Being attuned to a Cherub

[JCD]

Originally Posted by The Bearded One

I'm running a all-demon In Nomine campaign and I just had a situation come up that doesn't seem to be addressed in the books.

A high-ranking NPC Cherub just stealthily attuned to two of the PC demons. Now the attunement itself is a Resonance, so it causes no Symphonic disturbance for the demons to detect, right? Is there any way for the demons to know that they have been the subject of attunement by this Cherub? And if they can discover that fact, is there anything they can do to break that attunement?

-- A genuinely mystified GM.

UGH! with a capital YUCK!

Did the Cherub WILLINGLY do this?

First, an answer to your question peeled from Core:

The Cherubim were created from the stoic forces of
stability. Their relation to the Symphony is one of ultimate
devotion – with a touch, they can attune themselves
to something (or someone), and as long as it exists on the
corporeal plane, its perceptive protector will have a general
feel for its location and condition. If it is destroyed,
or in immediate mortal danger, he will know instantly.

So a DEMON can rid himself of this attunement by SUICIDE. You know, go back to the place without Frothy Crappachinos or Monster Car Rallies. Something he would prefer not to do. (Demon Prince: "What the Hell are you doing back here when I gave you work topside?") I would say if he just goes back and forth, he'd still be tagged...but the Cherub would know if the 'body' disappears and would certainly know their Celestial nature then.

But the bigger issue is: The Cherub is now DEVOTED to the welfare of these two Lowlives.

Imagine having a junkie on your health insurance.

Imagine have an inveterate gambler on your credit rating. Or better yet, imagine that you lived in a palace. You have all the wonderful things palace life has to offer...but it's owned by a backalley dog who loves to run around in Traffic and if one hair on his head gets hurt, you're being kicked out.

Imagine being a newlywed husband with twin infant children. Imagine your wife going off to Afghanistan...MANY MANY TIMES...on the front line...WILLINGLY!

Imagine CHOOSING to love a junkie prostitute...and feeling physically ill anytime anything bad happens to her.

This isn't just a matter of a deadly Heavenly stalker on their butts. It's having someone who wants the VERY BEST for these two Demons.

And it is very dangerous for the Cherub as well. He will feel every single time these guys get into a fire fight and will want to be there to defend them. He can't drop a dime on them to his fellows because he would betray his devotion unless he was VERY VERY SURE that they would help 'do what is best for the demons' (hint, it is NEVER 'kill them for their own good'...unless it's Judgment).

But unless he is very careful, 'helping' these demons in any way ALSO causes him to betray his OWN values. I would read the entire section on Cherub dissonance conditions very carefully, especially the last few lines.

Heck:

But even aside from applied resonance, a Cherub must never betray his Superior, his friends, his ideals or himself.Doing so would be to sink below his capacity for nobility, the first step down a short road to selfish malevolence. For this reason they struggle (sometimes in vain) not to divide their loyalties.

This can be the set up for some very funny/creepy scenes ("Now Philip...I know you think differently, but I'm keeping you tied up in this closet for your own good...Are the Discord Cuffs too snug? Now how about we watch the 700 Club and have some soup? Try not to scream too much and disturb the neighbors. Mrs. McGinnley hasn't been sleeping well..."), or a case where the Cherub himself is on the Highway to Hell and HIS friends suddenly want to have a few words with these demons...

Edited to add: The Penny just dropped on the 'highly ranked' thing. Yikes. Imagine having Bill Gates suddenly devoted to your welfare and NOT caring about your personal opinions about how YOU want to live (you know...because you're a demon). Give Bill Gates MINIONS. (Laughs maniacally over the future of these two PCs)