And the Light said to Mihel, "Go, bind Samlazaz and his associates. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloveds, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of judgement. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. and destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers."
- Chare 4:13-14
In the ancient days, it was not Candor who gave us the means to fill our stomachs. Only the Watchers came to aid us. It was through them that we learned to fashion the blade. You use their gifts even now, Should we not follow those who gave us life? We walk in the footprints of giants - should we not aspire to be the same?
- Octavia the Giantess, before her beheading, AT 374
"Saturn Devouring His Son" by Francisco Goya (c. 1820)
Many Callings exist in the world below. Some are those of the laypeople, like the Shepherds or Alchemists. Still others are holy, such as the Hieromonks or Exorcists. This is not one of those callings. Some have always chosen to cavort with the Adversary, though their numbers have only seemed to grow in the time since the Second Fall. Perhaps the most feared of these forbidden callings are the Nephilim, who have bound themselves to the fallen of Heaven. The call of the Watchers is stronger, down in the earth. It was inevitable that some would give in. They grow, they terrify, but most importantly: they hunger.
"Die Menschenfresserin" by Leonhard Kern (c. 1640)
(A brief note on relevant terms: Corpus is equivalent to Meat in BONES.)
Nephilim
Starting Equipment: Broadaxe (heavy), three rations of dried meat, 5 ft. of chains
Starting Skill: Butchery
A: Forbidden Calling, Gift of the Watchers, Gluttony
B: Terror of the Giants
C: Hefted Blades
D: As the Sons
You gain 6 inches of height for each template of Nephilim you have.
Forbidden Calling: This calling involves actions that are illegal, in the eyes of the church and the law alike. If your true skillset becomes known, you may be arrested and tried.
Gift of the Watchers: The Watchers have opened your very being to new possibilities. Gain a new Virtue - Orexis. Roll 2d4 for it's initial value. Test Orexis to consume something inedible. Save Orexis to hold your stomach. As an inventory, Orexis stores items you've eaten. When you consume something, add it to your Orexis. At the end of a rest, destroy all stored items. You may expend a number of Orexis slots equal to your templates of Nephilim in order to do one of the following:
Frenzy: After making an attack, make {slots}/2 extra attacks, rounded up.
Fortitude: After making a save, reroll. Subtract {slots} from the roll.
Fear: After killing an enemy, force its allies to check Morale. Add {slots} to the roll.
Gluttony: It's never enough. At the beginning of every rest, make an Orexis save. Subtract one for each filled slot. If you fail, gain Fatigue equal to your templates of Nephilim.
Terror of the Giants: Your presence inspires fear. You automatically succeed when attempting to intimidate those shorter than you. Some creatures, such as Kings, demons, or hardened veterans, may save with disadvantage.
Hefted Blades: You tower above others, most weapons dwarfed by your powerful build. You may use heavy weapons one-handed.
As the Sons: Like your ancient namesakes, the flesh of man makes you even stronger. For each slot of your Orexis filled with human flesh, gain 1 temporary Corpus. A human being, if prepared correctly, produces rations equal to their Corpus.
"Azazel" from Dictionnaire Infernal, Collin de Plancy (1863)
Who are the Watchers, that mortals would ally themselves with them? The Watchers were angels, once. In the time before the first flood, they fell in love with mortal women. Turning against Candor, they taught mankind all manner of wickedness - the crafting of blades, the workings of magic. Chare, the chosen of Candor, came to judge them and their children, the first Nephilim. They were bound in the bowels of the earth until the end of days.
As long as mankind has roamed the earth, there have been those who succumb to the call of the Watchers. It is said that they appear in dreams. It has also been said that their first children, the Nephilim from which these hungry souls take their name, still wander the earth as spirits. Some claim that these modern Nephilim have been possessed by the souls of their namesakes, though there is no writings on an exorcist successfully exorcising one.
In the years since the Second Fall, the call of the Watchers has grown ever stronger. In cities, in villages, there are always whispers of those who grow beyond belief, who hunger for the unholy. While certainly illegal, texts abound about how to call upon their aid.
Often times, those bound to the Watchers will leave the civilized lands, venturing out into the Wastelands. Some say they are searching for the pit the Watchers are bound in, though if any have done so, they haven't returned to tell the tale.
As more of a design/stylistic note, the Watchers will serve as the archetypal deal-offering devils. They offer forbidden knowledge, knowledge that can grant power, but that will come with a cost one day. Most of the Forbidden Callings will connect to them by some means. The Watchers, while certainly against Candor, may or may not be aligned with the Adversary and his demons. Finding them or the pit could certainly be an excellent campaign idea if you wanted!
This class was weird to make. It went through a lot of iterations, from more of a summoner type to a spellblade to the current fighter-barbarian-hungry-guys. I'm pretty happy with the concept now though - utilizing the stats as inventory feature feels particularly fun for this. Numbers are certainly subject to change, cause I have roughly 0 idea of how balanced this is, but I like it for now.
Now that I'm up to 3 finished classes for Anno Tenebris, I'm starting to think more about a conceptual playgroup and realize that I've basically made 3 fighter types and exactly 0 specialists or magic users. Now I have to decide whether I make the fourth planned fighter type or jump into some of the specialists or magic users. But that's a question for later!
