From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Thu Jan 29 07:49:14 1998 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id HAA31526 for ; Thu, 29 Jan 1998 07:49:13 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id HAA01688 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Thu, 29 Jan 1998 07:45:14 -0600 Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 07:45:14 -0600 Message-Id: <199801291345.HAA01688@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 #601 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 Thursday, January 29 1998 Volume 01 : Number 601 In this digest: Re: IN> Review: "Low Estate," by Sixteen Horsepower Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth IN> More Christian rock Re: IN> Upside Down IN> Kobal's "Welcome to Hell" orientation Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth Re: IN> More Christian rock Re: IN> More Christian rock Re: IN> Doing something behind his DP's back Re: IN> Kobal's "Welcome to Hell" orientation Re: IN> Kobal's "Welcome to Hell" orientation Re: IN> Re: Role Problems IN> Re: IN- Re: Role Problems Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth Re: IN> Intervention stuff Re: IN> Fallen Re: IN> Intervention stuff ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 00:05:40 -0500 From: Jesse Subject: Re: IN> Review: "Low Estate," by Sixteen Horsepower >Folks, go look at the self-titled album by Jars of Clay, while your >at it. Very good Christian rock - they had a single on the radio a >few years ago called "Flood", in case any of you remember. Yeah. They are pretty good. The best Christian Folk music out there is Bob Dylan's Bootlegs Vol. #2. This has a few great Christian songs on it. Some of the only ones he did. Bob Dylan Forever! - -Jesse, sometime Soul of Tongue-Planted-So-Far-in-Cheek-I-Have-a-Second-Set-of-Lips ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 00:35:08 -0500 (EST) From: Casca Subject: Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth On Wed, 28 Jan 1998, Nathaniel Eliot wrote: > > Incorrect again. I find no references to the Seraphim Council or > > Lucifer awarding AA/DP status, and plenty of references to those > > selfsame entities awarding Words. > > Night Music, _Demon Prince of Rock and Roll_. Duh. I go now to drive an iron spike through my brain for forgetting this. > Who ever said Lucifer wanted efficiency? An efficient organization > can replace it's leader quite efficiently. But if Hell isn't efficient -- if Satan doesn't care how well he fights the War -- then what's the point of fighting? > [Hehe - fluff, but fun fluff...] Not really. I'm beginning to find it tiresome. I mean, Beth is a lovely person and all, and I respect her a great deal, but all the fawning that's going on among Servitors of Nitpicking is getting old. But then, I've been accused of being bitter, cynical and jaded. - -- Casca, Seraph of Archives? (bertishg@db.erau.edu) "...I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying...At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke." -- Isaiah 6:2,4 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 05:42:55 +0000 From: Jo Hart Subject: Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth At 00:35 29/01/98 -0500, you wrote: > >> [Hehe - fluff, but fun fluff...] > >Not really. I'm beginning to find it tiresome. > >I mean, Beth is a lovely person and all, and I respect her a great deal, >but all the fawning that's going on among Servitors of Nitpicking is >getting old. > True. Good netiquette would suggest that if the topic of a posting is unlikely to be of interest to more than one or two other people, private email is a more appropriate forum for debate. Your servant, jo netiquette daemon - ---------- "I like getting into hot water, it keeps me clean." G. K. Chesterton jhart@btinternet.com -- http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~jhart/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 00:58:07 -0500 From: Jesse Subject: Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth >True. Good netiquette would suggest that if the topic of a posting is >unlikely to be of interest to more than one or two other people, private >email is a more appropriate forum for debate. Netiquette? Is that in Net England south of Webbsatuettes? - -Jesse - -Jesse, sometime Soul of Tongue-Planted-So-Far-in-Cheek-I-Have-a-Second-Set-of-Lips ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 01:37:10 -0500 (EST) From: Pee Kitty Subject: IN> More Christian rock On Thu, 29 Jan 1998, Jesse wrote: > >Folks, go look at the self-titled album by Jars of Clay, while your > >at it. Very good Christian rock - they had a single on the radio a > >few years ago called "Flood", in case any of you remember. > > Yeah. They are pretty good. The best Christian Folk music out there is > Bob Dylan's Bootlegs Vol. #2. This has a few great Christian songs on it. > Some of the only ones he did. One group that I've become enamoured of recently is A3. They're very unusual...I can best describe them as Country Fusion with a hint of Techno. Yeah, you read that right. No, they're NOTHING like the Rednex. :) Current single in semiheavy rotation on M2 is "Not Goin' to Goah". It's kind of...country music laid over a soft techno drum beat, with the occasional rhythmic breakdowns to preach over. Very interesting stuff... Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian (Married to Rev. Unibomber on 11/15/96 - be jealous ;) Meow! And finally, a special message to anyone who thinks I give a damn... \|/ ____ \|/ ~@-/ oO \-@~ /_( \__/ )_\ \__U_/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 01:50:56 -0500 From: "Ehrbar" Subject: Re: IN> Upside Down Here's my first eleven developments of the "Upside-Down" Superiors... (Not authorized by Redneck, but I never hestiate to steal an idea, adapt the rulebook, and throw the product on the list. Note that I kept the canon definitions of Fate and Destiny instead of the reversed definitions implied in Redneck's post) (NOTE: Chiors do not necessarily reflect the traditional Band/Choir correspondences. I felt that the nature of Superiors and the shaping power of their Words was more than sufficient justification for having different Bands or Choirs as necessary.) ARCHANGELS: ANDREALPHUS, Archangel of Love: The world is to be loved. Sometimes Angels seem cold-hearted by human standards. Not so with the Archangel Andrealphus and his Servitors. As befits the angels of Divine Love, they get along with everyone. They even try to show demons kindness first, their swords second. The Archangel of Love, Andre to his friends, is a perfect Mercurian. He loves mankind and all men. He also is a lover of art, and artistic inspiration has been part of his Word since the Falls of Gabriel and Eli. He and his Servitors are well-liked by all the angels who concentrate on the world more than the War. Andre frowns on his angels participating in overtly-violent missions, and thus tends to have difficulty working with the more militaristic angels. In recent years, his servants and even other Archangels have been haing difficulty contacting him, as he spends more and more time working directly with mankind. For centuries, Andrealphus had been working with Nybbass, Archangel of the Word, trying to get people to love one another through religion. He's become disenchanted by the results, and part of his reason for spending so much time on Earth is to try to figure out what he needs to do "next time". In the meantime, Andrealphuss has committed his Servitors to encouraging artitst and teaching people that love is the true meaning of life. - ---------------- ASMODEUS, Archangel of the Promise: The world is a promise that we must keep. Asmodeus and his Servitors are the guardians of righteousness among the angels of Heaven, responsible for keeping internal order and maintaining moral standards. Asmodeus is a Cherub, attuned to the Host as a whole. This is the source of his implacability -- he sees dissonance or Discord in an angel as a blot on the whole of the Host, and thus hates it passionately. However, he must not punish the innocent or punish the guilty too severely -- such actions would be harming the angel, and thus the Host. The difficulty of walking this tightrope is why Asmodeus is so humorless, and why he rules his angels with such a tight grip. After all, if they act autonomously, they might harm the Host. Only his most trusted Servitors are allowed even moderate autonomy, and Asmodeus checks in on all of his Servitors at least once a week. - ---------------- BAAL, Archangel of War: The world is a war, and Heaven must win it. With Baal leading the troops, Heaven's chances get better every century. A Seraph and warrior, Baal is the honorable leader of the Host against the hordes of Lucifer. Baal leads the Host as a planner and general, as opposed to the more hands-on approach of Belial or Michael, Demon Prince of the War. But this is not to say that he's a coward -- when the time calls for it, he leads the forces of Heaven from the front. He normally appears on Earth as a respectable human of military bearing, radiating charisma. Baal's angels are sent to the Earth to protect both mankind and other angels from the demonic menace. Baal watches over his charges constantly - -- he saw Yves and the other six of the eldest, holiest angels betray God, so he suspects everyone else. He does his best to make sure none of his Servitors who go Outcast ever make it to Hell -- they either quickly repent, or die. Baal rarely stays in any place for a significant period of time. The reason is simple -- the War never stops, and he must be constantly on the move to stay a step ahead of Hell. - ---------------- BELETH, Archangel of Fear: The world is prone to evil, so put the Fear of God into it. It is the job of the servants of Fear to inspire courage and strength in the good and terror in the hearts of the evil. Even the Shedim, those perverse horrors of Hell, shudder when the Servitors of Fear are named. Beleth, one of the first celestials created, is a Cherub. Since her lover Blandine's Fall, she's been a loner, and rarely involves herself in Archangelic politics. But that doesn't mean she isn't busy fighting in the War. Beleth and her Servitors are locked into a tremendous struggle with Blandine and her demons for the dreams of Mankind. While some of the other Archangels would prefer to see the Marches used more to inspire hope and comfort humanity, Beleth disagrees. She uses fear to bring out the strengths in humans and to puncture the self- delusions promoted by Blandine. And it seems to work -- the other Archangels generally admit that Beleth is remarkably effective. However, many (including Andrealphus) are concerned that she may be partly motivated by spite towards humans as the cause of the separation between herself and Blandine. - ---------------- BELIAL, Archangel of Fire: The world is impure. Burn it clean. When the rebellion began, it looked like Lucifer's victory was assured. After all, only one of the eldest eight (Yves, Michael, Lucifer, Baal, David, Eli, Gabriel, and Uriel) remained loyal to God, and it seemed the rest of the Host would follow them. But a minor angel in service to Gabriel refused. Filled with the righteous anger of God, Belial was transformed into the first of the Malakim and launched the attack on the treacherous Elder Angels. Most of the Host followed, and with Baal's defeat of Lucifer, the traitors retreated to Hell. Belial wanted to follow the traitors down to destroy them immediately, but Baal and Kronos dissuaded him, promising him there would be another day. Belial takes himself and his honor seriously, even by Malakim standards. He wears powerful "combat monster" vessels on Earth. He likes to dress well, and can hold his own in even the most sophisticated society -- but he'd prefer to be brawling in the seediest bar he can find. Belial's Servitors are sent to Earth to punish the evil, hunt Outcasts, and slay demons. They are the flame that purifies - ---------------- HAAGENTI, Archangel of Plenty: The world is bountiful, so have your fill and share. One of the younger Archangels, Haagenti was a Reliever for six hundred years before Andrealphus noticed the cheerful angel-to-be. Andrealphus saw a lot of himself in Haagenti, and took him under his wing (so to speak). Under Andre's benevolent guidance, Haagenti quickly proved himself, rising through the ranks until the young Mercurian gained the Word of Plenty. Soon thereafter, God promoted Haagenti to the status of Archangel. Eternally generous and eternally cheerful, Haagenti spends much of his effort making sure the residents of Heaven enjoy themselves, especially the human souls. He and his Servitors also try to brighten the lives of those on Earth. Haagenti directs his Servitors to discourage both hoarding and wasteful consumption. Instead, they enourage prudent use and generous sharing, to make sure everybody has enough and there'll always be enough to go around. His views can be summed up simply -- moderation in all things, including moderation. Haagenti intellectually understands the reasons for the War, and he has a great hatred for the wasteful, destructive Eli. However, his happy-go- lucky attitude grates on some of the more serious War-oriented Archangels, and in turn he thinks they really ought to lighten up. - ---------------- KOBAL, Archangel of Laughter: The world is absurd -- cherish it. Kobal, a Mercurian, is the jester of Heaven. Kobal appears to have a special place in God's heart; the more sserious Archangels grumble at the great lattitude Kobal seems to have. On Earth, humor is one of God's greatest gifts, making friendships easier and lightening misfortune. It is Kobal's duty to preserve that gift from being twisted into mockery, scorn, and despair. His angels serve Good by showing pomposity to be ridiculous, relaxing the overworked, and making the grieving laugh. Kobal manifests in a different guise every time he appears, because the unexpected is an important part of humor. Usually he appears animated, but these days he often seems depressed and resigned. The Archangel of Laughter used to spend much more time on the Earth, but the brutatlity of men against other men seems to be wearing on him. He is especially saddened to see what passes for humor in the mass media -- crude sight gags, people getting injured on home videos, and inane sex jokes. However, Kobal has kept his sense of humor, and tends to concentrate nowadays on the laughter that springs from joy. But deep within his mind, Kobal is troubled. Whether he can overcome this or will be pulled by despair to Fall might make all the difference in the War. - ---------------- KRONOS, Archangel of Fate: The world has a Fate -- act to prevent it. Soon after the Fall, a new being descended from the Upper Heavens -- Kronos. Manifesting as a being of no definite Choir, he quickly took a leadership role in putting Heaven back together. He demonstrated a great understanding of God's plan and a great sense of timing that helped the battered Host win several early battles against the more experienced Demons early in the War. Kronos is perpetually calm and rational. He rarely speaks, but when he does it is with great authority. He intervenes judiciously on the Earth, spending his personal effort only where it can do the most good. Kronos is eternally concerned with preserving the Symphony from the dark Fate the demons push it towards. With fewer resources than Yves, Kronos is forced to concentrate his efforts on the "important", those whose Fate would most help seal the Symphony's. He has a secondary concern with helping people reach their Destiny. Kronos and his Servitors are the givers of names and guardians of knowledge, although he's delegated technology to Valefor. Kronos was also the first Archangel to really try to shape religions. While religions haven't always turned out as Kronos had hoped, they usually have kept more people from their Fates than they push to them. However, nowadays Kronos now mostly advises Nybbas, who has primary reponsibility for religion. Kronos is not omniscient, but his resonance with the Symphony gives him knowledge of all names, everything that has been written down, and the dark potential Fates the world could have. He is the most respected soul in Heaven and, although Lilith doesn't trust him, is hostile to no one. - ---------------- MALPHAS, Archangel of Debate: The world? What do *you* think it is? Malphas presents himself as a wise and tolerant elder statesman. He is highly impressive, and few who have seen him ever forget what he looks like (even though he rarely appears in the same form twice). He especially enjoys being a Kyriotate because of the variety of perspectives it givess him on life. When Heaven needs a diplomat, Malphas is the Archangel whom everybody agrees is the best choice. He is well-liked by almost all the other Archangels and members of the Seraphim Council, and he returns the affection with interest. Malphas is the member of the Council who makes sure all points of view are heard and taken into account. Malphas is cordial with his servants; he really does take an interest in their thoughts and feelings, and often asks for their opinion on his own decisions (if only to analyze the answer so he understands his servants better). All of his angels feel cared for, and accordingly are especially motivated and enthusiastic. Malphas is violent only in the last extremity of self-defense, and his angels are expected to follow his example. After all, what good is a debate if everything is decided by muscles anyway? Malphas secretly (because he doesn't want to antagonize anybody) believes that the more militaristic Archangels need to learn a few things about negotiation, instaed of immediately reaching for their swords. - ---------------- NYBBAS, Archangel of the Word: The world cries out for the Word of God. Nybbas was a Servitor of Kronos for a long time as one of the major angels involved in creating and maintaining human religions. As the concept of holy scriptures took root among men, Nybbas focused more and more on that aspect of religion, and was eventually granted the Word of the Word. After the first writing of the Torah by the Hebrews, Nybbas was promoted from Philosopher to Archangel. Since then, his domain has expanded to religious expression in all its forms. Nybbas's manner is much like that of an honest televangelist -- highly emotional, charismatic, and bold. While he understands that subtle philosophy or mystical contemplation are also methods of supporting his Word, he has difficulty with them and usually has to ask Kronos for help. A Mercurian, Nybbas has a great love for mankind. - ---------------- SAMINGA, Archangel of Death: The world cycles from night into day, from winter to spring, from death into life. Saminga is a Kyriotate. He likes to manifest on Earth at the deaths of "important" people, meaning those who lived well, so that he can ease their induction into the ranks of Saints. When he does, he usually takes a small child as his host, who often gives out soothing words of wisdom. Only three millenia ago, Saminga was an ordinary angel in the service of Azrael. When Azrael sacrificed himself to defeat Legion, Kronos advised the Seraphim Council to grant the Word of Death to the youngling. The suprised Saminga was then called in by the Council to say a few words. His great humility and eloquence won over the Council, and Saminga became the Angel of Death. While Baal may command greater respect, Andrealphus may be more loved, and Kronos may have greater wisdom, the angel other angels most often wish to emulate is the balanced, humble, and good Archangel of Death. - ---------------- Steven Ehrbar, Calabite of Paperback Books, Servitor of Haagenti. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 03:13:26 -0500 From: bruce dykes Subject: IN> Kobal's "Welcome to Hell" orientation For our American readers, Friday evening at 6:30pm EST the cable network, Comedy Central starts their "British Invasion". First up at 6:30pm EST, and repeated at 11:00pm EST is an hour of Rowan Atkinson standup. Included in this hour is Rowan Atkinson, playing Satan delivering an orientation speech to the newly damned. " Are there any adulterers here? Yes? Well, if you would please be so kind as to line up behind that small guillotine there, thank you." Watch, record it, and watch it agian... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 03:21:26 +0000 From: Nathaniel Eliot Subject: Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth > > Who ever said Lucifer wanted efficiency? An efficient organization > > can replace it's leader quite efficiently. > > But if Hell isn't efficient -- if Satan doesn't care how well he > fights the War -- then what's the point of fighting? Two possibilities: 1) Satan knows he is Fated to loose. He is just doing it because he can (for a while) thumb his nose at God, and because it's something to pass the time. Why do you think Asmodeus (Game) and Kobal (Dark Humor) are mentioned as being favorites of his? 2) Satan does want to win the war, but he want's his own hide to be intact more. So he keeps hell unstable and inefficent so the Princes won't band together and gobble him up. > > [Hehe - fluff, but fun fluff...] > > Not really. I'm beginning to find it tiresome. Well, yeah. But once or twice is fun, and we're getting some useful stuff out of it. > I mean, Beth is a lovely person and all, and I respect her a great > deal, but all the fawning that's going on among Servitors of > Nitpicking is getting old. I think most people just wanted a chance to nitpick... > But then, I've been accused of being bitter, cynical and jaded. Bitter, but with a refreshing minty aftertaste. (Hey, it's 3am, what do you expect?) Nathaniel Eliot temujin9@mci2000.com "It's the eternal question, really; to be a slave in Heaven, or a star in Hell. But sometimes Hell doesn't look like Hell. On a good day, it can look like LA." - Playing God ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 03:21:26 +0000 From: Nathaniel Eliot Subject: Re: IN> More Christian rock > One group that I've become enamoured of recently is A3. They're very > unusual...I can best describe them as Country Fusion with a hint of > Techno. Yeah, you read that right. No, they're NOTHING like the > Rednex. :) Current single in semiheavy rotation on M2 is "Not Goin' > to Goah". It's kind of...country music laid over a soft techno drum > beat, with the occasional rhythmic breakdowns to preach over. Very > interesting stuff... Sound interesting. Do they have a web page? Nathaniel Eliot temujin9@mci2000.com "It's the eternal question, really; to be a slave in Heaven, or a star in Hell. But sometimes Hell doesn't look like Hell. On a good day, it can look like LA." - Playing God ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 04:01:01 -0500 (EST) From: Pee Kitty Subject: Re: IN> More Christian rock On Thu, 29 Jan 1998, Nathaniel Eliot wrote: > > One group that I've become enamoured of recently is A3. They're very > > unusual...I can best describe them as Country Fusion with a hint of > > Techno. Yeah, you read that right. No, they're NOTHING like the > > Rednex. :) Current single in semiheavy rotation on M2 is "Not Goin' > > to Goah". It's kind of...country music laid over a soft techno drum > > beat, with the occasional rhythmic breakdowns to preach over. Very > > interesting stuff... > > Sound interesting. Do they have a web page? No clue. I suppose a quick search on "A3" and "Goah" would turn up any such page, though. Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian (Married to Rev. Unibomber on 11/15/96 - be jealous ;) Meow! And finally, a special message to anyone who thinks I give a damn... \|/ ____ \|/ ~@-/ oO \-@~ /_( \__/ )_\ \__U_/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 04:16:27 EST From: Calabim Subject: Re: IN> Doing something behind his DP's back In a message dated 98-01-28 20:10:32 EST, you write: << So yes, maybe Lilith could do that. *Maybe*. But it seems highly unlikely that anything a mere non-Word-bound Servitor (and probably a short-lived one at that) could ever do for her would be worth her time and effort. Especially considering that that other Superior would probably be mad at *her* if he found out -- if Superiors *can* grant other Superiors' attunements, it must be something that seriously irks the Superior whose attunement is being granted. -David >> Well said. In the case of my demonic npc, Lilith is an almost definate no-go. The need for secrecy here is high, and it doesn't seem wise to let Lilith know your keeping dark secrets... This demon has good mind for organizations and proven very skilled as recruiting Soldiers of Hell. I'm not quite sure how good a bargaining lever this is with Lilith. I'm pretty sure Lilith has Soldiers, but her relationship with them is on a different wavelength than it is with most princes. Trading with one of Lilith's daughters is perhaps a little more workable. They still can't grant the attunement, but they charge less, and they can probably get my demon together with a demon who has it. I assume a lesser demon with an attunement can *not* grant it. I also assume he has a feel for the attunement and can reveal at least some information forming a starting point for research. Saminga's accumulation of power led to Lucifer's taking interest, which led to his becoming a prince. (See Night Music.) It follows that at least some of saminga's attunements pre-date Saminga's becoming word-bound. Therefor being word bound is not a prequisite to creating a new attunement, in fact the reverse probably comes closer to the truth. Developing attunements is one of the things that qualifies you for a word. The etherials seem to be another potential source of attunements...but as my demon wanders the bright and dark side of the etherial realm I have to wonder how long it will be before some agents of Blandine or Beleth notice that a servitor of Kronos has been spending a lot of time in the etherial...or worse yet, how long it is before Kronos begins to take note of his servitors doings. Kronos' library (or Yves' library) is likely loaded with interesting research tidbits. But the thought of a lower ranked demon trying to get access to what has to be one of the most sensitive parts of the library...brrrrr. On earth there must be some shred of research material in Egypt left over from Saminga's days. The Vatican probably has some research material, but again this is likely innaccessable. I'm going to guess that this process would require a difficult process of academic research, followed by careful experimentation. I'm assuming these experiments will tend to cause disturbance and will attract attention, not to mention have some good chance of blowing up in my demon's face. I gather that most mortals are pretty much in the dark about the symphony...I note that summoners have a flawed perception of the symphony in The Marches. I would assume that the essence expenditures involved are quite the thrill. I would assume that there is something very like a summoning rite or an essence rite involved. Saminga seemed to work with mortals when he did his research. A group of cultists might be useful or even necessary to pursue this. A heart might be needed, which will likely make things difficult, since there's a fair chance that my demon will end up a renegade. Oh yes, and there would be an expenditure of experience points. Probably a huge one. Any ideas what else you might need to pursue such research? Again, I'm not worried about yes or no. I'm sort of worried about HOW. I'm especially trying to figure out what my players will find this demon in the act of doing as he pursues his research. - -Calabim@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 04:23:55 +0000 From: Nathaniel Eliot Subject: Re: IN> Kobal's "Welcome to Hell" orientation > For our American readers, Friday evening at 6:30pm EST the cable > network, Comedy Central starts their "British Invasion". > > First up at 6:30pm EST, and repeated at 11:00pm EST is an hour of > Rowan Atkinson standup. Included in this hour is Rowan Atkinson, > playing Satan delivering an orientation speech to the newly damned. > > " Are there any adulterers here? Yes? Well, if you would please be > so kind as to line up behind that small guillotine there, thank > you." "Christians? Ah, yes, Christians. Line up here - the Jews were right." Nathaniel Eliot temujin9@mci2000.com "It's the eternal question, really; to be a slave in Heaven, or a star in Hell. But sometimes Hell doesn't look like Hell. On a good day, it can look like LA." - Playing God ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 05:47:50 -0500 From: TOC Subject: Re: IN> Kobal's "Welcome to Hell" orientation Nathaniel Eliot wrote: > "Christians? Ah, yes, Christians. Line up here - the Jews were > right." > "Americans? Over there. Yes, I know you've done some sterling work, but the Almighty had a falling out with your founding fathers and damned the entire race in perpetuity." The Reverend "The Other Chris" Not Subbie...Not Dommie...Just Pervy UIN # 4814586 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 22:19:07 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: Re: IN> Re: Role Problems Nathaniel Eliot wrote: > > > And there's little chance of a Celestial being invited > > > to a High School Reunion for a school he never attended. > > > > But then you couldn't do the IN version of 'Grosse Point > > Blank', which would be a pretty keen plot for a one-off game... > > It'd be a really cool plot for a newly-appointed Saint: > > "So what are you doing these days?" > "I died and went to heaven. Now I'm a saint - I kill people in the > name of the Lord." > "Oh - that's nice. How's the pay?" > "Pretty good." > > If his death was obscure enough, his Role might be intact, and his > vessel might have some, um, *improvements*. I've just come from seeing GPB for the 3rd time, and I've been thinking about my upcomign IN LARP, and you know, you could do something wacky with an IN LARP set as a school reunion - one where _everyone_ is in on the War, but _no-one's_ admitting it. Some of the kids were Celestials in disguise 10 years back. Some took on those personas as Roles a few years later. Some are Soldiers, Undead, Saints, Etheral gods in deep undercover. Maybe some of them just _know_. And they're _all_ coping with the long-lost love thing... Terribly contrived, but oddly appealing. I think I'll work on it... - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia Uncle Bill will never leave a will And the tumor is as big as an egg He has a mistress, she's Puerto Rican And I heard she has a wooden leg TOM WAITS, "Cemetary Polka" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 12:49:43 -0000 From: "Hart, Joanna" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Re: Role Problems On the role thing I really like Jason (Corley)'s ideas. Was thinking today about how 'real' some of the people I work with might be ;-) I mean, I know some of them have SOs because they talk to them on the phone but other than that.... they might as well not exist from 6pm-8am for all I know. >you could do something >wacky with an IN LARP set as a school reunion - one where _everyone_ is >in on the War, but _no-one's_ admitting it. Its quite appealing, isn't it? :) Find out which of the teachers really were demons... I had an idea for a plot seed which revolved around a family reunion in which two brothers who hadn't met for 35 years realised that in the intervening period, one of them had become a soldier of God, and the other one had become a soldier of Satan. (Then something comes up which involves one of their kids getting kidnapped and all the celestials get to intervene and wonder whether ties of blood will prove stronger than ties of allegiance). jo - -- "Can you help me find my poor lose puppy? I think I saw it run into this seedy motel room." (Balseraph chat-up line #4) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 08:30:02 -0500 From: johnk@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com (John Karakash - Lucent ASCC) Subject: Re: IN> Nitpicking Beth > Why the title? Well, the list *has* rather been hijacked, wouldn't > you say? Besides, if Hardcore can get it, why not Nitpicking? > Nitpicking occures in so many more areas, and is so much more > insideous...) ^^^^^^^^^ 'insidious' -john 'Demon Prince of Rules Lawyers' karakash- - -- ___________________________________________________ / \ |John Karakash - Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T) | | (919)380-4629 | | | | The power to tax involves the power to destroy. | | -Chief Justice Marshall | \___________________________________________________/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 98 08:34:01 -0500 From: David Wood Subject: Re: IN> Intervention stuff Quoth "Dan Ozdowski " on 1/28/98 11:48 PM... >Here's something I was kind of wondering: > >As unlikely as it would seem, what if opposing interventions >were rolled on opposing rolls? (hears the opening strains to "Duelling Banjos," looks aside quickly, shrugs, goes back to typing) And I'm not sure "unlikely" is a strong enough word for it. "Improbable" seems better -- it will only occur once every 23,328 opposed rolls. But don't think that I'm nitpicking. >:) >Two players are rolling directly against one another, >simultaneously in game time, and they get opposing >interventions. What happens? >My inclination is to have the 111 prevail. He is, after all, >God. But the question is, what happens with the 666? Does it >mitigate the 111 somewhat? Is it overpowered? Help? Figure what this means in cosmological terms. For whatever reason, the situation at that precise moment has garnered the attention of both God AND Lucifer. On the one hand, Lucifer is working as hard as he possibly can to bring about the worst outcome. The only reason he doesn't pop up and do any dirty work himself is because he's spread so impossibly thin over that part of the universe that he can cover. (Yes boys and girls! It's worth your very *soul* to try new, roastier Lucifer(TM) Peanut Butter!) God, on the other hand, isn't spread so thin. He covers pretty much the same space, but she's bigger, so he can concentrate more of her power whereever he wants. (Nitpick my grammar, I dare you -- being all-powerful, she can change his sex whenever she feels he has to.) But she feels an obligation to let this "human" thing continue, so his intervention will take on a minimalist sort of tone. Both should take some sort of effect, that's the only rule I would say. What is unfortunately the province of the GM. But whatever it is should be freakish. They could cancel each other out neatly (two people shoot at each other simultaneously, and a double intervention occurs. Both bullets fuse and land in between the combatants), or they could mirror each other catastrophically (both bullets ricochet back and strike the people who fired them), or they could have radically different effects (the demon rolls 666, and the intervention result is rather than simply shooting the angel, the bullet caroms off a parking meter and into the gas tank of a nearby car, thereby possibly doing much more damage. Meanwhile, the angel, rolling to defend, throws 111. Rather than simply dodging, the explosion throws him through the picture window of a medical supply store and squarely onto a roller bed, which rolls under momentum neatly out of the way of any further conflagration. Meanwhile, a chain reaction of exploding cars is now chasing the demon up the street...). I don't believe in hard and fast rules for this sort of thing, but whatever results come from duelling interventions should be freakish. >Also, what would the difference be between HELPFUL >interventions (demon gets 666, angel gets 111) and catastrophic >interventions (demon gets 111, angel gets 666)? I could almost >see some form of mutual UH_OH! there. In both cases, the circumstances will get wildly out of control for a moment or two, but assume when the smoke clears that the angel will have the upper hand. God may not be using the full brunt of her power out of respect for whatever status quo he wants to uphold, but she's been at this a lot longer than Lucifer has and knows a few more things. >Dan giggles as he imagines a race where catastrophic >interventions are rolled at the starting line: > >Marv Albert: There's the gun, and OH MY GOD! Both contestants >have exploded at the starting line. YES!!! That might be a bit too extreme, but on the spur of the moment I'd have trouble thinking of anything better too, so I'll forgive you this once for making them both so overt. Which reminds me... I really should start compiling Intervention Reserves for my players' characters... >Well, whatever the result, this occurance would be your cue as >a GM to start storytelling with something REALLY cool. Figure that whatever story you were telling has just been thrown into the proverbial cocked hat. Extra demons and angels will pop up, undiscovered artifacts may appear in the strangest of places, things exploding... it's enough to completely derail or change the course of whatever story you're telling. It doesn't have to, but it can. Just in case your adventure wasn't going quite right to begin with, here's your golden opportunity to do whatever the hell you want with it. - -David http://www.bluecrab.org/members/dwood/ Got a minute? Try the Great Malakite Gag! http://www.bluecrab.org/members/dwood/tabletop/innomine/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 08:33:11 -0500 From: johnk@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com (John Karakash - Lucent ASCC) Subject: Re: IN> Fallen > > > -sigh- > > > > > > *sniffle* > > > > > > > > > > Its bad net-etiquette to use HTML in a message to a mailing list. It seems to be bad netiquette to leave a bunch of _real_ html tags in a message. The use of ad-hoc tags is quickly replacing emoticons as a means of expressing emotion (and also to block of special areas of text.) Raise your hands if you've received an automatic spam-mail advertising some service that was chock full of html tags! - -- ___________________________________________________ / \ |John Karakash - Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T) | | (919)380-4629 | | | | The power to tax involves the power to destroy. | | -Chief Justice Marshall | \___________________________________________________/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 08:36:07 -0500 From: johnk@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com (John Karakash - Lucent ASCC) Subject: Re: IN> Intervention stuff On Jan 28, 7:18pm, Dan Ozdowski wrote: > Subject: IN> Intervention stuff > Here's something I was kind of wondering: > > As unlikely as it would seem, what if opposing interventions > were rolled on opposing rolls? > > Two players are rolling directly against one another, > simultaneously in game time, and they get opposing > interventions. What happens? No canon on this since interventions strictly fall into the GM category BUT if both rolled good for their side, I'd have the major effects of each cancelled out (perhaps with an edge to God's side.) If both were BAD, I'd have an event that just screwed up _everybody's_ day. ;) - -- ___________________________________________________ / \ |John Karakash - Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T) | | (919)380-4629 | | | | The power to tax involves the power to destroy. | | -Chief Justice Marshall | \___________________________________________________/ ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #601 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.