Concept

Character

I wanted to try out the Laughing Monster MA style so the base concept was just a guy from a MA gang of that style. I decided that I wanted to flesh out the god that would be exalting my character first, since my concept was so loose, so I did that before continuing here.

God

According to the style's description in Lunar, it originates through a number of interactions between the Fae and Creation, so I figured it should originate on the edges of creation. It also says the it is epitomized by impetuosity, wicked humor, misdirection, and confusion. This description made me think of someone being harassed by a troop of monkeys screaming and shaking the trees above them. Monkeys can also switch from playful to murderous quickly and unpredictable, which sounded fitting to me. Baboons are large monkeys that can be dangerous, so I decided that the god being associated with baboons as well made sense.

So that led me to how did this baboon god become the god of Laughing Monster style? Well it made sense to that an minor terrestrial god that was unhappy with its limited purview might see this new thing that exists without a god and work to associate itself with it. So this small god of a local troop of baboons approached the shaman that took the style from the Fae and offered to be the patron of his tribe. He used his powers to help the tribe tame his troop of baboons (FYI for those that don't know, it is illegal for gods to interfere this much in creation but celestial enforcement is a joke). He became the patron god of the tribe and worked to intermingle the tribes worship of him with the practice and teaching of the MA style. A large part of the success of doing so was due to the similar nature of Laughing Monster Style and the baboon god.

I liked the idea that the god is unfit for his new role and lacks the traits to fulfill his ambitions. He is fairly clever but impatient and easily distracted. His ambition and nature as an animal that has alphas means he is always worried about maintaining his dominance and is prone to extreme paranoia. He is susceptible to vanity as it soothes his fears. He also has a cruel sense of humor that does his long term plans and worshipers harm.

Over time, he has developed a pattern. He will seek out the largest/strongest group of practitioners of the style. He will teach them the secrets of the style and grant them power in return for worship and gifts.

I am imagining he might have a charm that allows him to commit like 10 motes and a willpower to uplift one of his worshipers, which gives them an essence pool of the amount committed. Maybe they can only use it on charms for the style. Or other ways to loan mortals essence. If there are already essence-wielders in the group, he can teach them the styles charms, give them hearthstones or artifacts he has collected, teach them sorcery, give them a baboon familiar and other things.

At first he is generous but quickly becomes more demanding. In addition, he often pits the leaders of the group against each other, offering things to whoever brings him the greatest gift. The group becomes more powerful but starts attracting a lot of negative attention as the try to get their hands on better and better offerings. Quickly moving from gold and gems to artifacts, hearthstones, sacred relics, ancient lore, and other things that the powers in the area are not so willing to lose. In addition, he doesn't penalize worshipers from turning on each other. In fact, when one member rises to high, he will often encourage it, out of his fear of losing his control over the group.

Eventually the inevitable happens and they either tear each other apart or powerful outsiders hunt them down for causing too much trouble. The survivors scatter in every direction, many of which go on to start their own group in different parts of creation, spreading like a cancer. Meanwhile, the god takes all the gifts he's gained and moves onto the next group, often on the far side of Creation.