Do Saint powers still work? Do Songs still work? How can a mortal gather what they need to use Songs in this new world?
-Saint powers still working as intended
-Songs still work but require essence to fuel and essence is hard to come by
-Rites are now more important
-Rites related to words, words related to higher powers or to higher ideals
-there is power in direct opposition, words allow more essence to be channeled the more prominent they are and the more they exist in contrast to the world around them or to other words.
You mentioned Angels and Demons have begun to transform. What does that entail?
-Without Archangels and no Demon Princes the automatic essence no longer comes each day, angels & demons are drifting as they get creative about harvesting power
-new hearts require an enormous amount of energy to create (10 e)
-Angels and Demons have tapped into human creativity and found new ways of being(this is up to players)
Any info on the consequences, individually and for the world, ontologically and cosmologically, of severing the celestial would be helpful. I could see it being as drastic as “angels are just mortals now,” so drawing the nuances a bit more would help.
-It used to be that a lot of essence flowed from Heaven and Hell through the tension between fate and destiny and acts of devotion to order and chaos. This has ceased without those poles directing this energy.
-The absence of these poles has also removed some degree of extremism from the world, partially through devotees of both side leaving for the final battle, partially with fewer forces pushing people towards extreme acts.
-The world is still finding it's cosmological footing, anchored only by dreams and nightmares rather than overarching dualistic ideals.
The state of heaven / hell. Are they gone, unavailable, lawless realms, what?
-there are no passages to Heaven or Hell, and nobody who has traveled using more esoteric methods has returned to tell about it.
-people have explored to the edges of the Marches and all the bridges are broken
The state of mortal government. Is money a thing? Are the courts a thing?
-the illusion of normalcy remains, people act like the world still works, a fake it til you make it attitude
-'my money isn’t worthless, so yours isn’t either' money does still work, though not for really important stuff
-but barter is now more prevalent, especially for important stuff
- shift to local productions, caravans and trains.
- water/electric still function, cell/radio don't work between zones, internet basics mostly work with local internets
The impact of any remaining archangels or demon princes who might be in the world.
-the archangels and demon princes no longer have the flow of energy that came from the connection to Heaven/Hell, but their words are important rallying points and have millennia of experience
Is there still some form of city government?
-yes, it’s basically the only government left, though with the time difficulties, it's been hard to keep together
Are people working together as part of a large community?
-within the zones, people definitely are, though info exchange time issues limit geographical reach. Basically, Chicago is seven or more large communities right now
Is Chicago still quite populated, or did many people die in the past year?
-Chicago is still quite populated, though not quite as populated, the final trumpet and a harsh winter took its toll, but people pulled together and Chicago survives
Is there any sort of long distance commerce and/or communication?
Nothing time-sensitive: letters, packages of durable goods etc. Trains and convoys used, drifting back towards nomadic trader and organized trade caravans
How are people eating? Was there a famine or starvation? Does food get imported to the city, or have people converted what they can into makeshift farms?
-there was some hunger, a few people died and the winter took its toll, but food can be brought in, and a lot of indoor farming has been brought to Chicago
-the stockyards have reopened to provide “meat”
Is fuel a precious, jealously guarded commodity, or are cars and such kind of useless?
-cars are hard to navigate between zones, so they’re useful locally, but not outside of a zone, some trains work well between zones and are more popular
If the survivors are not numerous, have people essentially created small, isolated communities? Is there a lot of violent competition over extremely scarce resources? Is survival a precarious balance game, or is there enough to share?
-people survived in communities, most of those communities that competed violently, died violently. now there’s a tension, but a sense of quasi-solidarity, though divided across zones
- approximately 75% population remains in the city, and there are just barely resources sufficient to support that level.
Is the electricity still functioning? Do people use backup generators and conserve power as much as possible, or are there functioning power plants delivering electricity to the city?
-yes, electricity is a precious resource and a lot more localized, but there is still a grid and power does still flow. It's become something that's used more intentionally, but not necessarily hoarded
Have we seen any concrete proof that Asmodeus is still "around?"
-have you ever?
Are we still able to claim Words?
-Yes. Nobody can give a word, but acts of greatness create affinity with higher concepts and allow for rites and such. There are some folks in the Repository who have ways of helping.