[DitV] Ephraim's Circle

[Bryant]

So here's the town I'm thinking I'll use for my upcoming first Dogs game. I think I've got enough sticky. I've got people who want bad things to happen for good reasons. I've got people who want good things to happen for sinful reasons. I've got demons. I've got hooks. I think I can add more hooks in when I find out about the PCs.

By the by, I ripped most of the premise of the town off from Friday Night Lights, and then twisted it a lot. Imagine that Brother Daniel is the high school football coach and the "Dogs" are his team.

Ephraim's Circle

Pride

Brother Daniel is the Steward. He thinks that he can train anyone to be a Dog, better than the Temple. He wants to be known as the Steward who brought a new dawn to the Church. Once upon a time, the Dogs didn't get to his ranch in time to save his wife (Sister Hannah) from a bunch of heathens who were looking for gold and settled for her. So he wants to make sure that'll never happen again.

Injustice

Well, he's got half the town bound into his way of thinking. It's not a secret. It's easy because a lot of the fathers would like their sons and daughters to be Dogs. Brother Daniel says every child can be a Dog, if trained right. This means that the youth of Ephraim's Circle are being prevented from filling their proper roles. In particular, Brother Silas and Sister Jael -- who are in love and want to get married maybe -- can't, because their fathers (Brother Hiram and Brother Jacob, respectively) insist that they attend Brother Daniel's Temple instead.

Just to throw a wrinkle in: Sister Jael would make a good Dog. Brother Hiram was a Dog once. He came back home, married, but his wife died in childbirth.

Sin

The sin is apostasy. What's happening here, this is not what the King of Life wants. It is a danger, both because it will destroy the town and because Brother Daniel is neglecting the duty of his office: he's supposed to actually choose potential Dogs, not just pass everyone along.

The sin is sex. Brother Silas and Sister Jael should not be having sex before marriage. Sister Hannah and Brother Hiram should not be having sex outside marriage, even if Brother Hiram is a stronger man than Brother Daniel and even if Brother Hiram could have protected her from the heathens.

Demonic Attacks

The demons have made Brother Hiram and Brother Jacob proud. They block the ears and eyes of the fathers so that they can't see the unhappiness of their children.

False Doctrine

None yet. But at the point at which Brother Daniel says "We don't need the Temple, we can make our own Dogs," that's the false doctrine. And it's coming.

What do the people want?

Brother Daniel wants the Dogs to acknowledge that he's done the right thing; he wants them to take his crop of Dog potentials back to the Temple in triumph.

Sister Hannah wants the Dogs to shoot her husband so she can sleep with Brother Hiram more easily.

Sister Jael wants the Dogs to put a stop to the False Temple so she can go back to her life and be wooed properly.

Brother Silas wants the Dogs to take away the decision as to whether or not he should woo Sister Jael; if she gets taken to the real Temple, he doesn't have to make a hard choice. He's not really sure if he wants to woo her or if he just likes the physical part.

Brother Hiram wants the Dogs to make his son Silas into a Dog. If his son isn't around, he won't feel as guilty about sleeping with Sister Hannah.

Brother Jacob wants the Dogs to admit that his daughter Jael is a Dog.

What do the demons want?

The demons want the Dogs to push back on Brother Daniel so that Brother Daniel is forced into false doctrine. This will also push matters with Sister Hannah and Brother Hiram further along, which is all to the good.

What would happen if the Dogs didn't come?

Brother Daniel would send around half a dozen Dogs to the Temple one day, and they would of course fail. He would not be able to see why; it would trigger his False Doctrine. The demons would lift the scales from Brother Hiram's eyes and Brother Hiram would deny Brother Daniel's right, causing a schism. Sister Hannah would go to Brother Hiram's arms, publicly, depriving Brother Daniel of the thing he really cares about. The town would disintegrate.