Reincarnation & Marriage

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by robkelk

[...] marriage is something that happens between two people, not three.

This plot complication definitely would not fit in a bright campaign.

Or at least not a high-contrast campaign? Bright Polyamory isn't an un-thing! (Or did I skim something I shouldn't have because I'm distracted by the spouse and kid talking math homework at each other?)

(I go to Arisia, which is arguably one of the "fandom is full of atypical families/family arrangements" SF&F conventions. I blame Boston.)

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by Archangel Beth

Or at least not a high-contrast campaign? Bright Polyamory isn't an un-thing! (Or did I skim something I shouldn't have because I'm distracted by the spouse and kid talking math homework at each other?)

(I go to Arisia, which is arguably one of the "fandom is full of atypical families/family arrangements" SF&F conventions. I blame Boston.)

I think that the 'Souls that split like flatworms' bit was the part that had no place in a Bright campaign, but I could be wrong.

[Archangel Beth]

Oh, I dunno -- it all depends on the Symphonic mechanics involved, and the results. I could see some Bright, Humorous plotlines that assumed that sometimes souls divided "perfectly," making identical, smaller clone-copies. Just think of all those "identical twin" comedies -- and make them into a version where even a Seraph of Destiny will be sitting in the corner, cradling its head, and moaning, "They're the same, they're the same!"

(And then there's Spider Robinson's "Mary's Place," (IIRC the name), the Callahan's spin-off, with the

Spoiler:  

telepathic twins who were treated as one person as children and therefore became one person... with two bodies. The Kyriotates understand!

.)

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by Archangel Beth

Oh, I dunno -- it all depends on the Symphonic mechanics involved, and the results. I could see some Bright, Humorous plotlines that assumed that sometimes souls divided "perfectly," making identical, smaller clone-copies. Just think of all those "identical twin" comedies -- and make them into a version where even a Seraph of Destiny will be sitting in the corner, cradling its head, and moaning, "They're the same, they're the same!"

(And then there's Spider Robinson's "Mary's Place," (IIRC the name), the Callahan's spin-off, with the

Spoiler:  

telepathic twins who were treated as one person as children and therefore became one person... with two bodies. The Kyriotates understand!

.)

Yeah, but I have no idea how that would work in IN.

Spoiler:  

Maybe a version of Soul link that effectively merges their Forces again, making a single 10(12?) Force being with two 'vessels'

[Archangel Beth]

Or you could run it 100% like

Spoiler:  

Kyriotates! 5-6 Forces -- telepathic and 6 Forces seem like they'd go together... -- and the same Forces for each body. Perhaps allow a few points in characteristics to be shifted around, especially if there are different genetics involved? One of the Mary's Place bodies was better at piano playing, for instance, so one could argue for a higher Precision by a point... Or it might be easier to treat that like skills in GURPS 4e, where the points can represent either innate talent or hard work. (Or, of course, both.)

[William]

While I still can't see souls splitting, I can see them developing a Kyriotate-like power of inhabiting two bodies. Bilocation is supposed to be among the powers that Buddhas obtain, IIRC. Place is no more real than form, after all. The difference between this and "splitting" is, perhaps, academic.

I am being reminded by this discussion of a recent addition to the Flash's rogues gallery: Mob Rule, a man who can generate rapid-fire clones (fully adult, fully educated) by cutting off bits of himself (which quickly regenerate). They're loosely linked telepathically but act independently (at one point the clones kidnap the original), but they die within a few weeks or months. In In Nomine, these might be temporary projections of his own Forces, so you don't get hundreds of Manuels appearing at the Pearly Gates in a steady stream.

Come to think of it, a very reasonable way to do this with In Nomine flavor would be to give Manuel a way to biologically produce one specific kind of Ethereal figment. A Vessel that comes with Terminally Ill will be practically zero points in GURPS even with a decent physique otherwise. The process that created him could also have bonded him with a few dedicated reliquaries for the creation process.

One last tangent before I post this: a while back on the mailing list I posted an idea which I thought would be a really cool sort of Ethereal for people to interact with: a False Self. It would be the Ethereal formed from a person's self-image, sometimes idealized, sometimes deformed. It could be loyal or treacherous, a naif or a manipulator. There could be a whole tradition of Sorcerers who make a practice of summoning, building up, and hopefully stabilizing their False Selves as allies and mentors in the Marches.

[Archangel Beth]

I believe there's something in the Liber Umbrarum about soul-fragments, too... That could probably be adapted pretty interestingly to the flatworm-soul discussion...

(Re False Selves: Ooo, Ethereal Mini-me! O;D )

[cptbutton]

Isn't being able to be in more than one place at once a mark of a Superior?

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by William

...
One last tangent before I post this: a while back on the mailing list I posted an idea which I thought would be a really cool sort of Ethereal for people to interact with: a False Self. It would be the Ethereal formed from a person's self-image, sometimes idealized, sometimes deformed. It could be loyal or treacherous, a naif or a manipulator. There could be a whole tradition of Sorcerers who make a practice of summoning, building up, and hopefully stabilizing their False Selves as allies and mentors in the Marches.

That sounds like a tulpa from Tibetan Budhism.

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

Isn't being able to be in more than one place at once a mark of a Superior?

That'd be news to the Kyriotates! O:>