom characters from other 'verses are also welcome. However, we ask that you please do not play a character with previous game history. That aside, playing an outsider, your character is new to the setting, and while they have had it explained to them and they know about corruption and demonic types, they don't have the advantage of being integrated into the setting. They'll need to find their own footholds in the city, and figure out how to best help the cause on their own. It's recommended you try making CR with either native or demonic groups, to give your character an easier place to stand, and a starting place from where to participate in plot.

Applies to All

So tell me about Death.

When you die in Gehenna, you die in real life. Or, unlike most multi-fandom or jamjar games, death in Gehenna is for keeps-- mostly. There is one exception. Your character can die once, and be brought back, but it's not cheap or easy. By performing this ritual, the character that is resurrected is tied to their resurrector. They take on the power-type their resurrector has. If before death, they were a Sorcerous, but their resurrector is a Liar, they come back aligned to the same order. This ritual also ties their life-forces together: the resurrected can tell when their resurrector is in injured, and how badly-- because it affects them also. A resurrected person will lose energy if their resurrector is hurt, and more of it, if they're hurt more badly. This can also be performed only once-- if the resurrector tries to bring back more than one person, their body won't be able to take the strain of their life-force being shared more than it already is, and they will also expire. Likewise, the same dead person cannot resurrected twice.

How to conduct the ritual:

Go by night, to the woods of Fell's Limits. This ritual must be conducted alone, with only the resurrector and the one they wish to bring back. Bring candles, and something that is a reasonable facsimile of the cause of death. If death by drowning, a water bottle will do, or if it was by stabbing, it doesn't need to be the same blade. The conduit must represent the original cause, but does not need to be identical. In the woods, find somewhere private, and make a circle. Chalk, scoring it into the ground, arranging stones all works, but make certain it is large enough to contain the corpse. Place the candles around the outside of the circle, five of them, equidistant from each other. Light them. Watch them. If one of them goes out, it will not be your friend that you bring back, but the life-force of something else. If you stay to see what it is that will rise up in their place, you will not survive the night: run, and do not look back. The following morning, it will be safe to recover the corpse, to try again. It may not be where you left it. If all candles stay lit, continue. Next you are to injure yourself, enough to draw blood, and let this blood drip onto the conduit. Take the conduit, and apply it to the corpse: stabbing it for a bladed weapon, inserting the blood food into the mouth, or whatever makes sense. Call their name: the one you have always used, and tell them yours, and that you call them back. Repeat two more times. If all has gone well, they will arise breathing once more.

Ritual may only be performed successfully once per person. Ritual will only resurrect the same person once. If you fail your second chance, there are no more.

So tell me about Dropping.

You don't want to play your character anymore! Okay, cool. We have a couple ways you can do that:

Death:

This is a permanent drop option! Maybe no one knew how your character got killed. Maybe they kept fucking up the ritual. Maybe no one wanted to resurrect them. Maybe they used up their last chance! However it happened, your character is now dead. If you later change your mind about this drop, mostly we'd like to say please don't, but if your character wasn't resurrected prior to this, we should allow it, we'd just not like it to be too common.

Purgatory:

Despite the name, this is separate from the death drop. A purgatorial drop is where a character has the Amabilis Sanctum clergy send them to a purgatorial realm, away from Gehenna. These places are mirror worlds of Gehenna, where a degree of separation away from the demonic realm, characters can work to dissipate some of their corruption. However, because these mirrored worlds need to be kept separate from Gehenna in order to keep corruption from leaking through and infecting them too, communication and travel from these worlds is very restricted. It may be a while before you see or hear from someone who left for Purgatory. This drop is ideal for characters that have been played into a corner, or are having trouble with high levels of corruption, so they can be reapped later, with that cleared away.

Return home:

This drop is available for outsiders and demons only. For outsiders, they came here willingly, but if they decide that Gehenna is more than they can handle, for whatever reason, they can go home. Likewise, demons are capable of returning to their original Hell. This is good for characters that just aren't working out, for one reason or another, and you want an easy, guilt-free drop.

Away from Gehenna/Off-screen:

For natives, or for people who play demons or outsiders that wouldn't want to leave Gehenna, it's also acceptable to say your character is away off screen. They could have gone to another city, or disappeared into the woods of Fell's Limits, avoiding people, or have joined an organization off-screen and are NPC'ing away from the player characters.