From owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Wed Sep 3 18:27:49 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 SAA24589 for ; Wed, 3 Sep 1997 18:27:48 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id SAA07068 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Wed, 3 Sep 1997 18:03:58 -0500 Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 18:03:58 -0500 Message-Id: <199709032303.SAA07068@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 #323 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, September 3 1997 Volume 01 : Number 323 In this digest: Re: IN> Communicating with Superiors Re: IN> Communicating with Superiors IN> Night Music rules change IN> IN: Davidian Malakim (was Malakim Vows - David??) IN> Communicating with Superiors IN> Malakim Vows IN> Lilith's Potence IN> Lilim Trackers IN> Lilith's Potence Re: IN> Malakim Vows - David?? Re: IN> Lilim Trackers Re: IN> Lilith's Potence Re: IN> Diana, Princess of Wales Re: IN> Diana, Princess of Wales Re: IN> IN: Davidian Malakim (was Malakim Vows - David??) Re: IN> Lilith's Potence Re: IN> Malakim Vows Re: IN> Lilim Trackers IN> IN Adventure : Angel Game Re: IN> A Marches thought... Re: IN> ghosts Re: IN> Resisting Angelic Resonance Re: IN> New Drugs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 03 Sep 1997 07:57:52 +0200 From: Jo Hart Subject: Re: IN> Communicating with Superiors At 00:46 03/09/97 -0500, you wrote: >This was brought up to my by one of my players. > >My player felt frustration at, everytime they wanted to send off something >small like a status report to his Superior, he either had to drop >everything and go to heaven, or summon his Superior there on the ground. I'd sort of assumed this was part of the point of the distinctions -- with the increased 'rank' and power and mark of favour from the relevant superior also come some sort of responsibility to supervise lower ranking celestials. ie. An unranked demon will probably report to a Knight, a Knight will report to a Captain etc. So the superior's representative with whom the PC has most contact is likely to be someone they can contact at very short notice. I guess that as favoured servants, the PCs probably have ways to bypass the chain of command and actually do speak with their superiors from time to time; but I think they probably could know of alternative ways to pass on 'null reports'. jo ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 17:12:07 +1000 (EST) From: peterf@wr.com.au (Peter Frederick) Subject: Re: IN> Communicating with Superiors Dear Emily > >This was brought up to my by one of my players. > >My player felt frustration at, everytime they wanted to send off something >small like a status report to his Superior, > >It seems fair enough, and it keeps the PCs from constantly being pests to >those above with a minimum fuss. Does it seem too game unbalancing? I something similar in my campaign. I gave each Character a Supervisor as well as a Superior, and it seems to have worked so far. It makes for a better sense of Hierarchy as well if there is a known Word Bound Angel between each player and their ArchAngel. You don;t have to have anything like a fully worked out Word Bound to do this. Most of mine are just Names, Words and concepts, but I guess that and a whole lot of Power and Love of God is basically what an Angel is. Yours Peter. Reply to peterf@wr.com.au What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 1997 09:13:58 -0400 From: "Jens H. Kruuse" Subject: IN> Night Music rules change These question may have been asked before but if so I must have missed them. I've been unable to aquire Night Music at my local shop so I haven't been able to read the passage about the changed Body Hits for "mortals". In the Errata it says: "Mortals can buy Toughness, at 4 points per level. Humans can only have two levels of Toughness." The FAQ phrases the issue thus: "The rules for calculating a mortal's hits has been changed. The new formula is [Corporeal Forces + Toughness] times Strength. Toughness is a new attribute only purchaseable by mortals that costs four points per level up to two level. (Night Music, p. 31) Because a human no longer has a 'level' for determining when they die (In Nomine, p. 62), treat their level as one for that formula (i.e. a human dies when they take enough Body Hits to bring them to negative Strength)." My questions are: 1) What is the definition of a Mortal? Human? Mundane? Does it include Soldiers, Undead, and Remnants? 2) How many leves of Toughness can the other Mortals buy? 3) How many Body Hits does it take to kill a non-Human Mortal? (i.e. negative BH's)? Strength? 4) How much Toughness would an animal be able to buy? I suppose these questions are for the Lucent One... P-) Cheers, Jens ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 17:16:42 +1000 (EST) From: peterf@wr.com.au (Peter Frederick) Subject: IN> IN: Davidian Malakim (was Malakim Vows - David??) Wow, what a reaction. Guess I should try to make some comment on some of this, especially as lots of it was good stuff, even the stuff I don't agree with. Much of each response snipped for Brevity. >Speaks Wrote >I think it depends on the intent of the demon. >Attempting to make a Malakim gain dissonance *IS* an attack. The Malakim >would be justifed in attacking a demon who did this purposefully. Not sure I could support that. If you can make that mental leap then knowledge of the Demon's existance from any source is a threat to the Malakim and hence an attack and you are free to retaliate. - ------------------------------------------- >Nana Yaw Ofori Wrote > You tell your Friendly Neighborhood gang member servants to "Kick >His Ass." Now, if the Demon attacks any one of them, you are free to join >in. You didn't start the fight, you reccomended to your friends that they >do so, you're just joining in. Some mental gymnastics there, most Malakim >probably won't stoop to that, unless it's very important. Definately Not! Well IMHO anyway. Otherwise you might as well stretch the taffy to "Michael and Lucifer started this fight, I'm just continuing it." Much more honourable to hit the Demon, take the Dissonance and explain to your Superior later. >Nana Yaw Ofori Wrote > Barring that, you could follow the demon around and thwart his >schemes untill he gets ticked off and gets people to attack you. > > I see 'Thou shalt not suffer an Evil to Live" to allow a Malakite >not to instantly attack a demon on sight, if he's working dilligently to do >so in the future. Which makes it a lot harder to make Malakim Fall. Couldn't agree more with you here. There is nothing the Demon can do to stop you following them around that is not likely to be an attack, except run faster (or teleport or go invisible or something). Not suffering Evil to Live does not necessarily mean punching every bad person on the nose as soon as you see them. It also doesn't mean that you personally have to strike the fatal blow, which is the thin line where the mythical non combat Malakim comes into the campaign, but it does mean that you have to do all you can to stop the Evil in a permanent, preferably terminal way. >Nana Yaw Ofori Wrote > "Fine. For the next hour, you can do your little Dance of Evil >around me. Keep in mind, though, that the very second this hour is up, I'm >going to hunt down, kill, and force-strip every one of you sorry-ass >Demons. That Includes you, Little Miss Lilim." It is still striking first, but then sometimes it is going to be worth it. - ------------------------------ >Maya Wrote >My personal thought is that the Malakite would be justified in acting to >provoke first blow on the demon's part. Insult his Prince, insult him, pick >him up by the scruff of the neck and carry him to the town jail, tip a bowl >of washing-water over him, ask your helpful gang to mount an assault, >threaten to be about to report him to the nearest Servitors of the Game.. I >would expect a Malakite of David to be inventive on the subject. > >"Ah. You hit me. _Thank_ you." Excellent. Precisely my thoughts. If you can't get a Demon to take a swing at you then you just aren't trying hard enough. I would tend to be not so lateral as to allow direct physical contact, but a bucket of water or a cream pie might trip the balance without crossing the Dissonance line. Hmm would it depend on who pied who first ("Make a Fast Draw[Pie] Roll"). I still think that you have to get the Demon to attack _you_. If you set your gang on the Calabim and he just eats them for breakfast (Calabim of Heganatti presumably), but doesn't attack you then you are still striking first. - ------------------------------ >Kingsly Lintz Wrote > I suspect they slug the demon in the nose, and the next time they >see David, they explain, "This demon walked up and said, `I'm a Demon, but >I'm not going to attack you in any way', so I had to hit him first." >David waves his hand, removing the Dissonance, with a commisserating >grimace, repling, "Ooh, I hate when that happens.." Hit it on the head. Some Superiors are going to be more practical about this than others but if you have a good reason then I suspect that most will let the odd point of Dissonance slide. >Kingsly Lintz Wrote > I'd actually interpret that quite the inverse; it's five evil's >you'd be letting live, but only one fight you'd be starting. > However, I'd really say you still only get 1 Dissonance for the >whole thing. One for attacking still because it's only one fight; >remember, David thinks in terms of groups, so that should be cool. And >only one in both cases because Dissonance is an internal thing, and >essentially, the DECISION is made only once by the Malakim. (eg. he says, >"Alright, David didn't expect this, let's rumble." He leaps at them and >feels a twang of Dissonance. Alternatively, he sighs, "Much as I'd like >to whack these twits, David says to let them go unless they swing first.." >He feels a twang of Dissonance at the violation of his Oath, but while >it's five demons, it's still only one violation...he doesn't sit there >going, "Okay, I won't attack him, I won't attack him, I won't attack her, >I won't attack him, and I won't attack her," picking up Dissonance at each >choice.) Interesting, raises points about Dissonance I can't get an immediate handle on. In some cases it is not subject to a decision by the Celestial. Some Choir/Band Dissonances are related to use or failed use of Ressonances. With these it doesn't matter what you think about the situation. Some aspects of Dissonance seem to me to be imposed from outside, particuarly from Superiors. You might be able to make a self justification for pulling out of a fight, but if your Superior Michael doesn't (or wouldn't?) agree with you then shouldn't you still get the Dissonance? You might think that knocking someone out with chloroform was not violent, but your Superior Novalis might not agree, is that Dissonant or not? I would expect Celestials created by a Word Bound to have some instinctive knowledge of when they are getting close to breaking their Superior's restrictions. Hey what about a Seraph who unknowingly tells a Lie? It doesn't matter if they think they Lied or not, it is an external Objective thing. Similar with Kyrioates. You might not know that you have left your Host in a worse condition than when you took them over or might not think that you have, but if you _have_ then you get Dissonance. There seems to be a certain amount of Objectiveness to Dissonance in these situations. >Kingsly Lintz Wrote >{On a contrarian note, if he had another Oath that applied, I'd count it >double. Eg. if he specifically swore to Obey his Superior, then he'd be >violating David's rule AND his oath, and that's two points.} I agree again. This can make taking overlapping Superior and Choir/Band Dissonance or Malakim Vow Conditions both good, because you have less individual Conditions to avoid, and bad, because if you break an overlapping Condition you get a greater amount of Dissonance. I guess this is why Michael might attract more Malakim and Novalis more Mercurians. - ------------------------------ >Leathal Weapon Wrote >Of course, if the GM is kind, they'd probably interpret a superior's dissonance conditions as falling under the 'if it the malakite's choice' part of the oath. Therefore they could quite happily not kill the demon until it attacked, because their Superior told them not to. You obviously have kinder referees than I am use to, or use to being :) . In Conclusion. Looks like I am a taking the hard line on this one. I might have to reconsider slightly. I can see the Davidian Malakim being released from his Superior's restriction once someone actually swings at him so that he could then enter a fight and hit any general opponent, but not getting someone else to start the fight and then joining in "because the fight was already started." One thing I am only further convinced of is that Angels are not Rules Lawyers, but that many Demons try to be and all Players are. Thanking all for their time, thought and indulgence. Yours Peter. Reply to peterf@wr.com.au What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 03:48:51 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Communicating with Superiors Of course Superiors don't need to receive every little status report personally from their Servitors. They have intermediaries to handle such things. The average celestial probably reports to a Word-bound higher-up a lot more often than he sees his Archangel or Prince. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 03:48:48 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Malakim Vows >>>Well, not in our game, and certainly nothing published or in the FAQ<<< The Old Guy, in Night Music. The whole problem with him revolved around the fact that he HAS to kill any demon he meets. (And his specific Malakite vows are listed on his sheet-- "Kill demons" isn't one of them.) - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 03:48:45 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Lilith's Potence >>>Oh, that one's easy. Have Lilith appear just after the Seneschal gets toasted. Mad as Hell, she rears back to slap the angel into its component forces -- and stops herself an inch from the angel's face. The angel, expecting to be zapped, breathes a silent "thank you", only to have Lilith reply with, "You're welcome. Now you owe me one. Payback will consist of guarding this tether until I find another Seneschal."<<< Oh, please. Most angels are neither going to be that stupid nor that cowardly. (Frightened, yes....but I hardly think they'd just stand there waiting to get toasted, nor would they feel gratitude to Lilith for holding off.) - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 03:48:49 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Lilim Trackers >>>Part of the reason for doing this is just to make it *harder* on Lilim (particularly free Lilim), so that they can't just go hide from their Geases.<<< Why shouldn't Lilim be able to run and hide from their Geases? If the Lilim serves a Prince, this is going to be difficult. If she's a Free Lilim, sure, it's possible. She could be a fugitive for years, maybe even centuries, just to avoid that Geas/6 that some really icky demon is going to level on her. Great story ideas! Keep in mind, though, that celestials have a lot more resources than humans. It's unlikely that a determined celestial hunter could be avoided forever. Especially if you allow a Cherub/Djinn resonance or the Celestial Song of Attraction to work through Geases. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 03:48:46 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Lilith's Potence >>>I'd like for PCs to be *terrified* of enemy Superiors, not just because they could tear them Force from Force, but because they could (if they had a little time and were really, really ticked) turn them into little smears of Discord.<<< They can torture them, they can rip their Forces apart, they can subject them to all kinds of unpleasant things.....but they can't remake another celestial any way they like, or angels would constantly get kidnapped, remolded with various creative Discords, and unleashed on Heaven, with Archangels doing the same thing to demons only a little less often. >>>So I'd *like* it to work out that, if Lilith thought that somebody owed her ("Dammit, you just toasted the informal Seneschal for my Tether! Okay, till I can find a replacement, *YOU'RE* going to guard it for me, angel!"), she *could* slap a Geas on someone.<<< Frankly, I think if Lilith could slap Geases on angels at will (which means by implication that most any other Demon Prince could-- and most certainly Lucifer himself), the War would be over. >>>I'd *like* to have it so that a character might wind up with Lust/6 if they annoyed Andrealphus. Or Discolored/6 for ticking off Kobal; Stigmata from the wound inflicted by one of the war- faction Princes/Archangels; Fear if you toy with Beleth; Palid if Saminga notices you're making fun of him... Etc.<<< There should certainly be ways that Superiors can inflict Discord on other celestials....but it should require means that are inconvenient or require a significant amount of effort even for a Superior. In other words, plot devices. They shouldn't be able to do it at will. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 97 07:27:47 -0400 From: dwood@skipjack.bluecrab.org Subject: Re: IN> Malakim Vows - David?? Previously, from the desktop of Walter Milliken... >Date: Tue, 02 Sep 97 22:51 EDT >From: Walter Milliken >Subject: Re: IN> Malakim Vows - David?? > >>Thinking about this and the "Getting Malakim to fall with Geasa" idea. How >>do malakim of David sort out the situation where someone walks up and saysd >>"I'm a Demon, but I'm not going to attack you in any way"???? > >Said Malakim says, "Meet my Soldier Bruno. Bruno, you know what to >do...." And then when the demon starts attacking Bruno in return, the >Malakim can step in with no dissonance. But then let's suppose that no soldier was handy. (That might have been the first intent, of course...) One of my players is playing a Malakite of Michael, and he was downright careless when picking his vows. Since it was his first character, I'm letting it slide, but at any time, I can make his life a living hell. So it's generally a good idea for angels to keep somewhat secret their superiors and Malakim their vows precisely because they can be used in this way. >Also, I don't think the Malakite has to whap the demon *right now* -- he >can lay a plan or two, as long as he's planning to get rid of the demon, >I'd say he'd be fulfilling his vow. That's what I figured, and here's what I came up with for the Malakite's response. "And so I won't attack you. I will, however, dog your heels and personally see to it that every foul deed you try to start blows up in your face. When your superior finds out that you're letting an angel follow you around and short-circuit his plans, he'll finish you personally." This could be the makings for a dandy cat-and-mouse adventure... >(All this presumes the Malakite's resonance tells him the demon is >"evil", which it probably is, pulling a trick like this....) Yah, safe bet. But not necessarily; Impudites are such 'nice' demons, after all... - -David http://www.bluecrab.org/members/dwood/ "I must warn you, sir, that outside I have police dog Josephine, who is not only armed, and trained to sniff out certain substances, but is also a junkie." - -Monty Python's Flying Circus, episode 5 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 1997 08:59:22 -0400 From: "Kirt A. Dankmyer -- aka Loki" Subject: Re: IN> Lilim Trackers >> Part of the reason for doing this is just to make it *harder* on >> Lilim (particularly free Lilim), so that they can't just go hide >> from their Geases. > >As somebody mentioned, Celestial Attraction or the Djinn/Cherub >attunement should work, and not give Lilim an automatic power that >rivals that of the Cherub/Djinn. Not to mention those Geases are owed to Lilith, originally. I'm sure she can tell someone she's trading a Geas to where one of her Lilim are. -Loki - -- Kirt A. Dankmyer --- Academic Computing Specialist http://www.wfu.edu/~dankmyka/ -- (910) 759-4202 -- PGP public key available. For the Snark _was_ a Boojum, you see. --Lewis Carroll ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 10:20:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Casca Subject: Re: IN> Lilith's Potence On Wed, 3 Sep 1997, David Edelstein wrote: > Oh, please. Most angels are neither going to be that stupid nor that > cowardly. (Frightened, yes.... Oh, I dunno...I think you're overestimating PCs. ;) Either that or I'm underestimating them based upon my own GMing experiences... My PCs WOULD be that stupid. > but I hardly think they'd just stand there waiting to get toasted, I fully expect them to dodge and/or run like mad. I figure Lilith could STILL zap them, regardless. It's that whole 'being a Demon Princess' thing. > nor would they feel gratitude to Lilith for holding off.) I'm not saying they would consciously feel gratitude; I'm saying that, just as their imminent demise is halted, for one brief moment they would be thankful that they weren't killed. Lilith would then exploit that thankfulness into a Geas. Yes, it's trickery, but that's what demons do. - -- Casca (bertishg@db.erau.edu) "...I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying...At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke." -- Isaiah 6:2,4 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 13:26:59 -0400 (EDT) From: JosephMoon@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Diana, Princess of Wales Andre Ribeiro wrote: >> (Image of Nybass yanking one of those seven paparazzi schmucks back to Hell >> and kicking the crap out of him. "You weren't suppose to get her KILLED, you >> waste of paper pulp!") > Gosh!! I've just pictured a Mercurian of Yves among the french hospital's >medical staff, gently squeezing Diana's heart so she could die and fulfill her >Destiny... The two images aren't incompatible. In fact, a demon contributing to the fulfillment of a human's Destiny is probably in REAL trouble with his Prince....... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 1997 13:56:30 -0500 From: tom timberlake Subject: Re: IN> Diana, Princess of Wales JosephMoon@aol.com wrote: > > Andre Ribeiro wrote: > > >> (Image of Nybass yanking one of those seven paparazzi schmucks back to > Hell > >> and kicking the crap out of him. "You weren't suppose to get her KILLED, > you > >> waste of paper pulp!") > > > Gosh!! I've just pictured a Mercurian of Yves among the french hospital's > >medical staff, gently squeezing Diana's heart so she could die and fulfill > her > >Destiny... > > The two images aren't incompatible. In fact, a demon contributing to the > fulfillment of a human's Destiny is probably in REAL trouble with his > Prince....... And we won't even think about a demon who helps to fulfill a human's Destiny AND creates a Martyr at the same time.../shudder/... tom timberlake, who curiously finds himself a closet Anglophile... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 97 14:55 EDT From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> IN: Davidian Malakim (was Malakim Vows - David??) >Looks like I am a taking the hard line on this one. I might have to >reconsider slightly. I can see the Davidian Malakim being released from his >Superior's restriction once someone actually swings at him so that he could >then enter a fight and hit any general opponent, but not getting someone >else to start the fight and then joining in "because the fight was already >started." I think the intent of IN is to allow *exactly* this sort of weaseling at times. The prime example is Nicole (a Mercurian) recruiting her Servant to kill her prior (failed) Servant, since it's dissonant for Mercurians to harm humans. I don't see the David example as significantly different. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 97 17:10 EDT From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Lilith's Potence >Frankly, I think if Lilith could slap Geases on angels at will (which means >by implication that most any other Demon Prince could-- and most certainly >Lucifer himself), the War would be over. Which is really no different than saying that if Lilith (or any Demon Prince) could destroy random angels, the War would be over. Why isn't it? Presumably because Superiors have better things to do with their time and Essence than take out lowly celestials one at a time.... ===Walter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 97 17:06 EDT From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Malakim Vows >The Old Guy, in Night Music. The whole problem with him revolved around the >fact that he HAS to kill any demon he meets. (And his specific Malakite >vows are listed on his sheet-- "Kill demons" isn't one of them.) The point is not whether one specific Malakite might consider it necessary to kill demons -- I'm perfectly happy to agree that that is more than likely. What I'm saying is that not *all* Malakim automatically need to kill demons. The Old Guy is merely an example of one who does. And that's not surprising -- he's a Malakite of the Sword, and Laurence isn't known for being soft on demons. After all, Laurence is in charge of the War... it seems likely that of all Malakim, his are going to be among the least likely to consider demons as anything but "Evil! Kill! Kill!".... - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 03 Sep 97 17:13 EDT From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Lilim Trackers >Not to mention those Geases are owed to Lilith, originally. I'm sure she >can tell someone she's trading a Geas to where one of her Lilim are. *Maaaybe*... no other Superior can tell where someone is without having their Heart, though. And even if Lilith did know at the time she traded the Geas, it might not be invoked for a while -- depends on the circumstances. And information isn't free.... - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 22:33:13 +0100 (BST) From: maya@tcp.co.uk (GR Cogman) Subject: IN> IN Adventure : Angel Game I got the idea for this one while walking to work, and for some reason remembering playing skipping games as a kid, with two girls turning the rope, and the rest of us running in, skipping a few steps, then out again, to some sort of rhyme. So... Angel Game - ---------- Event One : There is some sort of superheroine in the city, for want of a better word. Some female in a tight spandex suit, with wings, has been showing up at crack houses (3 so far) or brothels (1 so far), storming in, trashing the place, though carefully not injuring any teenagers or children present, then vanishing at high speed. The newspapers are having a field day with rumours, though have no actual photos or anything like that yet. Event Two : While walking down the street, one of the characters sees some children playing a skipping game. The rhyme that they jump to is: Dominic, Eli, Jumping Jim, Turn right out and turn right in, Novalis is a dancer, Laurence has a sword, Michael is a warrior, all serve the Lord! If the PC starts taking an undue interest in them, the children are likely to scatter and run for it, being sensibly scared of strangers. What is going on - ---------------- Sara, a Cherub of Christopher, is slipping towards a Fall. She was stationed to watch over the homeless children and teenagers in the area, and has come to think that violent action and better religious education are the keys to success. Half-remembered stories of hers are the source of such rhymes as the skipping rhyme heard by the PCs, and (with judicious use of the Song of Form and Wings: Numinous Corpus) she is the Angel-vigilante. Trouble is on the horizon, though: a few Servitors of Andrealphus and Fleurity have grown very unhappy about their outposts being destroyed, and though they have not as yet managed to trace Sara, it is likely to be only a matter of time: either through spotting her use of Essence, or getting a Djinn in to try tracking her, or by hearing one of the childrens' songs and investigating. Tracing Sara - ------------ Sara's cover identity is that of a second-hand-clothes seller in the local market: in the evenings she helps at an unofficial shelter for homeless children and young people, in a large cellar beneath some disused warehouses near the market. (When not sneaking off in spandex.) She is widely loved, and generally considered to be one of _the_ most reliable people around, if prone to telling the children odd versions of religious stories. Sara can be traced through the children who made up the rhyme from her stories: they will be reluctant to talk to strangers, or to confess who told them the (garbled by repetition) stories, but if the PCs do some checking around, they can find that all the kids who knew the rhyme were regularly staying at the shelter for the homeless where Sara works: once there, Sara is fairly obviously the person who tells the kids stories and looks after them. The "Angel" can be stalked, if spotted: PCs can try to attune to her, or track her use of Essence, or whatever, if they can catch her out on a raid. Sara will try to lose them in the alleys around the market, then change back as fast as possible to her normal self, and head for the shelter to resume her cover identity. Sara is aware that Christopher would not approve of her current activities, and is studiously avoiding thinking about it. The Bad Guys - ------------ Sara has managed to annoy several Servitors of Fleurity and Andrealphus (organise to fit your PCs), who are working on tracking this "Angel". One in particular, Aleki ("call me Lucky"), an Impudite of Fleurity (and dealer) is likely to notice the children's rhyme about the same time as the PCs, or slightly after, and make some investigations himself, which may in turn lead him to Sara. If they manage to identify her, the Bad Guys will be torn between (a) encouraging her to thoroughly Fall, possibly by getting her addicted to drugs herself, and recruiting her, (b) just killing her, and in both cases (c) recruiting her nest of homeless children into their various trades. Characters: - ----------- Sara, Cherub of Christopher - --------------------------- Forces: Corporeal: 4 Str: 10 Agi: 6 Ethereal: 2 Int: 4 Pre: 4 Celestial: 4 Wil: 11 Per: 5 Vessel: Sarah Dutton (Role/4), middle-aged old clothes vendor Skills: Detect Lies/3, Dodge/2, Driving/1, Emote/2, Fighting/4 (Karate), Knowledge (Social Work System/3), Large Weapon/2, Medicine/2, Move Silently/1 Songs: Entropy (Corporeal/3), Form (Corporeal/3, Ethereal/1, Celestial/2), Harmony (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/3), Healing (Corporeal/2, Ethereal/3, Celestial/2), Motion (Corporeal/3), Thunder (Corporeal/2) Attunements/Distinctions: Luck, Cherub of Christopher Discord : Angry/3 Notes: Sara was almost the ideal Cherub of Christopher till she began to grow impatient and angry with the circumstances around her. Possibly she had been left too long alone and in a hard front-line area, but then she was doing her job well: so well that nobody considered she might begin having problems. While Sara will _never_ lose her temper with a child (as yet) she is growing more and more furious on the subject of drug-dealers and teenage prostitutes. This has driven her to attempting to attract or scare her charges back to faith, with stories of the angels and devils, and to taking violent physical action against what she sees as "outposts of hell in this mortal world". She uses Songs of Form and Numinous Corpus to lower the apparent age of her Vessel and change the build, before dressing up in spandex and going out to smite some Soldiers of Hell personally. Sooner or later, Sara is going to end up striking a child during one of her outbursts of rage: or worse, actually killing an innocent or child during her raids as the "Angel". Should this happen, there is a very real chance of her Falling, if she refuses to recognise that it is to some degree her own fault. Aleki, Impudite of Fleurity - --------------------------- Forces: Corporeal: 3 Str: 4 Agi: 8 Ethereal: 3 Int: 8 Pre: 4 Celestial: 3 Wil: 5 Per: 7 Vessel: Young male (Role/2) Drug-dealer Skills: Chemistry/3, Computer Operation/2, Dodge/4, Driving/2, Fast-Talk/4, Lying/2, Medicine/1, Ranged Weapon/3, Seduction/1, Tactics/2 Songs: Charm (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/2), Entropy (Celestial/2), Light (Celestial/3), Shields (Corporeal/3, Ethereal/2, Celestial/2), Tongues (Celestial/1) Attunements/Distinctions: Impudite of Fleurity, Djinn of Fleurity, Score Notes: Aleki is an up-and-coming young Impudite, recently assigned to this city by Fleurity. He realises that if the drug dens keep on being hit, it is going to result in a permanent blot on his record, and he is therefore very eager to solve the problem. Aleki is intelligent, and more sensible than to try following Sara round directly if he gets on her track. A tactic that he might well use is to pass a packet of drugs to one of the children who seems attached to her, and use his Djinn of Fleurity attunement to track the packet to the shelter. He will quite happily corrupt the children in her care, and attempt to get her addicted to some drug himself, if he sees a reasonable chance of Tripping her. Stimulants, perhaps, amphetamines, something to keep that righteous rage burning... - --- 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: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 11:34:57 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> A Marches thought... At 11:39 AM -0500 9/2/97, Austin George Loomis wrote: >A thought I've had a few times since I read the Book, and had again when >I read _The Marches_ at LoneStarCon... > >Has it occurred to anyone else that maybe giving a Cherub the Word of >Fear wasn't the brightest possible idea, given that Fear is the Discord >that counts as dissonance for Cherubim? That was a long time ago, though... They probably didn't know any better then. Nobody knew angels *could* Fall. Besides, it was the Fear that, when faced, makes one stronger. Now it's the Fear that cripples. :~( - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com // emccoy@jade.mv.net GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 11:32:42 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> ghosts At 10:00 AM -0400 9/2/97, Gregory Littmann wrote: >> >> >> > I just thought of something. How are ghosts treated in In Nomine? >> >> Those human souls who still have some business to accomplish on the >> Corporeal Plane got stuck in The Marches - they become Ethereal Spirits. >> Those who have fulfilled her objectives, go to higher planes of the >> Celestial Plane. >> > Or to Hell, presumably. And the million dollar question is...can Bad >ghosts be Saved? That is, can a ghost headed for one destination use its >unlife to change direction? If so, it doesn't seem fair on the other dead >who got one chance only. If not, it should make it hard for Angels to get >rid of ghosts - they would be sending most of them straight to Hell. There's always the reincarnation option -- a "bad ghost" who is busy repenting might get reincarnated for another go 'round. (After all, the premise is that they didn't fulfill destiny or fate, right? That's why they're a ghost in the first place. If they manage both, then reincarnation would probably help too.) If a ghost manages to hit Destiny and *not* Fate, then it'll be Upward Bound. If it got Fate, then it goes down. Or so I'd rule. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com // emccoy@jade.mv.net GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 11:51:51 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Resisting Angelic Resonance At 2:00 AM +0000 9/2/97, Denis Sarrazin wrote: >In the book, they say "On the other hand, the passive nature of >angelic resonance makes it difficult to detect." They don't say >impossible, but difficult. Is there any rules that describe this >"difficulty" that I missed? I don't think so. I suspect that it takes special Songs, Artifacts, or Attunements. A Superior can certainly tell. A Word-bound might be able to, especially with Cherubim. (In fact, I think that there are a few attunements that let someone tell if a Cherub is attuned to a person/item. Djinn of Fate, was it?) >The reason I'm asking is because I have one angel trying to use his >resonance on another angel and I'd like to know if the other angel can >try or not to resists this. I know that Demonic resonance (except for >Lilim, I believe) can be resisted as a Will contest, but that this is >not supposed to apply to angelic resonance. I'd say that it would depend on the resonance. A Cherub, I might see it. Any of the others? Nah. Angels aren't supposed to be resisting each other anyway. It's a sign of impending dissonance to *want* to, probably. (Consider, in Heaven, resonances are probably active all the time. The PCs grew up with Elohim and Seraphim buddies, so they're not *used* to privacy...) Don't let the Servitors of Judgment spot that you're trying... And while you can't keep a Lilim from spotting your need (unless you wear sunglasses), you do still get a Will roll to resist her invoking a Geas on you -- which you can spend Essence on. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com // emccoy@jade.mv.net GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Sep 1997 11:59:13 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> New Drugs At 11:40 PM +0000 8/28/97, Walt Mazur wrote: >On Thu, 28 Aug 1997 17:49:39 -0400, "C. J. Hunter" > wrote: > >>I would think chocolate inspires the emotion "pleasure." (though I realize >>that single word does not do the feeling justice;) An Elohite could indulge, >>but shouldn't make too many decisions under the influence.... > >I would say it's calming--a euphoric--thus making it less likely that >decisions would be made emotionally, especially from hate or anger. And then, as a result of this thread, we've introduced "Heavenly Chocolate"... Don't feed it to humans, it's potent stuff! A single chip of it inspires all sorts of cuddly thoughts, and may be addictive to non-angels. And then there's what the *white* chocolate does to people... "Traditionally shared with lovers," I believe was the quote. Someone with Transubstantiation *can* make the stuff on Earth... But only a tenth of an ounce at a time. Or so our GM ruled. (And then there's the claim from the local Servitors of Creation that the Angel of Chocolate invented the stuff after a dalliance with the Archangel of Creation. But Servitors of Creation have this tendency to ascribe anything lovely or pleasurable to their Archangel's influence anyway.) - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com // emccoy@jade.mv.net GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #323 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.