Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter One: The Cosmos (section)

==Grimm==
'''The Catalyst of Fury'''

'''Nickname: Asuras'''

'''Traditional Planet: Mars'''

''You will pay for what you've done''

The pious recall stories of God's wrathful messengers, wreathed in darkness and fire, sent to punish the wicked. From the heartlands of civilization spring stories of banishing angels with flaming swords, of furious Asuras whose anger and passion shake the Heavenly Mountain. Wherever their names are mentioned, these creatures are seen as more than human but less than gods, and lit from within by a fire that cannot be quenched. Some are righteous, and seek their own brutal sort of justice; others are merely brutal, and visit devastation upon the mortal world. All are defined by the fury felt during their catalyst.

A genius who breaks through in rage and fury is a Grimm, and is stamped forever by that initial, primal anger. This might be a vicious hatred for mundane humanity, or a noble fury at the injustice of this cruel world, or a more personal hate, but it is always terrifying, and Grimms are rightly feared for their uncontrolled rages.

===Origins:===

Grimms are often born amidst violence, either personal or cultural. A country in the grips of revolution and war will birth Grimms, as will places plagued by unfairness, inequality, and great suffering. In more civilized places, Grimms catalyze through personal fury: threats to lives, livelihoods, or families, or merely seeing the injustice of the world every day until they dream of stopping it. Grimms are, of all the catalysts, most likely to come from outside the breeding pool, the result of a mortal trapped in an impossible situation who is forced 
to fight back.

Many Grimms are furious and temperamental throughout their youth and adolescence. Moody, dangerous, often irrational, they become soldiers, police officers, and brutal overseers. A life of discipline and service tempers some future Grimms, though their rage always burns beneath the surface. Grimms are the most likely geniuses to come from a military or combat tradition, though many come with extensive technical training, as pilots, cyber-crime specialists, or military engineers. Others seem never to learn, and find themselves trapped in low-prestige, high-stress technical jobs in their chosen field, working as EMTs, code monkeys, and construction workers. The least stable fall out of the technical world entirely, or never focus on those pursuits, and drift through life as unstable low-level criminals and violent thugs, though often ones so smart they never get caught.

Not all pre-Grimms are simply angry. Many are righteous, and channel their anger through their moral beliefs. Fulminating preachers, crusading lobbyists, and idealistic―if ruthless―lawyers are all likely candidates for this catalyst, and in safer parts of the world, where social violence replaces the physical sort, these Grimms are more common than the physically violent Whatever their origins, Grimms are aggressive, smart, and unwilling to accept the cruelties of the world without doing something about them.

===Breakthrough:===

Asuras are often hands-on people, and they are the most likely than other catalysts to rise up through the ranks as Beholden. But few are simple thugs and leg-breakers, and many are frankly brilliant, though shackled by a rage that prevents them from progressing as far as they should. The Breakthrough often removes that handicap, not by removing the rage, but by focusing it so keenly into the pursuit of mad science that a Grimm cannot help but grow in power and wisdom.

Few Grimms catalyze simply by beating a man to death in a back alley, though that's sometimes how a Breakthrough begins: a sudden, horrible act of violence, followed by the realization on the part of the pre-genius that she is too smart to get caught. This violence need not be physical: ambitious scientists or scholars might realize that they can crush their opponents in debate with tactics so brutal no one questions them, while lawyers and preachers discover they can sway people as if by the sound of their voice alone. They're cheating, these new Grimms realize. They're breaking the rules, and there's no one there to stop them. From that it's a short, fast plunge, either into catalysis or oblivion.

Not all Grimms catalyze through an active desire to fight back. Some are survivors of brutality and insanity, sometimes at the hands of other Inspired. These Breakthroughs can take a long time to develop, as an Asura cultivates rage, hatred, and intricate plots for revenge. A girl whose family burns to death in a house fire caused by an insane arsonist might work carefully through most of her twenties before unleashing bloody retribution against the arsonist and against the corrupt and incompetent police and firefighters who did nothing to stop the killer. Another pre-Grimm might swallow years of torment and bullying at school, only for his tormentors to watch their chances at an Ivy League college slip away amidst digitally-planted accusations of malfeasance.

A Grimm's Breakthrough is not simply about revenge, however. A Grimm's catalyst shows her that her act of vengeance was not merely about her and her enemies were not just the ones in front of her. She sees a larger world, one dictated by strength and weakness, power and helplessness, honor and injustice, and chooses to embrace that vision. Many Grimms describe religious-like transformations, as if an Angel of the Lord descended from On High and set itself up within (or instead of) the frail and fallible human soul. Those Grimms who come from scientific fields describe a falling away of the world's vagaries, a severed Gordian Knot that frees the genius to act with clarity, certainty, and purpose.

===Motivations:===

Many Grimms temper their fury with justice. Whether that makes them honorable vigilantes or homicidal purifiers depends on how much the genius' idea of justice diverges from her community's. While a Grimm is as smart as any other genius, they favor direct solutions that bring overwhelming force to bear on a problem. Those that can master their impulsive nature can become deadly, patient planners, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

Grimms don't live based on an abstract vision, like Hoffnungs, nor on a belief in their own unappreciated superiority, like Neids. This can make them seem grounded, despite their tempers. While a Grimm might fly off the handle and get into trouble, if given a chance to plan, Asuras are rarely swayed by sentimentality, paranoia, or any desire except to see the job get done.

===Collaboration:===

Within a collaborative, Grimms can offer direct but clear solutions to problems. They make effective "mid-range" planners, leaving grand visions up to others, while preventing the collaborative from getting bogged down in pointless squabbles about details. Their moral purity―however it manifests―brings dynamism to a stagnating collaborative, while providing focus and direction to one that's too diffuse and disorganized. Grimms can be exploitative and cruel, but they can also inflame the passions of their fellows and drive them forward.

===Favored Axiom:===
Katastrofi, the Axion of Destruction. No one levels a city block quite like a Grimm, and nothing says "I am angry" like a sizzling ray gun the size of a Buick Skylark.

===Derangement:===
Irrationality. A Grimm's first Derangement always leaves him twisted with fury.

===Training:===
Grimms gravitate toward aggressive Skills, and many focus on Resistance Attributes to survive their harsh lives. They are hard, tough, and no longer willing to suffer. Those that focus on vigilante justice often train in Investigation (to track down their quarries) and Intimidation (in case physical deterrence is inappropriate). Since many begin life in a rough place, they can lack the Social Merits that other geniuses take for granted, making up for that absence with an impressive array of Skills designed to keep a person going when outnumbered and outgunned: Athletics, Drive, Medicine, and Streetwise. Their irascible personalities can make Grimms difficult to get along with: many have poor Social attributes, and may prefer the company of wild places to that of man; non-urban Grimms pay particular attention to Animal Ken and Survival, allowing them to get by when not supported by their fellow man. "Firebrand" Grimms, by contrast, can come from careers in religion or lobbying that require impressive Social Skills; these simple personalities sacrifice Mental Attributes for Presence and Composure. They might not be stupid, but they are direct and uninterested in subtlety. Most Grimms, whatever their origin, develop an interesting selection of combat skills to survive the scraps they get into, and may focus on Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry, usually depending on what sort of wonders they built with their knowledge of Katastrofi.

Those Asuras who let their anger get the better of them before their Breakthrough have few Social Merits. Most are poor, with few Allies or Contacts. Even those who began life acclaimed and influential may lose it after their Breakthrough, becoming insular and strange, abandoning their old connections and forging new ones―which takes time. Physical Merits, by contrast, are common, and may be geared toward a Grimm's Breakthrough. A Grimm who was poisoned by a political rival but survived through determination and mad botany might have developed Toxin Resistance, while one who spent his Breakthrough chasing criminals across the city's rooftops may have Fleet of Foot.

===Concepts:===
Sadistic vigilante, quiet security specialist, terror of the school board, guardian of the innocent, high-pressure company manager, passionate antiquarian orator, ex-military tech specialist, plague lord, politician with a dark secret

''I am nanometers from perfection and no longer answer to any mortal authority. They weren't there for me and I won't waste time helping them as I rise asymptotically toward the ultimate virtue. Every corpse I leave should be one less investigation to make, instead of one more open case. But I'm not here for human justice any more. When you see the Paolenti penthouse burn with white fire and the dreams of serpents, you'll know that, and so will every other man-mask-wearing machine-demon in this city. They'll never love me for the things I've done, but I never asked for love. Only for perfection.''

===Stereotypes:===
Hoffnung: Things only get better in one way, and "wishing it were so" is not that way.

Klagen: Your cowardice is a veil, not a shield. You cannot even protect yourself, let alone fight back.

Neid: "Injustice" is a bit broader than "things that make me sad." Everyone's in pain, not just you.

Staunen: I think I would have understood you, once. There is something amazing out there, but I cannot remember what it was.