The Book of Knots - Jags

of their dark orbits—a dangerous Caretaker
Drama (or, more rarely, even face-to-face
with one).
What Are They Like If I Meet
Them?
Insane. Clearly this varies a lot from
Caretaker to Caretaker but most of them are
far from what would be considered normal.
In addition to possessing unusual ideas about
logic and proportion, they are also rarely
pragmatic since, in their reality, style is also
substance. This is good in that rarely will
they just melt you by looking at you. It’s bad
in that, if they decide to be creative, they can do far, far worse.
But when most Caretakers are met—and not already angry—they appear
as talking things or people of a somewhat grumpy, didactic disposition.
Although they are grossly offended by humanity in general, in specifi c
they rarely seem to be able to distinguish between an actual human and
one of the many artifi cial creations (actors and minions) that populate
their world: that is, even if they know you are a human, once you are
down there with them, many will not just immediately vent their low
opinion of humanity on you in a fi ery mushroom cloud.
Of course you don’t want to insult one—and they are usually very quick
to take offense (as Alice found out).
Are They Gods?
No—although they are “god-like.” They don’t exercise power over
things like the weather, childbirth, health, or dying like mythological
deities do. Their relation to whatever the afterlife is isn’t clear, although
they can intercede in death and they seem to have some way of
communicating with either the actual personalities or constructs of the
deceased.
They are sources of great amounts of information about the workings of
the universe—most of it almost incomprehensible, some of it, outright
lies. Sometimes, in “full regalia” their personages carry with them, a
kind of spectral awe.
They can also be worshipped. Well, not worshipped—they can have
disciples. On the lower levels, things that are spawned by them (either
intentionally or by the nature of their existence) sometimes do worship
them—or otherwise follow them. Even up to Chessboard Zero there
space and time as they wish. In theory this should give them
an ultimate weapon over any attacker. However, they usually
don’t simply smash people fl at by dropping the roof on them.
If a Caretaker spends 8 REA to “Imprison” someone, it is
usually done in a dramatic, often horrifi c, but usually not all
that effective manner (i.e. An imprisoned character might
escape eventually or be rescued). More commonly this is used
to create needed chambers and doors.
Caretaker’s Power Bolt
If a Caretaker is upset and engaged in combat, most of them
can throw power blasts for 5 REA (-1/50 yards). These hit
for 24 IMP damage (although, once again, if a Caretaker is
really upset they can crank that up to astronomical amounts of
damage).
19
Book of Knots - The Caretakers