Demon (DTF)

The fallen are the fallen Elohim, or angels, who chose to side with humanity rather than God in the first days of Creation. Many, especially those who fear or revile them, refer to them as demons or the damned.

Attributes
All fallen need an anchor to the physical world if they wish to remain there. Those who take a soulless human host become the true fallen, while those whose existence has greatly degraded that they can only reside in inanimate objects become the Earthbound. A human host has the disadvantage of being unable to hold all the fallen's memories, and also only allows a trickle of power compared to what the fallen used to be able to accomplish. On the upside, however, the lingering memories and values of some hosts can restore the fallen to sanity after their long imprisonment.

As their mortal hosts are already possessed in a manner of speaking, it is almost impossible for a fallen's host to be possessed by another; however, especially strong acts of will may be able to push a demon out, in which case they must find another host or be returned to the Abyss.

Fallen may soak lethal damage with their stamina, and may also use Faith to heal lethal and bashing damage. Sources of aggravated damage are rare, but when encountered may not be healed by Faith. Aggravated damages sources include another demon's claws, and certain artifacts, evocations, and items. Demons with high Torment can also take lethal damage from holy ground and sacred relics.

Powers and Special Abilities
All fallen are gifted with an Apocalyptic Form, or Visage that grants certain innate abilities. In addition, demons have powers known as Lores, which reflect what the fallen's lot in Heaven was before they rebelled. A fallen's primary Lore will always coincide with their Visage; in addition, a demon may never take a secondary Lore rating higher than their primary Lore, though it can be equivalent.

The fallen also have another advantage that their former divine nature grants them. All fallen are immune to all forms of mind control, including supernatural ones such as Lores, Disciplines, Arcanoi, Spheres, etc. As a side effect, this also makes it easy for a fallen to discern any illusionary or concealing effects.

Faith and Torment
Faith is the way that Demons power many of their abilities; as Elohim, they had endless amounts of Faith to manipulate. Most fallen now "harvest" Faith from willing humans by forming Pacts. By using Faith in excessive amounts, however, a fallen risks Revelation and making themselves a target for mortal demon hunters and enemy fallen.

The opposite of Faith is Torment. A demon accumulates Torment through sinful acts, such as going against their personal beliefs or hurting someone they care about. Torment can also be reduced by working to rectify anything they have inflicted on themselves or another. Torment reflects in a demon's Lores and Visage. Too much Torment will taint any attempts to use a Lore with something dark and undesirable, and any who see the demon's Visage will see a horrendous monster instead of a divine being. Fallen can also willingly call on the Tormented form of a Lore, which can in turn increase Torment. A Fallen with zero torment may or may not be possible (story teller's discretion) but if it is achieved rules provided for playing an Angel/Elohim are available in one of the rulebooks.

Origin
The Elohim were responsible for the creation of everything, including humanity; however, God had special orders for them; the Elohim were to watch over humans, but never make themselves known. Those who became fallen disagreed with this, feeling God was unfairly holding the development of humanity back, but reluctantly agreed to follow His word.

When Ahrimal, one of the Neberu, foresaw a disaster looming ahead for their beloved humanity, one-third of the angels sided with Lucifer and tried to prepare humanity for the impending catastrophe by accelerating its development. The presented themselves before humans, causing the Fall. They taught and lived with humans, even after being cursed by God and warring against the faithful Elohim of Heaven.

For this transgression against the Creator's wishes, the fallen were cast out from Heaven and Creation was devastated. After a lengthy, increasingly atrocious war with the loyalist Elohim over the fate of humanity, the fallen were finally defeated when the Babel project failed and severed the link between the fallen and humans. The defeated and former Elohim were cast into the Abyss and lingered there for untold eons. In the end, Ahrimal's vision was true; by abandoning God and misleading humanity, the rebel Elohim caused it to become a shade of what it was meant to be.

Then, the walls of the Abyss cracked during the Sixth Great Maelstrom, and the fallen started escaping back to the material world.

Naming
Demons can have three names: the name given to their human form, the Celestial Name which is what other demons tend to know them as, and the True Name, which is abstract and utterly unspeakable by mortal tongues. Some fallen go so far as to shed their mortal name when they gain enough power and memory to reestablish their fallen identity.


 * DTF: Demon: The Fallen Rulebook p. 159-161, 171-172
 * DTF: Demon: Storyteller's Companion
 * DTF: Demon: The Earthbound