in_nomine-digest Saturday, November 9 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2853 In this digest: IN> Roles & Disturbance Re: IN> Fall of the Grigori. Re: IN> Madame Guillotine Re: IN> Roles & Disturbance Re: IN> New Songs for Saminga Re: IN> Superiors and AA Re: IN> Roles & Disturbance Re: IN> New Songs for Saminga Re: IN> Kyrio Kryptonite Re: IN> Project Silence: DETACHMENT (Not from Mr. Cleveland...) Re: IN> I boggle... Re: IN> Kyrio Kryptonite Re: IN> Superiors and AA Re: IN> Superiors and AA Re: IN> Kyrio Kryptonite Re: IN> Project Silence: DETACHMENT (Not from Mr. Cleveland...) Re: IN> Making "Deep" Characters Re: IN> Project Silence: DETACHMENT (Not from Mr. Cleveland...) Re: IN> I boggle... Re: IN> Fall of the Grigori. Re: IN> Superiors and AA IN> [Fiction] Professional Courtesy (part 9) IN> My Holloween party pictures (relax, Beth, it's only a link) IN> Dark Dominion and In Nomine Re: IN> I boggle... Re: IN> I boggle... Re: IN> INverse Universe- Heaven Re: IN> New Songs for Saminga Re: IN> Roles & Disturbance Re: IN> My Holloween party pictures (relax, Beth, it's only a link) Re: IN> My Holloween party pictures (relax, Beth, it's only a link) Re: IN> Superior Relic: Maurice's Bag IN> Superior Artifact: Beelzebub's Blade ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 17:32:38 -0500 From: BC Petery Subject: IN> Roles & Disturbance Oi! If I took on the Role of "Angel/6," would I be able to spend Essence without causing a disturbance? Or maybe Superhero/6. If I tried it in Japan with a purple-haired, female Vessel who's clothes disintegrate as fast as a battle plan... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 17:34:54 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Fall of the Grigori. At 3:43 PM -0700 11/6/02, Rampaging Crypto-Man wrote: >Also, because I know the characters in my game will try, what do you guys >think of the possibility of them preventing the Grigori from being Outcast? I think it'd be very, very hard. The Grigori were Outcast for things they did, or things they covered up (or looked the other way about) that their Choirmates did. To lock chastity belts on a whole Choir would be rather difficult. - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 14:42:58 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Madame Guillotine - --- james walker wrote: > And Novalis should be serving Plants, not the other way > round. Good point. > Also, beheadings isn't as clearly Hellish, > bleeding power away, > and is going to cause Laurence some Word clash, due to > swords being the norm for beheadings recently That may be true of beheading as a means of execution, but decapitation happens with some regularly in accidents; the Demon of Beheading would be able to work with that. > Also, getting the Word of Nightmares about Beheadings > would probably require Madame's support. That I can see. > I imagine that at least one Execution based Word was > given to Saminga by Asmodeus, just to infiltrate a spy > into Death Well within Azzie's MO, that. =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"There are two kinds of selfishness: the kind that says, 'I must do what will make me happy,' and the kind that says, 'You must do what will make me happy.' The first is good, the second is bad." - -- Kenton E. Sinner

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 17:55:09 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Roles & Disturbance At 5:32 PM -0500 11/8/02, BC Petery wrote: >Oi! If I took on the Role of "Angel/6," would I be able to spend Essence >without causing a disturbance? No. O:> >Or maybe Superhero/6. If I tried it in Japan with a purple-haired, female >Vessel who's clothes disintegrate as fast as a battle plan... Essence always causes disturbance, even if you're a human. On the other hand, you can probably punch through a brick wall without it... On the other other hand (mm, kyrio!), however, people tend to get ancy about Superheros... O;> - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 17:48:47 -0500 From: Rolland Therrien Subject: Re: IN> New Songs for Saminga - ---- Michael Walton wrote: > There are Songs of Undeath in canon (Liber Canticorum), but I'm bookless at the moment so I can't tell you what they do. No there isn't. I have the book, and I didn't see anything like a Song of Undeath or the Undead in Canon. So I made one. > !!! Game balance, where is thy sting? You mean it isn't balanced enough? I thought the Essence cost and Will Save would cover it. - ---- Jeffery Watkins wrote: > Veeery powerful. While I like the threat they represent, I think these work best as 'dangerous research we have to stop' than something that should be turned loose on the universe. Though if I did need a song scare, these would be it! And that's two votes for the Song of Death being too powerful. This song, I must admit, was inspired by a recent storyline in the Vertigo comic "Ages of Magic", where Tim Hunter had to face a Necromancer who had learned Death's True Name, and could now kill anyone near him simply by saying it. This song, while not as overwhelmingly powerful, was my attempt at creating something similar. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to adjust that song to make it more balanced, yet preserve the "Sing a man to Death" concept? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 14:45:10 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and AA - --- Christopher Anthony wrote: > Interesting thought: Can Seneschals who have the Tether > to which they > are attuned as a Word (i.e., the Demon of the Crowbar > that Kneecapped > Nancy Kerrigan) undergo the Superior State Change and > become the > Archangel of Tether X, Seneschal of Tether X? Probably not for minor Tethers, but truly major stuff might allow it. There is a canonical Tether to Divine Fire in the Sun -- if that Tether has a Seneschal, that angel could conceivably become the AA of the Sun. =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"There are two kinds of selfishness: the kind that says, 'I must do what will make me happy,' and the kind that says, 'You must do what will make me happy.' The first is good, the second is bad." - -- Kenton E. Sinner

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 15:02:14 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Roles & Disturbance - --- Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > On the other other hand (mm, kyrio!), however, people > tend to get ancy about Superheros... Yup. Role/6 (Superhero) carries with it an unavoidable Discord. Mutant (Corporeal) This Discord has only appeared among Celestials with Roles as superheroes. Each level of Mutant includes the penalties of all of the lower levels. The good news is that this Discord, unlike others, only effects the Vessel to which the Role is attached (you can still have a secret identity). 1: Mundanes react to you as if you had -2 Charisma. 2: Whenever you use your "superpowers" in front of Mundanes, make a Will roll. If you _succeed_, your power and presence enrage any Mundanes present. They will attack you verbally and refuse to offer you aid. 3: As above except that they will also try to drive you away. 4: As above except that there will be serious attempts to injure you. 5: You have a visible "mutation" in the form of one level of another Corporeal Discord (usually Discolored, Ugly or Vestigium) that marks you as a Mutant. 6: Some aspect of your "mutation" is constantly active and makes living a normal life impossible without special precautions. This takes the form of a Song or Attunement that you can't completely turn off. The exact manifestation and its effects are up to the GM. Any superheroic Role inflicts Discord of the same level as the Role. There are only two ways to avoid gaining Mutant. The first is to adopt the guise of a caped paladin (those who do this find themselves struck with the Merciful Discord instead) while the second is to become a dark and gritty avenger (this route inflicts the Nocturnal Discord). =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"There are two kinds of selfishness: the kind that says, 'I must do what will make me happy,' and the kind that says, 'You must do what will make me happy.' The first is good, the second is bad." - -- Kenton E. Sinner

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 15:04:51 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> New Songs for Saminga - --- Rolland Therrien wrote: > No there isn't. I have the book, and I didn't see > anything like a Song of > Undeath or the Undead in Canon. So I made one. Hmmm... I may have the wrong book, but there are Songs of Undeath (the description says that some Undead wistfully refer to them as the Songs of Life -- a reference to the fact that at least one of them temporarily grants an Undead the functions of the living). Maybe they're in the CPG. =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"There are two kinds of selfishness: the kind that says, 'I must do what will make me happy,' and the kind that says, 'You must do what will make me happy.' The first is good, the second is bad." - -- Kenton E. Sinner

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:45:00 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Kyrio Kryptonite At 9:40 PM -0500 11/7/02, S.D. wrote: >And let's not forget that he's spread *very* thin if he's using all nine on >nine seperate objects at any given time... Not to mention, he only gets it for a few minutes. If the GM is ruthless about making him roll, then he'll get an Infernal Intervention sooner or later. (Our Kyrio of Lightning managed a fail with check 6, which fried his resonance. He only had a mouse for a few hours there. Heh.) At 12:23 AM -0500 11/8/02, William J. Keith wrote: >and a Kyriotate switching objects is going to have to take celestial form >briefly, exposing himself to view. That's Shedim, not Kyriotates. Sorry. At 5:40 AM -0800 11/8/02, Michael Walton wrote: >have the occasional item (this should be _rare_, but it >could happen) be a special Vessel rather than simply an >object; And then there's the 666 in a game that summoned the Demon Cop Car... It spat acid at us! But we left it in the ditch. Go Ofanim! *cough* Or, rather -- yes, this could be a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Bound Discord will also do that, if someone has no other vessels (and doesn't want to explain to his Prince about it, till he's helped his buddy pull something good off...). - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:46:09 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Project Silence: DETACHMENT (Not from Mr. Cleveland...) At 8:40 PM -0800 11/7/02, Maurice Lane wrote: >--- Prodigal wrote: >> I wondered if it was something of Furfur's, >actually. > >No, then it would be 'captured Faction ANIMAL >equipment'. Hm. Why don't they use the Words that debriefed celestials would give them, just out of curiosity? (I'm sure you have a reason. It will be fun to hear. I ask. O:> ) - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:19:39 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> I boggle... At 4:19 PM -0700 11/7/02, David Edelstein wrote: >I once stumbled across another of the photos Smith used as models [...] And the Lilim for the Band writeup was from a catalog... Yes, she was wearing roughly what the Lilim is wearing. O:> - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:25:35 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Kyrio Kryptonite At 5:03 PM -0800 11/7/02, Jerry B. wrote: >I'm in need of some advice. No, you need Force Catchers. We ran Feast of Blades with a Kyrio of Jean. He regarded demonic cars (and belts, shoes, and guns) as his personal playtoys. This was before the Liber Reliquarum. There is a REASON the LiberR has Force Catchers in it. (And a reason that the Song of Acid technically requires a mouth. That reason? You can't Dodge your underwear. And it's hard to dodge the ceiling, too. Drip, drip.) - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:58:18 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and AA At 1:01 PM -0800 11/8/02, Daiv wrote: > In the celestial (and presumably, Infernal) hierarchy... can >you be a Superior, without being an Archangel (make the appropriate >reversals, as needed)? Or is there a progression, such as Angel, word >bound, Archangel, Superior..? Er, Archangels _ARE_ Superiors... Superior is the side-generic term for Archangels and Demon Princes. At 4:51 PM -0500 11/8/02, Christopher Anthony wrote: >Interesting thought: Can Seneschals who have the Tether to which they >are attuned as a Word (i.e., the Demon of the Crowbar that Kneecapped >Nancy Kerrigan) undergo the Superior State Change and become the >Archangel of Tether X, Seneschal of Tether X? This depends on your worldview. In MY (not necessarily canon) worldview, Yes, you could. But the cost involved for you to ascend/be promoted to the Superior state is more expensive (in Essence, time, Forces, whatever, etc.) if you're not already possessed of a powerful Word. This is why, off in the Superior Soap Opera, Kathriel is and likely forever shall be a weak Archangel (Sculpting). Uplifting her was not necessarily the soundest of moves, on some levels (though she does have some subtle applications of power that are amusing). Essentially, her Word and Choir and attitude made her useful for primarily one thing, which she could not do as a mere Word-bound... What was that one thing? Oh, all right. Seduce Andrealphus to join up. - --Beth's SSO .sig: (Want to hear more about the Superior Soap Opera? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IN-SoapOpera ) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:54:07 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and AA > One cannot be a Superior without being an Archangel (or Demon Prince). One can be a superior and not be a Superior. The reverse is not true > Interesting thought: Can Seneschals who have the Tether to which they > are attuned as a Word (i.e., the Demon of the Crowbar that Kneecapped > Nancy Kerrigan) undergo the Superior State Change and become the > Archangel of Tether X, Seneschal of Tether X? See http://www.sjgames.com/in-nomine/articles/INChar/Angels/Malakite.Zuriel.html for an interesting take on this notion. - -- Casca ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 00:01:14 +0000 From: "Jarrod Carmichael" Subject: Re: IN> Kyrio Kryptonite >*sigh* I know all about this. In the first In Nomine game I ever played, my >husband played a Kyriotate of Destiny, and before that game broke up I knew >that any game I ran would not allow Kyriotate PCs. In my game kyrio's are limited to those 1.) experianced players and 2.) those people i know who wont be disruptive. But i have the added advantage of being the only in nomine GM in a 100mile radius. With a pool of about 20 keen players i know, and only 4 spaces in my game. Mallakai JC _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 16:15:55 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Project Silence: DETACHMENT (Not from Mr. Cleveland...) - --- Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > Hm. Why don't they use the Words that debriefed > celestials > would give them, just out of curiosity? (I'm sure > you > have a reason. It will be fun to hear. I ask. O:> ) Several reasons: first off, there's communications security to worry about. I would /guess/ (as I am not the author of PS, and have no desire to put words in Mr Cleveland's mouth) that both Jean and Vapula are doing their best to bug the government's communications network, and they could very well be able to listen to -all- of it. 'Seraph' isn't exactly a common name in the USA: 'Polygraph' is a much more common one, and thus harder to pick out of the mix. Every little bit helps. Second and more important is the psychological aspect: I would say that the PS cadre is busily undergoing the usual sorts of stress one would expect when one is facing a smarter, faster, stronger enemy that can appear out of nowhere and do strange things to your head. Denying said enemy the names that they call themselves relieves that stress somewhat by giving PS at least an illusory amount of control over the situation. Besides, the mechanism of calling your enemy names to boost morale has existed for as long as man has fought wars. Third - and -most- important, of course - is because it makes for kewl chrome. :) Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 09/18/02 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 17:18:24 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Making "Deep" Characters At 8:56 PM -0800 11/7/02, Joey's mail wrote: > Can anyone give me advice to give them on making deep characters >that can be roleplayed well? Hmmm... For the first characters, I suggest doing ones that they can play to stereotype, but leave room for nuance... I.e., if you have an impulsive player, pick an Ofanite or young Malakite. If you have someone who constantly "powergames," picking the "best" course of action to accomplish the goal -- Elohite, or perhaps a Servitor of Lightning or War. (Yes, these are all angelic right now; I'm assuming you don't want to run a mixed group.) If you have a combat monster... Malakite of War isn't a bad idea! A Servitor of Stone might make the GM happier, if the player would otherwise start fights too much. Hm. Have you found the Liber Servitorum? You might want to flip through that for some other ideas. (Heck, I've heard that some people actually picked some of the PC-balanced ones and used 'em!) Likewise, the Superior books for various PCs' Superiors might amuse them. (I'm the Line Editor. It's dissonant for me not to suggest books which might help!) >A Karyiotate of Janus (The player has played a little D&D, and I think he >has an OK idea, but I have a feeling he'll be the group clown which may be >disruptive) Fortunately, that's sort of in line with Kyriotates of the Wind... >A free Lilim (Another one who has never played a roleplaying game, I'm not >100% sure how she'll do) Hee! I hope, among all these angels, that she's thinking of going Bright... >A group this large with this many newbies seems somewhat cumbersome...I'm >just glad I'm not GMing this one...does anyone have any advice for how to >break the newcomers in? Get some of the good fiction from the INC (www.sjgames.com/in-nomine/articles), highlight anything non-canon so they know it's been modified when necessary for dramatic effect, and show it to them? O:> - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 19:23:25 -0600 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Project Silence: DETACHMENT (Not from Mr. Cleveland...) From: "Elizabeth McCoy" > > Hm. Why don't they use the Words that debriefed celestials > would give them, just out of curiosity? My guess would be that they view it as just as much of a lie as the absurd claim that they are angels and demons. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 21:18:54 -0400 (EDT) From: Randy Finder Subject: Re: IN> I boggle... On Thu, 7 Nov 2002, Prodigal wrote: > From: "Maurice Lane" > > > > I will be dipped in sh*t. > > Only f Belial catches up to you. Doesn't really seem like Belial's thing to do. Kobal maybe, possibly Beleth, Andre or even Nybbas. But Belial it would have to somehow involve fire... Randy > - -- Leadership, Friendship and Service - Alpha Phi Omega ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 22:12:59 -0400 (EDT) From: Randy Finder Subject: Re: IN> Fall of the Grigori. On Fri, 8 Nov 2002, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > At 3:43 PM -0700 11/6/02, Rampaging Crypto-Man wrote: > > I think it'd be very, very hard. The Grigori were Outcast for things they > did, or things they covered up (or looked the other way about) that their > Choirmates did. To lock chastity belts on a whole Choir would be rather > difficult. There are only two AAs that I can see even trying it: Eli & Jean. Unfortunately Eli is too firmly tied to sex as part of his word and Jean as a Elohite had to start a 100 year study project to figure out what the extra little bits for each gender were really good for... Andre probably would have been the one to ask, but well, he wasn't around much anymore... Randy > > > --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor > http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ > > > - -- Leadership, Friendship and Service - Alpha Phi Omega ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 22:27:22 -0500 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and AA >--- Christopher Anthony wrote: >> Interesting thought: Can Seneschals who have the Tether >> to which they >> are attuned as a Word (i.e., the Demon of the Crowbar >> that Kneecapped >> Nancy Kerrigan) undergo the Superior State Change and >> become the >> Archangel of Tether X, Seneschal of Tether X? > > Probably not for minor Tethers, but truly major stuff >might allow it. There is a canonical Tether to Divine Fire >in the Sun -- if that Tether has a Seneschal, that angel >could conceivably become the AA of the Sun. This is a neat idea, both in the general sense(Seneschal of really powerful Tether becomes Archangel of that Tether) and the specific case mentioned here (Archangel of the Sun). An Archangel of the Sun could well play an interesting role in a campaign: * support Divine Fire in connotations of warmth and energy (which of course that Seneschal would do, being doubtless an exceedingly powerful Servitor of Gabriel). * take up some of the Lightbringer's old jobs, since the Sun is intimately associated with Light. * provide a support base for an expansion of Humanity into space. * join either the War faction (Fire leanings) or Peace faction (as sunlight is as bright, but gentler, than fire). I wonder if any other Tether could possibly support this state change. The only one that comes to mind is Io, and I can't really think of much an Archangel of Io would do. William ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 23:13:10 -0500 From: Archangel Beth Subject: IN> [Fiction] Professional Courtesy (part 9) >He wasn't as good a kisser as he probably thought he was, but it wasn't a chore. Eventually, he came up for air, eyes crinkled cheerfully, and that annoying-slash-endearing little smile again. "You were holding back." True enough, at the first; she'd abstained from throwing dirt in his face early on, in favor of the theory of "establish a pattern of non-dirty tricks, so that they will be more surprising and effective when you use them." She shrugged, the movement poking her in the back with a few twigs. "In the fight, I meant," he clarified. "And after, maybe?" She crooked a little smile of her own. "Talk to me about 'after' when you've feathers, Tim-my-dear." He chuckled, and pushed himself away, his own claws faded into potentiality -- but held her hands still, and pulled her up into his arms. He started to nibble at her neck, but she growled and stiffened a bit. "You're serious," he said, as if it were a revelation. She took advantage of that to push herself away. "Feathers at least. Four fewer eyes, for preference." She plinked his manacle with her fingernail. "And a real set." Timon drew himself up, arms crossed over his chest. "I have real ones of _those._" "Well, that's at least half-there," she allowed, noting he'd acknowledged he was a Balakite, dusting herself off as if the bloodlust hadn't gotten the better of her. At least she hadn't lost herself entirely; there'd been a time or two in the past when the world was nothing but claws and red and inconsequential pain, till she woke to herself, restrained in her partner's arms. "Now," she added, before she could lose initiative in the conversation again, "exactly what are your plans for getting _all_ the way there?" That -- not surprisingly -- prompted a chuckle. "Oh, the usual, I would imagine. Seek out blackwings, or attract them somehow. Slay them. Bathe in their blood. One has to water the seeds to grow black flowers, you know." _And fertilize them with BS, short for BalSeraphment,_ she didn't say. "How many have you managed, so far?" Timon tilted his head back, thinking. He drew the chain of his manacle through his fingers, like a rosary. "Approximately nine hundred and seventy." The very thought of facing over nine _hundred_ separate Malakim, in battle, and winning... Her back felt cold, and her scars itched. She distracted herself, thinking how close he was, and why Staciel wanted him dissuaded. "Not bad at all," she murmured, since such an announcement deserved a response -- and one other than running screaming. He acknowledged the praise with a smile, while absently wiping the blood off his shoulder and hands. He was doing it in a natural, casual way -- lick thumb, wipe, repeat -- that had nothing of her own Discordant savoring to such things. But she had to turn away and bite the base of her thumb to keep herself from going over to "help." That reminded her of the cuts on the backs of her own hands and arms, from their interlocked talons. She started licking away the blood, carefully, like a cat. It soothed. "So, miss Grace," he asked, behind her. "Do I pass?" She paused. "Do I?" she replied, before bending her head for another pass up her forearm. No use asking him to drop the "miss," for his words had the feel of someone set in his speech patterns. The thoughtful pause stretched a long time. It reminded her that, barring resonance, a Balseraph -- even a BalMalakite like this one -- would be as truthful as the Seraphim they Fell from. Such amusing paradox. "You... Your pardon, miss Grace, but I fear I believe I was winning." "No shame in the truth," she replied lightly, the doubled and tripled implications and depths making her almost giggle. And she fed him truths, pure truths. "I'm not what I was, and out of practice on top of it." So much truth, to make the lies plausible. "How long, may I ask? How long did it take you?" She sighed, the imagined past overlapping the truth and seeming almost as real to her as if she were the one with six eyes and leather wings. "A long time. I tried to avoid being ganged up on. Trauma was... a consideration, then." "What is it like, without Trauma? If I may ask." *Lucky, to have asked that question once myself...* She quoted, trying to make the words hers, and not a quote. "Like suddenly being in another vessel, save without the vessel. Your Heart fills your vision, all of a sudden, and the Symphony sings around you louder than it was. And then," she made the wicked snicker hers, instead of the gleeful smirk Zeredah'd had, "you yell for a few of your buddies -- there's usually someone around, hoping for a yell -- and lead them back down to deal with the problem." "Yes," Timon murmured. "Yes, that's as I heard..." "Interrogated others, have you?" she asked lightly, amused. *Yes, Teb-my-partner, you were right. Only I could have pulled off this crazy stunt.* And if it continued to work, if it accomplished the mission, it would prove she was a bishop, or even rook, rather than a mere pawn. The Balakite coughed, a tidy, neat sound like a cat's cough. "The Virtue of Flowers had not heard of the tale of winning's one feathers in combat. He was... unsatisfying." The mental image did make her laugh, now. "It's not a well-known legend, especially among the younger set. I'm not surprised that Flowers wouldn't know." She shook her head, as if ruing the foibles of Flowers. "Was I more satisfying?" Again, a long stretch. Finally, quietly, he said, simply, "Aye, miss Grace. Aye." *** - --Beth (archangel@sjgames.com, arcangel@io.com) SJ . o O ( We aim to please. ) SJ . o O ( And shoot to kill . . . ) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 21:33:30 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> My Holloween party pictures (relax, Beth, it's only a link) ... people could and did come as something besides an angel/demon, but I didn't, and I have a picture to prove it. http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/pics.html There's some other pictures, too - partially because I needed to use up the roll of film. Fair warning: whatever mental picture some of you may have of my features is probably wrong. :P Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 09/18/02 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 23:17:40 -0700 From: Brian Westcott Subject: IN> Dark Dominion and In Nomine Everyone, I was wondering if anyone on the list remembers reading a comic book series called Dark Dominion put out by Defiant Comics. If so, then you remember the protagonist was Michael Alexander, a man who could physically enter the Quantum Substratum and battle demons there as a glowing being of light. Now the question is: how would I be able to translate this into In Nomine terms? The Quantum Substratum could be the Ethereal realm, however, Michael Alexander would have the ability to enter The Marches physically. Is there a Song that would let you do that? Michael would also have some high Perception skills so he could see the Demons in their Celestial forms. Any help or feedback on this would be greatly appreciated as always. To learn more about Dark Dominion, you can go to this web site: http://www.geocities.com/jfkuczaj/dominion.htm Brian Westcott brian@brianrich.net Meridian, Idaho http://www.brianrich.net/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 02:46:46 -0600 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> I boggle... From: "Randy Finder" > On Thu, 7 Nov 2002, Prodigal wrote: > > > From: "Maurice Lane" > > > > > > I will be dipped in sh*t. > > > > Only if Belial catches up to you. > > Doesn't really seem like Belial's thing to do. Kobal maybe, possibly > Beleth, Andre or even Nybbas. But Belial it would have to somehow involve > fire... Methane is flammable, remember? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 04:50:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Randy Finder Subject: Re: IN> I boggle... On Sat, 9 Nov 2002, Prodigal wrote: > From: "Randy Finder" > > On Thu, 7 Nov 2002, Prodigal wrote: > > > > > From: "Maurice Lane" > > > > > > > > I will be dipped in sh*t. > > > > > > Only if Belial catches up to you. > > > > Doesn't really seem like Belial's thing to do. Kobal maybe, possibly > > Beleth, Andre or even Nybbas. But Belial it would have to somehow involve > > fire... > > Methane is flammable, remember? True, but not that much in feces. He would burn better without it and I think that is what he cares about. OTOH, if he was forced to stand behind one of Ronald's hellcows, it might be possible for both the dipped and set on fire from the methane emissions. Hellcows IST Belial get extra methane emissions? Randy > - -- Leadership, Friendship and Service - Alpha Phi Omega ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 22:51:51 +0800 From: "Jeffery Watkins" Subject: Re: IN> INverse Universe- Heaven Wonderful work as becoming standard. Well throught out and once again incidentally solving some problems in my game! ^_^ During the long timeline of mine I have several DPs redeeming, like Vapula, and was trying to think what their part of Lower Heaven looks like. Apart from that, its still a marvellous work from the Wall that repells the attacks on Heaven to Death Mountain. 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: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 23:37:15 +0800 From: "Jeffery Watkins" Subject: Re: IN> New Songs for Saminga > Do you guys have any suggestions on how to adjust that song to make it more > balanced, yet preserve the "Sing a man to Death" concept? > Oh, now that I know the concept, I think its fine. Should be rare, but wow, that is a very nice concept for the song. 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: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 13:11:59 -0500 (EST) From: "Christopher Anthony" Subject: Re: IN> Roles & Disturbance Michael Walton said: > Mutant (Corporeal) Very interesting Discord, Michael, but you're more of an X-Men fan than an Avengers fan, aren't you? :) You can be a superhero plenty well without being a mutant - just ask Daredevil, Thor, or Captain America. It's only if you suddenly start displaying superheroic powers without an impetus that you're a mutant. (How the normal populace can typically tell the difference is honestly beyond me; although the source of a super's powers can be obvious, as Iron Man demonstrates, certainly most normals aren't going to know Spider-Man's back story, and I don't think he's ever been accused of being a mutant.) Then again (Sirea, take note), maybe this Discord is what happens when you take the Superhero Role without an appropriate Unusual Background*. ;) In IN terms, if someone starts using supernatural powers in public without an appropriate back-story or explanation, the GM might award the character Role: Superhero/1, Status/1, and inflict Mutant/1 at the same time (although Knowledge (How To Be A Superhero) shouldn't be automatic in this case). For folks interested in this sort of thing (the distinction between superheroes and mutants as per the Marvel universe), I recommend _Marvels_, by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, as a quick, full-color primer. (I'll be happy to lend my copy to anyone I see on a regular basis. :) - -EDG * Yes, I'm mixing game systems. Think of it as a meta-crossover. ;) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 13:13:53 -0500 (EST) From: "Christopher Anthony" Subject: Re: IN> My Holloween party pictures (relax, Beth, it's only a link) Hi Moe, Just so's you know - because I won't remember when I get there - and having said that, now I will - IIRC, it's "see them driven before you". :) - -C ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 14:18:52 -0500 (EST) From: "Christopher Anthony" Subject: Re: IN> My Holloween party pictures (relax, Beth, it's only a link) Christopher Anthony said: Erf. Sorry. Stupid webmail client. (Says the bad workman.) ObIN: The Bad Workman (Dark Humor) This attunement is, in some universes, why Vapula hates Kobal. Simply put, this is a jinx: the attunement is used upon a tool (any tool; feel free to be metaphorical*), with 1-6 Essence spent depending on how nasty the demon wants to be. For the next (Celestial Forces) hours, that tool radiates bad luck; the GM should secretly penalize the target number of any roll made within range of the tool. The penalty is (Essence spent) within 1 yard of the tool, and decreases by one for every yard farther out. (It will never grant bonuses.) Thus, for 4 Essence, the tool inflicts -4 within 1 yard, -3 from 1-2 yards, - -2 from 2-3 yards, -1 from 3-4 yards, and no penalty beyond that. The demon using this attunement may double either the radius (each zone of effect is doubled, so in the above example, the penalty would be -4 within 2 yards, -3 within 2-4 yards, and so on) or the duration by doubling the Essence spent; he may double *both* by *tripling* the Essence spent. Spending 18 Essence on this attunement, therefore, gives a jinx field that lasts for (Celestial Forces * 2) hours and inflicts -6 within 2 yards, etc. Wise GMs will note that this attunement affects everybody except Superiors. Yes, everybody. - -EDG * No, I wasn't thinking that until you did. Get your mind up out of that gutter. On the other hand, Andre might now hate Kobal too. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 14:22:34 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Relic: Maurice's Bag > The first property of the Bag is that it becomes > effectively indestructible once it leaves Maurice's > The second property of the Bag is its contents. All > The third property is the really interesting one, in I'd think that thr fourth property is that those in its vicinity -- either through muzak, or on the radio/TV, or just running through their head -- keep hearing songs like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". - -- Casca ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2002 13:14:37 -0700 From: sirea@softhome.net Subject: IN> Superior Artifact: Beelzebub's Blade First, let it be known that this thing has been lost ever since Uriel gutted the nightmare creature known as the Prince of Corruption. The Host thanks God thrice over for that. Beelzebub, in his time as the most powerful Djinn in Hell, did much research into his Word (as can be expected from the obsessive Djinn), and tried to apply it to everything imaginable. After all, the Prince of Airs did equate total Corruption to victory for Hell, and nobody was going to stop him from testing -that- little theory. Anyways, Beelzebub created a number of artifacts and relics imbued with the essence of the Word of Corruption, many of them quite deadly, if only novelties. But there was one creation that even the most hard-souled of artificers fear to speak of, one creation of Corruption's First Prince that makes Malakim click their iron wings in discomfort, and Seraphim crings close their six eyes. Beelzebub's Blade. Celestial or corporeal, it appears the same, as a long and elegant sword around 9 feet long, but the size adapts for whoever wields it (Beelzebub was LARGE, corporeal or celestial). It's a pitch black color, but in the light it seems to have a faint metallic yellow cast to it. The blade has a wicked tip, always feels slightly greasy to the touch. It is said to be imbued with the very essence of the Word Corruption, and even some of Beelzebub's personal Forces. What makes this artifact so feared is it's ability to resonate so strongly with it's Word, even if the holder is now dead. When it strikes someone of pure heart, the blade does far more damage than usual, the more pure the individual, the more damage done. It's a nightmare for Malakim and Seraphim, the most pure of angels, and angels of Purity used to break into a sweat at it's very name. Uriel himself was said to be most vulnerable to it's power, since he was the embodiment of Purity, a Malakite, and a former Seraph. Some bitter angels speak rumor that the First Malakite nearly died in the final duel with Beelzebub, and that the wounds he took from the blade drove him mad, resulting in his fanatical Purity Crusade. This isn't what makes it so powerful though. The blade also does severe damage to those on the -opposite- side of the "scale", to those who are supremely selfish and corrupt; maybe enough so that Beelzebub could have been killed but with one touch of the sword. Demon Princes fearedthe Lord of the Flies rightfully when he was alive, for his personal weapon could have struck any of them down with ease if he so chose. However, those who are morally neutral, undecided or confused take less damage from the blade, or none at all. It seems that the sword does the most damage to those who are -10's or 10's on the scale, while those who were at 0 were unaffected. For this reason, a large number of humans are near-immune to the drastic power of the Princes sword. Again, this isn't why people fear it so much. It seems that the sword can be used by -anyone- from the most low Forced human to the greatest Superior. Thus, a human or celestial who possessess this sword has the possible power to slay Superiors (short of Lucifer) if he knows what it can do. But the black blade was lost forever when Uriel finally defeated the Prince of Corruption that dark day on the bottom of the Roman coliseum, lost to time itself, despite what many Princes had hoped. Until a lowly Calabite Prince by the name of Furfur, looking for new Tethers to stabilize, one day found a greasy black sword covered with eldritch Helltounge carvings, washed up upon the shore of an oil tank accident site, half sunk into the black sands... (Yes, this artifact is a Plot Seed Only artifact, and yes, it is insanely deadly, but that's the point :D I based it off of a vignette someone wrote for their Infernal Malakim, in which Michael was killed by Furfur, who was wielding Beelzebub's sword. I tried to make sense of that, and decided that the sword got more powerful depending on the purity -or- impurity of those it struck. Have fun with it as a McGuffin, and a potential Apocalypse Weapon ^_^) --- Sirea, Free Cherub IST Destiny, Angel who Wanders, petitioner for the Word of Eternity (currently being ridden by Grapejuice, Renegade Shedite of the Game, and petitioner for the Word of Pranking Tightwads) ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2853 ********************************