History Characters / GeniusTheTransgression

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Conspiracy theory and prejduice go hand in hand, and that's on top of the fact their culture is somewhat stuck in the Victorian era.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Conspiracy theory and prejduice go hand in hand, and thats on top of the fact their culture is somewhat stuck in the Victorian era.

* UsefulNotes/TheJapaneseInvasion: If they didn't directly cause it, they certainly encouraged (and profited from) it.

* {{Expy}}: Their quote explaining how to survive Daedalus' Maze is the same speech Zola gave about surviving [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Castle Heterodyne]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: To the Numericals, only the "right" people should use the Internet. Their definition of "the right people" ''coincidentally'' is exactly the same as the requirements to join them.

* StandardFiftiesFather: Artisans like this started to appear in the 40s and 50s.

* EvilIsSexy: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]; since Thulians apply the nazi ideology to its logical extreme, their members are actively bred to be strong and good-looking, either through [[SocialDarwinist only allowing these ones to survive]] or through cloning.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: They're ''really'' not fans of this idea, and will use bribes, blackmail, and even murder to ensure it doesn't spread.

* OddFreindship: The disciplined, feudal, and ambitious Inheritors often employ the chaotic, unambitious Isekai.

* Expy: to the first edition Mechanistis

* Expy: Of WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor

* Animesque: The fellowship tends towards animesque designs. Most favour realistic anime (think the live action portrayal of [[Film/AlitaBattleAngel Alita]] but some make living two dimensional cartoons.

* DyingRace: Currently, their home Bardos and civilization no longer exist, their Inspired human servants have either rebelled against them or started a group of their own, and the few ones of them who remain are scattered everywhere with no leaders. Some of them still hope to overthrow human Geniuses and reclaim their domination over the world, but their chance of success are slim, to say the least.
* FantasticRacism: They ''despises'' human Geniuses of all factions, resenting the Peerage for overthrowing them while seeing Lemurians as traitors and cowards. They do not ''quite'' hate normal humans as much, but still see them as pawn to use, and eagerly use Beholden, cultists or madmen to their own ends.

* {{Humanshifting}}: As usual with {{Reptilian Conspirac|y}}ies, though unlike most incarnations, this isn't a natural ability; they use Metaptropi hologram technology to accomplish it.

* ObliviouslyEvil: He thinks and acts like you would expect Santa to act, unfortunately his efforts to reform Geniuses on the naughty list make them Illuminated and his toys cause Havok, that said as long as you aren't on the naughty list you can ask for a present and you will usually get it.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Even if the Ebenezer Scrooge Chair of Christmasology does kill him he just comes back the following christmas.
* {{Santabomination}}: He looks like a typical santa but he's a super powerful Mane.

* BeastInTheMaze: And they keep adding more of them. They say the original Minotaur is still there.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: They claim that their founder was the mythological Genius Daedalus

* TheMaze: They still use Daedalus's original maze as a prison

* DoingItForTheArt: In-universe case; Old style artifiers tend to be reclusive humble mad scientists who just want to make stuff. Averted with younger artificers who delight in the communal aspects of creation and are often politicized, angry and demanding.

* NeverLiveItDown: Modern geniuses' views of the artisans tend to focus on their outdated values.

* NotSoDifferent: To the Numerologists. Both suffer from BlackAndWhiteInsanity and both favour more mystical principles for their wonders. This has caused concern among the Alumni.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Some Befreit used to be this before losing their lifestyle caused them to go through their Breakthrough.

* Santabomination: He looks like a typical santa but he's a super powerful Mane.

* InsufferableGenius: A common flaw.

* TheParanoiac: Their flavour of madness, and specifically focused on geopolitics. Members see the world as powder-keg, as though it was still the 1930s.

* HitAndRunTactics: A necessity when fighting Lumeria's superior numbers and resources. They use mad civil engineering to build hidden tunnels and bunkers to fight a civil war.

!!Programs of Note
Programs is the term used for independant Inspired factions who side neither with the Peerage, nor Lemuria.

[[folder:Formalists]]
!!!Formalists (Ten Thousand Fans)

The independent Geniuses of Asia. Rebelling against Lemurian hegemony, they have risen to prominence as Lemuria grew weak. Today, the Fans are a united organization as powerful as any one of the Five Foundations.

* AllAsiansKnowMartialArts: If they didn't know it already, their Exelixi can make it so.
* AppropriatedAppellation: "Ten Thousand Fans" was originally a Lemurian catch-all term for any non-Lemurian Program in Asia, as the dissenters fanned the flames of heterodoxy. The independent Geniuses of Asia apparently decided not to let such an unintentionally awesome epithet go to waste.
* AsianAndNerdy: They are Asian [[MadScientist Mad Scientists]] after all.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: For about a minute per point of Mania expended. Mania is ''kind of'' like air, right?
* BollywoodNerd: Fewer, because of the Lemurian presence in India, but they do study ancient Indian mathematics.
* FarEast: They are the Peerage equivalent of this zone.
* ImplacableMan: Their Grant and specialization in Exelixi makes this a definite possibility.
* LaResistance: Asia is principally Lemurian territory. These guys are a minority, but they're still fighting.
* SixthRanger: Members of the Peerage who know of the Ten Thousand Fans look at them with interest as a potential sixth Foundation.

[[folder:Thule Society]]
!!!Thule Society (Revanchists)

A faction of Nazi Geniuses, Sorcerers and Manes created following the fall of the Third Reich. Most of them hide in the Hollow Earth, trying to prepare for a new invasion on the surface when they are ready.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Neatly averted, since Manes in this universe are created when the theory they were based on is discredited; if the majority of Germans ''really'' had faith in Nazi ideology, then these Manes wouldn't exist.
* CloneArmy: Their armies primarily consist of cloned Beholden genetically engineered by their Geniuses through Automata and Exelixi.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Their science runs on it; their main way to recover Mania is by capturing and torturing people, to the point they have "Atrocity Halls" dedicated to it. It's such a major part of their work that the "Atrocity Halls" are actually their ''Grant''.
* EvilIsSexy: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]; since Thulians apply the nazi ideology to its logical extreme, their members are actively bred to be strong and good-looking, either through [[SocialDarwinist only allowing these ones to survive]] or through cloning.
* {{Ghostapo}}: While primarily consisting in Mad Scientists, they do include occultists in their ranks.
* GoodPowersBadPeople: One of their two favourite Axioms is Exelixi, meant to heal and fix things. They primarily use it to [[PlayingWithSyringes experiment on living subjects]] and [[TortureTechnician torture people]].
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: They're ''nazi'', so this is a given.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: As noted above, they regain Mania by ''torturing people''.
* TheSocialDarwinist: Obviously comes with being Nazis; Ubermenshen practice selective breeding to make sure all their specimen will be beautiful and in perfect health, killing all the ones who don't fit these criteria at birth.
* StupidJetpackHitler: To be specific, they are [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie a supernaturally created Nazi "species" born from brute Mania who practice Mad Science and Sorcery]]. Not only that, but they also happens to hide under the surface of the Earth in an ecosystem populated with dinosaurs.
* ThoseWackyNazis: Pretty much the definition of this group, as they are designed to follow most of the cliche associated with Nazis.
* {{Ubermensch}}en: They don't fit the trope, but like the mundane Nazis, they inaccurately cite Nietzsche's work and call themselves Ubermenschen.

!!Programs introduced in 2nd edition

[[folder:Quelli dell'artistico Domiziano]]
!!!Domitians
->''"Mayor, your grants have put a crimp in the quality of art. Unfortunately, it would be imprudent of us to allow that situation to continue unresolved."''.

A Program in two halves. The inner circle is an alliance of seven crime families dedicated to making money from art themed crimes, and more importantly, ensuring that mortal society understands what is and what isn't fine art. The outer circle is a loose network of artists with a passion for the good life. Both are ''mad artists''.
----

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: They truly believe they are artists, not scientists, therefore they can only do mad art. This is an enormous weakness compared to any other group of Inspired.
* ClockPunk: If they have wonders that aren't built on mad art they'll probably look like something Leonardo Da Vinici might build.
* DysfunctionJunction: Slightly more than other mad scientists, their grant pushes them towards a SoapOpera like life of melodrama.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: The inner circle are a ruthless criminal organisation, but they hold themselves to strict standards of decorum. [[BlueAndOrangeMorality They will also never create what they consider to be bad art]].
* MadArtist: What they are.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: In the mundane world of art or organised crime they're big players. But when compared to the Peerage or Lemuria they're strictly small fry, they're not even the best at making Inspired art.
* PunchClockVillain: The outer circle work for the inner circle. The inner circle get the mania they need to keep the program running and lots of good art they can 'encourage' art schools to teach. The outer circle get money, all that fine wine is expensive.
* SeriousBusiness: Art. The inner circle will stop at nothing to ensure humanity is taught to tell good art from bad art.
* TheDon: The seven patriarchs leading the program have reluctantly accepted they will for evermore be known as godfathers.
* TheHedonist: The outer circle spend most of their time enjoying good food, fine wine, and art.
* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: They're ''really'' not fans of this idea, and will use bribes, blackmail, and even murder to ensure it doesn't spread.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Red Menace]]
!!!Bolsheviks

After the Iron Curtain fell soviet propaganda and [=McCarthyite=] fears were, disproved the Red Menace appeared to continue the long against capitalism.

----

* DirtyCommunists: What they are.
* IntellectuallySupportedTyranny: Being [=McCarthyite=] fears brought to life, they naturally make good use of communist sympathisers in western academia.
* MakeTheBearAngryAgain: A common goal among the members.
* MirroringFactions: To Lemuria. Both groups believe that history has taken a wrong turn and must be put back on track. This doesn't mean they get along.
* SanityHasAdvantages: Uniquely among Genius groups they have unInspired manes in positions of authority.
* SovietSuperscience: Naturally their wonders resemble this.
* TheSpymaster: The Bolsheviks tend to be spies and infiltrators more than an army.
* TrainingFromHell: If their wonders aren't SovietSuperscience they'll be this.

[[/folder]]

!Manes and Bardos
[[folder:Manes as a whole]]
Mania, the energy used by Geniuses to fuel their powers, is raw creative energy; whenever a new idea or theory is born, this usually creates a large amount of it. Similarly, whenever it dies, either because it's discredited or because people who believe in it died, all the Mania has to go somewhere, and it ends up giving birth to creatures, objects of even entire areas matching the intended theory -- meaning, paradoxically, that an idea becomes "true" the very moment it is proven false by the Community. Such creatures are called "Manes", while the places created this way are referred as "Bardos". In either case, they are entirely kept together by Mania, essentially making them natural-born Wonders, and as such they ''need'' to feed on Mania on regular basis in order to survive, either by sticking inside Bardos or finding it from other sources (a Genius, an Unmada field...). Like Wonders, they cause Havoc when interacting with mortals.

Artificially-born Manes also exist, usually as sentient Wonders created by Geniuses or Geniuses who used their abilities to enhance themselves.

* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Manes are incarnations of all the ideas, beliefs or theories that were proven false or otherwise discredited.
* CantHaveSexEver: Downplayed; Manes can have sex just fine inside their native Bardos, between themselves and with Geniuses or other supernatural creatures; having sex with ''regular mortals'' outside their Bardos, on the other hand, triggers Havoc, meaning they can turn insane as a result.
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: ''Inverted''; Manes and Bardos are born when people ''stop'' believing in something, causing all the discarded Mania contained to escape and take form.
* EldritchLocation: Bardos are essentially this-- areas created from discarded theories, in which said theories are actually real despite how this contradicts the actual facts.
* ManaDrain: All Manes naturally possess the "Calculus Vampire" ability, allowing them to drain Mania from someone in order to maintain themselves alive outside a Bardos. This is their primary means to survive, as they cannot produce Mania of their own.
* OurElvesAreDifferent: Fractal Elves are diminutive Manes born from failed equations, and are often found in laboratories and other research facilities. They're not too bright, but most aren't truly malicious.
* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Paper Goblins are Manes created by the desire for a truly [[NoPaperFuture paperless society]]. There are several different subspecies formed from various printed media, such as newspaper goblins, handwritten goblins, and fiction goblins. They're quite intelligent, and are willing to work with Geniuses for the right price. For whatever reason, they're mostly culturally Hispanic.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Since the are based on every single theory or belief that was proven false, Manes can end up being pretty much ''everything'', from completely human-looking to dinosaurs and [[TheGreys classic scifi aliens]], along with some StarfishAliens and weirder for good measure. Their purpose story-wise pretty much is to allow you to include whatever weird creature you wish to have in your Chronicle.
* TotallyNotAWerewolf: Manes are prone for causing this trope in the Inspired community; the reason Geniuses have a hard time dealing with other supernatural beings is because they never know for sure which ones are Manes and which ones are from a different source. It doesn't help that there are Manes based on different depictions of already-existing creatures in the New World of Darkness (such as angel and demon Manes who have nothing to do with [[TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent the Unchained and the God-Machine's minions]]).
* WeaksauceWeakness: The main reason hostile Manes like the Ubermenschen or the Martian Empire have been unable to invade the mortal world yet, aside from the Geniuses keeping them in check; Manes need regular rations of Mania in order to survive outside their Bardos, and just being assaulted by regular mortals can trigger Havoc, either weakening them or driving them insane unless they spend Willpower to contain the effect. The Martian Empire lost the wide majority of their invading forces to Havoc the first time they tried to invade Earth, forcing them to sign a truce with the Inspired.

[[folder:The Martian Empire]]
A powerful alien civilization from a Bardos on Mars, created when it was proved their planet had no life on it. They almost immediately tried to take over Earth, but were defeated by both the Inspired community and their limitations as Manes. Since then, they have established an uneasy truce with Geniuses, hoping to better study Earth and its technology in order to one day invade Earth once again. The Empire actually covers three different castes: the Overlord, their highly intelligent rulers; the Technikers, the formers' SlaveRace; and the Throgs, barbarians from outside cities.

* AlienInvasion: They tried that when their Bardos first was created, but were defeated by Geniuses; they still hope to succeed one day, though at the moment they have resigned to a truce.
* BenevolentAlienInvasion: One of the possible futures you can visit using TimeTravel has the Martian Empire actually succeeding in invading Earth, their Bardos having absorbed enough Mania to become fully real. Surprisingly, they actually end up doing a lot of good, colonizing the entire system along with Earth and starting a Golden Age of commerce and philosophy.
* {{Expy}}: Each Martian caste is based on a classic style of aliens:
** The Throgs are based on the aliens from ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'';
** The Technikers are based on TheGreys;
** The Overlords are based on the martians from ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', down to [[TripodTerror their obsession with three-legged structures]].
* FriendlyEnemy: Make no mistake, the Overlords ''still'' intend to conquer Earth -- but right now, they want to learn about the planet and its technology, in particular Mad Science, so they tend to be rather polite and welcoming to any Genius who comes to visit them.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Throgs are described as barbarian tribes living in Mars' deserts and warring against each other.
* SlaveRace: Technikers are believed to have been created by the Overlords to be their servants, primarily as infiltrators and spies.
* SteamPunk: They're escribed as frequently having this aesthetic to their technology, when they don't go for CrystalSpiresAndTogas.
* TripodTerror: The Overlord, being based on the Martians from ''The War of the World'', tend to walk around in Tripod-inspired three-legged Skafoi vehicles.

[[folder:The Third Race]]
The natives of the original Lemuria and founders of the second one. Also known as Ophidians, the Third Race was an advanced civilization of snake-like Manes who once tried to control and shape history in a way to restore their native Bardos, which was destroyed after they messed with TimeTravel. They are currently extinct, although a few survivors still hide among humans in some places.

* AntiVillain: Debatably; the current survivors are described as cruel, cold and incapable of passion, but in the end, all they wanted was to recover their destroyed home.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: They are described as having distinctly "inhuman black eyes".
* DyingRace: Currently, their home Bardos and civilization no longer exist, their Inspired human servants have either rebelled against them or started a group of their own, and the few ones of them who remain are scattered everywhere with no leaders. Some of them still hope to overthrow human Geniuses and reclaim their domination over the world, but their chance of success are slim, to say the least.
* FantasticRacism: They ''despises'' human Geniuses of all factions, resenting the Peerage for overthrowing them while seeing Lemurians as traitors and cowards. They do not ''quite'' hate normal humans as much, but still see them as pawn to use, and eagerly use Beholden, cultists or madmen to their own ends.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Ophidians once ruled a powerful AncientConspiracy working to manipulate the world from behind the scene and essentially had most, if not all, Inspired humans as their servants. Now, the few remaining ones hide deep in flooded tunnels beneath their ruined homeland's remains or in wastelands of the human world, surviving on scraps of Mania and reduced to stealing tech from the Peerage and Lemuria in order to fix whatever broken Wonders they recover from their own people.
* {{Humanshifting}}: As usual with {{Reptilian Conspirac|y}}ies, though unlike most incarnations, this isn't a natural ability; they use Metaptropi hologram technology to accomplish it.
* PredecessorVillain: To the current incarnation of Lemuria; they were the ones who founded it in the first place, and the ones the Peerage was created to defeat during the Invisible War.
* ReptilianConspiracy: They were a race of snake people who used shapeshifting to manipulate mankind from behind the scene.
* SnakePeople: Elder members of the species are described as having serpentine bodies with no legs, but nowadays the younger generation has fully humanoid bodies.
* TotallyNotAWerewolf: Being Manes, they have no relation to [[TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent Cryptid Reptilians]].

[[folder:Santa Claus]]
The single most powerful mane on record, Santa wreaks [[LiteralMetaphor literal]] Havok each Cristmas forcing geniuses to stop his jolly rampages.

* ObliviouslyEvil: He thinks and acts like you would expect Santa to act, unfortunately his efforts to reform Geniuses on the naughty list make them Illuminated and his toys cause Havok, that said as long as you aren't on the naughty list you can ask for a present and you will usually get it.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Even if the Ebenezer Scrooge Chair of Christmasology does kill him he just comes back the following christmas.
* Santabomination: He looks like a typical santa but he's a super powerful Mane.

!Fellowships

[[folder:Elders of the Third Law]]
!!Elders of the Third Law

Followers of Creator/LeonardoDaVinci.

* ClockPunk: Their favored aesthetic, based off the works of da Vinci himself. They range from clockwork brains and spring-loaded swords to ornithopters and dirigibles.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: They may look primitive, but they're also passionate hunters of the Illuminated.
* NewTechnologyIsEvil: Inspired by Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, and leery of the trappings of modern technology. They consider steam power to be newfangled devil technology. They like gunpowder, though.
* TeamSwitzerland: They're one of the only Fellowships that accepts both Lemurians and Peers as members, preferring to focus on threats like the Illuminated rather than ideological struggles.

[[folder:Hermetic Order of the 28 Spheres]]
!!Hermetic Order of the 28 Spheres

Post-modern Geniuses who style their Wonders as magic, challenging people to prove them wrong.

* ClarkesThirdLaw: They have fun with this idea.
* ElementalPowers: Those who join this Foundation choose from one of six elements to specialize in. These grant bonuses to creating Wonders of certain Axioms.

[[folder:Phantom Foundation]]
!!Phantom Foundation

Ghost-hunting Geniuses. The Foundation was once part of a bigger independent Program, but is now just a Fellowship. Nonetheless, their resources and cultural resonance have allowed them to survive and even prosper.

* ISeeDeadPeople: The Foundation grants benefits to seeing, detecting, or interacting with the dead: not just ghosts but also zombies, [[TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem vampires]], and [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken the denizens of the Spirit Realm]].
* WhoYouGonnaCall: They make money by banishing ghosts.

[[folder:Perfected Vision Institute]]
!!Perfected Vision Institute

* PsychicPowers: The Institute started out researching telepathy but have expanded into other areas of this trope.

[[folder:Iridium Sentinels]]
!!Iridium Sentinels

A Fellowship of do-gooders seeking to safeguard the innocent and fight crime, the Iridium Sentinels' trademark is their formidable suits of PoweredArmor.

* KnightTemplar: The fringe of the Iridium Sentinels is occupied by Geniuses devoted to ideas of "purification" and more unhinged inventors who [[DisproportionateRetribution create military-grade hardware to use against street-level crime]].
* PoweredArmor: Every member of the Sentinels owns a suit of armor, ranging from simple jobs to elaborate battle-suits.
* {{Superhero}}: The Sentinels are ComicBook/IronMan-style heroes who use technology fight crime.

[[folder:Malcolm T. Washington Fellowship]]
!!Malcolm T. Washington Fellowship

A Fellowship made up of African-American and African-Canadian Geniuses who specialize in the creation of giant insects.

* BigCreepyCrawlies: The main theme of their Wonders.
* BlackAndNerdy: To be accepted into this Fellowship, one must be an American or Canadian mad scientist of African descent who specializes in creating giant insects. Despite the [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative narrowness of the requirements]], there are quite a lot of members-- turns out there are a lot of black mad scientists who like working with giant bugs. Or [[MoneyDearBoy grant money]].
* OverlyNarrowSuperlative: [[WordOfGod Moochava]] stated that this Fellowship is based off of college scholarships with ridiculously specific qualifications--in this case, being an African-American entomologist.

[[folder:Nine Vertex Devils Club]]
!!Nine Vertex Devils Club

A Fellowship dedicated to creating and racing vehicles.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: To join the Devils, you must first win a race against them.
* TravelCool: Becoming a scholar or member of the Devils requires one to have a vehicle that can be piloted by a single person. The following are possible candidates:
** CoolCar
** CoolPlane
** CoolShip
* WackyRacing: Their hobby.

[[folder:Resurrection Consortium]]
!!Resurrection Consortium

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin A consortium dealing with resurrection]].

* ImmortalityImmorality: To join the foundation, you need an Obligation of 6 or below.

!Fellowships introduced in 2nd edition

[[folder:The Brotherhood of All Locks]]
!!The Brotherhood of All Locks

A Fellowship dedicated to containing or imprisoning entities to indestructible, risky or scientifically interesting to kill

* BeastInTheMaze: And they keep adding more of them. They say the original Minotaur is still there.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: They claim that their founder was the mythological Genius Daedalus
* TheJailer: Their Job
* TheMaze: They still use Daedalus's original maze as a prison

[[folder:The Ebenezer Chair of Christmasology]]
!!The Ebenezer Chair of Christmasology
->''My research is conclusive, the only thing special about Christmas is the annual mania storm. That is why I devised this new recipe for mince pies. If we want Christmas magic we have to make our own. Come on, I invented enough for everyone!''

A fellowship dedicated to stopping Santa's yearly christmas rampage.

* TheAntiGrinch: Sort of, they want to make the holidays better but to do that they have to stop Santa Claus from causing a global catastrophe each year, usually by killing him, [[ResurrectiveImmortality he gets better.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: The aesthetic of the ones responsible for fighting Santa can be summed up as "What if Ebenezer Scrooge wanted to destroy Christmas and had victorian steampunk tech?", they're still the good guys, due to the ShootTheDog thing below some of them use it ironically while others end up BecomingTheMask.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Hard to get good publicity when your enemies with Santa.
* SavingChristmas: Double subverted, they're saving christmas from Santa.
* ShootTheDog: They have to kill Santa Claus each year and it is made painfully clear how much that sucks.
* SubbingForSanta: The ones that aren't responsible for killing Santa try to steal his gift bag and hand out the safe, non Havok causing presents.

[[folder:Et Horologium Animae]]
!!Et Horologium Animae
-> ''Don't blame yourself''

A Lemurian Fellowship (or Tablinum as they call it) that believes in that free will doesn't actually exist.

* Expy: to the first edition Mechanistis
* TheFatalist: They reject the idea of free-will and consequentially the idea of responsibility.
* NeverMyFault: Because they don't believe in free will, they never acknowledge that anything might be their fault-- as far as they are concerned, it's always part of some higher mechanism the world works on.

[[folder:Kidz Club]]
!!Kidz Club

A fellowship for [[TeenGenius Wesley's]]

* Expy: Of WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor
* RightForTheWrongReasons: They believe grown ups are part of a conspiracy to destroy all curiosity and sense of wonder in children, considering what kind of CrapsackWorld the World of Darkness is [[VillainHasAPoint this is more to prevent them from doing something that will get the kids killed than out of malice.]]
* TreehouseOfFun: their aesthetic is called ''Treehouse Technology''

[[folder:The Caucus Of The Colossus]]
!!The Caucus Of The Colossus
->''Some things you can't fight. Acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a mech, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.''

A fellowship dedicated to building giant robots.

* CompensatingForSomething: Explicitly. A genius' is smart enough to know how small one man is. So they make themselves feel big by building a giant robot. This works well enough to make members more mentally stable.
* GladiatorGames: They host regular gladiator battles to test their robots or settle arguments.
* SeriousBusiness: They use very expensive war machines to settle debates over anime and aesthetics.

[[folder:The Wat of the Waifu]]
!!The Wat of the Waifu
->''Mecha-meido-chan is the perfect woman: Intelligent enough to be a psychiatric nurse. Kind enough to be a true friend. Strong willed enough to handle a Genius. And packing enough firepower to stand against a meteorblitzkrieg.''

A fellowship that builds robots to provide geniuses with psychological support or handle domestic chores.

* Animesque: The fellowship tends towards animesque designs. Most favour realistic anime (think the live action portrayal of [[Film/AlitaBattleAngel Alita]] but some make living two dimensional cartoons.
* RobotBuddy: Their speciality.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: They are the only people who can build Automatons capable of serving as touchstones, and they get the extra touchstone merit for free.
* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: Their robots are designed to provide psychiatric support, cooking, cleaning, earn money, or other mundane tasks. That doesn't stop the Wat building in plasma cannons.

[[folder:The Masters of Spite]]
!!The Masters of Spite
->''Revenge is not an art. It's a science.''

A fellowship dedicated to getting revenge on those that mocked them

* BestServedCold: The Masters of Spite dedicate their lives to coming up with the most horrible revenge plans they can think of
* TheyCalledMeMad: The typical motive to join.
* RevengeIsSweet: They sure think so.

!Historical Geniuses of Note

[[folder:Leonardo di ser Piero]]
!![[Creator/LeonardoDaVinci Leonardo di ser Piero]]

Leonardo [=DaVinci=] himself, one of the most well-known Geniuses.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: [=DaVinci=] was a MadScientist.
* EvilTwin: He had one, who called himself Orfeo and sought to conquer the world. Don't worry, he had it covered.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: A rogue Genius who opposed Lemuria and his own EvilTwin.

[[folder:Nikola Tesla]]
!!UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla

The archetypical MadScientist.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: He is [[TropeCodifier Nikola Tesla]] in a game about Mad Science, so this was to be expected.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: He was a member of Lemuria. Back then, it was a choice between joining them or having no resources at all. And it must have been nice to have found a group that actually appreciated his ideas.

[[folder:Robert Hooke]]
!!Robert Hooke

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The third PublicDomainCharacter identified as a Genius.

!!Seattle of Tomorrow

[[folder:Dr. Vienna]]
!!Dr. Vienna[=/=]Yancy Wolfgang Borcowitz

The leader of Seattle's Peerage, Dr. Vienna catalyzed at the age of eighteen and headed for Seattle, where an encounter with Megiddo's electronic minions pushed him into forming "Those Fools at the Institute" with Gracie Calabash, Screaming Sam Paluxy, and several other Geniuses to fight against the mad supercomputer's forces. Today, he is synonymous with the New Peers of Seattle, and a respected figure.

* BigGood: Dr. Vienna is respected by the Peers of Seattle as an artist, theorist, and implacable foe of Atomic Lemuria and Megiddo's machine empire.
* CreepyCrows: He owns a [[JerkassGenie maliciously literal-minded]] corvid automaton.
* NonActionGuy: Much to Sam's disgust, Dr. Vienna prefers to keep his hands clean and stay out of direct confrontation. While it keeps his Obligation high, his approach appears to be costing the New Peers ground.
* RealityWarper: Unknown to most, the good doctor has recently gone Unmada. He tries to combat this by using logic... which, since he's a Genius, doesn't work.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: In the process of mental decay, sadly.
* RedOniBlueOni: The calm, logical, non-combative Blue to Screaming Sam Paluxy's Red.
* SteamPunk: Dr. Vienna favors this aesthetic, and dresses like a Victorian gentleman to match.

[[folder:Gracie Calabash]]
!!Gracie Calabash

One of the three founders of Those Fools at the Institute, Calabash now manages the New Peers as Dr. Vienna slips even further into his fantasy world.

* BeleagueredBureaucrat: Calabash has the unenviable job of sorting out disputes between the various clashing factions of Seattle's Inspired community.
* BigGood: In some ways she might be closer to this trope than the now increasingly-addled Dr. Vienna.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The most stable of the senior New Peers, Calabash takes the Peerage's duty to help others out seriously. She is most likely the first powerful Genius a new mad scientist meets in Seattle.

[[folder:Sam Paluxy]]
!!Screaming Sam Paluxy

A rocker Genius and one of the three founders of Those Fools at the Institute, Screaming Sam has a love-hate relationship with Dr. Vienna.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: His unceasingly unstable love/hate feelings with Dr. Vienna might not be romantic, but if they are Sam is in for a long wait. Dr. Vienna is mentioned to have previously been in a fifteen year heterosexual relationship, and there are no hints that he could be bisexual.
* InstrumentOfMurder: One of his Wonders is an electric guitar that lets him fire off blasts of destructive sound.
* LovePotion: One of his Wonders, appropriately called the "Fuck Switch", does this to the user. Its actual purpose, though, is [[PeoplePuppets people puppetry]].
* RedOniBlueOni: The passionate, aggressive Red to Dr. Vienna's Blue.
* ReallyGetsAround: He goes through college-age boyfriends every few weeks or so.

[[folder:Captain Calazzi]]
!!Captain Joe Calazzi

A racist Genius who appeared in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks and quickly established a following, he is now leader of a vigilante army opposing the Pacific Gauntlet.

* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: Captain Joe is a clean, fit, well-dressed fellow with the face of a young Julius Caesar, but he holds incredibly hateful views.
* GeneralRipper: On a smaller scale than most, but he's real serious with the hate crimes, and has a posse.
* MoralEventHorizon: He's teetering on the edge of Illumination via Obligation bottoming, which is essentially this trope.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Captain Joe hates Asians, women, homosexuals, and anything else that annoys him; and he doesn't hesitate in making his views known.
* RealityWarper: Joe is an Unmada [[FridgeHorror with a horrible racist philosophy, who is also incredibly close to going Illuminated]].

[[folder:Devon Ogura]]
!!Devon Ogura

A man in his early [=60s=], Ogura is the leader of the Pacific Gauntlet, an Inspired criminal syndicate from Asia. He is also a Machinist who views everyone, including himself, as tools for a goal.

* CoolSub: The "Sea Monkey", his personal ride. It's shaped like a giant metal monkey.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Devon Ogura views the entire Gauntlet, including himself, as a tool to be used for maximum financial gain.
* CyberPunk: In sharp contrast to the Gauntlet's ClockPunk look, Ogura's favored aesthetic is "Digital Chrome", which involves a lot of cool neon hues, white plastic, and titanium.
* TheDon: He's a respected (and dreaded) leader of the Pacific Gauntlet.
* FreudianExcuse: Ogura grew up as TheUnfavorite, knowing his destiny was to become a faceless mook. Not hard to see why he snapped.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was originally slated to become Beholden.
* RedBaron: They call him [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Ogre]].

[[folder:Melantha C. Dranias]]
!!Melantha C. Dranias

Ogura's right hand, and a dangerous Genius in her own right. Is also so creepy she was rejected by the Children of the Demiurge, and gave the Oracles misgivings, which is quite a feat.

* BodyHorror: Combined with ClockPunk. It's every bit as bad as it sounds: for starters, she surgically replaced her uterus with a clockwork contraption.
* TheDragon: She serves Ogura by cranking out equipment for the Pacific Gauntlet's army of Beholden.
* EliteMooks: Thirty-two of them, with a nautical theme, no less.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: She actually managed to {{Squick}} out the [[MadDoctor Demiurges]], and the Oracles had misgivings about recruiting her.
* FatBastard: Dranias is morbidly obese and a villainous Genius who listens to the whispers of the Illuminated.
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Unknown to Ogura, Dranias is not fully loyal to his vision, but dreams of giving birth to a race of monsters that would devour all things.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: Not yet, but she has ''plans...''
* SpiderTank: The [[GiantEnemyCrab Clattering Crab]]. Also a CoolSub.

[[folder:Erin Out-Of-Time]]
!!Erin Out-Of-Time

The last survivor of an alternate timeline, Erin now resides in Seattle and keeps her head low, fearing the rogue TimePolice that killed off the rest of her kind.

* AlternateUniverse: What if mankind had no metal, but [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones managed to invent modern technology anyways?]]
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Even more so than most examples--she's not just in the wrong time, but in the wrong time''line''
* LastOfHerKind: She's the only remaining native of her timeline, a "Solitaire". All the others have been hunted down by rogue TimePolice, and Erin fears she's next.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Her attempts at reaching out to Argentine St. Croix for help have alienated the Peerage, particularly Dr. Vienna.
* TimePolice: Erin is an officer of the Guardians of Forever, and one of the few who remained loyal to their mission when their bosses, the Terminals, disappeared.
* LikeADuckTakesToWater: Justified; being a Genius makes any technology easy to understand. She has a blog.

[[folder:Detective Alice Gotti]]
!!Detective Alice Gotti

A Beholden working for Dr. Vienna.

* HollywoodAtheist: Subverted; she didn't lose her faith because of her many hardships, she just can't sustain religious convictions as a Beholden.
%%* TheIgor: To Dr. Vienna.
* TraumaCongaLine: Let's see... through bad luck, she lost her shot at the Ivy League, and her parents want nothing to do with her. She recovered from that and became a police officer. Then she got pregnant and her husband abandoned her. Then she discovered that her superiors were on the Pacific Gauntlet's payroll. ''Then'' she was made into a Beholden by Dr. Vienna. Life has not been kind to Detective Gotti, but she's taken everything it's thrown at her.

[[folder:Hook-Man]]
!!!Hook-Man[=/=]David Islington Whittlesworth

A superhero who likes using hooks as weapons.

* HooksAndCrooks: Unsurprisingly, his equipment is mostly hook-themed, including a few actual hooks.
* GrapplingHookPistol: His suit has one mounted on the shoulder.
* SophisticatedAsHell: "Hook-Man is here for to put your ass on a hook!"
* {{Superhero}}: Hook-Man defends Seattle from villainous geniuses and mundane crime and has a themed set of equipment, including a {{Tropemobile}}.
* {{Thememobile}}: His "Hook-Craft", a hovercar.

[[folder:Megiddo]]
!!Megiddo

A super powerful computer dedicated to amassing even more power.

* MasterComputer: Rules over his own private [[EldritchLocation Bardo]], and desires more power every day.
* MilkmanConspiracy: The mail-order denture business funds an evil computer mastermind.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast[=/=]WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Who names a sentient being "Megiddo" and [[WhatDidYouExpectWhenYouNamedIt expects it to be nice?]] Mad scientists, that's who.
* ThePatriarch: Megiddo is very fond of this archetype, and sometimes holographically manifests as various father figures.
* RoboticPsychopath: Not only is Megiddo sadistic and power-hungry, it also has an Obligation of 0, making it essentially Illuminated.
* VillainousBreakdown: It started decades ago, and may be ongoing. That doesn't make it any less dangerous.

[[folder:Argentine St. Croix]]
!!Argentine St. Croix

A powerful and dangerous Genius who is nonetheless on her way out.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The leader of Atomic Lemuria loves her sons.
* HumiliationConga: First she's caught having an affair, has to see her lover killed in front of her, and is driven out of her home. Then one of her sons falls into a coma, and she not only has no idea how to bring him out of it, she has the terrifying suspicion he's ''transforming'' into something she can't predict. Then her ''other'' son defects to join the Peerage, leaving a video behind that tears into her so harshly even the ''other Peerage Geniuses'' think he went too far.
* JerkassWoobie: As her bio says:
--> St. Croix is a bitter, tired woman, touched by sadness at the disappointments in her life. While insane and, when the mood takes her, tremendously cruel, hers is the small, weak kind of human cruelty [[InvokedTrope that encourages as much pity as loathing.]]
* TragicDream: She wants to create a utopia. Normally this would be hard enough. The fact she genuinely believe a "fascist police state governed by all-seeing technology" would be utopia makes her dream fundamentally unachievable.
* RaygunGothic: Her favored aesthetic. A statue of her in Atomic Lemuria's HQ shows her with the skin-tight suit and fishbowl helmet of [[=50s=]] sci-fi.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: In-universe, St. Croix is a Genius of somewhat low importance, despite her family name.

[[folder:Belinda Czdenk]]
!!Belinda Czdenk

A disrespected Neid Genius.

* ButtMonkey: Even as a Genius, she gets no respect.
* CharacterFilibuster: Like many Neids, Belinda is prone to bitter ranting.
* DisproportionateRetribution: She once killed a man for revealing her love of machinery.
%%* ObstructiveBureaucrat
* WrenchWench: Would've loved to be one, but was ([[ProperlyParanoid rightly]]) afraid of her snobbish friends' reaction.

[[folder:Erwin Tycho]]
!!Erwin Tycho

A relatively sane member of the Klondike Geniuses, Tycho is one of the most prominent critics of the New Peers, whom he views as intruders.

* AdventurerArchaeologist: Tycho is a member of the Klondikes, a faction of Geniuses who scavenge for orphaned Wonders, Larvae, and other wondrous things in the Seattle of Tomorrow.
* HellishHorse: Given his "Western Gothic" aesthetic, it's probably safe to infer that his Skafoi Wonder "Bony Tess" looks like a skeletal horse.
* OnlySaneMan: Compared to the rest of the Klondikes, he's much less paranoid and territorial.
* UnfazedEveryman: Mikey and Randolph, the two Beholden that accompany him on his expeditions. They think their adventures are way cooler than playing video games or fixing up cars.

!Individual NPCS

[[folder:Rapata]]
!!Rapata[=/=]"Mr. Shark"

A Genius dedicated to preserving the timeline.

* CarryABigStick: His "Taiaha of Temporal Distortion", which causes objects he hits to disintegrate.
* CigarChomper: If his current temporal position allows it, he ''will'' be chewing on a cigar.
* DaChief: One of the last people in a position of authority in the Guardians of Forever, who will do whatever is necessary to hold things together.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Averted most of the time: he actually prefers to dress as befits the time period he's in. If he's in a hurry, though, he'll just appear, brandishing his big club and bellowing the names of whoever's pissed him off.
* GoodIsNotNice: He's abrasive and demanding, and not above intimidating Geniuses into working for him, but it's all for the sake of preserving the timeline.
* PowerTattoo: He has a couple of them: the "Transformation Ta Moko" lets him shapeshift, and the "Titan Ta Moko" allows him to grow to a giant size.
* TimePolice: Like Erin Out-of-Time, he's one of the Guardians of Forever who remained loyal when the Terminals disappeared.

[[folder:Prof. Partridge Crown]]
!!Prof. Partridge Crown

A Genius who believes he is essentially Satan. He's not, but he ''is'' one of the few Illuminated to be able to hold a MaskOfSanity.

* AGodAmI: More like A Godlike Devil Am I.
* AssimilationPlot: As the Self-Eating Fire, he believes it's his duty to destroy things and integrate them with himself.
* CrystalDragonJesus: Believes he's the "Self-Eating Fire", opposing the CrystalDragonJesus figure called the "Metal Peacock God".
%%* IRejectYourReality
* KillAndReplace: He's steadily removing members of the campus faculty and replacing them with homunculi of his own design. This is the weakness of his plan, however - his creations have NoSenseOfHumor, and this along with other flaws is making the university board realize something's wrong.
* MaskOfSanity: Most people don't realize that he's Illuminated because unlike most of them, who are raving madmen, he can hold one of these.
* RealityWarper: Like any unmada, the world seems slightly off around him. He's an example of a Genius who fell to Illumination through losing control of his unmada state.
* RobotMe: Built so he could ignore his job, and [[LonersAreFreaks human interaction in general]].
* TheUnfettered: Like all the Illuminated, he doesn't believe in fetters.

[[folder:Arturo Banger]]
!!Arturo Banger

A Genius descended from a long line of cranks, Arturo seemed perfectly fine until he began switched majors and began writing about how modern medicine and the germ theory of disease was false. At some point, either before, after, or during his mind cracking, he signed on with the Etherites, where he's a weirdo even by ''their'' standards.

* ConspiracyTheorist: Arturo believes the germ theory of disease to be incorrect and a scam, and that he knows the truth about medicine.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: His theories mingle racist conspiracy theories with paranoid fantasies of ancient "germ scholars" and persecutory beliefs. Per his sample quote:
--> ''"The germ theory of disease is a lie propagated by International Jewry and Afrocentrists at UCLA. Of course, everyone knows this. What people don't know is how the Freemasons and College Football are in league to hide the truth of the metabio fields."''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Keiko Takamori]]
!!Dr. Keiko Takamori

A tattooed Genius with serious depression issues. She empathizes with the Cold Ones who live after the heat death of the universe, and works for them.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Her introduction to the world of Geniuses was when she became Beholden to a real asshole of a Genius, and that was one of the ''high'' points in her existence.
* PowerTattoo: It makes her skin bulletproof. She was forced to get them during her time as a Beholden, and after she catalyzed she "upgraded" them by incorporating an Orphan.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Has had a miserable life. Wants to timeshift the [[EldritchAbomination Cold Ones]] to this reality, uncaring of what kind of weird shit this would cause.

[[folder:Dr. Ilsa Hauser]]
!!Dr. Ilsa Hauser
One of the current primary leaders of the Thule Society.

* TheBaroness: Hauser is a tall, striking woman with an iron will, a sadistic streak, and an absolute dedication to the principles of the Thule Society.
* FightLikeANormal: While she is technically both a Mane and Genius, her description mentions her Inspired abilities aren't particularly impressive, so she usually prefers to rely on her human skills and her connections.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Her ''entire family'' has been leading the Ubermenschen, and in fact her grandparents led the ones who went into hiding in the Hollow Earth.
* TheMole: She has been infiltrating the Directors for a while in an attempt to prepare the Thule Society's plan.
* XanatosGambit: She currently is planning to infiltrate higher education so she can use it to restore the Ubermensch philosophy. If she succeeds, the Thule Society will insidiously gain influence over the surface; if she fails, the resulting Maniac Storm is likely to make the entire Society grow stronger, effectively giving them more of an army to take the surface by force.

[[folder:Walking-Man, Peripatetic Dreamkiller]]
!!Walking-Man, Peripatetic Dreamkiller

One of the few forces that all Geniuses fear, known for brainwashed cults and all-around invulnerability.

* CarryABigStick: His walking stick.
* TheDreaded: Just the rumor of his arrival is enough to cause most Geniuses to flee the area, as Walking-Man destroys any community he sets foot in.
* EvilLuddite: He doesn't believe in ''any'' technology, and doesn't care about the human costs of destroying it.
* HumanoidAbomination: Possibly. He's described as "less a person now than an elementary force."
* {{Hypocrite}}: Walking-Man hates all technology, yet carries a rifle and has contacts with Lemuria.
* LeanAndMean: Lean and frighteningly mean.
* MadeOfIron: Even putting aside his immunity to technological weapons, he is ridiculously resilient, with a Health of 10, a Stamina of 5, and the Quick Healer Merit on top of it, which allows him to heal faster than the average human. Even a vampire or a werewolf could potentially have a hard time taking him down.
* MassHypnosis: If you want to fight him, you'll have to get past [[BusFullOfInnocents his entire cult]] first.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: As noted above, he is very lean and skinny. Yet not only is he MadeOfIron, he has a Strength of 4, which is twice as strong as the average human.
* {{Narcissist}}: One of Walking-Man's derangements is narcissism.
* NighInvulnerable: He's immune to all non-natural weapons, including clubs, rocks, and fire.
* ScienceIsBad: He really, ''really'' believes it.
* SinisterMinister: Has disguised himself as a Protestant preacher, a Catholic priest, and even a New Age cult leader.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: He usually induces this among local townsfolk.
* VillainTeamUp: He may or may not work with the Phenomenologists.
* WalkingTechbane: Walking-Man is this for wonders, manes and any technology produced since about 1850.

* WantingIsBetterThanHaving: They wnated fame and fortune, but once they got rich they found actually managing their finances to be undescribably boring. The Foundation eventaully fell apart because it got too rich and its mad scientists left to avoid the paperwork.

->''"Ordinary people cannot handle the internet. Without the intellect to participate in real debates they retreat into echo-chambers and pollute society with their cancerous ignorance. On social media highschool never ends. No longer do cheerleaders and football captains corner victims in the locker room, now our children willingly present themselves so society may devour their self esteem. People that asssert wrong information with confidence are upvoted past correct messages. This can go on no longer! The elite must rise up against the ignorant masses and take back the internet. Once we are free from the meatheaded mob we shall put aside such petty concerns as race, religion, and emotions to create a world where intelligence and reason are the true measure of a man!

September shall end!"''

->''"[[DisproportionateRetribution p4Wn All]] [[LeetLingo T3H]] [[UsefulNotes/EternalSeptember N00b2]]"''

With the arrival of UsefulNotes/EternalSeptember, many Geniuses saw their dreams of an internet where the intelligent ruled a virtual world overrun by housewives posting cat pictures and businessmen buying golf shoes. The Numericals hate how the internet has become as stupid as meatspace, and seek to reform it into what it should have been. Their specialty is ''Mad Computer Science'' and among the Web 2.0 generation ''Mad Communication Theory''.

* NewbieBoom: In-universe, they want to bring UsefulNotes/EternalSeptember, which brought a lot of new users to the Internet, to an end. If this sounds good to you, bear in mind that their definition of "newbie" in this scenario includes literally everyone who isn't a Numerical.

* PrivilegeMakesYouEvil: Downplayed. Cartographers are no more evil than any other group of mad scientists, but their privilege blinds them to how their actions hurt people.

** To give you an idea, they were the first owners of Daedalus's Labyrinth used to gain inspiration by running through the monster and deathtrap filled maze while out of their mind on drugs with predictably fatal results.

* SeriousBuisness: They use very expensive war machines to settle debates over anime and aesthetics.