From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Wed Mar 7 17:10:11 2001 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 RAA20870 for ; Wed, 7 Mar 2001 17:10:11 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id RAA16422 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Wed, 7 Mar 2001 17:13:50 -0600 Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 17:13:50 -0600 Message-Id: <200103072313.RAA16422@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 #2098 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 Wednesday, March 7 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2098 In this digest: Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> Moving silently IN> You have the right... Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... Re: IN> Moving silently Re: IN> March 6, 2001 (ML) IN> March 7, 2001 (ML) IN> Dead men do tell tales Re: IN> You have the right... Re: IN> Heaven, Hell and the ENGLISH Civil War Re: IN> Buddhism in In Nomine: A Fusion Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... Re: IN> Moving silently IN> What's wrong with "Dodge" Re: IN> Moving silently IN> Wendigo Re: IN> Moving silently IN> Characters, Props & Vessels Re: IN> Characters, Props & Vessels Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... Re: IN> Moving silently ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 20:15:44 -0600 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently Eric Bertish wrote: > Oh, is that why Ranged Weapon has to be bought separately for Pistol and> Rifle, as opposed to a general "Firearms" skill? > > -- Casca Those seem like logical separations. How would you like to break down Move Silently? - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 02:22:20 -0000 From: "cassandra benner" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently Stealth, Trail (Shadow), Move Silently and "Blend" is how i'd seperate them. >Eric Bertish wrote: > > Oh, is that why Ranged Weapon has to be bought separately for Pistol >and> Rifle, as opposed to a general "Firearms" skill? > > -- Casca >Those seem like logical separations. How would you like to break down >Move Silently? > >-David Cass - -There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole- Murphy's Law, Combatants Edition. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 22:24:56 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently From: "David Edelstein" > Those seem like logical separations. How would you like to break down > Move Silently? I wouldn't. I also wouldn't call for specializations for such skills as small weapon, large weapon, ranged weapon, etc, in a 'cinematic' game. I'd class them under melee weapons or firearms, respectively. - -- Casca "...I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying...At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke." -- Isaiah 6:2,4 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 21:39:37 -0600 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently Eric Bertish wrote: > I wouldn't. I also wouldn't call for specializations for such skills as> small weapon, large weapon, ranged weapon, etc, in a 'cinematic' game. I'd> class them under melee weapons or firearms, respectively. So change the granularity to suit yourself. You can be as general as "Weapons" or as specific as GURPS. I don't think a grand total of four weapons skills is particularly specialized. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 03:39:32 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently I'd >class them under melee weapons or firearms, respectively. > I disagree. If I were designing the weapons subgroups, I would keep the "Large Weapon" and "Small Weapon" groups, but I would definitely divide up "Ranged Weapons" -- I do not believe it requires the same skills to use a gun as it does to use a bow and arrow. And I would remove silliness like listing Brass Knuckles as a "Small Weapon" requiring Precision. (I've had characters with brass knuckles in three different games, including two I'm in now*, and all of the GMs, when asked, agreed that this was dumb and let me have the brass knuckles as +1 power to unarmed combat.) Janet Anderson *a Malakite of War and a Cherub of Stone _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 23:03:25 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently At 3:39 AM -0500 3/7/01, Janet Anderson wrote: >And I would remove silliness like listing Brass Knuckles as a "Small >Weapon" requiring Precision. (I've had characters with brass >knuckles in three different games, including two I'm in now*, and >all of the GMs, when asked, agreed that this was dumb and let me >have the brass knuckles as +1 power to unarmed combat.) Which is the kernel of the thing, really. As my players can attest, I happily radically shift the effect of skills to suit my style of play almost immediately. For instance (from last weekend's game) I prefer "Dodge" to mean avoiding being hit, not reducing damage in a "roll with the punches" manner, so I have the CD of a dodge roll modify the target number of the attack roll. It changes the way combat works, but it does so in a way I like in my games. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 23:36:15 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently From: "Janet Anderson" > I disagree. If I were designing the weapons subgroups, I would keep the > "Large Weapon" and "Small Weapon" groups, but I would definitely divide up > "Ranged Weapons" -- I do not believe it requires the same skills to use a > gun as it does to use a bow and arrow. This makes good logical sense and adheres more closely to to realism than my suggestion. However, I don't feel it is in any way, shape or form 'cinematic', which is essentially my main gripe. 'Realistic' and 'Cinematic' are, I have found, mutually exclusive. _Feng Shui_ is the most cinematic game I've ever seen, and is both a model of elegant simplicity and a pleasure to run. But it isn't terribly realistic, though, and that's the point. Then there's the other end of the scale, point-crunching monsters like Gurps or Hero System, which offer oodles of realism in the form of complex manuevers and arcane bonues based on terrain and how long you've spent aiming and the degree of declination due to windage caused by the butterfly in China. That's cool, too: I can do the engineer groove, and all the little variables satiate the tinpot general within me. But it ain't cinematic, though. And that's the point. People will most likely suggest I change the rules. Not only have I done that, I've taken a chainsaw to them and converted to another system altogether. (I now await the jackbooted minions of the Game Police to come for me in the night.) That's not why I'm complaining. IN is not a realistic game. Unfortunately, it's not a terribly cinematic game, either. It suffers from schizophrenia mechanica: in trying to be both realistic and cinematic, it falls between those two poles and lands square in the middle of medicrity. Fortunately, it has a kick-ass setting and background, which is why I play the game. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 21:39:18 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> You have the right... This guy was in the way, so I thought that I'd let him out before I start racking my brains about something interesting to say about a martyr I never heard off before. Thank God for the Online Catholic Encyclopedia (although they probably wouldn't be too thrilled to find out that I'm mining them for gaming material). :) Moe Gideon Elohite Vassal of Protection Angel of Police Officers Corporeal Forces: 4 Strength: 8 Agility: 8 Ethereal Forces: 5 Intelligence: 8 Precision: 12 Celestial Forces: 5 Will: 8 Perception: 12 Word-Forces: 10 Vessel: human male/3, human female/3, both with Charisma +1 Skills: Detect Lies/3, Dodge/3, Driving/1, Electronics/1, Emote/4, Fast-Talk/1, Fighting/3, Knowledge (Criminology/3, Law/1), Lockpicking/1, Medicine/1, Move Silently/2, Savoir-Faire/1, Ranged Weapon/6 (pistol), Small Weapon/1 (baton), Tracking/4 Songs: Affinity (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/2, Celestial/1), Charm (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/1), Draining (Ethereal/1), Entropy (Celestial/1), Form (Corporeal/1), Harmony (All/2), Healing (All/1), Light (Celestial/6), Might (Celestial/1), Moodreading/3, Nemesis (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/2, Celestial/1), Opening (Corporeal/1), Shields (All/1), Sleep (Ethereal/1), Tongues (Ethereal/1) Attunements: Elohite of Protection, Malakite of Protection, Aura of Divinity, Vassal of Protection, Angel of Police Officers Angel of Police Officers: By spending 1 Essence per day, Gideon can take on the equivalent of a Role: police officer/6. This Role will be indistinguishable from a normal one (and includes the local language at level/3 and Area Knowledge/1, if necessary). Should Gideon choose to not spend the Essence, the Role will degrade by one level per day: any further Essence spent will stabilize the current level, not boost it back up to level/6. Once a Role has been chosen, the angel may not choose another until the first one has degraded fully. Gideon also may perceive whether or not a particular police case is unusual if he makes a Perception -2 roll. This will not reveal particulars, only whether or not it's routine. Special Rites: Solve or help others solve a crime (useable twice per day) Gideon has been on the job for a while. He's worked with the Pinkertons, Scotland Yard, the Surete, Interpol, the Mounties - just about every organized police force in the world. Of course, very few of his coworkers have ever realized his nature, but he's still fondly remembered by a lot of cops (even if they all remember him (or her) by different names). There was a little surprise in Heaven when this Word ended up under Protection: most assumed that it would be more fitting for Judgement, or perhaps War. However, the former is more concerned with ferreting out dissatisfaction within the ranks than in solving crimes, and the latter is perhaps a little too addicted to situational ethics. Gideon personally could care less about what people think (a wise thing, seeing as he's an Elohite): to him, the important thing is what they do. Allowing criminals to commit evil acts unchecked is not optimal for the functioning of any society. There must be balance, no? Zadkiel (or, more often, the higher ups in her organization) usually assigns Gideon to corporeal cases that show some sign of Infernal involvement. The angel, thanks to his Word-Attunement, can walk into any police precinct in the world and be accepted as a 'real' cop, with the proper paperwork to back him up. Gideon finds it best to take on the Role of a member of the appropriate national police agency: it allows him more freedom to operate, as well as making it not too obvious when Special Agent Whoever disappears after a particular case has been solved. He's usually quickly accepted: the angel is meticulous about avoiding publicity and credit for his aid, which makes for a refreshing change from the usual grandstanders. Gideon's first concern, when taking a case, is to determine whether or not a demon is behind whatever crime was committed. If not, then solving the case is usually a snap: the average mortal criminal is no match for an Elohite with resources like Gideon's. If, however, Hell is meddling, then Gideon has two priorities: solve the case, and make sure that the demon is in no position to keep on meddling in corporeal affairs. Trauma will do, but soul-death is better. It keeps down the paperwork that he has to do (like all cops, Gideon is not... convinced that paperwork has much inherent utility). Gideon isn't afraid to risk Trauma himself, especially if it would mean keeping a fellow-officer alive. Gideon isn't a particularly complicated individual. He comes across (accurately) as a straight arrow, and will take the time to wreck the careers of any corrupt cops that he might encounter (of course, defining 'corruption' is a matter of the culture and situation, as well as Gideon's own experience). Don't bother trying to bribe him. Don't expect him to back down from threats or pressure. In fact, don't expect him to do anything except close the case. He won't beat up a suspect to get a confession... but then, he really doesn't have to, does he? An ordinary mortal won't be able to stand up to the force of his personality (and Songs) - and a demon or Soldier would have already gotten his or head righteously blown off before he or she could get to the interrogation room. Well, it's not like the corporeal prison systems are set up to handle Balseraphs or Calabim. You do what you have to do to close the case. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 03/04/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 21:44:01 -0800 From: "Kish" Subject: Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... From: "Kelly Pedersen" <> Yes--but Mammon's a minor Prince. Not worth the full attention of a major Archangel (and his mention in the main In Nomine book is one sentence long, for the hardcover printing, and nonexistent for the softcover). --Kish ICQ# 28085879 AIM Kish K M ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 21:47:29 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 21:04:50 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently From: "Elizabeth McCoy" > >> Cinematic skills have a lot of scope. O:> >Oh, is that why Ranged Weapon has to be bought >separately for Pistol and Rifle, as opposed to a >general "Firearms" skill? (shrug) It's harder to abuse a general Move Silently skill than it would be for a general Firearms skill. Besides, your average munchkin _wants_ to spend seven zillion points on gun skills: why not let them? :) Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 03/04/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 22:28:17 -0800 From: "Wade Hursman" Subject: Re: IN> March 6, 2001 (ML) >Yes, Blandine knows. > >After all, even Archangels Dream. Oh Moe, I love it! I'll use it in my campaign if I can work it in and let you know! Wade _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 22:41:58 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> March 7, 2001 (ML) Here's hoping that it didn't go through the first time (I seem to have this uncanny ability to post at just about the time that Yahoo needs to see my password again. Rastenfracking free email providers...) :) Anyway, straightforward (albeit not too exciting) one tonight. Moe Scroll of St Perpetua This artifact comes from a 3rd Century Christian martyr fairly noteworthy for both piety and pithiness. The scroll acts as a Emote Talisman/6 (granting skill): however, those that use it also have to make a Will Roll to avoid speaking his or her mind - even if it might not be the brightest thing to do, objectively speaking. Those that possess the relic for too long have shown a tendency to later develop the above as a Need. It's also fairly too obviously a relic for some tastes. Despite the origins, demons have been known to possess the relic. How it's managed to survive the last few millennia is a bit of a mystery. Talisman/6 (Emote, grants skill) 12pt Convenience: Can be carried +3pt Visibility: Perception Roll -2pt Special Limitation: Will Roll to avoid spouting off opinions. -2pt Vulnerability: Tough +1pt Ethereal artifact destroyed when corporeal artifact destroyed -2pt Cost: 8pt. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 03/04/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 01:43:59 -0600 From: Santiago Subject: IN> Dead men do tell tales In IN, killing a human to shut them up is not that effective. They might fade away, or they might reincarnate, but there's a good chance you now have a soul wandering loose in Heaven or Hell with the knowledge you want kept secret. Those mortals can't get at it, but celestials can. Now, demons can't get at blessed souls, so if that was your intent, fine; if you wanted to keep it from angels, you're elevated on detritus estuary sans means of locomotion. Anyone, on the other hand, can get at damned souls. Of course, finding a given damned soul is no easy task for anyone short of Kronos, and souls in some parts of Hell do tend to suffer unfortunate accidents, which even if they're not lethal often do strip off an ethereal force or two. This was actually brought on by the bit in the writeup of Adad that says the dissonance gained from being revealed goes away if you kill the person who knows; the problem is that this might not work... And, human souls have this pesky tendency to not stick around on Earth waiting to be soul-killed. - -- Santiago ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 09:10:00 -0500 From: "Rolland Therrien" Subject: Re: IN> You have the right... - -----Original Message----- From: Maurice Lane To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Date: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 12:46 AM Subject: IN> You have the right... >Gideon >Elohite Vassal of Protection >Angel of Police Officers Moe, I perticularly love this guy. It makes sense, too. Being a fan of "The District", I kept wondering if Judgement or The Sword would be backing Commissioner Jack Manion, but now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense for it to be Protection, since that's what the Police is really all about. Maybe Jack Manion is a Soldier of God in service to Protection... - -Exit the LoneWolf ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 10:22:16 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Heaven, Hell and the ENGLISH Civil War Whistling in the Dark wrote: > It disgusts me. What we do get of Cromwell *is* colored by his > Puritanism, which I've never understood -- there's no country with > more Puritanism in its history and in the content of its national > character than America, and yet we seem allergic to prominent > Puritans in history, unless they're known for cooking turkey. It's probably a consequence of our fondness for royalty -- because they're colorful, romantic, underdogs in much recent history, and (most important) we don't have to put up with them. Our earliest encounters with royals tends to be in childhood fairy tales, where they are the viewpoint characters. Also, after turkey dinners, our other main association for Puritans is the Salem witch trials (a very good place to look for infernal influence -- at least so thought the Puritans themselves when the dust settled and they issued their public statement of contrition). Earl ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 10:35:33 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Buddhism in In Nomine: A Fusion Bevan Thomas wrote: > Demonic-looking people serving good is quite common in various > religion, even in Christianity. After all, Ezekiel encountered an > angel (I think it was a cherub) who looked like a huge man with four > faces [...] The angel had four arms, four wings, and hooves of brass. A quibble: Yes, this is part of Christianity, but it was part of Judaism for centuries before that. And Ezekiel encountered his cherubim in sets of FOUR, each with a set of ophanim, the whole affair supporting the chariot of God Himself. It's all right at the beginning of Ezekiel's book. The vision of God's throne at the start of Revelation is clearly reminiscent, though the "living creatures" (as they're called there) have their anatomies rearranged, with six wing apiece this time, perhaps pointing to the seraphim in the vision of Isaiah. > Ezekiel did the sane thing and fainted. And no wonder. Earl ------------------------------ Date: 7 Mar 2001 16:10:05 -0000 From: "-=|horsefly|=-" Subject: Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... On Tue, 6 Mar 2001 11:27:55 -0800 (PST) Kelly Pedersen wrote: >--- -=|horsefly|=- wrote: >> might sound strange, but i could see Malakim of >> David, Novalis, Yves, and Zadkiel all finding a lot to >> interest them in the Jedi. >True. Although I don't see Novalis, personally, >employing a whole lot of Malakim at all. But those she well, that much is canon, sure. >does would probably pick up the idea post haste. the Jedi mindset and the perspective of Flowers just fits well together. can you imagine fellow Jedi interacting, and then doing a double-take as the War Servitors realize they've been hanging out with *Flowers*?! ;) >> >sourcebooks have pointed it out, but Michael should >> >have almost as bid a feud with Nybbas as Nybbas >> >does with... um... whichever Archangel he perpetually >> >feuds with, in canon. I mean, Nybbas must be interested >> >in warping Micheal's beautiful True Hero archetype...) >> yes, that's detailed in Superiors 1. >> good book. very worth buying/reading. especially the >> Michael section :) >Oh, I have it. Must've missed that part, though... sorry i can't reference a page or section heading right now (i'm at work), but rest assured, it's in there. i don't recall anything on Nybbas in Superiors 2 that corrolates or corroborates the Michael stuff, however. >[snip Blandine stuff, cause all I have on her is the >main book, and that says she's against the War faction] just because she is, doesn't mean her angels are! ------------------------------ Date: 7 Mar 2001 16:19:50 -0000 From: "-=|horsefly|=-" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently 6 Mar 2001 23:03 Whistling in the Dark wrote: [snip] >weekend's game) I prefer "Dodge" to mean avoiding being hit, not >reducing damage in a "roll with the punches" manner, so I have the CD >of a dodge roll modify the target number of the attack roll. It >changes the way combat works, but it does so in a way I like in my >games. it would be nice if the Dodge skill worked that way out of the canon. as is, i can't think of how that would work the way you and i prefer without either a) forcing the attacker to re-roll or b) disallow Dodge attempts after a successful strike. the first option seems unfair to the attacker; the second unfair to the defender. what's been your solution? and for the record, i wouldn't break up Move Silently into component skills; i'd also merge Ranged Weapon into one skill (you can use bows, crossbows, and guns--it's cinematic, what's wrong with that?), as well as possibly phasing out the Throwing skill. i'd also merge Large and Small Weapons skills. it's simpler that way. -=|horsefly|=- "It was a different time: a time of blood and guns and killings.... It was a time when killers needed saints, for so much of God's good work was being done." --SAINT OF KILLERS #4, Garth Ennis ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 17:25:16 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: IN> What's wrong with "Dodge" I meant to send this to the list as well as to Eric Burns, regarding the misnamed "Dodge" skill: At 2:47 PM -0500 3/7/01, Janet Anderson wrote: >That's another of my pet peeves. If they mean "Dodge," they should >say "Dodge" and if they mean "Reduce Damage," they should call it >that. They're two different things. As it is now, avoiding being >hit (the first priority of any sensible combatant) is not an option >in the IN system. The only way for Person A to avoid being hit is >for Person B to fail his attack roll. This doesn't seem right to me. Janet Anderson _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 12:18:16 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently At 4:19 PM +0000 3/7/01, -=|horsefly|=- wrote: >6 Mar 2001 23:03 Whistling in the Dark wrote: > > it would be nice if the Dodge skill worked that way out of the >canon. as is, i can't think of how that would work the way you and i >prefer without either a) forcing the attacker to re-roll or b) disallow >Dodge attempts after a successful strike. the first option seems unfair >to the attacker; the second unfair to the defender. what's been your >solution? Attacker declares an attack. Defender rolls Dodge. If successful, CD modifies Attacker's target number. Attacker rolls to hit. If successful, resolve damage as normal. As for "disallowing dodge attempts after a successful strike," that is kind of the point. Once someone's hit you, you can't dodge, any more than once someone's been thrown through the windshield of their car, they can't buckle their seat belt. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 12:44:45 -0600 From: "Cthulhu" Subject: IN> Wendigo This was inspired by the recent writeup of the Sasquatch as a minor choir... dedicated to Moe. Wendigoes (The Defilers) The two men looked down from the tree with a worried expression on their faces. Below them a small campfire was burning miserably, and they could hear the coughs and sniffles of their compatriots. They'd been in the forest for weeks now, preventing the loggers from moving in and tearing the place down. They were all sick and tired. A figure climbed up to join them, another warrior fighting for the trees. "Bad night." he said as he swung in. *For you, anyway* "This place'll be the death of us." muttered one of the two. The other nodded gloomily. *Nah* the newcomer though *Wrong Word. I'm just here to get rid of you* The Sasquatches were created by Jordi to be the defenders of the last wild places, and to be his strength against mankind. But as has been shown again and again, nothing is incorruptible*, and inevitably a few of the Idealists got just a little bit too curious about humans and their machines, accumulated some dissonance and... Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......... thud. The Wendigo were born. Resonance Sasquatches are attuned to the environment, and the health therein. The Wendigo, however, have become anathema to the natural world; spreading ill health wherever they go. The very presence of a Defiler makes the land sick, and they can home in on individual creatures, weakening their bodies and souls. Dissonance If a Wendigo strays from its destructive "duty" it accumulates dissonance. They gain 1 note for each day that they do not in some way damage the ecosystem, i.e.: pouring bleach over a garden, putting down poison, etc. This may be removed by performing two acts of desecration the next day, but after two days pass the note becomes permanent. They also gain a note if a victim of their direct Resonance successfully resists them. Manner and Appearance Most Wendigo have an animalistic vessel similar to that of the Sasquatches, but they appear sickly and malnourished. Their body hair is long, ratty and oily black, and they are frightfully thin, though broad shouldered. They have disproportionately large eyes and mouths, the latter filled with long, sharp teeth. Their eyes are covered with cataracts, making their steady, milky-white gaze very unnerving. If a Wendigo acquires a human vessel they still tend to be very hirsute, and they usually have very poor hygiene. Some of them make Calabim look neat. Their Celestial form looks almost identical to their animal-thing vessel, only in even worse health, with ribs showing against the fur on their sides. They also have a blackened aura surrounding them, trailing little tendrils of darkness as they move. In any form or vessel the Wendigo are slovenly, and move by shambling along, swinging their (usually) overlong arms as they go. Most tend to be fascinated by gadgets, and collect trinkets in their pockets or hideyholes, depending. They are frequently bitter, as most of them _are_ Fallen (see Wendigo and the Horde). Game Mechanics The Resonance of the Wendigo is used in two ways. Firstly, while a Wendigo remains in an area it may make a Resonance roll a week. If this is successful, then the Wendigo has made the very land sick, and all creatures within the area of effect suffer a penalty equal to (one third of the check digit) to _all_ rolls, lasting until the Wendigo leaves. This is cumulative; if the Wendigo remains in the area for a week and makes another Resonance roll, then the affected suffer from both penalties. The penalty fades at a rate of -1 per day the Wendigo is gone from the area. This use of Resonance disturbs the Symphony, counting as having done points of damage equal to the Wendigos check digit x 2 (min 4 points). The area of effect depends on the locale, and the Wendigos Ethereal Forces. In desert or tundra, the area is (Ethereal Forces/2) miles. In a forest or similar life-filled area, the area is (Ethereal Forces/3) miles. In a city, the area is a single building, or a small park or square. In a skyscraper, the area is (Ethereal Forces) floors, chosen by the Wendigo. These are only guidelines, and the GM is of course free to improvise. The second use is independent of the first, though rolls to resist are modified by any penalties incurred through prior use of Resonance. In this case the Wendigo selects a single target, and physical contact must be made, however briefly. The Wendigo rolls its Resonance, and the victim attempts to resist using Will, though they must beat the Wendigos check digit to win. If the Wendigo succeeds, then that person counts as having Flu (see Night Music p67), with all the problems that entails, though they are not contagious. If the Wendigo looses, then they suffers a note of dissonance and a headache. Note that Celestial vessels are immune to the first use of Resonance, but not the second. Wendigo and the Horde To put it bluntly, Sasquatch are useless in Hell. The newly Fallen spend some time there, being poked and prodded, but inevitably they are assigned to a relevant Prince and sent back up to cause trouble. Nothing in Hell can get sick, and no Prince is foolish enough to keep something so rare where it's of no use. And they are rare. Exactly how rare depends on you; if you want them to be ultra rare, then no Prince has worked out how to create them. All Wendigo are fallen Sasquatch, and there are likely no more than a few dozen. And Jordi is baying for their blood. If you want them to be slightly more common, then some or all of the Princes below have worked out how to create them, but the process is tricky, long and unreliable. As the Resonance of a Wendigo is broad but not terribly useful on its own, most Princes will use a Wendigo as part of a team, weakening opponents before a fight or business takeover, depending. One of the most common requests a new Wendigo will make is a human vessel, so that they can better explore the previously forbidden society all around them. Wendigo of Nightmares Beleth picked up on these creatures from their feared place in Native American myth (or should that be vice versa?). A Wendigo serving Nightmares may give a shriek which terrifies any Corporeal creature within hearing distance (which can be a long way, out in the woods). If they fail a Will roll they must flee in abject terror for three rounds. The Wendigo may do this once every four rounds. Wendigo of Death The sickness passed in the touch of a Wendigo serving Saminga is more potent than normal, and can kill if medical attention is not received within a day or so (GMs fiat). This does disturb the Symphony, but not until the victim dies and the Wendigo is (hopefully) far away. Wendigo of Technology Vapula is often the most welcoming Prince to newly Fallen Wendigo, as they often hunger for insights into his long-resisted domain. To accommodate this, Vapula gives them all a free technological Artifact worth 12 points. The GM has final say on what is acceptably "technological" for this Artifact. Wendigo of Disease It isn't known if Jordi had even created many Sasquatch in Makatiels time, and even if he had, if any Fell. Regardless, if you want to put in a (very old) servitor of Disease in your game, or use them in a different time period, then they get the following Attunement. A Wendigo serving Makatiel passes on a _contagious_ sickness with a successful Resonance roll, spreading quickly from host to host. This can soon cripple a small business or family, and have far worse repercussions. Needless to day, this frankly uncontrollable power has earned the ire among certain high-ups in Heaven and Hell. * yeah, I _do_ remember Malakim, but I'm not going to let that spoil my narrative flow. :-P Cthulhu _____________________________________________ Free email with personality! Over 200 domains! http://www.MyOwnEmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 14:48:47 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently At 9:04 PM -0500 3/6/01, Eric Bertish wrote: >From: "Elizabeth McCoy" >> >> Cinematic skills have a lot of scope. O:> > >Oh, is that why Ranged Weapon has to be bought separately for Pistol and >Rifle, as opposed to a general "Firearms" skill? Of course! After all, cinematic _COMBAT_ skills foster things like, "My Favorite Pistol, Judy, and My Favorite Rifle, Phil." - --Beth, emccoy@nh.ultranet.com, arcangel@io.com 1 MMorganLP. Oooo! http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 16:38:08 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: IN> Characters, Props & Vessels Elizabeth mentions "My Favorite Pistol, Judy, and My Favorite Rifle, Phil." I recall that published canon includes at least two examples of celestials "bound" into objects. Anyone ever use sentient objects in their campaigns, beyond the transient instances of Kyrios of Lighnting or Shedim of Technology? Earl ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 14:16:55 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Characters, Props & Vessels - --- Earl Wajenberg wrote: > Anyone ever use > sentient objects in their campaigns, beyond the transient > instances of Kyrios of Lighnting or Shedim of Technology? Not in IN. I used to run a campaign of Immortal: the Invisible War (which has a number of similarities to IN in look and feel) wherein the PC's lived in a house that recognized them and remodeled itself according to their needs and subconscious desires. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 "When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 14:23:35 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 23:26:47 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... >I ran my group the "The Premiere" last year. Guess >what film I used? > >Not to mention a drunken Liam Neeson for the Actual >Actor, Flavor of the Month Leo DiCaprio instead of >Ewan McGregor for Obi-Wan, theme song/love ballads by >Bjork and guest director Paul Verhoeven... > >My players were twitching. ;) Bah. I would have started hosing down the theater with indiscriminate machine gun fire the second I heard the director's name, screaming "Next time actually READ a book before you rape it!" all the while...* ;) Moe *It's the only way to be sure. Granted, it's tough on the innocent, but a: it's LA, so there probably wouldn't any of them there anyway; and b:, presumably, God _does_ sort them out. :) ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 03/04/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: 7 Mar 2001 22:44:07 -0000 From: "-=|horsefly|=-" Subject: Re: IN> In a galaxy far far away... On Tue, 6 Mar 2001 21:44:01 -0800 Kish wrote: >From: "Kelly Pedersen" ><> >Yes--but Mammon's a minor Prince. Not worth the full attention of a major >Archangel (and his mention in the main In Nomine book is one sentence long, >for the hardcover printing, and nonexistent for the softcover). well, seeing as how Mammon wasn't canonically a Prince until after the softcover sold out and the blue hardcover was printed... still, i don't see Marc's view of Mammon as "grudge-match." more like "threat to human trade and Trade in general which simply must be done away with." Marc's too perky to hold grudges--that doesn't keep him from bankrupting his foes, however. -=|horsefly|=- God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. ------------------------------ Date: 7 Mar 2001 23:04:17 -0000 From: "-=|horsefly|=-" Subject: Re: IN> Moving silently 7 Mar 2001 12:18 Whistling in the Dark wrote: >At 4:19 PM +0000 3/7/01, -=|horsefly|=- wrote: >> it would be nice if the Dodge skill worked that way out of the >>canon. as is, i can't think of how that would work the way you and i >>prefer without either a) forcing the attacker to re-roll or b) disallow >>Dodge attempts after a successful strike. the first option seems unfair >>to the attacker; the second unfair to the defender. what's been your >>solution? >Attacker declares an attack. Defender rolls Dodge. If successful, CD >modifies Attacker's target number. Attacker rolls to hit. If >successful, resolve damage as normal. hmm, this works as long as the defender can respond in time. i can't for the life of me, however, recall how In Nomine resolves issues of initiative. granted that i prefer In Nomine remain a cinematic game, but even in the movies, some folks are faster than others--and in ye olde gunfight, both shoot and neither dodge, or one shoots and the other 'slinger attempts to dodge without drawing his pistol (or before he clears leather...). there should be something that allows an attacker to hit before a defender can dodge. on that subject, how do you deal with Smite, since there is no roll to hit, as of the blue cover? also, were i to use your system, i think i'd add that an unsuccessful Dodge roll would *increase* the target number for the attacker, as his victim is even more off-balance and vulnerable. >As for "disallowing dodge attempts after a successful strike," that >is kind of the point. Once someone's hit you, you can't dodge, any >more than once someone's been thrown through the windshield of their >car, they can't buckle their seat belt. absolutely. what i'd meant was on the order of initiative, the sticky subject i mentioned some above, that still isn't resolved to my liking. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2098 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.