Should We Align Characters for Compatibility?

We need to be able to work as a group and there might be things much harder to compromise on OOC than in character.

The "we all seek redemption" might already give us something, but with all factions but Raveners and all houses being fine there seems to be quite some possibility for hard to reconcile incompatibilities.

I've got two ideas and could pursue the one that's looking most compatible with the others'
- a pediatric oncologist, possessed by a Scourge who wants to heal Creation. Lacking anyway angle to heal the fallens' bond with the Creator - he'll concentrate on what he can heal, humans
- a know-it-all, scientisty (still have to work out the host) possessed by a fiend who realised they had been wrong (maybe reconciler) and now wants to figure out how they have been wrong and what can be done about it now (so might also be Cryptic). Edit: Actually, might also be journalist rather than scientist.

Iirc, Faustians are also disallowed, at least since I last checked. Anyhow, for my own concept I’m imagining a gang leader devil who works with the Court of… I think it was Swords, but also goes solo and essentially functions as a weird Robin Hood guy, busting the shins of the city’s scumbags in exchange for making pacts with his clients. Mostly just because I wanna play a big guy with a motorcycle and a crowbar.

Aligning characters for compatability is a good idea. I have not fleshed out my character yet. My characters concepts so far are;

Cryptic (maybe Lucifarian) Devourer. Would be doing something exposing them to nature a lot. Could be homeless. Is focused on how its aspect of creation (something animal related) got messed up.

Slayer. Feels distant from humanity (because Slayer) and is troubled by how swift and brutal Death is these days (it was never made to be this way). Could be many professions, leaning towards something lawyer-like so he has a finger in the Court's interests.

Either way I think a good way for us to bind our characters together is for them to bind together in a Covenant. It's very easy for any of us to get steamrolled by the Court or an Earthbound, but perhaps we are old war buddies and flocked together for mutual protection?

Aligning demons can be tricky, especially when dealing with mixed Houses and Factions.

The shared goal of redemption is one reason you’re sticking together. This is particularly the case since this puts you in the minority. Most demons in L.A. are not seeking to reform but merely to act anew on old grudges and politics. You should all have the same objective of redemption, but maybe have different ideas about how to get there.

All of you being part of the same faction would be the easiest way to align everyone, but it’s not required. Though I had some misgivings about the factions initially, I’m fine with all of them except for Raveners. Faustian are now acceptable.

Another point of alignment is that you all answer to the same demonic master. This is something recommended by the book, especially in an inter-faction game. You are still obliged to a greater demon who remains trapped in Hell. This demon was probably once your legion commander during the War. You serve him, but his continued imprisonment in the Abyss gives you all some wiggle room to do what you want.

I further recommend that you all served in the same legion during the War against Heaven. As Khulod suggests, you’re all old war buddies who have met back up on Earth. Serving together in wartime has a way of bonding individuals, demons included. So while that doesn’t necessarily mean your characters trust each other, it’d be accurate to say that you distrust each other less than the rest of the fallen around you. Your characters very likely also had each other’s backs in Hell, since the Abyss was extremely dog-eat-dog. Many demons survived Hell because they formed prison gangs of sorts to stave off their kin.

The recent possible sighting of Lucifer in L.A. (see the City of Los Angeles thread for more details) has resulted in many demons working together to try and find their former Prince. Lucifer never got sent to Hell with the rest of the fallen, so plenty of demons feel betrayed by the Morningstar, or simply have lots of questions for him. If your characters all happen to be Luciferans, this objective works especially well, but most demons are interested in finding Lucifer, no matter the faction.

There are also the Earthbound, which currently pose a shared threat to many demons in the city. These are ancient demons, former Arch-Dukes of Hell, who were summoned to Earth long ago and bound to physical objects. Each has been worshipped by cults for thousands of years, and they’ve used their power and influence to manipulate human history. Their Torment and madness makes them a threat to everyone, including fellow demons. It’s widely acknowledged by the fallen that many recent calamities in L.A. are likely the result of Earthbound interference. As such, working against the Earthbound is in the best interest of most demons, regardless of faction.

Obviously, the play-by-post medium has limitations. In a face-to-face game I’d love to explore each demons individual mechinations and plots, but that’s tough to do when only posting a handful of times a week. For playability’s sake, people will need to compromise a little on their personal agendas in order to move the game along.

I am not sure yet if I grasp what possibilities you seem to include here. Redemption as in "Get back into the heavenly host" seems to be rather specific andere very tailored towards Reconcilers. My idea of a Scourge would be extreme in this regard - I currently figure too extreme for finding compromise. A somewhat milder version could work better - lacking the presence of God they would try to heal humankind. Admittedly, I don't see much of "Return to the heavenly host" there, they would continue what God forbade. It would probably even work with a gangleader Devil - as That one is taking on the bad guys.

I would currently favor the Fiend though, even if Redemption needs a little more flexible interpretation... They would be a bit like "we've been wrong, really, like have you looked out of the window in the past eternities? Obviously, something was wrong with what we've seen or done because of what we saw - so let's figure out what we missed", but I suppose this would be included in your definition of Redemption seeking?

I am not sure yet if I grasp what possibilities you seem to include here. Redemption as in "Get back into the heavenly host" seems to be rather specific andere very tailored towards Reconcilers. My idea of a Scourge would be extreme in this regard - I currently figure too extreme for finding compromise. A somewhat milder version could work better - lacking the presence of God they would try to heal humankind. Admittedly, I don't see much of "Return to the heavenly host" there, they would continue what God forbade. It would probably even work with a gangleader Devil - as That one is taking on the bad guys.

I would currently favor the Fiend though, even if Redemption needs a little more flexible interpretation... They would be a bit like "we've been wrong, really, like have you looked out of the window in the past eternities? Obviously, something was wrong with what we've seen or done because of what we saw - so let's figure out what we missed", but I suppose this would be included in your definition of Redemption seeking?

In terms of game mechanics, the book says redemption theoretically happens when a demon reduces his Torment to zero. I say "theoretically" because no demon has been known to successfully get his Torment that low. Among the fallen, redemption is a rumor.

The book describes redemption as reclaiming your former state of grace and becoming the angel that you once were. The book also refers to this as a "return to God," though that description is misleading.

Since any fallen from any faction can potentially lower their Torment, it means that, mechanically at least, nearly any demon could be redeemed, regardless of faction. The issue is that certain factions make the likelihood of this much more difficult than others.

Torment tends to increase in response to selfish or cruel actions, so factions that promote that kind of behavior create more opportunities for Torment to increase. Still it’s not impossible for any faction (other than Raveners) to do good deeds, and thus lower Torment. Many factions, though they don’t want to return to God, still desire to help humanity or repair Creation (albeit in their own fucked up way).

Torment measures a demon’s pain and hate, and one can still let go his Torment without rejoining Heaven. That’s why the phrase "return to God" is misleading. The act of lowering Torment isn’t the same as fealty to God, though there is a good amount of overlap.

I should also note that evil deeds, in and of themselves, don’t raise Torment. If you commit a sin but succeed on your Virtue roll, then your Torment doesn’t go up. Instead, you feel remorse for what you’ve done. So it’s very possible for a demon to do something evil and not build Torment, so long as he feels bad for it (hence, Virtue ratings are important).

I know it’s somewhat convoluted, but that’s why I like the Reconciler faction. In regards to redemption, they are more straightforward to play. Other factions require a bit more skirting the line.

I hope this helps.

Definitely helps. I guess I am in between Cryptic and Reconciler right now in terms of where my Fiend is... With a tendency to membership in the Reconciler faction, but clearly thoughts about "What if all the mess that happened was part of the plan all along?" in addition to doubts about the rebellion. Looking forward to discover the full extent of this in character.

Haskell anyone thought about Legionen already?

Silver would be fitting to my ideas I suppose, but likely not for everyone else.

Really any legion could work with my character, since he partially seeks to leave the past behind.

The Silver and Alabaster Legions are my personal faves. The Legion serves only as fluff but would help flesh out any shared history between all of you.

Iron Legion is probably the best fit as I picture the character, but Alabaster would be just fine.

I kinda have trouble picturing him in any other legion, based on my understandings.

Should we try to get into a single Legion @Tequila_Mockingbird? If so, it sounds like we should all rally to the Alabaster Legion?

Edit: I was thinking Silver Legion, if we don't have to align.

It's not necessary. It'd make having a shared history a little easier, that's all. But your characters could still be from different legions and know each other. There were mixed groups of rebel angels that worked together in various operations, or just coordinated with each other for large battles.

I should point out that it's also very possible many of your characters don't even remember which legion you served in. With the exception of those who have the Legacy Background, the past is going to be very hazy for most of you. So no one should feel the need to have their backstories as demons very fleshed out. You can take the time to figure it out as we go. Your human host, on the other hand, should be fleshed out as much as you can.

I had an idea (at least I find it interesting) with regards to some legacy that fosters collaboration between our characters. We heard same faction, same demonic superior, same legion - but what would you all think about a common history before the fall as the unifying element?
We are all redemption seekers in the end, right? We all would prefer going back to being whole rather that parts - whatever that means individually - so I think a common anchor during time of creation could fit very well.

My character also happens to be the crystallation point that makes this possible. I'll go for Legacy 5, I could be the one trying to "get the gang back together" (although that sounds very inappropriate a quote for an Angel). What do you all think?

I really like that idea. All of you served together, maybe were even close, before the Fall. Since escaping Hell, however, most of you have forgotten your prior relationships. Upon returning to Earth, Raziel sought out each former comrade to reunite them. It's a good way to explain why and how you all ended up in the same city.

Alternately, your characters might be connected with each other from your time in the Abyss, rather than the War or legion. Some fallen banded to together in Hell for mutual protection against their more predatory kin. Kind of like a prison gang.

My initial idea is to give your characters a demonic superior whom you all still serve. It may be someone in the Infernal Court, or it might even be a demon still trapped in the Abyss (who sends orders by way of intermediaries). It'll be an easy way to keep you all together, at least for a while.

Idk if the superior idea works super well for my character, but they could perhaps be an ally, since I still haven’t figured out who my "competent ally" will be.

Still, I’m totally down for the others perhaps having shared history where one or more other characters, such as mine, perhaps don’t. It would have an interesting effect on the dynamics, which could be fun to roleplay.

I personally think it's a good idea to have a premise that we're all told is The Unifying Factor beforehand, because it then allows all the meta (creating a character that fits that premise) to be frontloaded with character creation where everything is meta anyway.

Otherwise if ppl are left to try to find reasons in play, at worst someone doesn't/can't and the grip splits and/or immersion is broken as they ignore their character premise, or they force a reason and immersion is still broken and they're bitter about it.

So I say let's all decide on a unifying premise up front.

I don't care if it's a shared Legion. Or just that we all must want to save the city/be "good guy-demons". Or that we were all fam in the Before Times. Or we all share a superior - I don't think Angels/Demons got to pick who their leader was(??).

I don't care.

I'll play to whatever, in that regard.

The important part to me is that we're not splitting the group all the time because we have lone wolfs, and that there's no real reason to engage in constant scheming against each other/pvp that in my experience can plague WoD games.