God-Begotten
God-begotten are Others who are the offspring of gods, usually mutated ones. It may also cover individuals who have been cursed, blessed, or created directly by gods.<ref>“Were you a naive girl who crossed the wrong greater power? No… you don’t seem like the type. They’re angrier.”
The purring voice was feminine and pleasant, and very human. The form wasn’t, all spider legs, insect wings, leather and fur.
“Dinnae intimidate her, Maricica.”
The Other shook her head.
“Not bothered?” Maricica asked. “Have you seen worse? Sometimes the divine powers make your kind from scratch. If they’re feeble or new, those new lives can be haunting and piteous. Have you cared for brothers and sisters? Are you the product of a god of little power, trying to figure out how to create a servant on this earth? No. That is a curious look. This is a new story for you.”
“Guid thing, aye? Ah’ve come by a few of those in my time. They git a fair share o’ nightmares.”
“Child of a divine power and a human?”
The Other tilted her head to one side and blinked once.
“Close? Child of two such creatures? Or one creature and a human.”
The Other blinked slowly.
“A line of such. Mmm. It’s a lonely existence.” - Excerpt from Back Away 5.d</ref> It is known that some Others who are supposedly curse victims are actually bastard divine offspring.<ref>Tashlit is a god-begotten. Apparently they uh… birds and bees of the gods are sorta prone to making monsters. The theory is that a lot of the time they’ll cover it up by making excuses and calling it a curse. Since the various gods, known and super-out-of-the-way, aren’t really talking to people all the time, they’re hard to call out on stuff like this, with their excuses over monstrous, bastard kids. Ugh. - 6.9 Bonus: Binding & Countermeasures</ref>
Properties[edit]
First-generation god-begotten are frequently extremely powerful in short bursts, although their power often has conditions, and can be so overwhelming that it's difficult to use subtly. Later generations tend to have less power, but are otherwise similar.<ref name="B&Ce2"/>
God-begotten are frequently sterile.<ref name="B&Ce2">Big thing for god-begotten others is that the limits on what they can pull are really, really up there. It may require conditions, like breaches of karma, trespass on territory, or for the god-begotten to get really upset, but if they do cut loose, then it’s like a granny lifting a car. Except it’s a bird-headed guy leveling buildings with a scream or literally moving a mountain fifty feet. That’s only if the innocent aren’t paying attention. The Seal weakened them all. And it’s only the first generation G.B.s that are that over the top. The second generation ones have only a small fraction of this, and a really high chance of being sterile. So sad. - 6.9 Bonus: Binding & Countermeasures</ref>
God-begotten draw on the power of their divine ancestors, similarly to the way Divine Practitioners will, but instead of deliberately building up goodwill with their "patron" they simply have a supply of divine power of uncertain size. Attempting to use their power if they don't have enough can be risky.<ref>Tashlit reached down, and touched the weirdly soft, soggy flesh of her hand to Lucy’s arm. She gave it a stroke.
The color faded a bit.
“You’re a healer?” Lucy asked.
Tashlit held her fingers close together. ‘Small’.
“A bit,” Verona said. “You know how Amine can do favors for his god, and that gets him credit he can spend? And he never knows exactly how much credit he’s got? So he’s gotta guess or make sure he has a surplus? Tashlit can’t really do any favors or anything big, but you could say the sink fills up at a trickle, and if there’s enough in there, she can do little things.” - Excerpt from Gone Ahead 7.2</ref>
Sometimes taken as familiars by practitioner as a go-between, intercessor, or filter for whatever deity beget them.<ref>Divine Others
A loose category, encompassing those Others who come from a higher power, which may or may not be a god. In this category, they may be Karmic Others, related to great spirits, or even be primevals. Often tied to an imposing power source, the Other acts as a filter to control that power, and may be a wellspring of power, either legitimate (with permission from the deity) or illegitimate (a cultist tapping a volatile power through a cooperating familiar). As a benefit, if Other and practitioner are depleted, the Other may draw steady power, helping both to recover faster.
The cost of this power is that there are often either expectations, or the need to avoid the consequences of being caught drawing on this power. Such connections are often but not always an arrangement from the higher power, a powerful Other granted as a gift.
Practitioners who tap into these higher powers will often choose an Other that is a filter in this manner, or a sliver of their deity’s power, rather than risk a familiar relationship with something grander that is likely to collapse. - Excerpt from Famulus, quoted in Bonus Material: Famulus Text</ref>
Weaknesses[edit]
Some god-begotten can't stand cats or images of cats.<ref>“Well, we have a project then,” Verona said. “We’ll get you set up with a phone and you’ll have the whole wide internet to occupy you. Cat videos and-”
Tashlit’s eyes widened. She shook her head.
“No? What, the cat video thing?”
Tashlit widened her eyes again.
“You don’t like cats!?”
“I met an Other similar to her, once, overseas,” John said. “It didn’t like cats either. The common cat was anathema to the Other. Inborn.”
“Well, nobody’s perfect,” Verona said. “What a shame. I’m curious what that’s about.”
Tashlit shrugged.
“I think there was something about that in one of the books I took out of the library,” Avery said.
“Was it a thing before you, uh…?”
Tashlit nodded, still fishing in the bag.- Excerpt from Gone Ahead 7.1</ref>
Examples[edit]
References[edit]
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