Headscratchers / Promethean: The Created

• The clones. Maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't the big unifying theme behind The Created (even accounting for the Unfleshed) that they're non-living things that live and aspire to Humanity? Existential angst aside, clones are undeniably alive; they're not any less made out of living (and not even "once-living") flesh than regular humans. There's the possibility of degeneration, yes, but that's decidedly different from Torment and Disquiet; if you're genetically and mentally unstable, that's going to wreak havoc with your interactions with or without a soul. That predisposition towards degeneration also does very little to offer flexibility in the roles they play; if they're aware of their state, they're going to be desperate or resigned, if they're not then they'll be out of the picture soon, they've got limited access to Transmutations and all of this makes it very clear that playing a Promethean-styled clone is very unlikely to any player who expects to play a character with any longevity.
  • Which is why clones aren't presented as player characters. They're in the "Storyteller" section of the book. Remember, they're made out of Prometheans - a fine antagonist motivation. It's more delved into in Saturine Night.
    • Except that this is a gameline wherein you can quest for mortality as a reconstructed corpse or a robot or a construct. Leaving clones out seems a tad arbitrary, particularly since the traits provided for clones could very well apply to any of the above and vice-versa.
    • Rereading the books again, another reason why playing clones isn't in the picture: because they're a lot more like Pandorans than Prometheans. Clones are born from stolen Divine Fire... stolen from Prometheans, that is, which means it's twice-tainted. They represent clumsy mishandling of a holy substance, Divine Fire stained by human selfishness. Their "Azoth" is a guttering ember of the true fire, too weak to build into the blaze of a soul. There's a reason killing one creates Flux. (And of course, hey, if you want them to achieve full Mortality, if you're the Storyteller, just come up with a way.)
• This probably seems like a dumb question, but I've never been sure of it. Can a promethean be choked to death? Or drown? I never really got a definitive feeling from any of the books.
  • While I'm not sure about choking to death, the fact that there is a Transmutation that allows a Promethean to breath water instead of air suggests that, yes, they can drown.
  • Choking a Promethean to death, while possible, would be a very difficult thing compared to, say, choking a human to death. Prometheans don't take penalties for being hurt, don't fall unconscious easily, and are already pretty danged tough, so if one were choked to death, it would be death well earned since said Promethean would likely fight almost all the way. Also? They can come back from death at least once, so make sure you do it right if you're going to attempt this.
  • Prometheans also tend to explode when they truly die, so someone who manages to choke a Promethean to true death probably won't be able to gloat about it.

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