THE BITTER FALLEN 1
B
lessed Siem and mad Ilvir make different pacts with their followers, but the other Kethiran churches teach that if a follower obeys the tenets laid down by their god then they will enjoy the eternal afterlife they have been promised. This is, in part, true. Most of the population of Yashain are embodied souls of departed Kethirans with no memory of their former life. Most are judged worthy of entry into the afterlife, but not for eternity. When these ‘mortals’ die their memories of Yashain are stripped away with their physical bodies and they are reincarnated on Kethira, and the wheel turns. Only the most pious Kethirans are granted life eternal on Yashain. They are those whose devotion in life consumed their every waking moment, their every effort, and every action. The most potent Kethiran warriors become the immortal generals of the gods; the most pious Kethirans serve at their deity’s right hand; and the greatest among these are elevated to the pantheon of demi-gods, saints and demons that surround each celestial throne.
THE BITTER FALLEN
The exile of the deceitful among the Fallen crushes most of them, but others discover a reason to survive. They blame their god and its followers for their fall from grace and seek redress. These are the ‘Bitter Fallen’. They sustain the appearance of power by squeezing emotion from the common folk of Yashain with confidence tricks and the shreds of potency they retain. Some survive on this pretence for centuries as feared overlords or capricious wizards. Sooner or later, though, the common people become wise to their tricks or sicken of their tyranny. These Bitter Fallen are harried away from their mortal prey, hunted, and some slain, to protect the mortals of Yashain. When the common folk turn against them the only source of sustenance remaining to them is their own corporeal body. As this is consumed they become little more than shadows of their former selves; shells of their once ideal physical manifestations. They discover that while fear and loathing are not as nourishing as love and devotion they do sate the hunger around which their existence increasingly revolve. As their physical manifestations crumble they begin to embody the very fears they now rely upon for survival. Many of the legends of Yashain, tales of devils and vampires, werewolves and the winter fey, can be traced to one of the Bitter Fallen, their form twisted to reflect the fears of mortals. The ideals they once epitomised mean nothing to the Bitter Fallen. The noble Laranian, the proud Sarajinian and the scholarly Knorran become indistinguishable from the violent Agrikan, the greedy Halean, and the murderous Navehan. The Peonian now sucks up the life-force which previously she dispensed; all resemble the insane Morgathian. Finally, when they can maintain their forbidding manifestations no longer these monsters seem to have no hope or future. There are, though, portals across Yashain through which shreds of Kethiran emotion leak into Yashain. Most of these portals are closely guarded near the centre of a gods’ power and reserved for the use of servants intervening on their behalf. There are, though, others; lost or forgotten among the trackless deserts, the twisted forests, or the treacherous mountains that fringe the realms of the gods. It is to these that the Bitter Fallen are drawn. Most lack the will to complete their quest and disperse until they are no more than whispers on the wind and random HârnWorld
The Fallen Yashain’s ‘magical’ nature is a result of the emotions and devotions of Kethirans. Every prayer for the dead sends a morsel of power to Yashain where the gods harvest it. The great clerics and heroes of the age are remembered in masses, on feast days, and by those reading celebrations of their lives. This generates a steady flow of ‘piety’ to the gods they favoured. Every strong emotion felt or expressed on Kethira imbues the very fabric of Yashain with ‘magic’. The power of the Kethiran gods is, therefore, entirely dependent on the way in which their once mortal servants are remembered. The gods, in turn, distribute the power they harvest to their favourites in return for loyalty, advice, and service. The way the servant is remembered on Kethira consolidates their power and position in the courts of the gods. What, though, of those who are, over the ages, forgotten on Kethira? What of those who are left behind by changes in theology? What of those that fall from grace when the devotion they harvest ebbs away? These are the ‘Fallen’ of Yashain. The less prideful among them accept that they can no longer command sufficient power to retain a place at the high table of their god. They accept the life of a mortal commoner, content to die a final, even noble, death on Yashain. They commend their soul back to their god who may keep it on Yashain, send it to be embodied anew on Kethira or, if they are displeased, have Bukrai consume it. Others among the Fallen filch power from those around them and eke out the appearance of potency until discovered and exiled.
WRITER Alun Rees CONTRIBUTORS Anders Bersten Neil Thompson Andy Gibson Playtesters at IviniaCon & the Harnwriter Group
© A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2015
THE BITTER FALLEN 2 patterns in the dust of ages. Some others, fuelled by their bitter hatred, succeed in their search. Communities of a sort form around these portals where the strongest Bitter Fallen consume the weakest. Sometimes they muster sufficient power to cross into Kethira; the vilest spirits of Kethira are Bitter Fallen who have escaped Yashain determined to exact payment for their suffering.
Lord of the Fallen* He would be a King Never satisfied In your head
The less fortunate can only circle the portal and use their remaining potency to entice unsuspecting Kethirans close enough to the other side for their soul to be nibbled at or consumed. On the Kethiran side of the portal these places develop evil reputations; places where people go to die. Any mortal crossing into the arms of the Bitter Fallen can expect no mercy as the creatures compete to rip their soul from their body before devouring even that.
The self-styled Lord of the Fallen is only ever encountered when ‘riding’ a mortal body. The body retains its original skills but adds the following skills and stunts, improving skills it already possesses to these levels. While ridden the mortal body ignores Fate Core’s ‘skill pyramid’ rule:
POWERS AND MANIFESTATIONS
+6 Will (Influence: Spend a Fate Point to ‘ride’ within a mortal’s body and change one of their Aspects to its advantage (with a free invoke), for one session), AND (Confuse: Spend a Fate Point to leave misleading memories within any mortal who suffers a point of mental stress as a result of a successful mental attack by the Lord using Will)
No two Bitter Fallen are the same; each has followed a unique path to this nadir of existence and this has shaped them and their capabilities. While they are all ethereal some Bitter Fallen can craft a physical manifestation from materials with which they have a particular affinity. Sometimes they can influence mortal perceptions to cloak themselves in an illusion more attractive or convincing to a victim. Their objective is always to generate fear or veneration, and therefore the emotion they need to survive and to power the vestiges of the gifts granted by their god, though perverted by their life path.
+5 Empathy (Identify weakness: +2 to identify and use a mortal’s aspect against them)
Their physical or illusory manifestations can reflect mortal desires or fears, memories of their life before their Fall, or parodies of the being they once were. Others conflate all these influences in unpredictable ways.
+4 Rapport (Master of bargains: +2 when using Rapport to strike a bargain or negotiate a desired outcome spending a Fate Point to ignore a language barrier)
‘Lord of the Fallen’
+3 Strength (Ignore the blow: Use Strength to defend against Melee/Fight attacks though the mortal body takes +1 damage on a tie)
This Bitter Fallen was a legendary master merchant known for his uncanny ability to strike bargains and his ambition to be the best at what he did. When he died Halea adopted him into her court where he became ambassador to Agrik’s chief underling, Demon Pameshlu the Insatiable. He used his gifts of empathy and rhetoric to survive and strengthen Halea’s reputation; in return she granted him gifts to influence those he met. Over time he came to envy the power Pameshlu wielded, and struck a bargain with the Demon. He would betray Halea’s cause in return for power over the mortals of a nearby kingdom. Inevitably Pameshlu betrayed him and he fell from Halea’s grace. Escaping to a distant land far from both divine kingdoms he traded (and stole); bargained (and lied), to gain positions of responsibility and the power needed to use Halea’s gifts. Alas his ambition and greed always led to disaster: betrayal here; illegality there; and poisoned relationships everywhere. He continued to survive on lies until a bounty placed on his head forced him to flee civilisation. In the wilderness he sacrificed everything to survive until it was released back into Kethira. It gained the fealty of others of its kind when it found a way to release them from Yashain. Unfortunately its tenuous control of these Bitter Fallen is not enough to satisfy its desire for overlordship. It continues to seek supremacy through the mortal puppets it can influence and through the efforts of those other Bitter Fallen it can command. It is invariably involved in a plot to grant it both an immortal body and mortal power. © A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2015
+2 Endurance (Ignore the strain: Once per session spend a Fate Point to reduce the severity of a serious physical consequence to mild, or remove a mild consequence altogether) +1 Intimidate Weapon: As for the mortal body but at +2 due to Strength. Armour: As for the mortal body Physical (minm of) Mental
Grievous Mild
Serious
*see Fate of Harn and Fate Core for an explanation of these statistics.
HârnWorld
