in_nomine-digest Saturday, January 25 2003 Volume 01 : Number 2945 In this digest: IN> Relievers? Re: IN> Roles and Words Re: IN> Relievers? (was: Three hours of exercise...) Re: IN> Relievers? (was: Three hours of exercise...) Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... RE: IN> Relievers? (was: Three hours of exercise...) Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... RE: IN> Relievers? What to call them Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... RE: IN> A New Tangent (was: Relievers?) Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... IN> A quick tribute Re: IN> A quick tribute IN> Paging... Re: IN> Three hours of exercise... Re: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words IN> Pushing the Symphony (Re: It's like a rorschach) Re: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words RE: IN> Relievers? What to call them IN> Boomtown Re: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words Re: IN> A quick tribute RE: IN> Relievers? What to call them IN> Clone Master M.C. Ice-Tongs IN> 2003: Fiction Piece #1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 17:25:41 -0500 From: BC Petery Subject: IN> Relievers? > So how about "sprite"? What? And get sued by Coke-a-Cola, Inc.? Or worse, attract the attention of Haagenti: "Mmm... fizzysugarwater... Can I get Pixie Sticks with that?" =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Hey! You're mean!" -Squeakers, Reliever of Flowers "Yeah, but I'm _cute_ so I get away with it." -MacNorma (Free Lilim) http://www15.brinkster.com/ugwump/rpgs/IN/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 14:40:41 -0800 From: Kish Subject: Re: IN> Roles and Words Daiv wrote: > I think that Superiors are bound by the same dissonance > conditions as their servitors (and i cannot read up on word bound > issues from the GMG because it is one of the books i lost. Wah.) > However, I also think that the dissonance conditions for a word can > be controlled / set by a superior. Yes--but not consciously. Take Laurence and Asmodeus, for example. Someone who disobeys the /spirit/ of Asmodeus' orders while keeping the letter of the orders is just fine; someone who disobeys the spirit of Laurence's orders is as dissonant as if that celestial had obeyed the letter of the orders. Because Laurence is more of a control freak than Asmodeus? Hardly. Because the dissonance conditions are a manifestation of the Superior's mindset. Laurence's offers total obedience to his Superior (God) willingly; Asmodeus won't directly disobey Lucifer because he knows it would severely shorten his life, but schemes to evade Lucifer's true wishes all the time. > Maybe, once upon a time, David was a pacifist; Stone endures, > Stone does not react. It is dissonant for a servitor of Stone to > fight, regardless of the provocations. > Then he changed; Stone is Strength and Utility; It is > dissonant of Servitors of Stone to use any weapon not composed of > Stone. Throwing rocks is okay, but using a wooden club is not. Your tense makes this hard for me to interpret. Neither of those is David's dissonance conditions currently, but he could theoretically evolve from one to the other. > Etc. Now, if this is true, and if there are servitors of > stone old enough to remember the old dissonance conditions, are they > bound by the old ones, or are they bound by the current ones? I would expect all Servitors to be bound by the current dissonance conditions caused by their Superior's mind-set--whether they actually know those dissonance conditions or not. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 13:52:08 -0500 From: Neelakantan Krishnaswami Subject: Re: IN> Relievers? (was: Three hours of exercise...) Wajenberg, Earl wrote: > Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > >>I have complained several times on this list about the name "reliever." > > Yes, we know. > > No, I'm not going to change it. > > I didn't think you *could* change it. But "angeletto," "sprite," > etc. could be nicknames or alternates, like "Friend of Man" for > Mercurian or "Punisher" for Habballah or "Virtue" for "Malakite." I'm looking for a name that sounds vaguely like an elementary particle or a species of bacteria, because I want a vaguel SFnal sound to them. I like angelicule, since it sounds kind of like "animacule", though that sounds like 19th century science. I guess "cariton" would work, since the -on ending is common among particle names, and caritas is Latin for charity? How does that sound out loud? - -- Neel Krishnaswami neelk@alum.mit.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 14:53:02 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Relievers? (was: Three hours of exercise...) - --- Neelakantan Krishnaswami wrote: > I guess "cariton" would work I rather like that. OK, Earl, we have one name... =====

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: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 17:54:39 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 12:17 AM -0500 1/24/03, Whistling in the Dark wrote: [Divine Logic] >But, it *also* successfully talked the thirteen year old Priestess out of >Ethereal Essence Sending and Worship, soooooo.... Sending Essence to the dragons. You never said anything about Clifford. - -- - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 17:42:59 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: RE: IN> Relievers? (was: Three hours of exercise...) At 9:37 AM -0500 1/24/03, Wajenberg, Earl wrote: >Elizabeth McCoy wrote: >> No, I'm not going to change it. > >I didn't think you *could* change it. But "angeletto," "sprite," etc. could >be nicknames or alternates, like "Friend of Man" for Mercurian or "Punisher" >for Habballah or "Virtue" for "Malakite." If the topic comes up, then maybe. "Reliever" isn't, currently, a word that's frequently enough over-used to need many alternates. (Though, it should be noted, Superiors 1 _I THINK_ has a comment that Judges tend to refer to Choirs by their secondary names, and use "Helper" for relievers. So. If other Superiors have terms of address for the little critters, that's certainly one place to use 'em...) - -- - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:14:59 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 18:11 -0500 01/23/2003, Whistling in the Dark wrote: >On Thursday, January 23, 2003, at 05:46 PM, Walter Milliken wrote: >> At 12:24 +0800 01/23/2003, Janet Anderson wrote: >>> *Three* Bright Lilim?! >>> >>> I always thought Bright Lilim were incredibly rare. >> >> At least it wasn't *four*, despite comments about an "all Bright-Lilim >> game". >> > >Well, *someone* in that room was being incredibly cagy about who he was >and what he was doing... and rightfully so, now that I look at it.... Hey, if you guys wanted to *assume* I was doing a male (possibly not Bright) Lilim.... Of course, the GM was being cagey, too -- as I recalled she thought my character was "going to be amusing". Since the poor kitsune wandered into an angelic investigation of what turned out to be an ethereal Tether, I guess it *was* amusing... from her point of view. And if Charlie's angels hadn't gone crying to their Superiors at the sight of a cutesy bubblegum-pink dragon, it might have been a *lot* more amusing from the kitsune's point of view, too. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:18:08 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: RE: IN> Relievers? What to call them At 00:07 +0100 01/24/2003, Unni Solaas wrote: >On Thu, 23 Jan 2003, Walter Milliken wrote: > >> >So how about "sprite"? >> >> Sounds too ethereal. Or maybe too fizzy.... >> >I'm stealing from German here (or quasi-German): Engeling or Engling, >meaning 'little angel'. Wasn't he a psychologist or philosopher or something...? Then there's the demonic term for them: "toy". - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:24:20 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 15:53 -0800 01/23/2003, Maurice Lane wrote: >--- Walter Milliken wrote: > >> It didn't start out that way, but somehow it just >> *had* to happen. Maybe >> Moe is a mobile Tether of Dark Humor. > >That's mobile Tether of *Heresy*, thankyouverymuch.* I don't think three Bright Lilim (to some extent an oxymoron, with those three) is very heretical. But it was very humorous, in a twisted sort of way. >*Even considering the fact that I got to be party >punching bag, I had a blast and a half. :) It was all that Disturbance.... And the other half a blast blew the kitsune out of town. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:27:05 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 20:38 -0500 01/23/2003, Whistling in the Dark wrote: >On Thursday, January 23, 2003, at 07:11 PM, Prodigal wrote: >> From: "Maurice Lane" >>> *Even considering the fact that I got to be party >>> punching bag, I had a blast and a half. :) >> >> That's two blasts of Celesteal Entropy, to be precise. > >And two applications of Divine Logic. A Bright Lilim who can talk you >into anything is a dangerous, dangerous thing. Especially when she's not all that clear on what she's talking about in the first place.... - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:31:18 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... On Friday, January 24, 2003, at 05:54 PM, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > At 12:17 AM -0500 1/24/03, Whistling in the Dark wrote: > [Divine Logic] >> But, it *also* successfully talked the thirteen year old Priestess >> out of >> Ethereal Essence Sending and Worship, soooooo.... > > Sending Essence to the dragons. > > You never said anything about Clifford. > Hey, I would have, only the Laurencian was on me to get it over with. (Jodi, in the meantime, is about to burst into tears again.) - -- Eric A. Burns Freelance Writer and Textual Whore http://www.annotations.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:34:09 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... On Friday, January 24, 2003, at 06:14 PM, Walter Milliken wrote: > And if Charlie's angels hadn't gone crying to their Superiors at the > sight of > a cutesy bubblegum-pink dragon, it might have been a *lot* more > amusing from > the kitsune's point of view, too. > Now now. Jodi didn't call for help until she got in geas conflict. And didn't invoke Yves until she heard the clear Disturbance Wake of a Demon Prince manifesting. She didn't know it was an Infernal Intervention on her perception roll. Actually, she doesn't know much *period...* - -- Eric A. Burns Freelance Writer and Textual Whore http://www.annotations.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:35:24 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 00:17 -0500 01/24/2003, Whistling in the Dark wrote: [about Divine Logic] ... >It's better than being a Balseraph -- subjectivity given the force of >law! And then there was the kitsune, who was basically chaos given the force of law. (Primal Deception is *so* amusing -- even a bit more powerful than the Bal resonance, and no danger of dissonance backlash! Unfortunately, TAANSTAFL -- ethereals are rather a bit on the "crunchy" side. And he could barely hear the disturbance made when a Superior showed up....) - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 15:51:42 -0800 From: Daiv Subject: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words At 2:40 PM -0800 1/24/03, Kish wrote: >Daiv wrote: > >> I think that Superiors are bound by the same dissonance >> conditions as their servitors (and i cannot read up on word bound >> issues from the GMG because it is one of the books i lost. Wah.) >> However, I also think that the dissonance conditions for a word can >> be controlled / set by a superior. > >Yes--but not consciously. > >Take Laurence and Asmodeus, for example. Someone who disobeys the >/spirit/ of Asmodeus' orders while keeping the letter of the orders is >just fine; someone who disobeys the spirit of Laurence's orders is as >dissonant as if that celestial had obeyed the letter of the orders. >Because Laurence is more of a control freak than Asmodeus? Hardly. >Because the dissonance conditions are a manifestation of the Superior's >mindset. Laurence's offers total obedience to his Superior (God) >willingly; Asmodeus won't directly disobey Lucifer because he knows it >would severely shorten his life, but schemes to evade Lucifer's true >wishes all the time. It is also true, however, that for Angel to do anything dissonant, he has to make a conscious choice, a deliberate effort. So, obeying the spirit of Laurences orders is intrinsic in the Angelic mind. It may also be that he is, in setting his dissonance conditions to this, consciously and deliberately emphasizing the precise nature of The Sword. He could, in theory, just as easily set his dissonance conditions to make his angels as /Sharp/ as they could be; it is dissonant for a servitor to have less than a required minimal precision score (a condition I personally would hate; I am opposed to any rule that breaks the fourth wall in the game). Asmoedeous is the Game. His word incorporates the idea of playing by the rules, but also bending the rules when it is convenient; anything is permitted as long as you get away with it. What I am asking / suggesting, is that there are a number of possible dissonance conditions for any given word, all of which make as much (or as little) sense as any other. So, when you become a Superior, do you get to say what the dissonance condition is? Do you get to change it as you and your word evolve in the symphony? > >> Maybe, once upon a time, David was a pacifist; Stone endures, >> Stone does not react. It is dissonant for a servitor of Stone to >> fight, regardless of the provocations. >> Then he changed; Stone is Strength and Utility; It is >> dissonant of Servitors of Stone to use any weapon not composed of > > Stone. Throwing rocks is okay, but using a wooden club is not. I was suggesting that Davids dissonance conditions may have undergone several iterations, over the course of time (David is rather, well, old, yes?) before arriving at the current version. One more knot of pain one more note of laughter still wind blows the past - -Daiv David M. Barr daiv@cruzio.com YIM Daivbear AIM Drnknmstrhkugk H (831)477-0539 C (831)566-2237 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:52:02 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 14:15 -0500 01/24/2003, Whistling in the Dark wrote: >> 5) People must make choices utilizing their free will in order to >> achieve >> their destiny. > >Not necessarily -- a man who, having been told by a Balseraph that his >Fate is the truth, who then acts on it, has still completed his Fate. >Having been convinced, even by attunement, that following a certain >course is the best possible course of action for that man does not >change the fact that it is the best possible course to follow, and >Divine Logic does not compel activity. I believe that eating fatty food >is extremely bad for me, yet I still eat fatty foods. In our games, though not necessarily in canon, there's a sort of "Symphonic recoil" when a celestial *forces* someone toward either Fate or Destiny. It generally manifests as something that exerts an opposing force to cancel out the initial stimulus, though not necessarily immediately. And there may be additional undesirable side effects. My view of this is that it's a bit like disturbance -- you can force unnatural changes onto the Symphony, but there can be unwanted fallout from doing it. >(We *need* to do this complete writeup. I keep hoping Moe will because >he's a funnier writer than I am, or Prodigal will because he has more >facts at his disposal than I do. Or Beth will, since she by >definition has all the cards. Or Walter will so we know just *what* the >Kitsune was up to.) The kitsune was just an innocent bystander who'd picked the wrong town to move into to establish a Role. Well, mostly innocent. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 18:59:31 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: RE: IN> A New Tangent (was: Relievers?) At 16:45 -0500 01/24/2003, Wajenberg, Earl wrote: >Michael Walton wrote: > >"Of more concern is the fact that there are lots of infernal spirits (Imps, >Gremlins and Demonlings) but only one type of heavenly spirit. I like >symmetry." > >That bothered me, too. We could make up some... An alternative is to think of demons as fractured angels -- ones whose Forces are bent or broken in unnatural ways. Depending on which type of bending you have, you get subspecies. Relievers, not being built from bent Forces, are thus more uniform until they fledge. This hypothesis also explains why certain infernal spirits can only fledge as certain demonic Bands -- they're built from Forces with those particular flaws. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 19:04:00 -0500 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> It's like a rorschach test gone horribly wrong.... At 18:34 -0500 01/24/2003, Whistling in the Dark wrote: > Actually, she doesn't know >much *period...* That's all right -- the kitsune didn't *notice* much (Perception 2!). - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 19:17:19 -0500 From: Cameron McCurry Subject: IN> A quick tribute The Cherub stepped out of the room of his elderly patient and sighed. It seemed so wrong that humans' minds could deteriorate like this. There was so much that angels could learn from them but were unable to. And it seemed odd to him that their own families rarely stuck around. It was one of the mysteries that he tried to puzzle out in his assignment here. A hum could be heard in the Symphony a few rooms down. It sounded like someone manifesting in Celestial form. But the Cherub knew that there was no angel in the area that was supposed to be here. He quickly ducked into a closet and stepped out of his own Vessel to meet the threat. His lion form moved easily past the walls and came to a stop where he had heard the Disturbance. A Mercurian had manifested in this room and she was staring at the patient there with a kindly smile. The Cherub snarled a warning and he advanced closely. "Who are you and why are you trespassing here?" The Mercurian turned to look at the Cherub with the same smile. "I am Doxas, the Angel of Glory. I have business Matthew." The Cherub bowed his head at the mild rebuke. "Forgive my disrespect, Angel of Glory, but I was not told that you would be here." "I didn't know that I would be here either until an hour ago." Doxas replied. "But his time is almost up and I am to bring him to Heaven." "Did you know him?" Matthew asked. "I was unaware that he was one of Michael's Soldiers." "Not formally sworn, but I recognized his talents long ago." "You served with him?" "No, no; I was serving down on Earth as a simple Infantryman. But the cartoons he made....I tell you Matthew, I had never seen people laugh in the face of horror like that." The Cherub shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm afraid I don't understand." "Then I shall explain. He told the stories of the common person who was thrown into war. He made no effort to candy coat or beautify war; he simply told stories through his art that made some people understand things better. I saw men that had been through fire fights that were near death from their wounds laugh at the pictures he drew. Believe it or not, he was loathed quite openly by some of his superiors. One general tried to have him jailed over simple cartoons." She shook her head in amazement. "Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed over that one. And now I have come to bring him home." The man's breathing stopped abruptly and his soul stepped from out of his body. He looked at the two angels in confusion. "What happened? How did I end up here?" Doxas smiled pleasantly. "Don't worry, sir. I will help you. And I will explain things as we go." He turned to face the bed that he had been confined in for so long. "I look so...small and empty." "It's only because what is important has left." The Angel of Glory offered her hand. "Come on, soldier. There are some people that are looking forward to seeing you." The man nodded quietly and took Doxas hand. The two faded from sight leaving the Cherub alone with his thoughts. Bill Mauldin 1922-2003 Thank you for the laughs ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 19:25:16 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> A quick tribute On Friday, January 24, 2003, at 07:17 PM, Cameron McCurry wrote: That was beautiful, Cameron. Thank you. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 16:35:02 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: IN> Paging... ... Michael Cleveland. Would you please contact me privately? =====

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: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 20:18:59 -0800 From: "Joey's mail" Subject: Re: IN> Three hours of exercise... > > Dominic wants his Fallen angels back. Asmodeus wants his redeemed demons > *dead*. Here's why: > > A Fallen angel can be rehabilitated. > A redeemed demon has already demonstrated himself to be untrustworthy, and > has probably bled all of the secrets he knows out in a Dominican > interrogation chamber. > Actually, I think Dominic doesn't want Fallen angels back much as Asmodeus might like Redeemed demons. Remember, it's easier to fall from grace than it is to climb your way back up, and "Yo-yoing" is much more common among the Redeemed than it is from the Fallen. Of course, Asmodeus WOULD like those Demons punished--to be made an example of, of course. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 00:58:58 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words At 3:51 PM -0800 1/24/03, Daiv wrote: [...] > What I am asking / suggesting, is that there are a number of possible >dissonance conditions for any given word, all of which make as much (or as >little) sense as any other. So, when you become a Superior, do you get to say >what the dissonance condition is? Do you get to change it as you and your word >evolve in the symphony? To answer in reverse order... Changing dissonance conditions would only happen when there were _major_ state changes in the Superior -- David and Uriel would be the primary examples of that, as they went from Cherub and Seraph to Malakim. _Creating_ a dissonance condition... Well, elevating Superiors is in the purview of GMs, so it's kind of a GM call. I, personally, believe that the _SUPERIOR_ does _not_ have a say in what the dissonance condition is -- that it's intrinsic to the way the Word and the Superior's nature and personality interact. If this is a _PC_ Superior, then the player and the GM can hash out the actual dissonance conditions to their hearts' content, figuring out something that's playable and neither too wimpy nor too harsh. Let's take the Superior Soap Opera (far away, for some of you, but hey -- it has Superior elevations in it!). Kathriel, Malakite AA of Sculpting: it's dissonant to cause destruction that makes the Symphony uglier. (E.g., you can kill an unrepentant demon or carve a hunk of material into art, but if you smash the Venus de Milo, slash the Mona Lisa, or kill a human who was working to make the world a better place... you are in trouble, and even more when Kath catches up with you.) Does this sound just a tad like the Elohite dissonance condition in places? Probably -- as a reliever, Kath was interested in both Malakim and Elohim as role-models. We're working on what the Princess of Mystery will have for her dissonance conditions and whatnot. It will probably be akin to Secrets, but different, since it's a "third side" Word and not exclusively selfish. (Indeed, Eli has been pointing out that certain (unselfish) mysteries could be a source of power if only she will reach out to those themes... And, since Stace is not a stupid Lilim, she is listening.) And of course, if you change your Word, it will interact with your nature differently -- the Prince of Desire's dissonance conditions no longer forbid caring. They do forbid doing things which would reduce the power of desire -- basically, it is now not just stupid, but dissonant to be repellently ugly... [We're still working on that one, though.] Okay, I'll stop SSOing at people now. O:> > I was suggesting that Davids dissonance conditions may have undergone >several iterations, over the course of time (David is rather, well, old, yes?) >before arriving at the current version. Unlikely, actually, that there were more than two -- the Cherub David's, and the Malakite David's. - -- - --Beth's SSO .sig: (Want to hear more about the Superior Soap Opera? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IN-SoapOpera ) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:00:15 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: IN> Pushing the Symphony (Re: It's like a rorschach) At 6:52 PM -0500 1/24/03, Walter Milliken wrote: >In our games, though not necessarily in canon, there's a sort of "Symphonic >recoil" when a celestial *forces* someone toward either Fate or Destiny. I'm pretty sure there's something in Superiors 3 (Yves' section) about this... - -- - --Beth, arcangel@io.com / archangel@sjgames.com In Nomine Line Editor http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:47:46 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words On Saturday, January 25, 2003, at 12:58 AM, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > _Creating_ a dissonance condition... > > Well, elevating Superiors is in the purview of GMs, so it's kind of > a GM call. I, personally, believe that the _SUPERIOR_ does _not_ have > a say in what the dissonance condition is -- that it's intrinsic to > the way the Word and the Superior's nature and personality interact. > I actually go one step further IMC -- all Wordbound have Dissonance Conditions imposed by their Words as well. And anyone they give their Rites to (but not an attunement to) is bound by those Dissonance Conditions as well. But then, I'm mean. - -- Eric A. Burns Freelance Writer and Textual Whore http://www.annotations.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 11:36:12 +0100 (CET) From: Unni Solaas Subject: RE: IN> Relievers? What to call them On Fri, 24 Jan 2003, Walter Milliken wrote: > >I'm stealing from German here (or quasi-German): Engeling or Engling, > >meaning 'little angel'. > > Wasn't he a psychologist or philosopher or something...? You mean Engels? Friedrich Engels? :) He was Karl Marx's buddy. They wrote some sort of pamphlet back in the days of yore I think*. It had nothing whatsoever to do with Angels, but it did have a few paragraphs on Relieveing the world form the continuing class struggle by means of revolution. So maybe ha was an Engels of War? (Okay, so that was /THE/ lamest attempt to force an IN connection. I appologize. I just got out of bed and am in dire need of coffee....:) > Then there's the demonic term for them: "toy". *snicker* >:) *Yes I know what it's called, so don't you start! But I've already crossed the line here, so.... :) - -- language, n; an intangible artificial construct for obscuring one's meanings and intentions to others. -ppint. Unni Solaas ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 09:21:37 -0200 From: Luiz Claudio Duarte Subject: IN> Boomtown Well, yesterday three of my usual suspects and I finally got to know In Nomine. I created a purposefully simple adventure, since I mostly wanted the PCs to get used to the mechanics of the game. So, no Celestial politics and no shades of gray, it was a simple investigation-and-chase scenario. The cast included a Amittai, a Seraph of Children, played by my wife Lídia; Hamath, an Ofanite of Fire, played by Paulo; and Alpheus, a Kyriotate of Destiny, played by Daniel. Both Amittai and Hamath had vessels and roles as NYPD officers from the 6th Precinct (Lower West Side). (Of course the Ofanite was the driver of the team, to the perpetual chagrin of the Seraph...) The characters were deliberately kept low-key, with almost no combat abilities or songs. One of my goals was to showcase the versatility of Celestials and their powers, not focus on combat. The game begins on the morning of January, 24. I handed them the first page of the New York Times and pointed at one of the headlines (complete with photo), indicating that one Andrew Fromm, accused of being a particularly vicious sniper, was being released due to faulty police work on his arrest. I added that they had received word from on high that his crimes smacked of demonic activity; since Fromm lived in their beat, they were to investigate and take action as appropriate. Note: I downloaded NYT's first page from their website a few days ago. I substituted the story of Fromm for the real story of some problem in one of NY's jails. I also added a fake headline (that I didn't point to the PCs) about a schoolkids' peace march on Washington Square on the same afternoon. The PCs went to Fromm's place and started getting their powers to good use. Alpheus possessed the landlady and, thanks to his Yves ressonance, informed the others what she knew about Fromm (not much, regular guy) and produced the key to his loft. While they were investigating, Fromm himself arrives. He is flustered by finding two police officers in his home, but the Amittai starts interrogating him and soon finds out what The Truth is (first ressonance roll, a check digit of 6...) --- he was possessed by a demon and has no recollection of what happened. A quick jaunt to their collective angelic memories (browsing the IN book) reveals to them that they're probably chasing a Shedite of Malphas... They get some more information from Fromm and find out where he was when he regained consciousness, at a disco bar nearby. Hamath speeds there and leaps from the car to the disco, intent on investigating... but Amittai just stays in the car and calls the precinct to know if something unusual happened there the last few days. Hamath does not find out anything untoward, but Amittai gets info on a charge by a prostitute about someone trying to cut her. They go interrogate the woman and she reveals that one of her customers tried to stab or cut her with a penknife. She earlier had checked out his ID (a regular work precaution for her) and got his name: Husseini Medjah. Another call to the precinct reveals that Medjah has a regular work visa; he is an Afghan engineer. When they arrive he isn't at home, but Alpheus uses the same trick of possessing the landlord. Inside, they find subtle clues: strong smell of chemicals, a map of Washington Square, and some newspaper clippings about the peace march... Earlier Alpheus had noticed the peace march headline and they were afraid that the Shedite could play sniper again in the throng, so Alpheus had possessed a dove and was keeping tabs on Washington Square. When they found the clues on Medjah's place, Amittai radioed the precinct and gave the alarm... and got told to stay put and wait for back-up. They ignored the order and went to the Square, but on arriving found out that even knowing that a demon was around wouldn't help them actually finding him. After blustering about for a few minutes, Amittai decided invoking Christopher. Hamath found the nearest playground, conveniently remote enough from the Square that no disturbance would be felt by their quarry. Christopher manifested and lent Amittai an artifact that would tell her ("hot!" "cold!") if a Celestial was nearby. Back they went to the Square and Amittai managed to locate Medjah. After some deliberation, they decided to make a simultaneous attack. Alpheus manifested his celestial form, but kept it a ways back, while possessing another police officer. His dove was flying overhead. When they attacked, Medjah was attacked simultaneously by a corporeal song of Charm (reducing his strength), a celestial song of Light, while he and the nearby people were affected by an ethereal song of Harmony... and he was grappled by two police officers from behind. Yes, I played fast and loose with the combat round and the action sequencing here. So sue me... Harumaph (the Shedite) simply broke. He tried to escape in celestial form, but Alpheus kept lashing at him celestially while his police host got a very dazzled Medjah away. Amittai and Hamath ran to their car and also went celestial to help Alpheus, and together they managed to frighten so much the Shedite that he tried to surrender and, even when he tried to get another host and escape, couldn't win the contest of wills. Well, of course things would not be so simple, but they had managed to get their man, so I helped and told them to get their prey to a nearby Tether and leave him to the tender mercies of older and wiser heads (Amittai wanted him turned over to Dominic). Praises all around, while Amittai learns that when a Superior helps, he doesn't think it was all that difficult a job anyway... They all liked the game quite a lot, which was a pleasant surprise (between the three of them, they probably have more than 50 years of RPG playing), and are already asking for more. Daniel grumbled a lot about not having played a Malakite, since their combat with the Shedite was won mostly thanks to the GM (and they know it), but in the end he commented that he had been surprised at the sheer versatility of the Kyriotate. All in all, I was very happy with the adventure. Now I'll think up something more convoluted for them to sink their teeth on... :-) - -- "Without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of our imagination is incalculable." [Carl Jung] Home page: http://www.luiz.claudio.nom.br Editor DMOZ: http://dmoz.org/World/Portugu%eas/Sociedade/Controv%e9rsia_e_Debate/Guerras_e_Conflitos/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 12:02:43 -0500 From: "S.D." Subject: Re: Words and Dissonance Re: IN> Roles and Words >Changing dissonance conditions would only happen when there were _major_ >state changes in the Superior -- David and Uriel would be the primary >examples of that, as they went from Cherub and Seraph to Malakim. I don't know...What about, say, Jean or Gabriel? Jean went from Heavenly Wrath to the scientist he is today; I don't think ancient Lightning would've found it dissonant to let celestial tech slip into human hands, because ancient Lightning wasn't /concerned/ with cel-tech. Gabriel went from the divine messenger and a source of inspiration and occasional punishment to a purely cruelty-hunting outlook; she might have had the conditions throughout, but she wouldn't really have /needed/ them preFall, and I'd bet her Attunements weren't always 'sense cruelty' either. Unless those qualify as major state changes, in which case my response is 'sure, that makes sense'. ^^ ~S.D. Ryukage ***** ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 13:09:00 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> A quick tribute - --- Whistling in the Dark wrote: > > On Friday, January 24, 2003, at 07:17 PM, Cameron > McCurry wrote: > > That was beautiful, Cameron. Thank you. > I'll second that. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 01/21/03 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 16:01:29 -0600 From: Gregg Forge Subject: RE: IN> Relievers? What to call them > > >I'm stealing from German here (or quasi-German): Engeling or Engling, >meaning 'little angel'. > This one doesn't even get a nibble from me. I won't say it bites, but you won't catch me falling for it, hook line and sinker. Dischord: Bait Anything that can perceive you, symphonically, that has any reason to be hostile or aggressive in general, will most likely want to smite/go after/messily devour YOU. Severe cases of this dischord rapidly make one persona non grata at any Tether, save War/The War and Stone, where people will want to take advantage of your unique qualities to flush out enemies. Reaction penalty begins at -1, increasing by - -2 per level. Yes, this means that at level 6, that's a -7 reaction penalty. People who know you and like you will still want to protect you...but they're not going to invite you to too many parties, anytime soon. Unless, again, they serve War, The War, or Stone... For reasons not yet determined, this Dischord is especially common in servitors of Animals, Dreams, and Seraphim of Flowers. Some Zadkielite wonder if all Relievers have this as part of their nature, given the trouble they often get into. Kamika-Z ...now would be a good time for me to run, I think... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 17:11:38 -0500 From: BC Petery Subject: IN> Clone Master M.C. Ice-Tongs >> Slap Happy Vappy's >> Used Vessel Emporium! > > But then it's not really a used vessel. The vessel's they take are used. What they get out of it, I don't know. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 17:27:35 -0500 (EST) From: Ryan M Roth Subject: IN> 2003: Fiction Piece #1 Hello All: This is one of several that have been swimming in my head for a while now. I decided to try to polish this one up some, rather than immediately s u b mit a first draft of what spews out of my brain like I usually do. Hopefully it helped. This one is as done as it is ever likely to get. I intend to s u b mit more when time allows. Forgive the web page design; I haven't made one for a long while now, and just wanted to get it out there. Follow: www.columbia.edu/~rmr48/pasts.html Ryan R. PS: Big, big thanks to Casca for helpful commentary. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2945 ********************************