in_nomine-digest Saturday, June 8 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2666 In this digest: Re: IN> New Relic: Dominic's Phone Number Re: IN> Don't ever call your sweetheart by his name... Re: IN> Don't ever call your sweetheart by his name... Re: IN> Phazed Out Discord Re: IN> Kronos as the Metatron? I disagree. IN> Dead Prince #1: Makatiel Re: IN> Stone of David IN> New Artifact (yeah, I'm back...) IN> Something from... well, I'll just let you read it, OK? IN> Yet more Undead Re: IN> Stone of David Re: IN> Something from... well, I'll just let you read it, OK? Re: IN> Baby Angels Re: IN> Dead Prince #1: Makatiel Re: IN> Something from... well, I'll just let you read it, OK? Re: IN> Baby Angels IN> ! Series: Fools Rush In ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 19:52:09 -0500 From: "Gregg Forge" Subject: Re: IN> New Relic: Dominic's Phone Number >>Dominic's Phone Number > >Dark Humor. Definitely. > Of course! Then again, I think that there's a song that duplicates the effect of Dominic's Phone Number, a tune that irritates Judgement so badly that all it causes an incurably, immediate urge to smite, dismember, Judge, and then Sentence, with Flaming Swords in Full Effect, a coup de grace of the Dark Humor... Kamika-Z ...just call this number, eight-six-seven five three oh nigh-yee-aye-yeen...o/~ _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 21:15:05 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Don't ever call your sweetheart by his name... > Well, the Discord might randomly generate "Yummybuns". It just won't > activate if she calls him "Yummybuns" in the first place (unless See, I had the impression it would generate a real name, rather than a pet name. It's not very funny to say "Archangel Michael" when you meant to say "Archangel Laurence". However, it's screamingly hilarious (to a thrid party, at any rate) to mean to say "Lord Commander of the Host" but end up saying "Master of Tight Pants and Phallic Symbols". Or is it just me? > "Yummybuns" is a variant on "Laurence" that I don't know about). ;) Isn't that what *all* Lilim call him? ;) - -- 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: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 21:23:06 -0400 From: EDG Subject: Re: IN> Don't ever call your sweetheart by his name... At 09:15 PM 6/7/02 -0400, you wrote: >Or is it just me? I have to admit, that's pretty damned funny. ;) However, the Discord was based on a song ("Don't Ever Call Your Sweetheart By His Name", by Christine Lavin), which exhorts the listener to always use pet names instead of real names - and this Discord demonstrates why. So changing it to include pet names is outside of the original intent, but since I'm never EVER again going to be able to get the phrase "Master of Tight Pants and Phallic Symbols" out of my head... >Isn't that what *all* Lilim call him? ;) Not to his *face*... - -EDG ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 21:21:56 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Phazed Out Discord - --- BC Petery wrote: > Devil-Chaser Whips (L.Reliq. p. 83) specificly state > that they can hit > immaterial beings. Easy enough to handwave: I'll just specifically say that they can't hit Phazed Out entities, 'cuz guys with the Discord aren't on a frequency that a Devil-Chaser is usually tuned to... Or something. The Discord is hardly canonical, after all. :) Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 21:48:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Kronos as the Metatron? I disagree. - --- W S wrote: > I've been mulling over what seems like a popular > 'alternate' origin of Kronos- that he's the > Metatron. Heh. I (as a player*) suggested this as a possibility in the Sunday game that Casca runs, coupled with the postulate that God got split up into various avatars as fallout from the First Rebellion. I don't think that it's the answer, though.** Moe *-Not- my PC. My PC doesn't even know who or what Voltron _is_. **Besides, it's so /obvious/ that Kronos is a (admittedly weary and battered) time-traveling echo of Yves who went back to the past (along with Janus) in order to stop Uriel from purging half of Heaven, thus making it possible for Legion, Mariel and Gebunath to lead their successful coup and plunge all three planes into a steadily deepening nightmare of Corruption, Rapine and Oblivion... Come _on_. What, you thought that the fact that Janus/Valefor have the same Attunements, and that Kronos can duplicate angelic resonances, was an -coincidence-? ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 00:51:19 -0400 From: EDG Subject: IN> Dead Prince #1: Makatiel I'm not sure why, but I've always had a fascination with Makatiel (although I still haven't settled on a pronunciation of his name: Mah-kah-teel or Mah-kah-tee-ehl? I prefer the latter, although I've heard the former so often that it almost feels natural); I suppose it might be the images of dark, vast Victorian laboratories or the mad scientist cackling quietly over bubbling vials and distillers. Why is it, do you think, that Habbalite Princes are always involved with laboratories? - -EDG Makatiel Habbalite Prince of Disease "The world is sick, riddled with infection and pervaded by decay." Makatiel was the first Habbalite Prince, and the only Habbalite Prince in his lifetime. He took pride in this: of all of the Punishers in all the world, only he was strong enough, in Word and spirit, to become one of the elite of Hell. This eventually led to his downfall; the "Angel Prince" began to see himself as better than the Archangels, because only he of all the Angelic Superiors had the stamina to rule in Hell as a Prince. Makatiel became determined that if he were the best in all of Heaven and Hell, then the Archangels - much less the other Princes - didn't deserve the human souls that they were being given - that he should have all the souls he could take. In an attempt to realize this, Makatiel began to spread lethal plagues across Europe, to gather as many souls as possible into his Principality, and it was only through the concerted efforts of Dominic and Asmodeus that the maddened Prince of Disease was stopped. Some claim that Makatiel contracted one of his own diseases, which affected his sanity and his ability to reason. Others say that Makatiel had always been insane, and that the Black Death - and his death - were only the logical culmination of a lifetime of derangement. Few of Makatiel's actual servitors remain, of course - many of them died in the quest to kill the mad Prince - but they maintain that Makatiel, though megalomaniac and obsessive, was never anything nearly as bad as the Game's propaganda makes him out to have been. In person, Makatiel was a fairly typical nobleman - always polite, always ready to entertain guests, but invariably convinced that he was better than anyone he entertained - even if he was entertaining Lucifer and his retinue. Of course, he had few visitors - his Principality, the Grand Laboratory, was at once ancient and Victorian, and could be deadly to the casual visitor. Poison coursed through thin glass tubes along the hallways, and lethal, luminous bacteria the size of a fist pulsed within bulbs in certain rooms. His organization was based upon the laboratory schema: each demon reported to a supervisor, who in turn reported to a manager, who reported to one of the five Directors; each of the Directors reported to Makatiel himself. Makatiel, like Vapula after him, was interested more in research than in organization: each Director had almost complete control over his department, though Makatiel could change anything at a whim. The favored vessel of the Prince of Disease was fairly odd upon initial examination: an old man, scarred but unbowed, ancient and intelligent, in tattered but rich clothing and carrying a staff. In fact, Makatiel's vessel, as befit a Punisher, was a challenge: see if *you* can live this long, through this many torments, and then we'll talk as equals. Dissonance Makatiel allowed his Directors to run their departments as they pleased, but one rule was always in effect upon those who worked within the Grand Laboratory: Never heal a disease. Injury could be repaired, but a disease was to be allowed to run its course, no matter the consequences. It is rumored among some that this was the source of Makatiel's madness: unwilling to assume the weakness that would come with dissonance, Makatiel allowed an experimental disease to rampage through his soul and came away from the experience a battered shell of his old self. Band Attunements Balseraphs: Makatiel's Liars were "faith healers". By spending 1 Essence, they could remove the *symptoms* of a disease for a number of days equal to their Will. However, the disease itself remained, festering and continuing to injure its host. Balseraphs of Disease rarely went to Earth with a Role; they preferred to insert themselves into communities, as a wandering witch doctor or religious pilgrim, work their "faith healing", and move on just before the disease was to return - thus fostering a belief in the healer's supernatural power to heal. Djinn (restricted): Djinn of Disease infected those to whom they were attuned. Within a number of days equal to (7 - the Djinn's Celestial Forces), the attuned would come down with a disease, whose intensity rose with the check digit of the resonance roll: a check digit of 1 brought the common cold or warts, while 6 or higher brought lethal disease such as the Bubonic Plague or measles. These Djinn tended to take Roles as town guards: never sick themselves, but always carting the ill and dying away from their families. Calabim (restricted): Calabim of Disease carried leprosy in their souls: anyone affected by their resonance appeared to have been afflicted with that deadly disease. If a Calabite struck someone with his resonance, the victim took 1 Body Hit per day (in addition to the normal damage) until either the victim died or the "disease" was cured (which could be done with, among other things, the Corporeal Song of Healing). Makatiel's Destroyers enjoyed Roles as lepers themselves, doomed never to fit in with the rest of society and to drag others down with them as they fell toward death. Habbalah (restricted): Habbalah tended to avoid Makatiel - his self-importance grated at their nerves - but the Prince of Disease made them an attunement anyway. Punishers serving Disease could make another person a beacon of emotion by resonating upon that person, so long as the target was suffering from a disease of some kind: anyone approaching within (the Habbalite's Celestial Forces * 10) yards would be afflicted with whatever emotion the Habbalite chose at the time of resonance, but could make a Will roll to resist. Typically, these Habbalah used this ability to generate fear or anger, although occasionally sadness or even emptiness was used. Habbalah of Disease took Roles as doctors, delighting secretly in quarantining houses and turning those within into social outcasts, always within reach of the victims of their attunement. Lilim (restricted): Makatiel's Lilim were apothecaries and chemists. By providing someone with the remedy to a disease, they could automatically get a geas-hook in that person (with a level appropriate to the severity of the disease) - and as long as they did not apply the remedy themselves, they did not acquire dissonance from Makatiel's Word. They took Roles as purveyors of medical cures and liniments, often establishing themselves within communities along with a Djinn or two in order to get as many geas-hooks as possible. Shedim (restricted): Makatiel's Corruptors were attuned to diseases of the mind. They could use the Ethereal Song of Entropy on their current host automatically (with a check digit equal to their Celestial Forces) and with no Essence cost (although they could still spend Essence to boost the effects). If successful, the Song caused not only Mind Hits but an insanity of the Shedite's choosing, which lasted until the Mind Hits were healed. As usual for their Band, Shedim of Disease typically had no Roles, allowing their hosts to direct their social interactions. Impudites (partially restricted): Impudites serving Makatiel were his field researchers: they could tell at a glance what diseases someone had and from what sources he had contracted them. They also could add their Celestial Forces to their roll to Charm someone if the target was suffering from any disease more severe than the common cold. Impudites of Disease took Roles as tax collectors, census takers, and other officials whose job was to speak to as many people as possible. Servitor Attunements Waste: This dangerous attunement allowed a demon to inflict a wasting disease upon a human, at the cost of 5 Essence. Every day that went by, the human had to make a Strength roll or lose 1 Body Hit, which did not heal normally; success on the Strength roll meant that the illness had been overcome, and any lost Body Hits began to heal normally. The disease would do no more Body Hits than the demon had Will; after that point, the human lost no more hits, but could not regain the lost hits until he made his daily Strength roll. The disease inflicted by this attunement was not communicable, and would have no outward signs save that the victim continued to get weaker as the disease ran its course. Venom: A demon with this attunement could enchant a weapon with a disease, for Essence equal to the severity of the disease: 1 Essence produced a common cold, while 6 produced a deadly plague. After the enchantment, anyone damaged by the weapon had to make a Will roll or contract the disease; this could be done (7 - Essence used) times before the enchantment wore off. A weapon could not be enchanted more than once at the same time, though it could be enchanted any number of times in sequence. Distinctions Knight of Unhealth: These demons could tell the general level of disease - from almost nil (the hut of a supremely healthy hermit) to extreme (a leper camp) - in a radius equal to their total Forces * 100 yards. They could also tell what diseases are most prevalent within that area. Captain of Infection: Makatiel's Captains could track disease vectors, following an illness from a single case back to its source. For 2 Essence, they could become a disease vector themselves, carrying a disease but not being affected by it. Baron of Illness: These demons could create new illnesses from scratch, using 3 Essence to infect the initial host, and were the only demons known to be able to create diseases that could affect celestials. Makatiel's Barons almost always had an Asmodean escort. Makatiel had only one Distinction higher than Baron: that of Director. Only five Directors existed at any one time, and they carried no special abilities inherent to the rank; rather, each was in command of one fifth of Makatiel's legions. Each reported to Makatiel on a weekly basis, giving him information on the status and condition of each of his servitors. Relations Allied: Malphas, Saminga Associated: Baal, Beleth, Gebbeleth, Mariel Neutral: All others Hostile: None (Lilith was Hostile to Makatiel) Basic Rites - - Spend two hours in a disease-ridden area - - Directly cause someone to be infected (+2 if the disease is lethal) Chance of Invocation: 2 Makatiel is almost always in his laboratory; while it is difficult to invoke him, it's rarely hard to find him. Invocation Modifiers: +1 The common cold +2 The stomach flu +3 Influenza +4 Sleeping sickness +5 Leprosy +6 Bubonic Plague ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 21:57:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Stone of David - --- Prodigal wrote: > From: "Roger Williby" > > > That makes it sound so funny. Anyone finding that > would be like, "A > Rock/6? > > How the crap?" > > Does that mean that Charlie Brown actually found a > holy relic in that one > special? Wow... Hmm. Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 22:08:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> New Artifact (yeah, I'm back...) ...and moving Just Isn't Much Fun, even when you've shamelessly bribed your players with a Force/Attunement to help in said move. Couple that with a quirky connection... But enough about me. :) Moe Agrippas Living Artifact Corporeal Forces: 1 Strength: 3 Agility: 1 Ethereal Forces: 2 Intelligence: 5 Precision: 3 Celestial Forces: 2 Will: 6 Perception: 2 Skills: Alchemy/1, Enchantment/1, Lying/3, Necromancy/1 Sorcerous Skills: Banish/1, Command/1, Exorcism/1, Focus/1, Summon/2 Rituals: Banish/1, Suggest/1, Exorcise/1, Protective Ward/1, Sacrifice for Essence/1, Store Essence/1, Summon Random Ethereal Spirit/1, Summon Demonling/1 Features: Unbreakable. Also, all Agrippas start play with the ability to 'speak' one language at level/3. A more experienced Agrippa will have an extra 10 to 20 points, usually divided among rituals, skills and Ethereal Songs. Very few of them will ever have more than six Forces. Note that Agrippas cannot actually perform Sorcery - but they can teach any ritual or skill that they know. They cannot be bought with character points: Kronos never makes them servants to the Sorcerers that he 'gifts' them to. It's widely considered (by the Agrippas, at least) to be the only mercy that the Prince of Fate exhibits in the situation... These living artifacts have a long and infamous history: they are the basis for the legends of evil magicians' diabolical, malevolent grimoires with an unholy life of their own. Which is fair enough, because when it comes down to it, that's precisely what they are. An Agrippa starts out existence as a demonling who was unlucky enough to get within either Hatiphas' or Kronos' reach at just the wrong moment. Said demonling is stripped of all 'irrelevant' skills, force-fed the desired Sorcerous knowledge, bound into an book and handed off to a neophyte Sorcerer. The new Agrippa is expected to tutor his new 'master' in the basics of Sorcery, not to mention encourage - or induce - the usual behavior patterns that Kronos deems appropriate, such as megalomania, callousness and a complete lack of physical and social hygiene. Very few Agrippas enjoy the experience: these are not happy little balls of sentient malevolence. They can't actually use most of their skills, aren't precisely mobile and have very little in the way of company. Worse and worse, most Agrippas quickly realize that, short of absolutely stellar work, the best that they can hope for is to be eventually broken up and their Ethereal Forces used to augment the power of Fate's real Servitors. Unfortunately, there isn't much that they can do about it, except try to pick up whatever scraps of power that they can memorize and hope that they can eventually either justify their continued existence, intact and unbound - or else find a secure bolt hole. Most fail: the few that succeed tend to be some of Kronos' best demons, as they invariably combine a well-honed ability at manipulation with a loathing towards humans that make Servitors of Death look like Novalines... ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 22:09:38 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Something from... well, I'll just let you read it, OK? Kinda Dark. :) Moe As everyone knows - well, everyone who is aware of the War, at least - Vapula refuses to tolerate Calabim in his ranks. In the Genius 'Archangel's' opinion, their mere presence can be a catastrophe: the combination of their resonance, habits and general outlook on existence makes them an unacceptable risk. Considering the delicate nature of many Technological experiments and prototypes, simply having one in the same room is a short and sure recipe for disaster. Jean is perfectly willing to acknowledge that, in this one case at least, his opposite number has a definite point. Calabite of Lightning Calling the procedure by the above name is discouraged among Servitors of Lightning: suggesting that the procedure by which captured, incorrigible Calabim are put to at least some use is even superficially equivalent to the solemn granting of a boon to a loyal servant of God is vaguely insulting to the latter. Much worse, it is sloppy thinking. Regrettably, the practice persists - even among angels that should really know better. At any rate, the ... procedure ... itself is fairly straightforward. A team is sent out to locate, acquire and subdue a suitable Calabite (preferably one that is not Renegade, and certainly not one that is a potential Redemption candidate): once this is accomplished, the demon is brought to the attention of Jean himself for the adaptation process. Various low-level specialized artifacts are implanted into the Calabite's celestial form (under anesthesia, of course: this isn't about sadism). After this is done, all that remains is to excise and replace the demon's short-term memory. The Calabite will 'wake up' in a suitable place, with suitable evidence for explaining away his or her hazy recollections. Other than that, there is very little evidence that anything has actually happened: given the amount of Discord manifested by most Calabim, Jean finds that hiding the celestial scars to actually be quite easy. However, a Calabite that has undergone this procedure will eventually discover that he or she has become extraordinarily sensitive to that class of items colloquially designated as 'Vaputech': so much so, in fact, that the demon will be able to somehow recognize said items on sight. As a side note, Jean would not be averse to gifting his Servitors with the same ability, but every method that has been worked out at this time would necessitate the grafting of an Infernally-tainted Force. Further research continues along these lines. At any rate, the Calabite is now able to detect 'Vaputech' - and, as most sentient entities exhibit curiosity as part of their makeup, will eventually be drawn to actually handle one of the Infernal Devices. At this point the other feature of the implants activates: the Calabite must make a Will Roll at -3 to avoid immediately using his or her resonance on the device. An interesting quirk of the implants is that short-circuiting the demon's resonance in this way actually makes it easier to activate (in game terms, add the CD of a failed Will Roll to the resonance check number: if the Calabite chooses not to resist, simply add +3). The fact that the sensation is intensely pleasurable (treat as a Highly Addictive, Tough Withdrawal drug) was at first merely a serendipitous effect - but one that was carefully enhanced, once discovered. >From there, it is merely a case of standing back and watching the steadily increasing (in every sense of the term) explosions. The combination of typical Calabite psychology and a severe positive-feedback loop almost invariably results in a severely-addicted demon personally destroying every piece of 'Vaputech' that he or she can detect ... and, sooner or later, the realization that there is an entire Principality where such items can be encountered. Often sooner. Jean has not yet received reliable intelligence about what happens when a treated Calabite appears in Tartarus, but a simple extrapolation of the corporeal evidence would suggest that the results are satisfactorily detrimental to Vapula's normal working environment, such as it is. Also, a side effect of this procedure is that there has lately been a slight but increasing tendency for most Calabim to be more cautious around suspected Servitors of Lightning - or even avoid them altogether. Which is as it should be. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 22:11:18 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Yet more Undead ...because we _need_ more, goshdarnit. Undead of every color in the rainbow... ;) Moe Vampire Ivy Corporeal Forces: 1 Strength: 3 Agility: 1 Ethereal Forces: 0 Intelligence: 0 Precision: 0 Celestial Forces: 0 Will: 0 Perception: 0 Vessel-Equivalent: 1 Body Hits: 6 Skills: Climbing/3, Fighting/4, Move Silently/4 Songs: Numinous Corpus/3 (Acid) Discord: Need/3 ('Fluids'), Vulnerability/3 (Sunlight or Fire) Saminga may not be the smartest Superior out there, but he's a dedicated researcher, in his way. Of course, his particular way would make even Vapula roll his eyes (and almost make Jean wince), but it has to be admitted that occasionally the Prince of Death will hit on something interesting. Vampire Ivy is 'something interesting'. And bloody dangerous, to boot. Zombification of plant life has always been possible: even fairly easy enough. The standard Create Zombi ritual (at -1) can be used: in this one case, it can allow for up to 10 Forces' worth of Undead plant life to be created at a time. It's just that there usually wasn't much point to it, unless of course the idea was just to try to tick off Novalis. Even then, most sensible necromancers were reluctant to make the attempt - the problem with trying to tick off the Archangel of Flowers is that you might somehow succeed. There's no telling what might happen afterwards - and is it really worth it, just so you could have an Undead houseplant? Just what were you going to do with it, besides use it as a conservation piece? Saminga's innovation - and it was one, make no mistake about it - was actually two breakthroughs in one. The first was making the zombified plant mobile. Ivy and kudzu are best suited for this sort of modification: after the ritual, their new method of locomotion is much like that of an inchworm. An oozing, disgusting inchworm with a taste for any sort of liquid and a smell that kills flies at ten paces, true - but that's just part of the Vampire Ivy's charm. Another part of said dubious charm is its attack habits: these things aren't remotely sentient, even by a regular Zombi's relaxed standards. They're barely capable of waiting motionless until something gets within range, then swarming all over him, her or it. The favored feeding 'technique' is to coil around any handy repository of fluid (tree trunks, canteens, arms, legs, throats and... other places), constrict and use their modified roots as fangs. Once attached, they stay attached until dead or there aren't any more fluids. This might not be so bad a problem - even a regular human can kill a sprig of Vampire Ivy, and celestials can always take celestial form - except for the other breakthrough. You see, while individual sprigs of Vampire Ivy may not be so tough, nobody ever encounters just one sprig. These buggers usually hunt in packs of about, say, twenty or so. That tends to change the tactical situation a bit. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 00:12:53 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Stone of David From: "Maurice Lane" > > > > Does that mean that Charlie Brown actually found a > > holy relic in that one special? Wow... > > Hmm. I'm not sure whether to be honored, frightened, or something in between... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 01:36:30 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Something from... well, I'll just let you read it, OK? > course: this isn't about sadism). After this is done, > all that remains is to excise and replace the demon's > short-term memory. The Calabite will 'wake up' in a > suitable place, with suitable evidence for explaining > away his or her hazy recollections. Missing time? Check. False memories? Check. Invasive Surgical Procedures? Check. Said procedures are beyond the ability of the recipient to comprehend? Check. Recipient now bears implanted ultra-tech which cannot be detected by current means? Check. *adding sounds* *ka-ching* ... why do I get the feeling these Calabim often wake up in crop circles, wearing gas-station jumpsuits with the name "Bobby Joe" embroidered on the breast, and with a slight burning sensation in the nether regions? - -- Casca Heck, if I was a Jeanite, I'd arrange things so that the first piece of music they heard was "Dueling Banjos". ;) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 10:56:38 +0200 (CEST) From: Unni Solaas Subject: Re: IN> Baby Angels On Sun, 2 Jun 2002, Michael Walton wrote: > Bam, Baby Bright! And Laurence will immediately show up > to volunteer to be the godfather... Ok, so making a baby Bright also automatically summons Larry? I see Possibilities. However these Possibilities would only be Possible in a game where canon is has been dropped out the window never to be seen again, and with an unhealthy level of Silliness. :) Oh, and speaking of ignoring canon, Playing Silly and pretending to be ignorant of IN's views on cross-breeds: WARNING! Unhealthy levels of silliness. WARNING! Malakim with transparent, multicolor butterfly wings. *Runs Away* - -- Stercus, stercus, stercus, moriturus sum! Or: OhshitohshitohshitI'mgonnadiiiiiiieeeee!!! (With appropriate doppler effect) Unni Solaas ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 07:43:21 -0400 From: EDG Subject: Re: IN> Dead Prince #1: Makatiel >Calabim (restricted): Calabim of Disease carried leprosy in their souls: >anyone affected by their resonance appeared to have been afflicted with >that deadly disease. If a Calabite struck someone with his resonance, the >victim took 1 Body Hit per day (in addition to the normal damage) until >either the victim died or the "disease" was cured (which could be done >with, among other things, the Corporeal Song of Healing). Makatiel's >Destroyers enjoyed Roles as lepers themselves, doomed never to fit in with >the rest of society and to drag others down with them as they fell toward >death. Erratum: This is not correct. The appropriate attunement is as follows: Calabim (restricted): Calabim of Disease carried leprosy in their souls: anyone affected by their resonance appeared to have been afflicted with that deadly disease. Damage done by one of these Destroyers would not heal normally; the use of supernatural means of recovery (such as the Song of Healing) was needed to restore the lost Hits. Until the wounds were healed, the victim appeared to have been afflicted by leprosy, their skin and muscle perpetually on the verge of sloughing off. (This caused no further Hits of any kind; it was merely a visual effect.) Makatiel's Destroyers enjoyed Roles as lepers themselves, doomed never to fit in with the rest of society and to drag others down with them as they fell toward death. - -EDG ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2002 04:41:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Something from... well, I'll just let you read it, OK? - --- Eric Bertish wrote: > ... why do I get the feeling these Calabim often > wake up in crop circles, > wearing gas-station jumpsuits with the name "Bobby > Joe" embroidered on the > breast, and with a slight burning sensation in the > nether regions? Damn. That hadn't even entered my mind - and you're right, it should have. > -- Casca > > Heck, if I was a Jeanite, I'd arrange things so that > the first piece of > music they heard was "Dueling Banjos". ;) (snort) And let's not forget the ingredients. _Obviously_ this procedure requires several specialized hormones and chemicals only found in bovine* biochemistry. Good thing Jean has all those pickup helicopters... :) Moe *Cow. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/13/02(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 08:23:34 -0400 From: EDG Subject: Re: IN> Baby Angels At 10:56 AM 6/8/02 +0200, you wrote: >Malakim with transparent, multicolor butterfly wings. "Fly, be free! ... What are you looking at?" - -EDG Annael "Lilakite" of Flowers Corporeal Forces: 2 Strength: 4 Agility: 4 Ethereal Forces: 3 Intelligence: 7 Precision: 5 Celestial Forces: 4 Will: 8 Perception: 8 Skills: Artistry (Interpretive Dance/3), Fast-Talk/2, Knowledge (Botany/4), Large Weapon (Sword/2), Ranged Weapon (Shotgun/2), Seduction/3, Tactics/1 Vessel: Human female/3, Sex Appeal +2 Role: "Anna Thompson", High school botany teacher/3/2 Attunements: Malakite of Flowers, Seraph of Flowers Annael's resonance has been subtly modified from the normal Malakite resonance. The first two levels are the same, but: 3 - Annael knows the most noble or ignoble thing that the person has done in the last year, relative not only to their moral standard but to hers. (This relates two separate pieces of information.) 4 - Annael knows the most noble *and* ignoble thing that the person has done in the last year, relative not only to their moral standard but to hers. 5 - Annael knows the person's greatest virtue *or* his worst sin, and what that person would give to do it again. 6 - Annael knows the height or depth of spirit the person truly aspires to - - and what Annael herself can do to help the person achieve that height or depth. Every Archangel - and most major Word-Bound - have lists, scattered either around their person or around their Cathedral. Each list enumerates the words, acts, and ideas known to upset or anger another Archangel. The Archangels keep these lists for two reasons: a) they don't have perfect memories, and b) sometimes it's entertaining to be able to pick a random way to torque off another Archangel. However, the reason these lists are brought up is that Annael, "Lilakite" of Flowers, has the distinction of being on at least five of them at once. The product of a union between a Malakite and a Lilim (nobody's naming names, so don't ask), Annael appears as a dark, shadowy form with luminescent, multi-colored, black-rimmed butterfly wings. Although she is fairly talented in combat (her Malakite heritage), she also has some artistic tendencies (her mother was a Bright Lilim of Creation) and is fairly fast on her mental feet. However, despite the predisposition of all Malakim to show up when their "niece" is threatened and be threatening right back, and the behind-the-scenes manipulation of events by the Brights so that their "daughter" is never in any real danger, Novalis - one of the few Archangels who is willing to accept Annael for what she is - felt that the "Lilakite" would be safer away from Heaven, where every other Archangel she walked by went into apoplectic fits as soon as she had passed. Annael is now in the Role of Anna Thompson, a stereotypically young and pretty schoolteacher who wants nothing more than to hang out in the school's greenhouse all day, tending to the plants and teaching the ten or fifteen students who actually signed up for Botany how to care for and nurture the flora around them. (It helps that Anna's school is somewhat rural; the forest surrounding the school, filled with all sorts of interesting wildlife, means lots of field trips.) While Annael teaches, she also probes each class with her resonance (see above); using the information she gets, she (along with a guidance counselor who really seems about ready to be brought into awareness of the War) tries her level best to help each student achieve their goals, and sets things in motion for their ultimate virtue to be reached. And, every now and then, an old, gruff Malakite (Maj. Armor-of-God Thompson, USArmy; Herail, Malakite of the Sword) stops in to make sure she's all right, and an older woman (Lina Thompson; Elin, Bright Lilim of Flowers) drops by every once in a while to bring cookies or brownies for Anna and the class. After all, even in a relatively safe spot like the school in which Anna teaches, it's still best to keep an eye on your children. (Annael is, if the GM allows a "Lilakite" PC, a balanced starting character.) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 11:34:43 -0400 From: EDG Subject: IN> ! Series: Fools Rush In The ! Series is a set of vignettes intended to fill out and explain the events of the ? Cycle. This includes a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, as well as certain events in Heaven while Haagenti is completing the prophecy in Hell. Fools Rush In takes place between the events of In A Chicago Diner and The Fortunate Fall. Special thanks to Casca and Moe for the idea and the inspiration. - -EDG Fools Rush In "It had been nice," thought Dominic as he sat at his desk in his Cathedral, watching his servitors mill restlessly about in pursuit of justice and the relievers dart back and forth across the Hall in pursuit of each other, "before the Fall, when 'a day like any other' actually applied to Heaven." He was considering a particularly difficult case: it looked as though he was going to have to explain to Jordi yet again how it was possible for servitors to gain dissonance in the honest pursuit of their Archangel's Word, and that it was really bad form to cast them out when all they had been doing was wearing clothes and making sure the door to the pet store was locked behind them after they'd released all the puppies. It was to his alternating joy and chagrin, but not to his surprise, therefore, when the Archangel of Creation burst through the doors. "Dominic!" he cried. "Look what I've-" "Enough," said the Archangel of Judgment in a voice cold enough to freeze ice. "I am not particularly interested in what you have found, and I am not particularly interested in what you have done. It is a fact that for forty-four years, eight months, seven days and two hundred twenty-nine minutes, you have been absent from Heaven and have derelicted your duties. You have encouraged your servitors to violate their new masters' orders and, in fact, have given them no particular orders of your own. You -" "Enough," repeated the Archangel of Creation in equally icy tones. "How dare you? How dare you judge me without even bothering to learn what I've been doing?" His voice was rising in volume with each word. "How can you possibly know how to consider my actions without knowing what those actions were?" "Eli, I-" interrupted Dominic, only to be interrupted himself. "I WAS NOT FINISHED!" roared Eli, his face red with fury, his voice carrying to the farthest reaches of Dominic's Cathedral. Even the relievers stopped their game of tag to stare, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, at the wrath of the Archangel of Creation. "You have done nothing but persecute since you were given your Word! You have outcast an entire Choir of angels simply because they did something you cannot! You have judged the oldest Archangel there is simply because he won battles you were disallowed to participate in! You have driven our last prophet from the Eternal City because her chosen representative on Earth happened to die! And now me? What will you do to me, Dominic, offer to destroy my soul? All I have been doing is getting back in touch with my Word, travelling Creation and remembering what it means to be a Friend of Man. What have you done in the last forty-five years, Archangel of Judgment, besides persecute?" Dominic was taken aback. "Eli... I don't-" "You're damned right you don't." Eli sighed and ran his fingers through his unruly brown hair. "I'm sorry, Dom. I had no right to yell at you like that. All I'm saying is that you need to walk a mile in a man's shoes before you judge him, okay? That's what Gabriel's boy said two thousand years ago, and it's still true today." Dominic, to Eli's thorough and eternal surprise, nodded. "Very well. You have made your point." The robe shifted slightly, and Eli felt a hollow appear inside his soul - one which was almost immediately filled. "You now have," said Dominic slowly, "one of my Vessels. I now have one of yours. I will bind myself into it, for a year and a day, posthaste. However..." The Archangel of Judgment paused significantly. "I require the same of you." Eli blinked. "You want me to stay out of Heaven for another year?" "And a day," Dominic agreed. "When you have learned what it is to be penitent, you may return." "I can dig it," replied Eli. "I can dig it. When do we start?" "Now," said Dominic, and abruptly both Archangels were on Earth, sealed into their respective Vessels. Eli had become a cleric apprentice, with ashes in his hair and on his face and brown sackcloth robes reaching to the ground, tied with a fraying rope; Dominic was, to all appearances, a yuppie decked out for hiking, with a mop of blond hair and sharp, tanned features. "How does it feel?" asked the Archangel of Judgment. Eli paused for a moment. "I could get used to this." "Go," said Dominic, "there is a Role awaiting you. As for myself..." He looked at Eli and smiled widely. "There's a diner I've been meaning to check out." ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2666 ********************************