From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Mon Mar 19 13:13:10 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 NAA25450 for ; Mon, 19 Mar 2001 13:13:10 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id NAA31750 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Mon, 19 Mar 2001 13:17:17 -0600 Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 13:17:17 -0600 Message-Id: <200103191917.NAA31750@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 #2113 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 Monday, March 19 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2113 In this digest: Re: IN> Superior Roles Re: IN> Superior Roles Re: IN> Vesselspace IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) Re: IN> Superior Roles Re: IN> Superior Roles IN> thunderdog_sa@yahoo.com Re: IN> Superior Roles Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) Re: IN> Superior Roles Re: IN> Not 03/18/01 Yet Re: IN> Vesselspace Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) Re: IN> Vesselspace IN> Re:Vesselspace Re: IN> Re:Vesselspace Re: IN> Superior Roles IN> Song timing Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty IN> (Seed) Sorry, Squire, I scratched the record Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty Re: IN> March 17, 2001 (PK) Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) IN> Truth, Justice and the Heavenly way... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 21:03:25 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles - ----- Original Message ----- From: "William J. Keith" To: Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 8:31 PM Subject: IN> Superior Roles > So, I figure each Superior would maintain at least one Role/6. They can > multitask, and they have practice doing it -- for some Superiors, their > carefully-maintained Roles would never yet have seen use. The > considerations would need to be: smooth changeovers as the Vessels are > properly aged; significant connection to the Superior's Word; a reason the > Vessel could come to a site where it might be needed, but yet a decently > low profile; and resources that they might apply. Michael. It used to be a lot easier, really. Noblemen were expected to raise and maintain their own regiments, and volunteer officers were expected to step right into even the senior ranks straight from private life. Off the map between wars, yet a perfect chance to charge to the forefront during wars, that's how it used to be. *Before* they started inventing modern record-keeping, security clearances, and all that rot. Still, a good soldier improvises and adapts. And overcomes. Although Michael's Roles in the past tended to be officers and gentlemen (noblemen and Volunteers who racked up notable careers in times of war and were very obscure in times of peace, not Regulars), that was an artifact of the social class system of the day. Ever since they invented the concept of the "mustang" (officers who were formerly enlisted men), Michael's been a happy Archangel -- in any armed force where promotions are based on merit and not social connections, he can waste a lot less time making social connections and just get down to the business. For the past seventy or so years, Michael has been a long succession of country-boy raw recruits [1] who later go on to either become Command Sergeant-Majors (great potential for teaching new recruits and/or officer candidates, and giving useful advice and/or moral support to Very Senior Officers without actually being visible in the decision-making loop yourself) and/or get written up in the history books as living examples of valor to inspire future generations. (Michael's various Roles have earned four Medals of Honor since WWII alone, three of them "posthumously".) Needless to say, he goes through more than a few Vessels this way... not that any mortal being can hope to even begin to match him in combat, but he has to keep himself restrained in front of witnesses. Plus, artillery fire and/or aircraft bombs can be a royal pain. Michael goes through more Roles than you'd expect an Archangel to this way, but nobody ever said that soldiering was *safe*... Michael likes it, actually. He gets a chance to do useful work for Heaven re: watching over and subtly guiding the careers of soldiers, gets to try and keep tradition alive by helping keep (or write!) the history books, *doesn't* actually become commanding general of any Earthly wars himself (thus letting humanity get on with its own affairs as much as he can), and has lots of chances for fun, travel, and adventure. As well as sweaty exercise, soldierly comradeship, and Really Large Explosions. To Michael, his Role/6 isn't so much a job as it is a vacation. At least *one* of him is always enjoying itself. Michael tends to favor the US Marine Corps (which might explain its strongly traditionalistic nature even by military standards), but he's enlisted for at least one tour in places ranging from the Royal Air Force to the Foreign Legion. And if he really needs to move his Role somewhere fast, the judicious use of a few Songs, a Servitor or two in the right place as personnel officers, and an eon's worth of experience at manipulating the rules can cut his current role temporary duty orders to virtually anywhere on the globe at short notice. (After all, any situation where Michael needs to be somewhere *right now* as opposed to "give or take a couple of days" is a situation where Michael is going to be causing obscene amounts of disturbance *after* he arrives -- i.e., Tactical Nuclear Archangel Strike -- so there's no real point in minimizing the disturbance *of* his arrival, hence his not usually needing his Role/6 for immediate crisis response.) The only exceptions in Michael's progression as the Eternal Infantryman Of the 20th Century has been the that he built a Role as a mlitary historian instead and uses that one to try and keep the record straight re: certain things that really count, and his most recent Role as a Navy officer (merit scholarship to the Naval Academy, natch). After all, they haven't let enlisted men fly airplanes since WWII -- and night carrier landings in an F-18 are *fun*. - -- Chuckg [1] Contrary to popular opinion, the oldest soldier in the Symphony actually *doesn't* get angry at having to go through boot camp over and over again. Instead, he regards it as an opportunity to see if the current military training system is working or not. If it is, that's all well and good. If not... well, that's what an Archangel has Servitors for, to go and adjust certain undesirable social phenomena back into something acceptable. And who really cares if some mortal orders Michael to drop and give him fifty? It's not like he *can't*, after all, and being the Firstborn means you've had a lot of time to learn patience. And you wouldn't *believe* the expressions on the faces of demons who have roles of Drill Instructor/# when they find out late at night out behind the supply shed just who "Recruit Smith" *really* is... honestly, just the *chance* of seeing one of those makes the whole three months of doing the same old pushup drill again *worth* it. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 03:14:39 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles >Michael. > Good heavens, this list is having a good week. I'm saving this. Especially the part about the drill instructor; you're right, wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall and see the expression ... The best part is, even if the demon isn't a Balseraph, no one will *believe* him when he gets out of Trauma. Janet Anderson _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 22:17:11 -0500 From: "Kirt Dankmyer, aka Loki" Subject: Re: IN> Vesselspace > > Somewhere in Hell, a Tether to Vapula forms, one that may greatly change > > the balance of power in Heaven and Hell... > > Why should a Tether to Vapula form because of a bunch of humans working > on a hyperspace project that detects a non-corporeal realm (I'm guessing > limbo)? Not limbo. Something different. Where ALL Vessels go. Tho that could be Limbo. I just figured that fell into Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, which is very much Valpula's realm. -Loki ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 19:31:44 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) Today we'll be discussing two topics: "How to be Too Subtle" and "Self Referencing is like salt: a little is good, too much is worse than none". As per a request sent to me via private email, I'll be deconstructing my recent Mortal Joshua on the list (several others have also privately emailed asking what the hey is going on, so I'd say that it's called for). It's no fun this way, but it's nice to see these examples of What Not To Do from time to time. The short version: yea, indeed, this was Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. This is the too-subtle bit: fresh from a three month Play-by-Post on Pyramid steeped in Nortonania, I presumed that merely giving the first name and stressing that it had been previously rejected would be enough clues. Alas, no. This is a lesser literary sin on my part, and easily fixed with the appropriate notation when he shows up on the webpage. Moral: never confuse 'well-educated' with 'knowledge of trivia that _YOU_ find important'.* Second (and more personally embarrassing) is the references. Our author** was absolutely shameless here, referring not only to his own New Crusade Cycle (the young guy's Eli; the cloaked woman's Dominique, of course, and the madwoman's Gabriel), but compounded the error by dragging in both lesser-known personal creations (the couple was Jaymiel, AA of Mending [otherwise known as my S.O] and her paramour Francis, who hasn't even made it to the site yet; the faceless crowd were New Crusaders) and (this is the penultimate egoboo, by the way) his only sold character yet (old guy with cool hat = Uncle Sam). Perhaps one might have been forgivable: the whole crowd was simply overkill. Moral: Don't get cocky. It makes you look like an idiot when you don't pull it off - and yes, it _is_ bragging, even when you can do it.*** I hope that this clears everything up. :) Moe *Note that this is something that _I'm_ personally copping to, in this case. **Me. ***See note 1. :) ===== 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: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 21:37:26 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Glasgow" To: Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 9:03 PM Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles > Michael. [snip the obvious stuff I came up with] Of course, for those who don't like that, there's always the other version I just thought of, right after hitting "Enter". Oh, Michael's still had a few Roles here and there in the thick of things -- usually to get themselves heroically killed off at the right time and place. But then again, better him than somebody who only has *one* life to give, is his motto. And sometimes, he simply wants to be there to witness the deeds of others... heroism deserves to be *remembered*, and Michael feels privileged to be there personally so that somebody will always remember. Most of his Servitors in Heaven know of his participation at Stalingrad, for example, or how he kept a Celestial manifestation of himself hovering over Roarke's Drift Mission Station every second of the Zulu siege so that he wouldn't miss a thing. (Plus, it gave him a marvelous opportunity to grab the forming Tether). Indeed, for most of history, Michael's Roles have been pretty few and far between -- usually just for the purpose of getting a ground's-eye view as to whether or not a current military force was starting to "rot" or not. Being Private Average is a good way to pick up first-hand data. However, new centuries biring new strategies. Now, the above only accounts for the minority of Michael's time spent in-Role. The majority of his time, very few have ever figured out. After all, Servitors of the War and the Sword are already found scattered through most of the elite special operations units of the world's various militaries -- and they don't see him there. Everybody from Trade to Destiny takes at least one peek through the Department of Defense every chance they can get... and nobody sees him there, either. Prominent foreign militaries, same result. And the international mercenary circuit is vastly over-rated and more impressive in fiction than in fact, and wouldn't be worth Michael's time. So most people who try looking to see where Michael spends the majority of his Role time scratch their heads, conclude that he doesn't, and go home. They never even bothered to check the State Department. In one office or another, Michael has spent the past couple of centuries as a diplomat, both for the US and for other nations. Between his age, wisdom, and Mercurian of War attunement, he's been as successful as anybody could hope for. After all, a lot of (okay, *most* of) the wars that mortals fight between themselves are not, strictly speaking, necessary -- Michael's Word, being part of all competition, gets Essence almost just as well in peacetime as it would during World War III. And it's a great way to kick certain Demon Princes whose Words *are* served by keeping the random carnage level high right in their dangly bits. Michael's Role is never a political appointee, never a high-profile Secretary or Minister. He can be found working his away up the career ladder of one State Department or Foreign Ministry (the US is a perennial favorite due to its prominence, but he branches out every now and then), doing his best to make sure that any conflicts that pop-up do so only if they really need to happen. Of course, being that far down the seniority ladder means that he can't single-handedly manipulate global politics (not that he'd *want* to -- counter-acting Infernal interference is about as far as he lets himself go in such matters, barring extreme provocation), but it does let him keep his hand in. His co-workers are familiar with him and his odd mannerisms -- he's *extremely* blunt for a diplomat (except during formal functions and/or summit meetings, during which he plays by the verbal rules just as skillfully as anyone), never says anything just to hear himself talk, always has at *least* one extremely good point to his argument, and lives for his work. Everybody who knows him respects him, and some even actually like him. A very, very few even know where he socializes after hours. Soldier bars, mostly. They chalk it up to his prior military background -- since Michael would need extreme effort to totally hide his military mindset and/or bearing, he doesn't bother... instead, he merely ensures that all of his Roles enlist at least one hitch in the service "to get money for college", or "to get a good West Point/Annapolis education" before getting out of the military and going into his current line of work. (Real-world note -- government agencies of all varieties *love* to get junior Academy-trained officers leaving the service after their first five years... they like the personality profile and established work habits it tends to give hem, as opposed to recruiting college kids.) His Role's superiors, if competent and honest, love him -- he's punctual, he's an efficient workaholic, and he never, ever fudges a report. That last one alone makes him a gold mine on feet in Washington. If incompetent, or corrupt, they very shortly find out that 'Mike' has an *incredible* talent for knowing exactly where they've buried the body and which closet they stashed the skeleton in. (Honestly, it's like the guy can read minds or has a lie detector stuck in his ear or something.) Michael, meanwhile, regards his role as very useful. Diplomats get to hear *all* the news, *and* all the insider gossip, and have access to many wonderful classified things. Furthermore, State Departments and Foreign Ministries are usually vastly understocked on diplomats who have a) rigid personal integrity, b) good people instincts and c) a realistic grasp of and professional knowledge of the military, which tends to lead to *quick* promotions for him -- he's indispensable. Soldiers enjoy having a "!@#!%@ State Department big shot" who actually speaks the language, and diplomats enjoy having somebody who can cut through the circumlocution and obfuscation tell you what the other guys are *really* saying, as well as being able to translate Military-ese into Diplomat-ese... yes, he does spend a lot of time on liason duty. Not that he minds -- properly managed, liason duty is a great way to be in the thick of things without anybody actually seeing you in the decision loop. Life is pretty good as a roving State Department troubleshooter, actually. The travel benefits are excellent, nobody is surprised to see you turning up in any odd corner of the world on short notice (*especially* after or during weird things have been happening there), you get to make all kinds of interesting friends, and you've got entrance to virtually every level of either government or "polite society". And diplomatic immunity comes in *very* handy at times. - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 03:57:32 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles >Michael's Role is never a political appointee, never a high-profile >Secretary or Minister. What, never? What about a high-profile Secretary who *did* rise through the ranks? But you're right that he wouldn't, for example, run for President, even if he were sure to win. Janet Anderson :) :) :) _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 20:00:34 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> thunderdog_sa@yahoo.com Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 17:27:07 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> March 17, 2001 (ML) > So, of course, I have to start the demonic verses*. >A fair Impudite is a wonderful sight, >No one is immune to their charm. >If their deep Essence thirst doesn't do you in first >Then their kisses are sure to do harm. >They're limber and spry and so willing to try >Things that shock and amaze you and leave you wrung >dry, >Passed out limp in your extra-large bed. >*Or satanic verses, if you're a Rushdie fan. Excellent, but the format is a group of two four line stanzas a/a b c/c b e e e f Stick in one more verse in the second stanza, and I'll add it to the list I'm compiling. :) Moe PS: Naah, I don't know if EDG will want to add this to the INC - but it is going on _my_ webpage, with full attribution. :) ===== 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: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 22:03:46 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet Anderson" To: Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 3:57 AM Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles > >Michael's Role is never a political appointee, never a high-profile > >Secretary or Minister. > > What, never? What about a high-profile Secretary who *did* rise through the > ranks? Well, given that everybody down to Deputy Undersecretary For Toilet Paper is a political appointee... Besides, Michael knows that you can only go so high in political status before the Game, or Judgement, or Fate, or Destiny, or etc. comes around to ping your Role with the "Are *You* A Celestial?" examination. > But you're right that he wouldn't, for example, run for President, even if > he were sure to win. Random note that just occurred to me -- it is, however, rumored that General Schwarzkopf was somebody whose career Michael had taken a *lot* of interest in... - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 20:29:14 -0800 From: "Bevan Thomas" Subject: Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) Heh. I actually thought it might have been a particularly bizarre and non-canonical Jesus, since Jesus's name in Hebrew is Joshua (or Yeshua to be exact), and it sorta matched. >From: Maurice Lane >Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >Subject: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own >stuff apart, so don't worry) >Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 19:31:44 -0800 (PST) > >>As per a request sent to me via private email, I'll be >deconstructing my recent Mortal Joshua on the list >(several others have also privately emailed asking >what the hey is going on, so I'd say that it's called >for). It's no fun this way, but it's nice to see >these examples of What Not To Do from time to time. > >The short version: yea, indeed, this was Norton I, >Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. >This is the too-subtle bit: fresh from a three month _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 23:47:29 -0500 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles >i.e., Tactical Nuclear Archangel Ooh... that phrase is going in the "Use This Sometime Appropriately Explosive" GM Glossary... O>^) >Chuckg >And you wouldn't *believe* the expressions on the faces of demons who have >roles of Drill Instructor/# when they find out late at night out behind the >supply shed just who "Recruit Smith" *really* is... ROTFL! Loved these -- both writeups, in fact. It's choosing between two flavors of the *good* chocolate, but I'd probably lean towards the latter version - -- you still get this boot camp scenario while he's gearing up for the real job in his military hitch. William ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 01:59:58 -0500 (EST) From: "Rev. Pee Kitty" Subject: Re: IN> Not 03/18/01 Yet On Sun, 18 Mar 2001, Maurice Lane wrote: > >(And what are _you) doing up at 1am EST, Moe?) > > Editing, of course. :) Post! Post! Post! Dammit. Otherwise I feel like I'm usurping you or something. :) - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian, Q4B4L! Meow! It is a sad commentary on today's society that this .sig file must be considered "offensive" simply because it contains the word "fuck". ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 00:11:20 -0500 From: Marc Bowden Subject: Re: IN> Vesselspace - --On Sunday, March 18, 2001 22:17 -0500 "Kirt Dankmyer, aka Loki" wrote: > I just figured that fell into Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, which > is very much Valpula's realm. I always pictured Vapula's realm as Things Man Was Never Meant To Plug In. Marc. Just Marc. Elohite Angel of Salvation ("Before you report to the Tether, please replort to PLC for outfitting...") ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 01:01:47 -0500 From: "Kirt Dankmyer, aka Loki" Subject: Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) > Heh. I actually thought it might have been a particularly bizarre and > non-canonical Jesus, since Jesus's name in Hebrew is Joshua (or Yeshua to be > exact), and it sorta matched. By the Goddess, I am so glad I am not the only person who made this mistake. I got very confused, very fast. And I'm a big fan of Saint Norton! But the Joshue/Yeshua thing threw me as well. -Loki ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 01:03:06 -0500 From: "Kirt Dankmyer, aka Loki" Subject: Re: IN> Vesselspace > > I just figured that fell into Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, which > > is very much Valpula's realm. > > I always pictured Vapula's realm as Things Man Was Never Meant To > Plug In. Precisely, my friend. Perhaps people would consider the idea more Vapulan if you had to feed babies into the device that pierces through to Vesselspace? ;) -Loki No, I have no idea why that would be the case. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 01:09:35 EST From: BillionSix@aol.com Subject: IN> Re:Vesselspace Babies? Interesting thought. Reminds me of a starship drive I once read about that worked by turning kittens into Pop-Tarts. Sort of a Vapula/Kobal project. Reverend Brian ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 01:30:56 -0500 From: "Kirt Dankmyer, aka Loki" Subject: Re: IN> Re:Vesselspace > Babies? Interesting thought. Reminds me of a starship drive I once read about that worked by turning kittens into Pop-Tarts. Sort of a Vapula/Kobal project. If anyone runs an In Nomine game fueled by ideas stolen from www.goats.com (like the one above), I want to be in on it. ;) -Loki ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 02:04:35 -0500 From: Cameron McCurry Subject: Re: IN> Superior Roles Christopher The Archangel of Children from time to time will keep an eye on the young of the world in a more direct way than through his Servitors. His Cherubic nature to care for someone puts him quite well in the Role of a pediatrician. He's the kind of doctor you actually have fond memories of when you are grown up. You remember how gentle he was with you when you had to get your shots. You never forget how he always made you laugh when you were scared of being at the doctor's office. And of course, there were the lollipops that he would give you for being good. Years later when you bring your own children in to be looked after, he always remembered your name and took the time to talk to you. Generally, Christopher tries to maintain that Role in larger cities. The children there tend to be more neglected and abused and they need him more. He finds out everything he can about the families as well. They come to trust him with their children quickly and they never feel that he is unapproachable like many doctors. The only problem he encounters are the parents dealing with very active children. They typically come to his office in search of Ritalin or any other drug that will miraculously make their child calm and quiet. He usually suggests (Sometimes not so subtly) that if they paid more attention to their children and regulated their diet, it would work a lot better than drugs. He has several Soldiers and a few Servitors working in his office. They remain quite oblivious of his true nature and it gives him a chance to see how well his angels are working on Earth. He shies away from direct confrontation with the demons in the area since that isn't what he's there for. But there is the occasional foolish demon who abuses children and gets Christopher's attention... They have a few seconds to realize who it is that they have angry at them before they are back at their Hearts. And in those few seconds, they gain some insight as to how much pain and terror they inflicted on the helpless. It gives them something to mull over as they heal. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 23:48:41 +1200 From: "Alex Liddell" Subject: IN> Song timing Hey all, I'm still after an answer on the Song timing question. I am after one pretty quick since the game starts on Sat and I need to give my guys plenty of time for generation. The question was: If you have a Song at Level 5 or 6 can it be used in response to someone using another Song or performing an action against you? It comes down to timing within a round. Do Songs that resolve "during the same round" resolve at the performers AGI or at the end of the 5 second round? Example: Player 1 AGI = 8, Player 2 AGI = 7 P1 performs Corp Charm on P2. He has the Song at Level/4 meaning it will go off "in the same round". Can P2 then immediately declare that he is using Eth Shields at Level/6 to counter the effect of that Song and errect the barrier against further Songs? Or does he have to. If it goes off the end of the round then he can use the Song during his turn. If the Song resolves at the end of P1's turn during the round then P2 has no time to errect the seemingly "instantaneous" Song of Shields. If it goes off at the end of the 5 second round then surely it makes combat Songs below level 5 completely useless against people with high defensive Songs. And utility Songs such as Motion and Shields totally crap at getting you out of a jam when you need to be! Thanks guys Alex _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:08:50 -0500 From: EDG Subject: Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty At 06:31 PM 3/18/01 -0800, you wrote: > Please tell me that somebody's collecting all these verses for >posting on the INC. *Somebody* is forced by ethics and respect to collect *everything* that Moe puts to the list for the INC, damn his eyes. But - to answer your question in a less oblique manner - yes. - -EDG ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:36:15 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty - ----- Original Message ----- From: "EDG" To: Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 9:08 AM Subject: Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty > *Somebody* is forced by ethics and respect to collect *everything* that Moe > puts to the list for the INC, damn his eyes. And some of us are just packrats by nature who save everything just 'cause they *can*. ;) - -- 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: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 10:03:56 -0500 From: EDG Subject: IN> (Seed) Sorry, Squire, I scratched the record Rolland inspired me to finish this. Yes, ideas are viruses. :) - -EDG Somewhere amid the American landscape exists a small city, population around ten thousand. Its inhabitants are perfectly normal inhabitants for the most part; on the whole, the city is quiet and peaceful. About once a week, though, disaster strikes. Residents panic, buildings crumble, supervillains strike, and the Mayor, whose brain cells are generally reserved for forgetting things, places a single phone call. One wouldn't expect the phone on the other end to actually -work-, but it does, and soon enough the greatest team of superheros ever to grace this small city are out and about, ready to save the day. (They -usually- do more damage to the villain than to the surrounding terrain.) They are the Powerpuff Girls. Forged accidentally into superhero(ine)s despite the best intentions of their creator, Professor Utonium, the Girls wade bravely into battle, righting wrongs, protecting innocents, doing justice - just so long as they don't have to be at preschool. No one is quite sure how this trio - an Ofanite, a Malakite, and a vaguely discordant Mercurian - got into this job, although the fact that Utonium is a dead ringer for one of Jean's corporeal vessels (one must be careful not to use the phrase "favorite vessel" around the Elohite Archangels, but it certainly seems to apply) tends to lead onlookers to believe that Townsville is part of a greater experiment. The truth is, Townsville is one of Jean's Redemption arenas. Those particularly reticent or tough infernals who nonetheless honestly want to redeem themselves are given Roles as supervillains in residence in Townsville, and free rein to go about their evil ways, with the knowledge that the Girls will show up eventually to save the day. It's Jean's hope that the combined Defeats by the Forces of Good, as well as the pure holy drive of the Girls - will influence the infernals enough to See the Light, and come over to Heaven's side Once and For All. Unfortunately, Jean isn't necessarily happily with the- *record skips* Forged accidentally into superhero(ine)s despite the best intentions of their creator, Professor Utonium, the Girls wade bravely into battle, righting wrongs, protecting innocents, doing justice - just so long as they don't have to be at preschool. No one is quite sure how this trio - a Balseraph, a Calabite, and a Habbalite - got into this job, although the fact that Utonium is a dead ringer for one of Vapula's favorite vessels (unlike their Elohite counterparts, Habbalah are quite content to have favorites, thank you very much) tends to lead onlookers to believe that Townsville is part of a larger experiment. It is, but not in the way you'd expect. Actually, Vapula uses Townsville as a testing-ground for weapons against Heaven. You see, the Balseraph, Calabite, and Habbalite don't actually - -know- that Utonium is really Vapula; they just know that they get to go out and beat things up, and love the irony of portraying themselves as sweet, innocent little girls at the same time. Vapula, in turn, doesn't particularly care for the Girls. He's simply waiting for one of his lackeys - conveniently disguised as supervillains - to develop a weapon that can take the Girls out once and for all... and once that happens, Vapula will be ready to make his assault on- *record skips* No one is quite sure how this trio of Ethereals got into this job, and nobody's particularly happy about it - especially when they realize that Utonium is not only a -mortal-, but a Pagan Soldier. In an odd case of the malleability of the Marches stretching into the corporeal world, Townsville has been forged by Utonium and the Girls into a stretchable, bendable city, capable of regenerating itself almost instantly and containing just about everything you'd expect in a small city - exactly where and when you need it. The supervillains, of course, are various celestials of both sides who are devoted to removing both Townsville and the Girls from the face of the Earth, who find it very odd that seemingly-weak Ethereals can defeat them time and again. It could be the fact that there are three of them, the dream-like malleability of Townsville which seems to suit itself to the Girls' needs, or the fact that the celestials are thrown off by the not-quite-real nature of the city; nobody knows. Meanwhile, Utonium has been granted free rein by the Ethereals to do whatever he damn well pleases, and - as is his wont - he spends most of his time in his laboratory. Unfortunately for him, he's been mistaken several times for Vapula - his inventions often have strange limitations or bizarre side effects - but he's not going to argue with being mistaken for a Demon Prince. And, of course, the fact that a coalition of demons of the Media and angels of Children have conspired to make the exploits of the Girls into an immensely popular television cartoon show doesn't help matters at all for either celestial side, and only helps to boost the power of the Ethereals involved... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 10:13:16 -0500 From: EDG Subject: Re: IN> Re: Moe's little ditty At 09:36 AM 3/19/01 -0500, you wrote: >And some of us are just packrats by nature who save everything just 'cause >they *can*. ;) Quiet, you. *hides his three years' worth of archived posts* - -EDG ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 10:39:18 -0500 From: "Krishnaswami, Neel" Subject: Re: IN> March 17, 2001 (PK) "William J. Keith" > > >Nope, I can't find a bloody thing about it on the web, either. But why > >should that affect anything? :) > > > >SHEILA'S DAY > Very nice; lots of twists and moral decisions. Into the adventure > file it goes, possibly for use in the online IRC game I'm trying to > get together in a couple of months. The "moral" part of it is what I had trouble with: my first thought was that this is easily solved with heroin, sexual relations with prepubescent children, and photographs. Maybe I should stick to running demons. :) - -- Neel Krishnaswami neelk@cswcasa.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 11:39:02 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) At 8:29 PM -0800 3/18/01, Bevan Thomas wrote: >Heh. I actually thought it might have been a particularly bizarre >and non-canonical Jesus, since Jesus's name in Hebrew is Joshua (or >Yeshua to be exact), and it sorta matched. To be honest, I assumed it was Jesus too -- especially with the part of throwing away the given name in lieu of the Surname. That resonated -- the idea of the Christ supplanting Jesus the man. To learn you meant it was Norton I was delightful, thanks to the allusions it now brings up. Though I don't know if His Eminance was buried as a Christian, since Joshua Norton was a Jew -- then again, he was buried with a state funeral, more or less.... - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 11:54:53 -0500 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> IN Posting 302: "Common Writing Mistakes" (I'm ripping my own stuff apart, so don't worry) From: "Whistling in the Dark" > To be honest, I assumed it was Jesus too -- especially with the part > of throwing away the given name in lieu of the Surname. That > resonated -- the idea of the Christ supplanting Jesus the man. I actually got both references at once, seeing as I'm a big fan of Norton and have a finished-in-my-head-yet-not-put-on-paper of him as a Saint of Dreams. I thought Moe was making a cool, illuminated reference to Norton as (failed) Christ, perhaps making an allegory that our culture cannot perceive a savior in any form other than that of a madman. I also thought that the 'young couple' were the next versions of Joseph and Mary (since Christ Norton didn't pan out, another attempt was needed) and that when he saw the woman again "now more than what she was - so much, much more" that it was indicative of her pregnancy. But then, I see symbolism *everywhere* these days. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 14:11:52 -0500 From: "Rolland Therrien" Subject: IN> Truth, Justice and the Heavenly way... This was inspired by EDG, whom I inspired first. ^^ Nice how these cycles work, ain't it? The Ethereals are back... The Purity Crusade, as controversial as it was, generally did the work it intended to, getting rid of the vast majority of Pagan Cults in Europe, and banishing all the Ethereals off the Corporeal plane, much to Blandine's Dismay, and to Laurence's contentment. Only a few foolhardy Pagan spirits or dreamshades continued to defy Heaven's ban, but these were easily dealt with... ...Until the mid 20th Century. It's rather ironic that Micheal, Laurence's own mentor, was the one who accidentally provided the tool for the Ethereal renaissance. With the help of Janus and Blandine, he began sponsoring the creation of Nickledime stories and pulp fictions, to promote Good and Heroism amongst the masses around the early 1900s, and inadvertently created a new host of Ethereal spirits in the Marches, born from tales of The Wraith and Doc Bronze. These pulp spirits only rarely appeared on the Corporeal plane, sustained by the "worship" of their novels and comics. But they were vibrant and alive. It's then understandable that when the surviving Pagan spirits saw them, they were somewhat envious. These newly fledged ethereals were only years old, yet they could collect more Essence in short times then the old gods could in decades of worship under Heaven's Ban. And working for Nightmares only got them a pittance for horrid work. The Pagan Gods looked at the corporeal plane and collectively sighed, begging for a chance to return. Then, in 1938, Johnson Shubert and Sam Kingston wrote and drew the first "Mr Wonder" story, featuring a hero who was more then mortal, who was nigh invulnerable, had super-human strength and speed, and who could fly. A man, who was like unto a God. A Superhero. Hercules, on a desperate hunch, decided to alter his appearance and took on the identity of Mr Wonder, and immediatly felt the rush of Essence filling him. He was now more then Hercules, the old god of Strength. He was also Mr Wonder, last child of Atlantis, an ancient civilisation with super-science, which had altered him as a baby, and preserved him throughout the ages, awakening him as an adult in the early 20th century as a being who could absorb solar energy to become more then mortal. Hercules/Mr Wonder, feeling himself invigorated, decided to pop into the corporeal plane and show off, and prevented the sinking of a ship, gaining a lot of publicity in the process. Mr Wonder was now more then a story. He was real. Other Pagan ethereals, seeing Hercules' success, decided to take on the identity of Superheros as well. The Asgardian Lady Sif became the Valorous Valkyrie, champion of the gods come to earth to fight Evil. Horus became the Black Hawk, a masked vigilante seeking to avenge the murder of his father. They created 6th level Roles for themselves as those Heroes, and went to Earth to interact with the mortals. These three Ethereals became the first Superheroes, paving the way for other Ethereals to follow, becoming heroes as well. As World War II was beginning, the Americans were more then willing to believe in Superheroes, alive and acting on behalf of the USA's protection, to defend them against the Nazi menace. They bought the comics, and channeled their essence straight towards the Ethereal Superheroes. It's about that time the Celestials started noticing them. Laurence, of course, was livid, and sent in Angels to deal with this problem. He was somewhat surprised when his Angels came back defeated, either trounced or humbled. In their renewed form, the greatest Ethereal Superheroes were nearly of Superior level, and the rest were nearly so. Laurence demanded that Blandine do something about their menace, but she defended their cause instead, claiming their Heroism was serving Heaven's cause, not Hell's. Laurence then decided to handle the problem himself, and confronted Mr Wonder in battle. But as they fought, Laurence made a resonnance check, and found that his Superheroic adversary was nearly as honorable as he was, and was now completly fighting on the Side of Good! By becoming Mr Wonder, Hercules had cleansed himself of his previous Olympian flaws, such as his harsh temper and his tendancy for debauchery. Mr Wonder now displayed moral character straight enough to impress even him! Calming down a bit, Laurence began to talk with the superhero ethereal, and became interested in how, by becoming active superheroes, Mr Wonder and the others had begun to inspire nobility and heroism amongst the humans. He went back to Heaven, and instructed the host not to stop or harm the Superheros, as long as they stayed loyal to Good. That decision baffled most of the Celestials, but they figured Laurence probably knew what he was doing. Then, Baal heard about that decision and began fuming. It was bad enough he had to contend with Heaven, but now the Ethereals had double-crossed Hell and Beleth, and were working for the Angels? Unacceptable! He immediatly called upon Belial, Saminga and Vapula, and began working on project "Supervillain", to counteract the heroic threat. Then, in 1940, The Iron Kaizer, Germany's Nazi "Superhero", came into the spotlight, and began to strike at America, home of the Heroes, and protectorate of the Angels. Iron Kaizer was in fact Baal, using a role/6 as a living product of Nazi Science (which had been propelled to great heights thanks to Vaputech), who assembled a unique "Iron Squadron" of Soldiers of Hell and his "SuperSS" cadre of specially selected Demons, with songs and attunements. Beleth, Belial, Malphas, Saminga, Vapula (and, oddly enough, Kobal and Haagenti) joined him in the physical world as Lady Nightmare, Firestorm, The Riotmaker, Dr Death, Dr Eisensturm, Madcap and The Maw joined him to form the first supervillains, collectively known as The Diabolical Knights. They soon began recruiting amongst the Monstrous Ethereals still loyal to Beleth, and began releasing them into the world as villains and monsters of Science! When Hell threw in their gauntlets, Laurence felt he had no choice, and called upon Heaven's best to help him balance things out. Jean, Janus, Gabriel, Michael, (and, surprisingly enough, Novalis and Blandine) joined him in creating heroic identities of their own, and soon, The Paladin, Dr Lightning, The Whirlwind, Whiteflame, Major Victory, White Rose and Dreamweaver joined the Superheroic community on the corporeal relam, in order to fight off the Hellish menace. Many, in Heaven and Hell, thought this would mark the start of Armageddon, but Gabriel never sounded the horns. The superheroic rush died down somewhat in the post-war years, and the Essence stopped flowing so strongly. The Demon Princes who had taken on Super-powered roles, no longer seeing the gain in them, began going back to their old forms, and only kept the heroic identities as afterthoughts. The Archangels, seeing that Hell had hung up the parts, did the same and decided to leave the Ethereals and mortals to their own devices again. And so the Golden Age of heroism came to a close... ...That's all I can think of so far. I'll do the Silver Age of comics next... ^^ - -Exit the LoneWolf ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2113 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.