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Hemotopians may be goth-punks with a taste for blood, but there's more to them than just wandering psychopaths looking for a visceral shower! Imagine, for a moment- You are one of the New Gods, gifted with immortality, and the power to make your will true, without regard for those around you. Even wounds that should restore others from Backup you ignore, and indeed, strange-infected corpses, devoid of internal organs, carry on, the Virus giving them sustenance and motive ability long after they should have expired. |
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Hemotopians may be goth-punks with a taste for blood, but there's more to them than just wandering psychopaths looking for a visceral shower! Imagine, for a moment- You are one of the New Gods, gifted with immortality, and the power to make your will true, without regard for those around you. Even wounds that should restore others from Backup you ignore, and indeed, strange-infected corpses, devoid of internal organs, carry on, the Virus giving them sustenance and motive ability long after they should have expired. |
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The 'greater' Hemotopians- the charismatic, cunning ones- are only in control inasfar as the others allow them to be. Ruling Hemotopians is much like herding cats- have you ever tried to control a god?- and anyone who calls himself a Lord should best be able to back it up, one way or another, lest his fellows fall upon him for his arrogance. And yet, the physical threats are not the only threat to those who would try to hold sway. All of the political tricks of ages past are open to the Hemotopians- assassination (both character and actual), coup, leverage, bribing, demonstrating weakness in the self-styled ruler... any way to give the brood an *excuse* to gang up on the one who would control them. As a result, these Lords, in order to rule, must develop the cunning necessary to keep those under them at arm's length, or redirect their efforts- keep them focused on each other, rather than themselves, and preside above the chaos, giving favors as tokens of appreciation, and to bind such souls to them in chains of loyalty- but these chains are weak, and easily broken by others. This makes Hemotopians no less insane (as if such a word could be applied to a god!), but those that manage to become Lords for any length of time often are a mixture of bat-shit insane and politically insightful- which is a truly frightening combination. |
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The 'greater' Hemotopians- the charismatic, cunning ones- are only in control inasfar as the others allow them to be. Ruling Hemotopians is much like herding cats- have you ever tried to control a god?- and anyone who calls himself a Lord should best be able to back it up, one way or another, lest his fellows fall upon him for his arrogance. And yet, the physical threats are not the only threat to those who would try to hold sway. All of the political tricks of ages past are open to the Hemotopians- assassination (both character and actual), coup, leverage, bribing, demonstrating weakness in the self-styled ruler... any way to give the brood an *excuse* to gang up on the one who would control them. As a result, these Lords, in order to rule, must develop the cunning necessary to keep those under them at arm's length, or redirect their efforts- keep them focused on each other, rather than themselves, and preside above the chaos, giving favors as tokens of appreciation, and to bind such souls to them in chains of loyalty- but these chains are weak, and easily broken by others. This makes Hemotopians no less insane (as if such a word could be applied to a god!), but those that manage to become Lords for any length of time often are a mixture of bat-shit insane and politically insightful- which is a truly frightening combination. |
Imagine, for a moment- You are one of the New Gods, gifted with immortality, and the power to make your will true, without regard for those around you. Even wounds that should restore others from Backup you ignore, and indeed, strange-infected corpses, devoid of internal organs, carry on, the Virus giving them sustenance and motive ability long after they should have expired.
This isn't to say that Hemotopians are all loners, who have to fight and kill each other when they meet. Hemotopian meetings often have violence, but it is violence directed to a purpose- to claim authority, to challenge authority, for 'punishment' for slights perceived or real. All of it is thoroughly enjoyed, of course, by those administering it, but there is a code of conduct, unwritten- the strongest enforces his rules. The strongest of body, mind, and will can ostracise lesser Hemotopians with simply the desire- a punishment most harsh for those who consider themselves to be as gods, to be returned to mere mortality, until such time as those who did the ostracism are ripped away and cast down, slain, or forget.
However, Hemotopians tend to be...polite, at the least, to one another. They may not necessarily *like* each other, and they certainly don't tend to trust each other- after all, they know what *they* are capable of, and the trusting ones get talked into...missions. A nice walk around Top, with stirges dripping black and silver across the path- the better to frighten the natives, and if one has the temerity and courage to become one of the gods...let him come. If he is weak of mind or will, he won't last all that long, except as a goon to those with the cunning to make something of him.
The 'lesser' Hemotopians- the ones who make no plans, who only revel in the glory of the excesses- are not the most dangerous of these. Indeed, though they can be frightening, munching on their own tails or mutilating themselves in public, there are others who can convince those to do such things.
The 'greater' Hemotopians- the charismatic, cunning ones- are only in control inasfar as the others allow them to be. Ruling Hemotopians is much like herding cats- have you ever tried to control a god?- and anyone who calls himself a Lord should best be able to back it up, one way or another, lest his fellows fall upon him for his arrogance. And yet, the physical threats are not the only threat to those who would try to hold sway. All of the political tricks of ages past are open to the Hemotopians- assassination (both character and actual), coup, leverage, bribing, demonstrating weakness in the self-styled ruler... any way to give the brood an *excuse* to gang up on the one who would control them. As a result, these Lords, in order to rule, must develop the cunning necessary to keep those under them at arm's length, or redirect their efforts- keep them focused on each other, rather than themselves, and preside above the chaos, giving favors as tokens of appreciation, and to bind such souls to them in chains of loyalty- but these chains are weak, and easily broken by others.
This makes Hemotopians no less insane (as if such a word could be applied to a god!), but those that manage to become Lords for any length of time often are a mixture of bat-shit insane and politically insightful- which is a truly frightening combination.