Sin and Humanity in CAIN, a Tabletop Roleplaying Game

An "Exorcist"- the in-universe term for psychics aligned with the organization of "CAIN"- portrayed as victorious over a "Sin."

    Many Abrahamic religions are heavily preoccupied with the idea of 'sin,' a term referring to transgression against divine law or proscriptive moral codes, and 'sinners.' In this aspect, many religions fall within a "legalistic" framework, in which God serves as the ultimate judge of our actions, and determines whether or not we may be considered a "good" or a "bad" person. I am interested in exploring this topic through my favorite tabletop roleplaying game, "CAIN," developed by Tom Bloom. 

    The general premise of CAIN is as such: You play as an exorcist, a psychic super-soldier compelled to the service of CAIN, a shadow government which exists nominally for the purpose of hunting down and controlling psychic monsters manifested by human trauma. These monsters are referred to as "Sins." As exorcists, you are legally considered as non-human. The organization treats you not unlike tools, often providing the bare minimum for you to function as a valuable asset. Many are recruited as children, kidnapped from their families for displaying psychic capabilities referred to as "blasphemies." Notably, these powers are manifested by trauma as well- like all psychic abilities in the universe. In short: If you have magical powers in the world of CAIN, you weren't a very happy person. 

    CAIN is an explicitly fascistic organization, rooted within the Catholic church. This may be rather obvious, with the usage of terms like "exorcist," "blasphemy," "sin," and even the name of the organization itself. Under their dogma, Sins, blasphemies, and other such supernatural phenomenon are viewed as a human failing. They are all labelled as part of the "stain," a label under which exorcists are included. CAIN is only using you- yes, using you- because you are useful to it at this moment in time. (Side-note, but the book also has a very interesting implication: CAIN only exists because of the 'stain.' If CAIN ever actually wipes it out, the organization loses all of the immense power and influence it wields over world governments. Why would it ever truly want to "wipe away the stain" at this cost, why would it want to sacrifice its power?) 

    To get into the Sins themselves, as stated above, they are manifestations of human trauma. They are often manifested by people who have experienced sustained injustice, a lack of something important, or abuse. People who manifest sins often are not bad people; rather, they are human beings not unlike you and I who simply reached a limit. Often, for entirely justifiable reasons. Yet, they are deemed by CAIN as individuals simply too weak to stomach the weight of the world. Hosts that survive are often "recruited" by the organization as exorcists, furthering their dehumanization. 

    Official CAIN dogma dictates that sins must be executed, a process which is often severely traumatic for the host- to a deadly degree should they be fused in some way or another. There is the option to spare the sin as well, but this requires the exorcists to uncover and understand the traumas behind why a sin has come to exist. However, this has the mechanical implication of causing the player characters to be paid less for the mission, setting them back on a finite resource used to buy supplies to survive their next mission or reach retirement. 

    The last bit I wanted to touch on in this post is the "Nail of Abel." In CAIN, all Sins have a "palace," a hidden domain or realm hidden in a place significant to its Host. In this plain, the Sin is much stronger, and it is the only place where it can be truly defeated. When the Sin is not in its palace, Exorcists must perform a ritual called the "Nail of Abel" to force it there. In order to perform this ritual, the exorcists require an item that was significant to the Host, or even the Host (or part of them) themselves in order to call the Sin there. 

In my next post, I will be talking about two of my favorite Sins from Cain, and how they relate to other supernatural tropes. (and map onto the seven deadly sins a little bit, too)