in_nomine-digest Sunday, December 2 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2468 In this digest: IN> Weird News Re: IN> Bracers of Brotherhood IN> Instael: Persistance pt2 IN> Soldekai Re: IN> Soldekai IN> new npc for the list [literary reference] Re: IN> Horror In Nomine Re: IN> Soldekai Re: IN> Horror In Nomine Re: IN> Soldekai Re: IN> Weird News Re: IN> Ethereals (was Wish List) Re: IN> Ethereals (was Wish List) Re: IN> Horror In Nomine Re: IN> Horror In Nomine IN> Record of the Lodoss War-In style Re: IN> Ethereals (was Wish List) IN> A Touch of Steam ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 12:48:24 -0500 (EST) From: Ryan M Roth Subject: IN> Weird News Hey Folks: I came across some weird news articles recently that have certain Superior's fingerprints all over them, so I'd thought I'd share. Ryan Roth - --------- Kobal? Valefor? Jordi? Some bizzare mix? ----------------- Fife shopping centre says it's stepped up security to stop a shoplifting dog. The black Labrador regularly steals biscuits and sweets from stores at the Glamis Centre in Glenrothes. He's even been known to hide his haul when he's being chased, then return for it later. Staff say the dog started shoplifting in the summer and mostly targets Forbouys newsagents. The shop's manager Margaret Allen said: "The girl on the till thought she was seeing things when this big black dog came in and started helping itself to bags of sweets. "It just saunters in and then out again, cool as you like. It's either a very clever dog or very well-trained, but nobody has been seen hanging about with it." Campbell Fletcher, manager at Graham's Pharmacy, told the Daily Record: "If you started to chase it, it would actually throw them down in the bushes outside and come back for them later." http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_461856.html?menu=news.quirkies - ----- Yet another Kobal-Valefor operation ------------------ Police in Denmark say a daring theft from a moving post office van was like a crime that would feature in a cartoon. A thief climbed on the van's roof and - while it was on the move - he sawed a hole and jumped inside. He picked up several parcels, climbed out, jumped off and escaped. Police believe the suspect had an accomplice driving behind who picked him up when he'd finished the job in Sjaelland. Bergens Tidende quotes a local police spokesman as saying: "The robbery is straight out of a cartoon." They say the driver didn't realise anything was wrong until he opened the door of his van and noticed the gaping hole in its roof. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_462878.html?menu=news.quirkies - ---------- Insert your own joke, preferably involving Asmodeus -------- A letter has finally reached its destination in Italy - - 100 years after being posted. A council official wrote to Luigi Beccatini in 1901 asking him for a portrait of the King. It only needed to travel six miles but was endlessly sent between two villages with similar names. The official, from Reggello, central Italy, asked Beccatini to "bring a picture of the King to expose in the council building as soon as possible". It was sent to Beccatini's home in the nearby village of Leccio but didn't arrive, Il Nuovo website reports. The letter was sent back and forth "endless times" between Lecco in northern Italy and Lecce in the south of the country. It was finally found by chance, unopened, by one of Beccatini's nephews in an antiques shop. "We are very much into antiquities, and are very glad of receiving our great-grand father's post eventually", the nephew said. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_462505.html?menu=news.quirkies - ----------- And why didn't the Seraphim Council think of this? ------- A mayor has banned Satan from her Florida town. Carolyn Risher has composed a written statement saying "Satan is hereby declared powerless, no longer ruling over, nor influencing, our citizens". She made five copies, one for her office wall and the rest to put in hollowed-out fence posts at the four entrances to Inglis. The posts, painted with the words Repent, Request and Resist, were sealed and capped. The proclamation, on official stationery with a gold seal, says: "Be it known from this day forward that Satan, ruler of darkness, giver of evil, destroyer of what is good and just, is not now, nor ever again will be, a part of this town of Inglis. Satan is hereby declared powerless, no longer ruling over, nor influencing, our citizens." She told the St Petersburg Times: "You're either with God or against him. I'm with him." She says she was prompted by an overall sense of concern about issues like drunken drivers, fathers who molest their daughters and people who steal from their neighbours. But Bob Farnan, the owner of Port Inglis Restaurant, says: "It reminds me of the Taliban. If you're not Muslim, you're worthless. She just reversed the situation." Waitress Polly Bowser is organising a petition to have the mayor ousted. She says the proclamation, which makes several references to Jesus Christ, could be offensive to people of other faiths. The Mayor said: "I am not knocking any one faith. I am praying for the whole community. If I had thought I was doing something wrong, I would have not done it. It just felt like it was something I could do for the community, mostly for our young people." http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_462204.html?menu=news.quirkies ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 01:13:49 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Bracers of Brotherhood Wow, a reply. I thought this one passed under the radar. > > Gaaaaah! The only thing that keeps me from declaring > >this non-angelic is the punishment that David meted out in > >FotM. I guess it goes back to how I see David. In my games, at least, he's the Anvil of Heaven, with the rest of the War faction (but especially Michael) as the Hammer. David *must* be strong, *must* be dependable, *must* be the very bedrock of Heaven. If any of his angels falter through weakness, then David falters, and so does the Host. Since the group is greater than the individual, David will kill any angel who threatens the solidarity of that group -- but only if he must. He much prefers to teach, and the lessons of Stone are harsh. > OTOH, I can see David doing the Bracers of Brotherhood routine -- but only > if he were upfront about how they worked. "Either you will learn to strike > as one, and not individually. Or you will kill yourselves. The choice is > up to you." The Bracers are designed for use against recalcitrant PCs. You know, the ones who don't get the hint when they get chastised for engaging in unauthorized solo action because they had the luck or the skill to pull it off. If David was up front about these, the lesson would not be learned, as the player would go, "Oh, is that all I need to do," coordinate a joint attack, then go his merry way. Nothing grabs a PC's attention quite so much like soul hits. Especially if his loose cannon antics nearly soul-kill the fluffy non-combat Mercurian in the group. But then, I'm a bastard. - -- Casca "Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing." --Margaret Chittenden, writer ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 18:29:19 +0000 From: "cassandra benner" Subject: IN> Instael: Persistance pt2 More gumpf from the top of my head AA opinions (There are no opinions from Instael’s point of view) Blandine - -gentle sigh- He knows of pain, how long he waited for his brother in arms to return, how long he stood there, as his brother took all that was his acclaim. He was a good soul, but he fell foul to his own doubts and has punished himself hardest of all of his servitors. Christopher I never knew him; he has been gone for such a time as that I was young when he was leaving his heart here. David - -rumbles- Long is the pain, Long is his torment. Deep are the wounds he caused me. Dominic I had never judged him, I had never found him wanting, only hoping. He was not in the wrong, if he was then I would have been certain to have mentioned it to him had he ever erred Eli - -sips the jolt- well, a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. You want those fries? Jean In times of need, when mankind needed just an inch more strength of mind to stay awake, he would be there for them. And from that lack of sleep ideas would come forth and mankind would discover what was right for that moment in time. Jordi He was guilty for mankind upraising itself, he and many more, man is an animal, and that is my dominion, but when backed in to a corner even the most timid of animals will turn and bite with an ongoing fury. Khalid We had had come to blows before, when I was near to giving up, and in my time of need, through him I found strength. Laurence I never knew him, but from what I heard, Uriel and he had come many a times to cross swords, though it was rarely spoken of. Litheroy Oh he has no secrets, he knows them all, after a fashion at least. I have somewhere the details of his arguments with various of the other angels. Marc We dealt little together, never any reason for us to do so. Michael We had some good times, fond memories and great tales to tell he and I, but those days are gone, he is AWOL, and that is not good. I hope his self-punishment ends soon; I truly do, because soldiers need some hope or reserves to draw from time to time, and mine are sorely pressed. Novalis Choir-kin of mine, oh how I saw him from afar, his heart cast else where, his love so brotherly as to not see aught else, his word and mine, and blandine and David, a potent quartet indeed. Gone are those days. Yves We all hope for destiny, perhaps he still does hold on tight for his, a little too tight it would have seemed, but fate and destiny shall be found in their own way by those who seek them out, but only providing they are seeking and not hiding. Zadkiel My lord Michael and I feel the same on this matter. There are no comments from the DP’s, as far as they are concerned he is dead, or not even worth a mention. Baal, when asked, will kill whom so ever mentions Instael’s name. Reworking of the Ofanim attunement. Ofanim may with an ethereal forces roll cause all humans in range (forces diameter in meters), to suddenly perk up and be wide awake. This will last for (angels total forces) in minute’s xCD (of Eth forces role), whereupon the humans will feel the same as before the attunement began its effect. Til another time, Cas In Nomine @ http://www.angelfire.com/goth/psyber/i-n.html In Nomine yahoo @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inveritas ADnD forum @ http://www.drunkendwarfinn.co.uk ADnD stuff @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ADandD_Stuff _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 10:54:54 -0800 From: "Christopher Hughes" Subject: IN> Soldekai I tried that already. I was wondering if anybody could give me more information about her. Her personality, what her favored vessel looks like. I'd like to know this kind of thing in order to better insert her into Oduma, as well as specifically into a story I'm writing that's set in Oduma and will send to the list when it gets to good size. BTW, how does one check the size of their posts? I've seen people mention it, but I don't know how. Chris et alia I may be a geek, but I'm not a computer geek ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 13:11:31 -0600 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Soldekai Christopher Hughes wrote: > > I tried that already. I was wondering if anybody could give me more information about her. Her personality, what her favored vessel looks like. Soldekai is described in more detail in Superiors 3. (For one thing, Soldekai is usually a "he.") - -David ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 12:02:41 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> new npc for the list [literary reference] moes busy you see so the keyboard is free and i know that he wont mind ;] archiel kyriotate friend of beasts angel of cockroaches corporeal forces 6 strength 12 agility 12 ethereal forces 4 intelligence 8 precision 8 celestial forces 5 will 10 perception 10 word forces 8 skills artistry/1 writing climbing/2 dodge/6 fighting/3 move silently/2 scurrying/2 tactics/2 tracking/2 songs beasts corporeal/4 ethereal/3 calling corporeal/3 darkness ethereal/1 entropy ethereal/1 form corporeal/3 healing corporeal/3 light celestial/4 motion ethereal/1 nightmares celestial/1 numinous corpus/3 acid pestilence all/1 revulsion ethereal/1 shadows corporeal/1 shields all/2 submission corporeal/3 attunements kyriotate of animals call of the wild animal magnetism friend of beasts angel of cockroaches angel of cockroaches archiel can automatically possess any cockroach without needing to roll duration = celestial forces x hours also archie adds its celestial forces to its move silently and scurrying - fine, running - skills rites save a cockroach from certain death useable twice per day i used to work for matakiel he wasnt very nice and i wasnt very nice either after he went away i did things not nice things never nice things because i didnt know any better then i met mehitabel i wasnt nice to her either but she saw something in me that was nice and she made me see it too eventually so when i finally went to heaven and i saw how many things that needed doing because of me and others who werent nice i pitched in jordi took me in because of mehitabel and because the others wouldnt because they remembered about me and matakiel not being nice he gave me a chance and im making him proud because i keep an eye or twenty on things down here and make sure that all of gods creatures arent hurt by those who arent nice so now im sitting here on this keyboard so that i can tell you that you should always give others a chance even if theyre dirty or smelly or not nice at all theres always more than meets the eye also, i wanted to tell you that we appreciate the thought but you really should take out the trash soon ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 11/13/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Yahoo! Shopping. http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 20:23:48 +0000 From: "R L" Subject: Re: IN> Horror In Nomine >1. Soldiers: Of course work best with the slight impression that you don't >know EVERYTHING that you should. Your 'angelic' contact may be very >dramatically appropriately revealed to be a Demon working for the Asmodeus >and only then after he's only been three steps ahead of you enough that you >were convinced he was an angel. Soldiers should generaly feel abused, and should be put to tasks that they often don't understand or maybe even disagree with. A good example is Bethany in Dogma who is charged with a task she feels ill equiped to deal with and that she doesn't really want. Another is Tommy Dagget from The Prophecy, that is lead into a role he does not understand and that seem overwhelming. The horror possibilities are endless... :) >2. Sorcerors: Works especially well with sorcerers who have "chickened out" >in the end and probably best without full sorcery. The lure of sorcery and >the necessity of using demons to serve the cause of good and UGLY ethereals >should be ever present. Sorcery should never be easy and should be full of dangers. Dealing with demons have its own risks and enslaving angels are no better. Use a lot of drama and rituals, often grotesque in nature, to display the danger of loosing ones soul when playing with these powers. >3. The Black War: Basically the Good Angel in a war where there are no good >guys, your angel is cursed with an uncommon amount of humanity and perhaps >your demon is. Angels should be unstoppable Christopher Walken obsessed >beings and the demons should be every absolute worst thing imaginable. Humans are just pawns or even the price. Angels that genuinely like or love humans should be rare. The reat is just doing their job and should seen arrogant and even uncaring. As for demons... >Kobal and It of course, no one else sees the joke in displaying humanity's >worst fears and grosteque mistreatments laid bear...he does. Kobal I would run as the trickster he is, operating in the background and REALLY scaring the shit out of the players in the most gruesome and ironic way possible. >Tricks to maintain tension for Angelic beings is the fact that one should >drill home that the Earth is far from home and God and the oppression and >lack of faith is endless...furtheremore the fragility of the human body >even >as it's best is a poor substitute for the power and freedom they once >enjoyed. I would make it easier for angels/demons to be soulkilled if they fuck up. This knowledge could be avaliable to humans in tomes such as Sefer Raziel and the likes.. That should add some tension. Also run demons as scary as possible even to angels. Ron _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2001 11:36:15 +1300 From: "Terry Jackson" Subject: Re: IN> Soldekai The one thing nothing mentions is his Word. Does he even have one? Given his name and his standing withg Gabriel I have always made the the Angel of The Sun. And something of a Seneschal as well. Plus, is he even an 18 Forcer? Or does he approach Superior levels of power. Do they bother measuring him in Forces anymore? Alex _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 22:36:40 From: "Michael Cleveland" Subject: Re: IN> Horror In Nomine >Thoughts? > >-Charlie > Don't know if you've seen it before, but... http://www.blackivorytower.com/~firefly/Stories/finaltransmission.htm See what you think. >=) Michael _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 16:55:10 -0600 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Soldekai Terry Jackson wrote: > The one thing nothing mentions is his Word. Does he even have one? I think he doesn't (too lazy to check the book right now), because a Word would interfere with his duties. He does have a higher Distinction, the only Gabrielite with a greater than Master-class rank. > Plus, is he even an 18 Forcer? Or does he approach Superior levels of > power. Do they bother measuring him in Forces anymore? His character sheet isn't given, but 18 Forces is probably a safe bet. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 20:21:42 -0500 From: Mike Bruner Subject: Re: IN> Weird News At 12:48 PM 12/1/01 -0500, you wrote: >Hey Folks: > >I came across some weird news articles recently that have certain >Superior's fingerprints all over them, so I'd thought I'd share. >----- Yet another Kobal-Valefor operation ------------------ > >Police in Denmark say a daring theft from a moving post >office van was like a crime that would feature in a >cartoon. > >A thief climbed on the van's roof and - while it was on >the move - he sawed a hole and jumped inside. > >He picked up several parcels, climbed out, jumped off >and escaped. > >Police believe the suspect had an accomplice driving >behind who picked him up when he'd finished the job >in Sjaelland. > >Bergens Tidende quotes a local police spokesman as >saying: "The robbery is straight out of a cartoon." > >They say the driver didn't realise anything was wrong >until he opened the door of his van and noticed the >gaping hole in its roof. Depending on what was in those parcels, might have been one of Janus's bunch also (they'd certainly love the wind in their face while pulling this stunt). >---------- Insert your own joke, preferably involving Asmodeus -------- > >arrived...> > >A letter has finally reached its destination in Italy >- 100 years after being posted. Kobal was SO close to giving them a Distinction for this one, but the demons couldn't figure out a way to get anthrax in there... >----------- And why didn't the Seraphim Council think of this? ------- > >A mayor has banned Satan from her Florida town. Hah! Like that would work against the guy who's got all the lawyers :). - -- Mike Bruner-- mbruner18@home.com I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2001 01:28:21 +0000 From: Omentide Subject: Re: IN> Ethereals (was Wish List) David >Your position that Heaven and Hell are morally equivalent and that >Heaven "needs" human souls in the same way that Hell does is >interesting, and one could probably bend canon around it enough to make >it feasible, but it's neither the official position nor all that >sensible, IMO. Never said they were morally equivalent. There is a difference between needing souls and how and why they are used. Ashley MIB 6660 What do you want? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2001 02:08:08 +0000 From: Omentide Subject: Re: IN> Ethereals (was Wish List) >>>Based on fear, superstition, and terror of the unknown, I think you mean. >> >>No this is not what I mean. I have no fear or terror. I have respect of >>the known and treat the known with respect. > >We're not talking about you though, because you are here in the present >day. We're talking about the historical roots of superstitions to do with >spirits. > >People didn't think that brownies were friendly (maybe in Victorian times, >when the legends got overhauled) -- they were fucking terrified of what >the vicious little spirits might do if they weren't placated. Precisely. The legends and tales were reinterpreted. They have been rewritten and changed many times. Such is the nature of changes in culture and the imposition of religious dogma on truth. By all means within IN portray the Sidhe, or Odin, or Apollo as dangerous parasites but this is purely the theological perspective of Heaven and Hell. By all means portray them as dangerous, selfish or whatever bit this is only one perspective and bear in mind that many of us do not see them this way. This perspective is purely religious and political dogma, an opinion written by the victors just as the victors write any history. This sort of thing may well be consistent with the dogma of Heaven and Hell but does not really relate to human practices. If people like miners are or were frightened of certain spirits it is because they were to told to be and believed it, rather than those spirits actually being dangerous. Sure they can be dangerous but with proper care and respect they generally are not. IMHO the APG and IPG should portray ethereals as dangerous, but the CPG and the EPG should present different opinions based on various perspectives. Ashley MIB 6660 What do you want? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 18:44:02 -0800 (PST) From: Jim Burzelic Subject: Re: IN> Horror In Nomine - --- Charles Phipps wrote: > I was thinking about running In Nomine Horror and > unfortunately recognized > how utterly difficult that is with the present rules > and simulation because > presuming that you are an angel there is still the > Superior and Heaven > awaiting merely a 'vessel up' for you and also the > fact that horror relies a > great deal on mystery and humanity...and In Nomine > creatures are most > definately not human. I agree, I found horror to be difficult to instill in In Nomine. This is probably what I would do: Angels, as PCs and NPCs at the same level, are rather like humans. They can see the greys in between the black and white of Heaven and Hell. I'd probably make Heaven extremely authoritarian, the AAs all seem distant and uncaring, even the ones who do "care". Dominic wastes no time judging angels that do wrong, he doesn't really believe in the second chance. He'd immediately instill the paranoia-type horror. Michael, David, and Laurence DO NOT accept failure. When it happens, punishment is dealt without remorse or mercy. Gabriel is clearly and unstoppably insane, willing to punish even the most minor infraction as if it were active rebellion. Jordi treats human-vesseled servitors as refuse, back-handedly complimenting them at his nicest moments, shredding them at his worst. His animal-vesseled servitors don't have to worry about his disdain of humanity, they have to worry about the laws of jungle. Jordi acts like a predator eyeing up its prey even when dealing with his own. Even Novalis can be scary, actually probably one of the scarier ones if done right. She is one of the most caring AAs but that dones't mean much. She says she cares and tries to help but also seems to show more compassion for demons than her own angels. She punishes as quickly as all the others, just with a pitying smile of lack of understanding. Essentially, torturing them while explaining how it is really for their own good and the good of the Symphony. If they are to bring peace to humanity and possibly even demons, there is no rumor for war in her ranks. Word-bound Angels don't pay attention to anything outside of their word and will fight fervently if anyone even gets near to violating it. (I probably put a bit too much emphasis on punishment here, oh well.) Demons are all the much worse because they do the same as the above on top of their being demons and doing their demony stuff. Their sole mission is to defy and desecrate everything Heaven attempts to force into their vision. Maybe this has already been touched upon, I don't know. It's what I would consider a very Dark game. Jim __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Yahoo! Shopping. http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 14:04:09 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Horror In Nomine > I agree, I found horror to be difficult to instill in In Nomine. Firstly, I would like to make the distinction between horror and terror. Terror is fear of what might be; horror is fear of what *should not* be, ie it violates our sense of rightness. . Most of the scenarios described above fall more properly into terror than horror. With that in mind, I think horror is what you make of it.... "Nigtham pomor iacthu zam," intoned the sorceror. A dark shape coalesced within the circle of binding, a shadowy form that spoke of books and chains and cloaks and eyes. Too many eyes, all of them accusatory. "WHO DARES?" the shape roared, its outrage as discernable as a crisp black line against virgin parchment. "WHO DARES SUMMON ME?" "I do," the sorceror answered from beneath his hood. "YOU WILL FREE ME, MORTAL, OR I WILL.." "You'll do nothing, Dominic, for I am human and not bound by your laws, for has the Lord God not said that the purpose of angels is to serve man, and that we will be placed above you in heaven? So shut up and listen." The dark shape within the circle raged soundlessly for a moment, then acquiesced as the binding took hold. "Good lad. This will only take a moment." The sorceror dipped his finger into a chalice of sacramental wine and began to draw sigils in the floor around the binding circle. "All-seeing eye, I blind you to me," the figure chanted. "As Christ made the blind eye see, by the power of His blood I make the seeing eye blind. I am unseen by the Judgement of Heaven." As the ritual was completed, the eyes within the the circle began to blink out, one by one, the shape vanishing with the final darkening. [So far, this is basically terror. A human finds a way to summon, bind, control and dismiss an Archangel. Very unlikely, but most readers will give this some benefit of doubt as a plot device, since literature is full of humans managing to do this with Demon Princes or Lucifer himself, usually with disastrous results later on. Still, it doesn't violate our sense of rightness.] When the shape had gone and the circle was clear, the sorceror breathed a sigh of relief. It was a risky game he was playing, but Dominic had gotten too close to learning the truth in the last few years, and the plan could not be delayed further. Far too much depended on critical timing. *Boss, I need you,* came an unbidden voice. *I'm in trouble and need malakim now!* Sighing, the sorceror removed his hood. *All right,* he replied to the mental summons. *I'm coming.* And with that, Eli transported himself to his errant servitor. [Eli is a human? Eli knows sorcery? Eli can bend Dominic to his will? This offends our sense of rightness. Horror.] - -- Casca "Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing." --Margaret Chittenden, writer ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2001 02:48:39 -0500 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> Record of the Lodoss War-In style Don't ask me where I got this.... (the concept goes well beyond Lodoss too) This is when your players have done something to tick off their Superior or a fellow Superior so much that they need to stash them away for a time in order to cool them off. Maybe your character calls Dominic a Hyenea to his face and is starting to give Michael's guys a bad name as rebels who don't respect the Dominicans, maybe the Dominican is giving the Elites too much of a hard time that they're disrupting Dominic's investigation unknowingly, and maybe you discovered Yves's one button in the argyle socks.... To Lodoss you go. Lodoss Island is a curious little place that despite having an Anime series about a bunch of D&D characters the creators had along time ago was also a place that is the unfortunate "after shock" of the Purity Crusade. Few people ever stopped to wonder how the destruction of MILLIONS of ethereals and the scattering of their forces in a short span of three decades would affect the Symphony and the result was the blasting of one particular island set chain into what can best be described as "partial dreaming" or "semi ethereal" Just south of the Continent of Alecrast (or Asia as the people call it off Lodoss) Lodoss Island is basically a place where living human souls unfortunately have the problem of interacting with ethereal beings whether dreamed or otherwise as if they are real. In other words the place is positively arse full (pardon my Marmo) of monsters and creatures of an unpleasant nature because anybody can just pretty much wander in drawn by human dreams. Despite being a side project of Jean and Blandines to return the island to Earth for the past few centuries the fact remains the people of Lodoss have more or less adapted to their present state by making association with the local ethereals such as the obnoxiously long earred elves, dragons, and developing their own peculiar brand of sorcery which combines traditional (helped along by Beleth's demons) and a form of Lucid dreaming that they've developed on their own. Not to mention you can't shake a stick without finding soldier material with songs and old fashioned clerical healing (Songs of Healing and Excorcism). Frankly Laurence has told Blandine and Jean to cool it on returning Lodoss to the physical world because he has no idea what the Heaven would happen if it was! Why is Lodoss such a dreaded assignment for angels? Well if the fact that you'll be in celestial combat more or less continually every time you pick a fight in a bar and said man in a bar might have a Talisman +5 flametongue or be a dragon in disguise it's pretty good to watch your step. Futhermore the people of Lodoss Island are Omnitheistic which basically means their legends incorporate more or less celestial history accurately with a Supreme God but quite a few ethereals are believed in as well and they aren't exactly to keen on conversion to standard religions they've never heard of....or likely to believe the rest of the world is so radically different. Let's not get into the whole "what do you mean dwarves and elves don't have souls?" Frankly Hell doesn't much care for Lodoss beyond being a curiousity much either though Nybbas did spend a bit on the anime series JUST to see what would happen. Honestly speaking we're not exactly sure whether the Island moved closer to Earth, farther away, or a bunch of strange gremlins with exaggerated eyes started wandering around with Brooklyn accents after every adventure for some reason. Let's not deal with the affects on history and life and death. Your mission should you choose to accept it is figure out how to bring as many of these folks to their desties as possible and blow the Hellish contingent as far to Hell as possibly can be while not getting an urge to ask for a know alignment spell.....plus I repeat it NOT permissable to come onto the Elves, I don't care what you think of obnoxiously long ears and short skirts, they're badly animated. Finally you will and I repeat positively NOT confront Eli when he is in the Tavern with two other guys behind a screen rolling funny shaped dice. I cannot stress the last part enough. And no that's not Novalis and Michael! - -Charlemagne _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2001 02:27:52 -0600 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Ethereals (was Wish List) From: "Omentide" > > This perspective is purely religious and political dogma, an > opinion written by the victors just as the victors write any > history. No, it is the way the game works. > If people like miners are or were frightened of certain spirits > it is because they were to told to be and believed it, rather > than those spirits actually being dangerous. Given that those spirits were credited with the ability to make tunnels cave in on the miners inside them, the miners were told this for a reason. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2001 09:02:14 +0000 From: "Jonathan Walton" Subject: IN> A Touch of Steam >>Can anyone give me any information on Soldekai? >Malakite Chamberlain of Fire Or Malakite Archangel of Steam (thanks to Moe) :) http://www.phoenyx.net/deusx/soldekai.html Speaking of that, here's an NPC I cooked up who's currently making waves in my Steampunk IN PBeM. Thought some of you here might enjoy her ... - ---- Radcliffe Pachadite of Nightmares Captain of Headhaunters Demon of the Terror of Steam In another life, Radcliffe would have been a Malakite, a dark-winged champion of honor. However, born as a child of Fear instead of Virtue, Radcliffe was a personal creation of Beleth and never got a chance to swear her Oaths or cleanse the world of its failings. Still, the Pachadite does the best she can with what she has been given. That certainly goes for her Word as well. Radcliffe was a typical Pachadite when Vapula fell, bringing with him stolen secrets from the Halls of Progress, including a steam-powered engine. Lucifer made the Habbalite the Angel of Engines, and, mere months later, Beleth supported Radcliffe for her own Word, the Terror of Steam. After all, as Vapula began to leak knowledge of his constructs to the Corporeal plane, mankind began to dream of the possibilities of unrestricted technology. And with those dreams came Nightmares. Steam-driven carriages, steam-powered gliders, clockwork monstrosities, mechanical dragons spouting streams of flame, steam-powered brains, metal men with heads full of valves and hoses, mechanical limbs grafted to living bodies, and more were all Radcliffe's domain ... at least in the Ethereal realm. But the Marches was the only home the Pachadite had ever known, and sometimes she even found herself forgetting that there was a world beyond the Vale. Still, the Words of the Pachadite and the mad Angel of Engines (who would soon be crowned Prince of Technology) were inextricably linked. Vapula's work in the Corporeal plane had a direct impact on the minds of mortals, bringing more and more to both imagine and fear the promise of Steam. In a bizarre way, Radcliffe has risen to power riding on Vapula's coattails. As the Technologist has grown to become the most powerful Prince in Hell, so too has Radcliffe become the first among Pachadim and Captain of the Steam-Terror, her own personal unit of Frighteners. Beleth often uses the Steam-Terror as special forces or shock troops. With the knowledge and equipment that they have liberated from a century of machine-induced nightmares, the Steam-Terror is truly in a unique position, combining the technological expertise of Vapula's best servitors with extensive experience in the Marches. Radcliffe's forces often carry Ethereal weapons and devices wrenched from mortal dreamscapes, and so their armaments aren't inclined to always follow the laws of physics and are as fantastical as the Vale itself. Radcliffe runs a tight ship. The Steam-Terror is one of the most disciplined units in the War, its commander knowing exactly how to use fear as a motivator. Radcliffe is aware of every minute fragment of terror in each of her servitors and has no remorse about using that fear to manipulate them into obeying her as they would their Princess and Mother. In fact, it's hard to say who the Steam-Terror fear more, Beleth or Radcliffe. Still, Radcliffe truly has a personality that would fit better on one of Heaven's Blackwings and is sworn to serve the Princess of Nightmares even unto death. That may actually be a good thing, as far as Beleth is concerned. With Vapula's power quickly expanding, with no end in sight, the Technologist may soon rival Lucifer himself in the sheer force he can exert on the Symphony. Parallel to this development, the significance of Radcliffe's Word continues to increase, to the point that the Steam-Terror's Captain could easily destroy any of Beleth's Barons or other Word-bound. Sure, the fight with the Demon of Terror (who is technically Radcliffe's immediate superior) might be a little close, but, with the Steam-Terror on her side, Radcliffe would eventually triumph. Does Beleth find it disconcerting then, that one of her most powerful servitors is so closely linked to Vapula's Word? Does Beleth worry that Radcliffe may one day sign up with the Technologist and work with him to claim a domain in the Marches for Technology? She's Beleth; of course she worries. However, up until now, she's also been afraid to do anything about it. Radcliffe is, after all, one of the Princess' most favored children and Beleth doesn't want to lose her. Keeping her as a Captain is a step towards clipping Radcliffe's wings a bit, and so far the Pachadite hasn't seemed to notice being passed up for a promotion. Later. Jonathan http://www.phoenyx.net/deusx/ _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2468 ********************************