From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Tue Aug 5 22:41:43 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 WAA15656 for ; Tue, 5 Aug 1997 22:41:43 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id UAA03099 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Tue, 5 Aug 1997 20:52:55 -0500 Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 20:52:55 -0500 Message-Id: <199708060152.UAA03099@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 #282 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 Tuesday, August 5 1997 Volume 01 : Number 282 In this digest: IN> Dominic is not a Bad Guy IN> Dominic is not a Bad Guy Re: IN> Why I DID buy Night Music IN> Sex in Heaven RE: IN> Satire or straight? IN> Lilim Geases IN> Humans Q. IN> Superiors of Borg Re: IN> Why I DID buy Night Music IN> Re: Why Lilim aren't playtoys Re: IN> Satire or straight? Re: IN> The Seven Skulls of Satan IN> And now a word from our sponsor... Re: IN> The Seven Skulls of Satan IN> Adventure report: Slugs of Vapula [Long] Re: IN> Celestial Enquirer (A Publication of Kobal Enterprises, Ink.) IN> Relic Weapons IN> Sex in Heaven IN> Maarath, Familiar Outcast from Fire ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:08:43 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Dominic is not a Bad Guy >>>Then he probably would or should have called them off when Yves defended Gabriel.<<< I explained the resulting scenario in this hypothesis earlier. >>>There's nothing to say that Gabriel was nuts before the trial. Her description, rather, suggests that the trial itself was what pushed her.<<< It may suggest that, but there are other factors involved. >>>The damage had already been done. How could the exile of an archangel help Christianity?<<< Prevent further attacks on Christianity. >>>Strong argument.<<< What more do you want me to say? You think X, I think Y, and you seem to be taking this a bit too seriously. - -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:08:41 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Dominic is not a Bad Guy >>>I really have to wonder, though: why are you (collectively, that is) arguing over Dominic's true nature? This isn't something explicitly stated in the book; it's an interpretation of a rather incomplete history, explaining his problems with certain Archangels. Once more details come out, a better definition could be made, but until then, it's going to be up in the air, and everyone is going to have their interpretation of the information presented.<<< Intellectual stimulation, and because I hate seeing irrational assumptions go unchallenged. :) Of course Dominic might be as nasty and evil as some have suggested. Even the writers sometimes disagree about how a particular Superior should be presented. ( ;)) - -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 09:53:41 -0600 (MDT) From: Kingsley Lintz Subject: Re: IN> Why I DID buy Night Music Gregory Littmann commented; > But they ought to take their job *very* seriously all the same. The war > between the celestials is the most important thing in the universe and ... > should any of them be able to tolerate what the other side is up to. Even > if we allow that demons are purely selfish, so can indulge in truce if > they don't feel like being beaten up, I don't see how an Angel can stand > by while human souls are at risk. What about precisely because the War is the most important thing in the universe? It's been going on for a very, very long time, even after adjusting for their lifespans...it would make sense that, as happens in a lot of wars that go on for more than a couple years, both sides have started to forget what they're fighting FOR. Hence, you're starting to get Angels who are in it just to beat up all the Demons, who don't much care about humans. You're getting OTHER Angels who see this and find it horrible. The first of these might ally with demons for strategic advantage. (Having a few demons you talk to gives you a source for information and a way to learn about some of their abilities without having to experience them the hard way..) The others may strive for truces precisely BECAUSE they care about humans, and have seen the way indiscriminite warring can take them out on the sidelines... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:08:37 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Sex in Heaven >>>Also, it may be hard to recognise a dead homosexual as *being* homosexual. There's not much fun to be had in Hell, so I'm told and somehow I don't see the fun in Heaven being that carnal.<<< Why not? There's no *Lust* in Heaven, that doesn't mean there isn't sexuality. (There have been numerous references to angels being lovers.) Besides, homosexuality isn't just who you have sex with. Do you know any homosexuals? How do you know they're gay? Presumably not because you saw them having sex.... >>>I haven't been to church in a while, but I'm *sure* that if there were loads of sex in Heaven, they would have mentioned it - it would be a big selling point.<<< How would they know? And lemme let you in on a little secret..... This is In Nomine. It's a game. If there is a real Heaven, I kinda doubt it much resembles the Heaven depicted in the rulebook... - -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 11:24:00 -0500 From: "Yeager, Alex" Subject: RE: IN> Satire or straight? Un-lurk alert!! Un-lurk alert!! > From: Hart, Joanna >> From: "Emily K. Dresner" >>> In Nomine is, in large part, a satire and meant to be played as >>> one (although precious little help for GMs wanting to run a satire >>> game is given in the rulebook). ...Austin could be a satire of >>> expected celestial interaction, or an homage to "Good Omens". >> Oh, I disagree strongly. Yes, it can have a nice, light plot. > You know, satire doesn't necessarily equate with 'funny, light plot'. > It can be funny without being light - part of the thing with > satire is that you can use the humour to brush against some rather > dark issues which would be difficult to deal with in a straight way. I can't let this thread go by without commenting...I couldn't agree more with the "funny vs. light" (in the same way I can argue "serious vs. dark"). Animal Farm is a masterpiece of satire and, while not a "comedy", certainly has laughs and humor in it. (I would consider 1984 the "dark" companion satire, even though there'sa good measure of laughs if you look...) I'm in the process of scripting my IN scenario for Cubicon (UM-Dearborn), AndCon (Toledo) and BASHCon (U of Toledo). My goal (as it usually is) is to ceate a storyline that is serious enough to capture attention for a gaming session, but allows the characters opportunity to get into (and out of) situations with lots of humor (and I loooove a good running gag). As it stands, this scenario starts "seriously" (to the point that there are built-in Dissonance rolls for players who laugh at a certain prop as it's introduced), but will definitely get mirthful before the climax. (It's a story about our heroic angelic PCs, a really dumb Calabim of Kobol, and a very important pizza delivery...) I submit this with the caveats that A) my personality (and skill set) is such that I need that blast of laughter every so often, and B) conventions require a lighter touch than a full-blown campaign. With a consistent group of players, it's easier to alternate between dark and light. With a group that is unfamiliar with each other (and the game, at this point in time), humor wrapped around a simple-to-understand story and goal will help get them through... > The way I run with the satire is to pick a tight theme/ setting. > The actual satire is ... in the NPCs, the general setup and > the way in which players can relate to things that happen > in the real world. ...and it's creating a scene with those elements incorporated "naturallly". Little things: Marc's Holy agendas (you think he's going to have a meeting without an agenda?) A Seraph who finds himself in charge of a Personals section of a newspaper. A Calabite who has to take an assembly-line job for one day. My greatest accomplishment as a GM is when the players "get it" enough to be able to say, "Okay, I cook the pasta al dente, drain off the Holy Water, top it with sauce and garnish it for the Balseraph at table 5",...with a straight face. Alex Yeager MIB/FoL/INWO Local 23 (Ann Arbor/Detroit) yeagerAW@Maritz.com P.S. Ah, the things you can do with Holy Water...remind me to tell you about the sauna Dominic helped install at the U.S. Capitol building. Even he has his moments..... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:08:39 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Lilim Geases >>> If a Need-Geas is invoked and resisted, *somebody* should take dissonance, or else Lilim would swap un-tested Need-Geasa all the time. (*Especially* if the dissonance for a resisted Geas vanished that way!)<<< I don't think swapping *away* a Geas you've already invoked, had resisted, and gained dissonance for would get rid of a Lilim's dissonance. But I don't see why they couldn't swap a Geas to someone else. (How often are they going to *want* to trade a Geas for which the Need has been fulfilled? Now if you managed to fulfill a Need on someone you think has a Will too high for you to invoke it on, you find a more powerful celestial who can deal with that, and see what he has to offer in trade.) >>>I think that the dissonance will backlash onto the person who did the invoking, normally, not the person who fulfilled the Need (if it differs).<<< I can't see a resisted Geas inflicting dissonance on anyone but a Lilim. Dissonance results from violating one's *own* celestial nature, and failing to invoke a Geas isn't going to be dissonant for non-Lilim. (What if a mortal invoked a Geas and failed? Mortals can't incur dissonance.) I think a Geas invoked by a non-Lilim loses the power to inflict dissonance. Yes, it offers Lilim a way to avoid risking dissonance for their Geases, but it also adds a level of complication for them to reap any benefits from fulfilling Needs, and how many Lilim will want to go around fulfilling Needs and then letting someone *else* call in the sucker's debts? - -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 11:22:20 -0500 (CDT) From: Martin Leslie Leuschen Subject: IN> Humans Q. According to the new (Night Music) rules, humans don't have vessels - they just get CorpF*ST hits. (Implies Vessel/0.) Question: What happens to them at negative hits? Under the current rules, they die instantly... Regards, Martin Leuschen martinl@rice.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:08:46 -0500 (CDT) From: Dorothy Bixler Subject: IN> Superiors of Borg On Tue, 5 Aug 1997, Nana Yaw Ofori wrote: [snip, snip, snip] > Superiors of Borg. > [more snipping] > > I am Laurence of Borg. (?) You have already been Assimilated. Keep up the Good Fight. > [snip again] > I am Novalis of Borg. (?) Assimilation is _so_ uncool. Why don't we go out dancing instead? > And how about... I am Christopher of Borg. Play nice and be Assimilated. I am Fluerty of Borg. Smoke this and be Assimilated. and for the newest Prince... I am Furfur of Borg. I Assimilated my soul for Rock and Roll. *Dorothy Michelle Bixler * mudmh10@ecom.ecn.bgu.edu* ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 14:08:11 -0400 (EDT) From: "Emily K. Dresner" Subject: Re: IN> Why I DID buy Night Music > > Oh, I disagree strongly. Yes, it can have a nice, light plot. That's > > certainly do-able, but I'm not using one. I think I'm a little too > I have to admit, it's hard to see you doing a nice, light > plot...I could see you trying, though. You'd start out with a nice, > cheerful plot, filled with laughter and light, and then just when everyone > relaxed, they'd notice that the shiny black floor they're standing on is > moving... See, you know you are loved when you see this kind of stuff. :) And while you're at it, don't step off the floor without walking the Tau-Cross naming the presiding angel for each of the Sephiroth and chanting the proper Hebrew phrase and for God's sake man, don't step on the Daath spot! You've been warned. You're right, though. I couldn't run happy and light if I wanted to. I mean, here's this enormous gothic setting filled with blackness, angst, pain, guilt and sex, and I'm gonna pass it up? Nope. From my standpoint, In Nomine sits between Amber and Kult. On one end, you can have darkenss and pain, but in general it really takes a bit of doing and in the end, it's a big soap opera filled with more of the love-angst and the pain of being generically screwed. On the other end, you have darkness and pain and death and that's ALL you have, which has its place, but I don't think even I could take it all the time. Speaking of which, there's another thread I need to go start. (Yeah, I've played Vampire. I find it sort of tame.) > Some have to Fall harder than others. Mercurians and Kyriotates > have it pretty rough, though in different ways. (Kyriotates fall HARD when > they fall, but can do it without going out of their way to do anything bad > themselves. Same with Ofanim. Mercurians, barring Beth's note that it > could just be disagreements with their Superior's rules, have to do pretty > nasty things for it..but don't change as much as some.) > Seraphim, on the other hand, just have to tell a few white lies, > and presto, sign 'em up for Malpheas. You gotta wonder if there's like a waiting list of brand new Balseraphs trying to get into Hell. It's so easy for them to just slip and find themselves in a bit of a bind, and they're not even that bad. > > I'll defend the potential good in Lilim until the end of time, but demons > > are bad. They do BAD things. They don't do funny things, they do bad > 'Course, there are also the ones who are demons because they > started out as Imps/Gremlins and just haven't ever tried the other way... > For some reason unknown to me I can't seem to create too many of these guys. Lameness on my part, I admit. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Aug 97 17:20:00 GMT From: "Hart, Joanna" Subject: IN> Re: Why Lilim aren't playtoys Verrry interesting ;-) Thanks. I'd guess that Lilith doesn't bother with keeping an eye on the Lilim on a reliably regular basis, only when shes in that sort of mood. If she did, the other Princes might not be so keen to have so many Lilim servitors. They have to feel that its worth the effort - swings and roundabouts - and being a naturally paranoid lot, they probably like to feel their servants know which side their bread is buttered... >Does Asmodeus *really* want >to have fifty of his best agents scrutinized by the IRS, just >to bring down one Free Daughter who's decided to start herding >sheep in the wilderness instead of tempting mortals for a while? >She's not hurting anyone (this is also the point...), but she's >not helping, either. He probably doesn't want to but he mightn't have much choice either. After all, what are all the other Lilim (and other demons for that matter) going to think if it looks as if the tempters get concessions and can skip off duty whenever they feel like it? My best guess in this case is that the 50 agents get scrutinised, Azzie drops in to see Lilith for a quiet chat over tea to discuss various political realities and the unfortunate possible consequences for Lilim in the future and... they cut a deal. That Lilim is toast (gotta reputation to keep, after all) - but the next one might not be. (Actually in my game Asmodeus and Lilith are consorts because it fits so nicely with the folklore I'm using as background but thats seriously non-canon :) ). I'd guess that the ideal from the Demon Prince (or Princess) p.o.v is always to be as inscrutable and unpredictable as possible to their minions, to keep them on their toes and give them less footholds for scheming against their superiors (which is probably Hell's national sport) ;-) jo ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 15:14:20 -0400 (EDT) From: "Emily K. Dresner" Subject: Re: IN> Satire or straight? > >Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 09:34:22 -0400 (EDT) > >From: "Emily K. Dresner" > > > >> In Nomine is, in large part, a satire and meant to be played as > >> one (although precious little help for GMs wanting to run a satire > game is > >> given in the rulebook). The situation in Austin could be a satire of > >> expected celestial interaction, or an homage to "Good Omens". > > > >Oh, I disagree strongly. Yes, it can have a nice, light plot. > > You know, satire doesn't necessarily equate with 'funny, light plot'. Or > rather, it can be funny without being light - part of the thing with > satire is that you can use the humour to brush against some rather dark > issues which would be difficult to deal with in a straight way. At this point I'll call an end and say that it's a matter of taste and style. I very much enjoy British satire, but I think (for myself) trying to keep up that sort of wit would get very difficult in a long run campaign, and for my players, I would get pretty predictable. On the other hand, I don't expect everyone and their cousin to be a pack of drooling Sandman addicts. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:13:58 -0400 (EDT) From: Highway Star Subject: Re: IN> The Seven Skulls of Satan According to Earl Wajenberg: > > Now here's an idea: We know Michael takes trophies, and that he > won that battle. Might Michael's cathedral contain a few of Satan's > seven skulls? Wouldn't those make interesting foci for stealing, > making relics out of, etc.? > Ooo...Such an evil idea. That might be good for having Valefor steal them, then lose them on Earth (perhaps to Janus), and let some poor archeologists find them and try to figure out what the heck they are. Then you'll have Michael wanting 'em back, Valefor and Janus competing over 'em, and mebbe ole Lucifer wants 'em back to recreate his vessel and take a second shot at Michael on Earth. So the various superiors of the PCs, of course, want the skulls for various reasons. In my group: Asmodeus - wants them to gain favor with Lucifer. Janus - noted above. Eli - wants them to "create" a new creature, perhaps to make up for man's depredations. He may be assisted by Jordi or Novalis in that. Laurence and Dominic would want to assist Michael. SeanMike - -- The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots. - Thomas Jefferson, 1787 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 14:32:14 -0400 (EDT) From: AGLoomis@aol.com Subject: IN> And now a word from our sponsor... [Reprinted courtesy of Niels Erickson , posted from my AOL account due to other accounts being semi-squirrely of late. Various people on the list know Niels -- he tells me that a few years back, when he was still working for Lou Zocchi, Evil Stevie spotted him (Niels) at the Zocchi Distributors booth and said "I didn't recognize you in pants!" This is because much of Niels' con-appearing is actually done by his alter-ego, Margali Morwentari, elven sorceress (age 829 and holding), whose "Margali's Thriller Theatre" show is the source of the series of ads of which this is the first. - AGL] Margali here for Motel 666, the place where you can go when you're tired as heck. You'll always get a warm reception -- and once you drop your baggage, you may *never* leave. We don't promise pie in the sky or pearly gates, but you'll never spend a cold night *here.* And smoke? We don't care if you burn! Just remember Motel 666 -- and we'll leave the goat flaming on the lawn for you. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 23:23:37 +0100 (BST) From: maya@tcp.co.uk (GR Cogman) Subject: Re: IN> The Seven Skulls of Satan >According to Earl Wajenberg: >> >> Now here's an idea: We know Michael takes trophies, and that he >> won that battle. Might Michael's cathedral contain a few of Satan's >> seven skulls? Wouldn't those make interesting foci for stealing, >> making relics out of, etc.? >> A passing thought: what if some plot that the PCs were involved in required one of those Skulls, and they had to try and get it from Michael's cathedral? They could always go and make a polite request of Michael, I suppose. Very polite. With good reasons. Maya - --- Maya, Elohim of Eli in service to Blandine maya@tcp.co.uk - -- "There are those who say that wizards are subject to temptations and addictions beyond the understanding of ordinary men: the addiction to shape-changing, or to meditation under the influence of certain herbs and conditions of the stars; the obsession with knowledge, and the development of power. Yet this is not so. Temptation is temptation, obsession is obsession, and choice is choice." - Isar Chelladan, Precepts of Wizardry. -- "Dog Wizard", Barbara Hambly. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Aug 97 13:42:32 PDT From: Christopher Paul Subject: IN> Adventure report: Slugs of Vapula [Long] I recently ran "Slugs of Vapula," an adventure seed that was posted here. Thanks to Maya for the seed. Here's what happened: The Angels I run for are a Cherub of David, and Ofanite of Michael, A Kyrio of Jean and a Mercurian of Jean. They had just finished dealing with some business in Washington D.C. and had spread out to do some good deeds, when the Cherub of David and the Ofanite of Mike both received "celestial pages" to report to the tether of Laurance and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. They did, and were both surprised to be greeted by both of their superiors, Mike and David, and them looking none too happy, at that. The PCs were quickly relieved to find out that it wasn't their fault that the AAs looked upset, but they weren't pleased with what they were told. Michael (the first Seraph) informs them that his tether at Menjalte stone field east of Oakland (CA) has been destroyed by a Malakim of David, Pyrite. David informs them that they will investigate and report back with an explanation for this unacceptable occurrence. Michael turns to the Jeanites cowering in the back of the tether (not really sure why they are there) and hands them a half-melted lump of what used to be some technological device. "This was found at the scene," he announces, "perhaps you can be of some help." The Angels are transported across Heaven to a Tether of Michael's that is some distance from the now defunct one. It turns out to be Fort Tejon park, south of Bakersfield. They converse with the Seneschal, the park ranger there, and learn several things. First, the tether destruction was so loud that it was heard here. They also get a brief history of Menjalte Stone Field. Apparently the Stone Field used to be a gigantic monolith, and was actually a Tether of David for a few eon. A glacier smashed it, however, and then it was just a stone field for a long time. After the dawn of Man, nomadic peoples fought the first major battle of North America in the area, and the victors called it "Menjalte." While the name and the history have left human consciousness, Michael, and the Symphony, remembers. It was not a well known or popular tether, and the Seneschal was none too impressive. Armed with this information, they head north. They arrive in Oakland, and by following the echoes of the destruction, are able to find the remains of Menjalte Stone Field. At the scene they find a crater, burnt grass, police tape, three chalk outlines, and two burnt out cars. The only person on the scene is "Steban, The Angel of Higher Consciousness" out from Berkeley. (Unknown to the PCs, actually the Demon of Higher Consciousness, a Habb of Kronos serving Fleurity). Steban is singularly unhelpful and leaves after he gets "bad vibes" off the PCs. Not getting much clue sauce on location, and having forgotten the clue Michael handed to them, they decide to check the Morgue for the identities of the chalk outlines. It being late at night, they break into the Morgue (easily accomplished by the Cherub of David just walking through the wall of the brick building). The three John Doe's are all badly burned, and two of them appear to have been thrown quite far by an explosion. All are quite clearly racist skinheads, and the Cherub of David surmises (correctly) that they were servants of Pyrite. In addition to the three from the field (whom they expected), there are two more John Doe's, both also skinheads, both time of deathed much more recently, both killed by being shot twice in the forehead. They break into the affects locker, and recover some charred clothing, $42, and half a receipt from Denny's for breakfast foods totally $72. They close up the morgue and head for Denny's, a perfectly reasonable thing for Angels to do at 3am. At Denny's, they are waited on by Marge the waitress (secretly Estes, Lilim of Haagenti). They start asking questions about the skinheads, and, based on their questions and their unusual dress relative to each other, Marge guesses they might be celestials investigating the recent tether pop. Before she can act nefariously on her deduction, the Mercurian of Jean uses his resonance on her and gets a Holy Spirit Intervention. His resonance works so well that it reveals to him not just the social networks her vessel and role are involved in, but the full extent of demonic connections as well. He holds it in until she goes to get their orders. He informs his colleagues, and, to MY surprise, they toss a $20 on the table and bail before the food comes. The Angels sit around stumped for a while, and then decide to cruise some unsavory areas or bars looking for skinheads. While cruising, they hear a disturbance to the Symphony. On a perception roll check of six, the Mercurian who is driving recognizes it as the sound of a human being shot in the forehead. They roar down the street, track the source of the disturbance, turn a corner, and see the man who must have been the shooter getting on a Motorcycle. Risking dissonance, the Mercurian driver heads the car straight at him! The man whips out his .357 revolver and pastes one through the windshield, stunning the driver. He then leaps out of the way of the onrushing car. Seeing the driver get nailed, the Ofanim in the back seat tries to steer the car, but fails. The car crashes. Airbags save the forward passengers, but they have an un-seatbelted Ofanite tossed at their heads. By the time they recover from the stun of impact and debark the car, the shooter is ready, and grabs the Mercurian driver as he exits, throwing him up against the side of the car, pointing his gun at his head, and demanding to know what they think they are doing. The Mercurian explains that he is a servitor of Jean, and is seeking answers for the destruction of the Tether. The man with the gun informs them that he is Pi-Joh, Vassal of War, and that he is taking vengeance for the destruction of the tether by slaying the destroyers servants. The Cherub gets out the other side of the car, and Pi-Joh switches to covering him. He introduces himself as a servitor of David, and is promptly shot in the face. He then calmly explains that they are all looking for an explanation for the Tether's destruction, in which he had no part. Pi-Joh (a Malakite) uses his resonance and decides that the Cherub is decent, and he will listen to what they have to say. They dissuade him from his vengeful path, at least until full evidence can be collected. They realize they have accounted for the extra skinhead bodies in the morgue. (I really enjoyed this whole sequence; I had tried, unsuccessfully, to play up the Michael/David tension implicit in this event in the party, but the Michaelite and the Davidian in the party already had each others' full trust. The average Michaelite on the street, however. . . I really appreciated that the Cherub's player was not the least bit upset that he'd been shot in the face. He realized it followed perfectly, and that he'd introduced himself and explained his mission in the wrong order.) The Kyriotate used Corp Song of Healing to get the car back in shape. With Pi-Joh, the team went off to find someone to give them some information. They wanted to interrogate a skinhead, preferably a witness. They cruised around for a while, and then decided that they'd look for skinheads at Denny's, and talk to "Marge" if they couldn't find any. Upon arriving at Denny's, the Ofanite of Michael noticed a skinhead watching them from behind a dumpster, hiding in an alley when he realized he'd been spotted. Being Ofanim, he ran offer to talk to this guy, and ran smack into the ambush of skinheads (possessed by slugs and shedim) that Marge had called down for extra security on the Denny's. They battled the possessed skinheads. Pi-Joh was killed when a knife wielding thug managed a Lucifer intervention with a 666. They killed 7 skinheads and captured 1. In one of the last blows of the fight, the Ofanite of Michael managed to roll a 666 while trying to shoot a skinhead who was grappling with the Cherub of David, and so missed the skinhead and ended up shooting the Cherub in the spine, paralyzing him from the waist down. Dragging their prisoner and their paralyzed Cherub, they fled the extremely noisy scene. The fled to a Motel where they hid for, oh, about ten minutes before 4 Hippies with shotguns burst in on them. Nelapa, Master of Peace and Angel of Non-Violent Protest demanded that they surrender and explain themselves. Nelapa's Seraph arrived soon in her flower delivery van, and they soon finished admonishing the human killing Angels (though not forgiving or failing to keep an eye on them) and joined forces to solve the mystery. A Song of Corp Healing roused the captive skinhead. With a Master of Peace present, everyone was surprisingly calm. They spoke with him briefly, and Nelapa's seraph furnished them with the information that his faculties were not fully his own. They puzzled briefly about how they might get him unpossessed (assuming he was held by a shedite). Finally, one of Nelapa's Malakim used Song of Possession on him, possessing the body and discovering that he was still not in control. Perplexed, they sat around until someone noticed the strange subdermal puffiness around the nape of the skinhead's furless neck. They took their prisoner to the med school at UCSF where a soldier of God of Nelapa's acquaintance works as a Dr. They were able to discover the slug and remove it alive without harming the skinhead. While at the hospital, they did several things: 1) they interrogated the now-free willed skinhead. He has lost recollection of several days, but remembers many strange dreams, including "Blowing up God." They confirm that he was a servant of Pyrite, and that eating at Denny's is one of the last things he remembers. 2) they examine the slug, and, with a Vassal of Lightning's ability to discern the functions of technology, immediately see what it is and what it can do. They also notice a strange "pin" with circuits on it stuck in the slug. They X-ray the slug to get a better look at the pin, and the vassal of lightning recognizes it as an unholy relic, a "soul fork" (my invention and addition) which allows a celestial to multiply it's consciousness, effectively making a shedim into an evil kyrio. 3) surmising that there is a Shedim in the slug and that removing the soul fork will force him to rejoin the rest of his soul, they get ready with their Songs of Celestial Light and pull the plug. They come pretty darn close to blowing a force of the poor fellow as a celestial shedim fragment is yanked across the landscape toward the rest of it's soul. (Yes, they do eventually take advantage of the direction indicated by that powerful pull). So, now they think they have it pretty much figured out. They Kyrio of Jean possesses a lab technician and sets about repairing the clunky melted technology given to them by Michael, at least enough so that it's purpose becomes clear to him. Sure enough, it is an anklet binder thing that prevents a soul from leaving a vessel easily. Now all they need to do is find Pyrite and figure out who's slipping people slugs. They start looking for Pyrite urgently and systematically, and, since it was the right time in the adventure, they find his poor crazy remnant ass wandering around in an alley. He isn't much use, except in confirming deductions. A burn on his ankle matches the shape of the melted anklet binder. The now freewilled skinhead captive confirms his identity. They return to Denny's, only to find that Marge didn't come to her shift today. They fast-talk the manager into giving them her address. Arriving at Marge's, they find indications that she left in a hurry. The Mercurian hits '*69' on her phone, and finds that her last call was to Sundial Technologies, Inc. They find empty styrofoam bio-containers, with suspiciously slug shaped apertures, embossed with "ST." They head for Sundial Technologies. On arrival, they realize that this building is on a direct line with the exact direction the Shedim fragment left the hospital. They lose their element of surprise by trying to trick the Demons into coming outside by setting off one of their car alarms. By the time they finally break in, the Shedim is using a lab technician and Numinous Corpus wings to escape with a briefcase full of plans and the mother slug. Having dowsed the place in gasoline, a bold Balseraph of Vapula armed with a "Mars Attacks" style ray-gun holds them off until the building blows up. A few Songs of Corporeal Healing later, they go to the Presidio and invoke Michael and David. The AAs listen to their story, and David takes the remnant Pyrite and disbands his forces back into the symphony. The Angels are thanked for their work, and David suggests that the Jeanites inform their superior about the existence of the various infernal and unpleasant technologies that they have uncovered. fin. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 05 Aug 1997 10:15:32 From: Jeff Miller Subject: Re: IN> Celestial Enquirer (A Publication of Kobal Enterprises, Ink.) At 02:31 PM 8/4/97 -0400, you wrote: >>Her problems come when she runs into a Malakim of Flowers or Destiny, >>Either of whom is more likely to resonate a need to redeem a demon and >>either of whom are going to be quite happy to hopld her down while >>explaining why herbal teas make you a lot less cranky or why it is your >>destiny to fight against the forces of darkness. > >Well, Malakim can't suffer evil to live, but I suppose that >they could rationalize it as "If we can redeem her, she won't >be evil, so we're just keeping her alive while it's expedient >to try...." Walks kinda close to dissonance, but... > I dunno on that one. I'd think that if they let a demon live while it is likely that that demon can be redeemed and they are actively trying to redeem that demon (no weasel factor here) then it wouldn't be dissonant. By redeeming a demon, they are actually getting the value of two kills. If good is 1 and evil is -1, most Malakim get 1 kill by killing the demon (making it 0). By redeeming a demon you would get the value of 2 kills (moving a -1 to a 1). I would figure that Destiny's Malakim would do it if they saw that the demon was likely to redeem itself while a Malakim of flowers might kill a demon only if it has demonstrated that it can't or won't be redeemed. >K.K. probably gets really frustrated by Malakim of Flowers... > K.K. looks into the eyes of a Malakim of Flowers and reads: "I *need* you give up your evil ways and learn how wonderful it is to be good" and then leaves to worship the porcelain alter. Jeff Miller Program Director/Webmaster for Agamemcon II Burbank Airport Hilton -- May 22-24, 1998 Contact Info: 24161-H Hollyoak (714)643-8352 Laguna Hills, CA 92656 www.primenet.com/~shadocat/agamemcon.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 18:01:16 -0500 (CDT) From: Martin Leslie Leuschen Subject: IN> Relic Weapons >Date: Sun, 3 Aug 1997 19:07:29 -0400 >From: Adam Canning >Subject: IN> Relic Weapons > >What is the point of Nicole's Holy Pistol/1 ? > It does check digit times 1 damage >Revolvers do Checjk digit damage and do not cost a character point per >shot. > >Also Marcus must have been a lot more hurt than he appeared if 1d6 damage >took him down. > IIRC, he wasn't really fighting. It was an `auto-kill' type situation - she put the gun right over his vessel's heart and fired. However, you're right - there seems to be no point to a HP/1 unless it's errata'd that CD*level is the weapon's power. (Even then, a .44 would do almost as well.) OTOH, HP/6 is *worth* 36 pints, especially with high skill. Consider the following munchkin: Precision 12, Pistol Skill/6, Talisman(Pistol)/6. Taking three rounds to aim at close range, its skill is 28. According to the auto-success rules, it gets +16 to it's CD, so it does 102-132 damage. (In comparison, a heavy *tank* has 100 hits.) Oh, and add 1-6 more if the power thing get's errata'd. Adding range penalties and preventing aiming might slow it down, but only a little. God help you if it blows Essence. > From: Nana Yaw Ofori > Me, I want a Holy M-16. That scares me. Both for damage potential, and cost. (Every burst is gonna cost mucho CP. Maybe only Michael can afford one...) Regards, Martin Leuschen martinl@rice.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 19:51:10 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Sex in Heaven >>>Also, it may be hard to recognise a dead homosexual as *being* homosexual. There's not much fun to be had in Hell, so I'm told and somehow I don't see the fun in Heaven being that carnal.<<< Why not? There's no *Lust* in Heaven, that doesn't mean there isn't sexuality. (There have been numerous references to angels being lovers.) Besides, homosexuality isn't just who you have sex with. Do you know any homosexuals? How do you know they're gay? Presumably not because you saw them having sex.... >>>I haven't been to church in a while, but I'm *sure* that if there were loads of sex in Heaven, they would have mentioned it - it would be a big selling point.<<< How would they know? And lemme let you in on a little secret..... This is In Nomine. It's a game. If there is a real Heaven, I kinda doubt it much resembles the Heaven depicted in the rulebook... -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 20:11:53 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Maarath, Familiar Outcast from Fire >>>He's a familiar and they are bound into the body of the corporeal vessel and only become a spirit on the vessels death. So unless he does his vessel in he can't go upstairs to check and if he's right about falling he doesn't want to run into a pissedoff Malakite. <<< No, familiars can assume celestial form. >>>Also do Relievers have Hearts? I seeem to have got the impression celestials can only get into heaven if their heart is already there or if they follow some one.<<< They don't have Hearts. They can only go to Heaven by following their master, or being recalled. - -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #282 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.