For a long time I've wanted to put more of a distance between the Neverborn and Oblivion. In The Abyssals they are intermingled, especially in the Charm descriptions (due to the Neverborns' goal of entering Oblivion.) In V3 the Neverborn and Oblivion are more exclusive and so, considering my development of Dark Messiah Style, I've split their influence into two Backgrounds.
Whispers is still a connection to the Neverborn manifesting as Jack Walters-esque visions, hallucination-like fever dreams and other phenomena. Unlike the Background in the book, Abyssals so not bear the direct influence of the Neverborn, although the Deathlords do, bearing fragments of their souls.
Avatar: A Background possessed only by Abyssals and Nephwracks and perhaps a few aberrant persona. I'm going to have to reconstitute some lost material about I wrote during a moment of insight but Avatar is related to the Abyssals' Virtues. It's a measure of Oblivion within the character, hence it's importance to Dark Messiah Style.
