Friday, July 15, 2016

Belphegor, Devil of Corporations, Toys and Music



"This world is a machine. A machine for pigs. Fit only for the slaughtering of pigs."
— The Engineer, A Machine for Pigs

Belphegor is the Devil of Corporations, Toys and Music.  His Powers are Magnus Carter, Dark Duke of Corporations, Damien Bogsworth, Dark Viscount of Toys and President-for-life of Toyland, and Chad Kroeger, Pawn of Music.  His Chancel is the Reincarnation Engine, a secretive construct of vast, steampunk architecture and metaphysical machinery whose purpose remains mysterious.  He rules over a cabal of powerful mortal conspirators who work together to secretly rule the world.  Through them, Belphegor hopes to create a New World Order.

Belphegor's flowers are Acacia (Something which must be hidden) and Clemantis (Something given gifts).

The Estate of Corporations

  • -Corporations seek to increase the profits of their shareholders (3)
  • -Corporations are legally people (1)
  • -Corporations are constructed out of legally-binding contracts (1)
  • -Corporations only understand money (1)
  • -Those under the thrall of Corporations eventually become empty suits (1)

The Estate of Music


  • -Music is Sound made Art (2)
  • -Music is seductive and alluring (1)
  • -Music inspires passions and soothes worries (1)
  • -Music makes you want to move (1)
  • -Music is subjective and divisive (1)
  • -Music sets the mood (1)

The Estate of Toys

  • -Toys are the playthings of others (3).
  • -Toys tempt you to use them (1).
  • -Toys spark nostalgia and fond memories (1).
  • -Toys bring fun and amusement (1).
  • -Toys are childish (1).






<===============================Spoilers start here==========================>


















Background

Belphegor is not a “true devil” in the sense that he's a creature native to hell, but a fallen angel, one who defied the wishes of heaven. Unlike most of his kin, he's a recently fallen angel, a member of a secret cabal of angels that seek to subvert one of Heaven's rules: That only the truly worthy can get into heaven.

In fact, Heaven demands that only the truly beautiful souls can get into heaven, and no human soul is beautiful enough. Each time Belphegor was forces to send away a human soul for lacking the breathtaking perfection necessary to enter Heaven, he grieved, for human souls would never have a chance to embrace the beauty of heaven. For whom were the angels creating this beautiful Heaven if nobody could enjoy it?

Together, a cabal of like-minded angels got together and created the plans for the Reincarnation Engine. The Engine would take the beautiful, unique and pure things of whatever world it was built upon and strip them of that beauty and uniqueness. It would then take the souls of the damned who had been bound up in the laws of a demonic contract, and combine them with the stripped beauty and purity, infusing them with the necessary perfection to attain Heaven long enough to witness true grace.

Belphegor took the plans and fled from Heaven and took up haven in Hell and Earth, where he begin to lay the groundwork for his Reincarnation Engine. Through trickery and clever contracting, he stole the Estates of Toys and Music, among others, from their previous Imperators. He then bound himself to the world in 1602 with a powerful ritual in which he created a contract with a conspiracy of humans who sought to secretly rule the world. With this contract, he forced both the Estate of Corporations, which would make his Reincarnation Engine possible, and the closest thing he has to a son, Magnus Carter.

His Reincarnation Engine has been slowly and meticulously built and hidden in the folds of the world. Already, it devours that which is beautiful and pure, leaving behind stagnant, gray corporate swill, and then uses it to bind the souls of the damned, those who have pledged their souls to Belphegor to gain some power, to that beauty to forge new people. The Reincarnation Engine is currently flawed, though. It can only create fully-formed artificial people, ensouled automatons that look and seem almost entirely human, but are in fact built of the same sort metaphysical machinery as the Reincarnation Engine. Until the world is sufficiently reshaped that the Reincarnation Engine's metaphysical machinery lies at the center of the world's civilization, it's “New World Order,” this is the best Belphegor can do. Currently, until it is perfected, Belphegor uses it to replace political figures or business leaders with simulcra, to create agents that he uses to advance his agenda, and beautiful youths with which he tempts the virtuous and fulfills the terms of contracts. One such example is Chad Kroeger's (ex?) wife, Avril Lavigne.

Belphegor's relationship with the Tacoma

The Tacoma is a dragon, and thus seeks to horde beautiful and pure things, such as treasure and princesses.  In so hording, he hampers the efforts of Belphegor to infuse the souls of the damned with purity and beauty.  Worse, the Tacoma is the Imperator of Secrets, which makes it highly probable that the Tacoma knows of Belphegor's plot and his secret, angelic cabal and could expose him.  The Tacoma represents a grave risk to the efforts of Belphegor, so while Belphegor himself rarely picks a fight, over than an Imperial Miracle which Belphegor has not yet finished speaking, and isn't sure if he should (it would trigger war between the two imperators), he fosters conflict between his powers and his minions and those of the Tacoma.

For his part, the Tacoma seems greatly amused by the rivalry with the Belphegor, and encourages his his powers to actively fight back. "It shall be glorious." He rumbles when asked on the matter, before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Character Traits

Aspect 2 (Pulp-Hero) (6)
Domain 0 (0)
Persona 0 (0)
Persona 0 ()
Treasure 2 (6)
Miracle Points: 8
Common Gifts: Immortal (6), Flying (1), Glorious (2)
Gifts:
  • Contracts: For 1 Miracle Point, if you sign a contract with Belphegor, he will change your destiny, as per Lesser Motion. He can change it to anything and from anything, but only as per the contract signed, and often with hidden drawbacks (“Did you read the fine print?”) (6 points)

Passions and Skills

  • Passion: “Everyone deserves access to beauty” -1
  • Superior Quality: Contract Lawyer +2
  • Angelic Architecture +2
  • Conspirator +3
  • Witchcraft +1

Bonds and Afflictions ()

  • Bond: I always keep (the letter of) my word (4)
  • Bond: I love Magnus as a son (1)
  • Bond: I honor the laws of toyland (1)
  • Bond: I have promised to fulfill Chad’s dreams (1)
  • Bond: I will bring about a new world order (2)
  • Bond: I serve the agenda of a secret conspiracy of angels, the Reincarnation Engine (4)
  • Affliction: Those who know my true name can control me (2)

Projects











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