Demon: The Fallen, for those unaware of how the game works, has you taking the roles of Demons, Angels who fought on the side of humanity having free will during the war in Heaven. This decision turned out to bite them in the ass when free will lets Cain murder Abel, releasing evil into the world. For this, Demons were banished to Hell. Then, after a muckity-muck on Earth set off a huge disaster in the Underworld, the gates of Hell opened enough to let some minor demons (Fallen) out, where they’re slapped into a human body that is either brain dead or reduced to zero willpower by life.
A group of the fallen have overtaken bodies on the mortal realm. What better place to have the soul sapped out of you but a high-income highschool in California’s suburb? The player characters, depending on the personality of the demon, take over the body of: a young asian whose parents pressure him to work hard at school, athletics, and a prestigious part-time job, a black girl with weight problems and friends who abuse her, a guy who has surrounded himself with the best in stuff all of his life, even his girlfriend is based on what looks good on his arm, and a teenaged mom who has turned to drugs to maintain her stressful life.
The first few games are about the PCs becoming adjusted to life in high school, where conformity is the watchword. After a while, the team learns that an Earthbound has an interest in the high school. (Earthbound are demons without a human consciousness, or conscience, to reign them in. They tend to to eat Fallen.) The high school was built by a Satanist, it turns out, and incorporates a lot of evil sorcery in its structure. A thrall (ordinary human servant) of the Earthbound, masquerading as the Guidance Counseller after killing the real one, sneaks about only to be discovered investigating the basement.
There is an altar in the sub-basement, and the Player Characters discover it. You access it through a hidden door, follow 616 steps downstairs to reach it. And inscribed on the Altar underneath a giant rose is “Whoever controls me at the End of the World shall be rewarded with their fondest wish.” Any time a PC fights for the altar and demonstrates some dominance over the others, they get a Faith point back. (Precious resource amongst the Fallen.) More importantly, they gain bonuses to rolls, mundane good luck happens to them, it’s all great.
The year continues with many oppurtunities for the Player Characters to attempt to seize power over the altar. Meanwhile, the Earthbound continues to seek the altar, draw the Fallen into battles that they cannot win individually, putting an emphasis on competition within the team. Finally, on graduation day (the Satanist’s prophecised end of the world), the Player Characters are drawn to the subbasement in their dreams. And upon arriving there during the graduation ceremony, they discover it is glowing. When all are assembled, the Altlar reveals itself as the Earthbound they’ve been fighting all this time. Their belief in the Altar, matched with their fear of the Earthbound, has fed this Earthbound, and now it’s ready to awaken. It thanks the PCs and begins to consume them.
The kids are found next September by the janitorial staff in what appears to be a bizarre murder suicide cult. The Earthbound, fueled by so much belief, is gone. Escaped into the world. Cue “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones.
It’s a metaphor for growing up, that the challenges and obstacles we face in high school are ultimately meaningless, that the things we’re willing to destroy our souls for are, in retrospect, dumb ideals. Our sense of superiority comes from being the big fish in the little pond, and we have to leave these things behind in order to truly grow up and get past our childhood. Sure, leaving the high school is scary. You might get eaten by something big and powerful. But at least you’re free.
Tags: Demon: The Fallen, Rose Altar, Storyteller
