Who said a book about playing Mechanical Abominations couldn't have a sense of humor?
- Some Embeds actually have really funny effects:
- "Like the Movies" allows Demons to cause contrived coincidences you typically see in movies and other fictions to happen for real around them. This is kinda funny in itself, but what really makes it hilarious is that it's one of the few Embeds that can cause the God-Machine to locate you if you use it too much... suggesting as an Alternative Character Interpretation that this all-powerful entity apparently has enough time on its hands to watch human media and notice when their tropes are applied to reality.note
- "Devil's Advocate" grants the ability to cause someone to automatically disagree with the last thing that was stated, even if he usually would agree. The most obvious of this power would be to ruin a negotiation or cause your opponents to fight each other, but the book shows how versatile it can be in the hands of a master of reverse psychology, by suggesting a situation where a demon uses it to get rid of a cop who arrested him in traffic by acknowledging he deserves a ticket, then forcing the cop to disagree.
- "Ear Worm" allows exactly what the trope it shares its name with implies, causing someone to have a song he cannot get out of his head.
- Exploits can get in on the fun too, of course:
- "Murder By Improbability", as the name suggests, guarantees the target dies somehow within the next scene (usually about half an hour), if they aren't touched by the supernatural or extraordinary fate.
The unfortunate victim might be struck by a falling chunk of blue ice, trip and fall off a platform in front of a train, or stumble through a Rube Goldberg-esque configuration of accidents that leaves him lying on a sidewalk with scissors between his ribs.- "Play On Words" might as well be called "Weaponized Puns". One of the examples is someone who expresses the right to "bear" arms; said victim can have his sleeves removed ("bare" arms), or have his hands grow claws and fur ("bear" arms).
- An Exploit that allows the Unchained to mess with Newtonian physics is called "Newton's Nightmares".
- As is tradition with these books, a few stereotypes are good for a laugh:Saboteurs toward Tempters: A little too concerned with planning the afterparty before the main event is over, but hey, they always bring beer.Saboteurs toward Mages: Like Fort Knox: heavily defended, suicide to attack, and if you get in, I bet you'll find the gold was sold off years ago.Saboteurs toward Humans: Recruit the ones you want, kill the ones the enemy wants, and party with the ones left over.Tempters toward Inquisitors: Oh, come on! We're on the same side, here! Will you fucking tell me what I need to know, already?Tempters toward Humans: I'll take a dozen. Good-looking. Mostly athletes.Messengers towards Vampires: Awww. Look at the little dead men, playing in the kiddie-pool. Thinking they're pulling the strings and pretending they're not beasts. I bet I can set them off with three words.
