Tal'Mahe'Ra

Alright, it's been a while, but I'm hoping for assistance with the Tal book for Grey Jackal. We'll handle this like we have the Abyss book, Gattison wrote, as per content etc. All ideas will be voted on, but I'm reserving veto power for what is included as main content versus side-bar options. I'm not looking to be a tyrant in regards to this, mainly I simply feel that if we have a main theme that we work with within the book we'll have something substantial to play with conceptually, rather than simply a huge collection of sidebars.
The book itself is going to be a giant toolbox with a disclaimer stating such at the beginning, essentially if you don't like one of the main concepts presented in the book simply ignore it or run with one of the alternate ideas from the sidebars.

I'm not certain about chapter and layout yet, but the bulk of the book will consist of a revision of the Tal'Mahe'Ra, a development and fleshing out of the Inconnu, an explanation and development of the Soul-Eaters concept, followed by a chronicle scenario "Necropolis: Enoch".

Tal: My original re-conception of the Tal can be found here: http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=58191 I'm going to likely heavily revise some of the ideas I originally put down, but by n large this is what I'm hoping to run with thematically for this section.
- What I need mostly is for someone to go through all the comments on the thread and organize the suggestions into a list of what to look into and what to develop.

Inconnu: Includes updated Mummy, as well as a precisely laid out
Mettaplot timeline that includes all contradictions in the timeline,
with brief NPC discussions on the contradictions, similar to the
discussions in the Book of Nod.

The Inconnu in theory will
consist of various small united factions of ‘retired’ Kindred who agree
on non-aggression and non-interference in the greater Kindred community
and pursue their own private ends. They’re a faction of several smaller
factions/sects banded together in an alliance, akin to a small United
Nations, composed of Autarkus Elders, Infernalists, Golconda Seekers
with their Monitors remaining neutrally aligned recorders and observers
of the greater Kindred Community.
Factions include:

-The Abitus (Cappadocians, Salubri, Lamia and a few other 'dead' bloodlines)
-Angelis Altair (Lasombra Infernalist faction)
-The Apostles of Nergal (An Infernalist Faction)
-The Carthaginians (A Baali/Brujah faction)
-The Children of Osiris (Golconda seekers)
-Disciples of the Abyss (Abyss Mystics)
-The Mnemosyne/Jocastations (Kindred Scholars)
-Saulot’s Chosen (The Inconnu within the Lair of The Hidden supplement

Soul-Eaters: I already fleshed out (with Valismedson's advice) how I'd like to handle Vicissitude's origin in the Tal thread. I'll work on Dementation later (per sotry origin), but I'd like to touch on Obtenebration right now and run my concept here. On the Tal thread someone suggested Setites and Serpentis for the soul-eaters, given advanced Serpentis powers. After looking and deliberating on this concept I felt it didn't work, but I also discovered that for some weird unexplained reason Setites have been vilified as 'corruptors' for aeons, and Serpentis as a discipline was viewed with suspicion. With some brainstorming I came up with the following explanation:


Set
(Lasombra) is embraced by a 2nd Gen and founds the original clan Lasombra.
He becomes corrupted by the abyss, while focusing on the creation of a
Sorcerous path that later transforms into Obtenebration, which he teaches his
clan. Discovering he is transforming
into (what would later be termed) a Soul-Eater, via this path he founds a cult
to look into the problem for him (the original Setites) they develop Serpentis
to combat the menace, and begin recruiting both in-clan and out of clan
Cainites.
In their research they conclude that the only way to prevent Set from losing
his soul is to separate him from his curse; Set implants his beast into Enkidu
(see Red List book), and tears his soul away into a new body -becoming the
first bane mummy, then subsequently he falls into endless slumber.
Lasombra leads the other clans against the Setites, and claims they're
corruptors (hiding the fact that he is actually the corruptor/souleater). Lasombra (now fully the Soul-Eater separate
from Set) is the entity that was diablerized by Gratiano.

To boil it down the 4th Gen Setites were originally Lasombra -pre Soul-Eater, essentially
a cult, eventually with the death/endless slumber of Set they were splintered
into a bloodline that grew into a Clan.

The Setites seek a means to 'resurrect' Set i.e. find a way to Awaken the
Antediluvian, assuming that by restoring his former power by unifying him with
his curse (Soul-Eater), through re-unification of his Beast (contained in
Enkidu) with the Mummy. Believing that
the power he has acquired as a Mummy would prevent further corruption by the
Soul-Eater he had purged, simultaneously allowing him to harness and wield the
Abyss without consequence.


Regarding Assamites and Haqim’s reported control of
the blood of his childer/or manifesting himself through his own blood (it’s
vaguely insinuated in Canon), I'm thinking Haqim is immune to the threat of
Corruption, due to the peculiarities of his control over his own blood/soul. Having that be the case helps to reinforce
the Tal-Assamite alliance, as well as the Tal and Assamite vs Setite war and
hatred (Setites were the first Soul-Eaters).

'Necropolis: Enoch': I'm figuring that Enoch appears back with the Aralu but none of the Tal that were in the city, and it's one of the only free-standing structures in the underworld that isn't ravaged by the Great Maelstrom. All wraiths are still Spectres etc, and Grand-Ma from Orpheus still happens on a different plane.

The premise of the Citybook is the rediscovery of Enoch, Player's play as recruits of Izhm and Roderico the Nagaraja in order to explore it. Enoch itself in the scenario was brought forward in time via massive amounts of Temporis, all the active Tal used every last drop of their blood to pay the cost of transporting the city forward, right before it was destroyed in Canon. The library is intact, and the Aralu etc, but the Abomination, Mages, and Mummy are all dead.

Thanks =)

I believe we have to think very carefully about the Souleaters, conceptually. Especially what it does to the setting to make so many Clans susceptible to being part of the infestation.

Also, I think that presenting it as a fact and presenting it as a conspiracy believed by some is also a distinction we should talk about.

I thought we already went over this in the thread? + the companion includes the Soul-Eaters and describes them in the general in complimentary fashion to how I've developed them.

Soul-Eaters and the Shadow Crusade have been a main them of the Tal since the onset of that book, even earning a sidebar with mechanics in revised Sabbat for Vicissitude as a Disease. How I handled 'Blights' does not impede on the canon at all, if you don't want it to. Pretty much how Soul Eaters are handled and when they come up is exclusively within campaigns that incorporate a Tal-Centric coterie, or if an ST wants to incorporate that element for a plot-hook.

Perhaps you could elucidate as to why and how you feel Soul-Eaters haven't been handled fairly, or how my elaboration damages the setting?