Heaven Sourcebook.PDF

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HEAVEN

by Bas Suverkropp

The Abyss presents Heaven written by Bas Suverkropp, a sourcebook from The Abyss. This electronic version of

Heaven may be used provided you charge no fee and do not alter its contents or layout. If you wish to distribute

this or copies of this digital document in any other format please contact Jason Just for written permission.

The following material developed for the contemporary horror roleplaying game, Kult (Target Games), is made

available in this format by The Abyss, and are not authorized or endorsed in any way by Target Games or any

other publisher of Kult. Neither Target Games or any other publisher of Kult is in any way responsible for the

Cover/images/design © Jason Just. Images may be used provided no fee is charged and or modified.

Contact just.faction@clear.net.nz

Reccommended for Mature audiences.

www.kult-rpg.org

Bas Suverkropp

Heaven

Author: Bas Suverkropp

Cover/Design/Graphics: Jason Just

A Publication from The Abyss

Made for the Kult Roleplaying Game

For Mature Readers

"The Abyss is a not-for-profit worldwide corporation whose aim is to

encourage a new publishing company to buy the rights to the Kult role-playing

game and bring it back into print. We run an extensive outreach campaign to

attract new gamers, and we produce high-quality new material and distribute

it for free on the Internet in order to keep gamers interested."

~ www.kult-rpg.org ~

NOTE: The Abyss stands by artists who contribute to The Abyss and will aid them and provide legal defense

should a breach of copyright be made. The Abyss claims no copyright of author/artist material. Any parties

interested in reprinting the content contained within Heaven or any other Abyss release should contact the

author/artist for agreement. In these cases The Abyss can act as liason for said parties.

~1~

Bas Suverkropp

Heaven

Some ideas for Heaven in KULT

This description of Heaven is based on the ideas of the original KULT rules and the Legions of Darkness sourcebook.

The cosmology described in the Metropolis sourcebook doesn't appeal to me. I think that almost everything in Kult shows

that the Demiurge never was particularly benevolent to mankind. Just look at the servants he created. Based on this, I

have made a Heaven which was once very pleasant but still made for some dark purpose. Now the Demiurge has

disappeared, and his Heaven is coming apart at the seams.

What is Heaven?

I do not agree with the idea put forward in the newer KULT books that our earth, Elysium, was once Heaven. Our reality

is a cage, and it was never meant to be a pleasant one. Also, it is said that Malkuth fashioned our prison from her own

body. What, then, is Heaven? I think Heaven is the citadel of the Demiurge, which has of course disappeared from

Metropolis, but it does still exist (a temporal paradox too complicated for us poor unawakened). This was the place where

the Demiurge gathered his direct servants and those of humanity willing to serve him. Before our imprisonment, people

came to Heaven voluntarily, and could leave there too. When the Illusion was created, Heaven was also changed so those

humans coming there would not awaken. Why a large number of people was kept in Heaven is unclear. Maybe the

Demiurge saw them as a kind of reserve force, untainted by the machinations of Astaroth's minions and his own prison

wardens, who could be used if Astaroth made a bid for ultimate power. Maybe the Demiurge had pity on part of humanity

and offered them a respite from the Illusion, although he would not release them. Or the humans in Heaven are simply a

cruel joke: they think they are chosen, but in fact the Demiurge can enjoy the submissiveness of those who once

threatened his own power. Or it might just be a place, as has been suggested elsewhere, where peoples memories are

erased by endless eventlessness before they are reborn.

How does one reach Heaven?

How would a character reach Heaven? Once, the gates of the Demiurges' citadel stood open for all those who would

enter, so reaching Metropolis was the first step in reaching Heaven. Now only the Abyss is left. However, several ways to

enter Heaven still exist:

Becoming a mystic. Mystics may partially live in Heaven, and eventually stay there. Becoming a mystic is basically

increasing your mental balance until you reach really high levels (150+). By studying religious doctrine and having

ecstatic experiences, the mind may be moved to Heaven, and eventually the body too. Christian mysticism will work, but

mystic traditions from other religions also work, as long as these religions assume the existence of a Heaven. Taoist

practices seem to be especially suitable. The first glimpses of Heaven will not reveal that there is anything wrong, so the

Mystic will usually be encouraged to continue. Very critical mystics may spot the increasing decay of Heaven, a very

shocking experience which will usually make them depressed and lose a lot of MB. Reaching Heaven by becoming a

mystic takes a lot of time, and is not much of a game option.

A few artifacts can be used to enter Heaven. The Holy Grail is one example. These artifacts are either very, very obscure or

very well guarded. The obscure artifacts were made or found by someone who did not tell anybody about them but quietly

slipped into Heaven, leaving the artifact behind for someone else to use, with no clues about its powers. Some artifacts

from legend have the power to open a gate to Heaven, too. Many powerful cults and beings try to get possession of these,

so they are always well hidden and guarded. If you would be able to steal one of these, the original owners will do

everything to get it back, and many other interested parties will also appear and try to take it from you. It is said that some

Russian icons have this power, but with the large number of them in existence, trying this theory would take a lot of work.

~2~

Bas Suverkropp

Heaven

If you can follow the path of a saint or martyr, you may be able to enter Heaven without dying. You will need as many

possessions and relics of the person you will imitate. Then, you will spend every waking moment meditating upon the

martyr or saints thoughts and teachings. When your own ego starts to fade, and you start to identify more and more with

your object of worship, you will then imitate the most famous deeds of the saint (preferably physically strenuous ones) or

the martyrs torture. Hallucinations will start to occur, showing you glimpses of Heaven, and if they are strong enough, the

Illusion will crack and you will have arrived in Heaven. Reaching Heaven this way will take months in the least and

success will not be guaranteed. Focussing on a saint is easier for people with positive MB and focussing on a martyr is

easier for people with negative MB. Even if unsuccessful, your actions may have a strong effect on your MB. Some of the

people who re-enact the Crucifixion of Christ in Jerusalem ended up in Heaven this way.

Some of the Angels that roam the Illusion still know how to find Heaven. Generally, it is painful for them to return,

because Heaven reminds them sharply of the fact that the Demiurge has abandoned them. As a result, it is very rare for an

Angel to return. If it does, it could be followed. Angels will never guide anyone to Heaven by their own initiative, you will

have to ask them. You must either convince the Angel that you have a very compelling reason to go to Heaven (almost

impossible) or force the Angel to guide you. Physical torture will not work on Angels, but magic or blackmail (threatening

to kill or injure others) might. Note that doing this will certainly lower your MB. Once you’ve reached Heaven, there is no

way you can compel the Angel. Sometimes, no matter what you try to coerce the Angel, you will fail, because many of the

Angels in the Illusion have forgotten how to reach Heaven. Using a ‘portal to the passions’ spell on them might work,

though. Some religions and magical traditions describe methods to summon Angels or celestial beings, to serve as a source

of insight or divine knowledge. Most don’t work at all, but those that do were designed in a time when the Demiurge was

still present. If attempted now, most likely the Angel summoned will be deranged and will have little to give but despair. If

you die, believe in Heaven, and have a positive MB, you are likely to end up in Heaven. Suicide usually doesn’t work,

however, since most religions frown upon this. If you arrive in Heaven because you have died, you will not be able to

leave.

The Landscape of Heaven

Heaven is a open, green landscape of shrubs, small groups of trees and clumps of flowers, but somewhat dry, not unlike

Southern Italy. Here and there you will see magnificent white marble buildings, in a style between classical Roman and

modern architecture, with beautiful white statues. The first thing which goes through your mind when you see this is

"Wow!" The setting looks very inviting. But soon the Arcadian landscape starts getting to you. The sky is somewhat

overcast, dark clouds gathering in the distance like there will be a thunderstorm. The sun looks somehow weak, like it is

faltering and dying. You feel vaguely threatened, though you don't know by what. The solitude of the landscape soon

becomes oppressive. Anybody with knowledge of biology or gardening will see that the plants do not belong to any known

species. The flowers lack reproductive organs. There are no animals, not even insects. If you reach one of the buildings,

you will find that they are in a state of disrepair, and mostly empty. A few pieces of furniture, scattered in large halls, or a

single curtain, flapping in a window, only emphasize this feeling of loneliness and emptiness. The buildings seem to have

no function, they consist of halls, rooms and stairways, but no functional places like kitchens or bathrooms will be found.

Small plants have started to creep up on the buildings, making cracks in the marble. If you stand on one of the terraces or

balconies of the building, you have a grand view over the landscape, which stretches to the horizon in gentle, rolling hills,

all green, with some dramatic mountains far of in the distance. It is quite monotonous, and although you can see more

buildings, some in ruins, and maybe a seashore, you start to feel that it will bring you nothing if you reach them, just more

emptiness. Sometimes, you can see buildings burn, far away, but if you reach them, there are only ruins left. It never gets

dark, but the dark clouds never completely lift either. (Actually, the landscape paintings of Dutch magic-realist painter

Karel Willink perfectly convey the atmosphere described here. He said of one of his own paintings: "A sunny landscape,

once the symbol of pastoral peacefulness, can be an unbearable menace." Examples are his paintings The Terrace of

Hercules, Job, and The Stylite). There are only dust roads, and some stone roads of the Roman type. All roads start at

buildings but lead nowhere.

~3~

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