From owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Thu Oct 16 15:55:32 1997 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id PAA25527 for ; Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:55:32 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id PAA32170 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:30:37 -0500 Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:30:37 -0500 Message-Id: <199710162030.PAA32170@lists.io.com> From: owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM (in_nomine-digest) To: in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Subject: in_nomine-digest V1 #407 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@LISTS.IO.COM Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Thursday, October 16 1997 Volume 01 : Number 407 In this digest: IN> Sacraments IV IN> Cybershops Re: IN> Revelations Cycle Revealed! Re: IN> Greetings... Re: IN> Greetings... Re: IN> Cybershops Re: IN> Bast Re: IN> Jean's nature Re: IN> Greetings... IN> Revelations Cycle Revealed! Re: IN> Greetings... IN> PBEM Re: IN> Revelations Cycle Revealed! Re: IN> Bast Re: IN> Greetings... Re: IN> Greetings... Re: IN> Introduction Re: IN> Seven Deadly Sins tally #1 Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. Re: IN> Seven Deadly Sins tally #1 Re: IN> Greetings... Re: IN> Seven Deadly Sins tally #1 Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. Re: IN> Introduction IN> PBEM games Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 06:41:44 -0400 (EDT) From: CeIestiaI7@aol.com Subject: IN> Sacraments IV Rephaiah Angel of Unction Elohite Vassal of War "Te quiero, mi corazón," Joaqín's mother kissed him on the forehead one last time before the doctor and her oldest son helped her out of the ICU. His brother left a baseball in his limp hand. Joaqín was up for a baseball scholarship before the headaches began. He received the acceptance letter from UCLA the same day that the test results came back. He had a tumor, and the prognosis was not encouraging. As the visitors left the room, a nurse came in to dim the lights and close the door. A second later, Rephaia materialized next to the dying teen and took his hand in hers. "You've fought a brave battle, my warrior," She dipped a towel in warm water and washed his forehead, "but now the time has come for you to come Home." Rephy had looked over the charts. The doctors were optimistic about Joaqín living until morning. He might survive another day , maybe two if they continued to follow their current treatment. But the boy was in pain. He couldn't express it to them, but he wanted to die. He needed to die. Rephy read over his soul and knew his suffering. Joaqín would join her in Heaven this evening. The angel removed a small vial from her bag. She opened it, touched her finger to the lip of the vial, and then touched the teen's forehead. She leaned in close as she crossed his brow with the sacred chrism and whispered in his ear, "You belong to God now, hijo. Let your spirit go, hear how He calls you to Him. You are His now and for all eternity. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Joaqín squeezed Rephy's hand and with his other hand, curled the baseball and inch or two closer to his stomach. Rephy lay her free hand on his chest. A warm glow flashed over his heart as she touched him. Two seconds later, the heart monitor flatlined. Corporeal Forces - 4 Strength 8 Agility 8 Ethereal Forces - 4 Intelligence 10 Precision 6 Celestial Forces - 5 Will 8 Perception 12 Vessels: Human/2 (Adult Female), Raven/6 Role: Photojournalist/4 Skills: Artistry/3 (Photography), Dodge/3, Driving/1, Fighting/4, Large Weapon/4, Medicine/5, Ranged Weapon/1, Running/2, Singing/6, Tactics/3 Songs: Charm (Corporeal/6), Form (Corporeal/3, Ethereal/2, Celestial/3), Healing (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/4, Celestial/4), Wings/2, Shields (Corporeal/1), Tongues (Corporeal/2) Attunements: Elohite of War, Seraph of War, Ofanim of War, Proficiency, Vassal of War Special Rites: Pray with a dying individual for an hour +1, ...until he/she dies +2 Rephaiah is an old and venerable celestial. She has worked with Michael and his most trusted Ambassadors in the Symphony's major conflicts consecrating the dead and escorting their souls to their glorious reward in Heaven. In the Dark Ages, she and her peers became known to some as the Valkyries, elsewhere as the Bean Sidhe. Among her fellows, she has earned great respect for her bravery, her skill, and above all her compassion. It was during the years of the Black Plague that she earned her Word. As most of Europe fell to the dread illness, the mortal priests could not (and some would not) attend to all the dying. Rephaiah rallied her peers to aid the Church in its mission to anoint those who could not seek the Sacraments themselves. The ensuing venture proved to be more of a task than any they had met in battle. It would only be centuries later that her skills would be pushed to that limit again. And so, Michael acted with the approval of the Seraphim Council and bestowed the Word of Unction upon Rephaiah. As the centuries turned, so did the nature of war, and she adjusted her role to accommodate it. She has been a field nurse, a M.A.S.H. doctor, and most recently, a combat photojournalist. Through the latest Wars, she found fewer and fewer people who welcomed her ministrations. Hope and faith are essential to the salvation of a soul, and many died with little of either. In desperation to serve her Word, she began ministering to those who fought for their own lives on personal battlegrounds. The terminally ill, she found, had fought wars as difficult, and often much longer than those of the mortally wounded. Now, she works alone mostly. She has a few servitors of her own, and a handful of human servants who work to preserve the dignity of the dying. She has taken to lurking the halls of cancer wards and AIDS hospices as of late. Her one failing, if it can be called as such, is her sympathy with the right to die movement. She is unaware of the demonic origins of the movement, and would be appalled if she thought she was buying into an infernal scam. Within the last five years, she has assisted in the deaths of several terminally ill individuals. She is careful not to directly interfere with the Symphony in such cases, but is coming perilously close to doing so. Tania, the Demon of Suicide is aware of Rephaiah, and is having a good chuckle at her moral confusion. >>>END TRANSMISSION Scott Mercurian Friend of Flowers, Angel of Chilling Out ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 12:43:27 +0000 From: "A. Nachmias" Subject: IN> Cybershops Hello, (My second post!) How shall I put it? Since Israel isn't very, ahm, populated with RPG material, I buy most of my RPGs from the net. Amazon.com contained only two In-Nomine books, I wondered if anyone knows of any other cyber shops which contains RPG material, I'm still trying to get "The Marches" and others. Cheers! A. Nachmias ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 07:43:51 -0500 From: rbeall@fdldotnet.com (Grim88) Subject: Re: IN> Revelations Cycle Revealed! > I just thought of something. I thought Khalid was suposed to be >in the Angelic players guide. What happened? > > Shadowcat Derek mention that they decided not to put new Superiors in the Core Books, because they are really a part of the currant Cycle, so they moved em. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 08:11:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Emily Dresner Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... > > And I've become familiar enough (and comfortable enough) with the > > system to consider starting a PBEM In Nomine game of my own... > > (Like I need to run yet another game... But what can I say, I'm > > intrigued). If I can get enough interest, I may just take the > > plunge. > > I am thinking of doing a PBEM for Superiors, who would give orders to > the lower level celestials. Would that at all interest you (as far > as hooking the two up)? > > I'm also interested in playing... > I'm with Redneck on this one. Either, both, I'm in, in spades. *show spades* I might even have a full house here. :) - Em ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 08:17:39 -0400 From: "Chuck Ryan" Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... Nathaniel Eliot wrote: > > Jeremiah, my Ofanim of Litheroy has been unofficially nominated as > > the PC most likely to be bound and gagged by his fellow party > > members... :) > > Beth! It's spreading!!! > > > And I've become familiar enough (and comfortable enough) with > the > > system to consider starting a PBEM In Nomine game of my own... > > (Like I need to run yet another game... But what can I say, I'm > > intrigued). If I can get enough interest, I may just take the > > plunge. > > I am thinking of doing a PBEM for Superiors, who would give orders to > the lower level celestials. Would that at all interest you (as far > as hooking the two up)? > Now that you have my undivided attention....I don't suppose the > position of Michiel is open if so, let me put in an bid ( scans the > crowd while sharpening his axe ) > I'm also interested in playing... As am I !! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 08:39:47 -0400 From: "Chuck Ryan" Subject: Re: IN> Cybershops have you tried SJ games directly you can order any of there material directly from there website and they'll FEDEX it to you...cool http://pyramid.sjgames.com/catalog/ good luck CHUCK ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:03:03 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Bast Shadowcat wrote: > Yes, but the problem came when she desided the Egyptians where no > better then theyr enemies, and Horus(?) was forced to get her drunk on > blood to stop her killing of the Egyptian people. Or am I confusing > leonoid deities again. I thought the trick was that they dyed several barrels of beer red to trick Sekhmet into *thinking* it was blood. She drank it, and the Egyptian Apocalypse was defused by the biggest hangover in mythology. At least, that's the version I heard. Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:37:40 -0400 From: John Dye Subject: Re: IN> Jean's nature Jeff Miller wrote: > > > > >I tend to think of Jean as the smartest of the AAs, and Yves as the > >wisest (in game terms, highest Intelligence and highest Perception, > >respectively). > > > Nah, Eli's the wisest. > Feh! Eli is seen as the coolest. Cool is not wise. Now Novalis may be wise because she is still a player, yet still herself. Those wandering mystic dudes seem so wise because they don't hang around enough to hear all the stupid stuff they say. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:14:17 -0400 From: "Kirt A. Dankmyer -- aka Loki" Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... > I am thinking of doing a PBEM for Superiors, who would give orders to > the lower level celestials. Would that at all interest you (as far > as hooking the two up)? I'm interested in this, if y'all will have me... -Loki - -- Kirt "Loki" Dankmyer PGP key avail. My opinions are my own. love * Eris * RPGs * Anime * Magick * Carroll * techno * hats * cats * Dada I waked, she fled, and day brought back my night. --Milton ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:04:31 -0400 From: "Kirt A. Dankmyer -- aka Loki" Subject: IN> Revelations Cycle Revealed! >>two new Superiors -- Khalid, Archangel of Faith, and Magog, Demon Prince of >>Cruelty; the largest adventure yet published for In Nomine, The Final Jesus Christ, no *wonder* Gabriel is so nuts. Not only has Belial stolen an aspect of her Word, but there is a Demon Prince who embodies the very thing her spiritual aspect opposes! -Loki - -- Kirt A. Dankmyer --- Academic Computing Specialist http://www.wfu.edu/~dankmyka/ -- (910) 759-4202 -- PGP public key available. For the Snark _was_ a Boojum, you see. --Lewis Carroll ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:42:45 -0400 From: John Dye Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... Nathaniel Eliot wrote: > > > Jeremiah, my Ofanim of Litheroy has been unofficially nominated as > > the PC most likely to be bound and gagged by his fellow party > > members... :) > > Beth! It's spreading!!! > > > And I've become familiar enough (and comfortable enough) with the > > system to consider starting a PBEM In Nomine game of my own... > > (Like I need to run yet another game... But what can I say, I'm > > intrigued). If I can get enough interest, I may just take the > > plunge. > > I am thinking of doing a PBEM for Superiors, who would give orders to > the lower level celestials. Would that at all interest you (as far > as hooking the two up)? > > I'm also interested in playing... On a related theme, does anyone know the MECHANICS of PBEM gaming. I would like to try that sometime with some friends of mine. Please post to jcd@bellatlantic.net Thank you > In the fourth grade, Mrs. Watkins gave me a D in Mathematics. I was not a happy camper. > Now she's a blood thirsty demon from the seventh plane of hell, and I have a Mini gun > with 2000 rounds of HESH ammo. > Mrs. Watkins... > > Class is back in session. > - Heavy Ordinance ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 07:05:13 PDT From: "Andrew Frades" Subject: IN> PBEM >> > And I've become familiar enough (and comfortable enough) with the >> > system to consider starting a PBEM In Nomine game of my own... >> > (Like I need to run yet another game... But what can I say, I'm >> > intrigued). If I can get enough interest, I may just take the >> > plunge. I'm in, though I have never played a PBEM game before. It sounds interesting though. - - Andy ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:39:42 -0400 (EDT) From: IQJason@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Revelations Cycle Revealed! Elizabeth McCoy "The Malakim in Black will now release the persistant Servitors of Litheroy, and execute the Servitors of Nybbas, who kept trying to discover this information." Now, now. What's with all this Nybbas-bashing? Just because he happened to luck into the defining word for this half of the twentieth century? And I'm fully in support of the "people's right to know" when it comes to upcoming releases. Sneak previews sell issues, don'tchaknow? yours, - -J ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:43:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Emily Dresner Subject: Re: IN> Bast > > Yes, but the problem came when she desided the Egyptians where no > > better then theyr enemies, and Horus(?) was forced to get her drunk on > > blood to stop her killing of the Egyptian people. Or am I confusing > > leonoid deities again. > > I thought the trick was that they dyed several barrels of beer red > to trick Sekhmet into *thinking* it was blood. She drank it, and > the Egyptian Apocalypse was defused by the biggest hangover in > mythology. At least, that's the version I heard. That's also the version I am familiar with. And the Egyptians LOVED their beer. :) - - Em ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:54:53 -0400 (EDT) From: MarkDEddy@AOL.COM Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... In a message dated 10/16/97 7:07:47 AM, y'all wrote: >> I am thinking of doing a PBEM for Superiors, who would give orders to >> the lower level celestials. Would that at all interest you (as far >> as hooking the two up)? I'd be interested in this concept. For superiors, I'd be interested in David or Dominic... Mark (Just don't give me Nybbas!) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:48:02 -0400 From: Charybdis GreyDragon Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... Hey there all, Sheesh... Looks like I created quite a stir with that off-handed comment about starting a game... I didn't really intend to spam the list with lots of requests to play in the game... I'll be replying to all those requests privately, so as not to clutter things up any further... Sorry about that... Peace, Charybdis GreyDragon charybdis@krilion.cnchost.com http://www.krilion.cnchost.com ** Pedestrians are like popcorn-you can't eat just one!** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:48:08 -0400 From: Charybdis GreyDragon Subject: Re: IN> Introduction [Asaf] >Hello fellow celestials, >I'm new to this list and would like to introduce myself. >I'm pretty new to In-Nomine as well, still, it's one of the games I >like most. Hey there, Asaf. Glad to virtually meet you! I'm relatively new to the IN system myself, but I have to agree, it's quickly captured my heart. [Asaf] > My name is Asaf Nachmias, from Israel, and I've been role >playing for the last 7 years. The games I play are V:tm and >Ars-Magica, and from the last month, In-Nomine has striked out as a >major part of my role playing time. I've been RPGing about twice that long . I've played *lots* of systems; Shadowrun, GURPS, and Call of Cthulhu are among my favorites-- along with, of course IN. I Peace, Charybdis GreyDragon charybdis@krilion.cnchost.com http://www.krilion.cnchost.com ** Pedestrians are like popcorn-you can't eat just one!** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:55:35 -0400 (EDT) From: MarkDEddy@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Seven Deadly Sins tally #1 In a message dated 10/16/97 7:14:51 AM, you wrote: >Okay, here's how the tally stands as of the end of digest v01.n405: > >Haagenti and Andre are pretty much confirmed in their respective Words. >Likewise Mammon, though one voice did prefer to put Greed under Valefor's >jurisdiction. > >Wrath is pretty much sewn up by Belial with five votes, trailed by Furfur >(3) and Asmodeus (1). > >Among those expressing an opinion, Nybbas, with four specific votes, crowds >out Ralph and Fleurity (1 each) for de facto holder of the Word of Sloth. >And, as somebody pointed out, the only change he's made to Perdition is the >additional glitz. > >Malphas, with five votes, has Envy for his own. Valefor gets two votes on >this, and Lilith(!) one. > >Pride, OTOH, has become something of a toss-up. My one vote (or maybe only >1/2 vote) each for Lucifer and Saminga has been joined by one each for Baal >and Kronos. Certainly a tie, possibly a four-way tie (I think so, in fact >-- I'm not counting other people's split votes as half-votes, so...). My Vote is for Lucifer himself for Pride. > >You can break the deadlock. Keep writing. Help the new digest happen *soon,* >so I can count the votes in it. Mark (And here I was going to suggest Laurence for Wrath...) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 10:48:05 -0400 From: Charybdis GreyDragon Subject: Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. [Redneck] >> Because I've never played an interactive RPG by post/email, and simply put I >> don't have the first idea of how to run it. [Rob] >Actually, I've found that running a PBEM is in many ways easier than >running an in-person game. Probably the main reason is because you have >a whole lot more time to think about what you're doing when you "wing >it". As a veteran PBEM game (I've been doing this for about 5 years now), I'd have to agree that it can be a lot easier. In addition to having the extra time to think-- especially when the players do something that totally throws you for a loop, I've also found that I have less "rules" problems. It also gives me a good venue for throwing in a lot of those little background things that somehow never quite make it into my live games, no matter how good my intentions. [Rob] >There are disadvantages; things can drag when the GM gets busy >(I've been guilty of this), and more often I think you have "deadweight" >players. This can be a problem. The way that I've managed to head this off is that I have a once every 4 day posting requirement-- which like all things in my games, I enforce rather whimsically. When regular posting becomes a problem, I drag at the rule and enforce it... When things are running smoothly, I tend to ignore it if a player slacks for a week or so... [Rob] >As a player, I find it easier to get a little more in depth with my >character in a PBEM; again, part of it is because there's more time to >think about how you'd react. I have to agree here. Having the extra time helps a lot, especially when I am playing a character who is very different from myself. It also helps me with things like visual details, which I normally have a hard time with (I don't visualize well at all...) Plus, sometime it gives me the freedom to do things in-character which I might hesitate to do in a live game, for fear of the other players' reactions... It's just somehow easier when you're not face to face... [Rob] >The main advantage of a PBEM, though, is that you can GM more than one >and play in several even if you have a busy schedule. I don't think I >could fit a regular, weekly gaming session into my schedule. A PBEM, >though, I play whenever I have five minutes free. (It's a great excuse >to take a brief break at work :) .) It's also great when you don't currently have a group... (As in my current situation... BTW-- anyone in the area of Laurel, MD interested in gaming live? Almost any game or genre. ) [Rob] >It's sort of become my medium, the internet... wonder what Nybbas or Jean would think of that. Actually, I've started work designing an angel of Roleplaying (He's an Elohim of Eli in Service to Blandine. I'll post him here when I'm done-- promise.), and I was wondering what *he* would think of PBEM. The way I have him conceptualized, he may not like it much.... [Rob] >I'm running a couple of games right now, which is about my limit. I'm running 4 (the new IN game would make 5) and playing in 4... Real life? What's that? :) Peace, Charybdis GreyDragon charybdis@krilion.cnchost.com http://www.krilion.cnchost.com ** Pedestrians are like popcorn-you can't eat just one!** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 11:42:46 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Seven Deadly Sins tally #1 I, too, will vote for Lucifer for Pride. It's traditional. The one place in the Bible where the name "Lucifer" is used (in some translations) is about overreaching pride: How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning! How art cast down to the ground, Thou who didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, In the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, To the sides of the pit. Have a nice day. Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 08:45:53 -0700 (PDT) From: Robert Knop Subject: Re: IN> Greetings... > On a related theme, does anyone know the MECHANICS of PBEM gaming. I > would like to try that sometime with some friends of mine. PBEM games work pretty much like "in-person" games. The GM creates the setting, and in an E-mail message to the players, tells them where they are and what is happening. The players then respond to the GM and all the others, saying what their characters are doing. There are lots of different styles with PBEMs, but most of them end up being somewhat chaotic :) In particular, frequently there will be messages going back and forth which take place at more than one time. Conversations tend to be somewhat different; people tend to write longer messages, which others will then respond to each point of, rather than short back-and-forth conversation that you might get in person. (In fact, discussions on a mailing list are probably not too different from conversations between characters in a PBEM.) It is easier to deal with "private" matters where only one character notices something, or a player wants to attempt something without the knowledge of the other players; all you have to do is send a private message to the GM, and not to the other players. By the same token, it's easier to deal with the party splitting up; just send E-mail to those who are present. (Of course, as the party splits up, it gets to be more and more work for the GM, so a GM who encourages his players to each go wandering off by themselves is asking for a lot of trouble.) - -Rob === Rob Knop === rknop@crl.com ==== http://www.wco.com/~rknop === Amiga PGP information at http://www.wco.com/~rknop/amiga_pgp Visit the Dramatic Exchange at http://www.dramex.org/ ================================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 12:27:16 -0400 From: Charybdis GreyDragon Subject: Re: IN> Seven Deadly Sins tally #1 >>Okay, here's how the tally stands as of the end of digest v01.n405: >>Haagenti and Andre are pretty much confirmed in their respective Words. >>Likewise Mammon, though one voice did prefer to put Greed under Valefor's >>jurisdiction. I rather like Valefor for greed myself, so make that 2 votes... >>Wrath is pretty much sewn up by Belial with five votes, trailed by Furfur >>(3) and Asmodeus (1). I'm not really sure about Belial for Wrath... I mean he's destructive and all, but his destruction doesn't really seem to be fueled by anger... But I really don't see anyone else as fitting better... Actually, I think Gabriel fits better, angel or not... >>Among those expressing an opinion, Nybbas, with four specific votes, crowds >>out Ralph and Fleurity (1 each) for de facto holder of the Word of Sloth. >>And, as somebody pointed out, the only change he's made to Perdition is the >>additional glitz. I can go with the majority here as well. >>Malphas, with five votes, has Envy for his own. Valefor gets two votes on >>this, and Lilith(!) one. I'll throw in with the Malphas faction... >>Pride, OTOH, has become something of a toss-up. My one vote (or maybe only >>1/2 vote) each for Lucifer and Saminga has been joined by one each for Baal >>and Kronos. Certainly a tie, possibly a four-way tie (I think so, in fact >>-- I'm not counting other people's split votes as half-votes, so...). >My Vote is for Lucifer himself for Pride. I'll chime in with Lucifer as well... after all, Pride, as they say, cometh before the Fall.. :) Peace, Charybdis GreyDragon charybdis@krilion.cnchost.com http://www.krilion.cnchost.com ** Pedestrians are like popcorn-you can't eat just one!** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:54:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Robert Knop Subject: Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. > It also gives me a good venue for throwing in a lot of those little > background things that somehow never quite make it into my live games, no > matter how good my intentions. Yes, definitely. It's much easier to get flustered trying to keep up with everybody in a live session (and its easier to get distracted by chit-chat). Also, anything you think of you have to remember to do in the few hours of the next session, whereas if you have a whim in a PBEM, you can always just throw it into the next E-mail message you send. > This can be a problem. The way that I've managed to head this > off is that I have a once every 4 day posting requirement-- which like > all things in my games, I enforce rather whimsically. When regular > posting becomes a problem, I drag at the rule and enforce it... When > things are running smoothly, I tend to ignore it if a player slacks for > a week or so... Yeah, that's a good way to do it. I haven't been so firm; I did boot a guy after he was silent for two _months_ and two requests that people still in the game let me know. A week later he was sending me E-mail pleading to know what he'd done wrong.... (I told him I'd let him back in, and he's since dissapeared. .) Then there was the guy who accidentally set up his mailer to trash mail with a subject line indicating it was from the game. I guessed that was his problem, and sent him mail with a different subject line. Indeed, technical problems can occasionally be a hassle in PBEMs. (But, then, you don't have to deal with somebody missing every other session because of conflicts.) > Plus, sometime it gives me the freedom > to do things in-character which I might hesitate to do in a live game, for > fear of the other players' reactions... It's just somehow easier when > you're not face to face... Yes, I know the feeling; you don't worry as much about looking stupid :) > Actually, I've started work designing an angel of Roleplaying > (He's an Elohim of Eli in Service to Blandine. I'll post him here when I'm > done-- promise.), and I was wondering what *he* would think of PBEM. The > way I have him conceptualized, he may not like it much.... Hmm; perhaps the Angel of PBEMs would be a minor servitor, but not of that Archangel? > >I'm running a couple of games right now, which is about my limit. > > I'm running 4 (the new IN game would make 5) and playing in 4... You are completely nuts. I am playing in about 4; that doesn't take quite as much effort and attention as running a game, but running 4? Wow. I couldn't run 4 and hope to keep them all moving along at any kind of reasonable pace. - -Rob === Rob Knop === rknop@crl.com ==== http://www.wco.com/~rknop === Amiga PGP information at http://www.wco.com/~rknop/amiga_pgp Visit the Dramatic Exchange at http://www.dramex.org/ ================================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 21:19:47 +0000 From: "A. Nachmias" Subject: Re: IN> Introduction Hello, ... > >I'm pretty new to In-Nomine as well, still, it's one of the games I > >like most. > Hey there, Asaf. Glad to virtually meet you! I'm relatively new to the > IN system myself, but I have to agree, it's quickly captured my heart. Yes, mine to is captured. Arg, that can be painful in the context of the RPG. ;-) I liked the very nice and original setting, and the mix of seriousness and humor. The whole game, as we play it, is the same, parts of bursting laughter over weird incidents, and a real role play, which I though, at the begining to be hard because of the basic munchkinism in the game. Yet, it's all to the PCs mood. Mixing both aspects in IN is exactly what we're looking for. We play for a month, I am the GM, and we're really getting the hang of it, and having lots of fun. I have all sorts of bizzarre characters, the weirdest is a Malakim who was cursed by Jesus to stay on earth until he comes back. ;-) He still has all his power and can communicate with his Archangel (Gabriel) but the whole scene of him waiting for the Messiah is atrociously amusing. Cheers! A. Nachmias ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:30:40 -0400 From: Charybdis GreyDragon Subject: IN> PBEM games >> On a related theme, does anyone know the MECHANICS of PBEM gaming. I >> would like to try that sometime with some friends of mine. >PBEM games work pretty much like "in-person" games. The GM creates the >setting, and in an E-mail message to the players, tells them where they >are and what is happening. The players then respond to the GM and all >the others, saying what their characters are doing. This is true with most PBEM games, though I do know of a few where the players post only to the GM and then the GM does summaries for the other players. This can be handy when secrecy is important, but is a real pain-in-the-butt from the GM's point of view. >There are lots of different styles with PBEMs, but most of them end up >being somewhat chaotic :) In particular, frequently there will be >messages going back and forth which take place at more than one time. Yeah, sequencing does tend to be the hardest aspect of PBEM... Most times it's not really all that relevant, but in combat situations, it can be a real headache. And sometimes a comment made later in real life might fall sooner in the game universe, and change what a PC would have said or done earlier. It can get confusing at times... especially with the vagaries of e-mail times on the NET. My favorite is still getting replies to game messages that I haven't received yet... That is very disconcerting, especially when I am GMing and am (in theory at least) supposed to be omniscient about the game universe... >Conversations tend to be somewhat different; people tend to write longer >messages, which others will then respond to each point of, rather than >short back-and-forth conversation that you might get in person. (In >fact, discussions on a mailing list are probably not too different from >conversations between characters in a PBEM.) That's a very good analogy... >It is easier to deal with "private" matters where only one character >notices something, or a player wants to attempt something without the >knowledge of the other players; all you have to do is send a private >message to the GM, and not to the other players. And, there are times when I suspect my players of sending e-mail behind my back to make plans without their GM knowing until the last minute... :) > By the same token,it's easier to deal with the party splitting up; just send E-mail to >those who are present. (Of course, as the party splits up, it gets to >be more and more work for the GM, so a GM who encourages his players to >each go wandering off by themselves is asking for a lot of trouble.) Split parties are actually easier to deal with via PBEM than in live gaming-- mainly because you don't have half a party of really bored players distracting you. Peace, Charybdis GreyDragon charybdis@krilion.cnchost.com http://www.krilion.cnchost.com ** Pedestrians are like popcorn-you can't eat just one!** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:57:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozmodeus Subject: Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. According to Charybdis GreyDragon: > It's also great when you don't currently have a group... (As in my current > situation... BTW-- anyone in the area of Laurel, MD > interested in gaming live? Almost any game or genre. ) Hey hey! I'm in Charlottesville Virginia right now, but come Semester break, I'll go back home to Rockville MD. I also have a bunch of friends in Baltimore, but I haven't talked to them in over a month! If you want to get a game going, we can probably help with that. Getting anywhere in MD isn't that hard if you have a car! Talk to ya later, Dan Ozdowski - -- The Devil's Cabana Boy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 15:52:50 -0400 From: Charybdis GreyDragon Subject: Re: IN> PBEM... well, not. [Charybdis] >> It also gives me a good venue for throwing in a lot of those little >> background things that somehow never quite make it into my live games, no >> matter how good my intentions. [Rob] >Yes, definitely. It's much easier to get flustered trying to keep up with >everybody in a live session (and its easier to get distracted by >chit-chat). In my experience, the off-topic chit-chat still ends up being there in PBEM. But at least it normally gets flagged OOC and doesn't stop the game. [Rob] > Also, anything you think of you have to remember to do in the >few hours of the next session, whereas if you have a whim in a PBEM, you >can always just throw it into the next E-mail message you send. Course, those backlogs can be a double edged sword... The players in my SID (one of my longer running PBEM games) game, for instance, are constantly throwing out names of nobody NPCs that I off-handedly mentioned one time over a year ago... Which sends me scrambling for my backlog files and Find command to see just who in the blazes they are talking about... :) [Charybdis] >> This can be a problem. The way that I've managed to head this >> off is that I have a once every 4 day posting requirement-- which like >> all things in my games, I enforce rather whimsically. When regular >> posting becomes a problem, I drag at the rule and enforce it... When >> things are running smoothly, I tend to ignore it if a player slacks for >> a week or so... [Rob] >Yeah, that's a good way to do it. I haven't been so firm; I did boot a >guy after he was silent for two _months_ and two requests that people >still in the game let me know. A week later he was sending me E-mail >pleading to know what he'd done wrong.... (I told him I'd let him back >in, and he's since disappeared. .) I refuse to wait 2 months... I may go as long as 2 weeks before nagging, but I'll usually post a gentle reminder at about a week. If nothing else, it lets me see if a message was sent and subsequently eaten by the NET gremlins, or if there is a personal problem which is keeping the player temporarily away from the game, or what have you... [Rob] >Then there was the guy who accidentally set up his mailer to trash mail >with a subject line indicating it was from the game. I can see that happening easily. [Rob] > I guessed that was his problem, and sent him mail with a different subject line. Indeed, >technical problems can occasionally be a hassle in PBEMs. (But, then, >you don't have to deal with somebody missing every other session because >of conflicts.) Yeah, though the NET gremlins get us sometimes, and hard drive crashes sometimes slow us down, I have to say that my on-line games are generally more consistent than my live ones. [Charybdis] >> Plus, sometime it gives me the freedom >> to do things in-character which I might hesitate to do in a live game, for >> fear of the other players' reactions... It's just somehow easier when >> you're not face to face... [Rob] >Yes, I know the feeling; you don't worry as much about looking stupid :) Well, there's that, and there's just plain doing things I know the other players won't like... There's less peer pressure in PBEM for some reason... For instance, on one occasions there was an NPC who'd just been shot and then fallen through a plate glass window to land on the floor near our party in a club we were in. Hyde (who is really a hateable character) dashed up to him saying, "Let me through, I'm a doctor" (which she is... sort of). Then she subsequently beheaded him for the cyberware in his head... I never would have done that in a live session, even though it's perfectly in character for Hyde... As it was, I got e-mail from total strangers (people I didn't even know were lurking in that game) for months after that-- they were utterly appalled... But I got all kinds of kudos for my roleplaying... Plus, for things like fast talk and the like, the extra time lets me do it as my *character* would, even though I can't be as eloquent real time... Like little things... One of my characters, Ace, has a habit (as stated on his character sheet) of saying, "Clarissa always said..." and then quoting his `sister' Clarissa. In RL gaming, I never remembered that until afterwards... But when I use him (admittedly normally as an NPC) in PBEM, I can get the little things like that right. [Charybdis] >> Actually, I've started work designing an angel of Roleplaying >> (He's an Elohim of Eli in Service to Blandine. I'll post him here when I'm >> done-- promise.), and I was wondering what *he* would think of PBEM. The >> way I have him conceptualized, he may not like it much.... [Rob] >Hmm; perhaps the Angel of PBEMs would be a minor servitor, but not of >that Archangel? Maybe... I'll let you know more when I finish the angel in question.... :) [Charybdis] >> I'm running 4 (the new IN game would make 5) and playing in 4... [Rob] >You are completely nuts. You're not the first person to tell me that... :) [Rob] >I am playing in about 4; that doesn't take quite as much effort and >attention as running a game, but running 4? Wow. I couldn't run 4 and hope >to keep them all moving along at any kind of reasonable pace. I've cut back quite a bit, actually. For a while I was playing in 4 or 5 more as well, but with the baby on the way, I just have't been up to it... And as for running the games, the set-up is always the worst-- along with adding new characters. Every time I start a new game, I swear it will be the last... But once a game is running smoothly, the maintenance isn't so hard. Peace, Charybdis GreyDragon charybdis@krilion.cnchost.com http://www.krilion.cnchost.com ** Pedestrians are like popcorn-you can't eat just one!** ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #407 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.