Getting to work

I take a few gasps, the memory of my torment fresh in my mind… comparatively, looking down and being unable to see my lap for the two huge fleshy orbs in the way is minor. “Does she hate me that much?”

“No,” the demonic entity shakes his head, “she hates me that much, but Dad's forbidden us from striking at each other. Hurting you is as close as she can come to hurting me.”

“Why?” That hurt. There's real malice there.

The literally black man shakes his head sadly, “she took a mortal lover, and had a child. They thought they were invincible due to my sister, and signed contracts with a devil, thinking they'd never need to pay up. When they eventually died anyway, I carried out the contracts. It's part of my job, as assigned by Dad. It sucks, but if there's no consequences for poor choices, then they aren't really choices.” He sighs, “...and she blames me for it.”

I pause, “Am I on the side of evil here?” I pause, a very weird sensation coming over me as I find I can't ask a specific question, so I change it, “What exactly is your role? And why can't I ask who you are?”

There's that itch again… “In order, they flow well that way,” the man at the desk takes a deep breath, “No, I'm not evil, so you're not on the side of evil… and I won't tell you what to do anyway. When a body is too broken to continue, I set the soul on track for their earned destination. For the most part, souls of similar personalities are grouped together to await selection for rebirth. Those who choose cooperation and helping others go to a waiting place where everyone is like that… many call it Heaven, it's a great place to wait. Those who choose **** towards and oppression of others go to a place where everyone else makes similar choices… many call it Hell, I've been there, it's terrible. There are many places between, as well. In any case, the only reward, or punishment, is that everyone else acts the same way. After a period of time, the souls are scrubbed of their memories of the past life, and my sister places them in new bodies. My role, my job, my domain, my privilege… however you want to phrase it… is to collect the souls of the dead and deliver them to their destinations.” He chuckles, “and that last is an example of ‘emergent behavior’ in this Fractal. Dad has decreed that no mortal may know any deity's Name, and Dad's word is a law of reality - basic physics, as fundamental as inertia, so you can't know my actual Name, period. Dad has also told me to be honest with you, so if you actually ask, I'll tell you. Further, Dad said you'll remember, so if I tell you, you will remember, because that's now a law of reality as well. In order to satisfy the entire set, this Fractal prevents you from asking in the first place. Call me whatever you want.”

That's… I'd say impossible, but… I felt it happen, so… “Thank you… ****. So… how do I go about building my character… me?”

**** chuckles, “The books on the shelves should have all the reference you need… a gift to me from Dad. You'll be able to see what applies for you, they won't let you open them if you're not authorized. I have paper and pencils…” he pulls some supplies out of his desk, and I get to work.

I'll do my basic build from the game, but I'll need to modify a few things… which reminds me… “Where am I starting?”

“A temple of my choice where people once worshipped me in some form.” He considers, “Do you have a preference?”

I consider that, “Near the edge of civilization? I'm going to need a job at some point. Adventures to level up.” I bite my lip, finding it feels very plump.

The horned deity nods, “I can accommodate that… travel towards the sun rising when you arrive; that will get you to a road after a short while. Turn left and follow it. That should get you to a relatively civilized area in about a day of walking.”

So the temple is off the road and twenty or more miles from civilization? I pause, “You're not very popular, then?”

“The least popular of us all,” the bodybuilder shrugs, “it's not supposed to be a contest - we have jobs to do - but most of my siblings treat it as a popularity competition.”

“I suppose most people want to avoid you so they can live forever,” I shrug.

The man shakes his head, “They're fools. ‘Not dying’ is not the same as ‘living’. Consider a man who gets caught in a fire in his house: His muscles are destroyed, he can't move. His eyes are gone, he can't see. His skin is gone, his nerves are reporting nothing but pain. Should he have to suffer torment eternally in that broken body?”

I pause, “I suppose not.”

The very black man nods, “So then, collecting him and sparing him that torment… is it evil?”

“No,” I agree, “...not evil. I get it, I think.” I pause, “I still want to live, though.”

“You're supposed to, it's a good thing,” **** chuckles. “So how's the sheet going?”

“Debating dropping my invisibility,” I frown. “I'm planning immortality, and getting stuck on a barren world somewhere is a real possibility… and always needing an illusion if I want to talk to someone… it's okay for a game, but it would suck for a long time in real life… but even if I do take Starflight, I need a way to get up there.”

“Hmm… mind if I take a look?” I flip my worksheet around, and the being stares at it a moment, “You won't need Telepathic Caster for a while: Spells just plain don't have the kinds of components you're dropping for the next few spell levels. That can wait, no problem. And yeah, invisibility full time sucks… I would wait on that myself. For actually getting up there…” he considers, “...OK, so if we drop Natural Invisibility and Telepathic Caster for now, we can apply the Spectra template graft to a Tiny Elemental and grab Slip Drive and Spaceflight, but to get off planet… you can't get flight yourself yet as a human… Strix would lose the vacuum support and counting as a construct, which you want later….”

“Ah, Xenometric Android Strix,” I smile, “I lose the immunities and lack of need to eat, but I can get those back later. Go with Companion as well to make the artificial nature less obvious… and then I can fly up to the top of the atmosphere and take off with Starflight, using Starwalk cantrip to navigate in space locally," I nod, “...and in a pinch, I can make food by trading out my flexible Spheres talent. Okay… then as long as nobody buries me or tosses me in a star or some such, I should be okay.”

“Regeneration without a bypass AND Rejuvenation seems a little redundant,” the man in a suit considers.

I think about it, “Theoretically, yes, but it allows me to just not care about most injuries rather than having to wait a couple days to respawn if something rips an arm off or whatever.” I consider, “Still… Magical Development from Demagogue Powers of the Living Idol would certainly help out with flexibility, or Font of Magic would let me just keep going…” I bite my lip… ugh, that's fat, “Okay, yeah… I can heal up that way, I just need to remember to get a Life talent to go with the rest.”

“Don't forget that as it grants a casting tradition, it's the full Casting class feature, so you also get two talents from that,” **** reminds me.

“Ah, right…” I start writing down things. Life for healing, I already have a destructive blast in there… Warp and Unseeing Teleport to avoid burial… oh, I can get better total healing from the Fallen Fey sphere, and the talent comes with some summons, nice…”

I do my work, and when I'm done, I pause: “Ah… do I get Starfinder's starting wealth or wealth by level or anything?”

**** shakes his head, “No… you'll arrive naked. Under normal reincarnation rules you'd be born and your parents would take care of getting you some things, but here, that's not happening. On the plus side,” he pauses, “it also means nothing prevents you from getting rich.”

Ugh. “Okay. So… what did your sister curse me with, exactly?”