From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Sun Mar 25 21:43:49 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 VAA15761 for ; Sun, 25 Mar 2001 21:43:49 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id VAA25558 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Sun, 25 Mar 2001 21:49:05 -0600 Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 21:49:05 -0600 Message-Id: <200103260349.VAA25558@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 #2125 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Sunday, March 25 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2125 In this digest: IN> Blame Pyramid IN> Cadre Sidebar Suggestion IN> March 23, 2001 (ML) Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) Re: IN> March 23, 2001 (PK) IN> March 24, 2001 (PK) IN> INS/MV vs. IN differences. Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) IN> A Rumor of Judgment Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) Re: IN> A Rumor of Judgment Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) IN> Question on Geas Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) IN> March 24-25, 2001 (ML) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 17:59:03 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Blame Pyramid I was riffing on mangling the word "Portuguese", and voila! Hey, inspiration is where you can club it and drag it out of its cave and home for supper. :) Moe Portu-Geas The latest wonder from Vaputech's Household Products division (motto: "We shred the laws of physics for the Little Guy, too"), this one should be a real winner for the Lilim in your life. It can store up to six levels of Geas or Geas-hooks owed to the Tempter indefinitely (the attractive metal finishing is available in a wide variety of colors): to use, simply concentrate (and spend one Essence). The Geas will then take residence in the relic. The Lilim will no longer appear to own these Geas, from the point of view of the Seraphic resonance or the Chained/Deteriorating Geas Discords, but can normally invoke them at any time that she has physical possession of the Portu-Geas. More than one Geas or Geas-hook may be stored in this relic, provided that they don't exceed the storage capacity (see below). Better and better, the Geas can be _given_ to another Lilim directly! Yes, you heard it right: cumbersome self-Geasing is a thing of the past when you have a Portu-Geas! Simply hand the relic to the Tempter you wish to transfer the Geas to, and she can assume it with a simple manipulation of the palm lock (and one Essence). No fuss, no muss, no roll needed. Only a Lilim can use this item (or a Superior, of course), so it's perfectly secure in the bargain. The catch? There isn't one. True, if the Geas is too big for the relic, then the excess levels will be wasted, but that's not the relic's fault. The rumor that an owner of a Portu-Geas must make a Will -1 roll every time that they use this relic or accidentally store a Force instead is completely false, of course. True, the nature of this relic is such that the Lilim wouldn't actually know that it happened until they transferred what they thought was a Geas to its new owner, but it's still false. It's also completely false that the Force won't properly attach to the new 'owner', resulting in 2d6 Mind hits for both as it whipsaws across the link until it reattaches itself to its original owner. It's certainly false that any Geas stored this way is at a +1 to resist for each week that it's stored, or that storing more than one Geas at a time doubles this increased resistance. And it's most emphatically false that Vapula's planning to issue a factory recall on this relic. Vapula _never_ issues factory recalls. Cost: 3 points per level (each level will hold one level's worth of a Geas or Geas-hook) ===== 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: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 20:59:54 -0500 From: "Matthew B. Gerber" Subject: IN> Cadre Sidebar Suggestion This one evolved a bit from what I first intended to write. It started out as just an amusing reference for the Cadre, but wound up being a bit more of an edged (sorry) concept. Worsel Seraph Master of the Armies of God (Laurence) Angel of Ruthlessness ATTUNEMENT (Angel of Ruthlessness) Worsel's Resonance tells him, when someone complains that an action is wrong, whether the speaker truly believes that it is wrong or is merely offended by it. DISSONANCE Worsel is Dissonant if he fails to take an action based on its repugnance to him *or* to those around him. (This is somewhat a subset of the Elohite Dissonance, but is more pervasive in its area: Worsel not only can't avoid something because he doesn't like it, but isn't allowed to take the feelings of others into consideration to balance things the way an Elohite can.) Worsel is not, not, not, not, *not* Dissonant if he fails to take an action because he is convinced it's actually wrong. (At least, not as long as he's an Angel. If you want to use a Fallen Worsel, trifles like that won't matter.) SPECIAL RITES * Prevent someone from harming themselves out of misplaced compassion. * Kill someone who's suing for mercy in bad faith. * *Soulkill* someone who's suing for mercy in bad faith. (+3) HISTORY He *warned* him. He really did. When Saint Edward Elmer (we'll call him "Doc" from now on) first found out about the War, he found out about it from a Seraph. Furthermore, he found out about it from a Seraph of the Sword. Furthermore and specifically, he found it out from a Seraph of the Sword that had, a few moments ago, neatly Soulkilled a Calabite of Fate sent to kill the Human--a Calabite that was trying to escape at the time. The Destroyer had started out the fight arrogant; it ended the fight screaming for its mommy (which was a really good trick, as it didn't have one.) Naturally, after that, Doc wouldn't stand for anything other than a full explanation. And naturally, since he was talking to a Seraph, it was a good bit easier than it might have been otherwise to get one. Doc was fascinated by the idea of the War--the idea of two incredibly powerful warring spiritual factions fighting it out, in the end, over poor old Humanity, tickled the humanist in him pink. Enough to help finally crystallize the inspiration that had been playing in the back of his head for the past few years. And, of course, the imagery of a beautiful terrible serpent-dragon was just too good to leave out of things. He told Worsel he was going to, of course. Worsel didn't like it (and had some explaining to do when Laurence found out about it), but wasn't going to stop Doc. A lot of Angels were *more* than annoyed when "Worsel" had leathery wings--Doc actually apologized for that one. He didn't know about Balseraphs at the time, and it just seemed to fit with the image he was going for. He liked Worsel at more than the surface level, you see. After a conversation with the Seraph, he *wanted* his Lensmen to be Ruthless. RUTHLESSNESS Worsel's Word has been the target of a bit of a beating throughout.... oh, most of history, and being a Seraph, he's never reluctant to tell you what he thinks about that fact--that's how Doc got an earful. Ruthlessness, if you listen to him (and it *will* come up if the conversation lasts more than ten minutes and you haven't heard it before) isn't *about* glorying in the pain you cause your enemies, or about shocking people with the methods you use to get things done--and it's *most particularly* not about the ends justifying the means. Most particularly. In short, Ruthlessness, expressed in the Heavenly tongue, isn't about lack of morality: it's about lack of useless apparent morality. It isn't about not showing mercy to those who deserve it, it's about not showing mercy to those who *don't* deserve it--you won't find Worsel out slaughtering the best Redemption candidates, but he'll happily Soulkill a Demon that's screaming at the top of its lungs for mercy if he knows full well that that Demon's committed to Hell. It's about being willing to do the unpleasant jobs, do them right, and do them such that it's not necessary for someone else to go back and do them again. It's about being a cold-blooded killer not because you enjoy it, but for all the reasons it's necessary. In a Bright campaign (and if you have dead science fiction authors running around fighting the bad guys, your campaign's probably Bright) he also doesn't live to shock people, and doesn't think his methods are to be emulated by all or even most Angels. He's much more likely to tell, say, a Mercurian to get the heck out so she won't be disturbed than he is to berate her for foolishness. In Worsel's view, it's just fine that there are compassionate Angels. He lives to be the reality check. Of course, it's not *too* hard to forget all this. It's easy enough that the first holder of the Word (a Malakite) had to be put down like the mad dog he became; the second (an Elohite) was visiting Celestial body-piercing parlors a year after he got it. After this, the Council gave up trying to match Choir to Word perfectly and decided to hold out hope that a Seraph would be able to avoid the self-deception with which the former bearers of this Word had destroyed themselves. Fortunately, it worked--so far, at least, and it's been a couple of centuries, so he's getting interrogated a little less often by Triads. A little. IN PLAY Worsel isn't fully statted here, since he can be fairly well described as a Generic NPC Combat Monster for in-campaign purposes. If his stats are relevant to your PCs, either you're running a very high-powered campaign or something's very wrong. Obviously, most Angels of the War faction like him a lot. The reverse is sometimes true and sometimes not--Worsel will get more than a little surly if his Word faces the obvious misinterpretations. He's had Long Conversations with more than one Malakite. Again in a Bright campaign, he gets along somewhat surprisingly well with Novalis' crowd, at least from his end. (He and Pochereth might have done lunch a time or twenty, if you're using Moe's characters.) Dominic appreciates his Word and the problems he has with misconceptions--of course, that doesn't keep a Triad from keeping ten or so eyes on him for the slightest notes of Balseraphic behavior. If you *really* want to use him in a Dark campaign, of course, he hates anyone he happens to notice in the Peace faction with a passion for their insipidity and it's returned fivefold. Dominic hounds him (wait for it) ruthlessly. He's probably on the edge of starting to convince himself that more extreme methods are more generally necessary. And it's not far from there to convincing himself that those notes of Dissonance and Discord are just little trifles, and that of *course* he's not heading right down the road to having those leathery wings that Doc wrote about. Really. Humbly submitted, Matt ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 22:56:23 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> March 23, 2001 (ML) The cost is officially a WAG*: anybody with better suggestions on how to quantify the points will be respectfully listened to. :) Moe *Wild-A** Guess. Ares' Trumpet The old Greek god of war had Hephaestus create for him the original Trumpet, the better to terrify his enemies on the field of battle. Once per day, the relic may be activated: when blown, everyone within a fifty yard radius with an equal or lesser number of Forces than the user must make an immediate Will -4 roll or suffer from the equivalent of the Cowardly Discord. Those within 5 yards must make a Will -6 roll. The level of Discord suffered is equal to that of the relic: duration is for one hour. Note that being deaf will not defend against this relic. This was all well and good, but Ares had apparently never thought about the wisdom of having someone who you're blatantly cuckolding create a mystic item for you - or if he did, he didn't care. He really should have. Hephaestus somehow forgot to make sure that the wielder of the Trumpet remained immune to its effect. He also inexplicably forgot to properly shield a regular user from permanently suffering from the Discord (for every month that the relic is carried, the owner must roll versus Will. Every three failures will result in the owner acquiring one level of the Cowardly Discord). Well, now you know how Ares got that way. After the loot squads ... excuse me, "hazardous materials teams' ... brought back Ares' gear to Heaven, it wasn't too hard to reverse-engineer the effect. Jean's people were able to eliminate the leakage sufficiently to protect against permanent damage: the temporary Discord problem remained insoluble, however. Luckily, Novalis, at least, is prepared to accept the improved relics 'as is': to her, it's a feature, not a bug. Most modern Trumpets are found in the hands of Seraphim of Flowers: it's the closest thing to a weapon that they can have. Cost: the original was level/4 and was worth about 12pt. Modern versions cost 4/level. ===== 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: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 23:06:00 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 15:28:57 -0500From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) >I'm not qualified to do a writeup, but what about St. >Roger Zelazny? I expect a bit of controversy >surrounding him, what with his association to Hindu >gods... I've got him on the back burner, along with Saints Edgar (Saint of War, Sword or Animals?), Baum and Manly (No last name). Also, mustn't forget the Cadre's main mortal operative: Ray, Soldier of Creation and Construct-maker extraordinaire. Ray's a shoo-in for a full Cadre spot, but hopefully that won't be for some time yet...* Moe *_Quite_ some time yet. :) ===== 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, 25 Mar 2001 05:08:31 -0500 (EST) From: "Rev. Pee Kitty" Subject: Re: IN> March 23, 2001 (PK) On Sat, 24 Mar 2001, Charles Glasgow wrote: > > Step TWO is temporarily disposing of Gabriel. Fine tune the trumpet so > > that SHE is the only one in the Symphony who will miss it, > > Now there's a tall order. The disposal or the fine-tuning? If the latter, naw - that's a +1 point feature at the most. If the former, why sure... but tall orders make for great feasts.... > Plus, you forgot about Yves' Firemen. Gabriel is under continual > observation. (And people will notice if the Firemen show up > Traumatized... or if their Hearts shatter.) Didn't forget about 'em for a second. At any rate, if temporary disposal is all that's needed, kidnapping (w/Will Shackles) solves both of your presented problems. Anyways, upon retrospect, I change directions and reconsider... why not let 'em talk to Gabriel? See my next Calendar post for the continuation.... - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian, Q4B4L! Meow! "When nothing's funny, it gets easy to laugh at the drop of a hat - or a bomb." -- Devo ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 05:39:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Rev. Pee Kitty" Subject: IN> March 24, 2001 (PK) A Not-So-Brief And Untitled Adventure Seed, Part Two You've had a day to think about it. So has Kobal. And turning the great Trump of Fire into a mockery of itself is right up his alley. The first step was a bit of fine-tuning on the New Trumpet so Gabriel herself cannot hear it - that took an extra week. The second step was to let his brother Haagenti in on a completely different joke.... "Now," Kobal asks his brother, "how would you like to hurt Belial *real bad*? I have...a plan. A simple plan, really. Your team and my team call in every favor we have from anyone with any rank in Fire, and from anyone who's owed a favor from anyone in Fire. It won't even take a large Geas." The instructions to each demon thus contacted: }} Give the following order to a Pyro whom you outrank (if in Fire) or are }} owed by (if not). It is a very reasonable order, and one which Belial }} himself will no doubt approve of. "The Mawaga rainforest in middle }} Africa has been suffering from recent droughts and is in a very fragile }} state. In absolute and complete secrecy, make a good attempt to start a }} fire near it or in it that will burn it to the ground. Don't get caught." "And then," Kobal continues to Haagenti, "we simply let Heaven know, and Belial loses a *lot* of demons." Haagenti likes this plan. After verifying that enough demons of Fire are on their way, Kobal makes sure that Gabriel herself is the first to find out. Celestial Song of Tongues, anonymous version. Crude, but she just has to at least see for herself... and then she comes across the rainforest, with dozens upon dozens (perhaps hundreds?) of Belial's demons doing what they do best. Naturally, she gets very angry and begins swatting demons like flies. The third step is Kobal himself, hidden away nearby, with his handy pocket mirror relic (Ethereal Song of Light/6, No Disturbance Created At All)... and as his imp puts the New Trumpet to his lips, the air around Gabriel shows her putting one to hers as she pauses for a moment to ascertain her next target... [THE TRUMPET HAS SOUNDED] echoes throughout Heaven.... Before anyone can get there, Kobal does it again. [THE TRUMPET HAS SOUNDED AGAIN] When he hears the disturbance of the first Superior, he quietly slinks away. And the Firemen will tell the others that they witnessed Gabriel blowing the Trump. And the Seraphim will read this as true (whether it is True or not may never be known, as resonances fuzz when Superiors are involved). And the angels will witness Gabriel, frenzied in the heat of battle, wild eyed. And they will ask her. And she will deny it. And they will read that as true (but not necessarily True). And they will recall that Gabriel is mad. And Dominic will ask for a full investigation. And Gabriel will leave. And the Firemen may or may not follow her, depending on how threatening Dominic is. Either way, it matters not. For Kobal will do it again. And again. He'll particularly enjoy doing it when Gabriel is temporarily out of sight of the Firemen (an easy task for an Ofanite). And Gabriel may never accost her Firemen, demanding to know why they lie about what they saw. But perhaps she may. And Heaven will not trust Gabriel as much, fearing even more for her sanity. And Kobal will be happy. And Belial will be pissed, but that is a good thing. And Belial may find out somehow who was behind his Servitors dying, but that is something which may be dealt with as it happens. For now, there is trumpet music to be made. - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian, Q4B4L! Meow! "People love to be told what to do. They love not doing what they've been told even more. They love it the most when they are made to do it anyway." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 05:23:14 -0800 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: IN> INS/MV vs. IN differences. Well, after continued personal translation of the French game (which I'm enjoying immensely being the geek I am), I've come across more differences worthy of posting to my on-line list at : http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo/insmv/differences.html also, check out http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo/insmv/umtablepercents.html to see how the French game uses the d666 to resolve actions. Interestingly enough, because of the way characteristics and talents (skills) are distributed in the French game, characters will typically choose to start out with low-level skills which might be improved later on. Kinda like old D&D where your starting character's stats started off crappy (though INSMV stats aren't /that/ crappy) and you improved them over (a long) time. Ah, the good old days . . . - -Perry, kfc perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo "And that's the hardest thing for a human being to do - be wrong. Do you know that people would rather die than be wrong?" - --from A Matter For Men by David Gerrold ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 12:30:09 From: "Jo Hart" Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) > >And dare I mention Gene Roddenberry? Writing abilities notwithstanding, he >*did* create the single most influential TV show in history. Media. jo _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 10:11:09 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: IN> A Rumor of Judgment I'd like to be able to say this was cut from Superiors 1 for space, because that would mean I'd had the good sense to write it then and it'd have been written on Word and spellchecked rather than in Eudora (which has a spellchecker that I am deeply suspicious of, find awkward, and don't use). But if I said that, it wouldn't have been True. Anyway... - --- Once, it is said, there was a reliever who came into being. (And none, not even the reliever, knew how, for relievers often appear simply when the essence and wonder of Heaven is made manifest somehow.) She chose to serve Judgment, and fledged into the most beautiful and gentle Seraph in the celestial realms. (Though not the most peaceful; that distinction belongs to one of Flowers.) It is said that her devotion and dutifulness made Cherubim gaze after her in admiration. It is said that her sense of honor and justice made Malakim kneel as she passed. It is said that her balance and unswerving clear- headedness made Elohim smile, if only to themselves. It is even said that her pure and encompassing love for every being she met caused Mercurians to flutter their wings in awe and send her presents or invite her to social occasions. But because of her unfailing loyalty to the Word of Judgment, she sent all the invitations and presents back (politely), and though she cared deeply for all beings, she did not let that sway her personal judgment. (For the Love of Heaven is not a compromising Love, and can be awesome and terrible as well as gentle and compassionate.) And she served well, and fearlessly, ever without guilt in her heart. And it is said that she rose high in the Most Just's ranks, gaining all manner of atunements and Distinctions, and that she was the most trusted of all his Servitors. That sometimes, he would even take his cloak off entirely in her presence, that she might taste the Truth of something without its cloaking influence. Then one day, the rumors tell, in their duties on Earth, she and her triad came face to face with the Lightbringer. And as is his way (for Temptation is a tool of evil), he offered the triad each a boon. Further, he wrapped each member of them in a silence so that they could not hear each other's answer. (For mistrust can be a tool of evil as well.) But the Cherub turned his face away from the First Fallen and shook his head. And the Elohite lowered its head politely and murmured that though it was a generous offer, it could not accept. And the Seraph... The Seraph spoke to the First Balseraph, her triad reported. Spoke with him, and frowned, and spoke again with impatience and emotion in her motions. And he replied. And she nodded. And he stepped forward and smiled, as she raised her face to him, and then he kissed her for a long moment. After he had stepped away and vanished, the Seraph and her triad returned to Heaven, and she would not say what had passed between herself and the Lightbringer. Nor could the Truth in her refusals be sensed, nor her memories searched, for the First Liar had clouded the encounter totally. And so, because she would not speak, she was placed on trial. For consorting with the Lightbringer. For obstructing Judgment. For betraying Heaven. And she was found guilty of the first two, by the testimony of her triad and her own silence, though when she pleaded not guilty to the third, she did indeed believe it firmly. Yet she still would not speak. So the Most Just gave judgment, that she would be stripped of all Distinctions. That she would be stripped of all attunements save the one his Seraphim had for Truth (for Truth might yet save her soul). That she would be stripped of her vessel and her Corporeal Forces that she might never wander upon Earth again. That she would be confined to a room in the Celestial Tribunal, with a window to gaze upon Heaven's glory and as many books to read as she might wish -- but that she would never again speak to any but an Archangel, lest a hidden seed of taint spread to infect others in Heaven. And though she had held herself straight, and met the eyes of the Most Just as the trial had proceeded and as he pronounced sentence, she closed all her own eyes and bowed her head and furled her wings about her body as she wept. And she whispered, "So, it was True. I had told him nay, when he said that you did not Truly trust anyone, not even me. But it is indeed True." And she turned her face away as she whispered, "I repent." It is said that she lives yet, a Seraph of the Sword, who ever and always requests a Role that will let her watch and guard the Commander of the Host's churches: that of a nun with a vow of silence. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 10:21:06 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) At 12:30 PM -0500 3/25/01, Jo Hart wrote: >>And dare I mention Gene Roddenberry? Writing abilities notwithstanding, he >>*did* create the single most influential TV show in history. > > >Media. Especially when you see the direction the franchise took after his death. - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 11:34:22 -0800 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: Re: IN> A Rumor of Judgment > But because of her unfailing loyalty to the Word of Judgment, she sent > all the invitations and presents back (politely), and though she cared > deeply for all beings, she did not let that sway her personal judgment. > (For the Love of Heaven is not a compromising Love, and can be awesome > and terrible as well as gentle and compassionate.) And she served well, > and fearlessly, ever without guilt in her heart. nice. - -Perry perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo "And that's the hardest thing for a human being to do - be wrong. Do you know that people would rather die than be wrong?" - --from A Matter For Men by David Gerrold ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 12:46:46 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Bertish" To: Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 2:28 PM Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) > And dare I mention Gene Roddenberry? Writing abilities notwithstanding, he > *did* create the single most influential TV show in history. To cut a long story short, let's just say that Gene's life (as well as his general habit of 'creatively borrowing' everything that wasn't nailed down) tend to all scream "Nybbasite" to me. - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 15:04:02 -0000 From: "Daniel Gallagher" Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) > > To cut a long story short, let's just say that Gene's life (as well as his > general habit of 'creatively borrowing' everything that wasn't nailed down) > tend to all scream "Nybbasite" to me. > > -- > Chuckg > Perhaps I'm wrong but I really don't think that Roddenbury was hellbound. Perhaps his writing prowess wouldn't be enough to get his accepted into the Cadre but he wasn't evil. Speaking of evil what do Ya'll thing of this: Elron Demon of Scientology Balseraph of Fate "Arch-nemesis of the Cadre" It would explain why he can write books after he died. Someone else could write a more detailed description. Daniel Demon Prince of Lurkers "I see the world but it rarely sees me." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 14:36:19 -0700 (MST) From: Chris Holland <4251772@gold.sdsmt.edu> Subject: IN> Question on Geas When a Lilim geases someone, can they tell whether the person is a celestial or not? - ------------------------------ "Munchies and crunchies, in here somewhere." -Gurgi, friendly furball "Do. Or do not. There is no try. -Yoda, Jedi Master "Nothing's forgotten, nothing is ever forgotten." -Robin of Loxley ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 17:21:25 -0500 From: Cameron McCurry Subject: Re: IN> The Cadre (Part II) > Elron > Demon of Scientology > Balseraph of Fate > "Arch-nemesis of the Cadre" > > It would explain why he can write books after he died. Someone else could > write a more detailed description. I'll take that challenge! Disclaimer: I absolutely loathe the Cult of Scientology (I refuse to dignify it by calling it a church). I hate what they have done to people and I hate the fact that certain celebrities are trying to make it more acceptable. This colored my write up of Elron. Flames can be sent to my personal email. Elron is a Balseraph that is riding high on success. He wasn't satisfied with guiding souls to Hell one at a time. He wanted whole groups that would embrace the Infernal without it being obvious. He's not the first demon to clue into the idea of using religion for this, but he's one of the first to talk to Servitors of the Media. By using television, radio, "self help" books, and bogus psychological tests to bring people in, he began to lay the groundwork for a cult that could grab mass amounts of people at once. First thing was first though; he needed an identity. He crafted the role of L.Ron Hubbard and began to preach to people about how they could improve their lives. Using the connections he got from demons of The Media, he began recruiting well known celebrities and rich broadcasting executives. With the funding they gave him, he moved forward with his plan. His tactics were so simple, there were many demons that were astonished that they had never tried this before. Basically, Elron and his servants would earn the trust of the people that he brought in. He would keep his "religion" under a veil of secrecy, thus heightening people's interest in it. Add that to constant advertisements, and a constant stream of novels to boost funding (Don't mention them around the Cadre though; it really makes them angry) and suddenly Scientology was established throughout the world. And after staging his Role's "death," he was awarded the Word of Scientology. Of course, there were people that try to fight them. With the vast resources that his empire has gathered, Elron (Through his servants) use every means to discredit people that speak out against Scientology. Torture and murder under the guise of "treatment" has become commonplace as well as multi-million dollar lawsuits to protect their "free speech.". The Servitors and Soldiers of Yves have had their hands full in trying to stop the cult of Scientology. They help people that are fighting them with funding and the most vicious lawyers that they could find. They have opened up a few safehouses with the cooperation of Servitors of The Sword when they find someone who is trying to escape the grip of Scientology. And best of all, they received help from an unlikely source in the form of Orc, the Angel of Networks. Orc was doing some newsgroup hopping when he came across postings from people that were trying to expose Scientology for what it is. To his horror, he found out that these people were being censored, their computers were being seized and the Scientologists were sending waves of posts to the newsgroups to shout these people down. Never spam newsgroups that the Angel of Networks reads and don't try to censor people on the Net. It gets you on Orc's bad side very quickly. In retaliation, Orc protected the posts that he came across. Elron's servants found their connections abruptly terminated, their ISP accounts closed and their cult's secrets printed on line. For right now, Elron finds himself at a bit of a stalemate. It is an uphill battle to get more people involved in Scientology because of the efforts of the Servitors of Yves but for right now, he has a billion dollar empire that has no shortage of people to send screaming to their Fates. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 19:41:52 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> March 24-25, 2001 (ML) Hey, the two seemed to make sense when combined - besides, this way I'm caught up. :) Morgan Kyriotate of Destiny Petitioner for the Word of What, you thought that they sat around all day and plunked harps? Would _your_ PCs enjoy that for more than, say, 15 seconds? Festival Every organized group in the universe (except the most misanthropic) will eventually come up with an excuse to have a party. Servitors of Divine Fire and the Sword are no exception. Gabriel's Feast is a tradition that's about five thousand years old: his Servitors began it as a simple gathering of all Servitors of Divine Fire that could make it, the better to catch up on the news and, well, visit. Gabrielites are very often working solo, which can be somewhat lonely: it's not a bad idea to touch base every so often. This gathering quickly evolved into a somewhat formal affair, complete with a full banquet. Needless to say, the entertainment was usually spectacular: Servitors of Gabriel have a knack for attracting true artists to their functions. Fast forward a few millennia. Once Laurence came into his own, he made it a point to formally honor most (if not all) Catholic feast days and holidays. The Archangel of the Sword has an especial fondness for the story of the Annunciation, so his Servitors began celebrating that holiday with a celebration of their own. It proved to end up being the one festival in Heaven that _every_ Servitor of the Sword made sure to attend. Aside from the deep religious significance that it has for Catholic angels (a reminder of God's special regard for humanity, and thus a reaffirmation of the rightness of the War), the cooking is incredibly good. Laurence himself presides over the kitchen for this one. Yes, of _course_ the Archangel of the Sword knows how to cook. Everyone needs a hobby, he learned from the best (Novalis and Eli), and Laurence takes very seriously the idea of feeding the hungry. He never sets his Servitors a task that he doesn't do himself, after all. Anyway, these two festivals are very close together, by corporeal standards (in fact, at first they overlapped). Both groups had an open admissions policy: the Gabrielites needed performers (and an audience), and the Laurencians would sooner touch a steel blade with bare hands than turn away somebody who wanted a meal. After a century or two, it became fairly clear that the two parties had become linked in everybody's head, anyway, so they might as well make it official. Besides, this way each group would be able to relax for part of the weekend. For the purposes of this discussion, we'll accept that the Festival begins on Friday night (and just ignore that "Friday" is a somewhat meaningless concept in the celestial plane). The festivities start with a firework show, courtesy of the Volcano, then proceed with the ceremonial lighting of bonfires throughout the slopes. The attendees begin arriving around this time, and immediately head to their favorite spot. The rule is, "Check your Word at the door", so this is one of those times where one can get away with hanging out with those deemed normally ... inappropriate ... to know. Even those Dominicans that show up are a little more relaxed about things. The bonfires last all night, and so does the entertainment. On Friday night, it's usually amateur, in the sense that there's no set list of performers. There's no lack of volunteers, however. Some bonfires will have themes, some are catch as catch can, and a few won't have anybody lower than a Master or Mistress playing the crowd. A sizeable contingent of celestials and blessed souls will wander the slopes of the Volcano for the entire night (often with suitable liquid refreshment), checking out the performances pretty much at random. The bravest go look for the bonfire where the Superiors are: most years, Novalis can convince Jean to sing. Yes, of _course_ Jean can sing. Exquisitely well, in fact: remember that comment above about how everyone needs a hobby? Well, now you know Jean's. Anyway, this stage of the Festival lasts all "night" (see above comment on ignoring the essential meaninglessness of that concept, for the purposes of this description): it officially ends with the daily rush of Essence. At that point, the various attendees have a choice: the more religious flit over to the Church of the Sword (or Halls of Worship, or in these happier times, Khalid's Mosque) for a series of vigils and hymns. The rest are welcome to hang around for the rest of the day: there isn't much in the way of formal activities, but there's always a lot of impromptu exhibitions going on. For example, Michael and David have gotten into the habit of getting their Servitors together and having a good old-fashioned tourney on the Volcano's slopes. The place looks almost like a carnival at times. However, the Gabrielites do not share in this part of the Festival: they've all gathered in Conclave. It's at this time that business is discussed, formal rewards are given out, and those chosen for Words revealed. The day starts with all the Servitors of Divine Fire present gathered in one place to listen to Gabriel (who is usually remarkably lucid during Festival) speak to them, then breaks down into the various hierarchies, committees and groups that make up Gabriel's organization. Soldekai is one busy Chamberlain on this day, as he tries his best to be present at every group for at least part of the time. These meetings are usually informal enough, but very important: real business gets discussed here. However, it would take the invasion of Heaven itself to make a meeting last past a certain point in the day. At that point, the Gabrielites gather (along with everyone else that can fit - which is to say, everyone) on the lip of the Volcano to eat. The food isn't that spectacular (for that, wait for the next day), but no one is here for the food. They're here to listen and watch as Heaven's best artists demonstrate their craft. The performances are usually grouped by Superior Word, and every Archangel is represented. Other than that, anything goes: there's dancing, singing, playing of various instruments, dramatic performances (Marc always does a comedy skit, performing personally - yes, that's *his* hobby) and a few things that have no human analogue. The highlight, however, is Israfel: she has been a fixture of Festival since the very beginning, and always performs a different original piece each year. It is said that the sound of her voice and lyre on this night can remove dissonance. The party breaks up after this (who could go on after the Angel of Music? Who in his/her/its right mind would _want_ to?). The next day is going to be more serious, anyway. Laurence's part of Festival starts, naturally enough, with a sunrise Mass (sunrise being defined as "morning rush of Essence", of course). Those souls and celestials who are not Catholic often attend their own services, or simply sleep in. Many entities do attend, however: this is Heaven, after all. Religious fervor isn't precisely rare, here. At any rate, the Mass itself could be defined as a work of art: the music and singing would be enough to knock a living human unconscious from sheer sensory overload. *Pleasant* sensory overload, mind you, but it would still be overwhelming. After services (and a short time to let all the impious heathen make it back to Festival in time for the food), the feast begins. Words simply fail to describe the cooking. There are a _lot_ of cooks in Heaven, all of whom have their own (very firm) idea of what is properly Divine food, and they think that Festival is the best way to prove their point. Only in Heaven (with its cheerful disregard of the laws of physics) could such a table - nay, a veritable mountain - of food be prepared. Now, it should be borne in mind that this is not a feast for Gluttons. People do eat, true, and eat quite well - but nothing is wasted, and Laurence has made arrangements for Novalis to cart away the remainder as part of her ongoing duties of relief for the poor. He even insists on making up a plate of the best items (a reasonably sized plate, to be sure) for the hungriest entity in Hell: how it gets there is one of Dominic's better kept secrets. Laurence, when asked, insists that it's simple Christian charity: however, such a pious sentiment doesn't really jibe with the nasty smile that creeps onto his face when the subject comes up. Haagenti hates Festival with a passion - but he cleans his plate, and even sends it back, washed and everything (the last time he didn't, he didn't get sent another one for a full decade). The Prince of Gluttony isn't the only demon to loathe this holiday, of course: theoretically, most of Hell would like to shut it down, once and for all. Unfortunately, the assorted Demon Princes have discovered that getting volunteers (or draftees) isn't all that easy. It's a fairly reliable rumor (it should be) that coming to the attention to either Gabriel or Laurence during this period is an excellent way of also coming to the attention of the Order of the Eternal Sword, with all the drawbacks that that entails. That takes care of the rank-and-file. Those of sufficient power to be undaunted by this are usually smart enough to consider the benefits of not rocking the boat. Sure, you can't do anything over the top, but even a demon can appreciate having a nice, *quiet* three day weekend where you can watch TV or get a meal without worrying that a Ofanite strike team will be busting down the door. Quiet is an underrated quality. That leaves the seriously crazy - and trying to get a bunch of lunatics to do anything useful enough to justify the inevitable backlash is all too often a waste of time. Besides, Hell is usually too busy recovering from its _own_ solstice parties to be up for corrupting humanity, anyway. ===== 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/ ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2125 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.