From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Fri Apr 7 16:35:14 2000 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 QAA15262 for ; Fri, 7 Apr 2000 16:35:13 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id QAA06178 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Fri, 7 Apr 2000 16:32:12 -0500 Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 16:32:12 -0500 Message-Id: <200004072132.QAA06178@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 #1576 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Friday, April 7 2000 Volume 01 : Number 1576 In this digest: Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date & Funky Mushrooms 3) Re: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date & Funky Mushrooms 3) Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica Re: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date & Funky Mushrooms 3) Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date& Funky Mushrooms 3) Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) IN> [Plot Seed] Dr. Scapegoat, or how I learned to love the tetherbomb Re: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Re: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Re: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters IN> Make-Up Department ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 16:16:28 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica From: "Perry Lloyd" > > Yeah, I suggest an army of cybernetically enhanced penguins controlled by a > mad scientist (driven insane by the cold, of course) who's a Soldier of > Technology. A Tether to Vapula, of course. I mean, we all know that teams > of scientists have gone down there, but . . . exactly what kind of research > were they doing??? And why am I getting bad flashbacks to "Justice League: Antarctica?" *g* ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 15:44:38 -0600 From: "ben" Subject: Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica > As Earl mentioned, there's at least one volcano down there. There might > also be an old Tether of Oannes -- lots of water and ice, maybe on the > Ross Ice Shelf. Ooooooooh. Can you still use a Tether of Oannes? That would rule. A tether to an Archangel who was destroyed by Belial -- the hated enemy of the majority of my angels -- before any of them were BORN. Wow. Could there still be a Seneschel, a word-bound of the oceans (or is Oannes water?) hanging out? That would be eerie. Cool, but eerie. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 15:55:43 -0600 From: Tim Groth Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) >Actually, according to the GMG, Lilith is the one who released >the demons from Hell, which is how she got the Word of Freedom, >so she wouldn't have met any fallen angels. Ethereals are still >an option. Or you can just go non-canonical, of course. I said rebelling not fallen. It mentions in FotM that Lucifer talked with Lilith before the Fall. Which I think makes sense, it explains why she would help the demons out of Hell. She knew she would get a really big reward. Timothy, Angel of Rambling Ofanite of Creation My international broadcastingagency: http://d106-h032.rh.rit.edu/~tim/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 18:23:00 -0400 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) At 17:55 -0400 4/6/00, Tim Groth wrote: >>Actually, according to the GMG, Lilith is the one who released >>the demons from Hell, which is how she got the Word of Freedom, >>so she wouldn't have met any fallen angels. Ethereals are still >>an option. Or you can just go non-canonical, of course. > >I said rebelling not fallen. It mentions in FotM that Lucifer talked with >Lilith before the Fall. Which I think makes sense, it explains why she >would help the demons out of Hell. She knew she would get a really big >reward. That seems to presume that Lucifer set the whole thing up in advance. I tend to think that Lucifer communicated with her after the Fall, using something like Celestial Tongues. I'm not sure he would have figured on getting kicked out into a place he couldn't get out of on his own. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 18:24:09 -0500 From: "Tafka J." Subject: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date & Funky Mushrooms 3) At 10:01 AM -0400 04/06/00, John Karakash wrote: > Hey, if you're picking nits, why not have the standard >oaths already printed on the sheet? =) But then they turn into gender neutral Oaths. "1) Suffer not an evil to live, when it is their choice. 2) Never surrender to, or be captured by, the forces of Lucifer." They just sound a little too impersonal to me. An Oath should be said with all conviction, in the _character's_ voice. Not as something said in the third person. Be seeing you, - - Tafka J. = tafkaj@thrifty.net # Balseraph of Fate, Marquis of Delusions of Grandeur ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 18:29:35 -0500 (CDT) From: Elizabeth Bartley Subject: Re: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date & Funky Mushrooms 3) On Thu, 6 Apr 2000, Tafka J. wrote: > At 10:01 AM -0400 04/06/00, John Karakash wrote: > > Hey, if you're picking nits, why not have the standard > >oaths already printed on the sheet? =) > But then they turn into gender neutral Oaths. > They just sound a little too impersonal to me. An Oath should be said > with all conviction, in the _character's_ voice. Not as something said in > the third person. So say it in the first person, e.g.: I will not suffer an evil to live, when it is my choice. I shall never surrender to, nor be captured by, the forces of Lucifer. Elizabeth Bartley e-bartley@pobox.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 22:33:39 -0400 From: Marc Bowden Subject: Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica - --On Thu, Apr 6, 2000 16:16 -0500 Prodigal wrote: > From: "Perry Lloyd" >> >> Yeah, I suggest an army of cybernetically enhanced penguins >> controlled by > a >> mad scientist (driven insane by the cold, of course) who's a Soldier >> of Technology. A Tether to Vapula, of course. I mean, we all know >> that > teams >> of scientists have gone down there, but . . . exactly what kind of > research >> were they doing??? > > And why am I getting bad flashbacks to "Justice League: Antarctica?" > *g* > "Avengers: Carribean!" Marc. Just Marc. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 22:38:51 -0400 From: Marc Bowden Subject: Re: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date & Funky Mushrooms 3) - --On Thu, Apr 6, 2000 18:24 -0500 "Tafka J." wrote: > At 10:01 AM -0400 04/06/00, John Karakash wrote: >> Hey, if you're picking nits, why not have the standard >> oaths already printed on the sheet? =) > > But then they turn into gender neutral Oaths. > > "1) Suffer not an evil to live, when it is their choice. 2) Never > surrender to, or be captured by, the forces of Lucifer." > > They just sound a little too impersonal to me. An Oath should be > said with all conviction, in the _character's_ voice. Not as > something said in the third person. > I agree, for a change. An oath is something *meaningful* to the angel. Marc. Just Marc. "This is a lost world. We belong to the lifesaving service, and it is our job to seek and to save the lost." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 22:50:32 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > "Oh, yeah, we talked to her after she walked out, the Helltongue that's gonna get the angel talked at by a triad>. We were > trying to give her a second chance, explain that she was throwing > away God's _gift_, taking her life and wasting it! What thanks do we > get for trying to _help_ the ? She throws _rocks_ > at us and tells us to get lost, that it's _her_ life and she'll do > what she damned well wants. Selfish . Shrill as a harpy. Yeah, > I'll bet she's talking about flaming swords and ultimatims. _I_ sure > didn't do any of that. I just tried to explain that she really really > didn't want to leave Eden, honest, and she takes it as some kind of > threat. Or maybe not -- selfish brat like that, she'd have run from > a threat, not thrown rocks and mud and rotten fruit. No wonder the > demons call humans 'talking monkeys'..." No, this is still just Lilith's version of the angels' version. Still portrays the angels as being arrogant, condescending manipulators who couldn't understand why Lilith wouldn't *want* to be used as an experimental subject. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 22:53:16 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Walter Milliken wrote: > That seems to presume that Lucifer set the whole thing up in advance. I > tend to think that Lucifer communicated with her after the Fall, using > something like Celestial Tongues. I'm not sure he would have figured on > getting kicked out into a place he couldn't get out of on his own. There've been quite a few hints (carefully shrouded in CDaU) that Lucifer may have been working on the Rebellion even before the Eden experiment. And there is a line somewhere about how Lucifer resolved to "catch up with Lilith later" after she walked away during the trial run. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 00:22:11 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) At 10:50 PM -0500 4/6/00, David Edelstein wrote: >Elizabeth McCoy wrote: [snip]> >No, this is still just Lilith's version of the angels' version. Still >portrays the angels as being arrogant, condescending manipulators who >couldn't understand why Lilith wouldn't *want* to be used as an >experimental subject. Actually, I don't think that's entirely far off -- they couldn't understand why she didn't want to be helpful. After all, _they_ would have done God's bidding in this experiment! Why wouldn't she? (Admittedly, that version above is one that's been colored with millennia of bitterness and probably some justification as well.) As for arrogance and condescension... How many humans will, in all unthinking lack of malice, go around and pinch a child's cheek while cooing about how cute the kid is? (I'm told that when someone did that to me and asked how old I was, I pinched _his_ cheek and cooed back "I'm two! How old are _you_?" (My mom's visiting; the analogy leapt to mind.)) They were older than she, they were more in tune with the Symphony (or so I could easily see them thinking), and most importantly, they knew what was _Right_ -- doing God's bidding. They were just trying to help the child-human understand this! (After all, only the ones who _were_ arrogant enough (without realizing it, of course) would go after her -- the ones who respected human free will would just have shaken their heads, said tsk-tsk, and gone on with their own business instead of trying to influence her.) - --Beth, catching up as she can, while taking care of her little preemie, the Impudite Princess of Cute, aka Iolanthe, _&_ running back & forth between the condo and the new house. Augh. Moving. *&* as of 2pm 4/5/00, still no phone connection for the new house! Yay Limbo. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 02:40:33 -0400 From: Doctor TOC Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > > "Oh, yeah, we talked to her after she walked out, the Helltongue that's gonna get the angel talked at by a triad>. We were > trying to give her a second chance, explain that she was throwing > away God's _gift_, taking her life and wasting it! What thanks do we > get for trying to _help_ the ? She throws _rocks_ > at us and tells us to get lost, that it's _her_ life and she'll do > what she damned well wants. Selfish . Shrill as a harpy. Yeah, > I'll bet she's talking about flaming swords and ultimatims. _I_ sure > didn't do any of that. I just tried to explain that she really really > didn't want to leave Eden, honest, and she takes it as some kind of > threat. Or maybe not -- selfish brat like that, she'd have run from > a threat, not thrown rocks and mud and rotten fruit. No wonder the > demons call humans 'talking monkeys'..." This still seems like Lilith's POV. Personally, I think the angels would most likely see it a little more like this; "So, we went after her. Tried to explain what it was all about, but she wasn't listening. May God love her, it was almost as if she just *couldn't* see what she was doing. Every time we tried to explain how much He loves her and how important she was to the Plan, it just seemed to make her angrier. She even started throwing rocks at us! When we told her what the world outside Eden was like, she seemed to think we were threatening her. I've no idea why she should think that - she's unique. Why would anyone want to hurt her? Anyway, after a while we realised that it wasn't His will that we succeed. She was going to hurt herself trying to get us to leave, so we withdrew. In the end, it was her choice. I only hope she doesn't do something foolish and get herself hurt, poor kid. She's all alone out there..." YMMV Doctor TOC - -- The Reverend Doctor "The Other Chris" - Wu Name: Jive Talkin' Choirboy ICQ # 4814586 Time War RPG - http://jump.to/TimeWar The TOC Files - http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/wilhelm/148/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 01:01:46 PDT From: "Jo Hart" Subject: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) >the ones who >respected human free will would just have shaken their heads, >said tsk-tsk, and gone on with their own business instead of >trying to influence her Is this like the way that angels who respect free-will shake their heads sadly when they see mortals damning their souls to Hell in the modern era, and go on with their own business instead of trying to save them? jo ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 10:09:22 -0400 From: John Karakash Subject: Re: Character Sheets & Malakite Oaths (WAS: Re: IN> G:IN Release date& Funky Mushrooms 3) "Tafka J." wrote: > > At 10:01 AM -0400 04/06/00, John Karakash wrote: > > Hey, if you're picking nits, why not have the standard > >oaths already printed on the sheet? =) > > But then they turn into gender neutral Oaths. > > "1) Suffer not an evil to live, when it is their choice. 2) Never > surrender to, or be captured by, the forces of Lucifer." > > They just sound a little too impersonal to me. An Oath should be said > with all conviction, in the _character's_ voice. Not as something said in > the third person. The idea was a joking suggestion, but you can always use first person. "*I* shall not suffer an evil to live, when it is *my* choice." - -- +============================================= + John Karakash - geek, writer, cook + Code mangler for EMC CLARiiON + mib2300 +============================================= ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 11:04:57 -0400 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica At 17:44 -0400 4/6/00, ben wrote: >Can you still use a Tether of Oannes? If it still exists, sure. And since these are probably mostly elemental Tethers, they probably haven't gone away, just because Oannes is gone. >Could there still be a Seneschel, a word-bound of the oceans (or is Oannes >water?) hanging out? That would be eerie. Cool, but eerie. Quite likely, in this case, I'd say. I don't think the Ross Ice Shelf is recent in origin, or has changed much in nature since probably sometime around the last Ice Age. So there's not much to change the Tether. It's always possible that someone killed the Seneschal, of course, but it's in such an out-of-the-way area that it wouldn't normally be worth it. Realize that any Seneschal there is probably pretty strange -- his Superior is dead, and there's hardly anyone around to talk to, except maybe some Servitors of Jordi (who tend to be pretty strange, themselves). He may even be in service to Animals -- I seem to recall the area is fairly abundant in arctic animals. Only in the 19th century did the area get much attention from humans; the Seneschal may consider this more of a problem than a feature, especially if he's now in service to animals. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 11:04:57 -0400 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Speaking of Antarctica At 17:44 -0400 4/6/00, ben wrote: >Can you still use a Tether of Oannes? If it still exists, sure. And since these are probably mostly elemental Tethers, they probably haven't gone away, just because Oannes is gone. >Could there still be a Seneschel, a word-bound of the oceans (or is Oannes >water?) hanging out? That would be eerie. Cool, but eerie. Quite likely, in this case, I'd say. I don't think the Ross Ice Shelf is recent in origin, or has changed much in nature since probably sometime around the last Ice Age. So there's not much to change the Tether. It's always possible that someone killed the Seneschal, of course, but it's in such an out-of-the-way area that it wouldn't normally be worth it. Realize that any Seneschal there is probably pretty strange -- his Superior is dead, and there's hardly anyone around to talk to, except maybe some Servitors of Jordi (who tend to be pretty strange, themselves). He may even be in service to Animals -- I seem to recall the area is fairly abundant in arctic animals. Only in the 19th century did the area get much attention from humans; the Seneschal may consider this more of a problem than a feature, especially if he's now in service to animals. - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 11:09:42 -0400 From: Walter Milliken Subject: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) At 23:53 -0400 4/6/00, David Edelstein wrote: >Walter Milliken wrote: >> That seems to presume that Lucifer set the whole thing up in advance. I >> tend to think that Lucifer communicated with her after the Fall, using >> something like Celestial Tongues. I'm not sure he would have figured on >> getting kicked out into a place he couldn't get out of on his own. > > >There've been quite a few hints (carefully shrouded in CDaU) that >Lucifer may have been working on the Rebellion even before the Eden >experiment. And there is a line somewhere about how Lucifer resolved to >"catch up with Lilith later" after she walked away during the trial run. I realize that -- but I wouldn't think he'd pre-arrange his escape from Hell at that time. I can certainly see him thinking, at the time of the Eden experiment, "She might be useful to me later, I should keep an eye on her." - ---Walter ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 09:23:22 PDT From: "Jo Hart" Subject: IN> [Plot Seed] Dr. Scapegoat, or how I learned to love the tetherbomb [Hype] Everyone knows how difficult it is to create a tether, or to destroy one. These links between the corporeal and celestial (or ethereal) planes are intimitely linked to the hopes, beliefs, and actions of humanity. Only by trying to work through mortals indirectly can celestials or ethereals ever hope to influence tether formation; it's always a risk, always a surprise, always a random factor. Isn't it? But what would happen if two loose canon demons got hold of a tetherbomb -- a device which, if left to explode within a tether-locus, would cause that tether to implode and close up. - --------===------- "It's not love but it's the bomb, the bomb, the bomb which will bring us together." [The Smiths] - --------===------- [Background] Another day, another renegade. A couple of months ago, Asmodeus' spies were able to intercept a communication between a couple of demons who were apparently plotting to rebel against their mistress, Beleth, break their own hearts, and escape into the Far Marches with the help of some of the old gods. Sadly, the original document is no longer available for public demonic perusal in order not to shock the many loyal and devoted minions of Lucifer and his Demon Princes with it's OUTRAGEOUS lies, REBELLIOUS sentiment, and obvious TREASON. With their usual efficiency, the two suspects were captured, interrogated, and returned promptly to Beleth for appropriate punishment. Officially, they are still somewhere within her tower, screaming their throats hoarse and sobbing for mercy as the Mistress of Nightmares subjects them to perpetual torture. Unofficially, the pair got back to the tower, were locked in a room whilst waiting for an audience with Beleth, and ... vanished, to be replaced by seven small bearded ethereals with picks and shovels who raised the alert when they attempted to whistle while they worked. The Princess of Nightmares personally interrogated the warder djinn who was attuned to one of the pair, and tracked the escapees into the Far Marches. There, the trail petered out, and the djinn gulped, and whispered that his attued was no longer on the ethereal plane at all. Accordingly, a joint team on Earth was put together by Beleth and Asmodeus, neither of whom knew how the renegades had suddenly gotten out of the tower but who assumed that they had found a rare tether between the Far Marches and the Corporeal Plane. The two runaways were eventually cornered and frogmarched to a Tether of the Game, to be transported in chains back to Hell. Or at least, that was the plan. Fabian and Mikka, the dubious demons in question, have quite another set of ideas. Whilst in Beleth's service they had encountered some very congenial ethereals who drew power from voodoo ritualists on Earth. It was here that they were told that many of the original voodoo loa had been slain by the Tsayadim in a mini-crusade in the 1970s, and several ethereals were hopefully jockeying to win the power from the mortals who still prayed to them. These ethereals seemed able to create and close tethers between the ethereal and corporeal plane at will. Further investigation showed that in order to do this, the ethereals used materials which were stored in two small earthenware jars -- one marked in white, and one marked in black. A handful from the white jar would open a portal to the ethereal plane from earth, a pinch (whatever you do, use no more than a pinch!) from the black jar thrown into such a tether would close it up again. Igniting either set of powder increased the effectiveness. So the demons stole the jars, not realising that they were carrying the mortal remains (the ashes, in fact, as the Malakim had burned the bodies) of Legba, the loa of gateways and Carrefour -- his dark reflection -- the spirit of the crossroads. When the pair were trapped in Beleth's tower, they had activated most of the powder from the white jar and opened a portal to the Far Marches, closing it after themselves with a pinch of powder from the black jar. They managed to capture one of the wannabee voodoo ethereals, and tortured it into revealing how to use the white powder to open a portal to Earth, and in fact, to instantly open any portal _on_ Earth. Doing this, they escaped into the mortal world together, hopefully never to be seen again. But alas, it was not to be. Currently, they have been captured by the Game and taken back to a tether. But as soon as they are able, they plan to use their black powder to try to close up the tether to Hell, creating a commotion in which they can escape! Naturally, the pair are not being kept within the tether's locus itself, but they have managed to secrete their pile of powder, with the fuse, somewhere in the tether. Time is ticking away. 5. 4. 3. 2. ... 1. Bang? - ----- === ----- [Enter, stage left] The first PCs will know of this is on sensing ... not a disturbance. In fact this is an anti-disturbance, more of a brief silence. Any low-level disturbance which the game tether had been making suddenly stops. On investigating (possibly from a distance), they will find that no living creature that was within the tether locus is still there. In fact, the only remnant of the last set of inhabitants is the dead, but unmarked, corpse of the Seneschal -- snuffed out like a light when his tether winked out. Any other Game demons who were nearby are likely to be freaking out in a big way. This was a major tether, and it doesn't seem to link anywhere anymore, and no-one knows what has happened. No one has dared call Asmodeus yet, not without a culprit to hand in. There is worse, though. When the tether blew, it sucked inside all living things in its Earthside locus -- humans, animals, and celestials alike. But there must always be a balance -- that is the law of portals. So an equivalent amount of forces has been pulled through from Hell to make up the balance. A couple of confused vessel-less demons, some damned souls, and a horde of excited demonlings and gremlins have suddenly found themselves on the very spot on Earth where the old tether used to be, with no notice. Also, with no permission. The most senior of them, a Djinn with a vessel who had been guarding tether endpoints in Hades, tries fruitlessly to round them up. They all know what Asmodeus' normal penalty is for unauthorised Earth visits. Any human souls who were pulled through into Hell remember a glimpse of Hades, and were then ejected by the realm itself into the Marches. They are currently wandering confused, near the boundary where the Near Marches meet the Far Marches, where Beleth's realm meets Blandine's. If found, they'll need to be helped back to Earth via a tether -- as their mortal bodies are currently in potentiality (ie. they can't just wake up.) Meanwhile, in all the confusion, the two captured demons have used the last of their white powder to escape their shackles and locked doors and run out into the night, with only a small amount of black powder left to them. They have no intention of being caught again, but ... wouldn't it be a shame not to blow up another tether or two, just because they can. If they think their hunters are getting too close, they might try to make a deal with some angels. In other news, the voodoo ethereals want the relics of their 'ancestors' back into safekeeping. They have rallied themselves and raised mortal support to hunt the demons down on Earth themselves. PCs might run into members of the more intense types of voodoo cults (ie. people more easily influenced by pissant ethereals), performing a ritual hunt. And of course, Asmodeus himself will be sending search parties into the mix. [NOTE] On disturbance and the bomb When the bomb explodes on the corporeal realm, it creates almost no disturbance at all. This is for the same reason that there is no disturbance when one celestial hurts or kills another celestial -- nothing on the corporeal world is harmed by the tetherbomb, or even affected. jo ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 12:41:20 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) At 1:01 AM -0700 4/7/00, Jo Hart wrote: >>the ones who >>respected human free will would just have shaken their heads, >>said tsk-tsk, and gone on with their own business instead of >>trying to influence her > >Is this like the way that angels who respect free-will shake their heads >sadly when they see mortals damning their souls to Hell in the modern era, >and go on with their own business instead of trying to save them? Depending on the darkness or brightness of the campaign -- yup. (Though it's not really a fair comparison. Remember that there _wasn't_ a Hell during the Eden thing, so it's not like they _knew_ what happened to humans who met their fates. The term "damning oneself" had no meaning before the Fall. Or so I can only assume, unless my memory of the books has totally failed me. (Which is possible, considering the move and the baby and the utter lack of sleep...) So way-back-when, they probably assumed that a human who didn't achieve destiny simply reincarnated, period. Fate... wasn't an option back then. So it's perfectly reasonable that many, if not the vast majority, of the angels who were paying attention to the Eden experiment's results would consider Lilith's defection to be sad, incomprehensible, but not something to get worked up over.) - --Beth, catching up as she can, while taking care of her little preemie, the Impudite Princess of Cute, aka Iolanthe, _&_ running back & forth between the condo and the new house. Augh. Moving. *&* as of 2pm 4/5/00, still no phone connection for the new house! Yay Limbo. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 10:35:43 -0600 From: "ben" Subject: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Okay, I'd like to include this idea in my game. Knowing that many heads are far superior to one, can anyone suggest a more detailed description of a Servitor of the Waters, still alive, in Antarctica, acting as Seneschal of a Tether? I'd be content with anything from suggestions to a fully-fledged character sheet. Thanks. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 09:39:05 PDT From: "Jo Hart" Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Remember that there _wasn't_ >a Hell during the Eden thing, so it's not like they _knew_ what happened >to humans who met their fates. The term "damning oneself" had no meaning >before the Fall. I think an angel would know what it meant to oppose God's Will. The only ones who would be more relaxed are the ones who wondered if God's Will was actually still being carried out. (And I bet they did regret it when she became a Demon Prince and started to actively try to win souls for Lucifer.) jo ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 13:42:56 EDT From: MarkDEddy@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters In a message dated 4/7/00 9:38:50 AM, ben@zianet.com writes: >Okay, I'd like to include this idea in my game. Knowing that many heads are >far superior to one, can anyone suggest a more detailed description of >a Servitor of the Waters, still alive, in Antarctica, acting as Seneschal of a >Tether? I'd be content with anything from suggestions to a fully-fledged >character sheet. > >Thanks. > >Ben > Well, I'd say that it would be a medium-sized tether with a 10-12 force gaurdian. Possibly a cherub, probably in a marine mammal vessel (or a penguin... he probably wouln't get it if the PC's started referring to him as Opus). He'd be very old, and probably have a very alien viewpoint. Other than that, I don't know. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 14:07:53 -0400 From: Douglas Muir Subject: Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters >Okay, I'd like to include this idea in my game. Knowing that many heads are >far superior to one, can anyone suggest a more detailed description of a >Servitor of the Waters, still alive, in Antarctica, acting as Seneschal of a >Tether? Oannes was AA of "the Waters". This included water in all its forms... liquid, vapor, ice. Part of his job, way back when, was running the world's weather. And its climate. Among many other things, Oannes was in charge of the ice ages... making sure they started and ended on time, controlling how far each one went. Crucially important for human evolution. So Oannes had a Tether in Antarctica... basically a control room for Ice Ages. The Seneschal, who is still there, has his hands on the levers of world climate. The *precise* location of the Tether is within an enormous crack (more like a geological fault) running through the Ross Ice Shelf. If the flaw is ever stressed enough, it will shatter, dumping a big chunk of the shelf into the Antarctic Sea. Within a few years, this will result in a rise of several feet in world sea level and a rise of a couple of degrees in world temperature as well (less ice reflecting sunlight, more water vapor in the atmosphere). The world will enter a "deep interglacial period" for the next millenium or two. On the other hand, the tether could also be used to change ice flow patterns and offshore sea currents beneath the shelf, to cool the planet and -- after a century or two -- bring on another Ice Age. The Seneschal hasn't recieved any orders in a long, long time, so basically he's sitting and waiting. He's probably one of those angels who thinks in a time scale of centuries or millenia, so he may not be feeling abandoned yet. On the other hand, it's possible that he has become aware of global warming... I think the Seneschal probably has an ice or snow vessel; Oannes was one of the elemental AAs, after all. I'm imagining something like a talking glacier. The Seneschal is seriously powerful; he's had centuries to store up Essence and prepare his turf against possible invasion. A straight fight with him should be a disaster for PCs. On the other hand, he might be lonely and eager for news and conversation... A Cherub, I think. Patient, acutely aware of his important duty, loyal, loyal, loyal. But if not a Cherub, an Elohite. "Time to flood the world's coasts and kill a hundred million people? Yes, I see the need. Very well." Yeah, an Elo might have the appropriate... coolness. Doug M. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 14:34:34 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters Douglas Muir wrote: > The *precise* location of the Tether is within an enormous crack > (more like a geological fault) running through the Ross Ice Shelf. > If the flaw is ever stressed enough, it will shatter, dumping a > big chunk of the shelf into the Antarctic Sea. You mean a bigger chunk than the one that really WAS dumped off the Ross Ice Shelf within the last week or so? Earl ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 13:48:51 -0500 From: Matt Trent Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: IN> Real weird speculation (Was: Newbie, or something likethat) Jo Hart wrote: > > Is this like the way that angels who respect free-will shake their heads > sadly when they see mortals damning their souls to Hell in the modern era, > and go on with their own business instead of trying to save them? I personally doubt that there are that many angels who _really_ respect free-will or even fully understand it. Trent Ofanite of Doubt ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 12:58:27 -0600 From: "ben" Subject: Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters > So Oannes had a Tether in Antarctica... basically a control room for Ice > Ages. The Seneschal, who is still there, has his hands on the levers of > world climate. That's a stunning amount of power. The books suggest that an Archangel *might* have the power necessary to obliterate a small town. Does this mean that the Archangel could spend the essence and will it to occur -- but a crafty Archangel could use his power to accomplish more than his essence might indicate? (construct atomic bombs in every city along the west coast, etc, as an indirect way of obliterating a lot of towns...) Otherwise, that seems like a Seneschel who would make half the Seraphim Council cower. Don't upset HIM.... Ben ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 15:15:20 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Wanted: A Seneschal of the Waters ben wrote: > That's a stunning amount of power. The books suggest that an > Archangel *might* have the power necessary to obliterate a small > town. I think the book has to be talking about how much power the Archangel can exert personally. Heck, two guys in a missile silo can level a major city, mere mortals though they be, because of the tools they control. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 17:30:38 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: IN> Make-Up Department Back on 4/28/99, I posted another entry entitled "Make-UpDepartment," offering some alterations to the celestial forms of various bands and choirs. This posting offers an even greater difference in celestial forms. The celestial forms here are downright surreal and suggest "energy beings." You might like that if you want to emphasize the unearthliness of celestials, or if you want to run a science-fictional crossover and don't want celestial forms unduly related to earthly forms. These surreal forms are also much simpler than a human form, which can reflect the fact that celestials, while old and powerful and intelligent, are still much simpler than humans in many way. Kinetic Aura Each celestial form consists of a core -- different depending on choir or band -- and an aura. This is a translucent zone of color resembling an aurora borealis or a solar corona. It is part of the celestial and their main organ of manipulation. They touch and move things with it. They move themselves with it, and when they move rapidly (fly), they extend it in great, wing-like lobes. The size of the aura -- and of the whole celestial form -- is voluntarily variable, and the range of size variation is proportional to the Corporeal Forces of the celestial. The aura's selection of colors and textures vary greatly from one individual to another, and are one of the main visible signs of individuality. Celestials can also sculpt the shape of the aura. This lets celestials without vessels assume approximations of earthly forms on the Celestial Plane, which can be convenient in communicating with humans, though it is nothing like having a vessel. When taking a humanoid form, celestials typically shrink their core very small and tuck it into the head or heart region. Heavenly beings have luminous auras. Infernal auras are zones of colored darkness. Dissonance is visible as rumples and wrinkles in the aura; discord is visible as streaks of darkness or (for infernals) paleness. Seraphim - Cosmic Strings A seraphic celestial form is no more than a line of light, closely sheathed in aura, except at the head end, where it fans out. The head is also marked by six points of light, the eyes, hovering close to the endpoint. This linear body may be in any or several colors. It may be luminous, like the interior of a neon tube, or shine metallically. According to its individual personality, the seraph may stay relatively straight, crinkle like a lightning bold (very common among Jean's seraphim), or habitually loop and swirl in calligraphic curves or Celtic knots. When seraphim fly, they tend to extend their aura in six wings. Michael is a long rope of shining gold, in a vast, cobalt blue aura. Dominic is a silver thread in a deep violet aura. Balseraphs - Webs of Deceit In a balseraph, the seraphic form comes unravelled, developing hard knots along the body, spinning open into loops, and loops on loops. Most characteristically, the head frays into two or more heads. Baal is a shining thread of gold, swimming in an aura of dark blood-red and glittering with multicolor gemlike lights, multiply knotted but hardly frayed at all -- except at the front, where the line divides into five heads. Lucifer himself is a Gordian tangle of red in a pitch-black aura, with seven heads, three of which have forked again. Cherubim - Great Balls of Fire A cherub's core is a luminous globe, about beachball-sized, with four other globes, about half the diameter, touching it. These four smaller globes move freely over the surface of the larger globe. The smaller globes need not be the same color as the main globe, though all four are all usually of one color; a cherub with each of the five globes a different color is considered to have a rather striking and flamboyant appearance, like a six-foot human with flaming red hair. When cherubim fly, they tend to extend their aura in four wings. David, before he went Malakite, was bright sulfur-yellow, with oranger minor globes, in an aura of hot-lava orange. Novalis is a green globe with pink minor globes, in an aura shimmering with soft pastels. Blandine is an opalescent globe, with lavender minors, in a rainbow aura. Djinn - Dark Stars Djinn are almost exactly photographic negatives of cherubim. Their auras are shadowy, and their cores *glow* darkness. Asmodeus is an anti-sun of sheer blackness, in a dark-glittering aura the color you see when someone flashes a camera in your eyes, or, more closely, like the black-and-blue dazzle some people see before a migraine. Beleth is midnight blue with blood-clot red side globes, in a curdling aura of colors you cannot name. Ophanim - Wheels of Fire Ophanim are very much as described in canon, except to note the aura, and that the fire of their wheels can be of any color. Ophanim and all lower choirs and bands usually extend only two wings from their aura when they fly. Calabim - Swarms of Scimitars In calabim, the circles are broken. Each calabite is a swarm of flaming crescents, forever in a frenzy to pierce, claw, and cut at their surroundings. Elohim - Celestial Spheres Each and every elohite is a perfect, transparent sphere, a crystal ball, visually distinguishable only by the coloration of its aura. Habbalah - Taking Their Lumps A habbalite core is like a giant piece of hail, lumpy, grey, pitted and scarred. Malakim - Pillars of Fire A Malakite is a pillar of fire, the top and bottom of the pillar vanishing into a cloud that merges with the aura. The structure of the pillar varies a lot. It may be a blazing bar of pure light, or a tornado of flame, or a standing lightning bolt, etc. It may be wreathed about with sparks or smoke. The colors of all these vary with the individual. Whatever the color of the aura, it darkens to black at the edges, and the wings, when extended, are always black. David is now a pillar of lava in a red aura. Laurance is a pillar of blue-white fire in a white aura. Uriel was similar, a pillar of sheet white light. Malakim of Eli are often very colorful, as if a tornado had hit a fireworks display, or Disney studios. Lilim - Green Meanies and Emerald Citizens Lilim are demons created by a human. Their cores are luminous green humanoids. Each Lilim has two shapes, male and female, though one is preferred, the way humans prefer their right hand or their left. Most Lilim prefer female. They can use their auras for short-range telekinesis, but mostly just fly with them. Dark Lilim have dark auras, Bright Lilim have bright ones. In both cases, they are usually multicolored and individually textured and patterned. Kyriotates - Raw Potential Kyrios are prismatic clouds, surrounded by auras, the famous jumble of limbs and eyes restlessly visible through the vari-colored mist. The bits peeking through reflect the hosts the Kyrio has inhabited recently. One reason they are so hard on the human sanity is the ... peculiar ... colors they turn -- sky-blue pink, octarine, ulfire and jale, particularly salty shades of loud. And when they speak or sing, it can come out sounding blue, or coffee-flavored.... Shedim - Raw Wounds Shedim are ragged black holes in space. Feral eyes gleam in that dark, and claws and teeth can come snatching out. They, too, give off mind-bending colors and and sounds. Mercurians - Quicksilver Mercurian cores are maleable wads of metallic shiniess, like quicksilver or the T1000 Terminator. Only they aren't all silvery; at least as many are golden, and a fair sprinkling are coppery. The Mercurians concerned with Terran humanity habitually mold their cores into human forms, and usually use their auras only for flying. Impudites - Mercury Poisoning Impudites look just like Mercurians, except that their auras are dark, not bright, and the core is shiny tar-black, liquid blood-red, or a dark shade of red in between. Grigori - Golden Giants Grigori, like Lilim, are tied to humanity; their cores are luminous golden giants, seven or eight feet tall unless the Grigori choose to alter the scale. They are either male or female, just like humans. Their auras are dark or bright according to their state, but have no individual coloring or texture. Menunim - Wings of Hope Blandine's personal choir looks like butterflies or aeriel flowers, with variously-shaped wings/petals, five or seven in number, joining at a barely visible glimmer. Pachadim - Bats Out of Hell Beleth's minions are built much like Menunim, but the wings are leathery rags, meeting in a clot of darkness. Relievers - Rising Stars Relievers are simple sparkling lights, usually a single bright one in a tight cluster of lesser lights. Imps - Worms Dieth Not Imps have a variety of unpleasing forms -- leech- or maggot-like, a pile of slime, or a jagged shard are the commonest. Earl ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #1576 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2000 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.