Quote from: dindenver;322060But I mean if the campaign is about battling the Excrucians, you will make a different character than if the campaign is about the politics of rival Chancels, no?

Perhaps so, but in all likelihood you'll end up going against Excrucians in any case, since sooner or later you can expect them to assault the concepts entrusted to your care. That's the most probable reason why your character was ever granted Nobility: he's there to stop the attempted Excruciation of his Estates, in case the enemy manages to invade past the front line held by the Imperators. All Nobles serve as the last line of defence against the extinction of existence itself. That's the one responsibility which they must never forget. Noblesse oblige.

Thanks GG.
  I have never had it explained to me like that before. And I was not able to pick that up in the text (again, I was rushed).
  The way the powers worked fascinated me. I wish I could have played in that campaign more so I could pick up some of the intricacies of the mechanics...

Quote from: GrimGent;322059Oh, Entropy isn't going to fix the setting. He can't, really, since anything he touches will be corrupted beyond hope of healing, and the whole purpose of his existence seems to be to end the world when the proper time comes. But if the prophecy is to be believed, he will be the lynch-pin in the salvation of the universe at the end of the Great War.

Of course, not everyone believes in the prophecy. But again, if you are going to move against Entropy, you'll have to deal with those who do. It's quite possible to overthrow his reign, but it won't be easy. Where would the challenge be if it was?

You're talking a lot about the IC view of things but my major problem remains in the OOC view of things - to wit, that Lord Entropy is a blunt instrument NPC written into the setting to enforce a particular pattern of behaviour on the part of PCs. That's extraordinarily clumsy and ham-fisted of Borgstrom; it's the sort of thing utter newbie GMs do when they want to railroad the players.

Quote from: Warthur;322103You're talking a lot about the IC view of things but my major problem remains in the OOC view of things - to wit, that Lord Entropy is a blunt instrument NPC written into the setting to enforce a particular pattern of behaviour on the part of PCs.

As said, it all comes down to built-in conflict. In that respect, Entropy's presence is no different from the fact that the PCs by their very existence are going to be targeted by the Excrucians no matter which Estates the players choose for themselves, or that mechanically any person or possession that they care about is treated solely as a weapon that can and will be used against them. By making the tyranny so prevalent and the demands on the Nobles so unreasonable, Borgstrom was pushing the PCs to react against being forced into conformity, in a clash between duty and external pressure versus nature and internal motivation. The universe isn't fair, but you always get a choice on how to deal with that, and the consequences of your actions drive the game.

Entropy's legislation does help to justify why the modern-day setting at least superficially resembles our own Earth despite all the supernatural interference (and before the Code Fidelitatis the world really wasn't much like the history books claim), but he's also far from invincible, especially if the players find a way to remove his support structure of Imperial backing and global conspiracy. Overthrowing his rule is even listed as one of the sample "personal projects" which might interest the PCs. Of course, then the characters would have to prove that whatever solution they propose instead is superior to Old Bloody's methods, or the Imperators will remove them.

It's a challenge worthy of demigods. And as Borgstrom said years ago, "I hereby go on record saying that it's okay for Nobilis to develop enough oomph to beat up Lord Entropy, Lucifer, Harumaph, or Cneph. Caveat: I recommend this more for the conclusion of a campaign than for a random encounter."