[UA] CotNG: Why no Avatars (was a jolly good fight)

[rowan at media.mit.edu]

> How about that's where the Cruel Ones come from?  Folks who would have
> been IC members, except they died too soon.  Now they've become some
> sort of IC on the other side and act as reality cops over there.
> 
> Or another type of demon/astral creature or some suc, I suppose.


I think it's worth entertaining the notion that demons can continue to accrue 
extra Avatar points after death. Most of the historical avatars evoked in 
Statosphere have been through multiple mythological incarnations before their 
current cultural significance: Bill Clinton may be the Fool right now, but in 
150 years he might be remembered in the history books as the Demagogue, the 
Trickster, the Outsider, the True King, or the Necessary Servant. Maybe demons 
can't ascend, but they can retain avatar channels and even change their scores 
based on public perception. 

This would create a small subset of demons who were aware of how much power 
they could gain by manipulating their legacies. They would spend their time in 
bodies trying to spin history in their favor, and they would be able to use 
avatar channels through their host. These demons would be more 
classically "devils" or "spirits": a WECHBY demon might be the Demon of Lust, 
for instance, or a Pilgrim might be the Patron Angel of Travelers. 

If I were to adopt this alternate mechanic, it would change the setting 
somewhat. For one thing, I would eliminate Iconomancy as a school: it would 
instead be a thaumaturgical tradition of summoning famous ghosts into your body 
and allowing them free reign, a la voodoo. Since it mirrors voodoo so 
precisely, in fact, I think it works better than the current Iconomancy rules 
(which are a cross between demonic possession and simple avatarhood).

-Matt Norwood

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