TEXT: The Sin Eaters 
   
  or The Seven Deadlier Sins 
   
  or Man – the Sinner 
   
  or Adam’s Folly 
   
   
   
  “He that is proud eats up himself. Pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own 
  chronicle; and whatever praises itself but in the deed, devours the deed in the 
  praise.” 
  - The History of Troilus and Cressida (Agamemnon act II, iii), William Shakespeare
   
  All art by Banksy 
   
  1
  
  What is Sin Eaters? 
   
  Sin Eaters is a playtest document 
  for Ron Edward’s Sorcerer. Owning 
  the supplements Sorcerer & Sword 
  and The Sorcerer’s Soul would 
  help, but are not essential. 
   
  This is being released as a playtest 
  document simply because I haven’t 
  gotten around to playing it. If you do, 
  please share your experience 
  through an Actual Play at any of the 
  online rpg forums. 
   
   
   
   
  Where did the idea come 
  from? 
   
  Sin Eaters are a historical 
  phenomenon, where people would 
  symbolically ingest the sins of 
  others, particularly the dead and 
  dying so they could venture forth to 
  the afterlife with their souls 
  unburdened. 
   
  The idea came to me while walking 
  the dog and thinking of how 
  domesticated chimpanzees often 
  develop bad vices: junk food, 
  watching television, smoking, and 
  drinking. Thinking about how our 
  own vices are poisonous to non-
  humans got me thinking about this 
  twist on Sorcerer. 
  Premise 
   
  “Who is not ashamed of his sins, sins double.” 
  -German proverb 
   
  For how long can you escape your sins? 
   
  What are Demons?  
   
  “On the following day everyone knew that a 
  flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in 
  Pelayo’s house. Against the judgment of the 
  wise neighbor woman, for whom angels was in 
  those times were the fugitive survivors of a 
  celestial conspiracy, they did not have the heart 
  to club him to death.” 
  -A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Gabriel 
  Garcia Marquez 
   
  There are two demons in this game, “True Demons” (as per 
  S&S p. 51) are described below under the heading “Other 
  Demons” and are noted by their capitalization, while the 
  “demon” that a Sorcerer summons and deals with is henceforth 
  referred to as a Sin Eater.  
   
  The Sin Eater that your Sorcerers commands are the servitors 
  of Creation, what some would describe as “angels”. In this 
  setting however, they are brought low through the calculated 
  action of Sorcerers. What form these Sin Eaters take and what 
  their role is before being enslaved by the Sorcerer is up to the 
  GM and players, but some examples are provided.  
   
  “There also we saw the Nephilim; and we 
  became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and 
  so we were in their sight.” 
  -Numbers 13;33 
   
  The “angels” that become Sin Eaters could be beautiful yet 
  naïve creatures, dragged forth from their heaven paradise, or 
  they could be a secretive force among us throughout time, 
  watching, observing, and intervening as the divine would have 
  it, or elemental-like Djinn who form the basis of our reality and 
  are constrained by arcane rules and controlled by complex yet 
  obscure rituals, or finally they could be beautiful yet terrible 
  winged and armored avengers of a jealous god’s will. In any 
  case, when first summoned by the Sorcerer, their fall from grace 
  is all but assured. That first act of sin committed by the 
  Sorcerer, an act of arrogance and Pride, is then heaped upon 
  the victim of the terrible act, transforming this angelic creature 
  from one of divine creation to a mutilated symbol of human folly. 
   
   
  2
  
  What is a Sorcerer? 
   
  “When all other sins are old avarice is still 
  young.” 
   
  -French proverb 
   
  All Sorcerers are foremost driven by a desire for power beyond 
  the temporal. This is the single most important consideration for 
  any Sorcerer. Your Sorcerer must have some motivation, some 
  desire, that requires them to take drastic and damning actions. 
  The second thing is that the Sorcerer is one who has bound and 
  enslaved the very power of Creation for their own ends. They 
  have taken the divine and bent it to their own baseborn will. The 
  Sorcerer either enslaves the demon (“angel”) through force, 
  possibly keeping the angel bound within an object or tied with 
  duct tape and nylon rope and hidden away within a closet, or 
  subverts the demon to their own end, filling the demon with 
  human needs and human sin, soiling the pure and allowing the 
  Sorcerer to escape the consequences of their action for a short 
  time at least. 
   
   
  Descriptor: 
  Nephilim – This is the equivalent of 
  the “Inhuman” descriptor from 
  Sorcerer & Sword, allowing the 
  player to “Humanity Trade” as 
  described on page 44. Note that the 
  Price “The Chill” cannot be traded 
  on to the Sin Eater, as it is part of 
  this character’s nature. 
   
   
   
   
  1) Choose Scores 
  2) Set Humanity 
  3) Choose Descriptors 
  Any of the Descriptors from Sorcerer 
  4) Choose Cover and Price 
  Remember that your Price is given to the Demon 
  5) Choose a Telltale 
  6) Fill out Character Sheet 
  7) Create the Sin Eater 
  8) Write Kicker 
   
   
   
   
  3
  
  The Rituals 
   
  The rituals that bind and control an angel, turning it into a Sin 
  Eater, are all rituals in which a human Sorcerer uses human 
  folly to ensnare an angel, sullying the divine and subverting it to 
  the ignoble and vile, either by displacing one’s own sin and 
  heaping it upon the Sin Eater or by encouraging or coercing the 
  Sin Eater into carrying out the acts of its own. These sins are 
  known as the Seven Deadly Sins, not only because they can 
  endanger the human soul, but because they are deadly to the 
  pure essence of the angelic. The seven deadly sins are Envy, 
  Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride. The latter 
  Sin in the key, being the Sin leading the Sorcerer to audaciously 
  and selfishly act to destroy something pure in pursuit of their 
  own ends. 
   
  “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty 
  spirit before a fall.” 
  - Proverbs (ch. XVI, v. 18) 
   
  The Binding 
   
  “Was it to alter now with every mood to which 
  he yielded? Was it to become a monstrous and 
  loathsome thing, to be hidden away in a locked 
  room, to be shut out from the sunlight that had 
  so often touched to brighter gold the waving 
  wonder of its hair? The pity of it! The pity of it!” 
   
  -The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde 
   
  The only way to Summon and then Transform or Create (Bind) 
  a Sin Eater is through Pride. Before the game begins and the 
  initial binding carried out, each Sorcerer must describe how they 
  subverted an angel through Pride. Cunning and manipulative 
  means will earn bonus dice in the summoning. Once the angel 
  itself falls afoul of the sin of Pride, it becomes both fallen and 
  earth-bound and dependent upon the Sorcerer. Initial Sin Eaters 
  are weak and sickly things, with a Power no greater than the 
  Humanity of the Sorcerer, but this Power and available demonic 
  abilities increases as one warps and twists the once-noble form 
  of the divine by heaping greater sin upon it. Much like Dorian 
  Grey’s Portrait, the Sin Eater of a demon becomes the unholy 
  testament to the sins and crimes of a Sorcerer. 
   
  (Optionally, if players are exploring another of these Sins, an 
  angel can be first tempted by some other means: convincing it 
  to gorge out on potato chips, vodka, and reality TV shows in the 
  case of Gluttony or convincing the angel to slay another 
  Sorcerer who had horribly abused an angel (Wrath). 
   
   
  4
  
  The Other Rituals 
   
  “For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of 
  serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and 
  hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue 
  can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of 
  deadly poison.” 
  -James, Ch. III, v7-8 
   
  Contact: Contacting an angel is defined by the exact nature of 
  the Angelics in this setting. A contact ritual may take any form 
  appropriate for that angel: reading Quranic verse at the edge of 
  a Djinn-haunted city hidden in the desert sands or saying the 
  Lord’s Prayer backwards in an abandoned church. 
   
  “And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is 
  pride that apes humility.”  
  Samuel Taylor Coleridge
   
  Summon Angelic: An Angel can be summoned when some 
  transgression of nature is carried out, and it wings its way forth 
  to remedy the situation. Once the angel arrives amidst creation, 
  it is ripe for perversion by an awaiting Sorcerer. Again, a Sin 
  Eater is easily summoned by contacting it through a vice and 
  urging it to join you in the act of indulgence. An all too eager 
  and depraved Sin Eater will find such entreaties too powerful to 
  resist. 
   
  Summon Sin Eater: Summoning an already sin-riddled demon 
  is easy – use its current need (the Sin it is currently absorbing) 
  to draw it forth. A gluttonous Sin Eater could possibly be 
  contacted by greedily devouring a fried peanut butter and 
  banana sandwich before a picture of Elvis and murmuring the 
  demon’s name with a mouth full of food. 
   
  “Strange sins, strange punishments.” 
   
  -Latin proverb 
   
  Punish: The act of Punishing a Sin Eater is obvious, deny the 
  monstrosity the wretched acts it so fervently desires. 
  Accompanying such refusal with puritanical moralizing or a 
  monologue filled with disgust about the creatures fallen nature 
  and current circumstances is even more effective. To Punish, 
  select on the Demon’s Sins, in particular, it’s Current Need: the 
  last Sin it absorbed. 
   
  Contain: The measure of containing is simply a more extreme 
  version of punishment: confining the physical form of a demon 
  in something anathema to its current need: in a lighter game, 
  putting a chastity belt upon a lustful Sin Eater or chaining a 
  slothful Sin Eater to an exercise machine would be good 
  examples, in a darker game, well, this is no place for such a 
  discussion… 
   
   
   
  A Special Case: 
  Banish: Sin Eaters are all 
  Immanents and cannot be Banished 
  normally, as they have a direct 
  connection to the Sins of the World. 
  The only way that one can Banish a 
  Sin Eater is their own Sin Eater, and 
  they must follow the steps listed 
  under “The Narrative of Sins” below. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Modifiers to the Rituals: 
  For Contacting, Summing and 
  Binding, you can use religious 
  artifacts and paraphernalia and 
  locations to get bonuses. 
   
  For Sin Eaters, having the various 
  items or behaviors related to that sin 
  integrated as part of the ritual will 
  provide bonuses: bottles of booze 
  and so forth. 
   
  5
  
   
  The Narrative of Sin 
   
  “What sick ridiculous puppets we are 
  and what gross little stage we dance on 
  What fun we have dancing and fucking 
  Not a care in the world 
  Not knowing that we are nothing 
  We are not what was intended.” 
   
  -John Doe in Se7en 
   
  What is Humanity? 
   
  Humanity is accountability for one’s own actions.  
   
  “Old sins cast long shadows.” 
   
  -Irish Proverb 
   
  In pursuit of power, the Sorcerer has befouled something 
  innocent, and has heaped the sins of the flesh and mind upon it, 
  bloating the Sin Eater with the fruits of the Sorcerer’s own dark 
  labors. The Sorcerer seeks to escape the cost of their own 
  actions by displacing the Price on another, avoiding 
  accountability for their own actions. 
   
  How Does Humanity Work? 
   
  Humanity Loss Checks are made whenever the Sorcerer 
  commits one of the seven deadly sins: Envy, Gluttony, Greed, 
  Lust, Pride, Sloth, or Wrath, Conceivably any act committed by 
  the Sorcerer that hurts or injures (and thus empowers) the Sin 
  Eater is itself an act of Pride, so keep this in mind. 
   
  “Years and sins are always more than owned.” 
  -Italian proverb 
   
  When a Humanity Loss check is failed, the weight of the crime 
  falls upon the shoulders of the Sorcerer, and that Sorcerer must 
  take a Price suitable to the sin committed. However, because of 
  the nature of the Sin Eaters, the Binding creates a powerful 
  relationship between the Sorcerer and their Sin Eater, and 
  instead, it is the Sin Eater themselves who experience the 
  Price, and the Price is added on to the Demon’s Sheet and the 
  Sin that created it is noted alongside the price. 
   
  6
  
   
  “Few love to hear the sins they love to act.” 
  - Pericles Prince of Tyre, William Shakespeare 
   
  If the Humanity Check is a failure, then the Sorcerer has shifted 
  the guilt and shame and other moral and spiritual consequences 
  upon their Sin Eater. The Sorcerer loses a point of humanity, 
  but the Sin Eater gains a point of Power and a new ability of the 
  player’s choice, as long as it can be justified through the use of 
  the sin. Thus, as humanity is lost and sin heaped upon the Sin 
  Eater, it becomes more monstrous and shameful, a mirror to the 
  Sorcerer’s soul. 
   
  “Yet it was watching him, with its beautiful 
  marred face and its cruel smile… For every sin 
  that he committed a stain would fleck and wreck 
  its fairness.” 
  -The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde 
   
  Each time a Humanity Check is Failed, keep track of the Sin 
  that resulted in the Loss of Humanity, the gain in Demon Power, 
  and the Price, and ensure that they are listed in chronological 
  order. This forms a “Narrative of Sin” which can guide play, 
  particularly if Redemption is sought out. 
   
  In the Narrative of Sin, the Current Sin is the last Sin that this 
  Demon absorbed, and is the Demon’s Need as well as principle 
  guiding indulgence for the moment. This will change as others 
  Sins are heaped upon it. 
   
  So, during a Humanity Loss Check: 
  1) The Sorcerer loses a point of Humanity 
  2) The Demon adds the Sin onto the Narrative of Sins. 
  3) The Demon gains a point of Power 
  4) The Demon gains a new Ability (listed on the Narrative 
  of Sins) 
  5) The Demon gains a new Price associated with that Sin 
  6) The Demon’s old Need is set aside and this new, 
  Current Sin becomes its Current Need. 
  7) The Demon goes immediately into Needing this new 
  Sin. 
   
   
   
   
  7
  
  Humanity Gains & Redemption 
   
  “We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in 
  every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it 
  because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it 
  morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore.” 
  -John Doe in Se7en 
   
  Humanity Gain Checks are limited and follow the Narrative of 
  Sin. The only way to make a Humanity Gain check is by 
  successfully reversing your sins in a step by step process, 
  following the reverse order of the Narrative of Sins (from 
  Current and going backwards, concluding with the first Sin, 
  Pride). The Sins must be absolved and owned in the order listed 
  on the Narrative of Sins, going from most recent to oldest, with 
  Pride being the final step. 
   
  Each of the Sins has its corresponding opposite virtue, as listed 
  below: 
   
  The Seven Deadly Sins and their 
  Corresponding Virtues 
  Sin 
  Virtue 
  Envy 
  Charity 
  Gluttony 
  Moderation 
  Greed 
  Generosity 
  Lust 
  Chastity 
  Pride 
  umility 
  H
  Sloth 
  eal 
  Z
  Wrath 
  Meekness 
   
  When a Sorcerer commits a Virtue that corresponds with the 
  Demon’s Current Sin/Need, roll for a Humanity Gain (Humanity 
  versus itself). If that roll is a failure, nothing happens and the 
  Sorcerer must display that Virtue again at a later time. If that roll 
  is a success, then the Sorcerer has stepped on towards the 
  road to Redemption and the following immediately happen: 
   
  1) The Sorcerer gains a Humanity point back. 
  2) The Sorcerer adds the Price for that particular Sin onto 
  their own character sheet and removes it from the 
  Demon’s list 
  3) The Demon loses that particular Sin from their Demon 
  Sheet, along with the Price (which has been now given 
  to the Sorcerer), the associated Ability acquired when 
  that Demon added that Sin to the Demon Sheet, and 
  the Demon loses a point of Power. 
  4) The Demon’s Current Need is now whatever Sin is last 
  on the Narrative of Sins list, and the Demon 
  immediately goes into Need. 
   
  8
  
  “And yet if it had been merely an illusion, how 
  terrible it was to think that conscience could 
  raise such fearful phantoms, and give them 
  visible form, and make them move before one! 
  What sort of life would his be if, day and night, 
  shadows of his crime were to peer at him from 
  silent corners, to mock him from secret places, 
  to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to 
  wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep.”  
   
  -The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde 
   
  It should be noted that the Sin Eater Demon is defined by its 
  Sins, and as each Sin is taken away, it loses its power and 
  sense of self and it will desperately seek to reacquire those lost 
  Sins (and more) by manipulating the Sorcerer. 
   
  “For never can true reconcilement grow, Where 
  wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep.” 
  - Paradise Lost, John Milton
   
  Over time, the angel will begin to re-emerge from within the 
  hideous form of the Sin Eater, although it should be noted that 
  the Angel will bear at least one scar from each sin it bore as a 
  testament to the folly of all involved (these scars are merely 
  cosmetic and personality quirks, nothing mechanical). 
   
  The first Sin, the Pride is the last to be resolved, and when this 
  one is addressed through the virtue of Humility, it is carried out 
  as a Banishment of this character’s Sin Eater. No Humanity is 
  awarded through this Ritual Act of Humility. If successful, the 
  Demon is Banished and the Sorcerer has attained some form of 
  Redemption while bearing the Burden of their Sins. 
   
  What Happens at Humanity Zero? 
   
  “He's experienced about as much pain and 
  suffering as anyone I've encountered, give or 
  take, and he still has Hell to look forward to.” 
   
  -Dr. Beardsley in Se7en 
   
  Endgame: One sin too many has sealed the fate of the 
  Sorcerer. The Sorcerer meets their end or no longer is human. 
  Ultimately, the choice is up to the player and GM, but some 
  possibilities are listed in the margin notes. The player in 
  Endgame has to have a scene where their story concludes, and 
  they can arrange the details with their fellow players and GM to 
  come to a fulfilling conclusion to that Sorcerer’s tragic life. 
  Some possible Endgames: 
   
  Swallowed by Sin: The Sin Eater 
  grows too powerful and terrible, and 
  in the final act of their relationship, 
  consumes the Sorcerer. 
   
  Divine Retribution: The blight upon 
  earth finally draws the attention of 
  the divine or whatever calls the 
  shots, and the atrocity (in this case 
  the Sorcerer and its Sin Eater) are 
  expunged from creation. 
   
  Pride Cometh Before the Fall: The 
  Sorcerer has lost their humanity and 
  tumbles (physically and or spiritually 
  and or metaphorically) to hell, 
  transforming themselves into a True 
  Demon. The Sin Eater goes off to 
  lurk about, fulfilling its own dark 
  needs. 
   
  9
  
   
   
  Sin Eater Demon Abilities 
  You want to keep the Sin Eater in 
  play as the central relationship for 
  the Sorcerer. As such, it is 
  suggested that you make the 
  Sorcerer dependent upon the Sin 
  Eater. Get the Sin Eater outside of 
  their familiar environment by 
  guaranteeing that the Sin Eater 
  confers their powers on to 
  themselves, rather than the 
  Sorcerer. Let this sinful travesty get 
  out in public to stir things up: “Don’t 
  mind him my dear, he’s my mentally 
  ill nephew…”. 
   
  The True Nature of Angels 
   
  Unless desired otherwise, all Angels are Inconspicuous and 
  eternal, being invulnerable to any mundane physical process. 
  You could use the Angelic rules from Sorcerer’s Soul to account 
  for the normal power and actions of Angels before they become 
  Bound as Demon Sin Eaters. 
   
  The Nature of Sin Eaters 
   
  “It was some foul parody, some infamous 
  ignoble satire.” 
   
  -The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde 
   
  Sin Eaters when first bound become Passers, taking whatever 
  form the GM and players decide upon. The first Sin though 
  marks them: if Pride they may have a haughty expression or a 
  twisted sneer. Each additional sin heaped upon them has a 
  dramatic and transformative effect, making them hideous 
  mockeries of what they once were. They still remain eternal, 
  and their bond with the Sorcerer means that the Sorcerers 
  themselves do not age as well. 
   
  Other Demons 
  (see Sorcerer & Sword p.50-52) 
   
  “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-
  and also afterward-when the sons of God went 
  to the daughters of men and had children by 
  them. They were the heroes of old, men of 
  renown.” 
  -Genesis 6:4 
   
  Immanents: If using an “Angels Hidden Amongst Us” concept, 
  then Angels and True Demons (see below) are most likely 
  Immanents. Angels may masquerade as humans among us, 
  while Immanent True Demons lurk in dark corners of our world, 
  whispering to junkies from the shadows, creeping through 
  sewers while harboring ancient resentments, and devouring 
  babies left unattended in their cribs. Note that all Sin Eaters are 
  bound in the temporal and considered Immanents. Another 
  possible set of Immanents are the Nephilim, offspring of human 
  and angel in the ancient past. 
   
  Beast: An uncontrolled Sin Eater whose Sorcerer has entered 
  Endgame could be a Beast: Spring Heeled Jack, the Jersey 
  Devil, and possibly even some of the worst serial killers are 
  Beasts, Sin Eaters run amok, untethered and fearless. 
   
   
   
   
  10
  
  Pagan Thing: This would be any entity that resides outside the 
  guiding paradigm that informs the setting. In the case of a 
  setting occupied by Judaic-like Angels, the Pagan Thing would 
  be those creatures inhabiting other mythologies or concepts, the 
  Golden Calf or animistic spirits, things that presaged humans in 
  the scale of creation. 
   
  “A god must not appear ungracious toward a 
  sacrifice; however he derives no satisfaction 
  from it. He doesn’t know what he wants to eat. 
  There must be something…” 
   
  -24 Hours, Neil Gaiman 
   
  Old Ones: Old Ones could be those Sin Eaters that have lived 
  for centuries, even millenia. Adam’s first Sin Eater, the Serpent 
  in the Garden of Eden could make a plausible Old One, as was 
  Jonah’s Sin Eater, the Leviathan. These are massive Sin Eaters 
  that have managed in part to transcend the physical and 
  become creatures that exist in part as metaphor. Old Ones 
  could be humans of early Biblical or other religious mythological 
  origins, such as Lilith or Caine, bearing awesome powers. 
   
  True Demons: True Demons may exist in a traditional religious 
  manner, being the opposite of Angels, or they could simply be 
  the misshapen fiends that were once Sorcerers. In the latter 
  case, the only True Demons are ourselves. Either way, True 
  Demons cannot be bound, but they can be Pacted with (see 
  Sorcerer & Sword). 
   
  Undead: Undead could exist in many senses. Those who have 
  died as a result of sin and not received retribution may wander 
  the earth as ghosts or revenants, unable to avenge themselves 
  as a Sorcerer would have misplaced that particular sin upon 
  another – their Sin Eater and thus the ghost is denied justice. A 
  Sorcerer who has died could come back as a revenant in an 
  effort to undo the evil they had committed. Liche-like Sorcerers 
  are possible if the power of the Sin Eater allows their bodies to 
  slowly age and die but keeps the Sorcerer’s willful yet withered 
  soul rattling around inside the corpse. 
   
   
  Inspiration 
  A Clock-work Orange (book or movie), Se7en (movie), The Prophecy (movie), The Seventh Sign (movie), 
  A Christmas Carol, Gaiman’s 24 Hours, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous 
  Wings” and “Blacaman the Good, Vendor of Miracles”, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.  
   
  “Notice was given to an old sire before the door of the house, when some of the 
  family came out and furnished him with a cricket [low stool], on which he sat down 
  facing the door; then they gave him a groat which he put in his pocket, a crust of 
  bread which he ate, and a bowl of ale which he drank off at a draught. After this he 
  got up from the cricket and pronounced the case and rest of the soul departed, for 
  which he would pawn his own soul.” 
  -Bagford’s letter on Leland’s Collectanea, i. 76. 
   
   
  11
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Sorcerer RPG/Sorcerer - The Sin Eaters.pdf