An Innocent Man

Question: I was wondering - what would happen if Nemesis met someone who she couldn't say has committed a sin? And an additional question, if that's alright: from what I've read, there's been marriages between Titans and gods, in the games you've run - could something like this open up that possibility, for a PC interested in Nemesis?

Keep in mind here that it is not me being an inflexible and crazy bitch; it's Nemesis. Because the answer to that is "It wouldn't happen, because no one exists who hasn't committed a sin."

Remember that this is a sin by Nemesis' standards, which are broad and dangerously accepting, and that the degree of the sin doesn't matter. Jaywalked? Exceeded the speed limit by one mile? Stole a cookie from your sister when you were three years old? Were part of any religion other than worship of the ancient Greek gods? Congratulations, you have committed a punishable crime and all the fury of her Justice boons can rain down upon you, regardless of how severe the original infraction was or whether or not anyone was hurt by it. The lives of even normal, non-heroic humans are built of a multitude of tiny sins, petty crimes and overlooked mistakes; Scions, who have to make tough decisions and often break the law in the name of the greater good, are that much dirtier by Order Titans' standards. Nemesis doesn't care if it hurt anybody, or if it was an accident, or if it wasn't a big deal. That's why she's a Titan, because she cares about the letter of the law to a shocking, violent degree, not the spirit behind whatever you might have done.

The only saving grace anybody has when dealing with Nemesis is that it might take a little while for her to figure out what exactly it is that you're guilty of, so she can dump Judgment on you and then pull the pain train out of the station. If, somehow, you manage to live a Jesus-like life free of any and all misbehavior (okay, Jesus is not a great example, what with the throwing tables on the floor and all, but you get the idea), you're still living on miserably borrowed time, because you'll inevitably do something that she can slam you for, and Nemesis is always watching if you're near her. Always. She wants to punish the shit out of you, because that's what she does. The minute you accidentally drop a sandwich receipt in a public place, your ass is in Psychic Prison for the next fifty years.

Remember, also, that Nemesis has Code of Heaven, which means that she doesn't really have to care too much about getting you for breaking any of your local laws or the laws of wherever the two of you are standing right now. Hubris means that any time she thinks you've been uppity to anyone above your station (which probably includes her, so good luck with that), she's got you. Disrespect toward the gods is also punishable, which means that almost everyone who either A) believes in a monotheistic religion or B) doesn't believe the Dodekatheon exist is guilty, even if they've since realized their error. And god forbid you cross from one area into another that has different laws while in the company of Nemesis; I hope you know every possible tiny detail of the local penal code to the letter, because I guarantee she does.

And all of that is assuming she's going to be nice enough to stick with Justice instead of just, you know, torturing you the good old-fashioned way that doesn't require Judgment to confirm her suspicions. Nemesis is fucking crazy, and the best way to deal with her is just to stay far, far away from her as often as possible (which is what most of the Dodekatheon and others in her immediate orbit strive to do).

However, if you somehow had managed to live an entirely mistake- and sin-free life because you were raised in a bubble of intravenous piety, then yes, theoretically Nemesis would not be able to slam you for any crimes. It's most likely that she would keep trying until she succeeded, but since she's easily distracted by evildoers in need of smiting, just walking past pretty much anybody else might be enough to get her off your back and onto theirs.

And yes, in theory, you could even marry Nemesis if you happened to be this insane beacon of purity; she's thoroughly single (for obvious reasons) and either Erebus or Zeus, depending on your myth preference, could approve a union for you (fun fact: since ancient Greek law is about the father approving a marriage, not the daughter, you could probably get married to her totally legally even if she hated you, though I really, really wouldn't recommend it). I don't know why anyone would want to - you'd have to either somehow maintain that perfect lack of guilt forever and ever, which really isn't possible as a PC, or else be so amazingly good at manipulation and smokescreening that you could prevent her from ever finding out what you have done, which is possible but exceptionally difficult (especially with Judgment in the mix). It doesn't sound like a particularly blissful arrangement.

But hey, one of our PCs married Circe and that... happened, so who knows?

(Please note: we're talking about Nemesis as used in our games, in which she is a daughter of Erebus, a Titan Avatar of Sedeq and thoroughly Titanic. If you want anyone to be able to have any real relations with her, I suggest following the Cyprian Fragment theory of her as a fractious daughter of Zeus and making her a Legend 11 goddess; it's not as mythically accurate and it's not much to go on, but it'll up the odds of people surviving and functioning around her considerably.)