in_nomine-digest Sunday, January 5 2003 Volume 01 : Number 2922 In this digest: Re: IN> Yves' public image Re: IN> Yves' public image Re: IN> Yves' public image Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... Re: IN> Urban Renewal Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... Re: IN> Yves' public image Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... IN> What particular actions/ideas/motivations/things do Superiors reward? IN> Saint Albert Re: IN> Saint Albert Re: IN> Saint Albert Re: IN> Saint Albert Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... IN> New Drugs, Part 1 (crossposted to Pyramid) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 14:14:28 -0600 From: Gregg Forge Subject: Re: IN> Yves' public image > > >>You know, I don't recall a single canon source that >>answers that question. >>It's interesting if you go with the latter of the above >>options. Yves' Masters probably know _something_, as well. >> >> > >Doesn't Michael distrust Yves? That would lead me to think that one of >three things is true... > > A) It's barely known *at all*. > Far from it; the First Seraph's distrust of Yves is a well known, oft-mentioned fact. He's rather bent about the whole religion thing and Yves' non-comment in regards to Gabriel, the whole Islam thing, and how one word from Yves would've effectively stopped the fiasco from getting out of hand. > B) It's questionable on the face of it. > Michael is a Warrior. He is also the former Commander of the Host. He sees that, from following the stratagem that Yves has laid out, the Angels are losing ground on too many fronts in the War. Plus, see above. With these two factors involved, Michael's got reason to be leery. Of course, the fact that the whole aura of ineffability interferes with his ability to just Res-Ping and get the straight asnwer doesn't improve the situation any, especially since, to Michael's eyes, if you just tell the truth in the first place, and be willing to accept the concequences of said truth, you won't be, in general, thought less of. > C) Michael's in serious trouble. > > Considering he is the first Seraph, for one, and the Archangel of War, for another, Michael and Trouble are, while not exactly mutually exclusive terms, already well acquainted with each other. Yves, mind, is the first Soul, and has a special sort of reverence from the other Archangels. And Michael still, for what it's worth, respects Yves; it's the trust issue where things become a bit more complex. >...unless I'm missing something. > > > Well, that, and the fact that they're Angels, not Demons. They will still work together, because it is, as far as they can determine, God's Plan. Kamika-Z, just tryin' to be useful... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 15:29:29 -0500 From: "S.D." Subject: Re: IN> Yves' public image >>Doesn't Michael distrust Yves? That would lead me to think that one of >>three things is true... >> >> A) It's barely known *at all*. >> B) It's questionable on the face of it. >> C) Michael's in serious trouble. Ah...I think Matthew's three options were in relation to Yves' status as an emanation of God, not Michael's distrust of Yves. Everyone /knows/ War is hostile to Destiny. Which implies that... A) Yves is /only/ known to be the First Soul, except maybe to a /very/ few others (Kronos, presumably Lucifer, possibly a few of Yves' Masters, definitely /not/ to most Archangels including Michael.) B) Yves is /rumored/ to be an emanation of God, but it's not certain, and Seraphim can't ping Truth one way or the other. In this case, I could see Michael being even /more/ distrustful of Yves than usual - if he's part of God, why doesn't he tell us so? If he's not, then why doesn't he stop the rumors? C) Everyone, or at least a good number of people including Michael, knows that Yves is part of God. Which means Michael distrusts God. Which means, as above, Michael's in serious trouble. ~S.D. Ryukage *** ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 15:51:15 -0500 From: Matthew Gerber Subject: Re: IN> Yves' public image On 1/4/03 3:29 PM, "S.D." wrote: >>> Doesn't Michael distrust Yves? That would lead me to think that one of >>> three things is true... >>> A) It's barely known *at all*. >>> B) It's questionable on the face of it. >>> C) Michael's in serious trouble. > > Ah...I think Matthew's three options were in relation to Yves' status as an > emanation of God, not Michael's distrust of Yves. Everyone /knows/ War is > hostile to Destiny. Which implies that... Bingo. :) > A) Yves is /only/ known to be the First Soul, except maybe to a /very/ few > others (Kronos, presumably Lucifer, possibly a few of Yves' Masters, > definitely /not/ to most Archangels including Michael.) My problem with this one is that it undercuts Michael, IMO. > C) Everyone, or at least a good number of people including Michael, knows that > Yves is part of God. Which means Michael distrusts God. Which means, as above, > Michael's in serious trouble. This could be an interesting setup for a dark, or at least *very* high-tension and low-contrast, campaign. > B) Yves is /rumored/ to be an emanation of God, but it's not certain, and > Seraphim can't ping Truth one way or the other. In this case, I could see > Michael being even /more/ distrustful of Yves than usual - if he's part of > God, why doesn't he tell us so? If he's not, then why doesn't he stop the > rumors? This is the one I'd use by default, I believe. Many thanks for the elaboration, Matt ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 14:16:28 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... - --- Prodigal wrote: > From: "Elizabeth McCoy" > > > > How many people would be showing up, do y'all > think? > > Me, for certain. :) Make it two. :) ===== 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 14:34:18 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Urban Renewal - --- Randy Finder wrote: > Does anyone have any ideas for words where the most > work for could > could be done by someone with a Demon's resonances? Any Word that Heaven wouldn't have much use for, i.e. Lust or Fate. =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil." -- Jimmy Carter

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 14:38:17 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... I won't have travel to conventions in the budget until March at the very earliest. Have fun, y'all. Wish I could join you. =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil." -- Jimmy Carter

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 17:32:40 -0500 From: Michael Nutt Subject: Re: IN> Yves' public image > B) Yves is /rumored/ to be an emanation of God, but it's > not certain, and Seraphim can't ping Truth one way or the > other. In this case, I could see Michael being even /more/ > distrustful of Yves than usual - if he's part of God, why > doesn't he tell us so? If he's not, then why doesn't he stop > the rumors? >From Superiors 3, p.105, 2nd paragraph: "Thought he [Yves] serves as an Archangel, he belongs to no Choir. The other inhabitants of the Earthly Heavens speculate that he represents a higher order of being, sent to guide the angels as the angels are sent to guide man." It all gets back to the ineffability of Yves, and how you want to handle it in your game. I personally lean toward Michael being overly focused on winning the War, and thusly losing his trust in Yves, but you can go lots of different ways with it. - -- Michael ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 18:56:13 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... At 10:01 AM -0500 1/4/03, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: >Okay, I'll run something for Arisia, if people want... And does anyone have opinions or antipinions as to which games sound interesting? So I could, like, prep a little? O:> - -- - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 20:40:05 -0800 From: "Joey's mail" Subject: IN> What particular actions/ideas/motivations/things do Superiors reward? Particular Superiors tend to value different things for their servitors. Here's some rough ideas I had: Blandine: Keeping to most people safe; clever ideas don't matter to her as much as some Superiors, but if you were protecting others, particularly dreamers, especially without causing too much trouble, she's happy. David: David, being a Malakite, values honorable intentions, but he cares more about results, and self-improvement is something he praises as well. Dominic: Keeping in line with the rules while doing your mission is all that really counts. Honor and just motivations are commended, but will win you little favor if your objectives were failed. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Eli: New and innovative ideas, plus anything that helps humans are always good in Eli's book. Gabriel: While she's a bit too unstable to keep much consistancy of behavior, Gabriel LOVES it when the cruel are burned by their own fire. Janus: Results are good with Janus, and the more noticable the better. Jean: Like Janus, Jean likes results. However, innovation is always a plus as well, but nothing TOO new...he has to get used to it. Jordi: Results, results, results. That's what matters to him. Laurence: Being the archtypical Malakite, Honorable intentions impress him greatly, as well as successful planning, and display of leadership skills. Marc: Marc is also big on results, although effort is important too. He always makes sure you get ample pay for your work. Michael: Did you win? Good. If not? Bad. Displays of bravery and intelligence also count though. Novalis: Finding the non-violent solution to a violent problem is what impresses her the most. Intentions and effort also count. Yves: Yves rewards results, intentions, and effort, but only those that move a person or the world towards their destiny. Christopher: Keeping people, especially children, safe counts the most. Christopher dislikes getting humans too involved in angelic work. Zadkiel: Like Christopher, she prefers it when others are not harmed, but displays of bravery and kindness are also important. Litheroy: Your intentions are always important, and the number of lies unveiled and the number of people who learned the truth are also considered. Khalid: Khalid, being an Elohite, values results, but even more so he values steadfast faith and courage in the face of peril. Andrealphus: Deception and cunning are what Andrealphus likes. Tact and savior-faire earn points too. And does she have any friends? Asmodeus: Intentions? Meaningless. Effort? If you didn't do a good job, you obviously didn't try. Results? Oh yes. Cunning and subterfuge also helps to an extent. Baal: Winning is most important, but bravery and cunning are always good. Beleth: The more horrific and devastating, the better. Belial: Large, noticable results are the best. This doesn't mean getting caught--but if someone notices what you did, it's good. Haagenti: Hrm...this is a hard one. While he likes results, the amount of humans swept into the consumption would be important too... Kobal: Anything innovative and original will impress him. Being an Impudite, humans being killed (although not neccessarily inconvinienced) will displease him, but not enough for him to ignore something clever. Kronos: Results. How far was the world driven toward the pit, how many destinies were shattered, and how many slow descents begun? Malphas: Results matter most, although he may give a someone more (or less) than he deserves to inspire jealousy. Nybbas: Keeping things controlled is always good, influencing humans is better, but style, man. Nybbas loves style. Saminga: What's your body count gotten to? Results, results, results, although certain types of killings are valued more than mere murder...and any deaths en masse will be appreciated more. Valefor: Not getting caught is always the most important, and original, new heists are always good. Vapula: Like his divine counterpart, Vapula likes results, although new wild new ideas are more likely to be appreciated, and flaws can be ignored as long as it works. Fluerty: The number of people affected is most important, although style and subterfuge count as well. Furfur: The scope and initiative of a (successful) ploy counts, and making lots of noise is always good as well. Mammon: How much did you get? Results matter more than anything else. Alaemon: Subterfuge and cunning are his game. He cares about little else, and while not getting caught helps, taking out anyone who DOES catch you helps more... Magog: Being resolute and callous helps; motivations matter more with him than with many, but he also has little tolerance for failure, and less for weakness. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 21:54:23 -0500 From: Rolland Therrien Subject: IN> Saint Albert Been reading Einstein's quotes on Quotation Page.com, and I just knew I had to write this one up... Albert Einstein Saint of Lightning Corporeal Forces: 2 Strength: 4 Agility: 4 Ethereal Forces: 6 Intelligence: 12 Precision: 12 Celestial Forces: 4 Will: 7 Perception: 9 Skills: Artistry/2, Computer Operation/3, Drive/3, Fast-Talk/2, Knowledge (Physics)/10 Languages German-English Songs: (To be honest, I'm unsure which Songs a guy like Einstein would learn, if any...) Attunements: Blessed, Vassal of Lightning If only he'd known, he'd have become a locksmith, he often says. But all things considered, Albert Einstein is enjoying his time in Heaven. Most especially his time in the Halls of Creation, which he leaves only to spend quality time with his wife and the rest of his family. His time in the Halls are sent entirely in what he likes to call "religious calculations", where he attempts to complete his Grand Unification Theory with the help of other late physicists. He's been unofficially declared one of the leaders of this group, who've built a makeshift religion around the concept that All of the Symphony (and thus God) can be represented in one Equation. Albert is considered to lead the ones who believe in a constantly evolving equation which therefore requires more variables then well-defined numbers. His friendly rival is Newton, who's more a believer in the "Constant Equation" theory. He's quite thankful that Jean was kind enough to grant him the Vassal of Lightning attunment, after Jean discovered that Albert's "E=MC2" theory hinted at an understanding of the nature of Forces (primarily Energy) as the building blocs of reality. Jean, it seems, considers him one of the few Human researchers who's mature enough and intelligent enough to hold a decent conversation with. It doesn't hurt that Albert's attitude towards technological development is "We should develop our Humanity before our Technology." If only more Humans thought like that... Albert is sometimes sent to earth to provide expert opinion on the domain of physics, which he's kept firmly abreast of even in death. (He's said to be quite fond of Hawking's discoveries, and is rumored to have had conversations with the man.) One recent development that troubles Albert is the recent rise of space-time calculation theories that, unbeknownst to the mortal theoricians who come up with them, could possibly lead to the creation of new Tethers to Technology or other Infernal Words. Albert and his associates in lightning are beginning to suspect a new Technology development, which needs to be stopped as soon as possible. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 19:54:11 -0800 (PST) From: Jennifer Shih Subject: Re: IN> Saint Albert - --- Rolland Therrien wrote: > Albert Einstein > > He's been unofficially declared one of the leaders > of this group, who've built a makeshift religion > around the concept that All of the Symphony (and > thus God) can be represented in one Equation. > Albert is considered to lead the ones who believe in > a constantly evolving equation which therefore > requires more variables then well-defined numbers. > His friendly rival is Newton, who's > more a believer in the "Constant Equation" theory. Okay, we've already had the thread about logic systems and truth-values in the symphony. Let's start a new one around this! First of all, the term "Equation" presupposes the existence of some sort of equivalence relation. Anyone out there remember if it has to be identity or if other types of equivalence relation (e.g. congruence) would suffice? Next, let us consider the word "one" in the phrase "one Equation". We can sweep away much of the obvious concern by pointing out that systems of multiple equations can be combined into one matrix equation, with sufficient ingenuity. However, that ignores a much more fundamental issue: How do we know that the number "one" is meaningful in this context? After all, why should the full glory of the Symphony be limited to subsets of the complex numbers? On the subject of "one", the argument can be made in revealed monotheistic (divine) religions God is described as "one". (Adonai eloheinu,adonai echad.) However, it is known that at least one of the known revelations was somehow inaccurate. (Islam, Gabriel, trial, all that) So perhaps "echad" is actually a crude mistranslation for some other concept; perhaps a concept which could not be adequately expressed in ancient Hebrew. Perhaps the original concept is not actually that there exists a bijective mapping from the set containing God to the set containing the empty set. Perhaps the original concept is more abstruse than that. Let us next consider the phrase "well-defined numbers". First of all, what counts as a number? Are we limiting ourselves to subsets of the complex numbers again? Do imaginary numbers count? What about matrices with real elements? Or symmetries of n-dimensional polyhedra? What about the various infinities? Or loci? Erk... reading back, I'm not sure I was entirely coherent here. Although my mind is whirling with thoughts like "What if God is *really* the n by n identity matrix whose elements are congruence classes of the integers modulo 7?" and "Is it possibly to represent each celestial uniquely as a vector in celestial-space?" Although In Nomine could be considered an attempt at that, condensing each celestial to a finite string of ascii characters... I think it's the stress frying my brain. I'll go to sleep now. - -Jennifer, having just moved (on only a week's notice) and having had a friend go to the emergency room for internal bleeding. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 21:18:31 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Saint Albert Interesting idea. I rather liked the part about the equations. One quibble; neither Blessed nor Vassal of Lightning are Attunements. The one is a humans-only Advantage, the other is a Distinction. =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil." -- Jimmy Carter

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 21:26:10 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Saint Albert - --- Jennifer Shih wrote: > Perhaps the original concept is not > actually that there exists a bijective mapping from > the set containing God to the set containing the empty > set. Perhaps the original concept is more abstruse > than that. > > Let us next consider the phrase "well-defined > numbers". First of all, what counts as a number? Are > we limiting ourselves to subsets of the complex > numbers again? Do imaginary numbers count? What about > matrices with real elements? Or symmetries of > n-dimensional polyhedra? What about the various > infinities? Or loci? To those like myself who are Arithmatically Challenged, the above might as well be written in Enochian. I've seen enough discussions on higher math on this list that I know that somebody understood all that, but I'm sure feeling left out. 0:> OTOH, it takes all the mystery out of how Hermetic mages can base some of their magic on mathematical formulae -- the stuff is sufficiently arcane. > "What if God is *really* the n by n > identity matrix whose elements are congruence classes > of the integers modulo 7?" and "Is it possibly to > represent each celestial uniquely as a vector in > celestial-space?" Huh? Whogus the Whatsler? > Although In Nomine could be > considered an attempt at that, condensing each > celestial to a finite string of ascii characters... =====

Michael Walton, #US2002023848

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil." -- Jimmy Carter

__________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 13:21:36 -0600 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> In Nomine List & Arisia... From: "Elizabeth McCoy" > > And does anyone have opinions or antipinions as to which games > sound interesting? So I could, like, prep a little? O:> Will reread them and let you know later today. :) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 17:59:31 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> New Drugs, Part 1 (crossposted to Pyramid) Got its start in the Sunday game where Casca mimed snorting a line of Ineffability. Out came the notebook: it sort of got really, really expanded from there (not to mention, 'mutated'). Comments welcome. Moe Tonics (Addiction cost: 3/level) This type of drug is the latest thing to hit the streets: it's going to be a while before the corporeal authorities can properly assess that it's anything more than a particularly odd version of cocaine, though. That's not too surprising, however, as the DEA isn't exactly set up for the analysis of supernatural and alchemical s u bstances. OK, that last bit is a lie: the DEA has the largest proportion of outsiders aware of the War of any American government organization outside of the Secret Service and the Library of Congress. It's just that every one of those outsiders is still trying to make up their minds about whether they should wreck their careers by talking to somebody else about all the weird stuff that they're coming across. It should be amusing to see the inevitable cascade of mutual realization... Tangents aside, not even the DEA has yet officially (or fully) recognized what precisely Tonics are: the official opinion is still that the drug is cocaine mixed with carbonated sugar water, caffeine and various compounds. Not quite as potent a kick as the snorted version, but addictive in it's own right and worth keeping down, especially since it's getting a reputation among the under-25 crowd as being both Cool and less destructive than regular cocaine. All of that is true (except for the less destructive kick), but there's more to the story than that, and mostly involves the "various compounds". The marketers have a secret ingredient, you understand, which can only be acquired from one place. Celestial vessels. Tonics are an alchemical product that uses special s u bstances only found in angelic or demonic vessels. The harvesting process inevitably vessel-kills the celestial; however, as a general rule the people working in the Tonic trade try to only use already-dead vessels (not through any sort of decency; they're trying to keep a low profile, which has special complications in a universe where victims can come back from the dead). The harvesting/refinement process is a fairly straightforward alchemical process that takes one day to perform: each level of the vessel processed will result in 20 doses for the final mixture. As per the regular Alchemy rules, Tonics retain their special potency for (Alchemy CD roll) weeks. The final results are bottled in standard 20 ounce plastic bottles: depending on the venue, they may be disguised as regular brands of soda. Tonics are generally considered to be a Very Difficult, Easy Withdrawal (5 days) drug. The cocaine present is sufficiently attenuated to both not affect Characteristic rolls (except for a base +2 to Will rolls to avoid falling asleep) and to not act as a poison: however, taking three Tonics in less than an hour will have the same game effect as a dose of cocaine. What makes this drug so interesting (and dangerous) is that the supernatural ingredients give their own 'kick'. All types of Tonics give a +1 to Will rolls to avoid feeling the effects of pain and discomfort for the next hour: this includes all uses of Songs, Attunements and/or a demonic resonance designed to elicit such an effect. 'Stacking' the doses has no cumulative effect. Also, someone under the influence of a Tonic will not need to eat, urinate or defecate. Finally, Tonics come in specific 'flavors', based on the vessel's original owner. Below is a list of the possible variations. Beefcake (Stone): Consuming this Tonic gives the user a +3 (instead of the regular +1) to Will rolls to avoid feeling pain/discomfort; also, any Fighting rolls are at +1 to Power. Unfortunately, the strain on the system is usually sufficient to cause 1 Body Hit per use. Belch (Gluttony): This Tonic makes anything eaten while under its influence taste good (it also gives a +2 to the target number and CD of a successful Strength check to avoid the effects of Poison). The user will also suffer from Gluttonous/3 for the next day. Incidentally, the street name comes from the fact that the Tonic is extra carbonated, not from any supernatural additions. Double Take Tea (The Wind/Theft): This Tonic causes a general personality reversal. Inhibited people will become exhibitionists, lives of the party will go off and sit by themselves for a while and so forth. The DEA really wants to stop production of this particular Tonic: aside from other things, on the right s u bject Double Take Tea makes a horribly effective date rape drug. Double Take Tea requires both angelic and demonic ingredients to make. Edge (War/The War): This Tonic was what got the attention of the DEA in the first place, thanks to the fact that it was the first one of its kind available on the street. Edge has a trace of PCP in it (as well as cocaine): not enough to make an actual difference, but quite enough to confuse the analyzers. Users of Edge will have a very casual attitude towards violence, plus a +1 to the target number of combat rolls, plus a temporary Toughness of 2. Unfortunately, they also get the Murderous/3 Disadvantage for the duration, which can complicate matters. Edge requires both angelic and demonic ingredients to make. Fireball (Infernal Fire): This Tonic is sold in shot form: the cocaine is replaced with crank and the sugar water with grain alcohol. It's also traditionally drunk right after being set aflame. While under its influence, the user becomes immune to feeling pain from fire (and gets a Toughness of 1 towards fire-based attacks): he or she also becomes Angry/3. Combining Fireball and Muse (see below) is contraindicated. Free Ride (Drugs): The Tonic is sold almost openly, as it in itself does not have any conventional controlled s u bstances in it. What it does do is temporarily mask the presence of any drugs in a person's system: aside from the uses for evading drug tests (the drugs actually disappear from the person's system, which means that a test will continue to show negative even after the Tonic's end of duration), Free Ride is useful as a temporary "sober pill". Godshouter (Faith): Users of Godshouter prize it for its ability to give a visceral sense that their God (or favorite god) is present, watching over them and pleased with their actions dedicated to the service of their deity. Any action that is so dedicated (no matter how normally heinous) will be engaged in without later regrets and/or guilt. Interestingly, a user of Godshouter also gets a base +2 to resist any demonic resonance. Guard Dog (Protection): This Tonic is usually purchased to give to other people. While under its effects, the s u bject will fixate on one particular item or person and guard him, her or it with his or her life. Nothing short of the intervention of a Superior will distract and/or dissuade someone s u bject to Guard Dog. Unlike other Tonics, it is also available in patch form: eight regular doses make one patch, which lasts eight hours. Guilt Juice (The Sword): A user under the effect of Guilt Juice will derive extra pleasure from activities that would normally be forbidden by the moral code under which the user was brought up. For most, this Tonic is merely an added spice to such sins as fornication, alcoholic consumption, breaking of dietary laws... but there is a contingent that prizes Guilt Juice as a heightener of depravity. Guilt Juice is also available in solid form (a saturated sugar cube with no caffeine or cocaine added): the DEA has not yet come up with a plausible-sounding reason to specifically ban the stuff, although the usual charges of 'paraphernalia associated with drug use' is a useful catchall. Happy Tree Herbal Tea (Flowers): Needless to say, the ostensible controlled s u bstance in this one is THC, not cocaine (it's also decaffeinated and sugar free, although it tastes sweet). Drinking it causes the user to fall asleep after a half-hour of incredibly pleasant languor: once asleep, the user cannot be woken by anything less than direct infliction of pain on his or her body. It also has the effect of curing 2 Body Hits per use. Of all Tonics, this one is probably the most accepted, as it has the street reputation of being an incomparable palliative for terminal cancer and AIDS patients (a very well-deserved reputation, in fact). Heterodyne (Technology): Use of this Tonic unlocks the user's creativity (+4 to all design rolls); however, it also suppresses any ethical and moral qualms about using questionable materials and/or s u bstances in said design. There is also a broad tendency to cackle madly at appropriate moments. Elements of the DEA are very interested in keeping this particular s u bstance out of the hands of the federal government. Also, by orders of the Vapulan Technological Review Board (Chairman: Sparky, Baron of Gremlins; unofficial motto: "Don't even think about it. We've got all the weapons that work properly, and currently there's one drawing a bead on your forehead."), the unauthorized possession and/or use of Heterodyne is a class-7 felony punishable by mandatory involuntary test s u bject duty for a period no less than six months. ===== 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2922 ********************************