From owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Wed Oct 22 01:33:41 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 BAA05578 for ; Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:33:41 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id BAA18823 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:16:43 -0500 Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:16:43 -0500 Message-Id: <199710220616.BAA18823@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 #418 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 Wednesday, October 22 1997 Volume 01 : Number 418 In this digest: Re: IN> Pagan Soldiers Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation IN> [DARK VICTORY] Return of Uriel? Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Still Andrealphus Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Gabriel, Archangel of Fire Re: IN> digests moved Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] The Seed of Hope: An Introduction to Dark Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Brief Superiors Summary and Notes Re: IN> [FFULF] New Demonette: Tizzy! RE: IN> Adventure Seed: Dream a Little Dream of Me Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Gabriel, Archangel of Fire IN>Dark Victory Backwards (Long) Re: IN> Re: in_nomine-digest V1 #412 Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Brief Superiors Summary and Notes Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Brief Superiors Summary and Notes Re: IN> [FFULF] New Demonette: Tizzy! Re: IN> Choir/Band stereotypes Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Return of Uriel? Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 21:54:15 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Pagan Soldiers At 10:03 AM -0400 10/21/97, John Karakash - Lucent ASCC wrote: >> Okay, barring other "stop the presses" stuff, Pagan Soldier and >> Dream Soldiers can learn Ethereal Songs -- their patrons are >> intimately connected to the ethereal realm, and know the tricks >> of teaching them to Soldiers. And they can use them anywhere. > > Does this let them use Ethereal Songs in Relics? ;) > >(I would assume so, for consistency...) That's consistant, yep. At 10:31 AM -0400 10/21/97, Chuck Ryan wrote: >Okay, barring other "stop the presses" stuff, Pagan Soldier and >Dream Soldiers can learn Ethereal Songs -- their patrons are >intimately connected to the ethereal realm, and know the tricks >of teaching them to Soldiers. And they can use them anywhere. > > >by this logic wouldn't all soldiers of heaven and hell have access to >celestial songs and be able to use them anyware. I was uder the >inpression that a soldiers restrictions in songs was do to the nature of >the soldier and not the nature of the teacher Okay, Soldiers can use Corporeal Songs because they're corporeal critters. Dream/Pagan Soldiers can use Ethereal Songs, because their patrons (Ethereal gods, Blandine, Beleth) are so *intimately* connected to the Ethereal that they can do the tweak of the Soldier's Forces and allow it. (Other Soldiers could get this if they pleased Beleth/Blandine/ an ethereal god enough, but that would be rare, represent a lot of work (like a serious Distinction) and the GM shouldn't do it casually or allow it in the backstory casually. Even Dream Soldiers probably don't get this often, because it *is* difficult, and if the Soldier messes up, they'll probably take it away again.) This can be done in the first place because all humans visit the Marches anyway; the Ethereal is already a part of them, though usually too small to let them power Ethereal Songs. Soldiers can *not* use Celestial Songs because their souls do not yet hold enough of the celestial nature. After they die, they can become Saints, who *can* use Celestial Songs, because their nature has been altered. They are still humans, still human-souled (a Saint cannot go celestial, for instance), but enough of the celestial has been let in to change them. At 12:20 PM -0400 10/21/97, Kirt A. Dankmyer -- aka Loki wrote: >>Okay, barring other "stop the presses" stuff, Pagan Soldier and >>Dream Soldiers can learn Ethereal Songs -- their patrons are >>intimately connected to the ethereal realm, and know the tricks >>of teaching them to Soldiers. And they can use them anywhere. > >Okay, as a pagan, I can accept that, but partisan issues aside, I don't >think it's thematically appropriate in In Nomine for pagan Soldiers to have >*more* abilities than Celestial ones. Perhaps Ethereal Soldiers can't learn >Corporeal songs anymore? Or should we allow Celestially-based Soldiers >learn Celestial Songs? > -Loki, hoping this will be forwarded to the Superiors As it was stated when I received my instruction from Higher Powers, Pagan Soldiers have a hard enough time with such wimpy patrons anyway, so they get a few advantages. And B/B are also kinda "weak" in the corporeal realm. After all, a SoG or Hellsworn usually has an angel/demon to turn to when things get sticky, and can run to the nearest Tether (depending on how common Tethers are in your campaign) when things get *really* sticky. A Pagan Soldier is basically on his own, and ought to be donating Essence to his patron periodically anyway. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:25:48 EST From: PERRY Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation >Redneck (DV horror? Maybe, but psychological thriller even more) I don't like tihnking in terms of "genre" so here's a thought about a word, not a genre: "The key to horror is violation: physical violation (assualt, mutilation), mental violation (things that must not be and should not be) and emotional horror (utter betrayal or abandonment)." [paraphrased Wraith: The Oblivion] I happen to like this defintion. The nigh-destruction of the world as we know it, billions of people killed, this sounds like horror to me. And not too shabby horror at that. :) - -Perry Perry M. Lloyd "You know, Lucky Charms are the best antacid." "Yeah, it's because those marshmallows aren't really marshmallows, they're chalk." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 14:33:18 +1000 From: Anthony Baxter Subject: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Return of Uriel? a quick thought - in the Dark Victory universe, would God let Uriel return? Assuming Uriel still exists in the upper reaches of Heaven, now would be a good time to let him return - if only to help rescue the Malakim from the labs. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:35:10 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? >Forgive this stream of foolish blabber, but... > >Now, I know that in the end, heaven is supposed to "win" and that the >world of DV is merely the first "stage". But, it's always bugged me that >the forces of Heaven have been with the underdogs, they never seem to >really "win". Not really, not completely. > >What if, instead of Dark Victory, there'd been Bright Victory? > >I mean, Heaven probably wouldn't know what to do with itself, no longer >having to work so hard to save so few souls from the darkness below. > >It would just be so *funny* for heaven to _finally_ win, and then be >totally clueless. > >Laurence: Well, I guess we should rebuild. Right! This is going to be done > quickly and efficiently! Anyone seen Eli? Actually, you -can't- really have a play setting in Bright Victory. In a Bright Victory, Heaven wins, all dissenters are destroyed along with the demons, and either Earth is destroyed and recreated from scratch or remade in a Heavenly image. Angels deviating from the Party Line are dissolved, and humans not conforming to the Light are -still- sent to Hell for eternal punishment. Dark Victory becomes fun because Hell's nature is different from Heaven's; while Heaven is mostly united in intent, if not in execution, Hell is unified only by the powerful will of Lucifer himself. Heaven can split only with difficulty, and such splits will be dealt with swiftly. Hell is - -already- split and held together with baling wire, chewing gum, and bad intentions. Redneck Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:55:41 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? At 10:48 PM -0500 10/21/97, PERRY M. LLOYD wrote: >What if, instead of Dark Victory, there'd been Bright Victory? If you write it, I will put it on the INC... - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:53:42 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation At 6:53 PM -0500 10/21/97, Redneck Gaijin wrote: >>2) The survivors, who may or may not like each other gather in one city to >>rebuild. For you it's Houston Texas instead of Boulder Colorado. > >Not at all. The people gather, or not, as they choose. A lot huddle in their >homes. Others gather into groups of a dozen to twenty for mutual defense. Probably the only thing that's keeping poor David alive. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:59:43 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Still Andrealphus > > >> ANDRE: I think Fire should be under my Word. > > >> ELI, LUCIFER and YVES: SIT DOWN. > > >> ANDRE (sarcastic): Yes, -sir.- > > >> End of discussion. > > > Your Andrealphus isn't very smart, is he? > Oh, he's smart all right! Have you read it carefully? Eli, Lucifer AND >Yves - if they tell you to sit down, you sit down, period. Which is why, if you're smart, you don't ask. Plus everything else I said. > I think the only aspect of Fire that would attract Andre was fire as > passion, not hope or inspiration. Attract in what sense? Passion would probably interest him the most on a personal level, but with his own Word weakened by the lack of people to fulfill it, I think he'd have a marked interest in giving it a little more scope just for the added influence... > And he may have that already - explaining why Gabriel's so weakened... Gabriel's weakened because Belial ripped her to shreds while she was ripping him to nothing...it takes a while to recover from a fight like that. I think Andre'd have to put some work into expanding his Word like that...you can't really do it JUST by default. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:11:16 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Gabriel, Archangel of Fire > Redneck Gaijin wrote: > > As I mentioned elsewhere, the general consensus will be that > > Armageddeon -hasn't- happened yet, and this is just a tune-up for > > the real thing. > Right. But if there is widespread catastrophe and lots of > supernatural manifestation, there ought to be a widespread opinion > that they are in the midst of the seven-year Tribulation that > preceeds Armageddon proper. Heck, just approaching the millennium, with hardly ANY signs of supernatural manifestation or widespread catastrophe, has a lot of people suggesting it's Armageddon... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:04:59 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> digests moved >(Hey, RG/Kris (which should I use?)! Kris, or Redneck. You can probably catch up >with any lost IN stuff there. And if you need any archives, well, >you know who to ask, right?) > Sure. The problem is, I don't know exactly -what- I lost, only when I didn't get it. Redneck Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:13:35 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] The Seed of Hope: An Introduction to Dark > > A new universe based on an old one. > > My compliments to Derek Pearcy and CROC for doing it from scratch. > > -That- is hard. }:-{D > They had the Bible...and we had those resources, too. You all did > damn good. Good point. Hats off to JC and the Apostles. Jolly good work. 'Course, they had this world thing to work off of...hm. Well, then, my heartfelt congratulations to God for an excellent gaming system. It's got a few holes here and there and once in a while I'm afraid it's completely unrealistic, but...with a bit of fudging, it works. ___ _ | | | |HE |_INTKIN|_\--------------------------------------lintking@xpert.net| | (Inhume In Humour!) ALL HAIL MORTIJINGLE! (Or else.)| | High Priest : jIg nOIr mELt (mnj) | | http://www.a-ztech.com/lintking/jnmmnj/index.html | |_______________________________________________________________________| ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:22:35 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? > >What if, instead of Dark Victory, there'd been Bright Victory? > Actually, you -can't- really have a play setting in Bright Victory. In a Why not? If nothing else, consider the Sandman take; Lucifer quits, and hands the key over...and it ends up going to a pair of Angels, commanded by God to take over. One of them immediately has a fit about being condemned to Hell when he hasn't rebelled, and, of course, rebels... > in a Heavenly image. Angels deviating from the Party Line are dissolved, and And just consider that for a moment. Lucifer's defeated, the hoards of Hell scattered to the Symphony...and Heaven immediately starts purging everyone who's ever voiced dissent? I give it ten seconds before another third of the Host breaks off, and we have a new Hell united under Gabriel and Lilith...hm..actually, I'll work on this a little... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:21:25 EST From: PERRY Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Brief Superiors Summary and Notes The real McCoy wrote: >She sees what must be done, to save humanity, to save Freedom, to >save herself. The first thing is to save the humans, and if there >is pain and weariness on that road, so be it. She has lived her >entire life for free will, and this is what she chooses to do with >that free will. > >And then the high point is empty but for the wind, sweeping away >the footprints of the Woman that God created. Call me really, really tired and a sucker for tear-jerkers, but I like that a lot. - -Perry Perry M. Lloyd "You know, Lucky Charms are the best antacid." "Yeah, it's because those mashmallows aren't really marshmallows, they're chalk." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:00:25 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> [FFULF] New Demonette: Tizzy! >At 1:20 AM -0400 10/21/97, Calabim@aol.com wrote: >>In a message dated 97-10-20 04:23:59 EDT, you write: >> > >>One of my players is playing a Malakim of Micheal, with a cover as a Marine >>MP...now the book says Malakim wear animal skins...does this mean that no >>Malakim of Micheal can ever have a role as a soldier due to dress code >>violations?!!? > >Ooooo, leather undies... *ahem* Besides, it says they *prefer* animal >skin, not that they *have* to wear the Malakim Uniform. > The Malakim stepped into the room, cold and aloof in his Armani suit, sunglasses concealing his gaze. "Hey, Malakim," the Mercurian grinned, "what kind of animal did you get that pelt from?" The Malakim looked over his sunglasses and smiled a feral smile. "Yakusa," he said. The Mercurian stopped smiling. - --Redneck (just a thought) Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:08:12 EST From: PERRY Subject: RE: IN> Adventure Seed: Dream a Little Dream of Me >This comes out of a story (I'm 40,000 words in, I guess I can use the word >"novel" now) that I started a while back. It had and has nothing to do >with In Nomine, but when I read The Marches, the "dream joining" >attunement just jumped out at me - it's a perfect explanation for the >(more or less) unexplained weirdness that's happening in the novel. >Anyway, here goes... > >The setting is a college campus and the near environs (it doesn't matter >that much where, except that a really big city like New York or Chicago >would probably work less well than a smaller community). Why? Most people surround themselves with people who care about them, or at least look out for them. The only disadvantage of a large city, so far as I can see, is that there's just so much happening, so much that could distract the party. >What's going on: there's a serial killer at work in the city. He drives >around, "hunting" young women, and when one meets his particular deranged >set of criteria (entirely up to the GM's discretion), he'll try to seduce >her if possible, and take her by force if not. After satisfying his >"needs", he will kill the woman, generally by strangulation. >When the adventure begins, no bodies have been discovered yet, so there's >no public outcry about it. A few girls have disappeared, but everyone >knows that teenage girls run away, right? Well, I wouldn't say "teenage girls run away", maybe "teenagers run away". Call me sheltered, but none of my friends suddenly ran away for no apparent reason. If they we did, we pretty much knew why. >Meanwhile, in an apartment just off campus, Sara, a bright, friendly, and >very calm and collected pre-med student who volunteers at the local >hospital, has just taken in a stray cat. The very same night, she has an >absolutely horrifying nightmare: she sees a teenaged girl being raped and >murdered, and she's unable to do anything about it. She freaks out, >scaring her roommate half to death. Hmmm... stray cat, horrifying nightmares... coincidence? I think not. >The nightmares continue for another few nights, until something even worse >happens: Sara sees a picture in the newspaper, a picture of the girl she >saw being killed in her dream. The girl is really dead, raped and >murdered. Not all at once, of course, or necessarily in that order. (sorry, I'm feeling particularly Djinnish right now) Djinnish, sound likes I'm from a cold country in northern Europe. Anyway... >At this point, the PCs come in. If they're resident in the town, they'll >either see Sara themselves, or hear about the straight-A student and >volunteer who's suddenly going out of her mind. Yeah, that's weird... Any "Missing Cat" posters? >From either Sara herself or her roommate, the PCs will find out about the >nightmares. The next step depends on the makeup of the party. If there >are any servitors of Blandine, things will go much more smoothly. Yeah, I could see that. >Eventually, what the PCs will discover is this: someone is using the >"dream joining" attunement on Sara, linking her dreamscapes with the >dreams of this serial killer, in hopes of turning a young woman with a >very bright future (maybe even a Destiny?) into a madwoman, or worse... > >The demon in question is Jackie (the Balseraph servitor of Beleth >described on page 35 of The Marches, with dream joining as an added >attunement). The PCs will probably have to go into the etheral realm to >(1) figure all this out, and (2) stop Jackie. Or just kill the cat. >Which leaves the PCs with one more problem: the killer is still out there, >and even with the nightmares stopped, Sara will want to stop him, which of >course would be terribly dangerous (and she can't fulfill her Destiny if >she becomes the killer's next victim). Not to mention that the PCs, as >angels, should want to stop the killer just on principle anyway. It wouldn't be that dangerous if she doesn't meet the serial killer's standards. Oh, wait, never mind. >Alternate possibilities: the Celestial joining Sara's dreams to the killer >is *not* a demon at all. Instead, he's a Mercurian, possibly of Dominic, >who's been granted dream joining by Blandine. He knows about the killer >and would like to stop him, but because he's a Mercurian, can't properly >"punish" him personally. So, using dream joining, he looked for a >detective that he could use to catch the killer. That didn't work, as the >detectives he sent the dreams to just chalked it up to nightmares growing >out of their daily work. So he turned to civillians, and noticed Sara, >who's smart, resourceful, and quite honorable. Unfortunately, the dreams >are driving her mad... Oh, maybe Sara has a _very_ dark destiny and he hopes to drive her to suicide, hoping her energies will disperse upon death. Or he's been trapped somehow by Jackie or whoever, but he's desperate that someone stop the serial killer, and Sara, being the new owner of Blackie, the cursed cat who's life dictates the life of the hapless Mercurian, Sara is the ONLY person he was able to tap into because of her special connection to the ethereal realm which was achieved through the LSD laced stamps her ex-boyfriend slipped into her purse. What _does_ hapless mean, anyway? There many other things that could be going on. Perhaps a falling Elohim of Jordi is intent on punishing Sara for torturing the cat she hasn't let out of her room for the past week. Maybe a Demon of Dark Humor is intent on torturing Sara's roommate, the demon'd be an impudite for sure. Could be another one of Krono's plots... Yep. That's it from me for now. - -Perry Perry M. Lloyd "You know, Lucky Charms are the best antacid." "Yeah, it's because those mashmallows aren't really marshmallows, they're chalk." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:30:03 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Gabriel, Archangel of Fire >At 1:57 PM -0500 10/21/97, Redneck Gaijin wrote: > >>As I mentioned elsewhere, the general consensus will be that Armageddeon >>-hasn't- happened yet, and this is just a tune-up for the real thing. >>However, the churches won't be doing too much intercommunication- phones >>still work in Texas as far as from Fredricksburg to Tyler, -sometimes,- but >>a message to Boston would take three days minimum by courier, and >>communicating between continents is an epic exercise in taking control of >>communications satellites in decaying orbits with equipment which can't be >>replaced most places, or getting ships across oceans where Leviathan is >>awake once more, or flying through stormy and still radioactive skies.... > >This is what you need Ofanim for... ("Hey, gimme a space-suit, the >Celestial Song of Motion, and I'll get those satellites back where >they're supposed to be, no problem!") This explains why Texas has the best standard of living in the DV universe. };-{D >>Also, a LOT of desperate people will be turning to other religions- for >>example, the Church of Scientology on the Drag in Austin will become a >>Church of the Second Coming of Thor. > > Hm, I dunno, I could see it doing some stuff in its own >right. I mean, if we're talking an IN universe here, who's to say >that we're not somewhat right -- making Soldiers and giving limited >training to the Children of the Grigori who find a way to make sense >of the universe that way... I've always been very skeptical of the Scientologists. During my time at UT, I took their personality quiz, found it (as I suspected) to be rigged to force answers I didn't want to give, found the analysis faulty- and found a request for volunteers in my mailbox four months later. I watched the videos available at the church, I tried wading through Diantetics (and had the same difficulty I had with the Mission: Earth novels), and in the end I found nothing to change my opinion, the specifics of which I will keep to myself to avoid offending others. In any case, I don't think the Scientologists will be needing the Drag church anymore... there's better digs abandoned downtown for them to occupy. }:-{D Redneck Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 97 23:30:18 PDT From: "Chris Jackson" Subject: IN>Dark Victory Backwards (Long) Disclaimer: I've been very interested in Redneck Gaijin's Dark Victory stuff, and very impressed. I'll never use it in a million years, but I've never cared for post-apocalyptic stuff in my role-playing games. Anyway, he got me thinking about a playable campaign after *Heaven* wins. Besides "Paranoia", although I've actually included a bit of that. Warning: I'm seriously messing with the established character of a few Superiors, *especially* Yves. The Cathedral of Purity, the day after the War ended. "Step forward, Belial, pretender to the Word of Fire." Michael shoved the Calabite forward, and then brushed flakes of charred flesh off the length of his tail, before settling once more into a relaxed coil. Uriel continued. "Belial, you have been Judged a continuing threat to the Work of God. Your essence shall be returned tothe Symphony." With that, Uriel's sword flashed once, and the charred remains of Belial collapsed, as a trail of light flew up, into the cloud which was God. * * * * * * For the first hour of the battle, it had seemed that Hell would carry the day. The angels were cornered, being driven back. Michael himself had been beaten soundly by Lucifer, and the Dark One was poised to deliver the death blow with Micheal's own axe, when it happened. The Heavens opened, and Uriel appeared, leading the host of the upper Heavens. Uriel, but changed, tall as the sky, his black wings blocking the sun. * * * * * * * "Beleth, pretender to the Word of Nightmares, fallen Archangel fo Fear, step forward." As Beleth stepped forward, a hush spread through the assembled Host. It was Beleth, beautiful and proud, head erect, with Blandine at her side. Beleth the Cherub. She had redeemed. "Beleth, you have been Judged. You do not pose a continuing threat to the works of God, so you will be returned to Hell, under the guidance of the Archangel Dominic." "No!" Blandine threw herself at the Malakite's vast feet. "She's better now. She's Redeemed, can't you see?" The Archangel of Dreams looked up, and almost whispered, "She's come back to me." "Redemption is irrelevent." Uriel declared flatly. "She must pay for her crimes." "No!" Again, Uriel's sword flahed, and Beleth was no more, as a trail of light shot up to join the cloud that was God. "Let this be a lesson to you, sister. We must love God above all. You have long been . . . distracted. I hope this is now over. Now, I have work to do." Novalis ushered the sobbing Blandine away, as Uriel signaled to his former servant, Laurence. Uriel stood. "Eli, late holder of the word of Creation, step forward . . ." The set-up: After the War, the Earth is . . . nice. Stable. A Utopia, even. And everyone is happy. Everyone. They have to be, so they can all reach their Destinies, and all become a part of God once again. That's just the way Yves likes it. Ever since the failure of the initial human expirament, he's been quietly shepherding every soul he can into the upper Heavens, and into God. Now, after the War, he's doing the same with every Celestial he can spare. Soon, all will be as it was. There will be only God. God and Yves, alone forever, as it was before Michael came between them. Hell has reverted to its original purpose, the punishment of the Demons, under the watchful eye of Dominic. Andrealphus is chained there, as is Kobal ("Who's laughing now, funnyboy?",) Mammon, Malphus - all the Princes who were considered neither dangerous nor useful. Nybbas, Saminga, and Ball are all in Heaven, after being forcibly redeemed, as they all have their uses. Nybbas is in charge of keeping the inhabitants of the Earth happy (he proved troublesome, though, until Jean had him bound into a giant computer and drove him insane. Remember, Nybbas is your friend.) Saminga, the Kyriotate Archangel of Death, ferries the souls of the blessed upwards and feeds them to the cloud which is God. Baal is employed in hunting down the outcast Michael and his followers. Michael, always suspicious of the motives of Yves, was as shocked as anyone when he was ordered to escort Eli to Hell. It had started out as such a good day . . . Then, as they passed through the Marches, Eli activated the fragment of Raphael he carried, and suddenly, Michael Knew. He saw the great hunger that was God, a hunger which made Haagenti look like Gandhi. He saw the "Purity" envisioned by Uriel. And he saw the hand of Yves, manipulating them both. So he left. In the set-up I have in mind, Michael is joined by Blandine, Marc, Eli, what's left of Raphael and Janus on the angelic side, Lilith, Haagenti and Vapula on the demonic (all sprunng from Hell), along with a handful of Pagan Gods. Novalis was one of the first to join Michael, but she was seriously wounded in the retreat from Heaven, and passed all her forces on to him in order to protect the group. Any suggestions? Christopher B. Jackson (it's late and I'm tired, so this is all you get.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:35:35 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> Re: in_nomine-digest V1 #412 >At 12:13 AM -0500 10/21/97, Redneck Gaijin wrote: > > >>As an explanation, let me show how the current politics stand in Hell. > >What about Furfur? > Oog, forgot. Furfur is after the Granite Throne, too, but he's been spending even more time than Saminga on the Earth, supporting his Word. He's now on a par with any Demon Prince except Kronos and Saminga, and he's gaining ground fast, especially in the parts of the world where civilization has totally broken down.... Redneck Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:43:46 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Bright Victory? > At 10:48 PM -0500 10/21/97, PERRY M. LLOYD wrote: > >What if, instead of Dark Victory, there'd been Bright Victory? > If you write it, I will put it on the INC... Oh, hey, good point. Perry; that was to say, I'll work on this one if you're not... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:40:06 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Brief Superiors Summary and Notes > Kingsley Lintz wrote: > "Requesting it would be stupid, while just absorbing the Hope and > Inspiration aspects of it without so much as a by-your-leave would > be relatively easy and, in these trying times, vastly increase his > power." > Given that one's Word is deeply ingrained into what one is, wouldn't > extending his Word to include Hope and Inspiration start to change > Andrealphus's personality? Or, perhaps it runs the other way, and *shhhh* I was hoping Andre wouldn't notice.. > first have to change his personality to include them. While Yves > looks on, grinning... I just picture him resting a wrinkled hand on Eli's arm. "Just wait, old friend...let him scheme his way into our trap." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:35:43 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Brief Superiors Summary and Notes > point here is that virtually every other Superior in the New Heaven is > -watching- for him to do things like this, -especially- Lucifer, who knows > Andre better than all of them -and- has the Seraph attunement to the truth > to boot. Hm..THAT's a point, though Lucifer sounds very busy at the moment, especially working on that David rescue... > Eli'd probably > >go along because he'd like the excuse, > No, he wouldn't. Remember, there was a major feud between Eli and Andre > before Armageddeon, and it's still just under the surface even now. I meant Eli'd go along with Gabriel asking to have Andre pounded. {Though, on the side note, I don't entirely believe in Eli and Andrealphus hating each other so vehemently...I know it has the arrow right there in the book, but if nothing else, while Eli may hate Andre, I think Andre finds Eli more amusing than anything.} > Andre making a power play to essentially put Gabriel under his control- > which the Angelic-natured Archangels will not permit- or he's moving to > associate aspects of her word with Lust, in which case I misunderstood your > intent... but it wouldn't be in character with the old Demonic Andre to even > -care- about hope or inspiration. His Word is still Lust. It was the latter, actually...Gabriel herself is way too dangerous, even weakened, to want as a Servitor when he KNOWS what she'd do to him if she had half a chance...(And while Andre might acknowledge that there are worse ways to go than with Gabriel's arms wrapped around you...I don't get the impression he has plans on going, period.) Otherwise, as I noted to our Andre; it's not so much hope and inspiration he cares about in this instance..it's power. There's power to be had there that Gabriel probably can't hold, and Andrealphus could use it to consolidate his position. His "hope and inspiration" would likely manifest more as obsession... {On the related note, he'd likely make some power grab in the Marches as well...with Beleth AND Blandine dead, he's the surviving Superior with just about the single best claim to Dreams...["especially the wet ones", as MaBarry emphasizes.]} > Now, -Eli- might have to worry about such things, since one of Andre's most > important jobs in the DV universe will be encouraging humanity- and all > life- to be fruitful and multiply. Eli's a very busy, very worried > Archangel, and he -could- find the procreation aspect of Creation yanked out > from under him... That, too. Geeze..wait'll Saminga comes to storm the Preservers and finds them all happily still weakened...until he notices Andre, leaning against a polished statue of a naked Novalis, grinning. "Remember me? We never got on well, as I recall...now, you've got Death behind you, and I'll grant, there's a lot of it going around lately...but I've got Lust, Inspiration, Dreams, and Life behind me now. Feeling lucky, punk?" Then tossing a wink over at Lucifer. "And you thought I'd never amount to anything..." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:50:27 EST From: PERRY Subject: Re: IN> [FFULF] New Demonette: Tizzy! Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:00:25 From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) >The Malakim stepped into the room, cold and aloof in his Armani suit, >sunglasses concealing his gaze. > >"Hey, Malakim," the Mercurian grinned, "what kind of animal did you get that >pelt from?" > >The Malakim looked over his sunglasses and smiled a feral smile. "Yakusa," >he said. > >The Mercurian stopped smiling. I only got one word to say: point :) - -Perry Perry M. Lloyd "You know, Lucky Charms are the best antacid." "Yeah, it's because those mashmallows aren't really marshmallows, they're chalk." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:56:13 -0400 (EDT) From: Calabim@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Choir/Band stereotypes In a message dated 97-10-22 00:01:16 EDT, you write: << > One of my players is playing a Malakim of Micheal, with a cover as a Marine > MP...now the book says Malakim wear animal skins...does this mean that no > Malakim of Micheal can ever have a role as a soldier due to dress code > violations?!!? Last I checked, combat boots were leather. ;) >> True enough, but combat fatigues are not. But I think I made my point, which is that any of these descriptions can be run into the ground by following them too slavishly. As you said, stereotypes were made to be broken. - -Calabim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:50:44 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation >The nigh-destruction of the world as we know it, billions of people >killed, this sounds like horror to me. > >And not too shabby horror at that. :) > Maybe, but DV isn't about the Apocalypse itself, but what happens after. };-{D Redneck Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:53:20 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] Return of Uriel? > >a quick thought - in the Dark Victory universe, would God let Uriel >return? Assuming Uriel still exists in the upper reaches of Heaven, >now would be a good time to let him return - if only to help rescue >the Malakim from the labs. > Definitely not. Uriel would start in with the (obviously corrupt) Preservers, re-create New Heaven with himself as sole Superior, and write off the Malakim in Hell as 'obviously impure, else they would not be captive in the first place.' Uriel does not fit in with DV. Redneck Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 01:03:34 -0500 (CDT) From: redneck@txdirect.net (Redneck Gaijin) Subject: Re: IN> [DARK VICTORY] General Observation >At 6:53 PM -0500 10/21/97, Redneck Gaijin wrote: > >>>2) The survivors, who may or may not like each other gather in one city to >>>rebuild. For you it's Houston Texas instead of Boulder Colorado. >> >>Not at all. The people gather, or not, as they choose. A lot huddle in their >>homes. Others gather into groups of a dozen to twenty for mutual defense. > >Probably the only thing that's keeping poor David alive. > > > Poor David is being kept alive very, very carefully by Vapula. He's already dissected him down to the minimum Forces for a sentient Celestial soul. Now he's testing David the way he -wanted- to test Jean... Vapula is discovering Psychology, or at least the torture aspects, the same ways he discovered Chemistry. Trial and Error. Redneck (is David really better off?) Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | Do not taunt Happy Fun Belial. http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | * * * c/o White Lightning Productions | "I love the sweet smell of http://www.jurai.net/~redneck/wlp/ | humiliation in the morning!" Webmaster for Antarctic Press | --- Kobal reaffirms himself http://www.antarctic-press.com/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING*** ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #418 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.