Eniko/MorriInfernals

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Random ideas

General:

• Some boost somewhere to signify the power boost of selling your soul to the yozi

Charms:

• Fate Defying Method: the infernal exalted is taken outside of fate to avoid detection by sidereal. Presence charm?

Infernal Exalted

Introduction

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When the Yozis accepted the solar essences from their trade with the Deathlords, they quickly started work to create their own agents. Unrestricted minions and pawns, slaves to their will, unlike the demons that inhabit their eternal prison who are bound by mystical laws and precepts. Forging the great curse cast against the solar exalted into something else: the control of their minions mind.

Although their plans were infallible within their own prison where their will reigned supreme, there was a trade to be made. Outside of their prison where their minions were supposed to operate the yozis' will could not reach infallibly. Even through the reforging of the infernal essences they could only completely control those they had already broken: beings who possessed no will of their own any more. The problem with this is that creatures this broken made for tepid agents, they were easily controlled but could - for all their power - accomplish little.

As such the Yozis had to choose. Would they exalt victims which were only left broken for the most part? Could they trust those who willingly offer themselves such as twisted mortals or loyal demon-blooded? What was more important to them; the ability to achieve their goals in creation through powerful minions, or their fear of betrayal once more by twisted mirror images of what had once fought and imprisoned them?

The Yozis chose the latter; their ambition outweighed their fear.

These new Infernal Exalted are powerless to as much as lift a finger against their masters: after all, to literally attack the Yozis one would have to stray inside their domain where their control is absolute. Even the mere thought of betraying their master would have an Infernal frozen in space until the Yozi made them reconsider their actions in various unpleasant ways.

However inside Creations these agents have a choice. They can betray their master's cause, even though every attempt will make it harder to resist the will of the Yozi as it bears down like a crushing vice on their psyche. Inevitably all who oppose their masters for any considerable length of time can bear no more, their awareness temporarily shoved aside as the Yozi will takes full control.

Concept

This will be my take on the Infernal Exalted, created by the Yozis from the fifty solar essences given to them by the deathlords. I've looked at the other interpretations on the board, and while interesting and made by people far more aware of all canon, crunch and balance issues involved than me, I dislike the thematics personally. So, this is my endeavour to give my own interpretation of the Infernal Exalted.

There'll be gaps in content because I'll be writing this page to resembling the average exalt type splatbook. And since my ideas are all over the place, so will the content.

Infernal exalted come from various walks of life. Potentials plucked from creation by agents of the Yozis and having their will broken and reforged to serve the Yozi before being exalted, loyalist demon-blooded who volunteer for exaltation for various reasons like the pursuit of power, or those foolish enough to petition the Yozi for it and then to be granted their dreadful wish.

And dreadful it is indeed. Even though some may regret their decision later, there's not much that can be done, even in Creation where their masters hold less sway. Regularly trying to resist their master's demands will result not only in a cowering exalt, unable to break the sway of the Yozi: worse still, the Yozi may take control of their agent for a period of time completely, sundering all they worked for.

Infernal Exalted are as such usually hideously twisted and deranged individuals who use their power gladly in the service of their master. These are probably better off than those who rebel: after all it is better to be the right hand of the devil than to be caught in it's path. Those who rebel against their unfortunate plight are sapped of their will, finally becoming no more than mindless puppets to their master.

Needless to say an Infernal can be a rather random ally to have. Their control over their actions may fail at crucial moments, leaving her incapable of doing what's needed, ruining otherwise infallible plans. Worse yet, if an Infernal pushes the boundaries too much they may fall prey to the complete sway of the Yozi for a time, who may go as far as to destroy their allies, their loved ones and all they've built, simply to punish and push the Infernal deeper in the spiral of madness that inevitably over-takes them all.

Some might notice some resemblance to Abyssals: this is intentional. To create a proper exalt type suitable for a PC from something that is not usually reconcilable with any kind of humanity, you have to have rebels. The way the futility manifests within Infernals is much different than Abyssals though: where Abyssals can go against the will of their masters because resonance will accomplish it anyway, Infernals simply cannot for extended periods of time stave off the will of the Yozi. Though the tragic, futile fight against a superior power may seem similar, I do intend to make Infernals very different thematically from Abyssals. After all, why reinvent the wheel?

Chapter 3: Traits

The Infernal Curse

Deviation

In the Infernal Exalted the great curse has been reforged by the Yozis to make even those of indomitable will eventually fall prey to the overpowering psyche of the imprisoned primordial. Infernal Exalted have a different trait in place of Limit Break called Deviation, which ranges from 0 to 10. Even those who manage to go against their master's commands will notice their resolve weakening: for every four points of Deviation add 1 to the difficulty of all virtue rolls for actions that are against the Yozi's will.

Gaining Deviation

Every time an Infernal even attempts to go against the will of their master - which is only possible outside of Malfeas - they must roll their permanent Willpower score against a difficulty equal to their Deviation. Taking such a roll in any way automatically adds a new point of Deviation. If the roll succeeds the Infernal is considered to be in control of their actions for the rest of the scene: the will of their Yozi master hasn't penetrated deeply enough into their psyche yet. If the roll fails the character may opt to roll again against their now higher Deviation score: doing so will of course keep adding points to the trait for every attempt.

If a character's Deviation score increases above 10 their awareness is temporarily pushed aside by the Yozi's: they become puppets for the rest of the scene, only vaguely aware of what is happening, and utterly incapable of intervening in any way.

Getting Control Back

Characters who become possessed of their Yozi masters have control returned to them at the end of the scene. Their deviation score is reset to zero: Yozi influence only extends so far in Creation and possession means they have to once more start applying their vice like grip on the victim's psyche.

Acting in accordance to the Yozi's agenda, doing things that obviously further their goals may reduce the amount of Deviation by 1, or even as much as 2 or 3 per scene, depending on what the Infernal is doing and accomplishing. Simply stopping the act of fighting the Yozi is enough to slowly reduce the Deviation trait. If the Infernal doesn't act contrary to their master's will for one full day they may substract an amount of points equal to their Essence from their Deviation score.

Since one can hardly act out in one's sleep Infernals automatically diminish their Deviation trait by 1 after a night of undisturbed sleep.