From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Tue May 29 18:02:37 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 SAA11369 for ; Tue, 29 May 2001 18:02:37 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id SAA31646 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Tue, 29 May 2001 18:02:30 -0500 Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 18:02:30 -0500 Message-Id: <200105292302.SAA31646@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 #2246 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 Tuesday, May 29 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2246 In this digest: Re: IN> Welcome to Fantasy Island IN> Another purity Crusade essay IN> Re: Paper on Purity Crusade IN> Re:In CCG Re: IN> Re: Paper on Purity Crusade IN> Consider Believers Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade Fwd: Re: IN> Asian Archangel Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade IN> Washu-chan Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade Re: IN> Re: In CCG Re: IN> Re: In CCG RE: IN> Re: In CCG Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade IN>Quirky Destinarian ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 23:11:42 -0700 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: Re: IN> Welcome to Fantasy Island > * Foster positive self-image in someone > > After all, a positive self-image is usually based upon several Fantasies: > > (a) I am above average. > (b) People like me. > (c) I can achieve; I am not a failure. > > The irony is that fostering these illusions can help to turn them into a > reality (at least, that's that the psychologists are telling us, I think > they just want us to stop being realistic just so we can feel better > about > ourselves - bastards).<<< > > LOL! Hey, I'm studying to be a psychologist! :P The whole idea behind > that, if I remember, is to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you > predict sucess, you tend to achieve it. The power of positive thinking. > ^_^ Hey, I /have/ a degree in Psychology. :P While the term self-fulfilling prophecy has a specific definition in social psychology, the word as it is commonly understood is used quite correctly here. And this is generally true, predict success, and you are much mre likely to achieve it / predict failure and you are much more likely to achieve that as well. Thus, the /illusion/ that success is more likely than failure (regardless of the reality of the situation) can aid the person to be successful. Is it the truth? Does it matter? Some of other my favorite illusions include: I am special (to the world). My children are special (to the world). [hee hee hee] I am unique. [And while this is technically true, but functionally we are actually rarely all that different from one another.] and my all-time favorite for the moment: Others (you) could never understand how I feel. [Again, likely technically true, but not functionally so.] Ah, to be true Elohite . . . and to escape from this prision of subjectivity (oh, but wait, couldn't I just be a scientist and ignore all of my cultural assumptions and understanding?) - -Perry perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu NEW WEB PAGE!!!!!! http://www.geocities.com/perrylloyd "Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be. " - --Kurt Vonnegut ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 23:55:13 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> Another purity Crusade essay OCC: Tell me if anyone finds this funny. This is actually my PC in Charles E. Smith's Turning point PBEM (thus explaining the angel of Light business) and my favorite In character. Isaiah Angel of Light* Former Angel of Flowers, Former Angel of Creation, Former Angel of Animals, Former Angel of Memory, Former Angel of Patience under Destiny, Former Angel of Fire, Former Angel of the Word, Former Angel of Creation Seraph Good evening all, I am Isaiah formerly known as Hiram. For servitors of Judgement I would like to connotate that once again I was found not guilty of heresay by such a person as Dominic himself on the final court of appeal, admittedly pending further evidence by Uriel on Armageddon on my involvement in the Purity Crusade to which point I am still legally able to operate as an angel. Ahem. I was involved in the Purity Crusade. Well good now that that's been established I would like to comment that I was not serving with Uriel or David during this period who allied with the organization for the destruction or even the servitors of Michael who chose to stand behind the Commander of the Host and the miniscule others of other words trusted enough to play a part. No I chose to play the part of Hariett Tubmann in an extremely loose metaphorical sense given that it is difficult to compare a male persona angel one hundred and eleven million roughly years of age to a anti-slavery courier of human freedom. I openly admit neither ashamed nor...well I am actually a bit abashed that I was involved in transporting ethereals from the realm of Blandine to the realms of the Far Marches. However I am not anti-Uriel in this encounter. To understand fully my position in this endeavor you'll have to understand that I am a frequently changing activist regarding the War as I try and balance my desire to see human free will and peace protected from interferring with with my own reservations about human capacity to muck things up with my acknowledgement that demons are a heavy cause of their suffering with my knowledge God still loves all the hosts of hell and damned. I believe ethereals have a place in god's kingdom and that Heaven's inability to create a statement of rights for them is appalling. By what I mean as a statement of rights is this. A:) Sentient Ethereals like humans eventually die and, with my investigated and found not guilty viewpoint (casefile 3,022,672,204B# for servitors of judgement) of soul-killed beings not being obliterated but placed in permanent until after Armageddon Limbo (it's not anyone knows what else is there), I believe they go to the Higher Heavens or Lower Hells immediately and recommend a prompt investigation of ethereal souls in the Lower Hells whenever such an operation is feasible. B:) Now the lifespan of an Ethereal is determined by the ammount of essence that they can "devour" and/or muse from the human race and while the removal of essence some have justified as inherently wicked I find this rather wrong and point out many humans devote essence to quite strange things I hesitate to call stupid (such as Bowling and Crash Bandicoot which I understand my Kyriotate of Lightning is some form of religeous ritual for reformed Christians today) and services like dream inspiration and assuagment of loneliness are quite symbiotic in nature. Thus it should be legal for ethereals to promote themselves in such a way officially. C:) Ethereals practcing human sacrafice and encouragment of worship should be dealt with no more or less as a human should be treated as such and a demon, stop the matter using appropriate force and/or dissaude the encounter with the truth. If a human has been shown supernatural power of the ethereal, it should be either shown differently or (as Khalid will violently disagree with the former I suspect) told about other options in order to counteract the parlor tricks. Now I personally can't attest to Uriel's statement of mind never being an Archangel, a Word Bound, or a Malakite, let alone of Purity but I can point out he was once a seraph and likely still felt i believe some holdovers against the ethereal promotion of Lies as extremely odious aspects of nature and indeed violations of it. (See my essay to the Hall of Records "The Uriel bond between Malakim and Seraphim" or "Uriel's hatred for Balseraphs carried over"). I believe that some form of judgement and legal recourse was necessary against the current ethereal pantheons which were reigning and that worship of the self proclaimed divinities should be ended for more dream encouragement or healthy actions....but that should have remained for the most part the duty of Christian/Judaic/Islamic missionary work and perhaps further focus on the Eastern Regions of the Globe for a divine religeon (Please note my proposal to the Seraphim Council for "Yannaism") with military action composed against only confirmably violent ethereals. Dream-shades should also have been arranged for preaching to for unsheathing of their twisted half state. To those who suggest such matters are unrealistic because ethereals are dreamed to believe they are gods, that is Heaven's failure and it is wrong to presume of anything less for Uriel given his situation. A:) A scant few hundred years before the Purity Crusade the entity known as Beelzebub, former Cherub of Light, was destroyed with the sacking of Rome by Uriel after said desctruction convinced the decadent Jinn to throw himself in full assault against the architect of Rome's death and ironically it's former patron before slavery and cruelty became too great for him to continue it's promotion...hence it's ceasation of expansion. It is my belief Uriel's "madness" if such can be called such is directly linked to his relatonship with Uriel and the immediate and sudden ceasation of that dissonant whirl. In effect Uriel maintained his sanity by eradicating evil but that mindset once freed was needing a new target because by oaths it had become a fundemental part of his nature. Why Uriel shall return on Armageddon because such a fundemental concentration of evil will allow him to function normally until it is eradicated and his oaths will be considered fufilled. My two cents without any physical currency. In any case we can only do our best to try and make up our sin to the ethereals that were attacked unjustly in the meantime but never should we shy away from facts. - -Isaiah ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 14:08:23 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Re: Paper on Purity Crusade Revelations & Development? That's punnishment, Moe! James. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 14:07:21 +1100 From: "james walker" Subject: IN> Re:In CCG >>i used to play Spellfire, it was a cool game, i prefered it over >>MtG, i dont know if many other folks played it on this list but it >>was a goom simple game... > > Actually, I always though Spellfire was a terrible game. > There was no balance whatsoever. To get back on topic, is there anything we can raid from the game that would be useful? IIRC, the victory condition in Spellfire was getting a specific number of locations into play; certainly having a specific number of Tethers (if we go for a city, one Tether, especially as Tethers are supposed to discourage the existence of other Tethers) would be a reasonable victory condition. Not knowing the game, I don't know what else would be useful. Could the people who do suggest concepts which are worth plagiarising? James. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 21:31:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Re: Paper on Purity Crusade - --- james walker wrote: > > Revelations & Development? > > That's punnishment, Moe! > > James. Blame Earl ... although the author is my fault. :) Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/29/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 23:13:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> Consider Believers Not Truth, necessarily, but true - from a certain point of view, to quote that old Balseraph. :) Moe Consider Believers Yeah, I know who you are. Ask me if I care, you genocidal bastard. What? You were expecting some granola-crunching, incense-burning flake ready to spout off gibberish about the healing power of crystals? Mother of All, you've been watching too much television - and gleaning the stupider bits. I thought that your kind were against that sort of thing. Don't even think about telling me about the machinations of the Media. I already know about it, thank you very much - and not because Nybbas is friendly to my god. You look surprised that I know the name. Well, some sides to this War actually keep their servants properly informed: I know that your particular pantheon doesn't believe in that sort of thing, but why should I care about 'Heaven's' fetishes? Keep my voice down? Or you'll do what, precisely? Thanks to your pantheon, I've already lost my job and custody of my kids. Something about 'providing an inappropriate home environment', if I recall correctly. No matter that someone had to plant evidence of illicit drug use first, then manipulate things until I faced a judge already in your pocket: after all, we can't have avowed high priestesses around and actually providing real miracles for the poor. Why, people might actually look at your racket with open eyes. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help laughing. Such effrontery deserved it. What you don't seem to realize is that we saw through this artificial division between 'Heaven' and 'Hell' a long time ago. 'Demons' are just as much parts of your pantheon as 'angels' are. It's called dualism, and your Yahweh was quite clever to come up with it. It's certainly keeping your racket alive and well. Of course, it's also been directly responsible for most of the misery on the planet, but that's a small price to pay for all the Essence your kind get to batten upon. That's really what bothers me most about you and your fellow spirits, you know. It's not that you obviously think that we're idiots, it's not that you're guzzling way more than your fair share of human belief, it's not even that you killed your cousins ... it's that you've even managed to delude yourselves that things have always been this way. Angel or demon, every single one of you is absolutely convinced that your god created this entire universe and everything in it - - then you go to go through incredible amounts of mental contortions to avoid the question of why an omnipotent God would permit suffering and pain. If you would just admit that he isn't all-powerful or all-knowing, or even eternal... Why do I bother? It'll just bounce off of the invincible armor of your self-righteousness. You're top dogs, you and your great powerful 'Enemies', and of course it's always been that way. Your precious Malakim ripped apart anybody who might be able to contradict you, after all ... except that they didn't, quite? The old gods are still here - weakened, but still here - and you didn't even exterminate the Hindu pantheon. Amazing how they never seemed to get attacked. Well, amazing to you. I'm not surprised that your Uriel never quite had the stones to take them on. Oh, you can tell from my words that I'm not speaking 'Truth'? My, aren't you a funny fellow? Ever consider that you're getting your 'Truth' from your god ... and that he certainly would make sure that you'd get the proper responses to this sort of question? No, of course not. Anyway, you've come here, apparently, to find out why I worship an ethereal god that isn't yours. Yes, I know that you didn't pose the question that way, but that's the one that I'll be answering. The answer's simple: because it's a symbiotic relationship. My god cares - you might call it enlightened self-interest, if you want to be snide, but the result is the same. My god dislikes seeing humans being unhappy or in pain, he has abilities that allow him to alleviate those conditions, and all he asks for in return is that we believe in him. If we don't, he dies. It's a fairer trade than either of your 'sides' has ever offered. If you've got the power to make life better, why not use it? Because 'Hell' won't let you? Bah. My god has every hand against him, and he keeps fighting evil - and I can see his efforts. Can you see the efforts of yours? Don't bother answering - in fact, either go away or kill me. Your kind is good at that - although I'm amazed that you've never thought about why it's OK to interfere with Earth by killing things in carloads, but not OK to heal every case of AIDS in the world. Me and mine would do the latter in a second - if we had the power. That we don't is your fault. Well, at least you're not muttering pleasantries about how nice it was to speak to me. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out. What? You'll check into my legal case? Don't even think about trying to bribe me. You should be doing it, spirit: it's your pantheon's fault, after all. It won't make up for the crimes all of you've been committing for millennia, either. Just do it because it's the right thing to do. Who knows? You might find it a refreshing change. ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/29/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 11:06:13 -0400 From: "Jason F. McBrayer" Subject: Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade On Mon, May 28, 2001 at 07:33:09PM -0700, Maurice Lane wrote: > http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine/proceedings/Tech.htm [from the linked page] >> N. Honeydew, Ph.D., Accepted Ethereal (Independent Modern Pantheon) Shouldn't that be B[unsen] Honeydew? I shudder to think of the rest of then pantheon. - -- +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Jason F. McBrayer jmcbray@carcosa.net | | The scalloped tatters of the King in Yellow must hide Yhtill | | forever. R.W. Chambers _The King in Yellow_ | ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 11:28:29 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Fwd: Re: IN> Asian Archangel >Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 09:45:31 -0500 >Subject: BOUNCE in_nomine-l@lists.io.com: Non-member submission from [Jonathan Walton ] >Status: U > >Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 10:44:22 -0400 >From: Jonathan Walton >Subject: Re: IN> Asian Archangel > > >> > Shang-Ti >> > Archangel of Bureaucracy >> >> This version makes more sense. One wonders what the >>Ethereal Shang-Ti would think of him, though. };> > >No kidding. > >Strangely enough, Shang Ti (also spelled, and actually pronounced, Shang >Di) is the name that Chinese Christians use for God, so the Archangel may >actually be stealing essence from the Big Guy himself. > >By the way, just as a historical note, Shang Di was worshiped at least >since the Shang Dynasty (those two "Shangs" aren't the same character >though) which predates the Zhou/Chou. He may in fact date back further, to >the Xia Dynasty, but evidence is sketchier/non-existent there. > >If you want to avoid the whole "having an Archangel with the same name as >God" issue, I'd suggest using the name "Huang Di," after the legendary >Yellow Emperor, since he supposedly had much more to do with founding the >Chinese bureaucracy anyway. > >Later. >Jonathan > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 08:44:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade - --- "Jason F. McBrayer" wrote: > On Mon, May 28, 2001 at 07:33:09PM -0700, Maurice > Lane wrote: > > > http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine/proceedings/Tech.htm > > [from the linked page] > >> N. Honeydew, Ph.D., Accepted Ethereal > (Independent Modern Pantheon) > > Shouldn't that be B[unsen] Honeydew? I shudder to > think of the rest > of then pantheon. (Looks down at keyboard) Cr*p. Thanks for the call. Moe ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 04/29/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 17:21:14 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> Washu-chan I know it's been done before but not good enough darnit! Washu Seraph of Creation in the service of Lightning* Master of the Machine Angel of Experimentation Cor-1 Str-2 Agi-2 Eth-6 Int-12 Pre-12 Cel-3 Will-8 Per-4 Artifacts: She's a bit of a collector and head of Hall 23.... Vessel: Child 4/ (Chr +2, +3 sex appeal in adult form) Skills: Artistry (Replication) 3/, Biology 6/, Chemistry 6/, Computer Operation 6/, Electronics 6/, Emote 2/, Engineering 6/, Symphonic Physics 6/, Genetics 6/, Temporal Mechanics 6/, Quatum Mechanics 6/, Matter-energy Studies 6/, Medicine 6/, Savoir Faire 2/, Seduction 1/, Tracking 1/ Songs**: Charm (Ethereal 5/, Celestial 5/), Dreams (Corporeal 5/, Celestial 3/), Harmony (Ethereal 5/), Healing (Corporeal 3/, Celestial 2/), Motion (Corporeal 3/, Celestial 3/), Projection (Corporeal 3/, Ethereal 3/, Celestial 3/), Tongues (Corporeal 6/) Attunements: Seraph of Creation, Seraph of Lightning, Ofanim of Eli***, Ofanim of Lightning, Elohim of Creation, Elohim of Lightning****, Malakim of Jean, Mercurian of Eli, Mercurian of Jean, Abracadabra, Transubstation, Vassal of Lightning, Friend of the Illuminated, Jury-Rig, Washu Bot Jury Rig: As long as something is scientifically possible with the expenditure of a character point per level of artifact it would be if it were real then Washu can replicate it within a moment with a snap of her fingers. These odd creations do not truly last very long in the Symphony (the more improbable the less but always at least an hour) but they don't explode often either. Washu Bot: How and why Washu kept this particular attunement when other attunements from her word would have been MUCH MUCH MUCH more appropriate when it was more power is still a mystery to Jean. It allows with the expenditure of six points of essence to create "Simaculums" which is the proper name for the attunement that can be activated for a day with the simaculum becomming a exact replica of Washu though unable to use attunements, songs, of the resonance of her choir. Word Forces: 11-15 Rites: * Discover something new about the universe's fundemental workings * Spend six hours in the lab doing something Washu-Chan is a angel of Eli who has been missing for nearly five thousand years from The halls of creation and freak chance has rescued her from the artifact prison that she had been trapped in for that entire time by her Habbalite student Kagato. Showing up at the Halls where she expected nothing to have really changed in the meantime was a great shock for her and she was distinctly in fact EXTREMELY irritated to discover that her Archangel had managed to dissapear without a trace and leaving her and all her distinctions in his service completely useless. Jean glad to have the angel of experimentation in his service and a woman whom in her relatively short lifespan of twenty thousand years or so of corporeal service had proven among the best genius's in the galaxy was lavish in the distinctions he bestowed upon her but has become noticibly less so because the "Greatest Scientiffic Mind in the Universe" is starting to irritate him in her insistance on conducting things "her" way and Jean despite having the most intimate understanding of electricity in the universe is more than a little jealous of her abilities in other areas. Washu personally is content to work on getting the five thousand of years she spent imprisoned's notes she made in her head transformed into reality and massively promote her word in any concievable way she can. Despite the fact experimentation covers things other than science Washu basically ignores these aspects and prefers to focus on the scientiffic aspects in hopes of illuminating the truth of the Symphony to humanity and getting some small measure of revenge on Vapula whom she views as a blight on her word rather than the other way around. It's Washu's belief that today's world definately needs an Archangel of Science and she believes her current work with a human soldier named Tenchi Masaki will lead to her promotion to such at which she can set what Jean's been screwing up right. Oh and if you see Eli, smack him for her. Washu has a fondness for human children after an incident in her past when she fell in love with an angel far higher than herself in rank and whom after Eli helped create the child for the reliever was taken away to be raised by an alternate archangel and as such to this day bears the Archangel (*coughUrielcough*) a great deal of anger and speculation abounds to who might possibly be (*coughLaurencecough*) though Washu is very tight lipped. The angel of experimentation with her substantial travelling ability maintains no roles and occasionally sneaks in a school girl uniform to important labs in Japan, America, and Europe to re-write important theories and leave papers on the floor to encourage exerimentation and her word. She's not without a mischevious side as well as she once e-mailed a minature fallout-free nuclear warhead to a vapulite lab which the government is still trying to figure out what the hell caused the destruction of. Footnotes: * What other choir could cover Washu's loveable way of looking at everyone like children and inferiors but make you feel good about it? ** This is just an attempt to cover Washu's rather considerable abilites and her soul-battle against Kagato has shaken away numerous other symphonic abilities, she is fanatical in promoting her understanding of songs and thus had quite the repiortie. *** It was this, a second vessel, or the corporeal song of entropy **** Actually does anyone wonder if whoever created Jean WAS watching Tenchi? - -Charlemagne ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 17:57:29 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade At 7:33 PM -0700 5/28/01, Maurice Lane wrote: >3) Sorry, Beth. I needed a good reference, and >Archives seemed logical. ;) No problem. So long as I don't have to write one... - --Beth, typing w/a uncoopertive baby (iolanthe) causing typos. arcangel is nursing a trout with ARMS! ARMS that reach out and try to pound the keyboard! You say "And teeth. Ow." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 17:51:29 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Re: In CCG Are you going to do it _C_CG? I.e., are you going to "game balance" with Rare and Uncommon cards? Or would this plot be just a regular CG? (Yes, yes, I know it's hypothetical unless someone gets really inspired and does it electronically. I'm just curious.) emccoy@nh.ultranet.com, Uppity Wynch http://brie.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html "rumoured to contain hoards of plunder, and many young wenches" Mike [falsetto]: "We're tired of these degrading patriachical slurs! From now on we demand to be called 'wynchys.'" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 18:00:54 -0400 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN> Re: In CCG > > >Are you going to do it _C_CG? I.e., are you going to "game balance" with >Rare and Uncommon cards? > >Or would this plot be just a regular CG? > >(Yes, yes, I know it's hypothetical unless someone gets really inspired >and does it electronically. I'm just curious.) Well, if people aren't going to be going out and buying actual decks and booster packs, it makes little sense to have Rares and Uncommons. Oooh. *Thought.* Have people design whatever deck they want from the available cards. Have the cards rated at a certain "point" level. Let standard play be between decks, say, within 10% of each other's total point scores, with a warning sign from the server if the two decks being used are further apart. Or, if play is just over IRC or something, let each other know your deck scores. Of course, a really well-designed low-point deck could beat a higher-point deck, which is just a feather in the lower-pointed player's cap. :^) Such a ranking might be more useful than Rares or Uncommons in an environment where any cards could be selected -- if that's what someone does, of course. > emccoy@nh.ultranet.com, Uppity Wynch >http://brie.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html >"rumoured to contain hoards of plunder, and many young wenches" >Mike [falsetto]: "We're tired of these degrading patriachical slurs! > From now on we demand to be called 'wynchys.'" William ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 17:08:20 -0500 From: "Wallis, Elizabeth A" Subject: RE: IN> Re: In CCG Have people design whatever deck they want from the available cards. Have the cards rated at a certain "point" level. Let standard play be between decks, say, within 10% of each other's total point scores, with a warning sign from the server if the two decks being used are further apart. Or, if play is just over IRC or something, let each other know your deck scores. Of course, a really well-designed low-point deck could beat a higher-point deck, which is just a feather in the lower-pointed player's cap. :^) Such a ranking might be more useful than Rares or Uncommons in an environment where any cards could be selected -- if that's what someone does, of course. - -- Something to look at for this might actually be a miniature game rather than a card game, since I haven't seen anything like that in a CCG as of yet. However, Necromunda has a team rating system by which you get a larger or fewer number of experience points depending on how great the difference is between you and your opponent. If we were to have some kind of point based deck system, this might be the way to 'buy' new cards to add to your deck perhaps? E ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 13:06:58 -0700 From: edenesque@juno.com Subject: Re: IN> Paper on the Purity Crusade Well, here's one paper, told from the perspective of my first IN character: Onariel. Players in my game might recognize parts of it from a recent speech. :) - -------------------------------------------------------------------- To: The Pan-Entity Symposium on Tri-Planar Affairs From: Onariel, Seraph of Flowers Re: The Purity Crusade Debate "Hello to all my fellow beings! To those of you who don't know me, I am Onariel, Seraph of Flowers. To clarify from the beginning, I was not alive for the Purity Crusade. I was created by Mother Novalis in 1995 A.D. I feel that all of you elder angels need a viewpoint from one of the younger generation to provide balance. What I write is my own opinion and not representative of my Mother's or anyone else's views. First of all, I have to say that I am disappointed that such a debate even needs to occur in Heaven. We are angels, not demons. We debate this genocide as if it were in any way valid or even justifiable in any sense. I have read the paper from our poor lost soul who serves the Prince of Death, and I must say that I am greatly saddened. Even though I recognize much of the paper as the delusions of a Habbalite, and one warped by the perceptions of the Prince Saminga, I strongly fear that his views are echoed strongly by many of those who fought in the Crusade and by the Commander of our Host. I believe that the Purity Crusade can best be summed up as the end result of a military mindset. The military mind, from my perception of it, seeks to annihilate all it percieves as the enemy, often claiming that their foe is evil, is wrong-minded and dangerous. Certainly, the militant mindset justifies such actions as being defensive, as being for the greatest good of all. Did not Uriel in his madness claim the same? Uriel, First of the Malakim, Archangel of Purity. In some ways he authored the military mindset even before Michael. Is it any wonder that he whose Word was Purity was driven mad by the purified militancy that his actions caused? Could Uriel's madness have been predicted? I believe so. Note his very first reaction when his Purity, a throughly subjective Word, was threatened. He led the Raising of the Fists, the transformation that took otherwise happy angels and transformed them into the first of the Malakim, the Virtues who are Heaven's warrior-angels. What is Purity? Can anyone say? What was he trying to keep pure by forever staining the ideals and happiness of Heaven with his thoughtless massacre? He gave up the bright Truth and in so doing, he embraced something which I believe ultimately claimed his mind and soul. What else could explain his irrational actions against the Ethereals? The Ethereals are the creations of the human mind, making them, or so I believe, the grandchildren of God. I have read that we of Heaven enjoyed a long peace with the Ethereals, even working with them. The kindly Blandine, our own Archangel of Dreams, knew the most of them and I've not the privilege of meeting her, but I have heard some of the older Servitors of my Mother speak of the times they worked and fought alongside the spirits of the forest, and they describe a partnership of love, not fear or hatred. I have even been given to understand that some of the pantheons, in particular members of the Indian one, enjoyed a working relationship with the Archangel Michael, so what finally snapped in Uriel's mind? Part of it can be traced, I believe, to the battle with Beelzebub that I have read about in the Great Library of Heaven. The effects of Superior on Superior combat are so little-known. Who is to say that Uriel was not corrupted in his battle with Corruption, and the corruption affected his mind? I cannot. All I know is the results. Millions dead, our friends sundered from us, perhaps forever, a massive gain in the morale and the forces of Hell, and all for nothing. We wish to redeem our kindred in Hell, and by our actions we proved that their rebellion has changed us for the worst. We allowed their attitudes of selfishness and desire for dominion dominate us. By what right could we claim the Marches as our own? Heaven is our province. Only the Lady Blandine knows enough of the Marches to truly thrive there. Instead, the Host of Heaven presumed to dictate to our Ethereal kindred the terms and limits of their functions, functions granted to them by the humans that made them and by extension, by God Himself. It is not the place of angels to countermand God. In so doing, we have only justified the actions of our sundered demonic kindred. If it is acceptable for an Archangel, the Commander of the Hosts of Heaven, to flaunt God's laws, then why should not the demons? Can you imagine the study in hypocrisy our behavior makes by declaring that they may not flaunt God's laws but that we can? We compromised our entire cause and averted the potenial redemption of countless demons in a war that ultimately accomplished nothing save the division of the Host and the loss of our allies. Look about you. Ethereals are still forming today from the thoughts and dreams of mortals. The old pantheons still hang on, gathering Essence, and many now serve Hell since Heaven has proven untrustworthy. Purity is gone, perhaps forever. The only positive thing to come out of this whole fiasco is that, perhaps, we have learned a lesson. Our so-called victory in the Purity Crusade was Pyrrhic, too high a price to pay. The ultimate madness of following the stern dictates of the military mindset has forever damaged the angelic psyche. Perhaps, hopefully, we can learn from this tragic and horrific crime and not repeat it in the future. I refer to Armageddon here. In our thrist for dominion, in our self-proclaimed righteousness, we massacred countless Ethereals. It is my fervent and Truthful hope that we will not repeat such a calamity in our dealings with our demonic kindred in Hell. Thank you for your time. Onariel, Seraph of Flowers. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 13:38:46 -0700 From: edenesque@juno.com Subject: IN>Quirky Destinarian I've had this idea stewing in my mind for a couple of days, with thanks to James for the proper way to write up an IN character (looking at his Kushiel write-up). Let me know what you think. :) - ------------------------------------------ Quicin Outcast Mercurian of Destiny Corporeal Forces: 1 Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Ethereal Forces: 5 Intelligence: 9 Precision: 1 Celestial Forces: 3 Will: 5 Perception: 1 Vessel/3: A human man in his late fifties with a large bald spot surrounded by white hair and light-blue eyes. Discord: Paranoia/4, Unstable/5 Skills: Human Psychology/3, Human Philosophy/5 Fast-talk/3, Lying/3, Emote/3, Savoir-Faire/4, Religion/6 Songs: Nimbus (Celestial/5), Attraction (Ethereal/4), Shields (Corporeal/1, Ethereal/4, Celestial/2), Charm (all/4), Possesion (all/3). Attunements: Mercurian of Destiny, Divine Destiny, Divine Logic, Synchronicity. Quicin was created by Yves in 1981 A.D. and spent several years in Heaven, working on the skills he would need to know. In 1987, after proving himself a skilled orator and philosopher, Yves sent Quicin down to Earth in the role of a Roman Catholic priest to encourage people towards their Destinies and scarcely gave the matter any further thought. For ten years, Quicin thrived on Earth, bringing many a lost or scared soul to the Light of Heaven and to their individual Destinies. Life was good. Then things changed. In 1997, Quicin recieved a visitor. His name was Francis and he seemed to be no more than a troubled eleven-year-old boy in need of a friendly ear, which Quicin was perfectly willing to provide. Francis explained that he was being pressured at school to try drugs and to join a gang, but that his mom and dad were never around for him to talk to. Deciding that a hands-on approach would be required in this case, Quicin called the parents to his office. When they arrived, he was in for a shock. The parents weren't human, either of them! It may not have been apparent to the untrained eye, but the parents both had the air of celestials about them! After exchanging what advice he could about their son, he decided to investigate further. He took to secrely trailing the family, observing them. It didn't take long to realize why Francis felt so depressed and alienated. His 'father' was draining him of Essence each day! Deciding to probe further, Quicin followed the parents to a nightclub one evening and found the mother working there, collecting all kinds of Geasa from the drunk patrons of the tavern. That confirmed it. An Impudite and a Lilim, but who did they serve? Confirmation of that didn't take long. When the Lilim began using Fated Future to determine who to Geas, Quicin felt a chill spread through him. He realized that Francis, who was fully human, was in danger, as were so many others. He could only think to go contact his Archangel for assistance. Unfortunately, Quicin didn't have the Essence for the attempt. Left to his own devices, Quicin acted. He returned to Francis's home, disguised as a burgular. In spite of the dissonance involved, he cold-clocked Francis, pummeled him severely, then left, dropped the disguise, and came back, supposedly a priest come to check up on parishoners. He "discovered" the unconscious Francis, called the cops and then child protective services, and got the boy removed from his adopted parents. The ensuing investigation revealed many unsettling facts about the parents, which ruined their mortal roles and sent them to prison for a long time. Feeling mightily pleased with himself, Quicin returned to Heaven after seeing to it that Francis got into a good foster home. Yves was not so pleased by the methods used, and that was Quicin's downfall. He could not reconcile his good deeds with Yves's patient outlook. Immediate action was called for in that circumstance and if the Archangel of Destiny was too hidebound to act when it was required, then he would act on his own. So saying, he dived through a Tether and went renegade, becoming an Outcast. You can still find Quicin out there, a tattered old priest preaching to the crowds. He moves around a lot to avoid Judgement and to escape the bizarre amount of home break-ins, kidnappings, and even murders that he has committed in the name of bringing people to their Destinies...by whatever means necessary. He doesn't trust many people, is horribly Discordant, but he is still fired by his misguided zeal for saving others. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2246 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.