From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Fri Jun 20 01:16:21 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 BAA11604 for ; Fri, 20 Jun 1997 01:16:21 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id UAA21170 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Thu, 19 Jun 1997 20:31:42 -0500 Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 20:31:42 -0500 Message-Id: <199706200131.UAA21170@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 #219 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, June 19 1997 Volume 01 : Number 219 In this digest: Re: IN> Cycles Re: IN> Arches&Princes Re: IN> Tethers Re: IN> Smif IN> the Grigori (LONG) IN> Role/??? Re: IN> Vessel Anatomy IN> D.C. Music Re: IN> Arches&Princes Re: IN> ...Running a Mixed Troupe. Re: IN> Smif Re: IN> Novalis and Jordi's Cliffhanger Re: IN> Tethers IN> Fiction post Re: IN> Poetry corner Re: IN> Vessel Anatomy Re: IN>Arches&Princes Re: IN> Arches&Princes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 15:39:39 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Cycles At 12:32 PM -0400 6/19/97, Gregory Littmann wrote: > Given that each book in a cycle is going to advance the plot line of the >game world, how will this affect reprints? What if, five years from now, >someone wants information on The Marches. Won't they be forced to buy >outdated an innacurate information about the political situation. Probably depends on if they're running their games concurrent with the "current political situation" or not. If they just discovered In Nomine, they have the joy of looking through all the books and setting things in the political climate they want... And one expects that the amount of Other Data will be high enough that the "outdated politics" won't hurt much. The Ethereal Gods will be Ethereal Gods unless somebody pulls another Uriel and is better at it. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com // emccoy@jade.mv.net GURPS characters, Roleplayers; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 15:32:14 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Arches&Princes John Dye wrote: "Yeah, it seems pretty obvious that the Malakim have become the In Nom version of AD&D Paladins. Everybody seems so "sure" of what they are that they let their limitations control all of their role playing. Thus all Malakim become the same. "Perhaps Anael from Pyramid 23 was a little too off base, but the Old Guy from the Night Music vignette seems to be one of the few original type malk's." Here's another type of Malakite: the witty, sarchastic musketeer type, patterned after the Scarlet Pimpernel, Cyrano de Bergerac, or Mercutio. These gents are hip-deep in honor, which is the defining characteristic of Malakim, but they also have senses of humor and don't take either their foes or themselves very seriously. Indeed, the fact that they don't take themselves seriously is a correlary to their willingness to die. "Me? I'm not important. Serving justice, protecting the weak, THOSE are important. But me, no. Watch -- I'll make a joke about the length of my nose, or disguise myself as a fop for camouflague. And of course YOU, you blackguard, aren't important either." "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Satan fell by force of gravity." -- G. K. Chesterton Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 97 15:26 EDT From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Tethers >Eep! I tend to postulate one *angel* per 100,000 population. I'd put it at roughly 10 times that, if they're supposed to be able to make any significant difference at all. > One >*Tether* per 100,000 seems like *way* too many. I mean, that's means >someplace like New York or London has somewhere in the neighborhood of two >or three Tethers for *every* Superior. Not necessarily -- the book notes that there are a lot of Superiors who aren't major ones in the War; the 25 or so listed in the book are only the most important. I would expect New York, LA, London, Tokyo etc. to have at least one Tether to just about everyone (maybe not Jordi, though...). The thing that drives me to pick 1 per 100,000 or thereabouts is that at any higher level, you can't plausibly get Tethers near the PC's base of action unless they happen to be in a *major* city, or in a place that naturally should have a Tether anyway (some kind of major landmark). In Nomine naturally lends itself to running games set in one's own neighborhood. If you happen to live in a relatibely sparsely-populated area, high ratios of humans to celestials or to Tethers makes things much more difficult. >I tend to think each Superior has maybe a half a dozen or so Tethers, a >couple hundred total world wide. Most cities have maybe one per side, >only the largest and most important places have more. Note that most US cities aren't really all that large. I think there are only a dozen or two that top one million, though extended suburban areas cane effectively raise that. >Of course, given the description of Austin as having six Tethers, probably >the "canon" answer is somewhere between these two extremes. I think that actually fits my ratio -- I have a vague recollection that Austin is somewhere in the 600-800k range. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 13:35:36 -0700 From: zingaro@peak.org Subject: Re: IN> Smif > But now I'm changing the topic. My point is just > that it should be possible to take Novalis seriously, and I can't take the > woman in the picture seriously. So. Would this be Smif's failing.... or yours? Zingaro, Cherub in service to the Devil's Advocate - ------- zingaro@peak.org Gabe's a choad. He's in Choadville. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 16:56:56 -0400 From: "Kirt A. Dankmyer -- aka Loki" Subject: IN> the Grigori (LONG) - --=====================_866768216==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Here is my version of the Grigori. I welcome any comments and critique.... - --- - --=====================_866768216==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" THE GRIGORI -- THE WATCHERS It was raining. Fredrico didn't like the way the man had been standing there, watching him from across the street, waiting. The man was wearing round mirrorshades, so you couldn't see his eyes, but Fredrico was sure he was watching him. He hadn't so much as flinched when the storm broke out. Just kept his face pointed at the window to Fredrico's shop. Fredrico decided to ignore him while he locked up for the night. He pulled down the cage, cursing his wife for not giving him his umbrella this morning. He pulled out the padlock that went on the chains. And nearly jumped out of his skin, when a voice behind him spoke: "If I could make a suggestion." Fredrico whipped around. The guy had snuck up on him. "What the hell...?!" "No," said the man. "Not yet. If I may make a suggestion, if you put the padlock on that particular link of chain, it will be relatively easy to pop off with the aid of a crowbar. But if you put it here..." He pointed to a link a couple of links down from the one Fredrico was going to use. "I think you'll find that any potential thief will have a lot less leverage." Fredrico looked at the chain. His anger dissolved in a moment when he came to the realization that the stranger was right. He turned to thank him, but he was gone. Outcasts one and all, shunned and heavily Discordant, there are still some Grigori left on Earth. The most human of the Choirs, and able to breed with mortals, the Grigori were -- and are -- charged with watching the activities of Man and occasionally giving Man a nudge here and here. RESONANCE Grigori have a resonance for fine detail. They can glean all sorts of information from a scene at a glance. Before there were detectives, the Grigori were the next best thing to Scotland Yard, and even to this day no human or other Choir of angels can match them. Nothing, no tiny detail, is beneath a Watcher's notice. They all have photographic memoires, and they never forget anything that they've ever seen. Anything that's ever happened to them is preserved forever in their memory. Not only will a Grigori notice that you dropped mustard on your shoe while eating a hot dog for lunch, he'll be able to sketch the outline of the stain for you a century later. Given their current status, their long memories are more of a curse than a blessing. Many Grigori have stopped yearning for a return to Heaven, and yearn for something simpler... forgetfulness. This fine eye for detail also gives the Grigori an intuitive insight into any activity a human or Celestial might be undertaking. Nobody, not even a Seraph, is perfect, and the Grigori can make suggestions to improve anyone's performance, no matter how trivial those suggestions may be. Many people (and quite a few Celestials) find this pretty annoying, but over the long term, the Grigori are some of the best teachers in the Symphony, even for things that they themselves can't do very well. (This gives whole new meaning to an old maxim: "Those that can, do. Those who can't, teach.") The fact that this part of their resonance can be applied to any activity is part of what tripped up the Grigori in the first place. A Watcher can suggest how to improve one's painting technique, or one's lovemaking technique, or one's torturing technique. It doesn't matter. And considering how nearly human the Grigori are, it's only a short step from *suggestion* to *demonstration*. (Admit it, if a big, muscular angel was watching you in bed and giving you good, helpful tips on making love, wouldn't you invite him to join in?) DISSONANCE Intimacy with humans generates dissonance in a Watcher. Their job is to watch and to suggest, not to get involved. Entering into a relationship with a human that goes beyond a teacher-pupil relationship or something purely professional generates a note of dissonance. For every week beyond the first that the relationship continues, the angel earns a note of dissonance. Particularly intimate acts -- like sex with a human - -- earn a note of dissonance every time they are performed. Violence committed for a personal end or out of emotional desire (rather than as part of one's job, say) is very intimate in its own way, and therefore dissonant. The Grigori understand humans best of all, and beacuse of this, to remain divine they must look and not touch. It is rumored in some demonic circles that the negative reaction to the sins of the Grigori was so large not so much because their acts were forbidden, but because the Watchers's love of humanity had become so great and so *personal* that the Grigori turned their backs on their lovers from other Choirs. Servitors of Malphas lick their lips and note that there's no fury like a Seraph scorned. MANNER AND APPEARANCE In their celestial forms, Grigori look like gigantic (ten feet tall and up) hemaphroditic humans, with no wings and no clothing. Their gigantic eyes and tiny voice as soft as a lover's whisper in the dark. Their eyes radiate with love. Humans who see a Watcher in Celestial form are typically rooted to the spot in awe. Because they all date from before the Flood, all Grigori have a gigantic Vessel, a big, beautiful giant with soft eyes and a soft voice. All surviving Grigori also have a smaller, human-sized Vessel, though many of these Vessels are over six feet in height. Their smaller Vessels are typically quiet, understated, and mournful. Modern Watchers favor dark, inconspicious clothing and sunglasses, so that it isn't obvious who they're watching. Grigori have spent the centuries watching and waiting, aloof, trying not to gain too much Dissonance, helping people out here and there. This is easier than one might think, since because the Grigori are the most human of the Choirs, they can slip into a depression just as easily as they can fall in love. When their human lovers died (some were killed by angels, some by demons, and many died in childbirth), most of the Grigori that survive today slipped into a depression that they have yet to lift themselves out of. This, more than anything else, has hampered their return to grace, but it has also prevented their fall. They watch, and wait for the end of time. Musically, the Grigori consider themselves to be the rests between the notes, the Silence that defines the rest of the Symphony. Many of them have not said a word in centuries, partly out of respect for the role they were created for, and partly because they no longer find any joy in the world. GAME MECHANICS The Grigori resonance is for detail. A Watcher adds his Celestial Forces to any Perception-based skill. With a successful resonance roll, a Watcher can divine all sorts of things from the little details of a scene. The check digit determines how much the angel can figure out (see below). Note that any deductions that the GM hands to the Grigori does not have to be *true*, just *likely* -- another problem that has lead many Grigori to error. Also, by watching an activity and making a resonance roll, a Grigori can confer a bonus on the activity in question, assuming the person takes the advice and the Watcher chooses to give it. This only works on activities someone else is doing, although the Watcher can improve the skill of others in joint activities that he is participating in. The size of the bonus also depends on the check digit (see below). If the Grigori possesses the skill in question (if any), at any level, the bonus is *doubled*. Any human who sees a Grigori in Celestial form must make a Will roll or stand dumbstuck in awe for at least a number of minutes equal to the Check Digit of the failed roll plus the Celestial Forces of the Watcher in question, assuming no one interferes with them. This is especially useful if the Watcher wants to give a long piece of advice, as they'll have the undivided attention of the human in question. The human can be shook out of it, however, and certainly a physical attack will snap them out of it. All Grigori have at least one Vessel that goes beyond a Vessel/6, a Vessel/7 or a Vessel/8 or even a Vessel/9. Anything beyond a Vessel/6 isn't just tough -- it's gigantic. Such Vessels must be at least one-half again bigger than than the largest average Vessel of that type. (A human rarely gets above six feet tall, so a human Vessel/7 is at least nine feet tall.) The only way to make Vessels that strong is to make them BIG. After the Flood, the Archangels forbid such Vessels. (So did the Demon Princes -- such Vessels are not exactly inconspicuous.) All surviving Grigori also have a smaller, more inconspicuous Vessel, of course. But having that gigantic Vessel ensures that in times of dire emergency, the Watcher can escape with his hide intact. Note that certain Discords are even more noticable on a gigantic body... GRIGORI CHECK DIGIT RESULTS 1...You pick up on a small, possibly inconsequential detail that someone else might have missed, like an off-color shoelace on an otherwise new pair of shoes. Skill bonus of +1 2...You pick up a couple of small details, like the one above. Skill bonus of +1 3...You pick up on several small details, like the one above, and you have some idea what one of them might mean (GM's choice). For example, the off-color shoelace might mean that the person stole the shoes in question, and doesn't have proper shoelaces for them. Skill bonus of +1 4...You can sense all of the above, plus you can get some general impression of what the little details are likely to mean. For example, the off-color shoelace combined with a small trickle of sweat and a twitching face muscle might indicate. A Grigori facing a Celestial might be able to piece together that one of the people in the scene is a Celestial or a Soldier. Such insights are often more intuitve than deductive. Skill bonus of +2 5...You can sense all of the above, plus you notice anything that is incompletely hidden, no matter how small the indicator is. Not only do you think the sweating man might be a Celestial, but that odor coming from his car makes you think he's got a body in the trunk. Skill bonus of +2 6...You can sense all of the above, plus you can deduce an awful lot about what came before. You may, for example, guess that the sweating man just stuffed the body in the trunk a few minutes ago. If you're facing someone who's a Celestial, if there are any indicatorsat all, you'll notice them and probably be able to make a good guess which Side they're on. The way that guy is sweating, he can't be a Malakim -- maybe he's a demon. Remember, however, that even these deductions can be wrong, though at least part of the deduction will be right. Regardless, you take in *all* the little details, including the tiny spots of blood on the man's coat... Skill bonus of +3 An Outcast may lose all his Rites, but he doesn't lose any attunements. With that in mind, below are the Grigori attunements for the different Superiors. A couple of Superiors are excluded. Laurence wasn't a Superior when the Grigori were around, for example. One might think there are still some Watchers of Purity around, but they were destroyed in Uriel's own purges. Trade wasn't a very important word during that time. And so on. Blandine. Grigori of Blandine watch the dreams of humans and warn them of mistakes they might be making. They gain no dissonance for intimate contact with humans -- as long as it happens in the Marches. Blandine's Grigori were some of the last to be cast out, when they finally gave into the urge to be with their loved ones in the Corporeal realm. David. David's Grigori were charged with managing the teaching of humans performed by the other Choirs. When using their resonance to help instruct another Celestial, consider the Check Digit to be 6 every time. (One should still roll in case of Divine Intervention.) Dominic. Dominic's Grigori were masters at detecting crimes. The player of a Watcher of Judgement can *choose*, after rolling, which of the three dice rolled is to be considered the check digit. Eli. Before they were all cast out, Eli's Grigori were the makers of Talismans. Their resonance is the same as a Mercurian of Eli, except that it only takes them a *week* for every level of skill the talisman is imbued with. Surprisingly, Eli's Grigori fell only slightly before Blandine's -- they were having sex with their Celestial lovers reugularly to relieve their frustrations. Gabriel. Gabriel's Grigori could recognize those who are cruel because they are careless. The line can between apathy and cruelty can be thin if one starts to neglect one's duties. If any Grigori of Gabriel still exist, they surely congregate where beauraucracy can be found. Janus. Grigori of Janus are considered to have rolled a 6 for their Check Digit when helping someone escape from some form of physical restraint. One should still roll in case of Divine Intervention. Also, if they have the Passage attunement, they may add their Celestial Forces to their Agility whenever they are freeing someone else. Jean. Technology wasn't always associated with Lightning, and the resonance of Jean's wayward Grigori servitors reflects this, though there are modern applications. Grigori of Lightning can sense magnetic fields, and for an Essence they can reverse or nullify a magnetic field for a round, or generate one surrounding themselves. (In modern times, this is useful for bulk erasing floppies.) Among other things, this allows them to notice deposits of conductive metal, and work that into their deductions. Jordi. Jordi's Grigori were attuned to mythical creatures that had made it onto Earth, from Unicorns to Yeti. Especially those who were ape-like in shape -- if there is a Watcher of Animals left, he is perhaps a Sasquatch. Litheroy. A Girgori of Litheroy never makes a mistake in one of the deductions that arise from his resonance. If signs would lead him to make an error, he doesn't deduce anything at all. Michael. Michael's Grigori were some of his best tacticians. A Grigori of War may add the Check Digit of his resonance roll to his Tactics skill whenever looking at a particular situation. Additionally, if the angel fails his Tactics roll, it is considered to have succeeded with a Check Digit of 1. Novalis. If a Grigori of Novalis hid behind or within plants, he could not be spotted without a Perception roll minus the angel's Corporeal Forces. If the Grigori also had the "Nothing But Flowers" attunment, the roll to detect him would be Perception minus the total of his Corporeal and Celestial forces! It is suspected by many that if any Grigori survive to this day, they once worked for Novalis or Yves (see below). Yves. The Grigori of Yves were assigned to watch not just humanity, but the Celestials that were supposed to help them. Because of this, a Watcher of Destiny can tell at a glance if a body contains a Celestial or human soul. In the case of a Kyriotate or a Shedim, the Watcher notices *both* souls. This ability greatly helped in avoiding Celestial hit-squads. - --=====================_866768216==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" - -- 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 - --=====================_866768216==_-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 18:10:32 -0300 From: Andre Ribeiro Subject: IN> Role/??? Kingsley Lintz wrote: > Of course, if they haven't bought a > pretty strong Role, there won't be any past medical records... It serves as background to my question: What does the role level really means?? I mean, It's pretty vague in The Book and I got some difficulties working it trough its intermediary levels... Could anyone give a table (like that cute one for perceiving artifacts) of what would each level of a role give to the celestial?? Thanx a lot - in advance, Andre ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 18:18:55 -0300 From: Andre Ribeiro Subject: Re: IN> Vessel Anatomy Charybdis GreyDragon wrote: > Actually, the eyes didn't just vanish... If you'll remember, > in Uziel's > case at least, (sp?)they were destroyed when Simon, the opposing > angel, > shoved his thumbs through the eye socket... No, I don't think so... I think Uziel's never had any eyes in the movie - that's why they didn't find any trace of them later. Simon just shoved his thumbs trough empty eye sockets... > [Earl Wajenberg] > > and there aren't even any traces of eyeball muscles or optic > nerves. > > This part kinda made me wonder in the movie... I wanted to > know *why* none > of the optical infrastructure was there... As I said, they never did. > [Earl Wajenberg] > > There are no growth rings in the bones, and the blood resembles that > of a > 5-month > >fetus. The bemused coroner felt he would undoubtedly find more > discrepancies if he went > >on looking. I particularly liked the blood and bone anomalies. > > I liked that bit about the blood and bone anomalies too... > Kinda drove > home the point that the angels didn't stay around on Earth much... Yeah, and that they are (their vessels, at least) quite young... Although I think a high Role means that the celestial is around for quite some time - or does it just means there are more *evidence* of it without it physically has happen?? I've just sent a Role Question on the list - I'll better wait to the commentaries... Andre ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 18:58:22 -0300 From: Andre Ribeiro Subject: IN> D.C. Music Do you remember the Senator, his Seraph daughter and her friends?? Well, I'll base them in Washington. The problem is: I live half-globe away and have never been there... Anyone's got good ideas on Tethers (besides Yves and the Congress Library...) and NPC's?? I sure am going to use Samuel, the Angel of the USA - but just later on... Andre ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 07:59:33 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: Re: IN> Arches&Princes Jeff Miller wrote: > > At 02:53 PM 6/18/97 -0400, you wrote: > > > >> As other people have pointed out, who needs stats. Just decide how > >> amused/annoyed the Arch/Prince is and decide what response would be > >> dramaticly appropriate. > > > >I agree, ther should be no chance that a low level character should be > >able to take out a superior, but in things like AD&D, even the god's > >proxies and most of the archdemons had stats. something to clearly show > >how much above you they were. > > > But in AD&D, that led to power gamers who's characters had actually gods. > I actually prefer the lack of stats though I think that a list of likely > responses to certain conditions from each superior would be interesting. > Mind you (though I'm not advocating powergaming by any stretch), the IN situation is slightly different - PCs have the potential to become Superiors one day, some incredibly long way down the track. In a way, it would be nice to know what you have to aim for. Similarly, there's potential in playing a Superior, even if only for one session, as a way of gaining insight into the setting. While I'm quite comfortable doing such a game without rules or dice, many people would demand some kind of quantifying structure - and that means some kind of stat basis for Superiors. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia Jazz crowd, walking 'round the gallery, Walking 'round the gallery: "Where'd all the dip go? Where'd all the dip go? "Where'd all the dip go? Is there any more red wine? "Any more red wine? Where'd all the dip go?" ANDY PRIEBOY, "The New York Debut of an LA Artist" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 17:54:13 -0300 From: Andre Ribeiro Subject: Re: IN> ...Running a Mixed Troupe. Charybdis GreyDragon wrote: > [ Andre Ribeiro ] > > In my campaign, I managed to get the troupe centered around a > > >human and a Seraph. The human is a senator who is running for > president. > >The Seraph, of Janus, is his daughter, in a Role/6 vessel > > Does the senator, and thus his daughter, move around enough to > satisfy a > servitor Janus's requirement to move all the time? How old is the > Seraph's > vessel, just out of curiosity? Does the senator know that his > daughter is > an angel ( in the literal sense )? They are in campaign, you know. They are going to merry-go-around the whole country!! And she just loves riding horses and... parachuting - for his dad's despair... The Seraph has just turned eighteen and his father - in spite of being circled by celestials - doesn't has the slightest hint that she - or anyone - is an angel. I thought it would be better than a Soldier Senator - the PCs will have a lt of trouble getting their asses out of problems to maintain their masquerade... > > The senator is a strong link in my campaign, as is the > previous > >relationship between the Sheddim and the Seraph girl. There's still > no > >explicit mission, but the characters are all connected in some way - > so > >that something that affects one will certainly spill on the others... > > > Now the chronicle may begin - any opinions?? > > I really like that... It sounds like a very good way to > integrate > everyone. How did you go about getting everyone to do their > characters? > Did you just tell them "you have to have some relationship to the > Senator > or his daughter, you decide what it is?" or how did you handle it? The players choose their type of celestial, their Band/Choir and their Role - and believe me: It worked! The senator fell like a glove to everybody and the fact that he's running for the White House just adds excitement - and peril. After that, I told them what they were and they went on finishing their characters. Our first session will be tomorrow - wish us (ME!!) luck... Andre ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 18:27:35 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Smif At 12:49 PM -0400 6/19/97, Gregory Littmann wrote: [...] >> Seriously, if you don't like Smif, then who *would* you get? > > Hang on! I never actually said I didn't like Smif. What I was >suggesting was that uncoloured Smif might actually have been better than >coloured Smif. You don't like the *coloring* job?? But, but, but... There's all these subtle details that just aren't in the original B&W stuff! Noses, in particular; the rippling on Valefor's jacket... How could we lose the coloring? - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com // emccoy@jade.mv.net GURPS characters, Roleplayers; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 14:10:05 From: Jeff Miller Subject: Re: IN> Novalis and Jordi's Cliffhanger >> And... ...Laurance.... --> > > "As the Heavens Turn." > And now that we've heard from our resident servator of Nybbas.... -- Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 08:30:17 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: Re: IN> Tethers Walter Milliken wrote: > > The thing that drives me to pick 1 per 100,000 or thereabouts is that at > any higher level, you can't plausibly get Tethers near the PC's base of > action unless they happen to be in a *major* city, or in a place that > naturally should have a Tether anyway (some kind of major landmark). > Well, I live in Brisbane - one of the largest Australian cities, and capital of the state, but still considered provincal and small by the standards of the bigger cities in the South. We have a population of approximately 1.3 million. By your reasoning, that'd be 13 Tethers. I think that's a lot for a place that, quite frankly, isn't terribly important. Three or four, I could handle. The problem is trying to juggle 'realism' with the dramatic requirements for a game environment. How about 1 Tether per 400,000 population - with variance depending on the signifigance of the area (sure, Cape Canaveral isn't highly populated, but you gotta figure there are Tethers for Jean and Vapula there). As for celestial population - I like the idea of roughly 1 per 100,000 (I think Vampire used the same ratio), spread across both sides, plus the Seneschals of the Tethers. In a small city, that means that the PCs probably consitute one entire side in the conflict, with an NPC to report to. Just my opinion, and bear in mind that I've yet to run an IN game. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia Jazz crowd, walking 'round the gallery, Walking 'round the gallery: "Where'd all the dip go? Where'd all the dip go? "Where'd all the dip go? Is there any more red wine? "Any more red wine? Where'd all the dip go?" ANDY PRIEBOY, "The New York Debut of an LA Artist" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 08:33:58 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Fiction post This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------62CC2AEFC52 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit G'day. I thought I should do something to add to the list, since all I usually do is kibitz. The file attached is a sample short piece that I sent as an 'audition' to Steve Jackson, since the IN Website mentioned the possibility of upcoming fiction projects. I'm glad to say that Steve liked parts of it, and when the IN fiction starts coming out, I have a chance of being involved! Anyway, hope you like it. If it doesn't unfold properly, let me know, and I'll repost it. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia Jazz crowd, walking 'round the gallery, Walking 'round the gallery: "Where'd all the dip go? Where'd all the dip go? "Where'd all the dip go? Is there any more red wine? "Any more red wine? Where'd all the dip go?" ANDY PRIEBOY, "The New York Debut of an LA Artist" - --------------62CC2AEFC52 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; name="Nomine.wpw" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline; filename="Nomine.wpw" ÿWPC I’ve got John Zorn turned up to 11 inside my cab - the “Yo, man, you need a cab?” I ask as I crank the volume down (oh well), pop the trunk and get out. He looks startled - maybe by the music, maybe by my arrival, maybe by the (very natty) dreadlocks my Vessel sports - and he stands there confused by a second as I grab his suitcase and stick in the trunk. I make a motion towards his attache case, and with that he snaps to, picks it up and gets into the back of the cab. I got my eyes peeled for the Bad Guys as I climb into the front and head out of the parking lot at about 5 miles over the limit, which is stupid-slow, but I don’t wanna attract attention. “Umm.. the Illinois Institute of Technology, please.” Callahan settles back into his seat as I get onto Highway 90 and jack the speed up to 100, which is a whole lot better for this little Ofanim’s peace of mind. I can see him checking out my driver ID as we dodge around the traffic. Randall Jones, it says (which is close enough to the truth), with a very nice photo of me doing a sorta Ray Charles smile for the camera. Very reassurin’, that smile, and I can see him relaxin’ in his seat - which is as good a cue as any to bump our speed up by another five miles. “So, man, you goin’ to that symposium on renewable energy sources?” He looks surprised. “Well, yes.... I’m surprised you’ve heard about it. I chuckle. “Hey dude, just ‘cos I drive a cab don’t mean I’m ignorant.” He blushes. Actually, bein’ well-read sorta comes with the territory, since Yves doesn’t employ you as a Servitor of Destiny unless you’re prepared to hang out in libraries a lot. Callahan seems kinda embarrassed by his From Hi-90 we get to the JFK Expressway, rippin’ down into Chicago, and I’ve got one eye on the road ahead, one on the rearview checkin’ for any sign of the Bad Guys. Soon we get close to the city, and I’m feelin’ confident enough to check Callahan’s credentials. See, I got the call about the Doc from Monique over in LA, but the Bad Guys gunned her down in the phone booth while she was givin’ me the word from Yves. Bastard demons. Anyway, I wasn’t too sure if this was the guy, since that part of the message got drowned out by gunfire. I look at him in the rearview, and let a note of Essence bleed into my perception. It was him, all right. The Doc’s destiny was etched into his eyes, in the lines of his face. A paper at this symposium on clean nuclear power, a research program at MIT following, with a serious drop in nuclear pollution coming down the pipe in about thirty years. That’s good for humanity, and that means Downstairs was against it. Hell wanted this guy 86-ed pretty bad. Not with me at the wheel. No chance in Heaven. Bad news is, I may have alerted the opposition with that off-note, because as we go from JFK onto Dan Ryan, a dark-green Yugo starts tailing us. Gotta be the Bad Guys - who else is gonna drive a Yugo? It sits on my tail for six blocks before coming closer through the traffic. “Yo, Doc,” I say, and Callahan looks up from his notes, “I think we got some carjackers on our tail.” “ “High crime area, man. Fasten your belt, I’ll try and shake ‘em.” With that I ram down the pedal, the needle leaps over 130, and we leave a layer of rubber on the road. The Yugo drops back for a bit, but starts catchin’ up as I spin the wheel and detour towards Chinatown, duckin’ and weavin’ through downtown traffic. Callahan jostles around in his belt, and looks at me like I’m crazy. The Yugo comes up close, rammin’ my cab and droppin’ back. They do it again, Doc is panicin’, and my cab makes protestin’ sounds. I start singin’, pourin’ Essence outside the cab and pullin’ winds around the cab to protect us. Callahan freaks “What’re you... how can you be “Be cool, man. No-one’s dyin’ in my cab.” The Yugo gets buffetted back by the winds, fallin’ back as I cut through an empty side street. I keep singin’, reachin’ out a hand of Essence and grabbin’ a street sign as we scream past, pullin’ it down behind up into the Yugo’s path. It brakes hard to avoid a crash, and I do a spin onto Roosevelt Road and head for the Institute, dodgin’ traffic like a salmon swimmin’ upstream. We get to the college, Yugo somewhere out of sight. I screech to a halt at the door of the Symposium centre, jump out and pull out Callahan’s suitcase. He struggles out, still in shock. “You... my god... call the police!” “They’re too busy, man, don’t wanna bother them. You just go give your paper.” He gives me the hairy eyeball. “You’re crazy! I’m... I’m going to report you!” I shrug as I get back in the cab. “Your call, man. I’m just doin’ my job. Hey - no charge, okay?” He stares at me as I peel out. Mortals - too uptight. Still, I don’t expect gratitude - not for bulldozin’ them into a higher purpose they might not The Yugo is just coming into the Institute parking lot. I grab my sawn-off shotgun from under the seat, crank the stereo to 11 and aim the cab right at them, Thunder bubbling up in my throat. Damn - I mean, --------------62CC2AEFC52-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 15:26:35 From: Jeff Miller Subject: Re: IN> Poetry corner >If you'd like me to post the complete "My Cat Jeoffry" segment to the >list, or would like to post it yourself, feel free to ask or do. > Please do. I'd love to see the full post. -- Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 18:47:12 -0400 (EDT) From: "Michael C. Nutt" Subject: Re: IN> Vessel Anatomy On the subject of dead vessels... I thought about this some time ago, and to me, it would seem reasonable that they might just vanish after the energies of the celestial inhabiting them disperse. You might get the vessel hanging around for a time, measured in minutes, perhaps, to allow for dramatic scenes with the freshly-slain corpse, but the vessel would vanish soon. I have to admit, I stole the idea from the X-Files, where those clones dissolved upon death, but it would neatly resolve questions that dead vessels lying around might raise, as well as avoiding the whole question that I raised a while back about a nasty servitor of Saminga trying to zombify the slain vessel of a celestial. Michael Teamwork is essential... it gives them someone else to shoot at. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 15:56:52 From: Jeff Miller Subject: Re: IN>Arches&Princes At 06:31 PM 6/18/97 -0600, you wrote: >> >Now, >> >unfortunately, there are many, many Baalites looking for me. >> But of course, word is going to spread that your character is a worthy >> opponent since he actually managed to draw blood on Baal. > Good point...that'd probably actually be some protection; Baal >wouldn't want one of his first worthy opponents to be taken out by a >sniper shot in the back from 300 yards away, so at least the Malakim can >expect honorable, one-on-one challenges. In most cases, at least. > Unless, of course, one of the demons figures out a way to disable the Malakite from a distance and then make it look like he had a fair fight.... -- Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 13:44:06 From: Jeff Miller Subject: Re: IN> Arches&Princes >I agree back, that AD&D had problems with people wanting to become too >powerful to make the game anything but hell on the dm, I'm sure that some >prince is the prince of powergaming. I would like the idea of how AA's & >DP's would react to threats and the like and in the future I hope to see >an explaination of how powerful the game claims the superiors to be. But >I feel it would be a good idea not to indulge the exact stats for them (I >didn't want to know attributes) but instead to tell how many forces each >has. This sets up the ranking order and what the servitors might be >reaching for. > That might be interesting but I think that you would have to give them a different stat. By putting it in Forces, you still get the AD&D problem even if you end up with *really* big numbers. I'd just scale it and give them Megaforces (1 through 6) and just not explain how Megaforces relate to regular Forces. However, my preference is to keep them as plot devices. I think that you can tell pretty well just from their descriptions who would win an engagement. However, I would assume that unless a *lot* of back stage maneuvering and treachery are involved that even the winner will be in such bad shape that he'd be easy pickings. Thus, they would be *very* hesitant to go "to the wall" in a fight. -- Jeff ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #219 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.