Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter Four:Special Rules and Systems (section)

=== Stray Beholden: ===

Some beholden are "strays." They lack a worldview of their own, and thus are certainly beholden, but they also lack a master to tell them what to do and think. This tends to happen in one of four ways. First, a genius might die, leaving her beholden without direction and focus. Second, a regular person, often a scientist, might see something so wondrous that it shatters their ability to formulate a view of the world, while not pushing them quite far enough to catalyze. Third, some bardos create beholden naturally from members of their population. Finally, beholden might forcibly and instinctively reject their master due to extreme moral differences; mad scientists on the fast-track to Illumination often shed all but their most heinous Igors.

To escape the bonds of a repellent master, the genius' Obligation must differ from the beholden's Morality by five or more points (either way, though usually it's a moral beholden and a monstrous mad scientist). Once per month, or once per scene if someone makes a Manipulation + Persuasion roll to convince the beholden of the error of his master's ways, the genius can make a Resolve check vs. his master's Inspiration.

''Dramatic Failure:'' The beholden cannot attempt to free himself again until the genius' Obligation moves even farther from the beholden's Morality.

''Failure:'' The beholden remains a servant of the genius.

''Success:'' The beholden is freed and becomes a stray.

''Exceptional Success:'' The beholden is freed and is no longer a beholden.

''Suggested Modifiers:'' Beholden fears for his life (+3), beholden has been mistreated (+1 to +3), genius has made promises to safeguard the beholden (-1), genius is friends with the beholden (-1) Stray beholden, however they appear, cannot recover Willpower until they have a master again. Worse, they gradually go insane as they lose the ability to make sense of the world. Every month, roll Intelligence + Resolve.

''Dramatic Failure:'' The stray goes completely insane and becomes catatonic, dying shortly thereafter. 

''Failure:'' The stray takes a -1 penalty to all actions as he loses his ability to form connections and build a coherent view of the world. At -5, the stray goes insane as if a Dramatic Failure had been rolled.

''Success:'' The stray remains stable.

''Exceptional Success:'' The stray reestablishes contact with the pattern-generating part of his mind. He is no longer beholden, and all penalties are removed.

''Suggested Modifiers:'' Psychological exercises (+1), difficult and violent month (-1), rejected by another mad scientist (-1), with a group of three or more strays (+1), with a group of ten or more strays (+2) These stray beholden are eager to find a genius to latch onto, even risking abusive and morally dubious relationships in exchange for being given a worldview again. Geniuses looking for Igors often learn about good places to look in their immediate area. It seems that every major metropolitan area has some place―a half-forgotten coffee shop, a tiny bardo inside an apartment block, a neglected basement office at the local community college―where the strays congregate, talking about old times under their masters and trying to remember what it was like to believe something. Most geniuses know how to find this place, which the Lemurians call a catasta, where they know they can find beholden desperate for employment and purpose.