From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Sun Jun 17 22:29:51 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 WAA10963 for ; Sun, 17 Jun 2001 22:29:51 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id WAA05756 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Sun, 17 Jun 2001 22:29:02 -0500 Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 22:29:02 -0500 Message-Id: <200106180329.WAA05756@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 #2266 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, June 17 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2266 In this digest: Re: IN> Iron Rev: Nipping One in the Bud IN> IRON REV: Seg Heil IN> Quick angel idea Re: IN> Quick angel idea IN> Why Dominic hates his job IN> The Accuser IN> Iron Rev II Submission Re: IN> Why Dominic hates his job ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 20:23:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Maurice Lane Subject: Re: IN> Iron Rev: Nipping One in the Bud - --- Matthew Gerber wrote: > This Angelic seed is for beginning characters. I didn't get the joke until the end ... which meant that it all hit my poor brain at once. Matt, you will know fear, then you will know pain, and then, you will die. Moe PS: :) ===== Liber Licentiae Moeticae: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 06/05/01(this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Spot the hottest trends in music, movies, and more. http://buzz.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 02:38:09 -0400 (EDT) From: "Rev. Pee Kitty" Subject: IN> IRON REV: Seg Heil (This could be played as dark or darkly fun. Best in a lower-contrast game, but works fine in others as well.) Seg Heil - -------- "You'll get service with a smile with the Doctor Marten Dental Plan Looks like a splitting headache, bleeding from the core Your eyes are swollen shut and your teeth are on the floor Your senseless babble's over, why don't you give it up? Tell me how the hell will you speak when your mouth is wired shut?" -- Bound for Glory, "Doctor Marten Dental Plan" "The power. The strength. The pride. The Seg." -- Stolzenik Ad Long a relative unknown in the combat boot scene, Stolzenik Footwear has been gaining a slow but steady share of the market over the past few years. While still a distant fourth or fifth in the footwear heirarchy, wearing their boots no longer elicits pity from the fashion-conscious punks and skinheads. A small company, Stolzenik focuses more on streetwear and clubwear, with a small selection of hiking boots, and owes a great deal of its resurgence to both its attractive and unique new lines of boots, and its simple, understated magazine and radio ads. Its new line of boots, however - the Seg series - have sparked a minor unease in a few circles. Some people feel the ads and design can be interpreted as being directed towards neo-nazi skinheads! The slogans focus on Power, Pride, and Strength; the boots feature a double 'X' design in steel lacing going up the back; and the stylized 'Stolzenik' logo is rendered as just an 'S', which detractors say will be taken for 'Skinhead'. It doesn't help that the street scene has adopted the same view as well; instead of red-laced Doc Martens, the simple black-laced Segs have become the defining skinhead footwear. No one who doesn't want to be branded a nazi is wearing them, but the racist skinhead market is just large enough to support the small run of Segs... available exclusively at official Stolzenik outlet stores. THE CAST AND STORY Haidela, Cherub Friend of the Shareholders (Forces: 3/4/4, Divine Contract) Haidela was assigned to Stolzenik Footware about a decade ago, with orders to build it into a viable competitor to keep the marketplace even. He worked his Role, "Bernard J. Haidela", up to VP of Marketing within a few years, and eventually resurrected the dying company. With the current industry model, Haidela knows that Stolzenik is unlikely to grow (or shrink) noticeably until the marketplace is due to change, several years from now. Slightly bored, he became intrigued, and then won over, by Valequiel's ideas. He doubts Marc will approve of Alsimadal's overall goals, but believes he can justify the plan as an attempt to generate free publicity (and revenue) through a minor scandal, and to expand on Heaven's information-gathering methods (see below). Valequiel, Malakite of the Wind (Forces: 3/2/5, Seraph of the Wind, Passage) Valequiel, an old friend of Haidela's, has as much Fire in him as Wind. Close friends with Alsimadal and his fellow Gabriellites, Valequiel (an excellent computer hacker and even better fast-talker) has helped them on several occasions. Sensing his friend's stagnation, he convinced Haidela to make USE of this company which he practically "owned". Working on it a little at a time, he set up a fantastic computer program, along with trojans for the outlet stores to report back to the main computer, which would record and analyze all sales of Seg boots. Who bought them, where, and when are all recorded and tracked. Meanwhile, Haidela's ads and Alsimadal's agents on the street are ensuring that nearly all sales of Segs are to neo-nazi skinheads. The end result: Detailed traffic analysis of the skinhead population, an easy way to identify them on sight, and an extra "fun" feature in the boots themselves (see below). Alsimadal, Kyriotate Vassal of Fire (Forces: 4/3/4, Smite) Alsimadal and his friends (five other Fire Servitors) work the street scene, dealing with the cruelty of punks, gangs, skinheads, etc. It was Alsimadal's musings that inspired Valequiel and brought the three angels together to establish the secret plot, and it was Alsimadal who insisted on making use of this gathered information for an activity near and dear to his heart... NAZI HUNTING Six months after the release of Segs, thanks to the integrated computer network and analysis programs, the trio of angels will have accurate estimations of neo-nazi skinhead density across the country. This is when the Angels of Fire get to express themselves. Showing up amidst dozens of skinheads in rather large vessels with baseball bats is fun enough, but then the boots themselves add to the sheer glee... Valequiel designed the hard-rubber heel of the Segs himself, including the small transponder and detonatable charge. When a certain frequency is transmitted within close range, the transponder activates and transmits back, acting as a sort of "skinhead radar" on the handheld units the angels will be carrying. A second transmission, of an encoded pulse, detonates the small charge in the heels of the boots. This causes some damage (one body hit to each foot) and reduces Move to one-fifth normal (one-half normal if they can get out of the now-mangled Seg boots). Much fun when the skinheads start to run, you see. GETTING THE PCs INVOLVED Angels and demons can both become involved in any stage of this adventure. Perhaps the most subtle way to work it in is to use the Stolzenik ads as color in a game for some time; this works well if some of the PCs are involved in the street scene. When the Seg ads start, the GM can make it slightly more obvious as time goes on that something is odd. The players may investigate simply as a diversion, and be surprised at what they find. Angels may be recruited to help with the plot. The trio can use help in every stage, from information gathering to media work to street rumor-spreading. Angels may disapprove, or be recruited by those who disapprove, and be forced to stop it. Demons may wish to aid or hinder, depending on their Prince. The natural tendency may be to assume that demons are behind such a plot; GMs should make liberal use of red herrings if the PCs assume as much. Demons (and angels of Stone) may be involved in the skinhead community. They can become away of the plot before it peaks, and work to stop it. Or they can find themselves and their 'comrades' suddenly under attack. A PC with a Role as a skinhead may find himself in trouble. Even a Role as a clerk may reveal something unusual, if the Role happens to be a clerk in a Stolzenik store...or an inner city podiatrist.... - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian, Q4B4L! Meow! When I was a young boy / My momma said to me, "Son, you're a girl / Now take off my strap-on." -- Samjo (Pee Kitty's girlfriend) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 16:37:54 -0400 From: Cameron McCurry Subject: IN> Quick angel idea I'm back from the desert. Two weeks of work in the Mojave at 29 Palms. And when the sun is baking your brain, it's amazing the ideas that pop up out of it.... A woman is studying for her final exam for medical school. To her distress, she realizes that she is drawing a blank on several important questions. Suddenly, her mind clears and she remembers the correct answers. A Marine Recruit is desperately trying to sight in on a target for Rifle Qualification. He knows that if he can't pass, he is not going to continue training. As he looks downrange, his body relaxes and he begins to hit the target with incredible accuracy. A man is hiking down a trail when he suddenly feels compelled to take a path he'd never been down before. Within half an hour, he finds someone lying on the side and dying from injuries he took in a fall. Tabatha is a Kyriotate of Yves and has been in the service of Destiny for about forty years. She is a bit different from most Dominations. Rather than stay in a host for days, she prefers to remain long enough to give them a slight nudge then moves along to the next person. Other angels are rather confounded with her approach. It seems that she chooses people at random, but always finds the right person to help at the right time. Tabatha chooses not to discuss it beyond saying that most humans don't need to be guided beyond slight nudges which is what she is providing. Her work has already earned her the Friend Distinction and the attention of a few Servitors of Fate. Tabatha has been responsible for guiding dozens of people away from Hell which has earned her a great many enemies. The fact that they can't pin down who she'll posses next just adds to their annoyance. So if you find yourself feeling a bit luckier than normal during a stressful time, you have an idea who you may need to thank. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 21:14:59 -0000 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: Re: IN> Quick angel idea Now *that's* an *angel.* Janet Anderson _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 19:25:47 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> Why Dominic hates his job Dominic sighed as he watched Solomon chase the mice in Yves's cathedral. The cat was under strict instructions not to harm them though he suspected Solomon had learned his lesson after trying to catch the mice in the Cathedral of Laurence, the church mice of the Sword had given his beloved kitty a good one for and Dominic had judged it suitable punishment for all and self defense. "Oh boy." Dominic sighed looking over the Document for today. "Meow?" Solomon replied. Dominic read the sheet outloud for his cat, stopping only once to say "You probably would be better off not knowing." Case Load for Day 2362822828282882288222662626292929272982262982022002# 1. The Trial of Heidrich Hauser Case Type: Resolution between Superior and Saint Nature of Case: Subject Heidrich Hauser was a German officer assigned to the rounding up of Gypsies during Nazi Germany and willfully did this horrofic act believing it would better Germany to be rid of . Fortunately or Unfortunately depending on one's views in the case currently being expressed Heidrich did not achieve his Fate of slaughtering 1 million living beings and after considerable time in Argentina having escaped the persecution of the Allied Forces he managed to save a single life at the cost of his own by throwing his granddaughter out of the way of a car. The arrival of said being in Heaven has caused considerable unrest as the newly blessed soul does not apparently yet fully understand the ramifications of his sins..... Laurence himself requests arbitration as he finds the man repellent and disruptive to his unity of faiths. Dominic rolled all of his eyes. "Hmmm recommend getting him to go to the Higher Heavens..." Dominic scribbed down his catch all, humans could be forgiven anything in Heaven...that was the way it should work but sometimes minds required divine guidence to work properly even here. If he didn't agree Dominic would have to arrange a sentence of "humanity touching" where he witnessed the consequences of his actions....or just inform the souls to grin and bear it, this is Heaven after all... 2. Temple of the Mount, Jerusalem "incident" Case Type: Creationers and their acting Superiors vs. Several Superiors Mercurian of the Creation in the Service to Wind Jaye and Cherub of Creation in the service of War, Bobiel the Silent have a long history of violating laws having been repeatably brought up for charges of Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, and setting appalling examples of langauge for humanity. Recently after a reprimand by Triad 13# they decided to make up for their lost time by ending the unrest in Israel. The two workers masquerading as a Jewish Orthodox settler and a Muslim extremist proceeded to remove everyone from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem with rumors of a gas leak before blowing it up and claiming it was done to bring peace. The results of the Situation also include the death of the Seneschal of Factions by the Silent One's hands but needless to say Khalid and Laurence are after the soul death of both. Gabriel has also dissapeared and we have confined both angels to keep them out of trouble (it is expected it will fail) and for their own protection (ditto). Reactions by mortals is currently still shocked silence but as always, such should not affect the decision. Dominic looks at the paper in a double take after reading it aloud "Oh heavens not them again." 3. Unrest causing Angelic activity in the Ethereal Marches Case type: Angelic Insanity Blitziel a Malakim of the Sword and a reliever during the Purity Crusade has been assigned to track down Tsaydim in the Marches and record their actions by his superior. During this time in order to earn their trust Blitziel engauged in wholesale massacre of ethereals and torture of them it is believed to also help "teach them to fear God". The Elohim Triad member also detected joy at the suffering of the creatures which he argues is a righteous act. Laurence has deliberated the case unto you and no further questioning has remained though the Triad Seraph Joseph believes the man is also guilty of sexually violating ethereals he is under the impression it falls not under lust but a believed form of inflicting more intimidation upon ethereals. Dominic sighed, he hated these cases and imagined Blandine's malakim had a few words of their own for Blitziel. Dominic suspected the Malakim would become clean of all things that he could prosecute him for but would recommend treatment in Blandine's aslylum...irony was a word of Judgement few knew. "Meow!" Solomon agreed with the decision and then pounced on some flying tuna that was floating by before Dominic pulled it's tail and it got away. "Meow..." the kitty cried a bit as Dominic thought about what cats liked he could give it....perhaps a summoned tuna or carrots...yes cats liked carrots and nuts didn't they? 4. Angelic concord violation Case Type: War vs. Flowers A large amount of unrest was caused between a cabal of Michael's best demon hunters along with their mortal soldiery came across a group of demons that were seeking redemption according to several servitors of flowers but detected a great deal of double dealing duplicity though some honest progress. Arguements broke out that the group was actually being assembled by a known Hardcore demon as a renegade army against the local Asmodian groups and angels in the city but to no avail. In a pre-emptive strike the renegades and Hardcore demon were destroyed by holy gunfire and grenades which were done under a flag of peace with most soul killed and the rest put in trauma. The Triad resolved them of any guilt in the matter until it was discovered that they not the Hardcore demon blew up the Flowers base of operations (not a tether) and sent them into trauma and vesseldom which they argue was proprotional to the attack's danger and flowers abilities make it impossible to wage war effectively. Dominic snorted. "This is a good one." Dominic found the list of War's servitors names "The leader who ordered the attack shall be Outcast from Heaven for the sin of Wrath until such time he can realize we are not Hell. The others shall be deprived from all corporeal duty until retrained and aware that there are other methods of dealing with such....the soldiers are hereby to never be contacted again and left berift of divine contact for the rest of their lives if they knew of such." Dominic sighed and got his kitty before leaving the room. "I really hate my job." "MEOW!" Solomon said and DOminic thought about petitoning the Council to give the little scamp a word. He *thought* she was an angel after all. - -Charlemagne ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 20:00:22 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> The Accuser Here's a thought. We know Satan means the "Accuser" and its traditional association with Lucifer but what if aside from Morningstar and Light that Satan actually was another Title of Lucifers before he actually fell from Grace. In effect that Lucifer had a job like Gabriel the Messenger much more than simply being the Archangel of Light. Lucifer as the Accuser would be the one to root out dissident ideas, bring to light infractions of humanity, and test angel's loyalty to Heaven by bringing punishments down upon them in order to better prepare them. Sound familar don't it? Now if we exclude the Davidian aspects of the last... In effect it is VERY interesting if the Archangel of Judgement might actually have originally been a servitor of the Lightbringer before his elevation to Angel of Judgement led to leaving his service. It might also explain why everyone hates Dominic it sometimes seems.... He holds the Job of the Watcher when the last watcher used his position to it's worst possible advantage. - -Charlie ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 17:04:39 -0700 From: Ryan Elias Subject: IN> Iron Rev II Submission Hmph. Substantially less awful than the first couple of versions, so it'll have to do. Bit over 1000 words, but less than 10k. - ------------------------ The Concave Cup or Raiders of the Three Realms Part 36: The Glass Eye OUR PROTAGONIST To here him tell it, he's the last rebel and the first humanist. He's abandoned Hell and turned his back on Heaven. He has immersed himself in humanity itself, the swell of emotion and feeling, pain and pleasure, tasting the highs and lows creation has to offer. He's played the markets on Wall Street, the tables in Vladivostok and the violin on the peak of Everest as the sun set and Sir Hillary huddled in his tent, dreaming of glory. He's drunk deep from the well of sin and the elixir of Heaven, and has decided that it will take a Redemption of a different sort to satisfy him. So what is there but to search for the Grail? Whether it exists in clay and stone, or solely in the minds of humankind, he will find it, and see what can be done. To here Judgement tell it, he's a Renegade of the most dangerous sort, immoral and utterly unpredictable, but charismatic enough to draw others to him. Not out and out evil, his sins are of the more subtle sort, preaching the abandonment of all responsibility and authority. Even worse, he has defenders and supporters among both Archangels and Demon Princes, to say nothing of humanity, despite the fact that he is more often a hindrance than a help to anybody. That he is as happy to overturn the meticulous plans of Hell as well as of Heaven is enough for some, it would seem... THE STORY SO FAR To some, our tale would appear to begin on a dark and stormy night, when our protagonist falls from the sky over Cape Town, hurled from Asgard by a jealous Hel, falling almost two hundred feet to land in a crumpled heap in an empty parking lot. Because it is then that the shard of crystal, a gift from Marcifel herself, that has been sewn into the toe of his left boot, is stolen, along with the rest of his clothes, making its way eventually into the nexus of events. In truth, it starts in another time and place entirely, a dry and clean basement, a quiet evening. A machine lurks among antique furniture and camping gear, its creator puttering about, adding a dab of paint here, filing down a sharp corner there. And then it is finished, and the inventor, his work completed at last, collapses in front of the only offspring he will ever have. His knees give out and his forehead hits the floor, and when he is found it is as if his last act were to prostrate himself in front of the machine. The house is auctioned off, and the device, possibly the most important discovery in the history of humanity, goes with it. Its name is Bartholomew. THE SCENARIO They say that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so it comes as little surprise that a woman scorned can also bring down Hell's fury. That the woman in this case is Hel only confuses matters. When our protagonist awakens, naked and cold, he is aware that both Heaven and Hell have been told that he is here, and defenseless. There are doubtless agents looking for him even now. He also becomes aware that the crystal he has been entrusted with is gone. He knows that it is still in the city, but where? The lost crystal's twin, which has replaced his left eye, he still has, so a gamble must be made. He leaves the second crystal to be found by his pursuers. It is likely their only clue, and he hopes that they will be able to lead him to the first. He needs both if he wishes to be readmitted to Marcifel's realm. Both pieces of crystal are light blue and diamond hard, about the size of a human eye and quite unique. Our protagonist's pursuers will find it in the parking lot only recently vacated by their quarry. Their assigned task, of course, is to bring the last rebel to justice. There are clues, should they look in the correct places. The community around our protagonist's landing spot was very much aware of him, but it will take some doing to track down his clothing. There is also a clothing store a few blocks over which was recently burglarized by persons unknown, although witnesses claim that it was a one-eyed man who did the deed. As to where he could be now, though, they don't know. The hunters' best bet is probably to pursue our protagonist's belongings. Sufficiently threatening threats or valuable bribes will establish that there was indeed a gem similar to the one found by the hunters on the body of the man from the sky. It was eventually sold to an individual who frequents the markets regularity, a white man dressed as a soldier. Nobody knows who he is or where he comes from, only that he occasionally buys odd or expensive things, books (most of the merchants are illiterate) and jewelry (always things found, rather than made) and once a long knobbly piece of metal that was found on the beach. Their inquiries have not gone unnoticed, however. The soldier who bought our protagonist's lost crystal is a member of the Emerald Way. This society of dastards and scavengers controls much of the trade, both legitimate and otherwise, of lower end Cape Town. Their agenda? To wait and grow, and to build. Bartholomew has grown to fill his basement, but is still not content. He can sense the inherent capability of his design, but without his inventor, who's forces were the first he stole when he achieved sentience all those years back, the first truly man-made intelligence knows not how to go about improving himself. The properties of the gem, though, Marcifel's first and finest act of Creation, intrigue him, and talk of unknown humans, for he knows nothing of the war, who hold a double of the gem, intrigue him enough to send agents to capture them. To sum up, then, Cape Town has become very crowded very rapidly. Both Heaven and Hell have sent agents to capture our protagonist and foil each other. One of them has the second crystal, although both probably want it. Bartholomew and the Emerald Way have the second gem, and want the first, as well as any information they can force from those they capture. Both parties will shortly find themselves pursued at every avenue by corrupt policemen and Mafia hit squads. Meanwhile, our protagonist watches and waits for an opportunity to acquire both crystals and return to the Marches without being caught himself, dropping hints and clues for his pursuers, any and all of them, should it become necessary to keep them occupied. And what of Hel? She can see through her father's gift to our protagonist, and in exchange for our protagonist's location, has been granted a vessel by Nightmares, the better to aid the demonic forces in their search. But her goals are far more muddled; she regrets her decision to turn in our bold renegade, and will wish to make amends and take him back to her realm. But should he spurn her again, as seems more than likely, Malachi had better hope that the Game catches him before she does. STATS Malachi, Renegade Calabite, formerly of the Game 17 Forces, balanced towards Ethereal Vessel/3 (middle-aged human male, Cha+2) Skills: Malachi has most skills at levels 4-6 Songs: Many Songs, including several Secret and Lost songs (Eli, David and Baal's secret Songs, and the Song of Visions, for those who have the Liber Canticorum). He will be very reluctant to cause any disturbance, howeer Attunements: Calabite of the Game, Humanity, Knight of Judgement, Calabite of Lust, Transubstantiation, Trickster's Face (This attunement is a gift from Loki, who's brief fling with Malachi was cut abruptly short when Hel, Loki's daughter, found them together. For a single Essence, Malachi can take the form of any person who's name he knows. This lasts until someone calls him by his own name, or if he is touched by direct sunlight). Discord: Damaged Sense (sight/2), Lustful/3 Hel, Norse Goddess 11 Forces, Balanced towards Ethereal Vessel/1 (human female) Skills: Few, mostly archaic. English/3, with a heavy eastern-European accent quite at odds with her dark-skinned vessel. Songs: Several, notably the Songs of Entropy and Charm. Bartholomew, AI 6 Forces (5 Ethereal, 1 Celestial) Skills: Engineering, Computer Operation and Electronics all at 6, several other knowledges at 1-3 Attunements and Songs: None, but anybody working on Bartholomew, must make a Cel Forces + Electronics roll. If they succeed, Bartholomew absorbs either an Ethereal or Celestial force. The symphonically aware will notice this, others will simply feel tired and sluggish ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 23:27:34 -0400 From: Daniel Sauve Subject: Re: IN> Why Dominic hates his job On Sun, 17 Jun 2001 19:25:47 -0400, "Charles Phipps" wrote: >Mercurian of the Creation in the Service to Wind Jaye and Cherub of Creation >in the service of War, Bobiel the Silent Oh, you figured out those two were Eli's boys too, Eh? :) - -- Your GM Daniel Sauve (in nomine, shadowrun, earthdawn, hero unlimited) ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2266 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.