(By Michael Walton)
Many who followed Michael did so because they fell victim to the first Balseraph's Resonance. David followed him out of personal loyalty. The former Archangel of Stone had long admired how Heaven's Champion had inspired others to achieve their best. David also liked the way that Michael had no time for pretense or false modesty. Michael's assertion about how Humans and their abuse of free will caused the worst problems of the Corporeal Realm were, in David's mind, the most convincing argument of all. Nor is the appreciation one way; Michael's rebellion enjoyed much of its success because David was just a good at inspiring loyalty as he was at feeling it. When a third of the Host Fell, more than a few did so in order to follow David. This fact keeps the Prince of Assimilation in Michael's good graces.
David was Michael's first general and one of the first demons to be given a Principality. With the unifying aspects of Stone subsumed into the Word of Assimilation David was the perfect choice to monitor Hell's unity. Michael gave the Unifier broad enforcement powers and the power of life and death over any demon short of a Prince (this naturally makes Assimilators very unpopular with the rest of the Horde). David organizes his demons into a paramilitary Collective with a strict chain of command.even stronger -- loyalty. David expects rank-and-file Servitors to respect those of higher station and higher-ranking demons to motivate their underlings with inspiration rather than intimidation. David leads by example; he is the most charismatic being in Hell after Michael himself. Those who won't get with the program are sometimes invited to transfer into the service of one of David's allied Princes but more often have their Forces transferred into David's person. He is, after all, the Prince of Assimilation.
David's method of dealing with humanity is simple. There are far too many Humans for Hell to effectively reach them one at a time. It's more efficient to influence groups. Assimilators give Humans reasons to band together and then corrupt the groups. Having larger groups assimilate smaller ones is a logical extension of this process. Eventually David plans to unify the entire world under one banner. When all Humans are marching to the same drummer, it will only take one drum to lead them into Hell.
DISSONANCE
An Assimilator cannot encourage individuality by leading others to be themselves. The demon must lead others to conform to the ways of a group. It is also Dissonant to disobey the spirit or the letter of an order given by a superior officer within the Collective. In the case of conflicting orders it is Dissonant to disobey the orders of the highest ranking Assimilator. David routinely destroys any of his demons who accumulate too much Dissonance or Discord and rewards his Servitors for policing each other in this manner. For this reason Assimilation has the lowest Redemption rate in Hell.
BAND ATTUNEMENTS
Balseraphim
David's Liars are his evangelists and demagogues. They add their
Celestial Forces to the TN of any attempt to persuade a group of people to
espouse an opinion, join an organization or support a cause.
Djinn (Partially Restricted)
A Stalker of Assimilation inspires loyalty. The demon has a +1 Charisma
bonus that only applies to dealing with a being whom he is Attuned to or
has purchased as a Servant (the bonuses are cumulative if the demon
Attunes to a Servant). David enjoys a larger Charisma bonus when dealing
with his demons.
Calabim (Restricted)
Destroyers of the Collective have the frightening power to destroy
individuality. When using her Resonance the demon can choose to suppress
personality instead of doing damage. The target of a successful attack
will be incapable of original thought. All traces of behavior -- speech
patterns, body language, food preferences, morals, etc. -- that are
outside the norm for whatever group the target is currently surrounded by
are erased. This effect persists for a number of hours equal to the CD of
the Calabite's Resonance roll. The target can resist with a Will roll
(Celestials and Ethereals add their Ethereal Forces). This technically
destructive use of Resonance does not Disturb the Symphony.
Habbalah (Restricted)
These Punishers can overwhelm their victims with a powerful desire to
belong; the target of this emotion will want to be part of a group and
will have an intense fear of being alone. Inflicting Belonging follows
the normal game mechanics for the Habbalite Resonance except that the
duration is doubled. Habbalah of Assimilation don't suffer backlash if an
attempt to inflict Belonging fails.
Honorium (Restricted)
This power is why Hell's inquisitors are so rightly feared. In addition
to the information normally gained from their Resonance David's Honorium
know how loyal the subject is to the group that he owes primary allegiance
to. The CD is the guide for how much detail the demon gets; on a 1 he may
only get, "the subject is dissatisfied with the group," while a 6 might
reveal that, "the subject will kill to get free of his boss." David uses
his Honorium to monitor the loyalty of the Horde in general and the
Collective in particular.
Dark Lilim (Restricted)
A Daughter of Assimilation has the ability to make a joiner out of
anybody. When she uses a Geas to make someone join a group the target
resists at a penalty equal to the Lilim's Celestial Forces. If the target
would've considered joining that group anyway the Lilim's arguments are
even more persuasive; the victim's player must make a second resistance
roll and keep the less favorable result. There are very few Tempters in
the Collective because of the innate conflict between their free-spirited
nature and the Word of Assimilation.
Shedim (Restricted)
David's Shedim need not corrupt a Host if they can get him to join a
group. Instead they can drive him to progressively greater acts of
conformity. These Shedim can ride a Host for a very long time, but they
prefer to jump between members of a group and make them one-up each other
with acts of loyalty.
Impudites
While David's Liars know how to work a crowd, his Takers operate one on
one. An Impudite of Assimilation can play the Celestial Song of Opening
on a single person without disturbing the Symphony (effecting additional
targets creates a normal Disturbance). The demon gets free levels of the
Song equal to her Celestial Forces. Most of David's Impudites prefer
female Vessels.
Skulkers
As the demons who are closest to the material world the Collective's
Skulkers embody the material aspect of Assimilation. They can permanently
meld two items into a single item with a successful skill roll (Artistry:
Sculpture for most items, Engineering for machines). The hybrid item has
the combined functions and Body Hits of both components and looks like
whichever component is larger -- the bigger item assimilates the smaller
one. Some traces of the smaller item's appearance may remain. This power
doesn't work on Artifacts, living things or anything larger than a car but
it does work on items that have already been combined in this fashion.
Every item included in the meld after the first two imposes a -1 penalty
to the TN of the sculpting roll. Melding takes (10 - CD of the sculpting
roll) x 5 minutes to complete. A failed sculpting roll ruins both items
beyond repair.
SERVITOR ATTUNEMENTS
Conform
An Assimilator with this power can shame others into toeing the line.
The demon makes an Emote roll to achieve the desired effect. The target
resists with a Will roll at a penalty equal to the demon's Celestial
Forces. Conform may only be used to enforce the norms of a group that
both the demon and the target belong to (infiltrating counts as belonging
for this purpose). Celestials and Ethereals add their Ethereal Forces to
their resistance rolls. Elohim add their Celestial Forces as well.
David makes liberal use of this Attunement when reprimanding his
Servitors.
One of Us
The demon must know the Celestial Song of Form in order to benefit from
this Attunement. The demon can play the Song at no Essence cost when
altering her Vessel to fit in with a group (i.e. switching gender for a
night out with the boys or changing ethnicity to visit Chinatown). The
effect lasts for up to (CD of the Song roll) hours; the demon can cancel
it at any time.
Ringer
When David needs a group infiltrated he sends one of his Ringers. Each of
these demons has a pool of 10 CP with which to purchase a temporary Role
with appropriate skills (this can increase existing skills) and Status.
Once the assignment is over the Role fades away and the demon forgets any
skills that he gained from it. The demon may purchase this Attunement
multiple times to increase the size of the CP pool.
Well of Wisdom
David's Word also includes the ability to assimilate information. A demon
with this Attunement learns skills at an accelerated rate. The number of
time parts is equal to 7 - the demon's Ethereal Forces. The size of the
time parts varies according to how many Celestial Forces the demon has:
1-2 = hours, 3-4 = minutes, 5-6 = seconds. Within that time the demon can
learn as many levels of the skill as he has CP to pay for.
DISTINCTIONS
Knight of Conformity
David's Knights can use the Conform Attunement on as many people as are
within a radius of (Corporeal Forces x 5) yards. This is cumulative with
the Balseraph of Assimilation Attunement.
Captain of Combination
An Assimilator must first have the Dark Grigori of Assimilation Attunement
before gaining this Distinction. Collective Captains can combine items as
per David's Skulker Attunement except that they can do it instantly. The
Essence cost is 1 + the total number of items in the final meld.
Baron of Unity
David only has a handful of Barons. They are all Word-bound demons of
great personal power and charisma. A Baron of Unity automatically becomes
the dominant party in the merger when he plays the Celestial Song of
Unity, thus eliminating any penalties from indecisiveness. The Baron
clearly remembers everything that transpires during the Song's effect.
The Distinction grants the demon free levels of the Song equal to his
Celestial Forces if he doesn't already know it.
HIGHER DISTINCTIONS
The only Higher Distinction that David offers is that of General. Generals have no added powers; the office carries greater responsibility and authority within the Collective. Each General is also granted a unique Rite upon gaining the office. The most important fringe benefit is that no other Assimilator can command the demon or countermand his orders save for David himself. David's five Generals are all Word-bound Songmasters who have earned all three of his lesser Distinctions and multiple Band Attunements.
BASIC RITES
-Convince someone to join a group
-Reveal a traitor
-Spend an hour speaking in support of a cause
RELATIONS
David isn't truly hostile to any other Prince; that would be contrary to Hell's solidarity and thus his Word. He does have strong opinions about who serves Hell best, however. He appreciates how Khalid's fanatics would lay down their lives for a cause. David also admires Zadkiel's skill at enmeshing Humans in tight relationships. David realizes the importance of negotiation and exchange and therefore acknowledges Marc's place in the War. He doesn't think much of the self-reliance that Novalis encourages or of Litheroy and his chaotic band of conspiracy busters. The Unifier sees Condemnation as divisive while Dominic resents the fact that David is in charge of monitoring loyalty within the Horde. David reserves his strongest disapproval for Blandine's efforts to isolate Humans within their own minds.
Allied: Khalid, Zadkiel
Associated: Marc
Hostile: Dominic, Litheroy, Novalis
Enemy: Blandine
CHANCE OF INVOCATION: 3
It's relatively easy to get David's attention. Wanting it is another matter. Any Servitor who wastes the Unifier's time risks being assimilated into David's personal Forces.
INVOCATION MODIFIERS
+1 A clearly-defined group of five or more Mortals
+2 A living colonial organism (a coral, a beehive, etc.)
+3 Within earshot of passionate oratory
+4 A crowd (or mob) united in common cause
+6 A relic of the first army