Example of Ethos Creation

The mythology of our example krewe and the kind of stories the players want center on truth, lies, freedom, and bondage. The ethos spells out the details:

Ban: The krewe cannot enslave anyone living

or dead, or coerce them to act against their better interests. Other krewes may raise zombies or send ghosts to do their bidding, but the players’ krewe cannot. In fact, if they have a chance, they’ll free others from these bonds.

Duty: The krewe’s duty is to destroy self-delusion

and harmful entrenched habits. They want ghosts to move on to their meeting with God (and, from Mara’s point of view, toward a better incarnation). They try to free ghosts from obsessions. When it comes to other Sin-Eaters they’re iconoclasts, ques- tioning local traditions.

Destiny: The Aspect within Mara’s geist hints that

a great upheaval is coming, one that could cause suffering and then universal liberation. The krewe’s actions will frequently destroy traditions and insti- tutions around them. Their bane combines moral authority and traditions — it’s mainstream religious institutions. When Catholic exorcists, Muslim com- munity leaders, and other deeply-invested adherents (not just the regular faithful) cross paths with the krewe, fate tends to turn against them.

Benefits

Founding a consecrated krewe has a number of ben- efits. The rationales for these advantages vary from krewe to krewe. Maybe the ceremony strengthens the founders’ sense of commitment, allowing them to ac- complish tasks that would never be possible without that rite of passage. Many believe in mystical reasons for their newfound abilities, and it must be admitted that some advantages would be difficult to justify in any other way. The whole truth is left to the Storyteller, but she should use the krewe’s channel, its members’ attitudes, and the players’ preferences as guides.

Krewe benefits belong to three categories:

Founding Benefits: Some krewe advantages

belong solely to Sin-Eaters who participated in the Krewe Binding or their designated successors (see p.

191). This is a strong motive for Sin-Eaters to found small krewes, since all members are founders who can partake of these benefits. No Sin-Eater can learn Founding Benefits from more than one krewe.

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In addition to the types above, benefits belong to one of the following categories, listed in the text with each benefit.

Automatic: The benefit is an automatic aspect of membership in a krewe of this size. In Geist’s

core rules, this only applies to Krewe Status (see p. 188) and Temporal Benefits.

Merit: The benefit is a Merit with the listed cost.

Opt-In: The benefit has no cost, but Sin-Eaters must choose to take advantage of it. Opt-In benefits

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Supernatural Benefits: All krewe members who undergo

the Krewe Binding and subsequently learn from a Mentor or study a Codex (see p. 191) can acquire Supernatural Benefits. These affect Keys, Manifestations, ceremonies, and other occult powers, including the ability to perform a supplication to a geist with an Aspect.

Temporal Benefits: Temporal Benefits relate to the

mundane, living world. These are organized economic, political, and criminal power blocs. A Sin-Eater doesn’t need to undergo a ceremony to earn these benefits. He just needs to be trusted by the right people.

Scale

A few krewes have grown into global conspiracies, but most of them are local affairs, about as big as a small business, street gang, or fringe cult. If the founders are charismatic, politically adept, or lucky, the krewe can grow to encompass most of a city. In modern times, no krewe has turned into a world-spanning organization, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, the players’ krewe may grow into one and significantly change Geist’s default setting.

For simplicity’s sake, we divide krewe sizes into three tiers. Players of Hunter: The Vigil may be familiar with this scheme, but read closely for differences. The dividing line between su- pernatural and ordinary effects on a krewe’s evolution is hazy at best. Sin-Eaters know that the initial ceremony is a seed that contains some mix of collective will and a twisted destiny that encourages growth but imposes responsibilities and dangers. As a krewe progresses through the tiers, the range of benefits changes. Larger krewes earn more temporal influence; they

discover the ability to unlock new abilities, and the Aspects within the founders’ geists get stronger.

Krewe tiers and their requirements are as follows:

Tier One — Cult: The krewe is a mix of street gang, secret

society, and fringe religion. It contains a minimum of three members, but the total shouldn’t usually exceed 10 ceremo- nially-inducted members, or more than twice the number of founding members. Beyond that, the krewe grows into a Tier Two faction. (This is not an exact limit, and should be adjusted by the Storyteller to suit the particulars of the chronicle.) All new krewes begin at this rank.

Tier Two — Faction: The krewe has grown beyond its

founders to the point where it becomes a significant Sin-Eater faction in one or more cities. To unlock the benefits of a fac- tion, the krewe must allow internal divisions. Without some autonomy, these subgroups can’t support the krewe’s effec- tiveness as efficiently. There should be at least one clique for every 10 ceremonially inducted members. (Again, the precise limits should be left to the Storyteller, but the intention of this guideline is to give each group of player-controlled characters or Storyteller-run equivalents their own clique). Each krewe has its own names for these smaller groups. Knowing the right slang differentiates insiders from outsiders.

Tier Three — Conspiracy: Once a faction grows beyond 100

or so consecrated members across two or more continents, it becomes a Tier Three conspiracy. There is no hard limit to how many members a conspiracy can possess. Sheer size (and, per- haps, a collective mystic devotion to the krewe’s channel) unlocks new benefits, but like factions, conspiracies must delegate duties to fully harness their abilities. A conspiracy possesses at least two factions, and each faction has its own cult-sized cliques.

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