in_nomine-digest Thursday, September 6 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2361 In this digest: Re: IN> Peter - Part 2 Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting Re: IN> Peter - Part 2 IN> General Kudos IN> Blackouts Re: IN> I plead mild delirium IN> Blandine Re: IN> I plead mild delirium IN> Blandine vs Beleth IN> Old News. IN> Re: Seraphim, Flowers and Politics Re: IN> [Successors] And The Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting Re: IN> Dreamworld (Re: [Successors] And the Bands Played On:) Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting IN> [Successors] And The Bands Played On: Faust (Prologue) Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting IN> [Successors] And The Bands Played On: Faust (Part 1) Re: IN> IN [Successors] Serendipity, Mercurian Archangel of Light-part 1 Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting IN> IN [Successors] Serendipity, Mercurian Archangel of Light-part 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 06 Sep 2001 23:03:44 +0100 From: "Richard C Hanton-Rutherford" Subject: Re: IN> Peter - Part 2 > >--- Richard C Hanton-Rutherford >> >> Malakim - With a touch, a Malakite may double an >> apostle's Strength, >> Intelligence or Will for a number of hours equal to the >> angel's Celestial Forces. This power can be used once a >> day for free, or more times for the cost of 1 essence per >> use. > > That's awfully powerful for a Choir Attunement. And only >1 Essence per use? Yikes! Heavenly Judgement isn't quite >that nasty (but it's close), and it costs 7. When I come up with these things, I pay more attention to the concept than the mechanics - they can always be fine tuned later. With hindsight, 1 essence probably is too little, but I disagree that Heavenly Judgement isn't as nasty as this. What's going to bother a Demon more, a charged up mortal, or a repeated assault that lands without fail every turn, and doesn't stop until the victim has fled or died? How about if the cost remains the same, but the effect can't raise a primary stat above 8? I'm also surprised that this was the attunement singled out for comment. I was sure that people were going to have a go at the apostle attunement! Richie - -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 18:51:09 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting > >just about everyone has Beleth outliving Blandine, though she > >perishes shortly thereafter. > > It's a simple thematic choice, actually. In the final battle, hope > and peace finally perish, but in so doing bring forth a new world. And here I thought it was because B&B were tragic star-crossed lovers caught up in an epic conflict far larger than they. Those things never end well. - -- Casca Now, for some reason, I see as caricatures: Blandine is the prissy theatre major (No, no! Do it properly! We slay each other simultaneously, so that in death we may have that which we never had in life!) and Beleth as the angst-loving goth chick (Right, yeah, symbolism, joined forever in eternal agony, because my love for you is the death of me, and death is the finest of lovers..) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 18:51:33 -0400 From: "Jeffery Watkins" Subject: Re: IN> Peter - Part 2 The impression I get from canon, though, is that Blandine likes to handle her own affairs. She may well agree with Peter's mission, but I can't see her looking favourably at him poking around in her business. > >Richie I can see that POV. She might take offense at that. Though wouldn't she be more...gentle about expressing it? But that is getting more into artistic interpretation and I prefer not to even attempt to stifle any here on the list...not that I do anywhere else either. *g* Jeffery _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 18:37:23 -0500 (CDT) From: Benjamin Acosta Subject: IN> General Kudos There's too much good stuff to write a "wow message" for each one, so I'm just doing it once for everything, Inner Zombies, Beldines, Archsaints, and all. WOW! Nice work. Everyone gets some essence. Ben, Elohite of Eli Angel of Neat Ideas ------------------------------ Date: 07 Sep 2001 00:39:55 +0100 From: "Richard C Hanton-Rutherford" Subject: IN> Blackouts Is there a demon of blackouts? I've just had to sit through one, and there definitely should be. - -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 18:53:13 -0500 (CDT) From: Benjamin Acosta Subject: Re: IN> I plead mild delirium Quoting Michael Walton > > - --- Benjamin Acosta wrote: > > Brace yourself, he may not be done yet. He can still > > write up Gargamel as a > > sorceror, and his cat Azrael as his infernal familiar. > > Oh, thank you sooo much. He might not have thought of > that. 0:> Oh, come on. If I could think of it, it's pretty sure he already has. Besides, it'll distract him from writing up the Snorks as orphaned Servitors of Oanes. Ben, Elohite of Eli Angel of Neat Ideas ------------------------------ Date: 07 Sep 2001 01:01:24 +0100 From: "Richard C Hanton-Rutherford" Subject: IN> Blandine In relation to what Jeffrey was saying about interpreting Blandine, I realised how much my interpretation of the Superiors, and IN as a whole, is informed by the Sandman. I've already said that my Eli tends to behave like Destruction; my Blandine tends to end up horribly twisted into Morpheus-like shapes and my Marches have more to do with the Dreaming than with canon (though the two are pretty close). Does anyone else do this, or is it just me? Richie H-R - -- ------------------------------ Date: 07 Sep 2001 01:07:26 +0100 From: "Richard C Hanton-Rutherford" Subject: Re: IN> I plead mild delirium >Oh, come on. If I could think of it, it's pretty sure he already has. >Besides, it'll distract him from writing up the Snorks as orphaned >Servitors of >Oanes. Shut up! He's listening! On the other hand, Bagpuss was clearly a servitor of Sloth in the service of Mammon. Richie - -- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 10:25:36 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Blandine vs Beleth > From: "Jeffery Watkins" > General question since I have notice a theme in all of the presentations so > far (and not just this marvelous one): Why does the list see Blandine and > Novalis as losing in the last battle? So far just about everyone has Beleth > outliving Blandine, though she perishes shortly thereafter. [raised eyebrow] Not in Sorcerer's World, you'll note. True, I didn't have a final clash between Blandine & Beleth. If I did: well, it would occur in the Marches. And the Seraph of Dreams & Malakite of Dreams attunements each guarantee Blandine's victory. Remember people, in celestial combat Dodge is a Perception-based skill. James. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 10:24:28 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Old News. > He's Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the head of the Catholic church in > England a Wales. > >> in the adress he said that money, new ageism, paganism has is more >> special to people now than God was. > > As someone who doesn't do God, Mamon, New Ageism or Paganism, he's right. This is the ultimate in 'old news', guys - the oldest reference to Christianity dying out that I'm aware of is, IIRC, in Tacitus, with his surprise that Christians still exist nearly a century after their leaders' crucifixion. So can we discuss stuff a little more relevant? James. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 10:16:06 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Re: Seraphim, Flowers and Politics > I have a question, and I don't have Heaven and Hell to answer it. I > should explain. My very first IN character, still active, is a Seraph of > Flowers who has a role as a high-level political aide to a prominent > Senator in the U.S. Congress. A Seraph in politics. Hmm. Opponent: "During my first year in office I'll arrange to end the taxes on beer!" Seraph: "You lying scoundrel!" Opponent:"Just what gives you the right to call me a liar?" Seraph:"Umm...Err..." :-) > Now, I'm not sure, but does the Game > control politics or influence it? I think I recall the Game having > connotations with corrupt politicans, but I might have been mistaken or > misunderstood. Influence. Influences a lot. But so does everybody else, so in the end humans have something resembling autonomy due to celestial interference cancelling out. > I ask because I want to try to involve my innocent Seraph (just > reassigned in the midst of her first-ever Earth assignment) more in the > political sphere due to her role, and I'm not sure just how much > influence demons have in politics. Enough to make her life Hell, not enough to make her actions fruitless. Remember to touch base with Destiny, Trade & The Sword; Children, Judgement, Lightning & War are likely to look you up. Also think about what to do when Freedom comes calling.* Have fun, and try not to Fall! (Don't forget that you can lose dissonance by uncovering a very great lie, and revealing the truth. APG p26. Get yourself assigned to committee work; politicians are actually lied to more than they lie themselves, and ending that will earn you many brownie points with your mortal colleagues). James. *especially during debates - if the GM asks whether you wish you could avoid a question you've been asked, and then someone else jumps in, you've probably just picked up a Geas hook. On the upside, they're good allies vs The Game. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 21:04:00 -0500 (CDT) From: Benjamin Acosta Subject: Re: IN> [Successors] And The Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting Quoting Michael Walton > Sparkarus, Prince of Science? No relation to a certain > sidekick, perchance? Nah, there couldn't be. Just because Sparkarus happened to be a high ranking member of Vapula's organization who wasn't happy with his job is just a coincidence. That he was made a Prince of Science was only good strategic sense in countering his former boss. This is in no way subtle attempt to inspire a certain unnamed individual to write him up or give tips on writing him up. Nope, not at all. Ben, Elohite of Eli Angel of Neat Ideas ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 22:31:20 -0400 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN> Dreamworld (Re: [Successors] And the Bands Played On:) >Jean/Blandine, joining forces against Vapula/Beleth. If _that's_ >not a tetch twisted... Hmm... I suppose that's enough of an excuse to mention a seed I posted along these lines. It's called "IN> Seed: Jean, Blandine, Beleth, and/or Vapula", and was posted on 1/26/01. I didn't know too much about Dream-shades at the time, so there's probably a few non-canon bits, but it was intended to get the pairings above working, at least among some of the Servitors of those Superiors. >--emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor >RPG links; Random name list, Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ William ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 21:40:41 -0500 (CDT) From: Benjamin Acosta Subject: Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting Quoting "Jeffery Watkins" > Very, very creative and may be the answer to what to have after > Armageddon > in my game. Great work. Thanks. > General question since I have notice a theme in all of the presentations > so > far (and not just this marvelous one): Why does the list see Blandine > and > Novalis as losing in the last battle? So far just about everyone has > Beleth > outliving Blandine, though she perishes shortly thereafter. I don't know about the others, but the reason I had Beleth slay Bladine is that's how it has to end. Either that, or Belelth redeems and leaves with Bladine. But there's too much story between them for it not to be settled one way or the other. The scenario I had pictured is an epic battle between Bladine's and Beleth's forces in The Marches. After several long hours of combat, Beleth strikes the killing blow against her former love. It's at that point that Bladine says "I've never stopped loving you," and then dies in her arms. With the shock of that deathbed confession, the greatly weakened and emotionally shattered Beleth withdraws herself and her forces back to her Tower. So despondent she is over the turn of events, she makes no effort to organize her defenses when Faust and his allies begin their assualt on her Principality. Storming her Tower, they find Beleth on her balcony, just staring across The Vale. She offers no resistance, and doesn't even acknowledge the intruders. She just sits and weeps, looking toward Bladine's Tower till the end finally comes for her. Not only does this give a nice, poetic end to the Bladine and Beleth tragedy, but it also let's one pull the terrorized rising up against their tormentor riff. And it has Knowledge overcome Fear, which is a fitting thing. > Ben, I still love what you did here. I hope you do more. Oh I've got a bunch of stuff. First I'm going to revise Faust. Then there are writeups of the other Princes and how they've changed Post Aramageddon. For the Enlightened, that includes coming up with attunements for any angels who happened to side with them. Then there's background on the new status quo, as well as new Princes to writeup. Now I remember why I sort of put it aside back then. There's a whole bunch of stuff to do. Ben, Elohite of Eli Angel of Neat Ideas ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 21:56:44 -0500 (CDT) From: Benjamin Acosta Subject: IN> [Successors] And The Bands Played On: Faust (Prologue) The Faustian Gambit Faust stared down into the dark abyss as gray ash was whipped about behind him by the unrelenting winds. Far below, just barely within sight, lay the purpose of his journey, a black, glistening, gelatinous surface which undulated like it was a living being. Faust recognized it for what it was, the final remnants of souls smelted by Saminga for their Forces. It had been accumulating in The Chasm for centuries, as the broken and diminsished victims of Saminga's, so mindless and without will that they could not have even been considered beings anymore, lept into it in some instinctive search for escape. Faust closed his eyes and bowed his head, steeling himself for the plunge below. It was important he have the upmost confidence in himself and his plan. If he had any doubts, the slightest weakening of his sense of Self, then all would be lost. He would be dissolved, another pathetic wretch absorbed into the great undulating sea of Forces. But if he succeeded, then he and his confederates would have all the power they needed to see their plans to fruition. Faust opened his eyes and took a look down one more time. The black, shifting mass below rose and fell in a mockery of breath. Then he shut his eyes and took the last step. Down, down, down he plunged, all the while concentrating, centering himself in preparation for what lay below. Finally, he hit the bottom and was slowly drawn under by the dark, oozing slime. Almost immediately an assault began on his mind and soul. The memories of a thousand murderers, the echoes of a thousand urges filled his head. He felt the black ooze all around him, trying to insinuate itself into him, between his Forces, to break them down, digest them, absorb them. The sudden attack almost overwhelmed his defenses, but Faust's preparation was not in vain. He shut out the memories, silenced the urges, forcing himself to recall his lessons and studies as a mortal sorceror. Remembering all he could about the art of essence shaping, he shielded his Forces from the corrosive dark mass which he was immersed in. Having successfully preserved himself from the soul sea's identity dissolving embrace, Faust began his counter-attack. His Will burst outward, branding the loose Forces around him with his sense of Self. Utilizing the lore he had uncovered both in life and in Hell, he began to turn the tables on the dark sea, bending and shaping the Forces to his will, absorbing them into his soul. The sea, with no will of its own, had no defense against Faust. Force by Force, the soul sea diminished, and Faust grew. Faust felt an exhilerating rush of essence as the components of the sea were devoured by his Self. Finally, the darkness was gone and only Faust remained, lying on his back on the gray slab which was the Chasm's bottom. Faust slowly got up, feeling euphoric with all the power that was his. But he knew he could not stop to rest. He knew if he were to do nothing he would not be able to keep all the Forces he had gained. There was too much, way too much for him to hold all together by Will alone. Eventually they'd unravel, and he'd lose most of them to the Symphony. He'd still retain enough to be more powerful than he ever had been, but Faust was unwilling to settle for that. He needed all the power he had now if he was to ever have a chance of challenging Hell's Hierarchy. What he needed was a Word, to stabilize his grip on the Forces he had gained and bind them to his soul. Normally the only way for someone to obtain a Word was for Lucifer or the Seraphim Council to grant it. But with Armageddon occuring above, all bets were off. If Faust's theories were right, if he had interpeted the texts he had read in the Archives correctly, then the Symphony would be in a state of transition. In such a malleable and unsupervised state, it just might be possible for a being sufficient power and skill to briefly, just briefly, impose his Will upon it. Perhaps just long enough to gain a Word. Faust closed his eyes and began the ritual, focusing his Will and expanding it outward to touch the Symphony. Immediately he felt a shock as his mind touched the entirety of existence. For a brief moment he was stunned, overwhelmed by the sheer majesty of Everything. Then he regained his control and began the Will War. At first the battle went poorly for him, his Will splattering off the Symphony like a snowball off a granite wall. Faust knew then that God was still in control. Then, as he continued his efforts, Faust felt that wall disappear. For one second the Symphony was masterless. In that second Faust had his opportunity. "KNOWLEDGE!" he shouted to the Heavens, to the Damned, to the Symphony. "KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE MY WORD! BY MY WILL AND MY HEART I BIND IT TO MYSELF, TO MY SOUL!" And the Symphony answered in a burst of glorious song, a chord of celestial harmony so pure and resounding that Faust almost wept at its beauty. He felt the chord wash over him, echoing in his Forces. Faust then knew the Symphony's answer meant yes. Ben, Elohite of Eli Angel of Neat Ideas ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 22:53:11 -0400 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting At 6:51 PM -0400 9/6/01, Eric Bertish wrote: > > >just about everyone has Beleth outliving Blandine, though she >> >perishes shortly thereafter. >> >> It's a simple thematic choice, actually. In the final battle, hope >> and peace finally perish, but in so doing bring forth a new world. > >And here I thought it was because B&B were tragic star-crossed lovers caught >up in an epic conflict far larger than they. Those things never end well. Well,there is that too. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Impudite of Secrets -- or Mercurian of Revelation (candidate for the Word of Obscurity) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2001 22:20:22 -0500 (CDT) From: Benjamin Acosta Subject: IN> [Successors] And The Bands Played On: Faust (Part 1) FAUST AVATAR OF KNOWLEDGE "The World is the ultimate classroom. Those who learn its lessons well will succeed when it tests them." Everyone has heard of Faust. Everyone knows the story of how the good doctor traded his soul to a demon for arcane knowledge and power, of how he reveled at his new abilities, and his tragic end when his soul was dragged down to Hell. What everyone doesn't know is what happened afterward. When Faust walked through the gates of Hell his personal Demon was already there to greet him. "Mephistoples" or more accurately, the Demon behind that guise, Hatiphas, was waiting to pick up Faust for her master Kronos. Faust was considered a prized accquisition, a perfect case study of a man's quest for knowledge damning him to his Fate. Faust, the proud and powerful sorceror, was reduced to a lowly functionary filing books in Kronos's Archives. For centuries he toiled in obscurity, ignored by demons as he moved from shelf to shelf, making sure books were put in their improper place. During those centuries his resentment and regret for being tricked into his current Fate grew into a hatred of the entire order of Hell itself, and Kronos in particular. He could not be content to eck out an existence of toil and tedium, of being thankful just because he avoided the real tortures. He had contempt for Infernal Society, with its waste, ignorance, and stupidity. Didn't the fools know that it didn't have to be this way? That the established order only existed because no one ever concieved of challenging it? Faust wasn't the only one in his beliefs. He encountered like-minded souls among the Damned from all principalities. He wasn't the only one to believe that the Infernal Order could be overthrown. Eventually they began forming an underground organization right under the Princes' noses. A secret organization dedicated to preparing for the time when Hell was at its weakest, when a rebellion had the best chance possible for success. When that day came they would have the knowledge, power, and resources to lead the Damned to rise up and overthrow their oppressors. Until that time came, they were to slowly and quietly accumulate knowlege and power. Then that day finally came. Gabriel's trumpet had sounded and Armageddon had begun. The great hordes of Hell went into battle, and only a fraction of their forces stayed in Hell. Enough to control a beaten and cowed populace. Not enough to control an organized rebellion, who had planned for this day from its founding. One of the key elements of the plan was to gain a method of augmenting Damned Souls with more Forces, in order to make their ranks stronger. As a sorceror, Faust researched and came up with a method. The method carried him and his compatriots to Abbadon, where the Chasm lay. There he harvested the Forces necessary to catapult him to Superior Status. He quickly augmented his fellow humans as much as he could, giving them power equal to the most powerful servitors. They then went and augmented others, and organized a movement so powerful that it convinced some of the more free thinking Princes that an alliance with the Damned Rebellion would be powerful enough to break away from Hell's current system. After Faust presented his terms of alliance, those Princes quickly agreed, and the Enlightenment Faction was formed. As noted above, Faust calls himself the Avatar of Knowledge rather than the Prince. This is because he feels that he isn't a Demon Prince at all. He gained his Word not through the whim of Lucifer, but through the Symphony itself. Though he was a Damned Soul, Faust felt the origin of his Word lacked any Diabolical Nature. He, alone of all beings, claimed his Word for himself from the Symphony. Neither Demon Prince, nor Archangel, Faust felt himself to be a unique Superior, and titled himself Avatar. Dissonance It is dissonant for a Celestial Servitor of Faust to totally destroy knowledge. At least one copy must remain, if only in the head of the Servitor. Band and Choir Attunements Despite being a human and a new Superior Faust has managed to gain a number of demons into his service. Some are servitors granted by his allies as gifts, some were renegades who signed on to what they saw as a rising star, and some, such as Hatiphas, were just summoned and bound into service by Faust. Faust also happens to have acquired a number of angelic servitors. Some of the Outcast and Orphaned angels who remained in the World chose The Enlightned as the lesser of two evils, or even a potential good in the face of Asmodeus's dream of authoritarian domination. Faust has somehow become the most popular Superior to choose from among The Enlightened. He technically isn't even a Demon Prince, his Word has very positive connotations, and the society of enlightened self-interest he advocates seems to be the closest one can get to a selfless society in a world that is damned. Mix in the idea that some angels have that Faust couldn't have gotten his Word without God allowing it for some reason, and it's no wonder Faust is the most popular Superior for an Outcast who needs a Word to serve to choose. Balseraphs (Restricted) Faust's Balseraphs are the encrypters of knowledge, ensuring only the worthy have access to it. By using their resonance on any form of recorded knowledge (books, computer files, DVD's) a Balseraph of Knowledge can cloak its true contents with a false disguise. Photo's can be doctored, text altered, video totally changed. This change is permanent unless dispelled by command of the Balseraph who encrypted it. Only the Balseraph who encrypted it, a Seraph who succeeds on its Resonance with a CD of 4 or higher, or one who possesses the Student of Knowledge Distinction can see past the false face of an encrypted medium and see it for what it is. Djinn (Restricted) A Djinn of Knowledge can attune itself to a piece of lore or inforamtion, allowing it to track its flow. The Djinn can just attune itself to THE CONTENTS of a book, videotape, disc, or picture, and can not only track the object, but all copies of the information made from that object, even transfers from one medium to another. Each piece of information counts as one attuned subject, and touching any copy will allow the Djinn to break the attunement. Calabrim (Restricted) Faust's Calabrim are gifted with a knowledge of entropy and its effects. Upon a successful Perception roll they can look at something damaged or destroyed and see its undamaged state. They can read burnt pages, view scrambled video, and see disassembled jigsaw puzzles for what they are. Not only that, but the check digit of a successful Perception roll can be applied as a bonus to any attempt to fix or repair the subject, including Songs of Healing. Their knowledge of entropy gives them a fine control over their resonance, giving them the power to reverse it. Any damage they inflict via their resonance can be repaired through another application of it, as the Calabrim retraces its steps. Calabrim of Knowledge tend to have a neater appearance than other Calabrim, due to their greater control. Habbalah (Restricted) Habbalah of Knowledge benefit from knowledge of the mind and its workings. They may add their Ethereal Forces on any attempt to utilize the Perception based aspect of their resonance. Lilim (Restricted) A Lilim of Knowledge has a knack for sensing what someone needs to know. She may add her Ethereal Forces to any attempt to sense such a need. Shedim (Restricted) Shedim of Faust do not have to corrupt their hosts. In fact, it is dissonant for them to do so. Instead, their hosts must learn something new each day. Impudites Impudites of Knowledge know people. With a successful Perception roll, they can read the surface thoughts of a subject for CD minutes. If the subject is Symphonically Aware, they may make a Perception roll to notice this, and if they succeed, a Will roll to resist. Faustim (Restricted) Faustim of Knowledge have a greater knowledge of themselves and their personal Symphonies, which expands their ability to emulate to include resonances and attunements. The effects of such abilities emulated lasts for their normal duration, even if the ability itself fades from the Faustim beforehand. Seraphim (Restricted) Seraphim of Knowledge suffer no penalties when applying their resonance to audio and video reproductions. They also can use their resonance against text, enabling them to see the truth of books, newspaper articles, and email. Cherubim (Restricted) Cherubim of Knowledge can share skills and knowledge with an attuned person or object. The Cherub would have access to any skill or knowledge the attuned possessed. Attuning to reference media such as a book or a disc gives them access to all the contents. For living subjects of the attunement, the exchange is two way, and they have access to the skills and knowledge of the Cherub as well. They can only perform Songs if they are Symphonically Aware, though. Ofanim (Restricted) Ofanim of Knowledge are the ultimate researchers, able to sense where knowledge of a particular subject can be found. Their expanded resonance extends beyond physical geography to include what pages in a book or where on the internet to look something up, or how far into a video tape the information their looking for is in. Elohim (Restricted) Elohim of Knowledge may use their resonance on audio and visual reproductions, both live and recorded, without penalty. They may also examine something written and ascertain the author's state of mind at the time it was written. Malakim Malakim of Knowledge have knowledge of strengths and weaknesses. They may make a perception roll and find either a weakness in their subject's fighting style (penalizing a subject's dodge by the CD) or a weakness in their mind/body/soul (adding the CD to the CD of an attack.) This also works with Songs and offensive Attunements, and can be applied to objects as well as beings. Kyriotates (Restricted) Kyriotates of Knowledge have complete access to the memories of their hosts, including any of their skills, as long as they remain inside that host. Mecurians (Restricted) Mecurians of Faust gains mental access to any and all records of any person they resonate. Note that this does not give the ability to tell accurate data from inaccurate data. If the subject has two ID's, for example, the Mercurian would be unable to tell which one is the false one. Also, if a Celestial has a Role, the Mercurian only gains access to Infernal/Divine records if the subject fails a Role roll. Otherwise, they only gain access to Corporeal records. Servitor Attunements Sorcery: Faust has the ability to grant the Sorcery attunement to any human souls who are Symphonically Aware. Total Recall: The being has photographic memories. Scholarship: The being has a general, college level education... in every subject. He has the equivalent of a skill of 11 in any sort of general Knowledge, except Area Knowledge. Triumph of Reason: The being can make anyone concede practically anything, as long as he believes it himself. In two minutes, with a successful Precision roll, he will prove to his target that a+b=c, therefore he is right and any other possibility must be absurd. The victim may resist with an Intelligence roll. Distinctions Student of Knowledge: The being has complete comprehension of what someone or something is trying to convey. Language, slang, technical jargon, metaphors, and just poor writing are not obstacles. The message a speaker, written work, or picture is attempting to convey is automatically understood by a Student of Knowledge. Disciple of Lore: Just by touching a reference medium a being can access the information they're looking for if it's recorded in it. Oracle of Illumination: This Distinction grants a being a limited Omniscience, allowing him to get the answer to any one question about the present or past for a cost of 5 Essence. The question must be simple, direct, and answerble in three words or less. Proper names, such as "Jane Kirley" or even "The Nybyssian Institute for Responsible Journalism" count as a single word. Use of this attunement requires a minute of meditation in which one communes with the Symphony. Basic Rites Spend at least two hours reading Spend two hours doing research Spend at least an hour teaching willing students Extended Rites Spend at least an hour learning something new Saving a book from burning Stealing Knowledge from an Enemy Getting someone else to read a book Chance of Invocation: 1 Invocation Modifiers +1 a college textbook +2 The Encyclopedia Britanica +3 Solve a difficult mental puzzle +4 On the grounds of a college library +5 In a classroom of enthusiastic students +6 In possession of a unique item of lore (Only Copy, or at least 1st ed.) Ben, Elohite of Eli Angel of Neat Ideas ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 18:52:33 -0700 From: Charles E Smith Subject: Re: IN> IN [Successors] Serendipity, Mercurian Archangel of Light-part 1 Hmmm... you mind if any of us use this a a framework for our stuff?<<< Not at all! :) Part 2 is on the way now. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 18:31:47 -0700 From: Charles E Smith Subject: Re: IN> [Successors] And the Bands Played On: A Post Armageddon Campaign Setting >General question since I have notice a theme in all of the >presentations so far (and not just this marvelous one): Why does the >list see Blandine and Novalis as losing in the last battle? So far >just about everyone has Beleth outliving Blandine, though she >perishes shortly thereafter.<<< In my case, it wasn't an active choice. Once I had decided to use a Mercurian of Dreams as the protagonist, it just made sense to use the death of Blandine as a catalyst for her to prove herself against Beleth (triumphing over Fear as it were), and eventually becoming the new embodiment of light (partially subsuming her old Mistress's protectorate of Hope). ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 18:53:03 -0700 From: Charles E Smith Subject: IN> IN [Successors] Serendipity, Mercurian Archangel of Light-part 2 Dissonance It is dissonant for Servitors of Light to take any action which would cause a human to lose faith in themselves or in the divine. They are required to perform at least one act that will contribute substanially to the rebuilding of the three planes *and* one act which will positively inspire another every 24 hours or suffer dissonance until they make up the backlog, at which point the dissonance disappears. Appearance Serendipity has not had time to bother with an elaborate appearance as of yet. She still appears as she did in her last vessel: a thin teenage Black girl with long black hair, light-brown eyes, clad in simple blue jeans, sandals, a glitter-spangled black top that reads "Angel", with wings and golden halo included. The only difference from a standard Mercurian is the aura of white radiance that surrounds her at all times in her celestial form. Personality Serendipity is a rookie at the art of leading anything, and it shows. As a Mercurian Friend of Sleepers, she was content to be middle management at best, still taking orders from Blandine. Forced into a leadership role, the perky, outgoing Mercurian has had to rapidly adapt to life as a Superior and she has a bad tendency to try to take everyone's burdens on herself. Her Servitors claim that she micromanages a lot, but fortunately, she's so busy that she can rarely afford to stay for too long. As Heaven's first new Archangel, she's been trying to clean things up, take inventory of the dead, bury the dead Archangels (Jean's former Servitors placed the corpses of the Superiors in stasis prior to the completion of a beautiful crystal tomb by Eli's former Servitors), hold the backdoor to Hell in the Marches (prior to a blitzkrieg into the shattered Hell), and deal with isolated pockets of demons still in Heaven. She is struggling to grasp her new role, and, with the deaths of Novalis, Khalid, Christopher, Blandine, Yves, and Zadkiel, has worked to incorporate some of the aspects of their Words into hers and to lead by example. She associates Light with hope, peace, inspiration, faith, and joy, but has yet to really associate it with herself yet. When people refer to her as Archangel, she still looks around, expecting to see one of the original Archangels answer. Organization Serendipity has organized those angels who will follow her into a fairly tight hierarchy. She has yet to create Distinctions higher than Master and has no idea how to Word-bind anyone, so she hasn't bothered. All of her angels answer to a superior, who ultimately answers to her, and she holds monthly inspections of all of her angels. She's taken over Eli's old Halls of Creation (one of the only intact structures left in Heaven) as a temporary base while she gets things sorted out. She likes the irony of the Halls of Creation being used as a base for a new creation. She hopes to create her own Cathedral (something along the lines of a park with a crystal tower or pantheistic church in it, she's not sure yet) as soon as can figure out how one creates a Cathedral. In the meantime, she has her Servitors going out to comfort the remnants of humanity and to get things organized on Earth. As a Mercurian, she places a high value on humans, even more than on trying to help get Heaven on its' feet again (or so some Seraphim have been heard to mumble). She seems unaware that some of her Seraphim still feel uncomfortable with the idea of a mere Mercurian holding the powerful Word of Light, believing that Word to be the province of the Most Holy alone. Choir Attunements Seraphim Seraphim of Light can sense the Truth of a person's emotions and convinctions. They use this power to determine how strongly a person is committed to a certain position and to frame arguments that can break a person out of erroneous thinking. Cherubim Cherubim of Light inspire love and hope in a person when they attune to them. This feeling lasts for as long as the Cherub remains attuned to the person. Ofanim Ofanim of Light can take any positive emotion in a person's heart and acclerate it to the point where it becomes a dominant force in a person's life for a number of hours equal to Ofanite's Will. Elohim Elohim of Light can sense the strongest negative emotion in a person and take it on themselves in a reverse of the Habbalite Band-resonance for a number of hours equal to the Elohite's perceptions. The Elohite cannot take emotions from more than one person at a time. Malakim Malakim of Light can refract the ambient light about them, cloaking them in invisibility for a number of moments equal to the number of their Will. It muffles sound to a degree as well, making these Virtues dangerous stalkers of the remaining demons. Against a foe whom their resonance has tagged as dishonorable, the Malakite gets a +2 bonus to all attacks. The other aspect of their attunement is the use of the Celestial Song of Light without expending Essence. Kyriotates Kyriotates of Light have access to their host's memories and can sense their host's worst fears and sins as well. Most of these Kyriotates have Healing Light and try to work through their host's problems. Mercurians As once the Mercurians of Flowers could, Mercurians of Light bring inspiration and joy where they go. Unlike Novalis's Mercurians, Serendipity's Intercessionists need not be in celestial form to do it. These angels of Light can use the Ethereal Song of Light without expending Essence. Bright Lilim The few Bright Lilim of Light have the ability to bring sudden flashes of inspriation and hope when they successfully call in a Geas on a person. Servitor Attunements Point of View The Servitor can temporarily redefine reality for a person, forcing them to see a sequence of events through another person's perspective. The sequence of events can only be accessed for a period of 24 hours from the time it is invoked. Healing Light Based on the old Healing Dream attunement Blandine had once given her, Serendipity created this attunement. Healing Light enables an angel to see a person in terms of spiritual light and darkness and to correct diagnose all of the mental/emotional/spiritual difficulties this one person is having at this one period of their life. Once diagnosed, the angel gets a bonus to the use of any Song or skill that helps to alleviate the problem. Rebirth of Hope This attunement enables an angel of Light to reinvoke a person's sense of awe and wonder for a period of hours equal to the angel's Will. During this time, hopeless zeal and wonder will flare brightly within the person, inspiring them to new heights. Shield of Faith This attunement creates a mental barrier within a target that lasts for a number of hours equal to the angel's Will. During this time, no amount of cynicism, hard reality, or failure will dampen a person's enthusaism and passion. Arrows of Light The new Lightbringer has only designed one offensive Servitor attunement so far. Arrows of Light works somewhat like the Celestial Song of Light, but the arrows of light explode on contact with the target, shedding smaller bursts of deadly light against any Diabolical or Hellsworn in the immediate vicinity. These arrows also unerringly track a target. Distinctions Vassal of the Glow Vassals of the Glow can sense the ambient light about them at all times, visible and non-visible. They can see in all colors of the spectrum (including infra-red and x-ray), and they are all given mid-level reliquaries with various Songs attached to them (whatever Serendipity can scrounge up and get to work again). Friend of Brilliance Friends of Brilliance can pick up on the strongest emotions, positive or negative, in the immediate vicinity (a number of yards equal to the angel's Perception roll.) Master of Radiance Masters of Radiance gain +3 to any roll involving Charisma or Will. They also gain +2 to any attempt to inspire positive emotions in any other person, and they can use any Song of Harmony or Light without expending Essence. Relations: Too soon to determine Rites Inspire 100 or more people. Bring hope to a child. Chance of Invocation: 4 Help a homeless person/refugee +1 Expose a Diabolical +2 Inspire mortals to aid one another +3 Arrange a major relief effort (town or greater) +4 Inspire a community (100 or more) +5 Redeem a Diabolical +6 ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2361 ********************************