The Fragments
("Fraggies, Fraggim")
The Habbalite's whip lashed again against the struggling old man's
back. "Obey me," the faux angel hissed. "Obey me, Vophsi."
Sobbing, the old man slumped. "I am Vophsi," he whispered, defeated.
The Habbalite smiled. "And now you are Shara March. You are a reporter.
You are beautiful."
Without a ripple in the Symphony, the old man's body flowed into a new
shape: unwounded, beautiful, female...
Fragments -- called "Fraggim" ("Fraggite" singular) by many -- are a minor
Band, found almost exclusively in the service of Malphas, Prince of
Factions. In the nastier rumors, they're what happens when you turn a
Balseraph inside out -- instead of making other people believe _their_
truths, as the Liars do, Fragments fall under the sway of those who know
their true names, believing, and making _real_ whatever they are told about
themselves...
Manner and Appearance
A Fragment fledges -- or can be forced to fledge -- at a mere 5 Forces,
instead of 7 (the limit for other Bands). Few of them ever get above 7 or 8
Forces, for various reasons. They're very gullible, no matter how many
Ethereal Forces they have, and generally cowardly. (Unless told they are
brave...)
Celestially, Fraggim do lend credence to the "inside out Balseraph" theory
-- they are vaguely ameboid, blind, pallid worms. They have a mouth to
speak with, and apparently hear just fine, but that's it. If you tell one
that it's a member of another Band, it starts to adopt vague, pathetic
elements of that Band. (Some say -- accurately, as it happens -- that a
Fragment who spends too long pretending to be another Band will _turn into_
that Band. It's been known to happen, though most cases are suspected
Interventions.)
Corporeally, a Fraggite is whatever it's told to be. WHATEVER.
Resonance
Like the Serpents, a Fragment has a resonance for lies -- the lies told to
_it_. It can't activate its resonance itself, though. That requires someone
else, who knows its true name and can drag it back to some semblance of
objective reality before plunging it into a delusion again.
Game Mechanics
First, you take your Fragment, and discover its true name. This usually
requires being _told_ it -- either by the Fragment itself while its in Hell
and before it's been used, or by the Friendly Prince, Malphas.
Then you win a Contest of Wills with it. Torturing the Fragment subtracts
from its Will -- the penalties are up to the GM.
Finally, once it's admitted what it is, summoned to reality for a moment by
its true name, you tell it what it's going to become.
A Fragment is the only being who can effectively "create" a long-term Role.
The Symphony treats it as having a Role of a level of the "handler's"
successful Will roll, for purposes of disturbance. While paperwork is not
affected, everyone who comes into contact with the en-Roled Fragment feels
that they should treat it as what it is pretending to be. A Fragment who is
a teacher can walk into the school it "teaches at," "remind" the (real)
teacher that _this_ is _its_ class, and take over. (The Knowledge skill for
the subject is even provided with the Role!)
However, a Fragment in a Role is nearly as unaware of its true nature as a
Remnant. When in the presence of celestials, it has appropriate instincts,
and generally recognizes the being who gave it its last identity. But Songs
and other supernatural abilities are usually out of the question unless the
attunement works automatically (as the Factions Band Attunement for them
does) or they're told they can use that ability as part of their identity
briefing.
Fraggies who are told that they are members of a Band do _not_ get that
Band's resonance, unfortunately.
Strikingly, Fragments do not appear to have a dissonance condition. It's
not that it breaks them to "break Role," or not obey someone who has their
true name, it's that they _can't_. To this extent, they lack free will.
A Fragment _can_ be redeemed, though. Strangely, none have ever had more
than 8 Forces afterward, and they redeem into... relievers. If left to
fledge on their own, they often turn into Kyriotates; if given some
guidance or fledged by the Archangel, they can be _anything_. Even Malakim.
Factions' Band Attunement
To better help Fragments in their work, Malphas grants them split
personalities! When faced with a situation that the Role can't handle, the
Fragment will switch to a personality which seems able to cope. They get
three of them, with the Forces _moved around_ to emphasize that
personality! For example, a 2/2/1 Fraggie, in its Role as Shara March, is
confronted with a Malakite of Creation who takes exception to some of the
stains upon "Shara's" honor. The Fragment shifts into its "corporeal
combat" personality, and its very Forces shift to 3/1/1 to emphasize
Strength and Agility. (The player decides how the moved Force will
distribute itself between the characteristics.) When Shara's vessel is
beaten to nigh-death, the "celestial combat" personality takes over, and
the Fragment goes celestial, its Forces shifting to 1/1/3. (Having become
highly damaged celestially, it then flees to its Heart...)
(To be clear: each Fragment of Malphas has, potentially, 4 personalities.
The main one is the Role one, and the other 3 are for combat, or other
high-stress situations. It switches to one of the 3 sub-personalities when
the player and/or GM think it appropriate.)
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EDG <[email protected]>
In Nomine Collection Curator