Sloth and Oblivion in the modern day

[Mysteris]

Heya.

I was reading back through some of the posts and PenitentDemon's post about a reversed Blandine and Beleth got me thinking. I've long had a thought about a Free Lilim gaining a Word or even a Principality, and it occured to me that Sloth and Oblivion are both open. My question, what do you think those Words would look like in the modern day? Would they still qualify for being independent Superior-level Words or would they be subsumed under some other Word like The Media or Gluttony?

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Mysteris

Heya.

I was reading back through some of the posts and PenitentDemon's post about a reversed Blandine and Beleth got me thinking. I've long had a thought about a Free Lilim gaining a Word or even a Principality, and it occured to me that Sloth and Oblivion are both open. My question, what do you think those Words would look like in the modern day? Would they still qualify for being independent Superior-level Words or would they be subsumed under some other Word like The Media or Gluttony?

One could argue that trying for the Word of Sloth would immediately disqualify you as unsuitable. ;)

[robkelk]

And if you go Oblivion, who would know? <g>

More seriously, Secrets appears to be doing a pretty good job of pinch-hitting for Oblivion nowadays.

[Mysteris]

True, but do you think either Word could stand on it's own at a Superior level these days? I mean, I could see Sloth doing something like trying to get people not to care about anything. And maybe Oblivion wiping out all empathy and feeling from an area, but I'm trying to grasp what those Words really were and how a modern-day claimant could make them relevant and powerful again.

To some extent I have the same question about The Waters.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

One could argue that trying for the Word of Sloth would immediately disqualify you as unsuitable. ;)

One day Lucifer appeared before the laziest demon in Hell and said, "Arise my new Demon Prince of Sloth. No, no. don't bother to actually get up or anything."

[naraht]

This is definitely appropriate...

http://www.sjgames.com/in-nomine/art...nce.Ralph.html

[Mysteris]

I see your point about trying for the Word of Sloth. :p

So what about Oblivion? What do you all think that Word was about, and how would it apply to the modern day?

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by Mysteris

So what about Oblivion? What do you all think that Word was about, and how would it apply to the modern day?

All things that have form will break. Nothing is eternal. The world is transitory and impermanent; help it along its way.

Modern things that strengthen the word of Oblivion (some with a little prodding):

• The reliance on digital media, which we know has a short lifespan compared to the printed word but we use anyway
• The "epidemic" (because people are living longer) of Alzheimer's
• The phenomenon of "hooking up" instead of dating, sending even short-term interpersonal relationships into the dustbin of history (this one takes some spin-doctoring, but it isn't a really huge stretch)

[Rocket Man]

As for what the Word was once about, according to the Infernal Player's Guide, Oblivion was originally intended to counter the efforts of Lightning and Knowledge. As the angels helped guide humanity's learning, the demons of Oblivion were charged with making sure those lessons were as forgotten as Hero's steam engine.

Sometime around the 18th century, of course, Hell changed tactics. Led by the new Prince of Technology, the plan became not to stifle human progress, but to accelerate it beyond the pace of human comprehension, so that the average man would become dependent on toys he didn't understand.

Of course, if those toys were to be suddenly jerked away, that lack of foundational knowledge could make Oblivion more powerful than it had ever dreamed. If only Gluttony could be persuaded to cough the old Prince up ...

[Flyndaran]

Fads create impermanence and denigrate the traditional.

I thought sloth was a sin because it rejected God's beautiful creation through narcissistic depression. No one ever said religion was nice to the mentalyl ill after all.