Angels
come in all shapes, dimensions, looks, and sizes. Angels are constructed by the
God-Machine to perform certain tasks and they have functional parts cobbled
together to make a whole. Most people never see the true form of an angel, and
when they do, they have a hard time identifying them as such. Despite the fact
that the God-Machine may create many different angels to perform similar tasks,
no two angels look the same. Some look very human — or at least humanoid —
while others may look like a mixed conglomeration of biological and mechanical
parts.
When
an angel falls and becomes a demon, she defies the God-Machine and with it her
very nature. She becomes human or some approximation of human, but she doesn’t
lose her angelic nature entirely. Instead, she pushes it deep into the recesses
of her psyche. It lurks there waiting silently, hidden behind the demon’s
desire to be different. While the demon is human, her true form is nowhere to
be seen — yet it is always just below the surface, waiting to be called upon.
The
connection that the Unchained once had to the GodMachine is still tenuously
held. It is a part of the Primum that is now her very essence and the Aether
she pulls from the wastes of the GodMachine’s processes. So too is the demonic
form a shadow of what the Unchained used to be as an angel. A demonic form is
an impression of the pattern used to create the angel. It is not a perfect
replica, and with time and a stronger connection to the world the Unchained is
able to shape it into a better representation of who and what she has become. As
she grows in power, her ability to express her free will grows with her and she
is no longer limited by her previous angelic visage. Where angels had forms
that followed the need for a very specific function, the Unchained pick and
choose their forms as they wish.
Demons must attempt to exist as normal mortals do, despite their origins. They keep their true nature under cover at all times, both for their own sake and the sakes of those around them. For the demon it is a relief to shed the human skin she hides in and reveal her true nature, but it has the chance to draw the God Machine’s attention, making it a temptation worth fighting.
Changing Into Demonic Form
Shifting from a human form and trappings into a demonic one is
liberating and an act of simple will on the flesh that holds the demon
together. Free will allows the demon to change between human form and demonic
form whenever she wishes, though the transition between states is not always
completely without effort.
Demons
are aware that changing into demonic form is risky and have schooled themselves
to change in different ways depending on the situation. Demons are capable of
fully transforming into their natural state, or only adopting select traits for
more delicate procedures. The Unchained have also developed a way to change in an
emergency and shred their mortal Cover, but gain extraordinary benefits from
doing so. They call it “going loud” and they only employ it in a worst-case
scenario.
Full
Transformation
Changing into demonic form requires very little effort. The demon
can change into her demonic form as a reflexive action. When she does, she
assumes every aspect of the form and becomes the horror that was once her
natural state of being. The human form is shed and the demon’s Primum performs instinctive
repairs on itself. The demon heals lethal or bashing damage equal to her Primum
rating, starting with the rightmost health box upon changing into her demonic
form. Any Tilts relating to a bodily injury, such as Arm Wrack, are removed.
When
the demon shifts into her demonic form, she is more attuned to the Aether
around her. She can draw in the little bits of processes and mechanisms
floating about within the air to fuel her without much conscious effort. The
Unchained gains a number of Aether equal to her Primum on her initial
transformation into demonic form. Because she is so attuned to the Aether, she
can never truly run out of it. Whenever her Aether is reduced to zero, the
player can roll Primum, and each success gains the demon one Aether (minimum 1,
even if the roll fails).
Most
demonic forms are obviously not human and would cause any onlooker to be
terrified by the change. Demons try not to change in front of an audience, and
more often than not are only changing when they are dealing with something
equally terrifying. Regardless of the presence of onlookers, manifesting powers
reminiscent of the God-Machine draws its attention and could compromise the
demon’s Cover. Each time the demon assumes her demonic form, the player must
make a compromise roll at a –3 penalty. Any Conditions that are gained from the
result of this roll are applied after the demon reverts back to her human form.
The longer the demon stays in her demonic form, the more attention she draws to
herself. Each scene the demon remains in demonic form, the player must make an
additional compromise roll with an extra cumulative –1 penalty for each
compromise roll made for this reason. This penalty is in addition to the –3
penalty from changing into demonic form in the first place.
Returning
to the human guise is not natural and requires concentration and effort on the
demon’s part. She must pull the bits and pieces that comprised her Cover back
together again and shape them around her demonic form to resume being human again.
The demon remains in her demonic form until the player spends one Aether to
return to the demon’s cover identity as an instant action. If the demon has
more than one Cover identity, the player chooses which one the demon returns
to. A Cover identity that was suffering from a bodily injury Tilt still has
that problem when the demon returns to her human form.
Going
Load
As described on p. 195, a demon can completely destroy her Cover
in a moment of need to transform into her demonic form. This form change is
different from a normal change in that it lasts for the scene and the demon is
unable to reassume her human form at will. Unless the demon has another Cover
that she can use, she is stuck in her demonic form and considered Burned until
a new Cover can be found.
Going
loud allows the demon to completely heal any lethal or bashing damage and shrug
off any Tilts affecting her. In addition to this, when the demon goes loud, her
current Cover is lost; she replenishes all her Aether, her Primum is set to 10,
and she gains access to every Embed her Incarnation gives her affinity for
along with all Exploits. Changing this way does not require a normal compromise
roll, since it constitutes the ultimate compromise of completely destroying the
demon’s current Cover.
Partial
Transformation
With concentration, a demon can assume aspects of her demonic form
without undergoing a full transformation. This type of transformation is as
unnatural for the demon as being in her human form. Changing this way requires
the expenditure of one Aether per form ability assumed in the transformation,
and another Aether to completely revert back to human form. If the demon cannot
spend enough Aether in a round to complete the transformation at once, then
none of the form abilities can be accessed until all Aether has been spent for
the transformation, as she is in deep concentration while manifesting them.
Once the demon has partially transformed form abilities, she cannot manifest
additional form abilities unless she first reverts completely back to human.
The demon can utilize a full transformation or go loud while she is only
partially transformed. It is treated as though she is changing forms from a
completely human state.
Changing only partially into demonic form is not the same as a complete transformation. The demon does not heal or gain Aether during a partial transformation. Partially transforming into demonic form is still a compromise for the demon, yet not as severe as a full transformation. The roll gains a bonus equal to the number of form abilities not being accessed for the transformation. This means that if a demon with seven form abilities uses a partial transformation to manifest just one, the resulting compromise roll gets a +6 modifier.