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  • Sublimati?

    I own all the 1E Promethean books and the new core 2E book. Besides the Lady of Chains is there any really good examples of a Sublimati? I was going through Pandora's Book expecting to find some Sublimati examples, but there were none that I could find. The dramatis personae in the back just went over Centimani, Pandorans, and Qashmallim (from Sheltering Storm).

    Does anyone have some homebrewed NPC examples?

    They talk about the Sublimati having large-scale, intricate plots but there doesn't appear to be any examples of that. I recently ordered Dark Eras: A Handful of Dust (Promethean: the Created) and The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology in soft cover format (I like books). Maybe some more information regarding Sublimati in there?

  • #2
    The Pilgrim in the new 2e core is also a Sublimatus, if I recall correctly, and I find her very interesting.


    • #3
      I don't like the idea of saying the Pilgrim absolutely cannot become a Promethean.


      • #4
        Originally posted by MCN View Post
        It does seem to run counter to the game's theme of refining the self. Yes, the Pilgrim was "born" a monster...but what Created isn't? The whole point of the Divine Fire is that it causes miracles to happen, so I think saying that a Pandoran actually could "upgrade" itself to full Promethean (and, from there, to human) fits with what's laid out in the book. That doesn't excuse all the murder and such, and I think you could make a point that it's not her goal that's flaw as much as her methods. (i.e., murder)

        That actually makes me think of an interesting character hook for a Promethean willingly becoming a Centimanus so that they can investigate Pandorans up close in hopes of finding a "cure." A (very, very) fine line to walk...but interesting.


        • #5
          I'd probably say Plumbum or Mercurius before I'd say Centimanus, personally. There's really nothing about Centimanus that invovles coming back from Torment and Flux (I think they're interrelated); its all about creating chaos and destruction, not making order from chaos. Not only are the mindsets different, but the abilities run counter to the goal of the Pilgrim. Blight invokes disquiet and wastelands and firestorms rather than mitigates them; Lordship controls pandorans; Mutations gives you pandoran abilities; Solvent is anti-Transmutation magic. Mutations is the closest, and even then its pushing away from the Pilgrim's goal. You'd want something that can subdue and shape out of control pyros, not feed the flames of a wildfire.

          But yeah. This isn't the first time we had a "not allowed to become human" figure. Not one of the "chosen" that can become a better person through effort by accident of "birth." I mean, hells. The ten Refinements and New Dawn didn't even exist until the first Promethean achieved it, at which point it spread across the Azothic Memory. So, who's to say that you can't make a Pandoran human if they're willing to try?

          I get where the writer was going with this. A Pandoran that can slip easily into the Promethean gangs and then, one day, snap and eat them all when you weren't expecting, betraying everyone. And that's fine, if that's what the Sublimanti wanted to do. But this is taking someone with hope and saying "lol, nope! You're delusional."
          Last edited by MCN; 03-21-2017, 06:55 AM.


          • #6
            On that matter of what Transmutations / Amblics could help...

            Benefice (Consortium)'s pyros 1 power can help, if you can brand the Pilgrim, but that could just as much backfire as well. Saturnis can do the branding, if necessary.

            Contamination (Suffering) could remove non-magical impurities. I'd definitely encourage this as being thematically approprite.

            Luciferius (Beacon of Helios)'s passive effect could be useful to help keep those violent rages and hunger in check, but that's mostly just a +1 bonus.

            Saturnis (Prime the Vessel) and (Heed the Call) have some potential in terms of protecting one's self from the pandoran, branding her, and maybe end the Sublimanti's Torment. Its an ST call there, but I see potential.

            So, the two Saturnis and the one Contamination Amblics are my recommendations here. The others can give a few bonuses to help out, but I think that those aren't quite as critical to the story as the three I recommend. Benefice could offer some help, I suppose, in the form of magically feeding the Sublimanti without hurting anyone. The only real benefit of Luciferius is that the bonus is passive, whereas everything else is activated. Never underestimate a constant passive bonus


            • #7
              OK, officially: Just because a book says "never" doesn't mean you can't say "miracle." But if we don't lay down rules, what will you break?



              • #8
                There is literally a passage right at the beginning where the writer (Matt?) says "whenever we say that something can't happen, just apply an invisible "usually" before it."

                With that in mind, I never got the impression that the Pilgrim absolutely never could become a Promethean. Just that it would be really hard and not the intended purpose of the antagonist. But it could be a thing if the ST wanted it to be.

                I certainly would not stop the PCs from trying to help the pilgrim, and I'd give them total opportunity to do so.


                • #9
                  This isn't a qustion about rules, its a question of presentation and themes that come up. Hells, I don't even think that there's a rule involved here at all under discussion. And if it was a rule? Clearly there's no qualm about changing it here to suit the game.


                  • #10
                    So Lady in Chains, TimeKeeper, and the Pilgrim are all the official sublimate?