Ajad dabbed sweat from her brow with a square of embroidered linen as she strode toward Nerim’s gates. Humidity thickened the air, making everyone sluggish and irritable. That, in turn, irritated Ajad — there was work to be done. Today, she was out inspecting the walls, noting the progress the laborers had made in repairing them. The metodies’ acid had done wonders for letting the Circle’s forces in, but now that the city was theirs, it meant they were vulnerable should an invading army approach. As she neared the scaffolding where the main guard tower was being raised, she cursed softly.
A small crowd had gathered in the plaza where overseers assigned the corvee laborers to their duties. Nehramus stood in their midst, questioning the chief overseer. The man towered over the priestess, but his shoulders hunched further with her every word, making him seem small. He slumped with relief when Nehramus’ gaze snapped toward her Circlemate. She marched toward Ajad, rigid with fury. “Come with me.”
Ajad allowed Nehramus to take her elbow and lead them away from the crowd. They paused beneath a canopy, the only scrap of shade to be found.
“How dare you?” Nehramus said, pitching her voice low so eavesdroppers couldn’t hear. “We freed them.” She meant the laborers, whom Qu and Ajad had ordered conscripted from among the city’s former slaves.
“Have we freed them from their need for security?” Ajad asked dispassionately as she smoothed the sleeve of her hellsilk dress. Had anyone else touched her like that, they’d have lost the hand. “If someone else takes this city, they’ll be enslaved all over again. Would you prefer they help fortify us now, or do you want all your efforts to go to waste? This is temporary. And necessary. Come find me in the palace later. We can discuss it there.” The suggestion was partly so they didn’t have to have this argument out in the open, and partly because Ajad didn’t want to have it in this dreadful heat.
But Nehramus had chosen her venue. She wanted to be seen standing up for the people. Ajad might even have admired the tactic, had Nehramus not said, “I put the knives in the people’s hands once. Do you think they’ll hesitate to wield them again?”
A few shouts went up as a shoving matched ensued between two workers. Their peers separated them quickly, casting nervous glances at the Green Sun Princes nearby. Ajad noticed how several laborers had paused on their way to the walls, tools in hand, to crane their necks at herself and Nehramus. They outnumbered the overseers, but several soldiers had come out from the gatehouse to see what was going on.
Perhaps it was being questioned in front of the workers. Perhaps Ajad was merely impatient to get the job done. Perhaps it was the humidity finally getting to her. Whatever caused the sudden spike of fury, if Nehramus wanted a fight, Ajad was content to give her one. “Demons did your work there. They’re the ones who handed out the weapons.”
“You’re right,” said Nehramus, her voice deadly soft. On her forehead, her caste mark glowed sickly green. The already thick air grew heavy with the scent of blood and grave dirt as dozens of demons materialized on the rooftops and walls, ready to follow Nehramus’ orders.
After a long, bitter silence, Ajad tilted her head to Nehramus, betraying nothing in her expression except a calculated assent. She would wrangle out the details — find some other, comfortable word or circumstance of forced labor to smother Nehramus’ righteous guilt.
To Be Continued ...
Hello Green Sun Princes,
Before I get to a sneak peek at some upcoming material shared by our intrepid developers, I wanna thank everyone for their support! We've unlocked another Stretch Goal, marking a milestone at $110,000 and adding the Infernals Streaming Overlay as a bonus reward to the rewards list of all who have backed this project!
You can tell we're blasting through these because our next Stretch Goal looks to add additional spells including more Adamant Circle Sorcery, something we won't even dig into in our draft manuscript downloads for another 18 days!
At $120,000 in Funding - Infernals Companion: Secrets of the Three Circles
INFERNALS COMPANION SUPPLEMENT: SECRETS OF THE THREE CIRCLES - Additional spells, including more Adamant Circle Sorcery will be added to the Infernals Companion supplement. Backers receiving the Infernals PDF will receive the Infernals Companion PDF as a bonus reward. Backers receiving the Infernals Deluxe hardcover will also receive links to purchase a discounted Print-on-Demand version of the Infernals Companion book.
Premium Backer Slots
As noted on the campaign page, this funding beyond our initial target and massive support allows them to unlock additional reward options, including the new material that will be featured in the Companion and the ability to make homes for more premium reward submissions. So, with that, I'll be adding a few more slots to some of those Premium reward tiers that had previously been filled up. If you've been eyeing one of those rewards, remember to keep checking - they may be sold out now, but I find a lot of these shift around when we get to our final week as everyone locks in their budgets and pledges when we get closer to the finish line. You never know what will open up, so stay vigilant and hopeful!
Sneak Peek: Devil-Body apotheosis
Hey folks — Vance and Elliott here with a sneak peek at Infernal’s signature power: Devil-Body Apotheosis. Behold their true form, and despair.
Devil-Body Apotheosis
Each Infernal Exalt contains the hidden potential for a terrible transformation. In times of great need, the raw Essence of Hell catalyzes around their corrupted Exaltation like amber, warping them physically and spiritually into a ruinous and majestic demon form. Devil-Bodies can be almost anything, from a hundred-limbed colossus with an immolating third eye to a ziggurat of ever-growing black glass that drives its victims to despair with its maddening chimes.
Designing Devil-Bodies
Infernal players receive five dots to spend on their character’s Devil-Body, to be spent on a list of powers that range from one to three points. Additionally, a Devil-Body has a package of five dots of mutations which manifest while transformed. Players are encouraged to work with their Storyteller to come up with a distinctive Devil-Body that they feel accurately reflects their character’s inner demon.
Devil-Body Powers
Expansive Form (•••)
The Infernal encompasses a wide area, allowing her to become a living tidal wave, a veinous root system or profane temple. This has the following benefits:
When she transforms, she can choose to displace terrain within short range, pushing it back one range band to make way for her grandeur. Depending on how this power manifests, this can be temporary, as she warps the boundaries of space for the duration of her transformation in the manner of Hell’s arcane topography, or permanent, as she crushes erodes away that which would confine her or crushes it like a layer of the Demon City.
The area within short range of her counts as difficult terrain for her enemies.
When she attacks an enemy, she can count as being one range band closer or further away from him, whichever is more advantageous. She gains the same benefit when enemies make ranged attacks against her.
She gains Dispersed Form and Area Attack for free.
Some variants of Expansive Form are immobile but encompass a much larger area. The Infernal cannot move from her location, but she destroys or displaces terrain within long range when she transforms, can count as being three range bands closer (but not further away) for the purposes of attacks, and can count any area within long range as difficult terrain for her enemies.
