Devil Guns
Devil Guns
Every time the Devil makes a deal, he leaves behind a gun. At the twilight of history, there are too many Devil Guns. The last humans enjoy post-scarcity lives in their fortified Neuro Towers, where the Seraph communes with God through circuits of melted guns. You will reach the Seraph, slay the Neuro God, and sell your soul to the Devil.
Playing
Gather a group of friends. Design your characters (one per friend seems reasonable). These are the Heretics. Give each Heretic a Devil Gun from the catalogue. They can find more guns and other useful objects in the Tower.
When you sit down to play, every player acts as a "camera" that watchs over every room and hallway in the Tower. Choose your focus as you see fit: a character, a kind of object, a type of enemy, etc. Feel free to have your voyeur physically represented somewhere in the Tower.
The Heretics will do violence and subterfuge. Prepare some challenges beforehand. You can write them down in flashcards or task one of the players with keeping track of the hostile environment (serving as a facilitator of sorts). Alternatively, your friends can take turns posing challenges by having each voyeur toy with the vengeful Heretics.
Guns
To shoot a Devil Gun, simply announce it. If you require random chance, use a coin with two sides: spike ▲ and sphere ●. Add the result to a list or stack. Then, resolve the effect of your gun that matches the longest possible string at the end of the stack. Direct the gun's hatred.
Each enemy type can only take a number of wounds. Some guns don't even inflict wounds, but kill outright. You will learn with experience. Behold the gun's splendour.
If you empty the gun, you have to reload. The gun's maximum ammunition is listed after the reloading ceremony. Quench the gun's desire.
The Catalogue
Rock of Cain
The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground: whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Shoot. Spill the blood of the innocent.
Reload. Flee the bloodstained ground. (1)
Lilithblade
And thy fingers be as the sword that slayeth the just, and thy hair be a filthy wreath that crowns thy head, the seat of wickedness; thou art the sign of betrayal.
Shoot
●▲ Tear a limb.
▲● Impale their body.
Reload. Take the hair of an impaled victim. (5)
The Noose
Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table, and with him come a great multitude with swords and staves. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Shoot
▲ Wound & keep shooting.
▲▲▲ Kill.
▲● Jam.
Reload. Stop shooting. (11)
Dead Dinosaurs
It is declared, that if any persons riotously or tumultuously assemble together for the purpose of destroying any steam engine, or any machinery, fixed or moveable, in any manufactory or mine, or any bridge or waggon way, they are deemed to be guilty of a capital felony.
Assign a unique string (▲, ● or any combination thereof) to each non-Heretic in the room before you start shooting. Wound on hit.
Reload. Only when empty: plug to a power outlet. This kills the Earth. (21)
An Existential Threat
Our best machines are made of sunshine; they are all light and clean because they are nothing but signals, electromagnetic waves, a section of a spectrum. People are nowhere near so fluid, being both material and opaque. This is a matter of immense human pain.
Shoot. Destroy anything, ignoring obstacles.
Reload. Fill the magazine with the flesh of an angel. The gun starts loaded with one round and can carry any number of rounds.
Opposition
People and non-people will be in your way, as the resources of the Seraph are almost infinite, you will eventually realize that every step of the way was made arduous for your wicked pleasure. Not all of them will oppose you in the same way. A good Heretic, like a slithering snake, will never stop descending.
Servant Alpha
The Seraph has given life to a class of silicone humanoids known as Servants. Among them, Servant Alpha is perhaps the most interesting. He is one man inhabiting a myriad of bodies. Thus, his consciousness is virtually indestructible. Nothing is gained or lost by adding or removing bodies to the hivemind. His mind is the quintessential Aleph, perceiving everything at once with perfect clarity. Servant Alpha does not engage in violence unless he’s beyond angry. He has found other means of persuasion. He’s got the time.
Magistrado of the Eternal Dread
You might find the Cult of Eternal Dread wandering the despotic halls within the Neuro Tower. They sing their holy dodecaphonies as they pronounce the end of history, the ultimate achievement of the Seraph, God’s Boredom, the Dread that persists until the end of times, the exhaustion of all energies. Among the people of the Dread, Magistrado is one of the most reasonable, yet as steadfast in his beliefs as he stutters during everyday conversation. He has no interest in seeing the end of the Neuro Tower, devoted as he is to the homogenous end, the final stretch, the Last of History.
