in_nomine-digest Sunday, October 27 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2836 In this digest: Re: IN> [fiction] "My Boyfriend, Jesus Christ" Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> A Study of the Nature of Hardcore Re: IN> Careful what you ask... Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> Just a thought. IN> Michael looses? IN> Careful what you ask... Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> Careful what you ask... Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal Re: IN> Michael looses? IN> Project Silence - Jumpgates ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 23:35:10 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> [fiction] "My Boyfriend, Jesus Christ" > *snicker* I liked this. :) > > But you've been hanging out with Casca, haven't you? Now, now. Haru wasn't on the list when I came up with my idea, so let's not make accusations, however humorous, of cribbing. Besides, I doubt there are many on this list who are conversant with my campaign, and it's not polite to make references most won't understand. Still, you get points for stroking my ego in public. ;) - -- Casca ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 23:42:19 -0400 From: "Josh Moger" Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal >Skulker: Marc's Dark Grigori are his thieves. When on the corporeal plane, >all non-aware beings will have to roll Perception to see the Skulker, as if >he was in celestial form! However, if any attention is brought to the demon, >he will be noticed by everyone, and must hide from sight to become >unnoticeable again. Recorded media -will- see the demon, but anyone watching >will have to roll Perception to notice him. > I dunno... this might be just a wee overpowered. Basically, you're allowing the Skulker to be all but invisible so long as they don't physically convey their existence. Wouldn't this allow them not only the advantage of being able to move unseen, but also an automatic first strike against anyone who isn't expecting them? While this could have been your original purpose, it seems like something that Michael would have a problem with, if for no other reason than that *he* didn't come up with it first. It does seem less 'Dealish' and more assassinish. Or I could still be locked in the mindset of last week. >*Servitor Attunements* > >Deal with the Devil: With this attunement, the demon may gamble with the >Symphony against his personal one, in an attempt to rape it for his own >gain. For 1 Essence, the demon may take any roll he must make and roll it >three times, but this rolled in -secret- by the GM! The player then may >choose roll number one, two or three, an he must take the one he chose and >use it as his roll. > I'm not sure if I see the advantage here. Without knowing *anything* about the roll, the demon has about the same chance of succeeding as if he hadn't spent the essence and just rolled. You might want to ratchet this into a Distinction and then revamp it to allow the demon to have another roll if they don't like the first, but it definitely should be bounded by an essence expenditure. As for the rest- very nice write up, though I am wondering about his Relations with the rest of the Horde. Josh O_O ::He watched Stepford Wives last night... give him time, the sweatdrop will be back:: ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 02:48:35 -0800 From: edenesque@juno.com Subject: Re: IN> A Study of the Nature of Hardcore I'm sorry to be so late with this, but I had three midterms this week. Studying for those occupied the bulk of my time. :( But, the point I was going to make to this thread is that I personally have always seen Furfur as more than just a poor substitute for Belial. Furfur is, to my mind, about *social* destruction, something a far cry from Belial's "burn 'em down, blow 'em up" policy. Think about it. When Furfur's servitors turn a peaceful demonstration into a bloody riot, the authorities clamp down. The news dismisses the protestors as mindless, dangerous fanatics and their views (which may have been quite legitimate and important) are denigrated as baseless rabble-rousing. In turn, this allows bad policies and corrupt governments to continue on unchecked, the voice of the people discredited. Similarly, when Furfur's goons turn a simple rave into a party that burns down half a neighborhood, the young and the old are pitted against each other. This type of generation gap is wide open for Malphas and several other Princes to exploit and stymies Archangels like Blandine, Christopher, and Novalis. The ironic thing is that Furfur is too busy being a hardcore rebel against authority and striving against Belial to even realize the damage he's doing with his seemingly lightweight Word! Or at least, that's my take on it anyways. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 20:28:52 +0800 From: "Jeffery Watkins" Subject: Re: IN> Careful what you ask... >"So you wanted to know about my story? I have no problem telling you; we both have all the time in the world for this. I’m effectively immortal and you’re not going anywhere for a while.” That was MAGNICIENT!!!! Bravo! Bravo! *applaudes* *Gives Essence* I love this version of Adam. *swipes for game* The whole story was told well too. I also loved how it slowly dawned on me WHO it was about. The whole soliloquy was enjoyable from beginning to end. Thank you for composing and sharing it. WOW! Jeff =) Part of my insanity manifest at JCT, where In Nomine meets science fiction in the far future http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jctrinityRPG - -- _______________________________________________ Get your free email from http://mymail.operamail.com Powered by Outblaze ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 21:06:03 +0800 From: "Jeffery Watkins" Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal > (My apologies for being so absent from the list the past few days... I've > been a bit sick, and it's exam/term paper/etc week at college, so I've been > a wee bit busy ^^; anyways, here's my next Superior I made for INverse, a > hellborn and nasty Marc, Prince of the Deal. He's a little rough, I know, an > all criticisms, suggestions, and so on are encouraged. Thanks, and enjoy!) > > Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal > > "The World is just another possession that can be had... for the right > price." > Well, welcome back! And thanks for this wonderful dilemma you've just put me in. I have a DP of the Deal and here you have someone whose fantastic, yet not the same as the one I am using. How to adapt him? Oh well. Marvelous work on Marc and even the little things like being the first Imp to fledge gives him an added flair. Love how he's about organized greed rather than out and out greed of Mammon. Its like Marc is about getting and Mammon is about keeping or hording. Magnificient! *applauds* Jeff =) Part of my insanity manifest at JCT, where In Nomine meets science fiction in the far future http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jctrinityRPG - -- _______________________________________________ Get your free email from http://mymail.operamail.com Powered by Outblaze ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 08:38:57 -0700 From: sirea@softhome.net Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal >>Skulker: Marc's Dark Grigori are his thieves. > I dunno... this might be just a wee overpowered. Basically, you're allowing > the Skulker to be all but invisible so long as they don't physically convey > their existence. Wouldn't this allow them not only the advantage of being > able to move unseen, but also an automatic first strike against anyone who > isn't expecting them? While this could have been your original purpose, it > seems like something that Michael would have a problem with, if for no other > reason than that *he* didn't come up with it first. It does seem less > 'Dealish' and more assassinish. Or I could still be locked in the mindset > of last week. I know, you are right. This was made practically last minute when I was pretty tired, and this along with the attunement below is what needs the most revision. Also, I see the Deal like being the spymaster Marc of "fan-canon", not just having to do with commerce, but information gathering and sneaking. But honestly, this makes the Skulker way too powerful. Maybe a clause having to do with not being able to interact with people, or having an Essence cost included. > >>Deal with the Devil: > I'm not sure if I see the advantage here. Without knowing *anything* about > the roll, the demon has about the same chance of succeeding as if he hadn't > spent the essence and just rolled. You might want to ratchet this into a > Distinction and then revamp it to allow the demon to have another roll if > they don't like the first, but it definitely should be bounded by an essence > expenditure. Well... at first, I wanted to make it so that the demon can roll three times and look at the rolls, and choose the best one, but that was too much like Luck from GURPS and easily abusable for only 3 Essence (or is it?) I also had the idea of letting the demon roll once. If they don't like that roll, they can roll again. If they don't like the second roll, they can roll a third and final time, and hope for the best, because they have to keep the last roll if the first two were abandoned. It invokes the gambling aspect of the Deal. > > > As for the rest- very nice write up, though I am wondering about his > Relations with the rest of the Horde. Heh, I couldn't squeeze in the realtions before I had booted off the computer, sorry -.-; Marc's realtions with the rest of the Horde is much like the canon Lilith, of being everyone's friend when they need something, but will mistreat anyone who's gone back on a deal recently. So his Associated and Hostile relations flux from year to year, but pretty much stay consistent, as new deals are made and Marc grows in power. He's extremely old (by hellborn standards) and very powerful, so even his enemies know he won't be going away anytime soon. He also has some of the coveted favor of Michael, as one of his spymasters and "funders" for the War effort. He is Allied to Christopher, Prince of Sin, simply because their Words collide so well (kinda like Lilith and Andy do in canon), but it's all professional (Chris -is- a Djinn afterall). Marc would as soon backstab and outdeal Chris as he would anyone else, if he saw it would be to his advantage. He hates David, Prince of Assimilation, because if everything is one mass mind, what's the point of Deals anymore? Also, I forgot his appearance. Corporeally, he appears as either a 25 year-old man or woman of extremely attractive standards, with slick black hair pulled back into a small ponytail, with a rigid but friendly face, wearing either a business suit or the outfit of ancient merchants. Celestially, he looks like his corporeal form, but his skin is made from an opaque green metal, his wings shimmer as if gilded, and his halo is gold rimmed with black. > > Josh > O_O ::He watched Stepford Wives last night... give him time, the sweatdrop > will be back:: > Stepford Wives... sounds familiar... I'll look it up. --- Sirea, Free Cherub IST Destiny, Angel who Wanders, petitioner for the Word of Eternity (and being ridden by a Renegade Shedite of the Game) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2002 02:07:39 -0600 From: ben@zianet.com Subject: Re: IN> Just a thought. >> There is at least one canonical competition that Michael >> *didn't* win......unless you're willing to tell me that >> he *wanted* a third of theHost to rebel. Michael defeated Lucifer and Heaven won the battle. Lucifer and his angels did retreat into exile and imprisonment, after all. The aftermath thousands of years later wasn't so nice, but at the time it was a decisive victory for the forces of Heaven. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 12:18:07 -0500 From: BC Petery Subject: IN> Michael looses? > Michael is the most physically powerful angel and whenever he competes -- > whether fighting, arguing with other Archangels, or whatever -- it's > completely against his nature to lose. It is dissonant for Michaeloids to _surrender_ with out orders. There is nothing stated about winning or losing, or even "holding the line." A negotiated truce is also acceptable. ("You wanna take a breather?" "Ok.") A Michaeloid can't simply step back from a fight. Or to rephrase, Michael is not so much about "not losing" as he is about "not giving up." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 12:18:08 -0500 From: BC Petery Subject: IN> Careful what you ask... > And yes, I heard the stories about how I rejected > her because I wanted her to be subservient or she > wanted to be on top during sex. Something that's been swimming around my head, but I couldn't come up with a format for presentation. The whole "he was always on top" has a very "don't throw me into that briar patch" sound to me. Perhaps Lilith wanted Adam on top. When Adam was on top Lilith knew where his hands were - they were supporting him. When he was on the bottom his hands were free to roam. The way the story usually goes, Adam was theoretically in charge, but actually had fewer options than Lilith. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 12:33:32 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal On Sunday, October 27, 2002, at 08:06 AM, Jeffery Watkins wrote: > Well, welcome back! And thanks for this wonderful dilemma you've just > put me in. I have a DP of the Deal and here you have someone whose > fantastic, yet not the same as the one I am using. How to adapt him? > Oh well. I know exactly like Jeff feels here. Back in the Lilith, Queen of Hell stuff, I listed a Rebekah, Princess of the Deal, as the Chamberlain of Hell under Lilith, but she's still undefined. So, do I steal bunches of Sirea's beautiful take on the Word, or stick to Rebekah's guns, whenever I get around to actually writing her up. Decisions, decisions.... (Ah, to have this kind of 'problem' more often. ) - -- Eric A. Burns Freelance Writer and Textual Whore http://www.annotations.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 10:11:28 -0800 From: " Cameron McCurry" Subject: Re: IN> Careful what you ask... On Sun, 27 Oct 2002 12:18:08 -0500 BC Petery said unto us: >>Adam was theoretically in charge, but actually had fewer options than Lilith. One of the things that tends to get overlooked (At least on the List) is that Adam was created as her equal. I figure that he was due a write up. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 08:19:05 +0800 From: "Jeffery Watkins" Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal > He hates David, > Prince of Assimilation, because if everything is one mass mind, what's the > point of Deals anymore? > Will you be doing him soon? Alright, selfishly I'm looking for ideas for Zeror, Dark Hawwah Demon Princess of The Machine. The idea she birthed from was the Borg Queen from Star trek and her view that everyone should be a cog in the vast machine of her Word. Her domain is Ahaz-monos and its much like a borg cube. I think one of the books described a cyber-hell and its a combination of that and th borg. However beyond that, looks and concept I'm not getting anywhere. This is of course if you don't mind. It sounds like David is much like Zeror in that sense. Thanks! Jeff =) Part of my insanity manifest at JCT, where In Nomine meets science fiction in the far future http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jctrinityRPG - -- _______________________________________________ Get your free email from http://mymail.operamail.com Powered by Outblaze ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 17:54:38 -0700 From: sirea@softhome.net Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal > I know exactly like Jeff feels here. Back in the Lilith, Queen of Hell > stuff, I listed a Rebekah, Princess of the Deal, as the Chamberlain of > Hell under Lilith, but she's still undefined. So, do I steal bunches of > Sirea's beautiful take on the Word, or stick to Rebekah's guns, whenever I > get around to actually writing her up. > > Decisions, decisions.... > > (Ah, to have this kind of 'problem' more often. ) Heh ^^; honestly, adapt him all you like. My take wasn't that beautiful :D still lots to fix and work on before he's INverse worthy. And I never mentioned it, but I really liked your QoH setting, it was a good take on the idea of Lucy holding reality up though his own symphony. Neo-Lilith is... chilling. As for Marc, do what thou wilt, but be cool :D --- Sirea, Free Cherub IST Destiny, Angel who Wanders, petitioner for the Word of Eternity (and being ridden by a Renegade Shedite of the Game) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 18:10:35 -0700 From: sirea@softhome.net Subject: Re: IN> INverse Superior: Marc, Impudite Demon Prince of the Deal > Will you be doing him soon? Alright, selfishly I'm looking for ideas for Zeror, Dark Hawwah Demon Princess of The Machine. > *snip, and stuff* Well, honestly, I wasn't planning on doing David myself (well, at least for now), and hoping that someone else may want and request to. He's going to be Assimilation in the sense of there being endless walls of featurless gray stone... of everyone being one mass mind in Hell, then earth, then Heaven itself, everything becoming as one under the rule of Michael, forever. His powers concern making people uncomfortable being alone or independant, playing upon their fears and insecurity, and forces them into a terrible 1984-esque kind of mindset. --- Sirea, Free Cherub IST Destiny, Angel who Wanders, petitioner for the Word of Eternity (and being ridden by a Renegade Shedite of the Game) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 18:14:34 -0700 From: sirea@softhome.net Subject: Re: IN> Michael looses? > Or to rephrase, Michael is not so much about "not losing" as he is about > "not giving up." > Yes! That's how I see Mike. Powerful, skilled, mighty, but still he can't always win. He'll go down in flames before he gives up, but nothing is ever said that he will always win. In a silly light, I rather envision him as being like the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail :D (see's quadrapeligic Michael bouncing after Lucifer, screaming "I'LL BITE YOUR BLOODY TAIL OFF!!") --- Sirea, Free Cherub IST Destiny, Angel who Wanders, petitioner for the Word of Eternity (and being ridden by a Renegade Shedite of the Game) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:12:44 +0000 From: "Michael Cleveland" Subject: IN> Project Silence - Jumpgates Abaric tapped his boot on the tarmac in an ever-increasing pace as the Laurencians around him scrambled to get their defensive positions. His wings twitched with nervous energy as he watched them preparing for battle - their battle, not his - before he calmed himself and reminded himself that had it not been for his coming to play cards at the airbase that housed the Sword's Tether, they would have had no warning at all. As he peered through his binoculars trying to find his would-be attackers he felt a flutter of air followed by a weight on his shoulder as one of Sigal's ravens landed on his shoulder. "Reese wants to know how long we've got. What should I tell him?" The Malakite listened to the pulsing in hisears, then spoke quietly. "30 seconds to a solid tone. Not sure what's causing it, but it's gonna be a whole lotta hurt when it gets here." The bird shifted its weight from leg to leg anxiously. "Got it. I'm doing overflights of the base, but I'm still not seeing anything ei... ther. Wait a second. The shed by the flight line when they keep the mowers - there's four people people over there I don't recognize. See 'em?" The Malakite of War turned towards the flight line, and immediately zeroed in on what the Kyriotate was seeing. Standing by the shed were several people in military fatigues that he realized were slightly different from the ones he would associate with the people at the Air Force Base. His eyes quickly locked onto the two on the outside of the grouping, who were looking back down the line towards him through high-power scopes of a type he didn't recognize, but his eyes slowly drifted to the two on the inside. As the raven chattered something Abaric didn't even recognize, he saw their hands moving in intricate patterns through the air and their lips moving as if chanting. The air suddenly grew colder as his instincts kicked in and he recognized the highest priority target on the field." "That's them! Nail the ones on the inside! We've got to -" Abaric's words were cut off by a high-pitched shriek in his ears as the Symphony sang out with the sounds of essence being shaped and songs being sung. As he blinked, the four people pressed themselves to the side of the shed, and then the four became six, then eight, and kept appearing two by two and firing on the tether's defenders. The Malakite started to swing a rifle towards the targets before - The Malakite looked down at the crystaline globe beside him and shook his head ruefully. "Head shots. Never going to get used to 'em. Bless." - ------------------------- The aliens have incorporated into their bases a form of dimensional gateway that allows them to move from their home dimensions to this one. Though our current lack of understanding of extra-dimensional science prevents us from making use of these portals to attack their homeworlds, our encounters with them have given us the rudimentary knowledge necessary to form gateways of our own. Preliminary analysis of the captured data from extra-dimensional strongholds has presented a means of instantaneous transportation between any two points on the globe, which our colleagues in Project Icehouse believe can be reproduced by our servicemen after proper training. The military applications of this are, as you can imagine, nearly immeasurable... Unknown scientist, Project Silence Extra-Dimensional Research Division - ------------------------- Jumpgate Technology Project Silence has learned a lot from its opponents. Old military doctrine required you to bring your entire force through land that the enemy controlled and knew like the back of their hands. This allowed for ambushes and gave the enemy more time to react to you. When faced with the alien threats posed by the extra-dimensionals, the more time it took to reach the objective translated directly into the more lives lost. After the capture of several alien bases, however, the basic technology behind their bases transport pad, or locus, became more fully understood. With the information obtained from several Vapularian computer cores and the forced debriefing of a 'Creationist', members of the project have begun to duplicate the effects of 'Tethers'. The Jumpgate program was born out of this research, and has graduated from a experimental procedure to a tried and relatively reliable, if unsettling, part of the Silencer program. After careful screening, people are selected to learn the science of Jumpgate creation. This involves no small amount of effort, as one learns that 'space' and 'distance' are relative. By use of psychokinetic energy, these people learn to connect two existing points in space. The initial outlay of energy is extremely taxing, but once the two points have been established, any number of people can use the gateway by psychokinetically 'pushing' their way through. Distance is not a factor - although the range of Gateway Technology is considered classified, it's known that pretty well any place on earth can be reached, so long as there's a Jumpgate officer on the other side to open the other point. Gateways are considered unstable, but not in the sense that anyone has been lost during transit. Some people are incapable of making jumps opened for them - these people are often trained to be Jump Officers themselves, who then open points for others. This, however, prevents them from crossing themselves, as they use all their psychokinetics in opening the jumppoint. Also, the gateways are only rated to last for one hour - although they typically last as long as three or four unless shut down prematurely, a gate can be guaranteed to stay open for only the first hour. Gateways can also be used to transport material - up to three hundred pounds on material can be pushed across at a time. Attempts to transport more are unsuccessful in all but the rarest of cases, and every jumpgate officer has told stories of shipments over the weight limit arriving incomplete or... worse. Use of Jumpgates is restricted, as the enemy can detect the transports in progress. All officers wishing to use Gating must receive approval from Command, as it has been discovered that the enemy can sometimes trace the gates back to their source. Jump points are heavily guarded, as once the gate is open it goes both ways. The Jump Officer must be protected at all costs - once the gate is opened, only he or his counterpart on the other end can shut it down prematurely. - -------------- Game Notes - Jumpgates are created using the Song of Corporeal Location. For more detailed analysis, see Liber Canticorum, Pg. 38-39. Jumpgate officers mark the locations of the gateway after its creation, thus removing the necessity for the perception roll to find the opening. Michael Cleveland Gulf Coast Geotech _________________________________________________________________ Choose an Internet access plan right for you -- try MSN! http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2836 ********************************