From owner-in_nomine-digest@LISTS.IO.COM Fri Sep 12 22:26:01 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 WAA01171 for ; Fri, 12 Sep 1997 22:26:00 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id WAA15821 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Fri, 12 Sep 1997 22:01:08 -0500 Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 22:01:08 -0500 Message-Id: <199709130301.WAA15821@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 #339 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 Friday, September 12 1997 Volume 01 : Number 339 In this digest: Re: IN> Cola and backrubs - just the beginning Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics Re: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... IN> Marvin IN> Malakim IN> Destiny and Fate Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... Re: IN> Marvin IN> Superior Intervention IN> Fleurity's Precedent (was: Homosexuality in In Nomine) IN> IN Adventure : The Gate Of Ivory Re: IN> Homosexuality in In Nomine Re: Geas Entrapment (Re: IN> Lilith's Potence) Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics IN> INRI Tattoo Re: IN> INRI Tattoo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 13:05:49 -0400 (EDT) From: "Benjamin D. Hutchins" Subject: Re: IN> Cola and backrubs - just the beginning > > > Dom isn't invited. Too stuffy, never bluffs. > > He's got a _great_ poker face, though! Probably just because of the illustration of him in the game book, every time I think of Dominic, I end up picturing Ambassador Kosh from "Babylon 5". J. RANDOM ANGEL: Dom, what's your take on the corruption of humanity by the forces of the Adversary? [DOMINIC responds in the celestial language of song; a box on his robe translates it into flat English] DOMINIC: they are a dying race we should let them pass J: Who? The humans or the demons? DOMINIC: yes - --G. - -- Benjamin D. Hutchins, cofounder and Keeper-Straight of the Continuity Eyrie Productions, Unlimited - An AnimeTech Limited Company -><- Visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.eyrie.net/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 13:14:49 -0400 (EDT) From: "Emily K. Dresner" Subject: Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics > (I know nothing, I tell ya! I'm innocent!) We don't believe you. Try again. :) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 12:26:41 -0500 (CDT) From: Donald G Bixler Subject: Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics > > Soldiers and sorcerers do. Controlled Essence expenditure causes Noise. > > Only untrained, "blow it all in one shot", Essence use by humans is > > quiet. > Oh, right...supplements. Sorcerors I know nothing about. > (I know nothing, I tell ya! I'm innocent!) That's not something out of a supplement that I've seen. I'm certain that it will be discussed in the sorcerer section of "The Marches", but I won't get that book for at least a week. Even though I _do_ work for SJG, I don't have any inside information. As a matter of fact, most people on the list have the book before I do because of some quirks in the timing of the local shop's ordering. I'm pretty damn sure that the main book says that concious control of Essence expenditure makes noise. When I get home, I'll try to find the exact page number. > Still, at least as far as Soldiers go, I'm not sure I'd agree...I > don't see any other evidence that they step significantly `outside' the > Symphony - they can still kill people, f'rinstance - and I don't see ANY > reason why spending 1 Essence intentionally should make Noise, while > spending 4 in desperation wouldn't.. Because it "natural" for humans to blow Essence all at once under duress, but being trained to use it precisely and intentionally is not. (This is just what I remember from the rule book; I'm not at home at the moment.) I'm not strongly defending the position, just correcting what I remember as incorrect according to the rules. > To an extent...I think it applies a good bit more to objects than > people's names, though. The Demonic tongue Angels just can't fathom; when > I see "Saram Ramaswami" listed as an author of a book, I can tell straight > off that's the guy's name even though I don't speak a word of Indian... > (Though it gives the amusing thought of a Seraph of Yves picking up some > weird device to find out what the heck it is, and getting back, "Binky," > because the guy who invented it was so fond of it - and so eccentric - > that he gave his device an actual `name' that he used even above, > "molecular discombobulator"..) Absolutely. As a matter of fact, if you don't rule out the use of Corporeal Tongues, you might as well have fun with it, giving the angel the full name and title of his chair, shoes, parakeet, etc. in their own language. Oops da Ogre, and on an infernal intervention... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 13:46:58 -0400 (EDT) From: MarkDEddy@aol.com Subject: Re: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... WHO IS THE LAMB?! (Sorry, Didn't mean to shout.) " 'Behold the Lion of of the Tribe of Judah!' and I turned, and, behold, I saw a Lamb that had been slain. And the Lamb had the power to open the seals..." The Lamb is Jesus Christ. My question is: who would the beasts/Living Creatures be? I've always thought of them as the main four archangels (Rafael, Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel), but the authors of the gospels have also been mentioned, and there are other possibilities. Is there an In Nomine answer? Sorry again, Mark (And so, with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven...) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 13:41:59 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... The Lamb is Christ. The scene is Heaven, at the throne of God, Who holds a scroll in His hand, sealed with seven seals. Around the throne stand an honor guard of four "living creatures," the originals of the cherubim of IN -- a human, a bull, an eagle, and a lion, each with six wings, each "full of eyes," however exactly we are to picture that. Before the throne stand seven angels. Further out is a ring of crowned 24 elders in white. Further out still are vast throngs of saints and angels. Christ stands at God's right hand and opens the seals of the scroll one by one. At each of the first four seals, one of the horsemen rides forth. This is near the opening of a long and intricately-structured vision that constitutes the content of the book of Revelation, which Christendom has been puzzling over for two thousand years. Other interesting features of the vision include: - hordes of horse-sized locusts with scorpion tails and human faces - the War between Michael and Satan - the Woman of God, who appears in heaven, with a crown of twelve stars, adorned with the sun, with the moon at her feet - the Scarlet Woman, the Whore of Babylon - the Beast with seven heads and ten horns, whose number is 666 - Armageddon, which actually takes very little time - the General Resurrection and Judgement Day I could go on, at length. Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 14:04:49 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics "(Though it gives the amusing thought of a Seraph of Yves picking up some weird device to find out what the heck it is, and getting back, "Binky"...)" Crossing over to the four-horsemen thread, thanks to Terry Pratchett, we know that "Binky" is also the name of Death's pale horse. Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 14:29:15 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... MarkDEddy@aol.com wrote: > My question is: who would the beasts/Living Creatures be?... but > the authors of the gospels have also been mentioned... I don't know that the beasts are identified as the four evangelists, but each evangelist is assigned a beast: Matthew - the bull, because his gospel shows Christ's sacrifice Mark - the lion, because his gospel shows Christ's royalty Luke - the human, because his gospel shows Christ's humanity John - the eagel, because his gospel is soaring and visionary Mark is the patron saint of Venice, which is why Venice is decorated all over with winged lions. Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 14:25:54 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... MarkDEddy@aol.com wrote: > My question is: who would the beasts/Living Creatures be? Identifying these beasts with the ones in the vision of Ezekiel, tradition names them Haniel, Kafziel, Aniel, and Azriel. The scene also includes seven angels, which are often identified by tradition as the seven top archangels. Different traditions give them different names, but they always include Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, and usually include Uriel. Pseudo-Dionysius, who is somewhat mortared into the IN fabric, lists the other three as Chamuel, Jophiel, and Zadkiel. At one point in the vision, each angel blows a trumped. Tradition holds that it is Gabriel who blows the proverbial Last Trump. Earl Wajenberg ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 14:15:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Casca Subject: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... On Fri, 12 Sep 1997, Emily K. Dresner wrote: > So, here's my burning question. *FABOOSH* We have the four horsemen. > Who is the Lamb? It's assumed to be the Messiah, aka Jesus, aka the sacrifical lamb that died to redeem humanity. I'm rather partial to it being Eli, since he's active in the world and the end times are supposed to come "like a thief in the night". - -- 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: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 14:36:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Hobbes Subject: IN> Marvin Is Marvin the Martian a Djinn of Vapula? I figure he's got all those whacked out gizmos like the Elodium Q-37 Space Modulator, and he lives all by himself. Except for his dog K-9, who's probably a familiar. Dan Ozdowski had a really rough day - evinced by the random nature of the preceding message...... - -- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\//\ Beware the single most feared person in life..... The Articulate Incompetent ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 11:53:46 -0700 From: Tony Zbaraschuk Subject: IN> Malakim As for the Malakim, doesn't _Marches_ say something about the Malakim being protected by Uriel's Word of Purity? (Yes. I have a copy.) Tony Z Special Collections Librarian & Archivist E-mail: tzbarasc@lasierra.edu La Sierra University Et vocavit Deus, "Fiat lux!" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 11:53:01 -0700 From: Tony Zbaraschuk Subject: IN> Destiny and Fate I think the rulebook notes that Hitler's Destiny was to be a peaceful house-painter, but his Fate was something larger. I _like_ the idea of asymmetrical Fates and Destinies; some people are just more capable of being one thing than the other, or have more ability to do good than to cause harm, or vice versa. (As an example on the other side of the fence, Mother Teresa's Destiny was to be what she was historically; her Fate might have been to be a crabby nun in a convent with no effect on anybody.) Plus, remember that Destiny and Fate don't always have to be world-shaking events, and don't necessarily have to be opposites of each other, or even related items. Someone's Destiny could be to be the mentor to a particulary child, and their Fate to be the owner of a pawnshop that gives nice terms to criminals and thereby encourages theft ... All sorts of possibilities there. Tony Z Special Collections Librarian & Archivist E-mail: tzbarasc@lasierra.edu La Sierra University Et vocavit Deus, "Fiat lux!" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 15:29:32 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> About the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... At 1:41 PM -0500 9/12/97, Earl Wajenberg wrote: >[...] Around the throne stand an honor guard of four "living >creatures," the originals of the cherubim of IN -- a human, a bull, >an eagle, and a lion, each with six wings, each "full of eyes," >however exactly we are to picture that. I am suddenly struck by the image of 6-winged angels with Great Big Huge Anime Eyes. I think I shall slink away and whimper now. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 15:22:58 -0400 From: Highway Star Subject: Re: IN> Marvin At 14:36 -0400 9/12/97, Hobbes wrote: >Is Marvin the Martian a Djinn of Vapula? I figure he's got all >those whacked out gizmos like the Elodium Q-37 Space Modulator, >and he lives all by himself. Except for his dog K-9, who's >probably a familiar. Nah...he's a Calabite of Vapula, with a particular discord that forces him to channel his resonance through mechanical devices, like the forementioned Elodium Q-37 Space Modulator. IIRC, K-9 was smarter then him, wasn't he? Maybe that's Vapula in a weird vessel, spying on him... Nah.:) SeanMike PS - Dan, tired of driveling on only two mailing lists? I've got some more you can sign up for... - -- I'm locked and loaded, and you'll have to pay - Oderus I'm too high to type right now. - Balsac, the Jaws of Death Nothing is more offensive then the truth. - The Heretic Are you a real person or do you just play one on TV? - Oderus ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 16:04:18 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Superior Intervention >>>So in other words, you deliberately misinterpreted me.<<< No. I corrected you when you mispoke. >>>I submit that your Word is "Contrariness", Prince Edelstein.<<< Actually, I'm thinking "Prince of Not Suffering Fools Gladly". Do you want to get harsher, or do you want to drop it? - -David http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DavidEdelstein/innomine.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 97 17:47:11 -0400 From: dwood@skipjack.bluecrab.org Subject: IN> Fleurity's Precedent (was: Homosexuality in In Nomine) Previously, from the desktop of Jeff Miller... >For Celestials, I think that the question is irrelevant. What sex is the >Celestial form of a Kyriotate or an Ofanim? Rightly so. Sidebar, p. 48. They don't necessarily have to "perform," but they can if they want to, and they may even derive a certain amount of pleasure ...from making the other person happy. Consider the rite of Eli's wherein an angel can generate Essence by engaging in consentual sex... Kyriotates are the most alien form of angel, and if you think about it, they'd probably enjoy taking over both partners. Think about it. Ofanim? Well, it'd be over so quickly, who'd care? :) >As far as they view it among mortals, I think that it depends on the >Superior. And that's been done very heavily, so I'm not going to touch it. What I AM going to cast asparagus [sic] upon is the stuff below... >Also demons are probably neutral on it but they probably favor positions >against it. Malphas probably advocates groups "against it" just because it >creates factions. Several demons work this way. Consider Fleurity's strategy (from Night Music -- duh!) of fostering both the dependence and pushing of drugs and the draconian actions taken against those same drugs and the users in order to increase strife in their particular field. Though, come to think of it, the War On Drugs could itself be considered addictive... :) > Andre also likes the bad press since it means that >people will be more likely to act on it out of lust than love. Andre IMHO seems to be more for *all* forms of sex, not just those forms that aren't completely accepted by society. > Kronos >likes it being "bad" since if someone thinks it's wrong and does it anyway, >it makes them more likely to move toward their fate. In this case, Kronos could swing either way -- and wipe that grin off your face, you know damn well what I mean! )>:) If his cause could be furthered by putting someone into an abusive relationship, homosexual or not, then he'll order it. If OTOH he can drive someone to his Fate by making him condemn someone else's relationship, consentual or not, then he'll order that. In fact, almost every angel and demon will have a fluid perspective on it. Some will find it (or anything) wrong more often than others, but there are very few absolute evils in the cosmology of In Nomine that I can see. And if you think about it, that's quite an irony. - -David http://www.bluecrab.org/members/dwood/ No, not THAT David. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 23:57:53 +0100 (BST) From: maya@tcp.co.uk (GR Cogman) Subject: IN> IN Adventure : The Gate Of Ivory THE GATE OF IVORY - ----------------- (with many thanks to the Archangel Beth, both for the setting and for suggestions) "There are two gates by which dreams enter the world, the Gate of Horn and the Gate of Ivory. True dreams come through the Gate of Horn, and false dreams through the Gate of Ivory.." - Greek mythology This scenario is set at IOU (the In Nomine version) but can be adapted to any university, mostly by removing all Superiors and named characters. I think it's more fun at IOU, though. Premise - ------- The PCs are requested by the ArchDean to investigate a set of assaults on random students during the past night. On looking into the matter, they may come to suspect the work of Impudites. That night, the ArchDean disappears, nightmares begin to stalk the campus, and open strife breaks out between factions... What's Really Going On - ---------------------- Beleth and Vapula have a temporary alliance (the best sort) and a new idea that needs testing: they've decided to do this on IOU grounds, partly because they can then disavow the whole thing as the work of Renegades if it goes wrong. Neither of them like the ArchDean, either. The idea is this: a volunteered Habbalite ("Yes, you _are_ volunteering..") is acting as the Gate, and a Vapulaic Device, fueled by much stolen Essence (that's what the two Impudites of Vapula assisting have been stealing) provides the power to turn the Habbalite (who has been prepared via Weird Rites) into a living Gate to Beleth's side of the Marches. Nightmares can come through her, as her body becomes a living portal. Worse, as the effect strengthens, other sleeping people in the area will begin to be dragged towards Beleth's Marches, and their bodies also will become portals through which nightmares can emerge to stalk the world - while they sleep. What Goes Wrong - --------------- When the Device and the Gate go into action, the ArchDean reacts more accurately and swiftly than predicted: she goes through the dreams of one of her cats to enter the Marches, and encounters Beleth herself, who is on the scene. Both are taken by surprise, neither is willing to back down, and a fight breaks out, with Servitors of both sides snapping around their heels. Across the campus, sleepers dream of great duelling figures... The Bad Guys - ------------ Hemah, an extremely strange Habbalite of Beleth, who has been so twisted by the rituals imposed on her to make it possible for her to act as Gate that she can scarcely function as a human. Her Vessel is new at IOU that term: she is in Monty Hall block. Onzeeb, a highly unpleasant Djinn of Beleth (and aspirant to the Word of Madness) who is attuned to Hemah and to the Device (which is stored in her room) and is guarding both. He has the room next to Hemah in Monty Hall, and they openly admit to knowing each other if questioned. His human Vessel is new at IOU this term: he also has a spare Vessel in a Body Bag under his bed, a _large_ Dobermann. Johann and Jonathan, two Impudites of Vapula (both with those convenient Glasses) whose duty is to gather Essence and transfer it to the Device, to power it up. They have rooms elsewhere on Campus (and in different blocks), and don't admit to knowing each other. Both portray an amiable, slightly geeky image. They came to IOU the term before, and have been building a good cover. Rough Timeline - -------------- Night 0 : The two Impudites go out a-soul-sucking. Using Charm and Steal Essence, they manage to collect a fair amount of Essence from students out late at night, then come to Monty Hall block to transfuse it to the Device. This occurs between 11 pm and 2am. After a short check with the two Belethites, they return to their separate rooms. Day 1 : Several students report their odd experiences to friends or RAs, once the Charm has dulled a bit, who pass them on to the ArchDean. (If you want to make it easy for the PCs, one of the assaulted people was a Soldier of God, unknown to the Impudite, who figured out what had happened afterwards and realised it had to be a sneaky Impudite.) The ArchDean looks for someone to investigate this, and settles on the PCs, either because they're on Campus Security, or because they owe her, or because they're available. Most of the rest of Campus Security is investigating this car-sized thing which left slimy tracks across the Pent at 8.59 am, and came from the Biology Lab. "It was a car. Move along. It was only a car." ("All right, you Vapulan scum, which enzymes did you fuse this time!") The ArchDean gives the names of students who have complained/confessed to this (perhaps a dozen in total, which ought to seriously worry PCs) and the name of the Records Administrator (an Elohite in service to her). The Records Administrator has access to ordinary student files, and also the names of Celestials currently on campus (at least, most of them) and the dates when they came on campus. (The PCs will have to present a convincing case for being given sensitive information: this is included in case they get clever and look for new Celestials in the last term.) The victims all have a similar story to tell: they were out late for various reasons (meeting friends, coming from the theatre, doing their washing, studying at the Library late) and met a helpful guy with glasses, who was kind of cute: things got friendly, and next thing they knew they were sitting in a limp pile next to the wall and feeling chewed up and spat out. (The Impudites were draining _heavily_.) Seraphs will find the basic stories true, but the descriptions of the assailers are too vague to be very useful. Attempting to plot the sites of the assaults on a map with pins will show that they centre roughly on Monty Hall block. Monty Hall has other Celestials living there (angelic and demonic) besides the Belethites, many of whom will not be overly happy about answering questions. These investigations are liable to occupy most of the day. I personally hope that the PCs try playing "live bait" that night, but then I am a sadistic and twisted GM. Night 1 : At about 10 pm, the Gate and Device go into operation. A ripple touches the Tethers on campus. The ArchDean determines that something is amiss, and on the Marches: she goes into the dreams of one of her cats (who normally host her Seneschal, a Kyriotate) and encounters Beleth there on the Marches. Beleth springs for her, in the form of a great twisted black lion, and the ArchDean draws her sword and replies. Dreams across Campus are touched by images of the warring Superiors. "You saw a great demonic lion fighting a winged being that looked like the Dean. Either you have severe exam anxiety, or we have trouble.." At about 11pm, a bomb thoughtfully planted by the Impudites goes off by the power plant, and blackouts begin to develop across campus, coinciding with nightmares beginning to walk the streets: sometimes intangible, sometimes tangible, always terrifying. The Impudites stalk the streets together, looking for victims to steal more Essence from for the Device. This does mean that they are hanging around Monty Hall block, and regularly returning to it and to Hemah's room. A great many Celestials take the events as a personal attack on them, or as a symbol that the truce has broken down. Paranoia runs rampant. Some develop a get-them-first mentality. At about 12 pm, the Gate and Device have been in operation long enough that other dreamers begin to become lesser Gates, and yet more nightmares stalk the streets... What The PCs Do - --------------- The PCs are going to be rather short on Superior help, as the ArchDean is missing (and nobody knows where she went), her Seneschal is absent (the Kyriotate is on the Marches with her, and all the cat-hosts are asleep) and the campus is in a state of heavy paranoia and nightmare. However, they probably have more facts about who's new on campus and where the disturbances are centering than anybody else, so theirs is the dubious honour of trying to sort it out. The Device (use imagination as to what it looks like) can probably be broken if hit hard enough, though is likely to expend any stored Essence in a dramatic explosion: this will collapse the Gate (killing Hemah) and do interesting damage to anybody in range. Hemah can also be killed: this makes the Device pause, spark a lot, _then_ explode dramatically unless somehow heroically deactivated. Onzeeb will protect Hemah and the device to the limits of his ability, and fight intelligently. There are also likely to be nightmares in the room, bleeding from the walls, confronting the PCs with their characters fears and weaknesses. Johann and Jonathan, if nearby, will also do their best to defend the Device (though they're prepared to let Hemah die, if they can get away safely with the Device). Should PCs try going onto the Marches, the lands of dream are a battleground: the two Superiors clashing above, Servitors of theirs fighting around their feet, and the Gate itself a weirdness in the distance. They can't close it from this side, where I imagine it appears as a vaguely humanoid hole of light in the air. If they go through, they find themselves in Hemah's apartment, but getting to it is likely to be extremely hazardous. Aftermaths - ---------- If the PCs sort it out, the ArchDean will be extremely grateful. And as they have proved how competent they are (assuming they did) she'll find them another challenging, near-fatal job. Virtue is its own reward. Beleth and Vapula will deny all responsibility, with regard to an unprovoked assault on IOU, claiming that it was the action of Renegades (look, look, we have documents showing we exiled them ages ago) and that Beleth merely attacked the ArchDean when she showed up unexpectedly on the Belethian Marches. Oh, and from myself and the Archangel Beth: a set of comments (done alternately) on how various Servitors might react when the lights go off... The Malakite of Laurence draws his sword. "Okay. It's clearly the demons on campus. I knew we should never have trusted them. You, you, and you, we're going to occupy the Clock Tower.." The Balseraph of the War jumps to a soap box: "We always knew this 'truce' was a farce! Now it's time to strike back! To the Tower, and overthrow the tyrant!" The Impudite of Malphas sidles up to the Cherub of David. "I heard them plotting to attack the Geological Building.." The Habbalite of the Game takes notes on who's talking to who... The Mercurian of Eli attempts to calm people down. "Hey, be cool! So we've got a bit of a power cut, a few thousand living hallucinations, but it's nothing we can't handle, right?" The Shedite of Lust possesses someone. "Of course we can handle it. Some of them are cute. A little spikey, but..." Flaming green pigeons attack, screaming, "Death to the cruel!" from many little pigeon beaks. The Habbalite of Kobal rolls on the ground in hysterics... The Seraph of Novalis sighs. "Hey, people, can't we cooperate? We were working together just fine before, and I'm sure that if we try to trust one another, we can solve this problem.." The Balseraph of Malphas whispers, "Ah, but that's what they *want* us to think, now isn't it?" The Calabite of Hardcore works the trigger on his Uzi. "All _RIGHT_! LET'S ROCK AND ROLL!!!" While the Djinn of Drugs pops some and sits back to watch all the cool colors... And the Lilim of Valefor steals his leather jacket while he's all blissed out... And the Elohite of Janus thoughtfully relieves her of her wallet, and then proposes a trade... And the Impudite of Andrealphus leans over his shoulder. "Mmmm. Leather." And the Malakite of Jordi frowns. "An animal died to make *that*?" And the Djinn of Saminga grunts, "Can't use human skin. Not thick enough." And the Kyrio of Fire walks up in six canine hosts, growling... And the Habbalite of Vapula pulls out a canister of spray. "Beta-testing time!" And then the Malakite of Novalis tapped him on the shoulder, and asked, "Is that good for the ozone layer?" Then the Habbalite of Beleth whispered, "Worry! Worry! Worry about the ozone layer! It's going to die! Panic! Panic now!" So the Mercurian of Jordi curled up in a corner and rocked... (Hey, they don't *always* make their Will rolls!) And the Elohite of Laurence laid a hand on his shoulder. "Be comforted. There are graver troubles. Take up your weapons and smite the forces of darkness, in the knowledge of inner peace and truth." And the Malakite of War rolled his eyes at all the talking and readied his battleaxe from where he'd crept up behind the Habbalite. Maya (comments welcome) - --- 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: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 19:53:03 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Homosexuality in In Nomine At 5:47 PM -0400 9/12/97, dwood@skipjack.bluecrab.org wrote: >Previously, from the desktop of Jeff Miller... > >>For Celestials, I think that the question is irrelevant. What sex is the >>Celestial form of a Kyriotate or an Ofanim? > >Rightly so. Sidebar, p. 48. They don't necessarily have to "perform," but >they can if they want to, and they may even derive a certain amount of >pleasure ...from making the other person happy. Consider the rite of >Eli's wherein an angel can generate Essence by engaging in consentual >sex... (I see no reason why they might not take physical pleasure as well as emotional... It's just that the emotional component is so much better...) >Kyriotates are the most alien form of angel, and if you think about it, >they'd probably enjoy taking over both partners. Think about it. Masturbation. What good would it be? >Ofanim? Well, it'd be over so quickly, who'd care? :) I stand by my notion for the view from a Lust-Servitor: "Good points of Ofanim: Never stop moving." >What I AM going to cast asparagus [sic] upon is the stuff below... "Gus is the cat, by the theater door..." Sorry, sorry... - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 23:43:30 GMT From: w_mazur@primenet.com (Walt Mazur) Subject: Re: Geas Entrapment (Re: IN> Lilith's Potence) On Fri, 12 Sep 1997 11:02:52 -0400, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: >>So she can keep hunting. Maybe pushing through a subway crowd, testing, >>testing, testing... > >Yes. (And eventually she gets a 111, and the GM decides how annoyed >he is...) My Lil does a lot of "just checking" (and a fair amount >of failing, *sigh*, I gotta boost her Perception). I don't think >that's much worse than Elohim and Seraphim doing similar things. Oh, but an AA causing all that disturbance in a subway crowd! Tsk, tsk! >>Ok. So this is a different issue from the basic rule that sensing is off >>perception and doing is off will. > > Yeah. It *would* be cleaner if imposing the Geas were Will, in >concept, but messier in mechanics. Ok, but the sensing is off perception and doing is off will, *is* canon, right? The non-canonical part is any modifications to Lilim Resonance. >>Hm. It does seem logical that a Lilim doing something ought to require a >>will roll. Maybe a comparison on invoking Geases would help: >> >> Lilim Victim Comment >>Old: free resist Will-geas >>Proposed: Will resist Will-geas Well the Lilim >> definitely loses by the >> change >>How about: Will+geas resist Will Makes the Lilim less likely >> to fail and less needing to >> put points in will; simple >> resistance roll >> >>> The second way is more complicated. Icky. >> >>It does add a roll, but it does make some sense. It also gives a Lilim a >>better chance of Geasing a Celestial: she can't add essence if she can't >>roll. > >It's not just adding a roll -- I could handle that -- but it puts in >the question of "does the Geas vanish if she fails?" It also gives her >three chances to fail -- Perception, Will, and Resistance. Well, the first and last were always there: the first fails to sense conditions for a Geas, and the last was imposing the Geas. Actually, I'd look at it as the second changing from a passive, resistance only thing to an actual Lilim action. It's still just two chances to fail, only the mechanics of the second have changed. >Will+Geaslevel helps her *try* to impose the Geas, but the victim >becomes much more likely to resist and cause her dissonance. Some points: 1. Will+Geaslevel will let high Will=12 Lilim unconditionally Geas most humans. The humans will have at most a CD of 6 while the Lilim will have a minimum CD of Geas+1, and she can spend Essence, which she couldn't before. 2. It lets her have a good chance of Geasing a Celestial--maybe too good a chance. With the Geas plus, she'll be able to outspend another Celestial boosting their CDs. >>You're right. Oops. > >The rules are a little complex. They looked much clearer when I wrote >them down, though, in that little equation. (The one rule that I'd >love to re-do, if only I could think of something better. *sigh*) My house rule (sent separately) is quite close in effect to the original rule in effect. It isn't as simple as I would like, just the simplest that had somewhat the same effects. The problem is getting the 12 Perception Celestials at just the right perception distance so they can cover some reasonable area around a Tether, but they can hear everything that happens in a city. If the powers that be would be willing to consider a very substantial change, I could propose some possibilities. One might be: Perception+Disturbance=distance Distance would have to be in some units I'm not sure of off the top of my head. Maybe a tenth of a mile; maybe a twentieth. The CD would stay the same. This would simplify the formula a lot, at the expense of having small disturbances more detectable. OTOH, this could be compensated for by letting the listener track the maker of the disturbance only on CD=6, allowing a Celestial to usually get away with a hit and run attack. >>Per person. Unless they're very gullible. Hm. P.T. Barnum... > > If they're *that* dumb, then evolution action... Who has the Word Evolution? Eli? >>>Karakash mentioned it, yes. It's canon. Lilim cannot trade Geases. They >>>can *promise* "I'll only invoke this Geas the way you tell me to" to >>>someone, or use a Geas to get a sister to invoke a Geas to your specifics. I can't find this. Could you perhaps repost the canon ruling, please? (It also needs to go to the FAQ.) >>That changes things. Not even with Lilith herself? > >I've proposed that they can, but that trasferring a Geas earned by a Lilim >to Lilith without breaking it is at least as tricky a task as removing >Discord -- Lilith will only do that for Geasa that interest her, and >the effort of getting it reduces its value. (So there's a certain amount >of "Okay, that's a nice Geas, and I'll trade you this if you promise not >to use it up except as I dictate," even with Lilith.) The problem I'm seeing is Lilith with all her Geas/3's with no real way for a PC Lilim to get out from under them without her doing at least 5 major tasks for Lilim. That's likely to bore the rest of the group. OTOH, if the Lilim can get some juicy Geases Lilith would like, she can trade them to Lilith and get out from under Lilith's thumb without boring the PCs to death. I'm seeing not just a balance issue, but a campaign issue here. >>Is that possible? I though you essentially teleported to your heart. Or is >>this new stuff? > >It's what I'd have a Superior say to a demon (or angel...) who was >doing the "kill my vessel, I don't care!" scam. And I'd have it >work, too, if the demon/angel were being too much of a twit about it. > >I mean, they do end up staring at their Heart, so they've obviously >"gone celestial"? It's just in such a diffuse form that they don't >make disturbance... (Hm. Maybe it's making matter vanish that >makes the noise when one goes celestial?) Well, the Superior has other options, like stunning them and taking them to H or H. I don't have a real feel for answers on the other questions--sorry. >>I don't have a problem with that. The human set himself up for the >>situation, and he can still stop taking the drug. > >Heh. I don't see much difference between crack (or M:TG?) and Dark >Desire, myself... The difference I see is that the human had a choice: he decided to Need something. DD is just mind control. >>And who is it on the IN staff that represents the Angelic side? ;) > >Blest and bedamned if I know. I mean, I'm >the one who channelled K.K. (Who may be a munchkin and a half, but >she's the GM's toy, not a PC...) :) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 20:50:05 -0500 (CDT) From: Donald G Bixler Subject: Re: IN> Yves: Mechanics > When I get home, I'll try to find the exact page number. I'm at home and I couldn't find anything to support my belief. I'd like to apologize to Mr. Lintz and the entire list; I'll go waste someone else's bandwidth now. Oops da Ogre, now back to your regularly scheduled Malakim and Lilim mudgb4@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 11:01:45 +0900 From: Dave Conrad Subject: IN> INRI Tattoo Hi- Supposedly, there is a picture of a demon with an INRI tattoo in the basic book, but for the life of me, I can't find it. Anybody know where it is? - -- Dave C. iN*T*x "To break the rules is to break the spell" - C. Lasch ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 22:35:47 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Kinney Subject: Re: IN> INRI Tattoo On Sat, 13 Sep 1997, Dave Conrad wrote: > Supposedly, there is a picture of a demon with an INRI tattoo in the > basic book, but for the life of me, I can't find it. Anybody know where > it is? > I don't know about the main book, but there is such a thing (if that's a demon, of course; you know you can't tell in this game :-) on the GMs Screen. alberich@iglou.com | Mark Kinney | http://www.iglou.com/nations "Oh, we've got a bigger dressing room than the puppets? How refreshing!" -- David St. Hubbins, "This Is Spinal Tap" ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #339 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.