The Order of Seraphim

[Rechan]

I was sitting in Western Humanities class (A philosophy class on old stuff), and the lecture was on Monastic lifestyles. The roll of the Western Monk, the mindset, the rules, all that good stuff. And I sat, and I had the idea for something.

 

Not a 'Super Monk', but someone with super powers heading a monk order. His name would be Seraphim, because monks try to be much like the earth-bound angel; they sing, they have vows of chastity, they are poor, serve god, etc. This individual would have powers he believes ordaned by god, because he precieves they are a gift for he is a saint. He's not demented, nor zealotous, simply accepting.

 

And then I was thinking how this was going to relate to my campaign in MC. I mean, he's not a very offensive individual, and he'd likely just found his monastery and be rather secluded. First, let me mention where, what his monastery is.

 

It's set up in the old sewer tunnels that were still around after the destruction of Detroit. I know, 'Sewer dwellers, oooOoo, original'. Well, here's my thinking.

 

Seraphim has founded his monestary, in the sewers and maintenance tunnels of MC. His persuit is to help the city, help those that Jesus had helped: The poor. Seraphim founds his monastery, and begins helping the homeless, aiding them, and he begins to get a following. And decides he has got to do something about this, and founds the monastery.

 

Note, he is not a villain. No, he is a Good guy. This isn't a cult, but a humanitarian effort. But Seraphim's monks start to work for 'Bettering' the city, in slow ways. Helping those who need help, even those who won't convert; feeding the homeless, building shelters, doing the work without thanks. And eventually, perhaps defending those who cannot defend themselves. This would be relatively unheard of; they would be doing it by the shadow of night, and the media, the world wouldnt be fully aware of their presence.

 

I thought this might make an interesting 'colorful flavor' for MC. What do you guys think?

[Rechan]

Anyone?

[MarkusDark]

If you like it, use it in your world. I never really answer such questions as everyone's taste varies. What it comes down to is if you enjoy it, it means you'll enjoy working on it and running it and, in turn, it will be more enjoyable for your players.

[The Mad GM]

In general I like the idea of providing an alternate model for the concept of 'hero'. I have a couple of non-combatant NPC supers in my world, one who runs a bar and another who provides healing to basically anyone. The idea of an organization that provides invisible help is cool - but eventually it won't be invisible. Word will get out. It might make an interesting focus of a game to try to investigate a reported kidnapping (abused child who ran away and is being tended by the monks), then decide whether or not to expose them, then either helping them stay hidden or what-have-you. Or if some villain tries to expose or exploit them in some way, or the leader gets kidnapped, or any number of things.

 

And a small warning: one campaign I was in crashed and burned because of religious issues, and if 'Seraphim' is claiming his powers come from God and is operating in the context of a religious order, then it may offend some players. You know your group, so it's your decision. I myself would probably go ahead with it, but be cognizant of the possibility of tension.

[Rechan]

Well, I was really asking if it just sounded Okay, or if it had serious holes and I was just inhaling to many fumes.

 

And yeah, I don't see these guys as combatants. Yes, they can offer to help those in need, and that may be in a self-defensive manner, but no, not normally combatant.

 

And you know, Seraphim doesn't have to be Christian. It simply FITS the concept, but I'd have to take a look at the Eastern religions and their monk orders, first.

 

Another thought I had considered was that Seraphim's group finds a weapon stashed away from Doctor Destroyer's days. And what do they do? They sit on it. Because Seraphim doesn't trust anyone enough to Give it to them, so he takes it as his job to keep that weapon out of no one's hands. He doesn't know how to dismantle it, but he can sure as heck protect it.

 

And of course when folks start looking for it...

[Trebuchet]

Originally posted by Rechan

And you know, Seraphim doesn't have to be Christian. It simply FITS the concept, but I'd have to take a look at the Eastern religions and their monk orders, first.

 

Another thought I had considered was that Seraphim's group finds a weapon stashed away from Doctor Destroyer's days. And what do they do? They sit on it. Because Seraphim doesn't trust anyone enough to Give it to them, so he takes it as his job to keep that weapon out of no one's hands. He doesn't know how to dismantle it, but he can sure as heck protect it.

 

And of course when folks start looking for it...

 

I think it's a neat idea. Given the name, Seraphim would almost have to be Christian. But it could be a very generic Christian. ("Bless you, my son. God will heal you.")

 

The superweapon idea sounds cool, sorta like an order of monks hiding King Arthur's sword Excaliber until a sufficient crisis looms. (Perhaps it's the one weapon that can stop an alien invasion in your campaign.) Introduce him in a very minor way, and just have him show up once in a while when a hero or villain gets seriously injured. You can reveal more each time he pops up. Perhaps a PC taken underground to be healed accidentally sees the Ultimate Weaponâ„¢ while he's convalescing, but doesn't realize what it is.

[JmOz]

I like the idea, and I think I will Ste...BORROW it (with some twists)

[Rechan]

Cool, people like it!

 

Well, I can certainly see him Christian, but with an eastern bent too. He'll be following your standard Monastic Order rules, with a little change here and there (Instead of doing manual labor, the monks do craftswork and help other people).

 

I will definetly introduce him, slowly if need be. Homeless wearing robes, or trying to sell candles, or helping others, and work my way up. The PCs group funder openned a large homeless shelter, so that'd be the place to start.

[Trebuchet]

Originally posted by Rechan

Cool, people like it!

 

Well, I can certainly see him Christian, but with an eastern bent too. He'll be following your standard Monastic Order rules, with a little change here and there (Instead of doing manual labor, the monks do craftswork and help other people).

 

The medieval Cathars of southern France were a Christian heresy that practiced many of those concepts. Priests were expected to support themselves through their own labor, so they were often noted craftsmen and herbalists. Because they did not acknowledge the primacy of the Roman Catholic church in Rome, they were exterminated in a series of "crusades" between 1209 and 1244 AD authorized by pope Innocent III. They were often falsely accused of many of the same atrocities as the Jews were: Consorting with Satan, witchcraft, etc.

 

It's interesting that many of their religious concepts were "rediscovered" and used by the Protestants. Nowadays, if the Cathars still existed, they would probably be considered a moderate mainstream Protestant denomination.

 

An excellent book on the subject is The Perfect Heresy by Stephen O'Shea.

[Lord Liaden]

Sounds like a worthwhile "support group" for the PCs, especially if Seraphim's powers include healing abilities - as long as they're sufficiently limited, or Seraphim himself is sufficiently hard to reach, that the PCs won't come running to him every time they scrape their knuckles. One of the monks of the order would make a good Contact: they're bound to know a lot of what goes on on the street, and people would likely confide in them more than they would to the average snitch.

 

If the monks do take it upon themselves to protect the poor from harm, and they are influenced by Eastern teachings, it might be appropriate for them to learn a "passive" Martial Art like Aikido. Something that doesn't do direct damage, but controls or redirects the force used by others: Martial Dodge, Block, Throw, Grab, Disarm, etc.

 

Since Seraphim is essentially a religious figure dedicated to benevolent works, it would be appropriate for him to attract a particularly malevolent anti-religious Hunted. Black Paladin or Dark Seraph, for example, would probably seek him out to destroy or humiliate him, once Seraphim's existence began to be known. The PCs might be drawn into protecting Seraphim and his order from this menace.

 

This last brings up one point worth clarifying: "Seraphim" is actually the name for a whole order of angels, the singular being "Seraph". Perhaps the latter could be the name for the super-powered founder of the order, which as a whole could be called "the Seraphim".

[tmutant]

You might want to feel out your players on the religious issues, but it sounds like a good concept to me. If there is no other explanation for how superpowers came to be, then God may be as good an answer as any.

[Rechan]

Well, I don't intend to Name the 'Order' after him. He wouldn't choose that; that's a touch too arrogant. I thought 'Seraphim' was the angel, hrm. Damn. I liked the name 'Seraphim'. Oh well. Guess another name is needed.

 

And yes, I was thinking something like that. A combination of Benedictean Christian Monks and an Eastern influence.

 

And, I don't plan on him being very 'I'll heal everyone!" This isn'ta D&D cleric. That, and the fact that one of the PCs is a ruthless killer who's been 'converted' by having an explosive tracer inserted into his spine by a third party who tells him to 'Be Nice, play my puppet, or boom', Seraphim may not like him much.

 

And, I'm pretty sure my players won't mind. I briefed them when I started the game about various mature themes and they were all cool with it.

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Rechan

Well, I don't intend to Name the 'Order' after him. He wouldn't choose that; that's a touch too arrogant. I thought 'Seraphim' was the angel, hrm. Damn. I liked the name 'Seraphim'. Oh well. Guess another name is needed.

 

Hey, I didn't mean to make you dump a name you like just for the sake of grammatical accuracy. It's easy to justify giving him the name Seraphim: perhaps he believes his powers are a gift from the Seraphim, or he likes to say "the blessing of the Seraphim be upon you", and his followers start using it to refer to him (and not necessarily to his face).

 

There's really no issue of the order being named after him - "Seraph" and "Seraphim" are pre-existing designations. It's not like their leader is St. Francis and his followers are Franciscans. If the various Brothers and/or Sisters of the order refer to their group as "the Order of the Seraphim", that doesn't necessarily refer to their leader, even if he's called Seraphim.

 

Gosh, now I'm afraid of being an inadvertant killjoy.

[Rechan]

Well, the point was brought up that he wouldnt' name Himself an angel or such. But yes, I figure the name could simply be adopted due to his followers.

 

All the Saints had their own names, and likely he would adopt the name Benedict (after the writer of Benedict's rule, a book that set the rules for Monastic life in the Western world). But his followers could easily adopt the name for him, and he doesn't disregard it; he is angelic in a way.

 

It's cool; I just had to alter my idea from 'Dude who calls himself Seraphim starting a monestary with the homeless' but instead 'Dude who helps the homeless starts to get a following, and then he's gotta figure out what the hell to do with all of them, and thus thus'.

 

It's cool.