Nephilim, Bringing Apocrypha into Shadowrun Options

[Chrysalis]

Nephilim are beings who appear in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Genesis, and are also mentioned in other Biblical texts and in some non-canonical Jewish writings. Genesis Chapter 6, verses 1 through 4 describe the origin of the Nephilim:

"Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

A while ago when I was thinking of Behind the Shadows, the game I am running on the forums here, I thought of a dead ended story arc concept, which would be the use of several divine hosts and three celestial choirs. The idea was that Gabriel and Michael with the departure of God from Heaven end up squabbling about the role of man. Each believe that they have a role in the cryptic instructions left by God.

Slowly there is a division and a battle and Heaven reaches closer to man. Equally Hell takes on the role of the Sixth World. The manifestation of elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls are but the manifestation of Hell in the Sixth World. Some of the fallen angels take on the roles of dragons.

It is a definitely a darker and grittier Shadowrun. There is the underlying question is the Sixth World actually hell and that those who live in it are but manifestations of the damned.

The Nephilim would be the silent fourth front to this war. Wanting to being about a different kind of hell, one where they had mastery of men as they did of old. They lie in the shadows and wait, waiting for the apocalypse which is inexorably nearing.

It would be a way to sort of bring in concepts from In Nomine into the game.