THE BITTER FALLEN 1

lessed Siem and mad Ilvir make different pacts with their
followers, but the other Kethiran churches teach that if a
follower obeys the tenets laid down by their god then they will
enjoy the eternal afterlife they have been promised. This is, in
part, true. Most of the population of Yashain are embodied
souls of departed Kethirans with no memory of their former life. Most are
judged worthy of entry into the afterlife, but not for eternity. When these
mortals die their memories of Yashain are stripped away with their
physical bodies and they are reincarnated on Kethira, and the wheel turns.
Only the most pious Kethirans are granted life eternal on Yashain. They
are those whose devotion in life consumed their every waking moment,
their every effort, and every action. The most potent Kethiran warriors
become the immortal generals of the gods; the most pious Kethirans serve
at their deitys right hand; and the greatest among these are elevated to the
pantheon of demi-gods, saints and demons that surround each celestial
throne.

THE BITTER FALLEN

The exile of the deceitful among the Fallen crushes most of them, but
others discover a reason to survive. They blame their god and its followers
for their fall from grace and seek redress. These are the Bitter Fallen.
They sustain the appearance of power by squeezing emotion from the
common folk of Yashain with confidence tricks and the shreds of potency
they retain. Some survive on this pretence for centuries as feared overlords
or capricious wizards. Sooner or later, though, the common people become
wise to their tricks or sicken of their tyranny. These Bitter Fallen are
harried away from their mortal prey, hunted, and some slain, to protect the
mortals of Yashain.
When the common folk turn against them the only source of sustenance
remaining to them is their own corporeal body. As this is consumed they
become little more than shadows of their former selves; shells of their once
ideal physical manifestations. They discover that while fear and loathing
are not as nourishing as love and devotion they do sate the hunger around
which their existence increasingly revolve. As their physical manifestations
crumble they begin to embody the very fears they now rely upon for
survival. Many of the legends of Yashain, tales of devils and vampires,
werewolves and the winter fey, can be traced to one of the Bitter Fallen,
their form twisted to reflect the fears of mortals.
The ideals they once epitomised mean nothing to the Bitter Fallen. The
noble Laranian, the proud Sarajinian and the scholarly Knorran become
indistinguishable from the violent Agrikan, the greedy Halean, and the
murderous Navehan. The Peonian now sucks up the life-force which
previously she dispensed; all resemble the insane Morgathian. Finally,
when they can maintain their forbidding manifestations no longer these
monsters seem to have no hope or future.
There are, though, portals across Yashain through which shreds of
Kethiran emotion leak into Yashain. Most of these portals are closely
guarded near the centre of a gods power and reserved for the use of
servants intervening on their behalf. There are, though, others; lost or
forgotten among the trackless deserts, the twisted forests, or the
treacherous mountains that fringe the realms of the gods. It is to these that
the Bitter Fallen are drawn. Most lack the will to complete their quest and
disperse until they are no more than whispers on the wind and random
HrnWorld

The Fallen
Yashains magical nature is a result of
the emotions and devotions of Kethirans.
Every prayer for the dead sends a morsel
of power to Yashain where the gods
harvest it. The great clerics and heroes
of the age are remembered in masses, on
feast days, and by those reading
celebrations of their lives. This generates
a steady flow of piety to the gods they
favoured. Every strong emotion felt or
expressed on Kethira imbues the very
fabric of Yashain with magic.
The power of the Kethiran gods is,
therefore, entirely dependent on the way
in which their once mortal servants are
remembered. The gods, in turn,
distribute the power they harvest to their
favourites in return for loyalty, advice,
and service. The way the servant is
remembered on Kethira consolidates
their power and position in the courts of
the gods.
What, though, of those who are, over the
ages, forgotten on Kethira? What of
those who are left behind by changes in
theology? What of those that fall from
grace when the devotion they harvest
ebbs away? These are the Fallen of
Yashain.
The less prideful among them accept that
they can no longer command sufficient
power to retain a place at the high table
of their god. They accept the life of a
mortal commoner, content to die a final,
even noble, death on Yashain. They
commend their soul back to their god
who may keep it on Yashain, send it to
be embodied anew on Kethira or, if they
are displeased, have Bukrai consume it.
Others among the Fallen filch power
from those around them and eke out the
appearance of potency until discovered
and exiled.

WRITER
Alun Rees
CONTRIBUTORS
Anders Bersten
Neil Thompson
Andy Gibson
Playtesters at IviniaCon &
the Harnwriter Group

A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2015

THE BITTER FALLEN 2

patterns in the dust of ages. Some others, fuelled by their bitter hatred,
succeed in their search.
Communities of a sort form around these portals where the strongest
Bitter Fallen consume the weakest. Sometimes they muster sufficient
power to cross into Kethira; the vilest spirits of Kethira are Bitter Fallen who
have escaped Yashain determined to exact payment for their suffering.

Lord of the Fallen*

He would be a King
Never satisfied
In your head

The less fortunate can only circle the portal and use their remaining
potency to entice unsuspecting Kethirans close enough to the other side for
their soul to be nibbled at or consumed. On the Kethiran side of the portal
these places develop evil reputations; places where people go to die. Any
mortal crossing into the arms of the Bitter Fallen can expect no mercy as
the creatures compete to rip their soul from their body before devouring
even that.

The self-styled Lord of the Fallen is only

ever encountered when riding a mortal
body. The body retains its original skills
but adds the following skills and stunts,
improving skills it already possesses to
these levels. While ridden the mortal
body ignores Fate Cores skill pyramid
rule:

POWERS AND MANIFESTATIONS

+6 Will (Influence: Spend a Fate Point

to ride within a mortals body and
change one of their Aspects to its
advantage (with a free invoke), for one
session), AND (Confuse: Spend a Fate
Point to leave misleading memories
within any mortal who suffers a point of
mental stress as a result of a successful
mental attack by the Lord using Will)

No two Bitter Fallen are the same; each has followed a unique path to
this nadir of existence and this has shaped them and their capabilities.
While they are all ethereal some Bitter Fallen can craft a physical
manifestation from materials with which they have a particular affinity.
Sometimes they can influence mortal perceptions to cloak themselves in an
illusion more attractive or convincing to a victim. Their objective is always
to generate fear or veneration, and therefore the emotion they need to
survive and to power the vestiges of the gifts granted by their god, though
perverted by their life path.

+5 Empathy (Identify weakness: +2

to identify and use a mortals aspect
against them)

Their physical or illusory manifestations can reflect mortal desires or

fears, memories of their life before their Fall, or parodies of the being they
once were. Others conflate all these influences in unpredictable ways.

+4 Rapport (Master of bargains: +2

when using Rapport to strike a bargain
or negotiate a desired outcome spending
a Fate Point to ignore a language barrier)

Lord of the Fallen

+3 Strength (Ignore the blow: Use

Strength to defend against Melee/Fight
attacks though the mortal body takes +1
damage on a tie)

This Bitter Fallen was a legendary master merchant known for his
uncanny ability to strike bargains and his ambition to be the best at what he
did. When he died Halea adopted him into her court where he became
ambassador to Agriks chief underling, Demon Pameshlu the Insatiable. He
used his gifts of empathy and rhetoric to survive and strengthen Haleas
reputation; in return she granted him gifts to influence those he met. Over
time he came to envy the power Pameshlu wielded, and struck a bargain
with the Demon. He would betray Haleas cause in return for power over
the mortals of a nearby kingdom. Inevitably Pameshlu betrayed him and he
fell from Haleas grace.
Escaping to a distant land far from both divine kingdoms he traded (and
stole); bargained (and lied), to gain positions of responsibility and the power
needed to use Haleas gifts. Alas his ambition and greed always led to
disaster: betrayal here; illegality there; and poisoned relationships
everywhere. He continued to survive on lies until a bounty placed on his
head forced him to flee civilisation. In the wilderness he sacrificed
everything to survive until it was released back into Kethira.
It gained the fealty of others of its kind when it found a way to release
them from Yashain. Unfortunately its tenuous control of these Bitter Fallen
is not enough to satisfy its desire for overlordship. It continues to seek
supremacy through the mortal puppets it can influence and through the
efforts of those other Bitter Fallen it can command. It is invariably involved
in a plot to grant it both an immortal body and mortal power.
A. Rees, N. Robin Crossby & Columbia Games Inc., 2015

+2 Endurance (Ignore the strain:

Once per session spend a Fate Point to
reduce the severity of a serious physical
consequence to mild, or remove a mild
consequence altogether)
+1 Intimidate
Weapon: As for the mortal body but at
+2 due to Strength.
Armour: As for the mortal body
Physical
(minm of)
Mental

Grievous
Mild

Serious

*see Fate of Harn and Fate Core for

an explanation of these statistics.

HrnWorld