Keys to Creation

Keys to Creation
Keys to Creation
New Lore

I'm reluctant to create new powers unless I see a genuine need for them, as there are quite enough already. However, what follows is anything but superfluous. My own Lore of Anima allows interaction with a spirit plane most Elohim of which aren't even aware -- though the lore's full potential has not been explored, and it opens its users to dangers perhaps exceeding its benefits. Finally, Jay Hurtig Fraser's excellent Lore of the Frequencies allows the angel to manipulate, sense, and eventually become sound and energy.
Storytellers interested in truly powerful lore should check out Cosmic Power, where I give guidelines for evocations of epic scale.


Lore of the Anima
As I write Lore of the Anima, I'm assuming you have some familiarity with the Umbra as presented in Werewolf and Mage (or the Yang World of Kindred of the East), and want to incorporate elements of it into a Demon chronicle. If you're not familiar with or interested in the Umbra, you'll find little of use herein. I'd have to devote at least a page toward describing the Umbra, its properties, and the spirits there for people unfamiliar with it, information that is readily accessible elsewhere and doesn't need to be repeated.

Spirit Statistics
Spirit statistics are unchanged except as follows: Rage converts to Torment, and Gnosis to Faith. The nature of these traits remain unchanged (i.e., Faith rolls are made when Gnosis rolls are called for), except the names reflect a Demon outlook, and it allows smoother interactions between characters and spirits.

This Lore Sucks...
Yeah, largely it does. The Lore of the Anima is inefficient, unwieldy and only has three levels of evocations. The high-Torment powers have rather nasty side effects, as well. And, only a few demons know and can teach it. So what demon would ever want to learn this Lore?
Be mindful that the Lore of the Anima has been cobbled together out of other Lores, human spirit magics and (often dangerous) empirical observation, all in the last several years. It draws on angelic understanding for support, not for its basis, and it isn't based on the unwritten laws of the universe laid down by the angels themselves. Considering all this, one might consider the yet-incomplete Lore of the Anima to be pretty impressive. Plus, the Fallen have no understanding of, nor ability to defend themselves from, Umbral phenomena or entities, and a flawed tool is better than none at all. And as the living spirit world is an uncommon area of study, those with the Lore of the Anima and the insight to apply it have a big leg up on other demons.

When the Elohim created the universe, Creation itself was alive. The very act of bringing forth energy and matter into the void imparted it with God's and the angels' essences, giving everything an ambient faith level, a "fingerprint" of the Divine. This spiritual resonance echoed throughout Creation, linking all things to each other and the entities that created it.
When the last of the fallen host (with the notable exception of Lucifer, of course) had been ushered into the Abyss, the world was still mostly intact, despite the scars from the Age of Wrath and the entropic touch of God's hand. However, God's curses on mankind, particularly the Devourers' second curse and the third curse brought on by the Lammasu, had an effect then unforeseen by all but perhaps God Himself. Mankind began seeing themselves as separate from Creation, perceiving the world as "other" or as actively malevolent. While this had the effect of making humans draw away from the world and isolate themselves, it also caused them to seek protection from higher beings. However, the fallen host was no longer there, and God didn't answer their prayers. So in their stead, humanity began venerating the natural forces themselves, investing faith in the sun, the wind, the animals they hunted, emotions and other abstract concepts, and the attributes they desired. And they feared death, the unknown, and those things they could not control. Eventually this primitive animism became more sophisticated, and these natural forces became gods, heroes and monsters, hidden behind layers of ritual and religion.
Mankind's belief in an existence discrete from the surrounding world, as well as the subtle damage wrought by God, helped fray the fabric of the universe and separate the soul of Creation from its physical form. In any case, the residual power of the Divine began trickling away, making the world lifeless and static. However, their faith in and worship of the world's many things gave form and purpose to the divine energy, creating discreet forms and entities within the unraveling threads of spirit. Over time, the faith invested in the world trickled into adjacent layers of reality that survived Creation's collapse, creating an animistic and vital reflection of the physical world that retained and personified the primordial secrets of Creation. Within this realm, spirits formed from the ephemeral faith interacted with the world, their roles defined by generations of worship, belief and ritual. Somehow, many of these spirits became self-aware beings, tied to their roles but possessing distinct identities, reflecting the desires and nature of the humans that gave rise to them. Hierarchies of these entities formed, and soon the realm of spirits developed into layers and worlds with their own laws, topography and secrets.
All of this occurred while the fallen Elohim were trapped in the Abyss, knowing only darkness and the occasional brush with the realm of the dead. When the fallen that escaped Hell found themselves in this changed world, they saw it as mostly barren and faithless. What they did not realize is that a lot of the ambient faith was pulled into, and formed, the realm of spirits. Few demons had awareness of this layer of reality, and none were prepared to deal with it, for they had no active hand in its creation.
Fallen are dynamic in many ways, yet are ultimately creatures of timeless routine. Most of the fallen angels' Lores were granted by God and have existed since the beginning of Time, while a few Lores were incepted by the rebels themselves during the war with Heaven. The fallen host created and refined their new Lores over centuries, working together to map out new ways to bring the laws of the universe in line with their vision. Thus, demons are not great innovators, especially when they are scattered, denied access to the bulk their angelic memories and wisdom, and working in a medium of which they have little knowledge. However, innovation is possible, especially when a demon's drive and arcane knowledge is combined with a human host's adaptability.
After both suffered attacks by malignant spirits not of the Underworld, the Fiend-possessed shaman Grusulkis and Atoth'ra the Slayer put their heads together and compared notes on the nature of this new realm and its denizens. The Slayer's aptitude in Lore of the Realms, the Fiend's understanding of spirits, powerful rituals, and invaluable input from a thrall sorcerer gave rise to a new set of principles by which this new and alien spirit world -- the Anima Realm -- may be understood and influenced. The end result, the Lore of the Anima, is thus far an incomplete and crude reflection of other demonic powers, though to be fair, Grusulkis and Atoth'ra have only been developing it for a little more than two years. As the Lore slowly spreads through the fallen community, it's refined through use and practice, and is filtered back to the Lore's creators and incorporated to their body of knowledge. Atoth'ra believes the Lore of Anima will be a complete and established Lore path within a few years, though Grusulkis is cowed by the enormity of the spirit plane and feels this prediction is too optimistic.
Certain Earthbound are believed to command similar powers over this strange spirit world. Both fallen vehemently deny collusion with such fell demons in developing the Lore, however.

Anima Sight
This most basic evocation grants the fallen the ability to perceive the landscape of the ephemeral world, allowing her to see what is going on there. While this allows no communication with or influence over the realm, being able to see threats that would otherwise be unnoticed is often invaluable.
System: The fallen's player rolls Perception + Occult against a difficulty based on how strong the life energy and ambient faith is in the area; a sacred wilderness area or old church would be difficulty 6, a rural area 7, the suburbs or inner city 8, and a science lab 9. Every success on the roll allows one turn of spiritual perception. When perceiving events in the Anima Realm, however, the fallen is oblivious to the mundane realm.
Torment: The demon can only perceive spiritual corruption and Tormented spirits, and any such entities in the vicinity are drawn to her.

●● Spirit Speech
While many debate the nature and purpose of spirits, learned fallen know that they are composed of distilled faith. By addressing spirits in Enochian, a language that resonates with the very core of their being, a demon may speak with them. Likewise, understanding these spirits is simple once their responses are converted to Enochian (no matter the language the spirit naturally speaks).
System: Once the fallen has located a spirit she wants to converse with, the player must make a Charisma + Occult roll (difficulty 8) to activate this evocation for a scene. Treat conversations with spirits as if they were Storyteller characters; generally, those with high Faith ratings are aware and willing to hold conversations, while those with high Torment are aggressive. Note that spirits are not bound to address the demon or do so truthfully, and are free to insult, harry or even attack her.
Torment: The demon assaults the spirit with a torrent of curses and blasphemies borne of interminable torture in the Abyss, infusing it with Torment and forcing it to attack the nearest living creature (which may well be the evoker herself).

●●● Barrier Dance
The demon is now skilled enough to tear a small, temporary hole in the barrier between this realm and the Anima Realm (which shamanic mages call the Gauntlet), and and force her way through it. She may now move and act within the landscape of the Anima. She interacts with the spirits there as if they were physical creatures. She may even tear Faith directly from the spiritually rich environment, but doing so feeds her darkest impulses.
System: The demon's player must spend a point of Faith and roll Strength against the appropriate difficulty for the area's Faith background (listed under Anima Sight); a successful roll allows her to enter the realm of spirits. The character acts at her normal die pools here, except her permanent Torment is the minimum difficulty for any activities performed here (so a demon with Torment 7 rolls against difficulties of 7 or higher, and any difficulty of 6 or below defaults to 7).
Torment: A demon in the Anima Realm can reap Faith from spirits or the realm itself. To reap faith from a spirit, the character rolls Torment (difficulty 6), with each success granting one point of Faith and an equal amount of Torment (in addition to the point gained from activating this Torment ability in the first place). Spirits can resist this with an opposed Faith roll (difficulty of a demon's Torment. Finally, a Tormented Elohim may add her Torment to her damage pool when striking spirits.
Ripping Faith directly from the Anima Realm itself requires a Torment roll (difficulty based on ambient Faith). Like taking Faith from spirits, such an act grants Faith and Torment equal to the successes rolled (plus a point of Torment from activating the Tormented version of this evocation). Any being who attempts to move through the spirit world where Faith has been torn takes one die of lethal damage per point of Faith taken; even the reaping fallen is vulnerable to this effect, and must move on quickly after harvesting Faith. The "damage" inflicted to the spirit world recovers slowly, with a damage die fading every few days.


Lore of the Frequencies
Created by Jay Hurtig Fraser

The Lore of Frequencies represents a body of knowledge that had been long forgotten since the first days of Paradise. Before the imprisonment of the fallen and before the Age of Wrath, it was known as the Lore of Song, assembled by the Elohim of the fourth house as an adjunct to their Lore of Light. The Lore of Frequencies governed the nature of sound, and while acknowledged as necessary, was considered less important than other, more practical Lore. In the days before the War it was used by some Elohim of the Second House to facilitate communication, and by some of the Rabisu for entertainment.
The Lore of Song was largely ignored as the War began to rage and more destructive and practical Lores became necessary for survival. It was used even less in the joyless dark of the Abyss, and was soon all but forgotten.
At least, until now.
The Lore has been rediscovered by a Neberu recently freed from the pit. The demon's scientist host had given him a new perspective on the Lore of Song. Much more than sound falls under the power of this Lore, but the source of sound itself: molecular vibration. Eager to take advantage of a useful Lore in this dangerous new world, the Fiend scientist reorganized the Lore of Song into the Lore of Frequencies.

Why Do Fiends Get Four Lores?
A valid question. If you're concerned about overbalancing the House of the Indigo Night, and/or messing up the "law of three" precedent for the Houses' Lores, one option is to make the Lore of Light a Common Lore, and give the Neberu the arguably more appropriate Lore of Frequencies as one of their three House Lores. The Lore of Light, while useful for use against mortals and non-demonic foes, is probably the weakest Lore overall due to the fact that fallen shrug off its effects so easily. Also, it's as appropriate for other Elohim as it is for Fiends, especially radiant Devils and illusion-spinning Defilers.
It's not hard to imagine the Lore of Light being developed by the Neberu during the War for use among humans, but it passed into general use, just as the Lore of the Fundament has origins with the Third House. And in doing this, there will be three Common Lores, like fallen of each of the Houses has three Lores... nice and consistent.
Volume Control
The first thing a demon learns to do is manipulate the simple frequencies that lie within the range of human hearing. At this level of control, the Elohim can increase or decrease the volume of any normal sound. A gunshot can be made quieter than a pin drop and distant whispers can be made into a clear conversation.
System: Roll Wits + Awareness to raise or lower the targeted sound, with the degree of change based on the number of successes rolled: a single success could convert the target's normal speech to loud talking or a whisper; three successes would completely silence his voice or turn it into a shout; five would amplify speech enough to deafen or even cause bashing damage (Storyteller's call). Of course, there has to be some sound to manipulate in order to use this evocation -- for example, it won't make sound from complete silence. The demon can fine-tune his control, so to speak, and can create effects less than the number of successes he attains. The duration of Volume Control is a number of turns equal to the character's permanent Faith.
Torment: Monstrous demons can only raise the volume of sound, and can't elect to ignore successes on the evocation roll for lesser effect. Sounds affected by the demon are tainted by his rage and hate, becoming harsh and grating, the howls of the damned weaving in and out of the edges of perception. In addition to raising the volume, every second success lowers Intimidation difficulties by one.

●● Tuning
At this level of understanding the demon is able to extend his senses beyond the frequencies of human hearing. The demon can now interact with frequencies up the electromagnetic spectrum and beyond.
System: To shift the character's senses into the EM Spectrum, roll Perception + Science, difficulty 6. This allows the demon to listen in on any electronic transmission through the air. With only his ear, he can listen in on radio waves, cellular phone calls and microwave transmissions. To tap into wire-bound transmissions, touch is required.
At difficulty 8, the demon can attempt to shift his perceptions out of the vibrational frequency of physical reality. If successful, the character can listen to the strange sounds of the other worlds. It is even rumored that this ability could tap into the invocations of other demons.
The duration for both variations is the character's permanent Faith in minutes, and the range is 100 yards for every dot of permanent Faith. The number of successes determine the precision of the tuning: for example, one success would allow the character to pick up commercial radio transmissions, while five successes would allow him to pick up a specific cell phone call in the middle of a large city.
Torment: The power of a demon's rage gives him the ability to broadcast in these frequencies, instead of receive. He can broadcast a signal to any electronic device capable of receiving it, but he cannot use this ability to emit any sort of directly harmful effects. (However, the shock of hearing a demonic voice address one from a speaker might produce interesting results...)

●●● The Killing Note
At this level of power, the fallen Celestial can now take sound and fashion it into a powerful weapon. This evocation directs and amplifies sound to the point that it can shred flesh and shatter steel. He's able to focus and direct the sound waves at a single target. Others within range will still hear the trailing edge of the effect without being subject to its destructive power. Victims of the Killing Note often bleed from their nose and ears.
System: This evocation requires the presence of some source of sound. This sound could be anything, even the demon's own voice. Roll Strength + Awareness: depending on the nature of the Celestial's target, each success either counts as a level of lethal damage towards living creatures or as two levels on the Feats of Strength Chart towards shattering inanimate objects. The difficulty of the roll is 10 minus the sound's noise level rating.
Torment: The monstrous demon doesn't have the discipline necessary to focus the fierce vibrations of the Killing Note. All beings and objects within the character's Faith rating, plus the original sound's noise rating in yards, suffer the effects of the evocation -- including the fallen who created the effect, if his perceptions are still tuned to the human hearing range.

●●●● Alter Vibrational Frequency
The fallen is now capable of altering the frequency at which the molecular structure of an object vibrates. Objects of two differing vibrational frequencies slide right through each other as if the other wasn't there. When an object, or being's vibrational frequency changes, it appears blurry with ripples along the edges. The same is true of what the rest of the world looks like to a being whose vibrational frequency has been shifted.
Some theorize that fallen could use this evocation to "tune" their bodies into different dimensions or other planes of being. Still other postulate that a being vibrating at faster-than-light speeds could travel back in time. However, the few fallen with this ability are loath to attempt such dangerous experiments, afraid to accidentally smear their essences across the face of creation in some catastrophic failure.
System: Spend a point of Faith and roll Dexterity + Science. Each success allows the demon to remain intangible for one turn. An Elohim may perform this evocation upon himself or any object he can touch as long as it is equal to or less than his body weight.
Torment: The Tormented Celestial violently shifts his frequency so that some small part of his molecular structure still affects others. As the demon slides through other objects his body acts like a fierce molecular sandstorm, burning and shredding apart anything it touches on the molecular level. Any being or object through which the demon passes any part of his body receives the demon's Torment in aggravated damage.

The Fiend Nag Hammadi has been contracted to help a group of fallen break into the high-tech lair of an Earthbound in Houston. He opens the intercom at the font entrance, touches a wire and activates Become the Song. He spends a Faith point and rolls Stamina + Awareness with 3 successes; with a Wits of four, he has three turns as living information with four actions per turn.
In the first turn Nag Hammadi transmits himself from the building's electrical system into the computer mainframe automatically (Action #1). He encounters protections around the security system and makes an extended Intelligence + Computer to defeat it. Since his permament Faith is 6, the difficulty of the roll is 4. (Actions #2 and #3). With access to the security system another successful roll shuts down the cameras (Action #4).
In the second turn, the demon opens the front door for his clients (Action #1), locks in the Earthbound's thralls (Action #2), activates the halon system above them (Action #3), and then kills the lights (Action #4).
For his last turn, Nag Hammadi emails himself the Earthbound's files (Action #1), travels from the mainframe into the Internet (Action #2), moves from the Internet to his computer in Osaka (Action #3), and electronically erases his tracks (Action #4). He is then expelled out of a firewire port on the back of his G4, and reforms.
●●●●● Become the Song
The ultimate expression of the Lore of Frequencies is a quantum mechanical trick that allows a Demon to transform every particle in his body into a wave. In essence, the Celestial becomes pure information with no physical form. In the days before the fall, those of the Fourth House would use this evocation to ride starlight to the edges of Creation. The angels of the deep would use it to exist as a ripple across the face of the water, or a song passed down through human generations.
System: Spend one Faith point and roll Stamina + Awareness. If successful, the demon's body is transformed into pure, living information for one turn per success. He has no physical form, completely disappearing in a crackle of energy. In this form the fallen must exist within a medium capable of conducting information. As a living peal of thunder or tsunami wave the demon can travel trough air or water at the speed of sound. Barring cross-country trips, this evocation allows near-instantaneous travel. Within the air of water he can perceive the world as normal, but can take no physical actions or interact with any being or object. However he is capable of traveling in any direction, changing course as desired. The demon is also capable of using Lore that doesn't rely on his having physical body (Storyteller's call; while use of Lore of Light is permissible, Lore of the Flesh is right out).
The demon is also capable of transmitting himself into computer networks and across telecommunication lines. Physical contact with an open line or terminal is required to access a system. Again, no physical action is possible when existing as data, but some Lores can be used while within a network. The demon can transmit himself into any connected system at will, at the speed of electricity. In digital form, the character can take a number of actions per turn equal to his Wits rating. These actions can be used to travel from one system to another or to affect the system that he's in. Travel from one system to another takes one action, but requires no roll. While within the system, the demon can make any changes possible to any user, he just does it better, faster. He can read or write any other information on the system and/or control any devices connected to it. To control the system in any way, roll Intelligence + Computer, difficulty = [10 - Faith] (minimum 2).
Being living information, it is theoretically possible for the Elohim to be saved on a hard drive, printed out or even read into people's minds. With infinite duration, he could even spread virally like a sentient meme. However, the demon can only maintain this form for a short time. When the duration expires, he exits the system at the nearest point and reassumes his physical form. This does not damage the demon or any equipment.
Torment: Monstrous demons lack the finesse and control necessary for delicate particle/wave transformations. Instead of becoming living information, the demon's body is explosively transformed into pure energy. Like a raging star, the fallen radiates across the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible light to lethal radiation.
When this form is taken, the Sebettu explodes into a roiling, chaotic collection of radioactivity and other baleful energies. He inflicts his Torment in dice of damage to all creatures and objects within [evocation successes x 10] ft. For one turn per success on the evocation roll, the demon remains in energy form; due to the uncontrolled and destructive nature of this energy, however, this form functions somewhat differently than the "normal" version.
While the fallen still travels at the speed of sound, he loses control and finesse, and can only travel in straight lines; he can make a single sharp, angular direction change at the end of the turn with a Wits roll. Hitting someone in combat uses the angel's Faith as the attack die pool (diff 6) and inflicts the character's Torment in damage dice; targets' dodge difficulties are 9, as they can't be expected to effectively sidestep something moving at the speed of sound. The Celestial can attack all foes in the straight line he's traveling (possibly getting multiple attacks per turn with no reduction to die pools). Electronic devices can be "attacked" and destroyed by passing though them, though the Song Angel can no longer enter and manipulate them. However, every time the demon hits a foe or passes through an object, he loses energy, reducing the damage he does by one die. When the fallen loses all his damage dice, he reverts to his mortal form (even if the duration of the evocation hasn't passed).

Ninnata, the Visage of Frequencies
The apocalyptic form of the Angels of Song throb with the suggestion of potential energy. A spectral wind blows about his hair and clothing and bells or chimes can be faintly heard in the angel's speech. Sound swells and fades in accordance to the angel's emotions, and his body tingles at the touch.
The Visage of Frequencies confers the following special capabilities:
Wings: A pair of swan's wings extends from the character's shoulders. At full extension each wing is a third again as long as the character is tall. The character can glide up to three times his running speed per turn.
Wind Reading: The Ninnata can sense the slightest vibrations passing through the air around him, allowing him to respond to subtle shifts in the air. The demon's Faith is automatically added to his (Dexterity + Wits) initiative total.
Soothing Voice: The demon's voice is of such perfectly harmonious quality that the difficulties of all Empathy, Subterfuge or Performance rolls by 2 when music is involved.
Vision of Frequencies: The character has a form of sonar-sense, similar to that of a bat or dolphin, to a range of [Faith x 5] yards. Within this field, the character is aware of the exact position of all things and beings around him, even when in total darkness. He cannot be surprised unless a foe scores more successes on a Wits + Stealth roll then the demon's Faith, and even then the Nannata is allowed a resisted Perception roll to detect her, as per normal rules.
Torment: Monstrous Ninnata howl like dread banshees. Their eyes and mouths shine eerie green light as they speak. Their wings grow tattered and torn. Their figures are distorted by blurring ripples and broken glass pushes up out of the skin. A mind-numbing sub-sonic hum precedes them, rattling loose objects and distorting ambient sounds.
The Visage of Frequencies confers the following high-Torment special capabilities:
Shattering touch: With but a touch, the Ninnata can shatter an inorganic object by tuning into its harmonic resonance. The player makes a Faith roll; the target depends on the relative density of the object: difficulty 6 for glass, difficulty 7 for stone, difficulty 9 for metals. The character can shatter one square foot of matter per Torment point.
Howl of the Damned: The demon's words howl like a banshee. The difficulty of any Intimidation roll is reduced by two.
Improved Initiative: Add two to the character's initiative score.
Glass Ridges: Pieces of broken glass protrude from the character's arms and shoulders. These sharp blades inflict one level of lethal damage to any attacker who successfully strikes or grapples the demon in unarmed combat.


To the Demon: the Fallen index.