Embodiments

For those of you who haven't noticed, Jill has added the character Embodiments to the character roster (Providence > General Discussion > Character Roster > Roster).

Thanks for adding them, Jill! This is a great resource for anyone with two or three True Voice. Great idea! That said, I just want to make sure that the newer players are on the same page about Embodiment, and in particular what it means when multiple Sins/Virtues are listed.

Every Fallen, Angel, and Devil has only one core Embodiment. It is that Virtue or Sin that determines the focus of the individuals – the filter through which they see the world and by which their actions are determined. The only time your core Embodiment changes is if your Path changes and you go from Virtue to Sin or Sin to Virtue; if that happens then the opposing Path becomes your core Embodiment.

When individuals purchase either Technique: Extra Embodiment or Technique: Opposed Path (Potent) they are not changing their Embodiment. What they have done is taken on aspects of another Sin or Virtue and incorporated them into the character. I like to think of it as the difference between a noun and an adjective. Your Embodiment is your noun, and the additional purchased Techniques give you Embodiment adjectives. For example, I’m about to play a Pride. I decided that as part of the character concept he should have an Envy Technique. The character is still a Pride, but he has a tendency toward acts of Envy more than any other Sin or Virtue except Pride. He is an envious Pride. He is not Pride/Envy.

One thing that I’ve found in previous games is that some people think that the amount of Techniques matters in Embodiment determination. They say that because they started as a Pride, but only took two levels of Pride Techniques while taking three levels of Envy Techniques, then they are more Envy than Pride. This is not the case. It wouldn’t matter if you took no Pride Techniques and all the Envy Techniques; if you chose to start as Pride you will always be Pride and never Envy, because Embodiments gained through Techniques can never overwhelm your core Embodiment. In fact, I can see it as quite plausible to want to have a character’s personality filter as a particular Virtue ::cough::Temperance::cough:: but have no attraction to the Techniques offered and so go to other Virtues for Techniques.

If someone asks your Embodiment, give them a one word answer. If they mention that they have Pure True Voice then give them that one word answer and follow it up by letting them know about the other lesser Embodiments they notice. (Lesser only in how they affect your character, of course, as no Embodiment is better than another... well, except maybe when talking to the Prideful. ::grin::)

Edit: I just thought of the one exception. If you are a Withering Embodiment then you are equal parts Sin and Virtue of the same Path. This would allow you to give a two word answer to the question of Embodiment.