Jul 27, 2021 7:19 pm
This thread is for working out the details of your Sin-Eater krewe. A krewe is a group of Bound that share specific views on death and the Underworld. Krewes are interesting in that they are part street gang, part support group, and part death cult. Each krewe revolves around its own mystery religion or belief system. The beliefs of a krewe don't necessarily have to be religious in nature, though many krewes are. Krewes are created, and new members inducted, by way of a Krewe Binding Ceremony (p. 125 of the core book).
A krewe is almost like a character in its own right, since it has its own Attributes, Merits, and Supernatural Trait (Esotery). Krewes use these stats when engaging in so-called "Krewe Actions," which are rolls that reflect the krewe's progress in achieving certain long term goals. These rolls are made periodically and happen in the background of the story. When player characters are busy doing something, NPC krewe members are assumed to be working behind the scenes to further the krewe's goals. Consequently, even without direct player character involvement, the krewe's NPC supporting cast are constantly doing things to benefit the cult.
Important Note: As part of the krewe creation process for the game, each player is expected to also create two NPC supporting members of the krewe (known as celebrants) - one human and one ghost. This is on top of making a Sin-Eater and Geist, which means that each player is responsible for essentially creating four characters. For a play-by-post game, I consider that a bit much. Consequently, you may all ignore that aspect of krewe creation. I will take responsibility for creating all of the krewe's NPC supporting cast.
I've broken down the Krewe Creation process for simplicity. I advise tackling each step one at a time rather than jumping around. Once a step has been completed to everyone's satisfaction, then move on to the next step. Krewe Creation (p. 77 and 174 of the core book) proceeds as follows:
Step One: Select a Krewe Archetype
Archetype broadly reflects the krewe's philosophy, goals, and motivations toward death, ghosts, and the Underworld. A shared archetype ensures that members of a krewe have the same general expectations and methodologies.
Mechanically, archetype determines the additional Ceremonies that your krewe begins with.
[ +- ] Archetype Summaries
The following is a very brief summation of each archetype’s philosophy:
The Furies see the dead as crying out for justice, and see injustices from minor crimes to systemic failures as obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld.
The Mourners see the dead as crying out for recognition, and see the failure to remember the past and honor the creations and revelations in life as obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld.
The Necropolitans see the dead as crying out for connection, and see isolation and denied emotional release as the obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld. Necropolitans believe it is outright easier to move on from your problems and fixations when you have someone to talk to and aren't stuck alone with your issues for practically forever. The Necropolitans benefit the dead by making the world a better place for ghosts, which makes it easier for ghosts to be better-adjusted and capable of letting go.
The Pilgrims see the dead as crying out for detachment, subscribing to the idea that attachments of any sort are obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld. Pilgrims want to make it so that ghosts are not created as frequently and are more able to let go of the problems that Anchor them. While all Sin-Eaters encourage ghosts to let go of their Anchors so they can Pass On, Pilgrims want ghosts to let go of everything. As far as they’re concerned, attachments are the issue. Period. This makes them the most ascetic of the archetypes.
The Undertakers see the dead as crying out for enlightenment, and see fear of death and the dead and the misunderstanding of the Underworld as obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld. Undertakers are trying to hack mythology and the human perception of death as part of an ongoing attempt to specifically change the nature of the Underworld. By changing how people view death, Undertakers hope to alter death itself.
The Furies see the dead as crying out for justice, and see injustices from minor crimes to systemic failures as obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld.
The Mourners see the dead as crying out for recognition, and see the failure to remember the past and honor the creations and revelations in life as obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld.
The Necropolitans see the dead as crying out for connection, and see isolation and denied emotional release as the obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld. Necropolitans believe it is outright easier to move on from your problems and fixations when you have someone to talk to and aren't stuck alone with your issues for practically forever. The Necropolitans benefit the dead by making the world a better place for ghosts, which makes it easier for ghosts to be better-adjusted and capable of letting go.
The Pilgrims see the dead as crying out for detachment, subscribing to the idea that attachments of any sort are obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld. Pilgrims want to make it so that ghosts are not created as frequently and are more able to let go of the problems that Anchor them. While all Sin-Eaters encourage ghosts to let go of their Anchors so they can Pass On, Pilgrims want ghosts to let go of everything. As far as they’re concerned, attachments are the issue. Period. This makes them the most ascetic of the archetypes.
The Undertakers see the dead as crying out for enlightenment, and see fear of death and the dead and the misunderstanding of the Underworld as obstacles to passing on and changing the Underworld. Undertakers are trying to hack mythology and the human perception of death as part of an ongoing attempt to specifically change the nature of the Underworld. By changing how people view death, Undertakers hope to alter death itself.
Step Two: Determine Doctrines
Define three Doctrines for the krewe.
Doctrines are the core tenets of the krewe. Each Doctrine is phrased as a goal or belief. Krewe members are expected to follow and advance their Doctrines. By adhering faithfully to one's Doctrines, the krewe earns "Krewe Beats," which are used as experience points to advance the krewe.
Doctrines can change over time. However, changing a Doctrine after character creation requires sacrificing a dot of Esotery.
Breaking a Doctrine has consequences. If the krewe collectively takes an action that directly violates a Doctrine, or if an individual member openly does so, the entire krewe gains the Shaken Faith Condition (p. 183 of the core book). If a member secretly violates a Doctrine and then covers it up, that character gains the Obsession Condition in regards to keeping the transgression a secret. Once the Obsession Condition is resolved, the entire krewe then gains the Shaken Faith Condition.
Step Three: Determine Virtue & Creed
A krewe's Virtue represents the highest ideal that its members strive for in their goals and behavior, such as Merciful, Just, or Truthful.
A krewe fulfills its Virtue when it collectively takes a meaningful action in accordance with it, in spite of risk or difficulty. This results in all participating members regaining all Willpower points. This is limited to once per chapter.
A krewe's Creed represents an easy, surface-level devotion that brings comfort to the krewe and helps its members feel good about themselves. It's the simpler part of keeping the faith, much easier than the Virtue, and is something that the celebrants enjoy doing in pursuit of the krewe’s goals. For example, a krewe that likes to proselytize positivity to downtrodden ghosts and people might have Hope as its Creed.
A krewe fulfills its Creed when it collectively takes an action that is in accordance with it. This results in all participating members regaining one point of Willpower. This is limited to once per scene.
Step Four: Determine Attributes
Krewes have three attributes.
Power represents the krewe’s ability to effect change through direct action.
Finesse is the krewe’s "soft leverage," the ability of its celebrants to employ their own influence and talents for the krewe’s benefit.
Resistance is a measure of how committed the krewe’s members are to the cause: Low Resistance means you’re more vulnerable to desertion or members not following through, while high Resistance means you’ve got a core of fanatics at your beck and call. It also serves as a yardstick for number of members: Not counting the main characters, a krewe typically has (10 × Resistance) members.
The krewe starts with one dot in each Attribute for free. Assign six additional dots to the krewe's Attributes, divided however you like.
Step Five: Select Merits, and Design the Mystery Cult Initiation Merit
Merits reflect the collective resources and talents of the krewe, which are available to all krewe members. Choose seven dots worth of Merits, all of which must have the Krewe or Krewe Only tag. Merits begin on p. 85 of the core book.
All krewes also begin with a free dot in the Safe Place Merit (p. 88 of the core book), which indicates the group's headquarters or center of worship.
Being a member of a krewe provides one free dot in the Mystery Cult Initiation Merit (p. 87 of the core book). This Merit is unique to each krewe, and the benefits of each dot must be determined among the players (it's a five-dot Merit). Obviously, the benefits of the Merit should reflect the krewe's themes and beliefs. The following are guidelines for designing the Merit. See the Merit's description on p. 87 for more information and an example.
• A Skill Specialty or one-dot Merit, pertaining to the lessons taught to initiates.
•• A one-dot Merit.
••• A Skill dot, or a two-dot Merit (often a supernatural Merit).
•••• A three-dot Merit, often supernatural in origin.
••••• A three-dot Merit, or a major advantage not reflected in game traits.
Step Six: Ceremonies
A krewe's Ceremonies are the principle rituals of the group's faith. Krewes begin with a one-dot, two-dot, and three-dot Ceremony determined by the krewe archetype.
Individual krewe members have access to any of the krewe's Ceremonies, as long as their dots in the Mystery Cult Initiation Merit equal or exceed the dots of the Ceremony. For instance, a krewe member with two dots of Mystery Cult Initiation would have access to the krewe's one- and two-dot Ceremonies, but not the krewe's three-dot Ceremony.
Step Seven: Advantages
A krewe has two Advantages.
Esotery represents the krewe's collective supernatural might and its mystical understanding of death and the Underworld. The krewe begins with an Esotery rating of 1.
Congregation operates as a measure of the krewe's Health. A krewe Congregation is equal to [5 + Resistance].
Step Eight: Create Regalia
Regalia are ceremonial or symbolic roles that are taken directly from the krewe’s beliefs. Each role reflects a character, place, thing, or concept that is important to the krewe. A Regalia provides the bearer with a unique mystical benefit appropriate to the Regalia’s function in the krewe’s faith. For instance, a krewe with a belief system based on Egyptian death mythology might have Anubis, the Egyptian God of Duat (the Underworld), as its Regalia. The nature of the Regalia’s benefit would depend on how Anubis is used in the krewe’s belief system. Are the Sin-Eaters focusing on his position as the lord of embalming and psychopomp to kings, or do they concentrate on Anubis’ part in the murder of his brother, Osiris? Perhaps another view of the jackal-headed deity altogether?
A Regalia is typically donned by a single member at a time, and it tends to move from member to member. Anytime someone in the krewe does an especially noteworthy job of embodying the krewe's Doctrines, that person is often bestowed the Regalia. That member then keeps it until she does something to lose it (such as violate a Doctrine) or another krewe member earns the privilege of wearing it. Regalia are conferred by way of the Bestow Regalia Ceremony.
A Regalia provides its bearer with the Regalia Condition (p. 302 of the core book). This grants one of three Regalia Effects, as described on p. 178. Select the effect that best fits the Regalia.
