INTRODUCTION: A Step Into the Dark

So we've all seen the Introduction section in the PDF, so I'm going to start this thread by posting the newest things I have written for this chapter, which brings it pretty close to being 100% finished now.

If anybody else wants me to re-post anything from this or any other chapter, let me know and I can do that for you.

First order of business...

I felt the need to explain our intentions before the reader even gets into the book too far, does that make me look guilty? This is a side-bar I put on page 2 of the Introduction.

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The Fans Must be Crazy

You're probably thinking it right now, aren't you: “a whole book on Abyss Mysticism? You're kidding me, right? Aren't two whole sourcebooks on Blood Magic enough, without making another one—almost as big—about the most obscure and rare form of Cainite Sorcery of them all?”
Well, first of all, no—apparently—and second of all: Realms of Darkness: The Guide to Abyss Mysticism was never intended to be the size or cover the scope of material that it does. What started out as a simple “pamphlet” for the scarcely-covered theme of Abyss Mysticism continually presented us with—what we felt were—a plethora of amazing new ideas and options for Storytellers and players alike.
So, with that and the fact that there is little definitive “fluff” for Abyss Mysticism firmly in mind, Grey Jackal Fan-Supplements has decided to present you, the reader, with most of our ideas—but in a “tool-kit” fashion. This way, we hope, other gamers find it easier to use, alter or ignore as much or as little as they want when adding Abyssal elements to their character or Chronicle.
We tried our best to remain within the Classic World of Darkness' canon as much as possible, but we also understand that each and every Story told has its own, unique, individual “canon.” Hopefully, all who read this Guide will be able to find some sort of inspiration to be included in their games and keep them feeling new, even after 20 years.

I also added this to the following section:

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Recommended Reading
The stories of H. P. Lovecraft, author of such horror and sci-fi classics as Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Colour From Space. Admittedly not easy reading, still, the state-of-mind, perspective and warped imagination necessary to contemplate such alien, Abyssal concepts as the ones in this Guide can be found in abundance in Lovecraft's amazing writings.

And finally, I started the Lexicon, but there's probably a handful of words we may need to toss in there later.

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Lexicon

Here is a list of words and terms commonly used by Abyss mystics and those who know of them. While not an exhaustive list (of course), this should at least be helpful in familiarizing oneself with the concepts and ideas behind Abyss Mysticism.
Abyssal: of or pertaining to the realm of darkness—commonly referred to as the Abyss—that the Lasombra purportedly derive their Obtenebrous powers from.
Abyss mystic: 1) any Cainite who practices Blood Magic based upon the supernatural powers of Obtenebration; 2) any supernatural (or mortal) who studies or practices arts based upon the Abyss.
Abyss Mysticism: put simply, a form of kindred Blood Magic based around the virtually unheard-of mystical aspect of the Discipline of Obtenebration.
Abyss Realm: a realm located deep within the spirit-world, or Umbra that shares similarities with the Abyss in more ways than its name.
Abyss, the: 1) the realm of eternal darkness and nothingness that apparently only Clan Lasombra can access through their Discipline of Obtenebration; 2) Alternatively, the Biblical prison in which the Creator originally imprisoned the Demons.
Ahriman: the supreme evil spirit in Persian Zoroastrianism and diabolical opponent of Ormazd (Ahura Mazda).
Ahura Mazda: the creative deity in Persian Zoroastrianism; embodiment of good and opponent of Ahriman; also called Ormuzd or Ormazd.
Angra Mainyu: the Zoroastrian destructive spirit; akin to Ahriman.
Friends of the Night: a secretive, mostly anonymous “inner circle” of influential Lasombra; by virtue of their deeds and clout alone they serve as a sort of ruling body.
Lasombra: one of the 13 clans of vampires supposedly descendant from Caine; traditionally known for their shadow-based powers and almost universal lack of any reflection.
Mystic: 1) generally, anyone with an interest or experience with the occult; 2) in the context used in this book, most often an Abyss mystic.
Obtenebration: the trademark shadow-based powers of Clan Lasombra of the Sabbat.
Tenebrous: shadowy; of or pertaining to shadows, darkness or the Discipline of Obtenebration.
Zarathustra: another name for Zoroaster.
Zoroaster: founder of Zoroastrianism; time and place of birth unknown, but commonly attributed to Persia/Greater Iran around the first half of the 2nd Century BC, but speculated to be anywhere between 6000-100 BC.
Zoroastrianism: a monotheistic religion founded by Zoroaster, which revered a Creator-deity named Ahura Mazda, a deity of Wisdom, above all others and as the source of all that is good, with a separate and distinct antithetic source for all that is bad and evil.

Just a heads up with the Lexicon Angra Mainyu is Ahriman.
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan version.
Ahriman is the Middle Persian version.

hey ctunks, glad to have you with us! =)

thanks for the heads up. but I have a question: are they literally the SAME, as in 1 being with 2 names, or are they two individual beings that a very similar (like Zeus and Jupiter, Mars and Ares, etc.)?

or, if they are the same, would that then mean that it's one being with 1 name that sounds different in two different languages? (or perhaps he had 2 different names throughout time?)

I just want to be clear before I go telling other people how it is, heh.

I added one more title to the "Inspirational Media" section, too:

Recommended Reading

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The Darkness (comic book series), created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis and David Wohl, tells the story of former Mafia hitman Jackie Estacado and his being host to an ageless, sentient primal force known as The Darkness. This power is an elemental force that allows its host nearly limitless power while in the dark, superhuman physical and mental attributes, and a mystical body armor. It also grants him access to an otherworldly dimension and control over the demons who dwell there, as well as the ability to create and control anything he desires, including sentient beings, though anything he creates will crumble to dust in the light. Finally, beyond the above, obvious reasons, Jackie himself, as a former hitman, is a merciless druglord and can kill with hesitation or remorse; the only thing keeping him from being purely evil is his true love, as well as his love for his daughter and others. Jackie has a dark and not-quite-evil—but definitely not “good”—mindset that should be quite inspirational when determining Abyssal Moralities.

Gattison wrote:

hey ctunks, glad to have you with us! =)

thanks for the heads up. but I have a question: are they literally the SAME, as in 1 being with 2 names, or are they two individual beings that a very similar (like Zeus and Jupiter, Mars and Ares, etc.)?

or, if they are the same, would that then mean that it's one being with 1 name that sounds different in two different languages? (or perhaps he had 2 different names throughout time?)

I just want to be clear before I go telling other people how it is, heh.

That's where it gets a little complicated, I'm only going off of Wikipedia entries here for most of the part, but from what's written Ahriman is only referred to as Angra Mainyu in Avestan, which itself is only used in Zoroastrian scripture. So as far as I can tell they both reference the same being, just in different languages, similar to how Zarathustra is pronounced as Zoroaster via the Greek translation.

well, back to work...

thanks again for all your help ctuncks. Always appreciated.

As for business:

Should we also reference "weaker" shadow-reference movies?
- Like in Ninja Assassin, the ninjas looked like they had some sort of shadow-traveling technique
- In Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, there was an enemy (Bengei) who truly did display some Obtenebrous abilities
- ...I want to swear I had a third example, but two's enough... meh, idk

Good Idea? Bad Idea?

doesn't really matter to me. I guess any type of inspiration could be helpful. Is there anything else for this chapter that needs to be done or is it finished?

I actually already snuck in a paragraph containing Ninja Assassin, Vampire Hunter D and also Ninja Scroll without telling anyone.

As for this Chapter, yes, it is pretty much done unless somebody says something.