Post by Charles Warren on Nov 18, 2010 19:22:54 GMT -5
Overlapping Aspects of Reality
Reality is a complex thing. As a result, taking on an aspect of reality is somewhat intricate. As one might imagine, the Domains of Nobles overlap. Likewise, there are aspects that would seem to be unprotected against the Excrucians. Here is how I work this out:
When a Noble takes on an aspect of reality, they are really taking on a combination of that aspect and of that perspective. There can be multiple Nobles who take on the same aspect as long as their focus is different. For example, Baalhermon is the Noble of Destruction. He is allied with The Dark, the faction of Nobles and Imperators that derrives power and pleasure from encouraging humans to corrupt and destroy themselves. (Not to be confused with the Excrucians who just want to destroy humanity, and everything else. The Dark justifies its existence in the SELF-destructive capacities of humanity. Having someone else do it defeats the purpose.) Baalhermon represents bleak destruction from which nothing springs anew. Examples would be oil spills, nuclear explosions, and toxic waste. At the same time, Taramiel is also the Noble of Destruction, however, he serves Heaven (whose highest ideal is beauty). He represents destruction that brings forth greater growth and beauty. Things like forest fires and the season of fall would be examples of things under his perview.
When multiple Nobles take on the same aspect, their claim is limited by the prior claims of others. This often creates contention and both powers attempt to assert their control over their entire domain, although it doesn't need to be so - Baalhermon and Taramiel have no desire for each other's estates. Powers still have some level of control over related areas of their domain, although it is by no means as powerful as their control over their specific aspect.
Note also that powers may also have different Domains, but have overlap nonetheless. For example, Taramiel, by his take on his Domain, has some relationship to the season of Fall. Hal is the Noble of Fall. Obviously, the two overlap. The difference is, Hal covers all aspects of Fall. Taramiel only covers the destructive (or, more appropriately, regenerative) aspects of the season. Hal is not limited by Taramiel's abilities with her Domain. Taramiel does not, in fact, have any control of the season of Fall - he can, however, use its effects within his own Estate. Thus, to one, Fall is an end, to the other, a means. This too can cause friction between Nobles if one feels that their estate is being abused by another. Fortunately, Hal and Taramiel get along.
One side effect of this regards the Flower Rite. In Nobilis canon, the Flower Rite is a special rite performed by Excrucians to weaken or even destroy an aspect of reality. This is done by creating or finding a situation that perfectly represents an aspect of reality. They then degrade this situation until that aspect becomes corrupted or (even better) eventually becomes a contradiction. This is the ultimate goal of the Excrucians and the Nobles' primary task is the prevention of such actions (at least within their own Domains).
With the above take on Noble domains, Nobles can also perform the Flower Rite, although instead of destroying an aspect of reality, they simply move it under their own perview. The methods are the same. They start by finding or creating a situation that perfectly represents the aspect they are seeking to acquire. They then carefully alter the situation until it becomes something that perfectly reflects their own domain. The rite is then complete and their own Estate is expanded. (As with the case of Excrucians, Powers related to the aspect being manipulated will sense the interference immediately and may have something to say about it.) It should be noted, Nobles undertake this path only after much planning. For starters, it inevitably harms other Nobles and hence is against Imperator law. The aggressor may be taken before the Locust Court for their actions. Alternatively, if the defender is powerful, they may choose exact seven-fold revenge for the offense according to the law. In addition, Nobles who start expanding beyond their immediate Domains will almost certianly be dealt with, possibly by their own Imperator. Finally, and most relavent, most Nobles have no interest in Estates that are outside their own; they have their hands full with protecting and serving their own estates and don't have any desire for the extra work. As a result, Nobles will usually perform this rite only if they feel there is a real danger (to themselves, to their estate, or to their allegiances) in leaving things as they are. It can happen, however.
Finally, regarding unclaimed estates, these inevitably are tangentially related to several powers. For example, there is no Power of Woks (the cooking implement). If, for whatever reason, this aspect of reality was attacked, instead of a single Noble becomming aware that their Estate was under attack, the Nobles of most oriental countries, the Noble of the Hearth, the Noble of the Kitchen, the Noble of Food, and quite possibly several other aspects would all immediately be aware of the attack and converge on the scene. Hence, instead of simply needing to deal with one Noble and his friends, the aggressor would incur the wrath of literally dozens of Nobles. As a result, Excrucians prefer to attack aspects that are under the Domain of one, or at most a couple, Nobles.
Basically, one should look at aspects as Gaussian distributions (for those of you who are mathematically inclined). Each Noble has a specific aspect that is their Estate. This Noble then has some control over related apsects which weakens the further removed these aspects are from the Noble's primary estate. When two Nobles overlap, for a given shared aspect, the capabilities of the Noble more distantly related to the given aspect are significantly degraded if the aspect is more precisely in the Estate of the other. This works both in terms of power of that aspect as well as awareness when that aspect is attecked.
In regard to the last point one might ask, "If having a Noble of an aspect shields others from detecting an attack to that, why have so many Nobles - don't they interfere with each other?" Well, yes. Not overly much, however. First off, there need to be Nobles for most major aspects or they would be spread too thin during an Excrucian attack. Secondly, Imperators disagree over how aspects should be represented, so they will often create Nobles so that their views are protected.
Character Appearance and Mentality as it Relates to Aspect
All characters were something else before they became Nobles. This should be kept in mind when creating a background and personality. All but the most ancient and hardened Nobles retain something of their former selves - this is, in fact, a great strength of the Nobles. However, suddenly being raised to a living incarnation of some aspect of reality tends to have an affect on a person (or animal, or plant, or fictional character, of passing cloud...). Moreover, beings are often enNobled because they represent the aspect (on some level) so well that an Imperator notices. Hence, while there are Nobles who don't like the fact that their old lives have been taken away from them and they are now bound to the service of Reality, there are no Nobles who do not represent their aspect in their deepest being.
The degree to which an aspect molds a Noble's personality varies. For starters, it depends on how powerful the Noble is within their Domain. Many Nobles have only the lightest level of control over their Estates. Some, however, are truely god-like. Characters with more strength in their Estate usually have more of their humanity replaced by their aspect (although it may just mean that they just found their estate easy to control). Likewise, the process of being enNobled can be physically and mentally traumatizing. Many beings still wear these scars and it affects their personality as well. On the other hand, some Nobles have very little power over their Estates, but their Estates end up dominating them. For example, The Lady of Plagues (she takes no other name) is gaunt, pale, and sickly looking. She also has virtually no control over her Estate (at least, not without serious exertion). It has dominated her appearance and personality (and she is not any happier for it). The upshot is the player can choose what they want the character's personality to be with reference to their Estate and a reason can be found for it. Just remember that the Estate must resonate with the character at some level or they would not have been given charge over it.
As for appearance, most beings with a reasonable level of control over their Estates develop a true form that is more in line with their Domain. The change may be simple, or it might be a full metamophosis. The player can decide. This does not affect their appearance in the Prosaic (real) world - they still look human.
However, in the mythic world and inside their Chancel the characters appear in their true form (unless they wish to Guise themselves). Characters may also choose to cast off their human guises in Prosaic reality, but this can drive nearby humans insane. Again, it can also work the other way - a Power weak in their estate might be transformed against their will into some appearance by the power of their Domain.
In any case, some thought should be put into both of these items. Unless the player wishes, there are no benefits or penalties - these are entirely for flavor. However, they are an important part of the character.
Choosing an Aspect to Play
There are several things to keep in mind when choosing an aspect to play:
Will it be fun in the long term? - This is probably the most important question. Spend some time thinking about the concept and make sure it is something you will want to stick with. Choosing to be the Power of Tofu may seem amusing at first, but after the first dozen or so times when an enemy is defeated by being encrusted in a giant mound of soy derivative, the character will probably lose most of its charm. At that point, there should be something underneath to make the character worth playing.
Is the Domain too large? - Some Domains could apply to just about everything. There are two disadvantages to this. First, if you choose a very general aspect will find them selves increasingly limited by the overlap of their Domain with the Domains of other powers. Second, part of the fun of Nobilis is creative application of powers to circumstances. Powers will almost always be able to do something - they may just not be able to solve the problem directly. And, of course, gratuitously large Domains will be vetoed.
What are the Domain's abilities? - The powers a Noble can perform within their estate fall into five categories listed in their order of difficulty:
Divination - Learning about something relating to one's estate
Preservation - Extend the duration or otherwise toughen
something pertaining to one's estate.
Creation - Creating something from your estate (and it doesn't have to be a physical item - a Muse might create "inspiration") out of nothing. Generally, this created item will have a duration appropriate to its environment. A fire created in a forest might last for days. One created on an iceberg would have a somewhat more limited lifetime.
Destruction - Allow the Noble to damage, mask, or destroy something from their Estate.
Change - Change some property of something from your Estate.
Have an idea of what your character can do in each category. This can be challenging at times. For example, what if your character's Estate is Shadow? What happens when you destroy a shadow? Is light created (to fill in the area where the shadow used to be), or does something else happen? This should be appropriate for whatever the Noble's Apect is. For example, if a Noble embodied simply the physical properties of shadow (a lack of light caused by an occluding object) then creating light would be appropriate. If, on the other hand, the Noble represented the aspect of shadows that conceils, it might be appropriate to have them make the objects in the shadow visible, but not necessarily to illuminate them. (To destroy their being hidden.) On the other (third?) hand, if a Noble represented the concept of "lurking in the shadows" where shadows are unsettling things, "destroying" a shadow would remove its weight on a passer-by's mind and cause them not to worry about it (which could be quite effective if there WAS something lurking in the shadow at the time). Again, it depends on how the player views the aspect the Noble represents.
Be creative - Any concept is allowed (with some minor exceptions imposed by me). Ry recommended just paging through a dictionary - this isn't a bad idea.
Reality is a complex thing. As a result, taking on an aspect of reality is somewhat intricate. As one might imagine, the Domains of Nobles overlap. Likewise, there are aspects that would seem to be unprotected against the Excrucians. Here is how I work this out:
When a Noble takes on an aspect of reality, they are really taking on a combination of that aspect and of that perspective. There can be multiple Nobles who take on the same aspect as long as their focus is different. For example, Baalhermon is the Noble of Destruction. He is allied with The Dark, the faction of Nobles and Imperators that derrives power and pleasure from encouraging humans to corrupt and destroy themselves. (Not to be confused with the Excrucians who just want to destroy humanity, and everything else. The Dark justifies its existence in the SELF-destructive capacities of humanity. Having someone else do it defeats the purpose.) Baalhermon represents bleak destruction from which nothing springs anew. Examples would be oil spills, nuclear explosions, and toxic waste. At the same time, Taramiel is also the Noble of Destruction, however, he serves Heaven (whose highest ideal is beauty). He represents destruction that brings forth greater growth and beauty. Things like forest fires and the season of fall would be examples of things under his perview.
When multiple Nobles take on the same aspect, their claim is limited by the prior claims of others. This often creates contention and both powers attempt to assert their control over their entire domain, although it doesn't need to be so - Baalhermon and Taramiel have no desire for each other's estates. Powers still have some level of control over related areas of their domain, although it is by no means as powerful as their control over their specific aspect.
Note also that powers may also have different Domains, but have overlap nonetheless. For example, Taramiel, by his take on his Domain, has some relationship to the season of Fall. Hal is the Noble of Fall. Obviously, the two overlap. The difference is, Hal covers all aspects of Fall. Taramiel only covers the destructive (or, more appropriately, regenerative) aspects of the season. Hal is not limited by Taramiel's abilities with her Domain. Taramiel does not, in fact, have any control of the season of Fall - he can, however, use its effects within his own Estate. Thus, to one, Fall is an end, to the other, a means. This too can cause friction between Nobles if one feels that their estate is being abused by another. Fortunately, Hal and Taramiel get along.
One side effect of this regards the Flower Rite. In Nobilis canon, the Flower Rite is a special rite performed by Excrucians to weaken or even destroy an aspect of reality. This is done by creating or finding a situation that perfectly represents an aspect of reality. They then degrade this situation until that aspect becomes corrupted or (even better) eventually becomes a contradiction. This is the ultimate goal of the Excrucians and the Nobles' primary task is the prevention of such actions (at least within their own Domains).
With the above take on Noble domains, Nobles can also perform the Flower Rite, although instead of destroying an aspect of reality, they simply move it under their own perview. The methods are the same. They start by finding or creating a situation that perfectly represents the aspect they are seeking to acquire. They then carefully alter the situation until it becomes something that perfectly reflects their own domain. The rite is then complete and their own Estate is expanded. (As with the case of Excrucians, Powers related to the aspect being manipulated will sense the interference immediately and may have something to say about it.) It should be noted, Nobles undertake this path only after much planning. For starters, it inevitably harms other Nobles and hence is against Imperator law. The aggressor may be taken before the Locust Court for their actions. Alternatively, if the defender is powerful, they may choose exact seven-fold revenge for the offense according to the law. In addition, Nobles who start expanding beyond their immediate Domains will almost certianly be dealt with, possibly by their own Imperator. Finally, and most relavent, most Nobles have no interest in Estates that are outside their own; they have their hands full with protecting and serving their own estates and don't have any desire for the extra work. As a result, Nobles will usually perform this rite only if they feel there is a real danger (to themselves, to their estate, or to their allegiances) in leaving things as they are. It can happen, however.
Finally, regarding unclaimed estates, these inevitably are tangentially related to several powers. For example, there is no Power of Woks (the cooking implement). If, for whatever reason, this aspect of reality was attacked, instead of a single Noble becomming aware that their Estate was under attack, the Nobles of most oriental countries, the Noble of the Hearth, the Noble of the Kitchen, the Noble of Food, and quite possibly several other aspects would all immediately be aware of the attack and converge on the scene. Hence, instead of simply needing to deal with one Noble and his friends, the aggressor would incur the wrath of literally dozens of Nobles. As a result, Excrucians prefer to attack aspects that are under the Domain of one, or at most a couple, Nobles.
Basically, one should look at aspects as Gaussian distributions (for those of you who are mathematically inclined). Each Noble has a specific aspect that is their Estate. This Noble then has some control over related apsects which weakens the further removed these aspects are from the Noble's primary estate. When two Nobles overlap, for a given shared aspect, the capabilities of the Noble more distantly related to the given aspect are significantly degraded if the aspect is more precisely in the Estate of the other. This works both in terms of power of that aspect as well as awareness when that aspect is attecked.
In regard to the last point one might ask, "If having a Noble of an aspect shields others from detecting an attack to that, why have so many Nobles - don't they interfere with each other?" Well, yes. Not overly much, however. First off, there need to be Nobles for most major aspects or they would be spread too thin during an Excrucian attack. Secondly, Imperators disagree over how aspects should be represented, so they will often create Nobles so that their views are protected.
Character Appearance and Mentality as it Relates to Aspect
All characters were something else before they became Nobles. This should be kept in mind when creating a background and personality. All but the most ancient and hardened Nobles retain something of their former selves - this is, in fact, a great strength of the Nobles. However, suddenly being raised to a living incarnation of some aspect of reality tends to have an affect on a person (or animal, or plant, or fictional character, of passing cloud...). Moreover, beings are often enNobled because they represent the aspect (on some level) so well that an Imperator notices. Hence, while there are Nobles who don't like the fact that their old lives have been taken away from them and they are now bound to the service of Reality, there are no Nobles who do not represent their aspect in their deepest being.
The degree to which an aspect molds a Noble's personality varies. For starters, it depends on how powerful the Noble is within their Domain. Many Nobles have only the lightest level of control over their Estates. Some, however, are truely god-like. Characters with more strength in their Estate usually have more of their humanity replaced by their aspect (although it may just mean that they just found their estate easy to control). Likewise, the process of being enNobled can be physically and mentally traumatizing. Many beings still wear these scars and it affects their personality as well. On the other hand, some Nobles have very little power over their Estates, but their Estates end up dominating them. For example, The Lady of Plagues (she takes no other name) is gaunt, pale, and sickly looking. She also has virtually no control over her Estate (at least, not without serious exertion). It has dominated her appearance and personality (and she is not any happier for it). The upshot is the player can choose what they want the character's personality to be with reference to their Estate and a reason can be found for it. Just remember that the Estate must resonate with the character at some level or they would not have been given charge over it.
As for appearance, most beings with a reasonable level of control over their Estates develop a true form that is more in line with their Domain. The change may be simple, or it might be a full metamophosis. The player can decide. This does not affect their appearance in the Prosaic (real) world - they still look human.
However, in the mythic world and inside their Chancel the characters appear in their true form (unless they wish to Guise themselves). Characters may also choose to cast off their human guises in Prosaic reality, but this can drive nearby humans insane. Again, it can also work the other way - a Power weak in their estate might be transformed against their will into some appearance by the power of their Domain.
In any case, some thought should be put into both of these items. Unless the player wishes, there are no benefits or penalties - these are entirely for flavor. However, they are an important part of the character.
Choosing an Aspect to Play
There are several things to keep in mind when choosing an aspect to play:
Will it be fun in the long term? - This is probably the most important question. Spend some time thinking about the concept and make sure it is something you will want to stick with. Choosing to be the Power of Tofu may seem amusing at first, but after the first dozen or so times when an enemy is defeated by being encrusted in a giant mound of soy derivative, the character will probably lose most of its charm. At that point, there should be something underneath to make the character worth playing.
Is the Domain too large? - Some Domains could apply to just about everything. There are two disadvantages to this. First, if you choose a very general aspect will find them selves increasingly limited by the overlap of their Domain with the Domains of other powers. Second, part of the fun of Nobilis is creative application of powers to circumstances. Powers will almost always be able to do something - they may just not be able to solve the problem directly. And, of course, gratuitously large Domains will be vetoed.
What are the Domain's abilities? - The powers a Noble can perform within their estate fall into five categories listed in their order of difficulty:
Divination - Learning about something relating to one's estate
Preservation - Extend the duration or otherwise toughen
something pertaining to one's estate.
Creation - Creating something from your estate (and it doesn't have to be a physical item - a Muse might create "inspiration") out of nothing. Generally, this created item will have a duration appropriate to its environment. A fire created in a forest might last for days. One created on an iceberg would have a somewhat more limited lifetime.
Destruction - Allow the Noble to damage, mask, or destroy something from their Estate.
Change - Change some property of something from your Estate.
Have an idea of what your character can do in each category. This can be challenging at times. For example, what if your character's Estate is Shadow? What happens when you destroy a shadow? Is light created (to fill in the area where the shadow used to be), or does something else happen? This should be appropriate for whatever the Noble's Apect is. For example, if a Noble embodied simply the physical properties of shadow (a lack of light caused by an occluding object) then creating light would be appropriate. If, on the other hand, the Noble represented the aspect of shadows that conceils, it might be appropriate to have them make the objects in the shadow visible, but not necessarily to illuminate them. (To destroy their being hidden.) On the other (third?) hand, if a Noble represented the concept of "lurking in the shadows" where shadows are unsettling things, "destroying" a shadow would remove its weight on a passer-by's mind and cause them not to worry about it (which could be quite effective if there WAS something lurking in the shadow at the time). Again, it depends on how the player views the aspect the Noble represents.
Be creative - Any concept is allowed (with some minor exceptions imposed by me). Ry recommended just paging through a dictionary - this isn't a bad idea.