From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Sun Oct 29 01:27:36 2000 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (majordom@lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id BAA07879 for ; Sun, 29 Oct 2000 01:27:36 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id BAA15559 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Sun, 29 Oct 2000 01:26:55 -0600 Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 01:26:55 -0600 Message-Id: <200010290726.BAA15559@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 #1886 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, October 29 2000 Volume 01 : Number 1886 In this digest: IN> Another one of those questions that you all know and love. IN> In Nomine> The Matrix Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) IN> Adventure Seed: Child Support Re: IN> Re: Ancient Malakim Sorta kinda not really Re: IN> Gebbeleth: Demon Prince of Secrets (Deceased, Background) IN> Archives in convenient format? Re: IN> The Celestial Name of the Grigori IN> Paranoia In Nomine (More sinister than you think?) Re: IN> Well, if it's Superiors Weekend... IN> Saints in Hell IN> Re: in_nomine-digest V1 #1878 IN> Mariel, the Extended Djinn Remix (Deceased, Background) IN> Mariel (Djinn version) Statistics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 18:52:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Another one of those questions that you all know and love. Celestials can only be created on the celestial plane, right? Moe ===== In Nomine stuff: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Everything else (not that there is, right now): http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/main.html Last updated 9/5/00 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 21:50:41 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> In Nomine> The Matrix Jean swore that Artificial Intelligence's time had come and that humanity had matured sufficently to deal with the problems therein. Unfortunately Jean was wrong and made the mistake of once again overestimating the Monkey's intelligence. Humanity's creation of AI had alarmed the Seraphim Council as it was more than a little frightened of the prospect of humanity wielding the power of God. Down in hell really only Kronos and Vapula noticed. Jean couldn't undo AI by the time he managed to get a hold on the situation's vastness and thus reluctantly tried damage control, it was too little too late. The Artificial Intelligence's indeed had souls but were denied a world of color and brighteness....many had six forces and thus to shock could sense the Symphony but not participate in it directly. The fact they were slaves didn't help matters much either... What happened next is a really unecessarily long story i shant bore you with it but like all change it divided the superiors and sent them scrambling a dozen different directions by the time humanity nuked the sky and abolished all sunlight on the planet. The event hadn't come as a surprise in hindsight...it never does but no one in Heaven had truly believed humanity would go through with it and Hell was intially shocked at it's own sucess as well. Jordi was the Prince of Animals and the loss of the Sun affected him the most as he saw openly that the races of animals in the world was doomed, he proceeded to lead as many charges against the mortals and machines and demons as he could. The Seraphim council tried to get through to him but as the races of animals died in mass droves, it was not long before Jordi cried his last from his vessel wolf and died in his Savvanah. Most plant words followed soon as Novalis faded to almost nothingness but Michael persuaded her to accept one of his forces and though they could not elevate her to the status of Archangel again or restore what she lost, Flowers transformed into the Angel of compassion. Down South Belial soon followed the path of Jordi as he set numerous cities alight with his essence alone, the cold chilld of the Earth causing him to rapildy lose power but insisting on going out with a bang. In Heaven Fire of Enlightment still existed but the destructive aspects of the word humans encouraged were nowhere to be found... Andre was fairly certain he too would soon join Belial and soon after Kobal, Haagenti, and more. Jean then made an unprecendated move as he locked himself completely in his laboratory save for massive correspondence with Vapula who while he did not care anymore if humans lived or died was deeply worried about his AI's. After a period of time Jean proposed his plan to the Seraphim Council as Vapula did to the Princes of Hell and needless to say both were nearly destroyed. The Matrix, a universal replication that would allow humans to live on in Peace as the machines could as well. The Matrix was actually a gigantic dream which arced arcoss the Ethereal Marches in a massive way and Jean knew this....with great reluctance Blandine consented as Beleth did as well...fear of annhilation swayed all the Princes but Saminga who was still rooting for an Apcolypse. Upon the construction of the Matrix Litheroy faded away from existence as Revelation was dealt an amazing blow by it's workings and Alaemon became greatly more powerful, a major superior. Blandine, Beleth, Vapula, and Jean all also gained massive ammounts of power....enough that Blandine supposadly is Michael's equal. As one might imagine the more militant superiors decided to thrawt the plan of the Matrix while they could. Michael, Laurence, and David created new Zion where mortals would be allowed to escape and live, the place constructed with Gabrielle who oddly chose to resume her state as divine messanger. Lucid Dreamers make up the bulk of Zion's resistance even as Baal and others have turned to aiding Vapula's massively powerful campaign of terror by making soldiers from some of the more violent AIs....andre and haagenti will never like the Matrix. (Though Haagenti loves making human taste like a billion different things) And of course the Oracle works as a Human Prophet or a sole remaining Survivor of Litheroy's servitors. - -Charlemagne ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 19:11:18 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 18:33:01 -0400From: Douglas Muir Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks >>Pochereth >>Malakite Master of Peace >>Angel of Necessary Violence> >I liked this one. >(But he's still got his original Stoner oaths, looks >like... wouldn't he have changed at least one of them >when he changed Superiors?) If he needs to swear an oath in order to not violate his new dissonance conditions, then he isn't much of a Flowerchild. Granted, taking two oaths to reinforce his _old_ dissonance conditions showed that he wasn't much of a Stoner, but we knew that already. :) >>Angel of Necessary Violence: Pochereth will always >>know if there's a practical way out of a situation >>that doesnít involve attacking someone. >And what a handy attunement for a Servitor of Flowers >that is. I'd expect him to be handing it around a >lot. >Mind you -- what happens when his attunement tells >him "no way out but violence"... but he hasn't yet >tried talking, as his Dissonance condition >requires? Wince, eat the point of Dissonance, and >attack? But then he gets _two_ points, because of >his Oath... ow. Well, the attunement just tells him if there's a _practical_ method. There might be an _im_practical method out there... and Pochereth's gotten pretty good at thinking outside the box. Also, Pochereth, in a sense, _is_ Necessary Violence, just like Gabriel _is_ Fire (Divine)*, or Beleth _is_ Nightmares. If he makes the call, well... >>Oh, and I particularly liked: >>He's one of those very few Word-bound out there who >>has little interest in promoting his Word. In fact, >>he'd be very happy to see his Word ultimately become >>unnecessary. That this would mean his death is >>immaterial. A world where no violence was necessary >>would be worth it. >Now _that's_ an honorable angel. Damn skippy. I liked doing this one. :) Moe *And if the Seraphim Council had just thought to redefine Gabriel's Word that way, right at the very beginning, I might not have to have _every_ Superior I write out, on both sides, decide that Belial's got to go... I can't help it. It's an irrational obsession with me. Some people make big balls of rubber bands, some people make perfect replicas of the Sistine Chapel out of matchsticks: me, I plot the destruction of the Prince of Infernal Fire. :) ===== In Nomine stuff: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Everything else (not that there is, right now): http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/main.html Last updated 9/5/00 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 21:19:21 -0500 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maurice Lane" To: Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 9:11 PM Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks > *And if the Seraphim Council had just thought to > redefine Gabriel's Word that way, right at the very > beginning, I might not have to have _every_ Superior I > write out, on both sides, decide that Belial's got to > go... > I can't help it. It's an irrational obsession with > me. Some people make big balls of rubber bands, some > people make perfect replicas of the Sistine Chapel out > of matchsticks: me, I plot the destruction of the > Prince of Infernal Fire. :) You and me both. And you'd better hurry up if you wanna be first, because as soon as these damned midterm research projects are over [1] I'm sequestering myself with the keyboard and writing the story. *g* [1] - -- Chuckg [1] God alone knows when that will be, however. It's like they're breeding or something. [2] Admittedly, mine is going to require Belial being short-sighted and making just one widdle mistake... but that's hardly out of keeping with his canon write-up. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 21:24:19 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) From: "Charles Glasgow" > > You and me both. And you'd better hurry up if you wanna be first, because > as soon as these damned midterm research projects are over [1] I'm > sequestering myself with the keyboard and writing the story. *g* [1] That does it; I'm posting my campaign background stuff before you can get yours written, since Belial is gone before the campaign even starts. ;) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 22:29:24 -0400 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks At 7:11 PM -0700 10/28/00, Maurice Lane wrote: >Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 18:33:01 -0400From: Douglas >Muir >Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks >>>Pochereth >>>Malakite Master of Peace >>>Angel of Necessary Violence> >>I liked this one. >>(But he's still got his original Stoner oaths, looks >>like... wouldn't he have changed at least one of them >>when he changed Superiors?) > >If he needs to swear an oath in order to not violate >his new dissonance conditions, then he isn't much of a >Flowerchild. Granted, taking two oaths to reinforce >his _old_ dissonance conditions showed that he wasn't >much of a Stoner, but we knew that already. :) I assumed he *did* change his oaths, changing them to reflect his old Dissonance Conditions because while his service has changed, his essential beliefs haven't. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 21:29:42 -0500 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Prodigal" To: Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 9:24 PM Subject: Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) > From: "Charles Glasgow" > > > > You and me both. And you'd better hurry up if you wanna be first, > because > > as soon as these damned midterm research projects are over [1] I'm > > sequestering myself with the keyboard and writing the story. *g* [1] > > That does it; I'm posting my campaign background stuff before you can get > yours written, since Belial is gone before the campaign even starts. ;) Good. It worked. *eg* - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 22:31:54 -0400 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) At 9:24 PM -0500 10/28/00, Prodigal wrote: >From: "Charles Glasgow" > >That does it; I'm posting my campaign background stuff before you can get >yours written, since Belial is gone before the campaign even starts. ;) http://www.annotations.com/~innomine/cleansing/belialhistory.html and http://www.annotations.com/~innomine/characters/superiors/archbelial.html Hah! Beat you all! - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 21:42:29 -0500 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Whistling in the Dark" To: Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 9:29 PM Subject: Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks > >If he needs to swear an oath in order to not violate > >his new dissonance conditions, then he isn't much of a > >Flowerchild. Granted, taking two oaths to reinforce > >his _old_ dissonance conditions showed that he wasn't > >much of a Stoner, but we knew that already. :) > > I assumed he *did* change his oaths, changing them to reflect his old > Dissonance Conditions because while his service has changed, his > essential beliefs haven't. An Archangel *can* remove an oath from a Malakite. The Malakite cannot *ask* the Archangel to, because it's utterly against his nature to want the oath to be removed... but nothing stops the Archangel from perceiving the need on her own and offering. And if Novalis ever gets an incoming Malakite who has an oath that would make him unable to serve Flowers without falling into a dissonant-if-I-do-and-dissonant-if-I-don't trap, then of *course* she'd remove it from the poor thing. - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 21:43:04 -0500 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Whistling in the Dark" To: Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2000 9:31 PM Subject: Re: Death to Belial! (was Re: IN> Re: Sidekicks) [snip] > Hah! Beat you all! Oh, poop. *LOL* - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 19:56:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Adventure Seed: Child Support Oh, heck, I decided to scribble out the idea anyway. After all, if canon explicitly states that Superiors need to be in the celestial planes to create a full angel out of nothing, then it's just another "Weird Eli scenario" ... and if canon is silent on the issue, then the Seraphim Council is really, really screwed.* Morgan (SAW) Kyriotate of Destiny Petitioner for the Word of Hey, some of you wanted a way for Hell to get their hands on a newly minted Malakite. Don't blame me for feeding the Need. *Based on a quick scan of the APG, IPG and core book, my second impression is that canon is silent on this issue. If so, all humorous adventure seeds aside, 2nd Edition will need to eliminate this loophole bigtime. :) Eli's doing it again. It's the talk of Heaven. Every so often, a figure will arrive through the Pearly Gates, look at a piece of paper, look at a map, then make his or her way to the Celestial Tribunal. He'll bang on the doors, be let in, and ask to see Dominic (usually: sometimes he or she will ask for "Nikki", or "The Cloaked Guy", or even "His Most Exalted High Lord Truant Officer"). Eventually, she'll get to Dominic's outer office, then wait until the Archangel of Judgement has shown up. At that point the visitor will explain plaintively that Dad had said to come up here and go work for Heaven, and that Dominic would be the best person to explain everything, and is it true that I'm _really_ an angel? Wow... This is driving Dominic nuts, naturally, but it's also confusing him. The Archangel of Creation is apparently creating new Servitors of Creation... on the corporeal plane. This was widely assumed to be impossible, although that might just be because no one's ever been frivolous enough to actually try. Eli hasn't exactly been a model of seriousness lately, of course, but this is a bit much, even for him. There are three main possibilities. First, Eli's been sneaking back up to Heaven to create new angels, then bringing them down to Earth for intensive training. Dominic would prefer this, really, even if it means that his monitors aren't up to snuff. Second, Eli's using a particularly weird variant of either the Songs of Fruition or Life. Troublesome, but not an immediate disaster. Third, it's been possible all along for Eli to create full angels, anywhere in the three planes. This last concerns Dominic (and the Council) for two reasons. One, although the angels that Eli's been sending upstairs aren’t any trouble (they've been skewed towards Malakim and Ofanim, for some reason), one does wonder if Eli's sending up _all_ of his new children. There may be an entire wing of Creationers out there that nobody knows anything about. Two (and even more disturbing), this trick may be reproduced by any Superior. After all, when the Grigori got exiled, a couple of Archangels went with them... ===== In Nomine stuff: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Everything else (not that there is, right now): http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/main.html Last updated 9/5/00 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 20:43:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Re: Ancient Malakim Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 16:46:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Re: Ancient Malakim - - --- Jonathan Walton wrote:> If there are really >> really old Malakim who once were angels of other >> choirs, that gives them a totally unique >> perspective on the Symphony. > Dead on target, Jonathan. > As to the campaign seed, it's true that you're not > Moe. Then again, we're not even sure that Moe is. > };> Damn. I was hoping one of you would tell me. ;) More seriously, if you want a Grigalakite, why not make one anyway? Have him or her bang on the Gates and ask, "Can I come back in now?" Heck, have _all_ of them do it. The Seraphim Council doesn't exhibit mass hysteria and terror nearly often enough, IMHO.* Moe *Not that Hell would react any better, once they've had a chance to think it through (instead of just hitting Kobal with a stick). ===== In Nomine stuff: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Everything else (not that there is, right now): http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/main.html Last updated 9/5/00 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 20:44:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Sorta kinda not really Re: IN> Gebbeleth: Demon Prince of Secrets (Deceased, Background) Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 14:27:19 -0400 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> Gebbeleth: Demon Prince of Secrets (Deceased, Background) >I know, I checked too. It's just weird. Have I fallen >into a strange parallel universe, Odd: I know _precisely_ what you mean. I could have sworn that one of Yves' Rites was "Help someone achieve his Destiny"... but when I checked, nope, it wasn't.* It's not so much that I mind that there's a secret society warping our reality; it's just that they do such a pi**-poor job of it sometimes... :) Moe *It still isn't. However, Kronos has the Rite "Help someone achieve his Fate." Go figure. :) ===== In Nomine stuff: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Everything else (not that there is, right now): http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/main.html Last updated 9/5/00 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 04:36 +0000 From: Kay Dekker Subject: IN> Archives in convenient format? Hi, everyone. I'm new to the list (and relatively new to IN, also; I'm about to run my first IN game *sweat*, though I've had as many of the books as I can afford for a while now), so please bear with me if I do ask stupid questions. Firstly, in order that I ask _fewer_ stupid questions: I've got the FAQs and the Errata, _and_ read them, and now I'd like the backissues of the List. I know they're available on the IN site, but online time is (relatively) expensive for me - eating money I'd rather put towards more IN books - so online lookups aren't my ideal method. I know that I could download each archive element piecemeal, but, before I go to such lengths, does anyone have a tarball or other compendious archive file of _all_ of the List postings that I may download, once and for all, so I can use my nice search tools on them? Please? Don't Smite me. I'm nice, relatively harmless, and not a complete idiot. I hope. Kay - -- Delirium includes a plush fish. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 01:32:52 -0400 From: Douglas Muir Subject: Re: IN> The Celestial Name of the Grigori This is an interesting notion. The Book of Names would have to be pretty darn well protected, though... otherwise it would have been Lucifer's #1 target (or #2, after the Metatron) during the Rebellion. "He's turned traitor! He's rebelling against God!" "Who?" "Him! The guy! WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!" "Who? Who?!?" etc. Doug M. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 10:51:33 -0700 From: "Glenn Brown" Subject: IN> Paranoia In Nomine (More sinister than you think?) I enjoyed reading Moe's version of the Principality of Paranoia. But after I stopped laughing, I began to wonder if the appearance of this strange Principality might not have darker implications. Hell's great weakness has always been disunity. Each Prince has his or her own vision of the future, and this is one major reason why the Princes waste a lot of energy fighting one another. But almost all of the Princes *really* like Paranoia. Wouldn't the fact that Paranoia provides a mutually acceptable (to Princes) blueprint of what the Corporeal world *should* be like make it easier for the Princes to cooperate? Since Paranoia is, as Moe says, a seamless merger of Technology, Nightmares, and Dark Humor, I should think their mutual desire to *create* Paranoia Earth would give Vapula, Beleth and Kobal in particular a strong incentive to become allies. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 02:16:19 -0500 (EST) From: "Rev. Pee Kitty" Subject: Re: IN> Well, if it's Superiors Weekend... You, Moe, are sick. Twisted. Bad bad BAD. - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian, Q4B4L! Meow! Any resemblance between the above views and those of my employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for the 2nd god coefficient. A discussion of non-orthogonal, non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this message. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 17:50:01 -0800 From: James Walker Subject: IN> Saints in Hell >7) Being nothing more than human souls in vessels, wouldn't it be possible >>for a Saint to go to Hell? >Via a Tether, probably. (If they hit fate -- they've hit fate _and_ >destiny and either disband or go on the reincarnatron, IIRC.) Assuming that the Saint goes celestail during an attack on an angelic tether, they'd be able to follow the slain back to their Hearts (for demons) or the Gates (for Hellsworn), wouldn't they? Or does the tether sweep them up to Heaven? >> How easily would it be to detect them among the >>crowds of damned souls? Would the twin angels guarding the gates even let >>them in (since they aren't supposed to be there)? >If you somehow fiat one down to the Gates of Hell (instead of down >a Tether, where, unless the Tether has no Seneschal, they will have >been very obvious), presumably only the two Judgment angels would >really notice them -- though they might look "shinier" than the >damned souls. That's really a GM call. I was under the impression that one's Forces were visible when Celestial. Surely a 7 Force Saint is going to stand out in a crowd of 5 Force humans. On evil thoughts, assume a Saint of Micheal who has been granted a green, horned humanoid vessel (remembering that a human in Celestial resembles their body/vessel), owes lots of Geases/3 to a Bright and uses a Tether of Freedom to travel to the Guild House of Free Lilim. A reasonable spy? James Walker. A boy is a man in training - but still just a boy, easily hurt. A man is a knight in training - but still just a man, just muddling through; A knight is a saint in training - but still just a knight, proud and rash. A saint is a friend of God - and still just a boy, who needs his friend. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 17:54:55 -0800 From: James Walker Subject: IN> Re: in_nomine-digest V1 #1878 >9) Last but not least, can Saints summon their Archangels? They need the Partial Celestial connection described in CPG to do so easily; I cannot recall whether they can summon their Superior at the -10 penalty without it or not. I stared into the Abyss, and the Abyss blinked first......... (with apologies to Nietzche) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 02:21:01 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: IN> Mariel, the Extended Djinn Remix (Deceased, Background) Remember, this is not a competition, this is just an exhibition. Please. No wagering. (Great, now Moe's going to do Mariel as a Goth Impudite, and make her Remnant the model Gaiman used for Death. I just *know* it.) *** MARIEL Djinn Princess of Oblivion (Devoured 1009 AD) "The World is bright, shrieking pain, and must be expunged. Stop it! *Stop* it!" Some notes in the Symphony are bold and dramatic. Others are in a minor key. So it was when the Lord created Mariel. A bright, yet delicate Cherub. To her was entrusted Memory -- not simply records, for that was Knowledge, and the domain of Raphael, who Mariel worked with. But Memory itself. The cherished moments preserved within the thoughts of man and Angel alike. Mariel was happy in Heaven. Hers was a role meant for joy, in a world of sensation. The sights, the sounds, the smells all around her. Eli taught her the art of storytelling, and she grew more well known and precious in Heaven. And Mariel's voice, recounting the memories of scenes she saw, made her beloved of the Angels as much as her beauty did. If one looks through the abandoned mosque of Eli, they might find one glistening painting of transluscent paints on a cream canvas, forever backlit by a silver fire. The painting is of what appears to be an angelfish, but transluscent silver and gold, with wings arcing around it -- not the eagles' wings of most Cherubim, but gossomer wings, cradling the air gently. Below it is the simple legend: In Memory. Mariel was never approached by Lucifer or his followers. Perhaps Lucifer saw no advantage in such an ephemeral Angel's support. Perhaps he saw no threat in her. Or perhaps Lucifer, still the Archangel of Light and still beautiful himself, had no desire to shake the Cherub of Memory from the tree. He let her collect her memories among Heaven and Earth undisturbed as he prepared. Memories that were held within Mariel like living things -- eternal and indelible, but precious. The War came as a surprise to Mariel, as a result. In shock and horror, the Angel of Memory watched the battle, never participating. Her tremulous voice, so well suited to the retelling of stories, turned shrill as she begged the warriors to stop, to just *stop.* Scene after scene of horror tore at her beautiful eyes and branded themselves into a memory she could never have surcease from. Turning every way, tearing at herself like a madman, Mariel tried to force the scenes to disappear, to not happen... to not see the destruction of the mountain, to not see the Beautiful Morning Star hurled into Hell. To not see his followers hurl themselves after him, unable to remain or stand the Light of Heaven as their Celestial forms twist and turn horrible. The last scene that branded itself into her Memory was watching the most beautiful Angel of all -- Andrealphus -- hurling himself after the Fallen. Mariel walked the grounds, looking at the bodies of the dead. With each ashen face, regardless of side, her perfect memory summoned the Angel in life, his laughter, his smile, his own beauties. Her Memory refused to let her forget -- refused to forget the perfection of Heaven before the battle, the horror of Heaven during the battle, or the desolate misery of Heaven following the battle. She found herself living in all three at once, her beautiful, delicate minor key shriller and louder, the Memory that she embodied tormenting her without relief. She beat at her own head, falling to the ground, to try and blot the memory out. Mariel was the Cherub of Memory, and to her, the memories of the past were her attuned. To try and purge those memories was to plunge herself into the pain of Dissonance, to the horror of the Angels near her. Eli and Raphael reached for her, to sooth and comfort her -- but too slow. Too slow. With a shriek born of her *need* to forget, to purge, to eliminate the memories that she was charged to protect, to love and cherish, she *hurled* herself over the edge, following the Fallen. And she remembered every instant of that fall, the pyre collecting around her, the fire tearing at her beauty, twisting her form, making her body reflect the horror of her thoughts, until she struck home in Hell forevermore. She was found, clawing at her straggly flesh and eyes, by the still traumatized hoardes of Hell. They barely recognized the beloved Angel of Memory -- but they knew this *thing* wasn't one of them in the Fall, and they tore at her cruelly. Tore at her until Lucifer himself plucked her up, and saw the horror on her face. She begged him to kill her, to eliminate the memories, to destroy all trace of them. Lucifer made her a Princess without comment. The Princess of Oblivion. And told her to purge herself, if anyone was going to. And he left the new Princess to express her pain and rage on the demons who had abused her before his arrival. What remained of them formed her first Servitors. Mariel was a Djinn, purely and simply. She hungered for the love and affection of the universe before the Fall, but hated all other creatures around herself -- and hated herself most of all. She embraced Oblivion, the consigning of the past to pure entropy. The destruction of all. Her Servitors came from the most traumatized -- the ones who survived the Fall but wish they hadn't. And she bitterly created more, tearing her own Forces out to do so, trying to diminish herself. And yet, the more she tore at herself, the deeper Oblivion seemed to open and the stronger she became. The new Princes grew horrified at the unstable Djinn and her strength, while Lucifer smiled, and suggested how useful Mariel would be against Raphael -- for the War wasn't over, now was it? Raphael was one of the most powerful Archangels, her Word one of the mightiest. Lucifer suggested Mariel join with Gebbeleth, the mysterious and handsome Balseraph Prince of Secrets. Gebbeleth agreed, and began to weave a web around the Djinn, recognizing both her potential and her driving, obsessive need to be loved and purged both. And Mariel, while unstable and dangerous at first, responded to the Balseraph's charm and words, and let him slowly dominate her completely. As twisted as their relationship was, it formed a core of stability in Mariel. Gebbeleth helped her purge the past from herself, learning multitudes upon multiudes of Heavenly Secrets as he saw her Memories and SXXhelped her to destroy them. She grew obsessed with Gebbeleth, attuned to him on all levels, and Gebbeleth helped her build her organization of nihilists into a powerful, horrible force -- the destroyers of the eternal, the vanguard of the Armageddon she grew to believe would purge all memory and all substance from the Universe, hurling all into the Oblivion that God had emerged from before. And she would be the one to drive the knife into God's heart. His little minor key, grown into a discordant shrillness that would shatter the Symphony once and for all. For tens of thousands of years, Mariel and Gebbeleth worked together brilliantly. Gebbeleth's disappearances -- sometimes for decades or longer -- gnawed at Mariel at first, until she found his very absense an affirmation of Oblivion, only to have her Djinn hungers refilled by his returns. So, when he disappeared in 1600 BC, she wasn't any more concerned than normal. Besides, there was so much work to do -- fighting and destroying the works of Man and God. Her driving need remained the same -- the purging and destroying of any signs -- any *reminders* of the World before the Fall. She didn't merely crave victory, but pure destruction. When Gebbeleth didn't return after several hundred years, she quietly began supporting his Servitors "until he got back." She remained convinced the Demon Prince of Secrets *would* return, no matter how long it took, with psychotic obsession. Even as other Superiors suspected Gebbeleth was dead, Mariel's obsession continued -- and as a result, the Word of Secrets remained empty. It seemed... prudent not to court Oblivion's wraith. She and Saminga worked well throughout (some say Saminga loved Mariel, and secretly approved of Gebbeleth's disappearance), and ever since the destruction of the Library in Alexandria by fire, Belial and Mariel got along well. When Gebbeleth was nearby to channel her, Baal could appreciate the destructive power Mariel's forces brought to bear, but without him Baal resented her lack of focus and control. Lilith avoided Mariel whenever possible -- the Needs in Mariel's eyes were too naked and horrible. But Lilith *did* do some business with her. Andrealphus hated Mariel with the same passion he hated Saminga. Genubath and Mariel got along well enough, though Mariel was not too fond of his replacement, Valefor. Kobal only used her as the butt of jokes, and not very many of those. Mariel remained stable, if nihilistic and insane, through the early Middle Ages. Nothing changed until the rise of Legion. Part of her loved to see the horror of Legion spread over Earth, especially given the involvement of her old friend Saminga. But as Legion grew, it became clear that he wasn't consigning humanity to Oblivion, he was making them a single entity -- which would preserve their thoughts within Legion's corrupt mind. In the end, she fought powerfully and hard, her Servitors flying against Legion's multiple bodies. When the Renegade Prince was finally flushed into Celestial form, she formed the barrier that kept him in place, holding him with all the strength of the void within her. Holding her for Raphael to strike. Mariel was there, and part of the strike, and felt the very essence of the Archangel of Knowledge swim all around her as Raphael destroyed Legion. To Mariel's horror, the Symphony sang through her as Legion died, the utter Knowledge of Raphael tearing through to the heart of her pain, awakening what memories persisted, awakening the horror that had driven her to the Fall. In horror, she reached into the mass of Forces and twisted, pulling the last Celestial Force from Raphael even as Legion's destruction was completed. With a shriek heard through the Symphony all around the World, throughout Heaven and deep into Hell, Raphael was destroyed, and Mariel was fleeing to her pit. To this day, no one knows that Raphael might have survived the battle, but for Mariel. Traumatized, still without Gebbeleth, Mariel felt her illusions shattering, her old instabilities rising. Deep in the pit, she discovered that Haagenti had slaughtered and consumed Meserach. Mariel cared nothing for Meserach, but in her shock and trauma railed against this newcomer even as Lucifer was lifting the Demon of Gluttony to Prince. Haagenti, praised for his part in the battle of Legion and under Kobal's guidence, attacked the Princess of Oblivion, cutting a swath through her Servitors and finally reaching her. And then only Haagenti remained. It was 1009 AD, and Mariel was gone. Her Servitors dispersed. Some stayed with the remaining Servitors of Gebbeleth, including many of Mariel's Word-Bound. When Alaemon came, several joined his ranks. Others took service with Belial or Saminga. Still others threw themselves at Haagenti and his forces, joining their Princess in the final Oblivion of soul-death. And some, they say, wait at the fringes of Hell's society. They believe that Mariel was not destroyed, but swallowed whole. They believe she waits at the pit of Haagenti's stomach -- that Oblivion is responsible for his insatiable, growing hunger. That Haagenti *must* keep eating, more and more, lest the void within him grow and consume him from the inside. And that sooner or later he will falter, and then Oblivion will consume Haagenti and Mariel will return. And who is to say they are wrong? Mariel never gave Rites to her Servitors, so there is no *proof* she has been destroyed, after all. One thing is sure. If Mariel emerged, to discover proof of Gebbeleth's death, a pretender to the Princedom of Secrets, a higher population on Earth than ever before, and technology (and the Media) making information more widespread than ever before... well, Mariel would not be happy. And very soon afterward, neither would anyone else. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 02:26:33 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: IN> Mariel (Djinn version) Statistics DISSONANCE To Mariel, the world is falling into entropy. Any actions to fight against this are not only futile, but blasphemous. It is dissonant for a Servitor of Oblivion to build, create or preserve *anything,* from writing down notes to building a shelter to the night to helping work with wood. Dissonance incurred by failing this can be resolved if the creation is completely destroyed (including any copies of works of art or writing.) Note that Servitors of Gebbeleth were always very adept at finding out the secrets Oblivion was about to destroy, in ways that didn't make the Marielites dissonant. BAND ATTUNEMENTS As Mariel gave out no Rites (such a thing flew in the face of the nature of Oblivion), she instead would give her Servitors reliquaries created in the wake of one of her destructive rages. These are reliquary/1's, granted in addition to her Attunements. Mariel's Servitors in general were pale and looked thin and sickly, even if they possessed a Vessel/6 and 6 Corporeal Forces. A disproportionate number of them had the Aura Discord as well. It was as if Entropy and Oblivion clung to them, disturbing all around them. Were any alive today, they would likely be infesting the Goth subculture and making it bleaker and more suicidal by the day. BALSERAPHS (Restricted): Balseraphs of Oblivion spread entropy through society, making the certain uncertain and the known unknown. When they look into the eyes of a victim who knows a fact and use their resonance, they can alter that person's memories to reflect the Balseraph's version of the past. The victim gets their normal Will roll to resist the lie, in which case the attunement doesn't work. If they fail the will roll, they get to make a perception roll at a penalty equal to the Balseraph's CD to avoid having their memories changed. If they fail the perception roll, nothing can restore their original memories. Their Reliquaries usually take the forms of rings of cold stone or metal. DJINN: Mariel's Djinn, like Mariel herself, are obsessed with destruction. If left in a kitchen, they'll systematically break all the plates, for example. This isn't the Calabim's love of entropy, but an angry obsession against wholeness. Djinn, when confronted with inanimate objects, may make a perception roll, looking for the best places to strike and destroy them. They may add the CD to the power of the attack. Their reliquaries are generally scraps of leather, for the neck or arm. CALABIM (Restricted): Mariel created more Calabim than any other Band - -- while there was no place for true affection in her unstable Djinn's Heart, their sheer destructiveness and entropic fields reflected her view of the perfect Servitor of Oblivion. She granted her Calabim the power of completion when using their Resonance. If they successfully destroy an object or kill a being with their Resonance, the entropic forces they control literally reduce it to nothingness, leaving no trace it had ever existed. Their reliquaries are often bands of metal, bent from a metal shard into a bracelet. HABBALAH: Mariel conditioned (brainwashed through torture would be more accurate) her punishers extensively after their creation, to orient their delusions correctly. While each believed itself an Angel of the Lord, they are convinced that God was, in fact, the Oblivion that existed before Yves first appeared and named God, and that all that has come since seperates creation more and more from the Divine. The only solution would be to destroy all of creation to return it to its true, divine state. To that end, Mariel's Habbalah were granted the ability to be free of Trauma when they suffered Corporeal Death - -- if anything, Corporeal Death gave them a taste of their beliefs. (It is worth noting that Uriel used to offer a Rite -- +2 Essence to any Angel who soul-killed a Habbalite of Oblivion, seeing them as an impure Mockery of a Malakite's purity). Their Reliquaries are generally ragged pieces of clothing, often hidden under other clothes. LILIM (Restricted): Few Free Lilim or created Lilim given a choice served Mariel -- she was both insane and cold, no fun at all. But Lilith *did* do business with Mariel -- business that often left Lilith in a foul mood for days after. Mariel's Lilim were experts at destroying the lives of others, reducing them to despair and turning them to Oblivion. Instead of using their Resonance to see unfilled Needs, a Lilim of Oblivion may choose to see what her victim Needs to maintain their happiness and sense of wellbeing. She has no way to get Geases for these Needs, but they give her targets to destroy, catapulting the victim into the pit and making them ripe for new, powerful Needs that can be made into Geases that drag them down. Their Reliquaries are often bits of broken glass or jewelry, set into earrings or other rough jewelry. SHEDIM (Restricted): The Shedim of Oblivion truly loved their work, possessing targets and being charged with the destruction of personal or community records or antiquities. To that end, Mariel's Shedim could add their Celestial Forces to any attempt to make their hosts destroy a permanent record completely -- be it writings, historical artifacts, or any other part of a community's cultural heritage. If successful, that day wouldn't be counted in the cumulative bonus to the host's perception rolls to see the Shedite for what it was. The Shedite's Reliquary was usually something innoculous, like a broken cup or frayed belt. IMPUDITES: Devoted to the art of ingratiating themselves with others, then ruining them from within, the Takers of Oblivion may add their Celestial Forces to any conversational skill (including Seduction, Intimidation, Fast Talk, or any debate skill or artistry involving the spoken word). Using their skills at weaving words, the Impudites can turn their victims towards dark emotions and despair with skill. An Impudite that convinces a victim to commit suicide takes no Dissonance from the victim's death. Their reliquaries are usually broken coins they can wear as pendents or hollow out for rings. SERVITOR ATTUNEMENTS Weathering: This attunement lets a Servitor age objects, causing them to weather and gradually fail. They can only use this Attunement on one object (which can be as large as a single room dwelling) at a time. While using the Attunement, they must touch the object for at least thirty seconds once a day. During that time, the object will age not one day but five years, with all the attendent effects. (Wood will darken, warp and rot, stones will settle and gap, colors will fade, and so forth.) With sufficient time, they can cause almost anything to collapse into ruin. Note that normal maintenance will have normal effect, so a workman can replace blurred and flowed glass with fresh panes, repaint and the like. It doesn't change the aging effect, but can lengthen the time the object can last. Sacrifice: Even as Marielites have no Rites, they have other ways to garner Essence. Specifically, they can draw Essence out of the destruction of beloved creations, buildings or artifacts. The older (and more revered) the place, the more Essence they can garner. They can also garner greater Essence if more people revere the place or object. The destruction must take place as a result of a single action. Note that if they destroy creative work, it must be completely destroyed (including all copies). The least Essence that can be garnered is 1 Essence, and that only if the sacrificed object is truly beloved by one or more people. The maximum Essence is 6, assuming an ancient and revered object loved by an entire Nation. (It is thought that a Marielite successfully destroyed the Colossus, garnering 6 Essence from the Sacrifice). The Sacrifice creates a note of Disturbance for every point of Essence garnered in this matter. DISTINCTIONS Knight of the Poisoned Well: Mariel's Knights could, with a Will Roll, be led to the primary sources of life for that community (the fields, water sources and the like), ready to destroy them if needed. Captain of the Desolate Life: Marielite Captains could look in the eyes of their victims and see the one event that caused their victim the most pain in their past, as well as the most painful way to bring it up. Baron of the Endless Night: The Barons of Oblivion were given the terrifying power to plunge their victims into oblivion itself. With a contest of Will Rolls and the cost of 1 Essence, the Baron could, if successful, force the victim into complete sensory deprivation for CD days. During this time, no force or Song could rouse them. There is no way short of intravenous feeding (which didn't exist in Mariel's time) to feed or hydrate them, so at the end of the period, they suffered appropriate dehydration and malnutrition, as well as the effects of the complete lack of sensation. RELATIONS Allied: Gebbeleth (Gebbeleth and Saminga consider themselves Allied to Mariel) Associated: Baal, Belial, Genubath, Saminga (Belial and Gebubath consider themselves associated with Mariel) Neutral: Lilith (Beleth is neutral towards Mariel) Hostile: All others except as below (Andrealphus, Asmodeus and Valefor are Hostile towards Mariel) Enemy: Haagenti (Haagenti was an Enemy of Mariel's. Very very briefly.) BASIC RITES As stated above, Mariel gave out no Rites. To do so violated her sense of the nothingness of the universe. To each Servitor she gave one Reliquary/1, and to her preferred Servitors she gave the Sacrifice attunement, to compensate for the lack. She also didn't encourage her Servitors to learn Songs (learning was a perpetuation of knowledge, after all) where Essence was needed, though of course it happened. CHANCE OF INVOCATION: 4 +1 A burning book. +2 An oubliette. +3 The severed head of the only eyewitness to a significant event. +4 50 or more followers of a suicide pact, after the fact. +5 Ash from the Library of Alexandria +6 The charred remains of the Golden Fleece. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #1886 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2000 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.