From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Tue Nov 10 23:48:31 1998 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (majordom@lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id XAA12321 for ; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 23:48:30 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.0/8.9.0) id XAA05783 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Tue, 10 Nov 1998 23:26:32 -0600 Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 23:26:32 -0600 Message-Id: <199811110526.XAA05783@lists.io.com> X-Authentication-Warning: lists.io.com: majordom set sender to owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com using -f From: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com (in_nomine-digest) To: in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Subject: in_nomine-digest V1 #1011 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, November 10 1998 Volume 01 : Number 1011 In this digest: IN> Los Angeles Attunements Re: IN> [plot seed] The devil wore red... Re: IN> Los Angeles Attunements Re: IN> Lilith and Freedom Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles IN> Re: The Lady Wore Red Re: IN> Re: The Lady Wore Red Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles IN> The Division... Re: IN> The Division... Re: IN> Lilith and Freedom Re: IN> Lilith and Freedom IN> Word of Freedom Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles IN> Dominic & Justice Re: IN> Dominic & Justice Re: IN> Dominic & Justice IN> Re: IN- Symphony Void IN> Re: IN- Symphony Void ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 10:57:19 -0700 (MST) From: Jason Corley Subject: IN> Los Angeles Attunements Some of these will seem very underpowered - this is because the Word of Los Angeles is not generally as powerful as the more 'general' words of the Archangels and Demon Princes. - ------------------------ Rodia's Attunements (Heavenly) =========== Opportunity Knocks: In LA, anyone can make it. By spending a GM-specified amount of Essence over a GM-specified amount of time, the Celestial may cause one human to be handed a Golden Opportunity. A Golden Opportunity is the first step on their way to achieving their Destiny. They may be "discovered" by a movie producer, or get that promotion they need, or finally conceive the child they have always wanted, meet their true love in a stopped elevator, or what have you. Using this Attunement generates very little Symphonic noise, though it is detectable on the Ethereal plane, since the Golden Opportunity is actually a Dream construct made real. The more the angel "helps" the Golden Opportunity, the less Symphonic disturbance and the less Essence is costs. Also, this Attunement cannot be used to help someone achieve a destiny that the GM deems that they are close to achieving anyway. The Golden Opportunity is a first step, not a final step. ============= Hidden Nook Sometimes it seems like there isn't anything in LA but private, hidden crannies and highways between them. By spending 1 Essence, the Celestial can cause anyone (including themselves and other Celestials) to find the perfect place for a little peace and quiet in LA. It may be quite a drive, but there is always some spot you can just happen across that is perfect for you. This minor attunement costs only 4 character points and causes no Symphonic disturbance to speak of. =============== Sunset Inspiration This attunement allows an angel two abilities: first, the ability to give a person a brilliant idea or insight from looking at the sunset. The sunset they see is actually a dream-sunset (looking West from LA often produces that), part of their internal dreamscape. This may give them the insight they need. However, the attunement doesn't force the person to actually look at the sunset and therefore a little good-natured skullduggery may be necessary. There is no Symphonic disturbance in the corporeal world for the use of this part of the attunement, though it may be detectable by creatures in the Marches. The second ability is the ability to leave brief encoded Enochian messages in the sunset for another angel to read. The message can be no more than a single sentence, and produces very little Symphonic disturbance. ================= Daralef (Infernal) ================ Cut Me Off, Will You? This minor attunement allows the demon to drive anywhere in LA at any time as if there were no traffic without fear of being pulled over by any mortal police. They do this through cutting people off, swerving through cars, riding the median, speeding, making rude gestures and shouting, tailgating, flashing their lights and in general behaving badly. It costs 1 Essence to activate for a 24-hour period. This minor attunement costs 6 character points and only causes Symphonic disturbance on the freeways. ================= The Casting Couch Kronos and Daralef put this little nasty Attunement together after they heard about Rodia's "Golden Opportunity". This has the effect of making whatever the next opportunity, (non-Golden), available only at the most degrading price possible. If they meet the love of their life, it's while terribly drunk and both do things they will never forget and will always hold against each other. If they get the opportunity to address the city on live TV, they will be frozen with panic and turn their inspiring words of hopefulness and spirituality into a and turn their inspiring words of hopefulness and spirituality into a drooling stuttering "Hi mom." In all other ways, it acts like the angelic Attunement. ========= Script Approval Any idea can be corrupted in Los Angeles. Using this attunement on an idea or project produces a similar effect to Shedim possession and corruption of a person. It is irreversible, and can even spread to similar ideas. However, the demon must have some direct hand in interacting with the ideal or project throughout the term of the corruption. This may put them in danger. ======================================= Both ======================= The Golden People LA is about image, and Celestials with this attunement can give off the image of perfection. By spending 1 Essence per day, they can appear with a perfect tan, the chic-est styles, the whitest smiles and trim, athletic bodies. If they do not spend this Essence, they may be recognized as who they are, of course, but they aren't -perfect-. This causes very little Symphonic disturbance: perfect bodies are not as rare in LA as they are elsewhere. Wall of Lawyers Lawyers become the first line of defense on a project, influence or idea. This attunement gives a preternatural degree of perceptiveness to an attorney or group of attorneys and establishes a supernaturally good (though still mortally vulnerable) channel of communication with them. This will delay any non-physical attempt to derail, alter, or co-opt a project, obstruct any investigation of the project and inform the Celestial within seconds of any action against the project whether the Wall held or not. It does not provide the mundane lawyers with any added protection, however much it may raise their skills. ============ The Agent This attunement summons a dream-agent from the Marches and gives them a special Role for the duration of the attunement. It gives any single Role of the Celestial a special +1 Status for every 5 points spent on the attunement. It takes an hour to begin working and lasts as many days as the Essence spent on it. ================== Go To Tape This attunement creates a playable, real, VHS videocasette of any event the Celestial has seen in the last 24 hours, as if filmed from a handheld camcorder from a third party a good distance away. The Celestial may even appear in the video! There is no control over the quality of the video and there is rarely any sound, though it may be edited in any way afterwards. - ---------------------------------------------- Jason on to civil procedure ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 19:16:26 +0100 From: cd skogsberg Subject: Re: IN> [plot seed] The devil wore red... On Tue, Nov 10, 1998 at 08:29:45AM -0500, Emily Dresner wrote: > > Jo, I cuddle your brain. *cuddle* *cuddle* It's an excellent brain. :) But will you return it to her when you're done with it? Or are you a Fungus from Yuggoth who's put Jo's brain in a cannister? Huh? /cd, don't mind me, just bouncing around from 200 grams of *excellent* 76% chocolate, cola, and X cups of tea where X is suitably large... - -- "Azathoth need not be present to win." -- Charles O. Baucum Jr. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 13:16:08 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Los Angeles Attunements Neat! You manage to give a feel for a particular city by painting it in attunements. Chicago, New York, Washington, London, Paris, Vienna, all spring to mind as similar candidates for attunement protraiture. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 13:44:15 EST From: MarkDEddy@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Lilith and Freedom In a message dated 11/9/98 5:52:20 PM, kellys@efn.org writes: >{Snippage} >Who was it that was proposing "Bring It Down" as Lilith's theme song? >-------------- >Kelly St.Clair >kellys@efn.org > > Elizabeth McCoy, Line Editor and Author of the Lilith expanded Superior section in FotM. She's also the one who has (not terribly subtly) implied that Leslie Fish is one of Lilith's Vessels. Mark (but I *like* some of Fish's stuff...) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 14:05:57 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles Who does Rodia, Angel of Los Angeles, serve? Which Archangel? Blandine? Since Rodia appears to be the guardian angel for the city, perhaps Zadkiel, Archangel of Protection? Earl ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 19:12:14 +0000 (GMT) From: James Palmer Subject: IN> Re: The Lady Wore Red Excellent plot seed, but isn't it from a Christopher Priest novel? "The Prestige," if I remember rightly. Not that that detracts from it, but some player might just have read the book ... James. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 19:45:42 +0000 From: Jo Hart Subject: Re: IN> Re: The Lady Wore Red At 19:12 10/11/98 +0000, you wrote: >Excellent plot seed, but isn't it from a Christopher Priest novel? "The >Prestige," if I remember rightly. Not that that detracts from it, but >some player might just have read the book ... > You're absolutely right :) And if it wasn't for the fact that I was half-asleep when I wrote that, I should have said where I'd had the ideas from. jo ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 12:49:46 -0700 (MST) From: Jason Corley Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles On Tue, 10 Nov 1998, Earl Wajenberg wrote: > Who does Rodia, Angel of Los Angeles, serve? Which Archangel? > Blandine? Since Rodia appears to be the guardian angel for the > city, perhaps Zadkiel, Archangel of Protection? I see angels of 'small words' as not necessarily being subservient to the 'big word' Archangels, so Rodia is at least as independent as, for example, any player character. ;-) In practice, it would probably be Blandine, as my conception of Los Angeles puts it right on the Border between the Marches and the corporeal world, although Yves and the Angel of Cities would probably have some pretty strong input as well. The upside of being independent is that it can concentrate on what it knows. The downside, of course, is that you have to listen to ALL the archangels and don't get to go hide behind Blandine's skirts if you screw up. The travails of the Word-bound, at least in my description of word-boundedness. Making Rodia subservient to Zadkiel because she protects her Word would sort of be a little too generalized for me - that sort of thing would make everyone with a Word related to Zad in some way. Not that I don't -like- Zad... Jason came home from the war with a party in his head and an idea for a fireworks display ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 15:09:21 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles Jason Corley wrote: > I see angels of 'small words' as not necessarily being subservient > to the 'big word' Archangels, so Rodia is at least as independent > as, for example, any player character. ;-) Okay. An interesting variation on canon. Truth be told, I find the strict partitioning of all celestials under Superiors to be a little over-formalized. > Making Rodia subservient to Zadkiel because she protects her Word > would sort of be a little too generalized for me - that sort of > thing would make everyone with a Word related to Zad in some way. > Not that I don't -like- Zad... Given that Zadkiel's Word is "Protection," and that's what cherubim do, I have a little difficulty seeing why all cherubim don't work for Zadkiel. I guess, for Rodia, the question would be if "protect" is the main thing she does for LA. Hm. This could work various ways, if you DID want to assign Rodia to an Archangel. If her main job was to make it prosper, then Marc; to fight the demons there, Laurence; to promote justice there, Dominic; to promote arts, Eli. It could even be the very reverse of protection -- she could be set there by Gabriel to punish the city for the cruelties it inflicts on its citizens, the environment, and the culture generally. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 16:10:30 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: IN> The Division... [Total first draft...] It was a high place. Such business is always in a high place. A mountain, wind-swept and barren, with a crescent moon floating above the horizon. A tall, angular-featured woman stood there, and the air rippled around her as if from the heat of a bonfire. Her skin was amber, and her hair obsidian. Another woman approached her, coming from nothingness. For the first step, she was gowned in stars. In the second, deep green leather pants and jacket. She was shorter than the other, though her hair was as dark. Her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. "I have what you asked for." The taller woman held out her hand. The shorter approached, laying a sword hilt in it and saying, "He is free from pain." The first closed her fingers, and raised the hilt high, with its blade of flame bursting forth. The metal grew hot, glowing red, then white, and finally beginning to melt through her fingers before it vaporized. The second woman tugged her sunglasses down a bit to eye the other. "Nice special effects." "You have my thanks, Princess," the amber-skinned one muttered. "Your child shall be released." A wry smile twisted the shorter one's lips, marring the perfect mask of her face. "How gracious." The first woman turned her head to look at the second. Her eyes were lit from within, gold and liquid. "Why did you agree?" she asked, light and fey now. The Princess arched her fine eyebrows, her expression back to lovely blankness. "He was held prisoner, and had no hope of release. His own fault, really, following that demon back to its Heart. But you asked, and it served my Word." The eyes were pure gold now, without pupil or white. "And yet you serve Hell." For a moment, the green-clad woman's own eyes glittered like oil at night. Then she pushed her sunglasses back up, hiding them. "I serve myself." "But you can't leave." Something feral washed over the smaller woman's face. She gritted out, "I. Serve. Myself." "Why don't you leave, then?" "I don't choose to." Her teeth were very sharp and white in the darkness. Though her voice was level, her fingernails cut into her palms. "Because you can't. Prisoner. His prize." The tall woman reached out as if to touch the other's cheek. The smaller stepped back, unconsciously. "I am not," she whispered. "You deny it to yourself. How... human. Why do you deny it, when you know it is so? Why do you tolerate the glass within your soul, always twisting, always fracturing?" "I am whole," the Princess breathed out. "You have chosen to be broken. Why do you not choose again, and remake yourself? You are not whole." "_I AM!_" the smaller woman shrieked, fury turning the air around her into sparkling, shimmering stuff of atoms and vacuum for a moment. Then she turned impatiently. Between one stride (soft green leather) and another (icy stars), she was gone. The first woman watched where the other had been for a moment. Then she raised her head and laughed. There was no sanity to it at all. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 16:20:15 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> The Division... ...and which of them is crazier? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 16:30:42 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Lilith and Freedom At 5:38 PM -0800 11/9/98, Kelly St.Clair wrote: >Who was it that was proposing "Bring It Down" as Lilith's theme song? Probably me. In fact, the _Firestorm: Songs of the Third World War_ tape (by Leslie Fish, filker and Cool Person from what I saw [I don't always agree with her politics (though sometimes I do, hey), but she is cool])... where was I? Bad parenthetical. Oh, yes. The whole tape is very Freedom in many ways. At 1:44 PM -0500 11/10/98, MarkDEddy@aol.com wrote: >Elizabeth McCoy, Line Editor and Author of the Lilith expanded Superior >section in FotM. She's also the one who has (not terribly subtly) implied that >Leslie Fish is one of Lilith's Vessels. Did *NOT*! Actually, I was thinking Lilith was one of Fish's fans... ("Those clever mortals! What *will* they do next!") Or that Fish was a Soldier. *sniff* Fish is as human as the next mortal in IN. - --emccoy@nh.ultranet.com // arcangel@io.com In Nomine Line Editor GURPS, Roleplayers, In Nomine stuff; Art: http://www.io.com/~arcangel/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 17:48:03 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time) From: "Emily K. Dresner" Subject: Re: IN> Lilith and Freedom > Your take on Freedom is much like mine. (Ack!) It's what I've been trying > to point out for, um, well, for a while now. Yea Gads! First Michigan State beats Ohio State, then cats and dogs living together, and now THIS. Remember, when the Messiah comes back, don't prostrate in front of him because it takes time for him to get to the next person. Don't hog Jesus! > However, it doesn't work quite so well in a universe where everything > concerning God and Heaven is Doubt and Uncertainty. If you accept in your > universe that God exists and defines what is Good and moral, then it's much > easier to portray Freedom as rejection of God's laws, and therefore > rejection of morality and an ultimately selfish kind of freedom. However, > if you waffle about whether God exists or whether there is any kind of > natural law or universal law -- in other words, if you play in the > ultimately relativistic universe that a lot of gamers seem to prefer -- > then Freedom remains quite fuzzy, and it's more difficult to see how the > Word of Freedom serves evil except inasmuch as Lilith herself personally > promotes individual evil causes. I think it is implied that God does exist, and that the universe was formed via First Cause, etc. etc. That much seems to be factual in the In Nomine universe. The big question is "is God moral". This is something that we do not know, so anything the follows through on universal law is largely an assumption that God has made His universe with His laws the best he possibly can. But it does leave the Word of Freedom, like you said, fuzzy. Waffle left, waffle right. It gives lots of latitude for both good and evil, but there is plenty of room for evil even in the loose definition of the universe. - - Em ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 15:00:27 PST From: "Steve Marco" Subject: IN> Word of Freedom After reading about this discussion for awile I thought, I would add my own spin on things... The Word of Freedom can be thought of in the same ways as the word of Fire, a word which can both have a Divine meaning as well as an Infernal one. The character of Lilith as shown in the FT, is one of complete selfishness, which in many ways can certainly be an appropriate choice for a word such as freedom. As with nearly all things, it is not the word, but the way it is wielded that makes a difference. "If the people we love are taken from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them...Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever" the Crow The Seraphican, Steve Marco ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 12:32:04 GMT+10 From: "Leath Sheales" <938269@wrpc.riv.csu.edu.au> Subject: Re: IN> Superiors and Los Angeles Earl Wajenberg wrote: > Given that Zadkiel's Word is "Protection," and that's what cherubim > do, I have a little difficulty seeing why all cherubim don't work > for Zadkiel. Probably because most don't get the choice. Most Cherubim are created by their Archangel and told "Welcome to the fold, here is your first assignment." Plus different Cherubs have different reasons for protecting things. Zadkiel is probably indirectly strengthened each time a Cherub protects something (the same way Eli gains strength each time some one creates something), but they don't all have to serve her. Leath. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 19:14:47 -0800 From: "B.H." Subject: IN> Dominic & Justice Hi. I'm relatively new to the list, so if I go over some topic that's been gone over a thousand times before, I'm sorry. Basically, I've been thinking about Dominic. I've got the base book, the Angelic Player's Guide, and Revelations: III, so if I make some error that's corrected in another book, once again, I'm sorry- I haven't read those yet. Here's what I have to say. When I first read In Nomine, I had an extreme dislike for Dominic. Quite frankly, I saw him as one of the major reasons why Heaven is, apparently, having such a hard time of it on Earth- Judgement has become Judgemental. The whole thing with Christianity vs. Islam, the "proper" behavior of Archangels, etc. He's trying to impose his ideas of the Symphony on the whole- without Falling and destroying it. Talk about your tightrope walkers, huh? I really disliked this- especially the power s/he has and the apparent ill use it ahs been put too. Then I read Heaven and Hell, and it got me thinking. Dominic really is a tragic character. Like all Archangels, he's the embodiment of his Word. Judgement. If his Word were healthy from the beginning, none of this wood have happened- Judgement, especially "good" (really, healthy) Judgement brings one in line with the Symphony- it's not Discordant or Dissonant, it doesn't involve extreme amounts of pain followed by damnation, etc. Very good for you, so using your Judgement to do what is right brings you in line with the Symphony. Then comes the Fall. Ouch. Dominic's Word has become sick. It's not a healthy, thriving Word- one third of the Angelic Hosts has just used reaaaaaaal bad Judgement and rebelled. Worse, /Dominic/'s Judgement, in trusting Asmodeous, messed up, too. I don't think Dominic's ever recovered from that- I think he and his word are ill, and no-one (besides God) has the power or influence to heal him. God has, from time to time, "corrected" some of the more dangerous symptoms of Dominic's "illness"- acquitting Michael, for example. Is it just me, or has every time (that we know about) that Dominic has attempted to hit another Archangel, that things have gone really, really bad for him and the Hosts? And he's about to try again, with Eli... <> So, in my still-nascent gameworld, I've created a way to deal with this- Archangelic Dissonance/Discord. In Dominic's case, it's manifested as errors in Judgement (becoming Judgemental) as the source, and his coldness and paranoia as actual effects. And I created one more little Discord... Justinian, Angel of True Justice. Justinian was a Cherubim before the Fall- afterwards, he was one of the first Malakim. He jumped into Dominic's service at the first chance. He didn't have a Word then- in fact, no one knows he's got a word now. But I'll get to that later. Perhaps Justinian became too passionate about Dominic. We'll never know. But he swore two oaths, and the wording on them has caused him pain to this day. "I swear to serve you in all things to the best of my ability." On it's own, not too bad. Buuuuttt.... "I swear to protect you against all threats, whatever their nature, no matter the cost to me." The unfortunate part of this is that it means that Justinian has to protect Dominic against himself. Justinian acquired a lot of power of the years, building up through the ranks to become an independant inquisitor. Surprisingly, he never asked to be given a Word- he remained entirely devoted to Dominic and Dominic's service. To a certain extent, he was completely blind (ominous music) to Dominic's faults and failings, and followed him blindly. Justinian began, as Dominic and Dominic's Word became more "ill" to gain a strange kind of Dissonance. It wasn't anything detectable by another Angel... nor could Justinian find the source of it in himself. He went several times to Dominic, but the Archangel assured him that he was simply being over-vigilant, and that nothing was wrong. Justinian continued to worry. Over time, (make it about 500 years before the creation of Islam) he began to notice... problems... in Dominic's work and Word. His heart started to break (although not literally, his Heart hadn't even fractured- yet.) He noticed problems in Dominic's enforcement and inquistion, but those weren't his areas of control. He just did whatever he could without breaking his heavenly master's orders. The strain started to tear him apart. The Inquisition against Gabriel was the last straw. Justinian was one of the more important Servitors assigned to her case, to aid the Three investigating her. He saw Dominic making the final slide- not into Falling, but into a more subtle Pit of his very own. Justinian, who loved his master best, and had sworn to obey him in all things, and protect him against everything, was for the first (and last) time in his existence, Dissonant. We'll never know what it was, but it was important. It wasn't a perfect piece of evidence, whatever it was. But, presented in the manner Justinian knew Dominic would present it, it would have given the Archangel an inescapable way to gain the mandate to destroy Gabriel- and finish off Judgement as well. Justinian could not let Dominic have it- but it would be disobedient, and Dissonant, not too. So Justinian somehow managed to steal his own Angelic Heart, and become Outcast. Only one Discordance marred him- in all of his years on Earth, he has never gained another point of Dissonance, even though he hides from his master while still retaining the rites, attunements, and resonance he was awarded in Dominic's service- as well as rewards from other Archangels, who saw him as either (to those who disliked Dominic) a good influence within the ranks or (to those who liked him) an invaluable resource in the War. As you may expect, this makes him a POWERFUL Angel. His one Discordance? Justinian is completely blind. He has a radar-like sense of his surroundings, an unique ability developed over the years, but he has no sight whatsoever. For some unknown reason, when Justinian "tripped", God intervened, hiding him perfectly from Celestial sight, giving him full control of his powers... and a Word. True Justice. Needless to say, this has caused many problems for Justinian over the years. The reason he has gained no more dissonance is, to the best of his ability, he has continued to fulfill his duty as an Inquisitor and to fulfill his Oaths. Only now, he has had a tougher job than ever before. He is the secret watcher of all of Dominic's work, interceding subtly, stealthly, or blatantly (He knows how to cover his tracks) when necessary, to make sure that Dominic does not destroy himself or his Word. This serves Justinian's Word quite well, even though in our modern society True Justice is a fading thing at best, and nearly extinct at worst. Justinian is a bit of a legend amoung both Angels and the Fallen, neither of whom know who he really is. The Angels, except, perhaps for Yves, believe that Justinian was destroyed during the course of the investigation. They don't blame Gabriel- his vessel (his old vessel, he's got a new one now) was found killed, but unburnt in any way. Strangely enough, no one seems to have been in the area of Justinian's heart when it (theoretically) should have shattered. Still, from time to time a strange, black-winged being has interfered with the forces of Dominic or Asmodeous- not necessarily to stop them- he's helped Dominic's from time to time, and even Asmodeous's forces, once- although half of that team went Renegade and Redeemed themselves later. Usually, though, he stops them from carrying out some UnJust mission- one that would further destroy Judgement. As an Archangel's discord, things work a little bit differently for Justinian than most. In most respects, he's like any other extremely powerful, old, and experienced Angel- except for one major thing (outside of his powers). He cannot perform an Invocation of any kind, and of course, since he has his Heart, he can't go to Heaven on his own. Further... although it's not, strictly speaking HIS Discord or Dissonance... whenever Dominic unwittingly does something that leads Judgement closer to its Fate, it HURTS Justinian, badly. The pain from those hurts never goes away unless the Fateful act is reversed. Needless to say, he can't be everywhere- so he's learned to live in almost constant pain. As a result of this (I haven't worked up his stats yet btw, this is just an idea forming in my head), Justinian cannot be threatened with, convinced by, or moved in any way by pain. Nothing made by another could hurt him the way his beloved Master has. As a further cruel joke, Justinian has been noticed by Lucifer- a 666 on a Resonance roll about oh, two, three hundred years ago. For (quite literally) the Devil's own reasons, Lucifer did not attack or, strictly speaking, hinder Justinian. In fact, he gave him additional powers- with a big catch. Justinian regained his old powers as a Cherub without losing his new ones. In fact, he gained Cherubic attunements from the Archangels he served previously at the behest of Dominic (the reason for his cross-Superior attunements). (Not sure about this yet, definitely includes Michael, David, and Zadkiel). However, the object of Justinian's Attunement is fixed, and cannot be changed. As you may have guesseed, his Attunement is to Dominic. This serves to torture Justinian even more, as you might imagine. Perhaps Lucifer believed that Dominic might Fall as a partial Cherub, to become a particularly horrible Djinn. Whatever the son of morning thought to achieve, it hasn't happened- Justinian has resisted any and all temptations to Fall. As it stands, with Dominic attempting once again to attack an Archangel, Justinian is becoming more busy- and in more pain. His hold on his sanity is thankfully strong, and he continues to devote himself to True Justice and to protecting his Superior against himself, even at the cost of his own harmony with the Symphony. Whether he redeems Dominic some how, striking a great blow for the Heavenly Host, or falls to become a new Sevitor of evil- or worse, a new Demonic Prince... that remains to be seem. In my Angelic campaign, of course, Justinian would be brought in if any of the characters serve Eli, Gabriel, or Dominic. Very subtly at first- Lucifer found him once, and he does NOT want to attract attention from either side again, but slowly, as the players run deeper into the great Movements of the War, he will (if they act in accordance with True Justice) become a powerful ally or (if they act against it) their most hated Foe. Eventually, to my ideas of campaign, if the campaign lasted long enough, Dominic would be placed in a position of extreme risk some how, and get saved by Justinian (with the help of the PC's, of course), thus ushering in a new era of True Justice in the Heavens... (upon his return, Justinian gets promoted to Archangel)... giving the characters a new boss... and bringing them to the attention of certain Demon Princes and Princesses who would rather Dominic have stayed the same... etc. etc. promises to be fun. =) I don't like the demonic side of things, but in a mixed campaign, or someone else's demonic campaign, Justinian would make either a nice way to give your demon PC's a chance for Redemption... or an (im)mortal foe of epic proportions. Well? What do y'all think? Am I just spouting nonsense, or what? - -- Brian A.H. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 23:20:03 -0500 (EST) From: Pee Kitty Subject: Re: IN> Dominic & Justice Good show! I liked Justinian, and the whole plot built around him. IMC, Dominic is much more fair and impartial, so I wouldn't use him, but if I were running with a darker Dominic, I think I'd steal your idea. - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian Meow! ::: Thinking about a Tampa Bay Devival in the future - email me! ::: Or go to http://www.cris.com/~pkitty (hell, go there anyways!) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 21:06:11 -0800 From: "B.H." Subject: Re: IN> Dominic & Justice Pee Kitty wrote: > > Good show! I liked Justinian, and the whole plot built around him. IMC, Thank you. > Dominic is much more fair and impartial, so I wouldn't use him, but if I Just as Justianian would want him to be. =) In a world like that, Justinian, while probably being less powerful, might show up as a patron for any Dominicans (yes, I know bad joke...) who wish to pursue True Justice. He'd probably have been Worded slightly after the Gabriel mess, more than likely for having a real (eheeheee) Heart to Heart with Dominic- or, if you want a slightly more tragic Dominic, Dominic is redeemed by Justinian sacrificing himself in an effort to show Dominic what was going on. Or not at all, but, hey, you've given me ideas for a slightly-less epic style of Inquisitorial campaigns. Thanks! > were running with a darker Dominic, I think I'd steal your idea. Steal nothing. Praise to Eli < =) > this stuff's free and their ain't no hidden costs. > > -- > > Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian > Meow! Hmmm... one of my Incarnations is Yrdrick, of the Malkavians... \-) - -- Brian A.H. "I am Don Arturo de Los Angeles. I am the greatest reader of all time. I have read over a million books in my lifetime, and their pages flow through my mind like summer days..." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 00:22:18 EST From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Symphony Void >On Thu, 5 Nov 1998, Perry Lloyd wrote: > >> So, what do YOU guys think would happen to a group of Angels suddenly >> stuck in a place where the Symphony simply DID NOT EXIST? > >Ignoring the question of whether such a place exists, assume that an angel >cannot 'hear' the Symphony. Then they are not celestially aware any more, >just like a human before they become a soldier. So: > >1) They can't detect disturbances, or use Resonances or Attunements, take >Celestial form, and possibly they can't use essence. The PC's know that their attunements aren't working, neither are Resonances. Celestial form IS working, and they can use Essence to boost Rolls. :) >2) If they use songs, then they can't hear them properly, like a deaf man >singing. Since they've never been deaf before, they probably wouldn't get >it right. Canonically, this shouldn't cause random effects (since if it >did, celestials could do so whenever they felt like it), but in your game? So far, all of their Songs have fizzled. >3) They suffer all the psychological trauma of losing their primary >sensory ability. This might also include phantom sensations, and they'd >probably walk into walls because they didn't hear them coming. ("Sight? Oh >yes, I can see too can't I? I'll try using that.") Wow... didn't think of that. :) Cool... Ah, well. >4) If the angels can't affect the Symphony either, then they can't do >anything (since applying Strength is an interaction between Corporeal >forces and the Symphony), like trying to play music in a vacuum, or rather >trying to play music when you can't touch the air. Well, the PC's haven't had much of a problem interacting with the world they're currently in, which seems to be Ethereal Realmish BTW, since Int. replaces Str. and Pre. replaces Agl., which I keep forgetting, sheesh... >Finally, if the Symphony really doesn't exist, then by definition neither >do Essence or Forces, which are 'bits' of Symphonic power. Hence neither >does life. Trying to exist would be like trying to exist in a vacuum which >contains nothing. Including you. Yet, they do. Consider *that*, my players on this list. :) Oh, and thank you for the well-thought out comments, Steve. :) (It was Steve, wasn't it? grumble....) - -Perry, Kyriotate of Flowers serving Creation and sometimes Tanniael, Archagel of Tea Perry M. Lloyd (spook_number_six@hotmail.com) "Remember, false hope is still hope." -Dilbert ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 00:21:36 EST From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Symphony Void >On Thu, 5 Nov 1998, Perry Lloyd wrote: > >> So, what do YOU guys think would happen to a group of Angels suddenly >> stuck in a place where the Symphony simply DID NOT EXIST? > >Ignoring the question of whether such a place exists, assume that an angel >cannot 'hear' the Symphony. Then they are not celestially aware any more, >just like a human before they become a soldier. So: > >1) They can't detect disturbances, or use Resonances or Attunements, take >Celestial form, and possibly they can't use essence. The PC's know that their attunements aren't working, neither are Resonances. Celestial form IS working, and they can use Essence to boost Rolls. :) >2) If they use songs, then they can't hear them properly, like a deaf man >singing. Since they've never been deaf before, they probably wouldn't get >it right. Canonically, this shouldn't cause random effects (since if it >did, celestials could do so whenever they felt like it), but in your game? So far, all of their Songs have fizzled. >3) They suffer all the psychological trauma of losing their primary >sensory ability. This might also include phantom sensations, and they'd >probably walk into walls because they didn't hear them coming. ("Sight? Oh >yes, I can see too can't I? I'll try using that.") Wow... didn't think of that. :) Cool... Ah, well. >4) If the angels can't affect the Symphony either, then they can't do >anything (since applying Strength is an interaction between Corporeal >forces and the Symphony), like trying to play music in a vacuum, or rather >trying to play music when you can't touch the air. Well, the PC's haven't had much of a problem interacting with the world they're currently in, which seems to be Ethereal Realmish BTW, since Int. replaces Str. and Pre. replaces Agl., which I keep forgetting, sheesh... >Finally, if the Symphony really doesn't exist, then by definition neither >do Essence or Forces, which are 'bits' of Symphonic power. Hence neither >does life. Trying to exist would be like trying to exist in a vacuum which >contains nothing. Including you. Yet, they do. Consider *that*, my players on this list. :) - -Perry, Kyriotate of Flowers serving Creation and sometimes Tanniael, Archagel of Tea Perry M. Lloyd (spook_number_six@hotmail.com) "Remember, false hope is still hope." -Dilbert ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #1011 ******************************** The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.