Intro - What are Elohim Really?
The Elohim of Convergence are fairly unique beings. They are not what you would consider "biblical Angels". Though the bible does exist in some capacity in Convergence Lore... but like the bible in RL it was written by human hands and rewritten repeatedly so it's impossible to tell what's truth and what's just ideological nonsense (most of it, most of it is ideological nonsense). Elohim are not subject to 'sin' like humans are. Provided they abide by their Canticle's rules and Ael's laws they can smoke, drink, fuck, lie, cheat, steal, murder (lots of murder), and do pretty much anything anyone else can do without any sense of shame or guilt... Unless for some reason they want to feel shame or guilt or believe they should, of course. (So the whole 'Nephs trying to get the Elohim to be sinful' thing is just the Nephs being insane... it's not actually a thing that makes sense to Elohim because 'sin' isn't something they worry about.. It's something they try to steer humans away from, that's all.)
The Elohim of Convergence are here to repair a universe that's shattering apart due to the fact that Ael created humanity and gave them free will. In doing so they (humans) put their faith in other gods, which gave those 'gods' power, which in turn began to cause rifts in the universe, destabilizing it and putting it at risk of rupture.
Our paramount goal beyond all else is to eradicate other "Gods" and encourage faith in Ael so that the balance of power can be rectified. That's essentially it.
You can be an evil Elohim just like you can be a 'good' Nephilim. All you have to do is remember to uphold the laws of Ael. There are so many possibilities...
The Elohim are not 'brainwashed'. They are not 'slaves'. They are not forced to do what they do. They do it because they believe that it's the right thing to do because the alternative is not only the possibility of death or worse (becoming a Nephilim), it's the outright destruction of the Universe as a whole. They are a bit Nazi-ish, yes, in their very (in their opinion) JUSTIFIED 'my way or the highway' ideal... but they are also capable of a subtlety that makes it very hard to recognize that they're twisting the situation to benefit themselves.
Nephilim will rub what they do in peoples' faces and be fairly loud and abrupt about their beliefs and goals. Elohim can twist the truth and views of those that listen to them into believing that the truly correct path is to follow Ael, as if it was their (the target's) idea in the first place.
So please do not assume that an angel is that Catholocised asexual being seated on some cloud strumming a harp or rushing into battle wielding a fiery sword. Are these both reasonable possibilities for Elohim characters? Heck yes they are. Are they the only possible options you have? Heck no they aren't. There are literally TONS of creative possibilities for Elohim characters. All you need to do is remember that above all things the Canticle's Rules and Ael's Laws must be upheld. Beyond that? Get creative with it! (page source HERE)
The Elohim of Convergence are fairly unique beings. They are not what you would consider "biblical Angels". Though the bible does exist in some capacity in Convergence Lore... but like the bible in RL it was written by human hands and rewritten repeatedly so it's impossible to tell what's truth and what's just ideological nonsense (most of it, most of it is ideological nonsense). Elohim are not subject to 'sin' like humans are. Provided they abide by their Canticle's rules and Ael's laws they can smoke, drink, fuck, lie, cheat, steal, murder (lots of murder), and do pretty much anything anyone else can do without any sense of shame or guilt... Unless for some reason they want to feel shame or guilt or believe they should, of course. (So the whole 'Nephs trying to get the Elohim to be sinful' thing is just the Nephs being insane... it's not actually a thing that makes sense to Elohim because 'sin' isn't something they worry about.. It's something they try to steer humans away from, that's all.)
The Elohim of Convergence are here to repair a universe that's shattering apart due to the fact that Ael created humanity and gave them free will. In doing so they (humans) put their faith in other gods, which gave those 'gods' power, which in turn began to cause rifts in the universe, destabilizing it and putting it at risk of rupture.
Our paramount goal beyond all else is to eradicate other "Gods" and encourage faith in Ael so that the balance of power can be rectified. That's essentially it.
You can be an evil Elohim just like you can be a 'good' Nephilim. All you have to do is remember to uphold the laws of Ael. There are so many possibilities...
The Elohim are not 'brainwashed'. They are not 'slaves'. They are not forced to do what they do. They do it because they believe that it's the right thing to do because the alternative is not only the possibility of death or worse (becoming a Nephilim), it's the outright destruction of the Universe as a whole. They are a bit Nazi-ish, yes, in their very (in their opinion) JUSTIFIED 'my way or the highway' ideal... but they are also capable of a subtlety that makes it very hard to recognize that they're twisting the situation to benefit themselves.
Nephilim will rub what they do in peoples' faces and be fairly loud and abrupt about their beliefs and goals. Elohim can twist the truth and views of those that listen to them into believing that the truly correct path is to follow Ael, as if it was their (the target's) idea in the first place.
So please do not assume that an angel is that Catholocised asexual being seated on some cloud strumming a harp or rushing into battle wielding a fiery sword. Are these both reasonable possibilities for Elohim characters? Heck yes they are. Are they the only possible options you have? Heck no they aren't. There are literally TONS of creative possibilities for Elohim characters. All you need to do is remember that above all things the Canticle's Rules and Ael's Laws must be upheld. Beyond that? Get creative with it! (page source HERE)
Heaven and Elohim emotions.
Heaven is a place empty of emotion It's cold and sterile. Celestials were automatons with no emotions to start with. Only as Ael's control began to waver did they start developing the ability to feel., and they have had eons to start feeling emotion. So while heaven is said to be a beautiful place, beauty is pointless to Celestials.
Over time the Elohim started to feel more emotion as they spent most time likely away from Heaven on missions for Ael. Its not likely that many angels spent to much time in heaven itself. Many angels were sent across many realms to combat false gods. The further a Elohim was from Ael and Heaven, the less they would be in contact with others of the Song, and over time would allow them to cultivate more feelings in a humanized fashion, well before heaven was barred in 2022.
A lot of how emotions came about would also depend on purpose. If you were an Elohim that interacted with humans, you were probably given some set of emotions, and if you were an Elohim that fought the Nephilim, probably a different set of emotions, if any. Elohim that were supposed to (though never got to) work with the Pale Realm would have been given a good understanding of the emotions of grief and loss. So on and so forth. Access to Ael/Heaven/the Seraphim would have been given for the level of access necessary for your job.
Heaven is a place empty of emotion It's cold and sterile. Celestials were automatons with no emotions to start with. Only as Ael's control began to waver did they start developing the ability to feel., and they have had eons to start feeling emotion. So while heaven is said to be a beautiful place, beauty is pointless to Celestials.
Over time the Elohim started to feel more emotion as they spent most time likely away from Heaven on missions for Ael. Its not likely that many angels spent to much time in heaven itself. Many angels were sent across many realms to combat false gods. The further a Elohim was from Ael and Heaven, the less they would be in contact with others of the Song, and over time would allow them to cultivate more feelings in a humanized fashion, well before heaven was barred in 2022.
A lot of how emotions came about would also depend on purpose. If you were an Elohim that interacted with humans, you were probably given some set of emotions, and if you were an Elohim that fought the Nephilim, probably a different set of emotions, if any. Elohim that were supposed to (though never got to) work with the Pale Realm would have been given a good understanding of the emotions of grief and loss. So on and so forth. Access to Ael/Heaven/the Seraphim would have been given for the level of access necessary for your job.
Primary Virtue vs Secondary Virtue.
When a character application is submitted an Elohim can ask for Primary and Secondary Virtue to use in order to feed pneuma from. The primary virtue is more like having a full meal, and would be the most efficient way to keep topped off and in good pneuma 'health'. Using your secondary virtue to feed is akin to having a small snack, and these feedings wont sustain very long at all, but its certainly good in a pinch!
When a character application is submitted an Elohim can ask for Primary and Secondary Virtue to use in order to feed pneuma from. The primary virtue is more like having a full meal, and would be the most efficient way to keep topped off and in good pneuma 'health'. Using your secondary virtue to feed is akin to having a small snack, and these feedings wont sustain very long at all, but its certainly good in a pinch!
Race Rankings by Attribute, Lumina Harvesting, Blood Effects (page source)
These are the rankings in order of the various abilities of the supernatural races. All of these have the possibility of being raised or lowered due to personal aptitude, skills, mutations and augmentations, as well as inherent and casted magics.
WARNING: At no time is it guaranteed that the races are of equal power overall. Some races WILL be more powerful than others. Some factions WILL be more powerful than others. It's your choice as to whether you want to play the underdog and RP more struggle, or the privileged and RP protecting what you have. Additionally, it should be noted, that story elements may change these, temporarily or permanently, for you, or for the group as a whole.
Additionally: It should be recognized that this is just a baseline for the RACE (except where otherwise noted). Specific individuals may be higher or lower based on IC experiences, personality, background, magics, abilities, skills, sub-race traits, etc.
Magic:
1) Fae, Elohim
2) Yokai in True form, Mages
3) Underkin, Vampires, Shifters. Wraiths, Sylvani, Nephilim
4) Mutants, Robots (if they have magics), Yokai in Kagami Form
5) Cyborgs
Strength:
1) Shifters (Centaurs/Oni)
2) Vampires, Cyborgs, Underkin, Sylvani (except centaurs who are on par with Shifters)
3) Wraiths, Fae, Celestials, Yokai (Except Oni)
4) Mages, Mutants (unless they have strength as a mutation), Humans
5) Robots (Robots can be quite strong, but are programmed against violence.)
Speed:
1) Vampires
2) Sylvani
3) Robots (if programmed for it), Cyborgs
4) Shifters
5) Underkin, Fae, Yokai
6) Mages, Mutants (unless otherwise mutated), Wraiths, Humans, Celestials (unless flying)
Endurance/Durability:
1) Cyborgs, Underkin
2) Yokai (In Kagami Form)
3) Shifters, Mutants, Sylvani
4) Nephilim, Elohim, Vampires
5) Fae, Robots
6) Humans, Mages, Wraiths, Yokai (In True form)
Willpower:
1) Wraiths (Wraiths have an extreme amount of willpower.), Elohim
2) Underkin, Vampires, Mages, Fae (except in regards to their obsession), Yokai
3) Mutants, Humans, Shifters, Nephilim
4) Cyborgs
5) Robots (Technically have no willpower, only programming. They are, however, susceptible to mental magics.), Sylvani
Charisma:
1) Vampires (Vampires do have innate abilities of magical persuasion, though mild. These abilities do not work on Wraiths.), Nephilim
2) Fae, Mages
3) Robots, Humans, Sylvani, Yokai
4) Underkin, Mutants, Wraiths, Elohim
5) Cyborgs, Shifters
Aptitude (The rate at which skills and magics can be learned):
1) Mages, Robots
2) Humans, Cyborgs, Mutants
3) Wraiths, Sylvani, Yokai
4) Vampires, Fae, Underkin, Shifters, Celestials
Unaided Healing:
1) Shifters, Vampires
2) Fae, Underkin, Nephilim, Yokai
3) Cyborgs (Non-mechanical aspects only).
4) Wraiths, Mutants, Mages, Humans, Sylvani
5) Robots
6) Elohim
Senses:
Elohim and Nephilim - Heightened Sense of Faith (can tell if a person is pneuma-producing for their type), and some sense of the virtues people adhere to, as well as sins they are attracted to.
Lumina Harvesting: (for Fae)
Celestials: Celestial lumina is difficult to harvest against their will. It is, however, especially filling once the Fae figure out how to get it.
Blood Effects: (for vampires)
Elohim: Elohim blood tastes like burning. It will cause pain in every part of a vampire's body, but that pain can be nullified by drinking a similar amount of some other type of palatable blood. It is not nutritious.
These are the rankings in order of the various abilities of the supernatural races. All of these have the possibility of being raised or lowered due to personal aptitude, skills, mutations and augmentations, as well as inherent and casted magics.
WARNING: At no time is it guaranteed that the races are of equal power overall. Some races WILL be more powerful than others. Some factions WILL be more powerful than others. It's your choice as to whether you want to play the underdog and RP more struggle, or the privileged and RP protecting what you have. Additionally, it should be noted, that story elements may change these, temporarily or permanently, for you, or for the group as a whole.
Additionally: It should be recognized that this is just a baseline for the RACE (except where otherwise noted). Specific individuals may be higher or lower based on IC experiences, personality, background, magics, abilities, skills, sub-race traits, etc.
Magic:
1) Fae, Elohim
2) Yokai in True form, Mages
3) Underkin, Vampires, Shifters. Wraiths, Sylvani, Nephilim
4) Mutants, Robots (if they have magics), Yokai in Kagami Form
5) Cyborgs
Strength:
1) Shifters (Centaurs/Oni)
2) Vampires, Cyborgs, Underkin, Sylvani (except centaurs who are on par with Shifters)
3) Wraiths, Fae, Celestials, Yokai (Except Oni)
4) Mages, Mutants (unless they have strength as a mutation), Humans
5) Robots (Robots can be quite strong, but are programmed against violence.)
Speed:
1) Vampires
2) Sylvani
3) Robots (if programmed for it), Cyborgs
4) Shifters
5) Underkin, Fae, Yokai
6) Mages, Mutants (unless otherwise mutated), Wraiths, Humans, Celestials (unless flying)
Endurance/Durability:
1) Cyborgs, Underkin
2) Yokai (In Kagami Form)
3) Shifters, Mutants, Sylvani
4) Nephilim, Elohim, Vampires
5) Fae, Robots
6) Humans, Mages, Wraiths, Yokai (In True form)
Willpower:
1) Wraiths (Wraiths have an extreme amount of willpower.), Elohim
2) Underkin, Vampires, Mages, Fae (except in regards to their obsession), Yokai
3) Mutants, Humans, Shifters, Nephilim
4) Cyborgs
5) Robots (Technically have no willpower, only programming. They are, however, susceptible to mental magics.), Sylvani
Charisma:
1) Vampires (Vampires do have innate abilities of magical persuasion, though mild. These abilities do not work on Wraiths.), Nephilim
2) Fae, Mages
3) Robots, Humans, Sylvani, Yokai
4) Underkin, Mutants, Wraiths, Elohim
5) Cyborgs, Shifters
Aptitude (The rate at which skills and magics can be learned):
1) Mages, Robots
2) Humans, Cyborgs, Mutants
3) Wraiths, Sylvani, Yokai
4) Vampires, Fae, Underkin, Shifters, Celestials
Unaided Healing:
1) Shifters, Vampires
2) Fae, Underkin, Nephilim, Yokai
3) Cyborgs (Non-mechanical aspects only).
4) Wraiths, Mutants, Mages, Humans, Sylvani
5) Robots
6) Elohim
Senses:
Elohim and Nephilim - Heightened Sense of Faith (can tell if a person is pneuma-producing for their type), and some sense of the virtues people adhere to, as well as sins they are attracted to.
Lumina Harvesting: (for Fae)
Celestials: Celestial lumina is difficult to harvest against their will. It is, however, especially filling once the Fae figure out how to get it.
Blood Effects: (for vampires)
Elohim: Elohim blood tastes like burning. It will cause pain in every part of a vampire's body, but that pain can be nullified by drinking a similar amount of some other type of palatable blood. It is not nutritious.