From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Sun May 23 23:05:46 1999 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (majordom@lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id XAA09352 for ; Sun, 23 May 1999 23:05:46 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id XAA02548 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Sun, 23 May 1999 23:04:22 -0500 Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 23:04:22 -0500 Message-Id: <199905240404.XAA02548@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 #1235 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, May 23 1999 Volume 01 : Number 1235 In this digest: IN> Malakim Musings IN> Malakim and violent oaths IN> Artifact: "Celestial Insurance Policy" Re: IN> Artifact: "Celestial Insurance Policy" IN> Artifact: "Celestial Insurance Policy" (fixed) IN> Chopping up the Revelations Cycle books ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 18:36:09 PDT From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: IN> Malakim Musings As I may have mentioned before, Malakim are my favorite Choir. Eric A. Burns is in my opinion correct, both in his view of the problem with players using Malakim as monomaniac fighting machines, and in their link with AD&D Paladins. I also use Paladins in a different way than the "customary" one. In my D&D game, Paladins (like Malakim) are MORE constrained than other characters, not less so. For example, until they reach 5th (Mastery) level, they are not ALLOWED to let others know they are Paladins. (If someone finds out by accident, it's all right, but they have to try to keep it secret and to bind anyone who finds out to secrecy as well.) This is to encourage modesty, humility, and the use of subtlety in the war against evil. My longest-running character (PC in two separate campaigns, one defunct, and NPC in my campaign) is a Malakite of War. Needless to say, he has a strong interest in combat. However, his oaths, beside the standard ones, are "Never break my freely sworn word" and "Never disobey Michael's orders." (Yes, it was pointed out to me that if I break any of the other oaths I will also be breaking the "sworn word" one and therefore take two points of dissonance instead of one. I took the oath anyway.) There is no reason why a Malakite's oaths HAVE to relate to combat. And from a role-playing viewpoint, there are good reasons why at least one of them shouldn't. In the now defunct campaign, we were up to our eyebrows in Malakim, because a large number of the players were munchkins (let me tell you, munchkins come in all ages and genders), and they all had oaths like "never draw a weapon without shedding blood" and "never interfere with a single combat" and it was a Royal Pain in the Wazoo. (My character asked someone to spar with him, so we could both get Essence, and he pointed out that his "shedding blood" oath precluded him from sparring without actually injuring someone, which would require Essence to heal ..) Oaths like that actually interfere with the effectiveness of Malakite fighting, especially in a team situation (one Malakite can't help with the ambush, another can't use any weapon but an axe, a third one has to cut off the ears of every demon he kills ... please, give me a break). Whereas oaths like Never Deserting Your Friends in Battle, Never Starting A Fight With Someone Weaker Than You Unless It Is A Demon, Teaching Each Person You Rescue From Trouble Some Way Of Defending Themselves, Never Allowing Your Superior To Be Insulted By Other Celestials (my Malakite does this, he just didn't make it an oath), Always Going to the Defense of Men or Women of the Cloth, Always Giving a Captured Demon the Option to Redeem ... just for a few examples -- may occasionally make a Malakite's life complicated (and what good is a game where the characters' life isn't complicated) but are far more often likely to inspire good roleplaying. Oh, yes, the Malakite of Jordi. It's always been my impression that Jordi *understands* about the food chain and has no problem with it. Here's another idea that might be more useful: "Make every person I see being cruel to animals suffer the same way his or her victim does." Notice that this 1) does not NECESSARILY involve killing someone, 2) does not mean you have to try to punish every vet or farmer, only the deliberately cruel ones. It does, however, mean that the character will end up doing things like amputating one joint of the finger of the person who docks dogs' tails without anesthetic, locking up dog trainers without food or water for a few days, horsewhipping a farmer or two, and possibly skinning a fur trapper or two alive ... Yours, leaving on that cheerful note, Janet Anderson _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 01:29:01 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Malakim and violent oaths >>> But I'm going to modify that Oath anyway to probably involve some intention of cruelty, so this shouldn't matter too much.<<< For Jordi, I'd suggest the oath allow for humans to injure or kill animals when _necessary_ -- e.g., for food or self-defense. He might put up with fishermen who eat what they catch, but not with fishermen who catch fish just to shellack them and mount them. Commercial fishermen who use dolphin-safe nets with sea-turtle escape hatches might be tolerated (they are catching food for eating purposes), but those who indiscriminately allow dolphins and sea turtles and other creatures to strangle in their nets are likely to have an anchor tied around their necks and thrown overboard. Not sure what he'd do about neutering for pets.... But I'd hate to be a kid who pulls the wings off of flies.... - -David ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 01:43:09 -0400 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Artifact: "Celestial Insurance Policy" Not bad, but you should specify that the Song it contains is the *Celestial* Song of Might. Also, the duration should be 6 *times* the CD minutes, and disturbance should be 6 + the CD. Since the Celestial Song of Might can normally affect another person at range, you can add a -1 Use Limitation: "Only affects wielder." (That won't change the net cost after dividing by 4, though.) - -David ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 10:17:48 -0400 (EDT) From: Pee Kitty Subject: Re: IN> Artifact: "Celestial Insurance Policy" On Sun, 23 May 1999, David Edelstein wrote: > Not bad, but you should specify that the Song it contains is the > *Celestial* Song of Might. Oops, thought I did. > Also, the duration should be 6 *times* the CD minutes, Re-oops. Though rereading that, I may add another limitation to reduce the duration... so it only works to get you out of this one situation. Maybe Check Digit limited to 1, and duration cut in half (-2). That'd be a flat three minutes, and I could add a feature to make up for it... > and disturbance should be 6 + the CD. Not if I'm reading it right. "The CD, plus the performers Forces in the realm of the song" is the CD plus 6, plus the 6 Essence being spent. > Since the Celestial Song of > Might can normally affect another person at range, you can add a -1 Use > Limitation: "Only affects wielder." (That won't change the net cost after > dividing by 4, though.) Didn't think of that. Hmm...maybe I'll find another -1 limitation instead of an enhancement and bring the cost down a point... - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian Meow! ::: Thinking about a Tampa Bay Devival in the future - email me! ::: Or go to http://www.cris.com/~pkitty (hell, go there anyways!) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 10:25:59 -0400 (EDT) From: Pee Kitty Subject: IN> Artifact: "Celestial Insurance Policy" (fixed) "Celestial Insurance Policy" (4 points) ...That's the common slang term given to these common artifacts, whose 'real names' vary by the whim of the enchanter ('Zadkiel's Blessing', 'Essence of the Calabim', and so on). They are usually small, easily broken pendants worn around the neck, though a thin, unrecognizable coin (usually kept in a pocket) is common as well. It has no use at all when the owner is in Corporeal form. However, if in Celestial form, its owner may choose to break the relic in two, releasing its power. Suddenly, the owner's Celestial form becomes dangerous and deadly; the wings of a Seraph become solid and bladed, the fangs and claws of a Djinn lengthen and gleam, and celestial knives, spears, and chainsaws emerge from within the ooze of a Shedite... for the next 1d minutes, all of the owner's celestial attacks do +6 damage! Unfortunately, once used, the artifact is destroyed. But when your back's against the wall, the only way out is through whatever forced you back. (Note: This artifact causes 15 disturbance when used. If it is ever lost, the owner may roll against his Celestial Forces + 6 to locate it.) - -------- ARTIFACT CREATION Celestial Song of Might/6 . . 18 points Fragile . . . . . . . . . . . -2 points Only affects wielder . . . . -1 point CD always 1; 1/2 duration . . -2 points Extra 2 points disturbance . -1 point SUBTOTAL . . . . . . . . . . 12 points One charge . . . . . . . . . divide by 4 TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 points The artifact holds 6 essence and is self-powered (for a target number of 12, auto-success). - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian Meow! ::: Thinking about a Tampa Bay Devival in the future - email me! ::: Or go to http://www.cris.com/~pkitty (hell, go there anyways!) ------------------------------ Date: 24 May 1999 00:01:41 -0400 From: Scott E Kullberg Subject: IN> Chopping up the Revelations Cycle books I'm considering having the bindings sliced off all 5 of my Revelations Cycle books, then reorganizing them into several more focused books (book of Superiors, book of new rules, book of places, book of scenarios, etc.) and having them re-bound. Has anyone on the list done anything of this sort before? How did it work out? thanks... - -- Scott E Kullberg <*> sekullbe@{mediaone.net|mit.edu} --><-- "I thought everyone liked "Quark" ice cream. I've got all three colors in all six flavors." -- 'Freefall' http://www.purrsia.com/freefall/ ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #1235 ******************************** The material here is (C) 1999 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.