From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Sun Jul 19 02:04:51 1998 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id CAA18430 for ; Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:04:51 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.0/8.9.0) id CAA20925 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:07:03 -0500 Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 02:07:03 -0500 Message-Id: <199807190707.CAA20925@lists.io.com> X-Authentication-Warning: lists.io.com: majordom set sender to owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com using -f From: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com (in_nomine-digest) To: in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Subject: in_nomine-digest V1 #866 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 Sunday, July 19 1998 Volume 01 : Number 866 In this digest: Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians (Re: Word-Bound Servitors of David) Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians (Re: Word-Bound Servitors of David) Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians IN> Take cover!!! Re: IN> People of the Sun (was:Communism and Islam...) Re: IN> Take cover!!! IN> More questions about Saints IN> Roleplaying the Symphony IN> Re: IN- Salvation and Damnation IN> Re: IN- Salvation and Damnation IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (2) IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (Part 0) IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (3) IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (1) IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (5) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 20:54:10 +0200 (DFT) From: Anders Gabrielsson Subject: Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians (Re: Word-Bound Servitors of David) On Sat, 18 Jul 1998, GR Cogman wrote: > > >> At 11:39 AM +0200 7/17/98, Anders Gabrielsson wrote: > > >Doesn't work for me. It's not like Imps can't live without humans - the > >comparison to food doesn't really work. It's weird that an Imp can't even > >let his pals kill someone who really needs killing (according to the > >demons, of course). Does this also mean that the Imp will get angry at his > >demonic colleagues if they kill humans, since it's his nature to try and > >stop it? Will he get pangs of angst because he didn't succeed in saving > >that tasty morsel? Besides, it's not like humans are a dying species or > >anything... > > Consider it this way. Impudites are _obsessed_ with draining Essence. > Essence is lifeblood, strength, power, force, everything. Humans are the > producers of Essence. Kill a human? Okay, so they could let someone else do > it, but to actually do it yourself... it's like an addict _deliberately_ > pouring his latest beautiful batch of crack cocaine down the drain. Humans > are enjoyable food, utility objects that'll feed you with their Essence and > _then_ give you a backrub on top of it. But that's exactly my point - they -can't- let someone else do it. Then they're killing them through inaction. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding their Dissonance condition? "Personally killin a human - through action or inaction - causes dissonance in Impudites." To me this implies that they can't just stand and watch while a human is killed, they must try to save him/her or eat dissonance. If the "inaction" part was removed, it would be OK with me, since that's what's giving me problems. Anders Gabrielsson anders@stp.ling.uu.se The contents of this message belong to me and nobody else. So there! Geography is just therapy for imperialists. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 20:34:44 +0100 From: Jo Hart Subject: Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians (Re: Word-Bound Servitors of David) At 19:11 18/07/98 +0100, you wrote: > > But to deliberately destroy a source of that wonderful, >fantastic, habitual Essence... > >Ow. Dissonance. > They can get essence from celestials too... (theoretically, at least) jo jhart@btinternet.com http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~jhart/ "Buy old masters. They bring better prices than young mistresses." -- Beaverbrook (1879-1964) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 17:15:22 -0400 From: Neel Krishnaswami Subject: Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians maya@tcp.co.uk (GR Cogman) wrote: > >>> At 11:39 AM +0200 7/17/98, Anders Gabrielsson wrote: > >>Doesn't work for me. It's not like Imps can't live without humans - the >>comparison to food doesn't really work. It's weird that an Imp can't even >>let his pals kill someone who really needs killing (according to the >>demons, of course). Does this also mean that the Imp will get angry at his >>demonic colleagues if they kill humans, since it's his nature to try and >>stop it? Will he get pangs of angst because he didn't succeed in saving >>that tasty morsel? Besides, it's not like humans are a dying species or >>anything... > >After all, what does it feel like to get Essence? What does it feel like to >be able to drain the raw stuff of the universe, of creation, from another >being, and to feel it sweetly flooding through you, filling you with power >to affect the Symphony and change the world? It has to be an addictive >sensation. Quite possibly a number of Impudites drain Essence even when >they're full and don't need to, just for the rush of it. (Hm. Idea there. >Pigeonhole.) But to deliberately destroy a source of that wonderful, >fantastic, habitual Essence... Permanently destroy it? Not a chance. A living human is a fine source of Essence, but a dead and damned one is better. There's no chance that they'll escape the Pit, no risk that simply Taking their essence will drive them into the waitng arms of God. Drag them down to Hell, and their Essence will be yours. Forever. And they will never be able to escape you, never be able to refuse you when you need the Essence. So it shouldn't be dissonant to murder a human, not if the human will plummet to Hell shortly afterwards. (This makes an interesting variation, actually. It's still pretty restrictive not to be able to kill a pious human, since an Impudite /still/ can't off that Soldier of God. And having a type of demon who can't hurt the righteous fits the genre very well. Of course, in a dark campaign, this wouldn't be much of a restriction...) - -- Neel Krishnaswami neelk@alum.mit.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 22:43:18 +0100 From: Jo Hart Subject: Re: IN> Impudites and Mercurians At 17:15 18/07/98 -0400, you wrote: > > >Drag them down to Hell, and their Essence will be yours. Forever. Well, will it? That all depends on where the soul is assigned at the soul yards, and your superior might (reasonably) expect that soul's essence for himself and you might have to fight off other demons for it in hell, rather than hanging out on earth where you can sometimes get good TV on cable. (Impudites must like Live TV, because it has an infernal kind of charm.) It would indubitably be objectively best for hell if Lucifer could send out demons to corrupt the mortal world, and as soon as a mortal was tipped over the balance such that their soul would be hell-bound, the demon would kill them. Sadly, only Kronos' balseraphs with the Elohite attunement show any signs of actually doing this. _All_ other demons and superiors let their personal agendas get in the way. No, what an impudite really wants is a nice pad on earth where it will be warm and safe, with lots of mortals to fawn over it and love it and be its special friends; and no pesky angels or other demons to spoil its fun. I think the ability to charm is a more important part of an impudite's psyche than the essence-drain -- they just happen to be psychic vampires. The driving force is that they _need_ people to be their friend. They need to be able to prove constantly that they can make people like them, even to the point of abusing mortals and then immediately charming them, just to prove to the demon what a star it is. They probably don't need celestials to be their friends quite so much because everyone knows celestials are mean and selfish and not good 'friend' material (ie. they don't much like being used once they find out about it). So my rules fix is to let them charm people on a straight will roll (as per normal demonic resonance) and then take the essence drain at the raised difficulty. I'd also use the IPG rules that make essence drain easier if the impudite has been charming people regularly over a period of time, which also explains why they'd tend to want to build up a circle of admirers and only those with the highest wills would expect to be able to drain essence from someone they had only charmed once. I think the wording on the impudite dissonance probably just means that the demon takes dissonance if it is personally responsible for the death of a mortal, either through action or inaction. So it can't scare someone into having a heart attack and refuse to give them their medicine and expect to not get dissonant. If some other demon wants to kill the mortal... well, that is hardly the impudite's fault. jo jhart@btinternet.com http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~jhart/ "Buy old masters. They bring better prices than young mistresses." -- Beaverbrook (1879-1964) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 12:40:56 +0100 From: Roland Ward Subject: IN> Take cover!!! Well the Islam debate was heated enough so I thought I would try another one - Unix vs. Windows NT Unix - solid, reliable, very esoteric - definately the work of Jean. All those strange little commands, those wild looking Systems administrators who look after everything - the controls on users etc. That non techies find it exasperating on confirms my belief Windows NT - glossy, glitsy, crashes often, permanently beiing pathed with service packs - Definately Vapula. Seems easy to use till you hit the brick wall of Demon logic in the heart of the system. Helped by Nybbas's advertising campaign. Seems Vapula's OS is on ther rise at the moment. Or what about - Kornshiel - Mercurian servitor of Jean - developed X Windows in the 70's in Xerox as a way to bring the "faith" to the technologically-challenged. Responsible for "ease of use", "what you see is what you get" and Emacs mode on the shell. DeeCom - Belsheraph Demon of Registries Delights in developing applications that appear to be simple, but in reality are a nightmare. Hios greatest creation - the Windows registry is full of funny little keys and fields that make a grown man cry. Rumoured is the >CURRENT_USER/APP_EVENTS/SCHEMES/SELL_YOUR_SOUL?/ value. Now where does that leave all the AppleMac users Roland :-) (beginning to feel like a servitor of Malphas on this list....) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 12:25:12 +0100 From: Roland Ward Subject: Re: IN> People of the Sun (was:Communism and Islam...) > Now you said something interesting, this kind of Armageddon in no > match to what the people who lived in America (South America > specialy), Mayas, Aztescs and Amazonian Indians, they suffered with > the colonization, and they don't even exist today, some have > descendents but is no big like the jews. That was something that we > can say that was demoniac by the part of the cristian church, the > spanish sent Hernan Cortez to kill'em all. And he did so. > Well a lot of Aztecs died of the the various plagues thet the Europeans had suffered and grown immune to. In some cases this caused the natives of these areas to turn to Chirstianity, since they felt that it was the Europeans god that was causing these terrible diseases - of course it was actually all the rats living in the ships. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 22:12:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Casca Subject: Re: IN> Take cover!!! On Sat, 18 Jul 1998, Roland Ward wrote: > Now where does that leave all the AppleMac users In the Marches. Which is better than Amiga users, who are consigned to Limbo... - -- Casca, Seraph of Archives (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: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 19:11:59 PDT From: "Daniel Maberry" Subject: IN> More questions about Saints More Saint questions: 4: Can Shedim possess Saints? On the one hand, the rules say the can possess humans, and Saints are human. On the other hand, a FAQ somewhere said that they can't possess celestials, and Saints are celstials. So which rule, or rather phrasing, takes precedence? 5: What happens if a Saint succumbs to his Fate while on Earth? (A shorter one than the above, but will probably spawn more debate...) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 19:14:30 PDT From: "Daniel Maberry" Subject: IN> Roleplaying the Symphony >From: "Matthew D. Gandy" > So if anyone has a great way of explaining any game mechanic in >game-world terms, I'd love to hear it--particularly Songs and disturbances >in the Symphony (without resorting to the Star Wars cliche--"You feel a >great disturbance in the Force, er, *Symphony*"). Here's the very beginning of my thoughts on the topic. Lemme know if this is what you were looking for... ANGELIC RESONANCE These work on the principle of "the cocktail party effect", people's ability to listen to a single voice when surrounded by noise. Angels listen for a particular kind of theme in the Symphony, and can measure certain things by listening to its variations. SERAPHIM: All thoughts have sounds, and these sounds are the basis of the true celestial language. Normally they are internal, but when one speaks, he broadcasts these sounds. (This is why you can't lie in Celestial; it's the true thoughts that come out.) This happens in corporeal speech, but more subtly. The person's voiced thoughts have their own Symphonic sounds, which may differ from his true thoughts. What he's thinking is still broadcast in the Symphony, with his voiced thoughts as a carrier signal. A Seraph can listen for this subsignal, and if he finds it, he can tell if his voiced and true thoughts differ. If lucky, he may be able to compare both these signals to the overall themes and chords the the greater Symphony, and discern some degree of factual truth on the matter discussed. CHERUBIM: When a Cherub touches someone, he may feel the vibration of the person's own theme in the Symphony; every being has its own unique sounds. This sound resonates through the Cherub like a tuning fork, where he makes a piece of himself sing back in the same theme. Later, he can listen to this theme and the Symphony, and find the notes that match. These tell him what he needs to know about his attunement. Doing this isn't just an oath to protect someone, but he feels like the subject is a part of himself. When that person dies, so does a part of the Cherub. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 19:15:28 PDT From: "Daniel Maberry" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Salvation and Damnation >From: Earl Wajenberg >Yes, pantheism is the "God = universe" concept. It is specifically >denounced in all three monotheistic religions. Introducing it >into IN canon was, in my opinion, an artistic error. I like it, personally, but that might just be my personal bias on the matter (I'm quite a fan of the "God as the mind of the universe" idea, sort of a cosmic-level Gaia Hypothesis). >> Someone who loves God with all his heart can still perform "evil" >> acts, like murder, and even feel that he's doing the Will of God(TM). > >This is actually independent of the pantheism/monotheism issue. >A pantheist can commit evil deeds and rationalize, "God is All; I'm >just embodying one of the darker parts of the All." Which is exactly what the Habbalah do, and where are they? I see this as the difference between a healthy, loving relationship and an abusive or "stalker" relationship. If the abuser/stalker believes he loves the person (some abusers might, and stalkers generally do), he may have some rationale or excuse for what he does. But if he really did feel love, he'd know how wrong it is to do stuff like that. Someone who rationalizes more general evil with a suppposed love of God is in the same boat, just like the Habbalah. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 19:16:15 PDT From: "Daniel Maberry" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Salvation and Damnation >From: Anders Gabrielsson >This whole line of reasoning of course requiers that you identify God with >the Symphony. Not many do that. (Is that's what's called pan-theism? I >never get those terms straight.) Most see God as, in some sense, separate >from His creation, which gives them a bit of leeway in how they deal with >their fellow human beings, not to mention nature in general. I didn't clearly state this, but I writing from an IN perspective, not a real-world religious perspective. From what I can tell, the IN universe is pantheistic; it's also my personal favorite definition of the nature of God. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 16:25:58 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (2) DISTURBANCE This version uses a grossly simplified version of Disturbance, to avoid the need for characters to carry noisemakers or have the GM's head explode. Disturbance can only be heard by Celestially aware characters (Celestials, Undead, Soldiers etc), and can be divided into 4 categories: QUIET: This disturbance is only heard within a few metres/yards of the character, or some similar subdivision), and only by characters with 4+ Celestial Forces. AUDIBLE:This is automatically heard by characters within a few metres, and heard within the immediate area (room etc) by characters with 4+ Celestial Forces. LOUD: This is automatically heard by characters within the immediate area, and heard through the entire play environment by characters with 4+ Celestial Forces. RAUCOUS:This is automatically heard by all characters able to hear Disturbance. Varying actions cause varying levels of Disturbance. Spending Essence does _not_ cause Disturbance in this version of IN. The Disturbance caused by a Song depends on the Song (see SONGS). Doing 1 Hit of damage to a person or object is Audible. Doing multiple Hits at once, or destroying an object/animal is Loud. Killing a human is Raucous. Some attunements cause Disturbance (see CELESTIAL POWERS). Once the Disturbance level is determined, the GMs inform all the characters who heard the noise (as subtlely as possible). Characters who hear a noise will know its general nature (Song, destruction, attunement) and what part of the play area it originated in. Pinning it down to the person involved will take effort on the player's part. DISSONANCE Again, a very simple mechanic. Characters who act against their nature may receive points of Dissonance. If they ever have more points than their Celestial Forces, they Fall. Characters can gain dissonance in a number of ways. Usually, it isn't in a way that others will notice (such as a Seraph lying). If a character knowingly acts in a Dissonant way, they should inform a Gm and take a Dissonance point. No one can _force_ a player to own up to Dissonance, but those who don't are lyin', cheatin', powergamin' weasels, and you needn't feel obliged to invite them back to your games. If a PC acts in an obviously dissonant way (such as a Mercurian headbutting a nun), the GM should award them a Dissonance point after the fact, in such a way that others don't know what's happening (to preserve secrecy). If a PC is caught out hiding their Dissonant acts (such as a Seraph beign caught out in a lie), the GM should talk to them afterwards while giving them their Dissonance points. If it's a case of ignorance, fair enough. If the player's a weasel, give them extra Dissonance for attempting to cover up their sins. Certain types of Discord will increase the chance of certain Celestials falling. These Discords are: Vulnerable - Ofanim & Calabim Angry - Elohim & Habbalah Aura - Lilim Berserk - Mercurians & Impudites Cowardly - Malakim Fear - Cherubim & Djinn Paranoia - Seraphim & Balseraphs If a character has the appropriate Discord, they have a point of 'permanent' Dissonance, that can only be lost if they lose the Discord. Characters can transform Dissonance into Discord during Downtime. This erases _all_ Dissonance points (excpet when linked to a Discord as above), and inflicts a Discord upon the character. This can only be done with GM permission, and the Discord taken should be decided jointly between the GM & player. The largely cosmetic Corporeal Discords (such as Obese) are less punishing - a character must take 2 of these to erase their Dissonance (or take 1 to cancel 1 point of Dissonance). ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 16:20:52 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (Part 0) G'day. With all the talk recently about live-action IN, I thought I'd dust off the notes I made some months ago towards an IN LARP system. Well, those notes got junked, it turned out, so I rewrote them and thought I'd post them. All feedback greatly appreciated. Sometimes my emails format differently than the way they appear at my end. If this comes out badly, email me and I'll put it together on Word and send it to people. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia Life's a piece of shit, woo woo woo Open a vein and slit, woo woo woo TISM, "Bishop Handjob" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 16:28:41 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (3) COMBAT These rules de-emphasize combat, since live-action fights aren't that interesting. If possible, players should be able to simply agree on the effects of a fight, without recourse to rules, damage or GM intervention. Encourage this attitude in the players. If a fight scene goes to rules, resolve it as a single task check (no rounds or suchlike), with both/all combatants having a chance to damage their opponent. Each character counts as an 'attacker' and a 'defender'. The 'attacker' compares their Corporeal Forces with those of the 'defender'. The attacker can use skills such as Fighting or weapon skills to increase their Forces. The defender can use the Dodge skill (or Acrobatics in a close range fight). If the attacker's Forces are greater than the defender's, the defender takes 1 Body Hit of damage. If the attacker's Forces are much higher - 4 or more Forces difference - the defender takes 2 Body Hits. Use of a powerful weapon (claymore, shotgun, bazooka) will inflict an extra point of damage. That's it. Combat's over. If the participants are dead keen to keep it up intil on of them is dead, let them keep going, but generally combats will end with one or both parties slinking off to nurse their wounds. Characters have Body Hits equal to their Corporeal Forces (plus any Vessel levels). If they fall to 0 Hits, they are unconscious, but will recover in 5-10 minutes or with aid (but will still have 0 Hits). If a character's Hits fall to a negative value, they are dead. Discourage players from killing other players if at all possible, since it reduces fun. Even though a dead Celestial can return next session, it still means they have nothing to do for the rest of the current game. OTHER CHANGES Due to the constraints of petty reality, almost all IN LARPS take place _solely_ on the Corporeal Plane. Celestial characters cannot assume their Celestial Forms, and powers based on Mind or Soul Hits are not used. Assume that in this version, Celestial Forms can only be assumed while in a Tether - unless the game is set in a Tether, in which case assume that going Celestial takes far too long a period of time to be practical. For the advanced student, you could set a game in the Marches, Heaven or Hell. This wouldn't change things much (apart from hopefully increasing the standard of costuming), but would be interesting. In such an instance, drop Body Hits and replace them with Hits equal to the appropriate Force (Vessels have no effect). Characters may not summon their Superiors in this version of IN - unless such a summoning is part of a plot & done with the GM's permission. This would cause a Raucous Disturbance, and the further effects would be for the GM to determine (all the Demon's heads explode. Game over). EXPERIENCE Award players 1 Experience point if they show up _and_participate_ - hanging around on the sidelines & not interacting means you get no experience. Award an extra point to players who increase the level of fun for the group, whether through coming up with plots, terrific roleplaying, buying all the drinks or something similar. During downtime, players can use XP to buy Resources, increase their Forces or remove Discord (with GM permission). Every 4 XP will buy 1 Resource, or remove 1 Discord. For 10 XP, a player can increase one of their Forces by one (and increase their maximum Essence to match). Dissonance can only be reduced by converting it into Discord & then removing the Discord. To keep this non-trivial, players who convert Dissonance into Discord _cannot_ remove the Discord until they have played at least one session while suffering under the Discord. As another means of rewarding players, GMs can bestow Distinctions upon characters who they feel deserve the recognition (see SUPERIORS). ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 16:22:50 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (1) First caveat - these have not been playtested. I did try and put together a small live-action IN game, but it was cancelled due to lack of interest. I blame that on myself, my lack of orgaization and a mismatch between the game's concepts and the audience I was targeting. The first draft of these rules were too complex by my standards - but my standards are very freeform. I'm quite sure that the system is far too simple for some people's tastes. As a guideline, I think White Wolf's LARP system is ludicrously overcomplicated. This system doesn't use any randomizers. I don't think randomizers are very useful in live-action - they slow things down and require the players to memorize too many rules. BASIC MECHANICS This system retains the concept of Forces from IN tabletop, but throws out most of the other mechanics. Characters have their Forces divided amongst the Corporeal, Ethereal & Celestial categories, but there are no attributes (such as Strength or Precision) - everything comes down to comparing Forces. The basic principle in determining the success/failure of actions is simple. Compare your appropriate Force to your opponent's appropriate Force. Highest Force wins. If the task doesn't involve an opponent (such as picking a lock), the character compares their appropriate Force to a GM-assigned Difficulty. Obviously things get a bit more complicated than that, but that's the core mechanic. No check digits - a character's Forces not only determine their chance of success, but how well they do what they want to do. Not realistic, but it is simple. One last thing. If possible, encourage all players to determine task resolution by _roleplaying_, not using the rules. It's faster, more fun, and is less likely to require effort on the part of the GM. Only go to the rules if players can't agree on an outcome. COMPLICATIONS The Difficulty of 'unopposed' tasks is as follows: EASY - Automatic for anyone with at least 1 Force of the right type AVERAGE - 2 ABOVE AVERAGE - 4 HARD - 6 VERY HARD - 8 NIGH IMPOSSIBLE - 10 Since Forces only range from 1-6, obviously there has to be a way to increase the odds. This is where Skills & Essence come into play. Skills (see CHARACTER CREATION section) effectively _double_ a character's Forces for an appropriate task. For instance, if a character has 4 Ethereal Forces and the _Pick_Locks_ skill, they could pick any lock up to Very Hard difficulty. All characters have a degree of Essence, generally equal to their total Forces. AT any time, they can spend as much Essence as they like, to increase their Forces for the perfromance of one Task. For instance, a character with 4 Ethereal Forces attempting to pick a difficulty 8 lock could spend 4 Essence in order to succeed. The bonus for spending Essence is added _after_ the doubling for possessing the neccessary Skill. Essence spent increases the character's Forces for only _one_ task. If a task is opposed, the 'acting' character announces how much Essence they are spending and what their final total Forces are. The opposing character may then spend Essence to raise their own Forces. Then the acting character may raise theirs as well, and so on until one player refuses to spend further Essence. Normal mortals have restrictions on how they may spend their Essence. Their Essence can only be spent all at once, on something that the player feels is critical. Essence expenditure does _not_ cause Disturbance in this version of IN. If, after all Essence is spent & other factors taken into account, the player's Forces are tied, flip a coin to see who wins. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 16:36:42 +1000 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Patrick's Homegrown IN LARP System (5) SONGS Not all Songs are available in LARP play, nor are all versions of some Songs appropriate. If a player really wants a Song that doesn't really do anything in normal LARP play, discuss it with a GM and come to some sort of compromise. In cases where Songs affect others in a not-too-obvious way, give the player with the Song a card with instructions for the target, signed by the GM. This allows the player to tell the target of the Song's effects without requiring a GM's presence. If Songs affect multiple targets, or require constant comparison of Forces for the duration, the Singer only has to spend Essence to improve their Forces at the time of performing the Song. This bonus will last for the duration of the Song (as appropriate). Targeted characters can still spend Essence to improve their Forces, in which case the player _cannot_ spend extra Essence to improve their Forces further. ATTRACTION The effects of the Song last for the duration of the LARP, and cost one Essence to use. They cause an Audible degree of disturbance. CORPOREAL: The player attunes two objects to each other. Anyone holding one of the objects will be able to tell where the other is (ask a GM). ETHEREAL: Makes the target fall in love. It has a range in feet equal to the player's Ethereal Forces, and the player must overcome the target's Celestial Forces with their Ethereal Forces. The player determines the target's object of desire. If the player wishes, they may spend an extra point of Essence to have the effects continue into downtime (GM determined duration). CELESTIAL: This acts just like the Cherub resonance, with an effect equal to the player's Celestial Forces (see CELESTIAL POWERS). CHARM This Song costs a minimum 2 Essence to use, and has an Audible disturbance. They reduce the target's appropriate Forces by the player's appropriate Forces, down to a minimum of zero Forces. The Song has a range in yards equal to the player's appropriate Forces, +1 yard for every extra point of Essence spent. The player can target muliple characters, but the effect is reduced by 1 point for every additional target. Of course, the player can also spend extra Essence to raise their Forces and so increase the effect. CORPOREAL: Duration is the player's Corporeal Forces in minutes (real time). ETHEREAL: Duration is the player's Ethereal Forces in hours (or the entire session). CELESTIAL: Duration is the player's Celestial Forces x5 in seconds (real time). DREAMS This Song isn't used in normal LARP play. If a LARP was set in the Marches, it might be worth working out rules for the Song. ENTROPY This Song costs 1 Essence (2 for Celestial version) and is Raucous. CORPOREAL: Alter the target's age by an amount equal to the player's Celestial Forces times the Essence spent (in years). The player's Corporeal Forces must overcome the target's. ETHEREAL: Mental attack - the player must overcome the target's Ethereal Forces with their own. If the target is a Celestial, they may choose to have the player overcome their Celestial Forces instead (target's discretion). The target suffers terrors and fears (this must be roleplayed) for the rest of the LARP. If the amount of Essence spent by the player in powering the Song is equal to greater than the target's Ethereal Forces, the target passes out from fear for 5-10 minutes. CELESTIAL: The player must overcome the target's Celestial Forces with their own (other Celestials get a +1 bonus to their Forces to defend). If successful, they can take no actions for a number of minutes equal to the player's Celestial Forces. FORM This Song costs a minimum of 1 Essence, and lasts for a number of minutes equal to the player's appropriate Forces _squared_. It causes an Audible disturbance, but only after the duration ends. Players wishing to use the Song of Form might want to bring extra costuming or makeup materials with them to the LARP to better represent the changes. If so, the time they take to change their appearance does _not_ count towards the duration. CORPOREAL: Armor. The player recieves extra Body Hits equal to their Corporeal Forces, and all damaged suffered during the Song's duration is taken from these extra points first. ETHEREAL: Invisibility. The player can be detected only by characters with greater Ethereal Forces than the player, and even then only vaguely. The player should make some sort of gesture or carry a sign saying "INVISIBLE" around during the duration. CELESTIAL: Shapechanging. Apply the same costs as in the IN rulebook. HARMONY Minimum of 1 Essence required. The range is equal to the player's appropriate Forces, times the Essence spent, in metres/yards. The disturbance varies with the amount of people affected - 1-2 (Quiet), 3-5 (Audible), 6-8 (Loud) or 9+ (Raucous). CORPOREAL: Makes all in range (including player) weak & sluggish, reducing their Corporeal Forces by _half_ the player's Corporeal Forces (round down). It lasts for (player's Corporeal Forces x10) seconds. ETHEREAL: All targets become rational and subdued, and can only take violent action if their Celestial Forces are greater than the player's Ethereal Forces. The Song lasts a number of minutes equal to the player's Ethereal Forces. CELESTIAL: Temporarily negates 1 Discord of the target, lasting for a number of minutes equal to the player's Celestial Forces. HEALING Only the CORPOREAL version of the Song is available for normal LARP play. It costs 1 Essence, is Audible and has no range (the player must touch the target). It restore a number of Body Hits equal to the player's Corporeal Forces. LIGHT The Song has an Essence cost of 1, but no more than 3 Essence can be spent on the Song (including Essence spent on increasing the player's Forces). It causes only Quiet disturbance. CORPOREAL: Creates light within a radius of (Corporeal Forces x Essence spent) metres/yards, for (Corporeal Forces x2) minutes, and can be turned on & off at will. Give the player a torch or lantern of some kind if you like. ETHEREAL: Creates illusions within (Ethereal Forces x Essence spent) feet. Only those with greater Ethereal Forces than the player's can see through the illusion. It lasts for (Ethereal Forces x2) minutes, and can no larger than the player's Ethereal Forces in cubic feet. Most likely, the player will need to have a GM make an announcement about the illusion. CELESTIAL: Laser beam. The target takes Body Hits equal to the Essence spent, and is dazzled (-1 Force to appropriate tasks) for 30 seconds. MOTION This Song is Audible, and has a minimum Essence cost of 1 (2 for Celestial). All these effects are fairly obvious, and will usually require a GM to make an announcement or at least be present. Players may be required to present signs stating what they are doing. CORPOREAL: Flight. This lasts a number of minutes equal to the player's Corporeal Forces, and is fast enough to allow the player to escape from any kind of physical confrontation. Of course, the power is of limited utility indoors (where most LARPs happen). ETHEREAL: Telekinesis. The player can lift a weight equal to (Ethereal Forces x Essence spent) in pounds, for a number of minutes equal to the Ethereal Forces. The range is equal to their Ethereal Forces in metres/yards. Pulling an object from someone's grasp requires overcoming their Corporeal Forces with the player's Ethereal Forces. CELESTIAL: Teleportation. The player can teleport themselves (and an appropriate amount of extra weight) anywhere within the LARP environment or to any nearby area outside (with GM approval). The player may also attempt to teleport someone else (overcoming their Corporeal Forces with the player's Celestial Forces), with the GM's permission. Targets cannot be teleported inside other objects or into dangerous situations, but it could get rid of someone for a few minutes or even until the end of the LARP (although that could be a bit boring for them). NUMINOUS CORPUS These all have the same effect (with the exception of 'Wings'). They increase the player's damage in combat by 1 Body Hit, and add 1 to their Corporeal Forces for the attack resolution. They cost 1 Essence, are Quiet and last for the duration of the LARP. The player can turn them on and off at will. Wings are different. Same cost and disturbance, but they work just like the Corporeal Song of Motion (although more obviously). POSSESSION Forget it. Way too difficult to represent. If Gms want to see it used, they can give it to NPCs and work out rules as they like. PROJECTION See 'Possession'. Just unworkable for LARPs. SHIELDS These will almost certainly require GM announcements. The Songs are Audible and cost a minimum of 1 Essence, covering a radius equal to the player's appropriate Forces times the Essence spent in feet. CORPOREAL: Protects those inside from any physical damage (bullets, cars, bombs etc). Lasts for (Corporeal Forces x10) seconds. ETHEREAL: Prevents all attunements, resonances & Essence-based attacks. Lasts for (Ethereal Forces x10) seconds. CELESTIAL: Prevents all celestial-based attempts to preceive through the barrier, as well as masking all disturbances for the duration (Celestial Forces x2 minutes), although the nosie is heard as soon as the sheild falls.. It does not move with the player. If the shield masks multiple disturbances, treat them all as being one level noisier when the barrier drops. THUNDER Range is equal to the player's Corporeal Forces x the Essence spent in metres/yards. All those in range are stunned & can only act if they overcome the player's Corporeal Forces with their Celestial Forces. This lasts for approximately 1 minute real time. The Song costs at least 1 Essence and is Raucous. Furthermore, the noise will mask all other disturbance caused within the area of effect for the next (Essence spent x player's _total_ Forces) minutes. TONGUES The Song costs 1 Essence and is Quiet. It will definitely require a GM's presence to facilitate things. CORPOREAL: The player can communicate in all languages simultaneously. This lasts for the duration of the LARP. ETHEREAL: The player can communicate telepathically with anyone within (player's Ethereal Forces x Essence spent) metres/yards. The duration is equal to the player's Ethereal Forces in minutes, and the target can block their mind to communication if they overcome the player's Ethereal Forces with their Celestial Forces. Generally, a GM will end up carrying messages back & forth between player & target. CELESTIAL: The player can write a brief (15 words or less) note and give it to a GM to give to another character. The GM delivers the note within the next 5 minutes, and awards the target an extra point of Essence. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #866 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.