From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Wed Dec 10 15:14:13 1997 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 PAA28759 for ; Wed, 10 Dec 1997 15:14:13 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id PAA11898 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Wed, 10 Dec 1997 15:00:04 -0600 Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 15:00:04 -0600 Message-Id: <199712102100.PAA11898@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 #508 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 Wednesday, December 10 1997 Volume 01 : Number 508 In this digest: Re: IN> Kyriotates and Vessels Re: Re: IN> Campaign Seed: Second Fall/Second Chance IN> Kyriotates and Vessels IN> What formats are okay for posting? Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? IN> Kyriotates & Vessels Re: IN> Kyriotates & Vessels IN> Whisperers Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? Re: IN> Red Dwarf Re: IN> God, the trump card. Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? Re: IN> Kyriotates & Vessels Re: IN> Kyriotates and Vessels Re: IN> Whisperers Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? IN> Too Too Solid Flesh - Pt 1 IN> Too Too Solid Flesh - Pt 5 IN> Too Too Solid Flesh - Pt 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 23:48:35 -0500 From: Jesse Rooeny Subject: Re: IN> Kyriotates and Vessels >over someone else's? And secondarily, why CAN Kyrios, and CAN'T Shedim, >when Shedim cause only about half as many internal conflicts with it? Acctually no, Shedim in a vessal are in deep trouble because of dissoance, after all how do you corrupt a vessal? - -jesse ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 00:07:44 EST From: MarkDEddy Subject: Re: Re: IN> Campaign Seed: Second Fall/Second Chance In a message dated 12/9/97 2:26:52 AM, you wrote: >Hmm...I had a Habbalah of Fate who had a version of this story, except >that Yves was being deliberately malicious and that Kronos was the only >person who had any hope of forestalling his mad plans. > >Does anyone have any opinions on how someone like that would react to >this adventure seed should they learn the truth about it. How would it >fit into her world-view? Would she assume that Yves was turning to the >true path, or that Kronos was being treacherous? Actually, I'd think that she'd be trying to link up with Michael, because *obviously* he's got the Right Idea (TM) and needs to be brought into the truth of Kronos' loyalty. Mark(Heh.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 01:56:17 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Kyriotates and Vessels >>>I'm missing where it has anything to do with what I've been trying to talk about. <<< Well, sometimes it's not clear exactly what you're objecting to. >>>I'm sure it's not, either, but it's still there...it all works just fine if Kyrios can't take over Vessels, but if they can, it falls to pieces very fast.<<< I wouldn't say it falls to pieces. I'd say it does require a conceptual justification for why this is so, and several have been offered. >>>What I originally said was, BEING that Kyriotates are, like Shedim, notedly unable to build and support a Vessel, how can they take over someone else's? And secondarily, why CAN Kyrios, and CAN'T Shedim, when Shedim cause only about half as many internal conflicts with it?<<< Well, frankly, I don't know exactly why Kyriotates can possess vessels and animals and Shedim can't -- I had nothing to do with that particular bit of canon. It doesn't bother me, because it makes sense to me that Shedim are less flexible than Kyriotates, and if Shedim could possess other celestials, they'd be able to make angels Fall right and left. I guess where you and I are hitting a brick wall is that you seem to think there is some gaping logical hole here. I see a restriction that applies to Shedim and not to Kyriotates primarily for game balance reasons. Conceptually, I have no problem with the idea that Shedim are just less flexible than Kryiotates. It isn't the difference between celestial flesh and mortal flesh that keeps Shedim from being able to possess vessels -- they also can't possess animals. It's the fact that they've just lost a little bit of their grip on the Symphony when they Fell. Of _course_ the rulebook does not exist in your game. If you wish to change this ruling for your campaign, neither Kronos, Yves, nor Steve Jackson Games is going to tap on your shoulder and say "Hey, what do you think you're doing, letting Shedim possess vessels?" Kyriotates are a bitch-monkey no matter how you slice 'em (or divide 'em). But if you try one more time, and talk real slow in words of two syllables or less, maybe you could explain to me why you think this is such a canonical travesty? - -David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 19:18:20 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> What formats are okay for posting? G'day. Is it okay to post attached documents to this list? I've been working on an IN adventure in Word, and I'd like some feedback, but converting the whole thing (30 pages) to text and sticking it into a message would be real unwieldy. Any advice? - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia The ants are in the sugar The muscles athrophied We're on the other side, the screen is us and we're TV MARILYN MANSON, "Man That You Fear" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1986 01:50:25 -0800 From: "Derek Colanduno" Subject: Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? > Is it okay to post attached documents to this list? I've been working >on an IN adventure in Word, and I'd like some feedback, but converting >the whole thing (30 pages) to text and sticking it into a message would >be real unwieldy. Any advice? I'm sure none of us would mind you offering it, the we could all just E-Mail you and you could send it on a equest basis... that or... get Adobe Distiller and make an Acrobat file! Derek ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 05:52:38 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Kyriotates & Vessels Duoh! Well, please note as per the APG, some of my earlier suppositions about Kyriotates were *wrong*. (Some of the Kyriotate stuff was added at the last minute, and I didn't read it thoroughly 'till now. Prince David takes dissonance.) That's why Beth gets to give the Official Canon Answers, and I just argue what *I* think should be. >:) So celestials possessed by Kyriotates CAN come back to Earth in another vessel. Hmph. Kyriotates give me a headache. - -David (it's much easier to count Seraphim and Malakim dancing on the head of a pin) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 11:29:54 +0000 (GMT) From: Kevin Walsh Subject: Re: IN> Kyriotates & Vessels > > -David (it's much easier to count Seraphim and Malakim dancing on the head > of a pin) > On another issue altogether. The original question was "How many angels can fit on the point of a pin?". It was a mathematical, not a theological question. The dilemma went like this. By definition, the point of anything is infinitely small in area. Angels, it was presumed, were also able to make themselves infinitely small in area. So how many infinitely small items can fit on an infinitely small place? (Another version of the "How many times can you divide 0 by 0?" question.) The search for the answer led to the discovery of calculus. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 12:28:37 -0000 From: "Hart, Joanna" Subject: IN> Whisperers Be sure your sins will find you out... - ----- The mortal world is teeming with infernal activity; so many demonic entities that you can't drop a pin without hitting one of them. So much temptation. So much noise. So much whispering. So many. - ----- Yves focusses the efforts of destiny on all creation, from the mortal with the brightest destiny to the fieldmouse with barely a flicker of existence (which qualifies him for Mr. Multi-Tasking 1997) -- nothing is missed, nothing is overlooked, and everything is passed on to relevant superiors. The infernal forces, however, must rely on Kronos who is notoriously fickle about where he chooses to place his attentions. Not every prince trusts him to understand how their particular word needs his urgent attention. So.. they need their own reports to pinpoint those mortals on whom to concentrate their attentions. The fully fledged demons are the rare, the elite, the very tip of the iceberg. For each one of them there are perhaps tens or hundreds of barely sentient whisperers, small collections of forces unable to even contemplate a vessel larger than an insect, whose sole task is to watch and whisper. They can focus themselves briefly on any mortal in their vicinity and only the very rarest few escape their attentions. All they do is watch and follow, noting any signs of weakness or tendency to sin in a specified manner and then reporting back to their superiors like tiny microphones. It is as simple as "X purchased 3 porn magazines last week, spent 6.5 hours 'reading' them *cough*, ogled 17 members of the opposite sex... " etc etc. Its unsurprising that they are colloquially known as 'bugs'. A few might be dumped in some likely locale (ie. strip joint, restaurant) and left to their own devices for a while ... they'll find something to report if they know whats good for them. Traditionally they worked mainly for the Princes who take most interest in the mortal sins: Lust, Gluttony, Technology et al and reported to word-bound servitors who were able to use the reports to assign their demonic minions more efficiently. After all, any chain is only as strong as its weakest link. They are more or less totally useless to The Game. You can't send a whisperer to spy on a demon, it isn't subtle enough and is too easily fooled. Some demons have tried to use the whisperers as message carriers or spies but they simply don't have the intelligence for the job. A message carrier might get lost or distracted, a spy might bring back the wrong report. They are the most disposable minions of all, and only a very few ever survive this larval stage of development to become imps or even familiars. There may be a few slightly more capable ones who are able to communicate with mortals as well as observing, the true whispering demons who rest on pillows beside sleeping mortals and whisper sinful desires into their ear, or ride inside a coat collar, always whispering.... These are the tiny demons of madness and nightmare, Beleth's tiny servants, who whisper out their few sentences again and again and again. Whisperers aren't hard to spot for a celestial who is paying attention, although they tend to fade into the background noise. An angel can swat them easily, but there are always more where those came from. They are harmless if there is no evidence of sin to report. But who amongst you has never sinned? :-) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 08:22:23 -0500 (EST) From: Emily Dresner Subject: Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? > G'day. > > Is it okay to post attached documents to this list? I've been working > on an IN adventure in Word, and I'd like some feedback, but converting > the whole thing (30 pages) to text and sticking it into a message would > be real unwieldy. Any advice? > *I* would rather you didn't... I have ASCII-only mail and large word attachments not only make me froth at the mouth, but cause me to hit DELETE and EXPUNGE on first viewing. There are two things you can do, and both involve Word. a) Go get the Internet Assistant 2.04z off of of the Microsoft web site. Install it. Open your document, do a Save As... and choose HTML. Upload your file, and hand us the URL. b) Open your document in Word and do a Save As... ASCII Text. Cut and paste in installments (pt. 1, pt. 2) to the web, with some indication of what this is. If I remember correctly, 30 10-pt. single spaced pages in Word translates to about 120K. Posting in lots of 30K would be manageable, and might actually get read. Cool? - - Em ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 09:20:41 -0400 (EDT) From: gantr@NKU.EDU Subject: Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? On Wed, 10 Dec 1997, Patrick O'Duffy wrote: > Is it okay to post attached documents to this list? I've been working > on an IN adventure in Word, and I'd like some feedback, but converting > the whole thing (30 pages) to text and sticking it into a message would > be real unwieldy. Any advice? I don't know about anyone else, but my e-mail account can't read Word, and refuses to allow me to save it anywhere else. Rich Gant ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 10:56:09 EST From: MarkDEddy Subject: Re: IN> Red Dwarf In a message dated 12/10/97 5:07:07 AM, jrooney@moose.uvm.edu writes: <> But the characters are all his. And he did it on purpose. Ths Simpsons were *supposed* to be commercial/mainstream characters. *sigh* This is way off- topic. I still like "Life in Hell," too. Mark(If this is continued, it should go private...) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 12:57:46 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> God, the trump card. ehp wrote: > So. The demons know that they lost. They know that God can step in > at any moment and make their little plans and plots completely > irrelevant. But God does not. And the demons just keep doing what > they are doing, in spite of all evidence of their being wrong to the > contrary. God, and indeed Lucifer, have to have removed themselves > entirely from the game. In "Paradise Lost," book II, John Milton puts in a section examining demonic motivation. C. S. Lewis summarizes it nicely in his "Preface to Paradise Lost." To summarize the summary: Immediately after they are cast into Hell, Satan and the other leading fallen angels confer about what to do next. The positions presented to Satan are, in order: 1: Moloch: We must strike back! (Moloch is Milton's "Prince of Rage" in IN terms.) 2: Belial: Be careful! Don't rock the boat. Perhaps we shall get used to Hell in time. 3: Mammon: What's so bad about Hell? "Nor want we skill or art from whence to raise magnificence; and what can Heaven show more?" 4: Beelzebub: We cannot escape, and we cannot injure God, but maybe we can injure some creature of His. This last position is the one Satan accepts, and, remembering rumors in Heaven of the upcoming creation of Man, goes forth to work our Fall. So, according to Milton, the devils are willing to risk further heavenly retaliation in order to do whatever they can in order to injure the heavenly cause, even if they can't attack God or Heaven directly. In short, their basic motive for attacking us is spite. Lewis himself, in "The Screwtape Letters," implies that the demons harvest human souls to build up the energies of Hell, in the hope of making a successful counter-attack on Heaven and God. (But Lewis makes it clear in his prefaces that he is not very serious about the details of his demonology.) Earl ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 13:13:03 -0500 (EST) From: Pee Kitty Subject: Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? On Wed, 10 Dec 1986, Derek Colanduno wrote: > I'm sure none of us would mind you offering it, the we could all just E-Mail > you and you could send it on a equest basis... that or... get Adobe > Distiller and make an Acrobat file! No, please don't! Or at least, don't get rid of the Word version...it's much easier to use (and to convert to all major WP formats). Personally, I agree though...offer it by email instead of posting it to the list. Post a summary of what it's about...maybe a TOC or index. Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian (Married to Rev. Unibomber on 11/15/96 - be jealous ;) Meow! - -= Windows 95 =- A 32-bit patch for a 16-bit GUI shell running on top of an 8-bit operating system written for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company who cannot stand 1 bit of competition. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 13:23:31 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Kyriotates & Vessels Kevin Walsh wrote: > Angels, it was presumed, were also able to make themselves infinitely > small in area. This reminds me of St. Thomas Aquinas's model of angels. It is VERY unhuman. According to Aquinas, angels are geometrical points of intellectual energy. They take up no space. They can teleport from place to place without going through the intervening space. They don't realy have (or need) senses -- they apprehend things by direct intuition. They don't really think or remember, either, in the human sense. They don't remember because, once something enters an angel's attention, it never lets it go, thus it never has to be recalled. They don't "think" in the sense of figuring things out because they can see implications in a direct intuitive leap, rather than by step-by-step inference. But of course greater angels have more penetrating intuition than lesser ones, and pass their greater insights on to their "younger" siblings. (Though, according to Aquinas, all angels were created at the beginning of time and immediately either fell or were confirmed in eternal grace.) An interesting concept of angel, but pretty daunting as a roleplaying challenge. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 13:24:56 -0500 From: johnk@lucent.com (John Karakash - Lucent ASCC) Subject: Re: IN> Kyriotates and Vessels > > I believe if a Kyriotate takes over a celestial, he's basically out of > action until the Kyrio leaves, just like with the Song of Possession. > Though maybe that requires a more explicit statement from the Arbiters of > Canon. (John? Beth?) The original poster was right: when a Celestial's vessel is taken over, their Forces get booted to the Ethereal realms where they, unlike most mortals, have options for getting back to earth (or wherever). > >>>So...give me just one logical reason why a Celestial who has a > Vessel taken over by a Kyriotate CAN'T just ascend back to Heaven and come > back down in their other Vessel?<<< > > They cannot manifest multiple vessels. They're still somewhat tied to the > one the Kyriotate is occupying. The current canon is that they _can_ manifest some other vessel. The first one is being maintained by the Kyrio. If they haven't gotten a new vessel by the time the Kyrio leaves and they are still in the Marches, they are drawn back to their vessel. If they have come back in a different vessel or gone up to heaven, the first vessel returns back to wherever vessels go when they are not being used. =) - -- ___________________________________________________ / \ |John Karakash - Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T) | | (919)380-4629 | | | | The power to tax involves the power to destroy. | | -Chief Justice Marshall | \___________________________________________________/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 12:41:52 +0000 From: tom timberlake Subject: Re: IN> Whisperers Hart, Joanna wrote: > > Be sure your sins will find you out... > > ----- > > The mortal world is teeming with infernal activity; so many demonic > entities that you can't drop a pin without hitting one of them. So much > temptation. So much noise. So much whispering. So many. > > ----- [BIG snip of good stuff] > > Whisperers aren't hard to spot for a celestial who is paying attention, > although they tend to fade into the background noise. An angel can swat > them easily, but there are always more where those came from. > > They are harmless if there is no evidence of sin to report. But who > amongst you has never sinned? :-) All right, Jo, now you have gone and done it.... my paranoia just got kick-started from quiescent to transwarp hyperdrive... you come over hear and hold my hand while I try to get to sleep so I can get ready for work tonight, on the graveyard shift.... tom t. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 06:21:00 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: Re: IN> What formats are okay for posting? Emily Dresner wrote: > > There are two things you can do, and both involve Word. > > a) Go get the Internet Assistant 2.04z off of of the Microsoft web site. > Install it. Open your document, do a Save As... and choose HTML. Upload > your file, and hand us the URL. That would imply I had a Web page, which I don't... yet... > b) Open your document in Word and do a Save As... ASCII Text. Cut and > paste in installments (pt. 1, pt. 2) to the web, with some indication of > what this is. If I remember correctly, 30 10-pt. single spaced pages in > Word translates to about 120K. Posting in lots of 30K would be > manageable, and might actually get read. Okay, I'll do that. > Cool? Frosty. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia The ants are in the sugar The muscles athrophied We're on the other side, the screen is us and we're TV MARILYN MANSON, "Man That You Fear" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 06:31:16 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Too Too Solid Flesh - Pt 1 G'day. After some feedback from the list, here's the (slow, cumbersome, non-formatted grumble grumble) text version of my recent IN adventure, 'Too Too Solid Flesh'. I figure this will come in about 5 parts. Anyone who wants to see the original Word version (with pictures, good fonts and better formatting/editing), feel free to email me. I'm looking for feedback here. What do you like? What do you hate? What do you think needs to be expanded? This is a work in progress, and is being run at the moment (first session went very well, thank you), so ideas are always useful. As a note: you may not get some of the references in here, which are Australian - hell, some relate only to Brisbane (where I live). If anything seems _too_ incomprehensible, just ask me. So, here we go. - -- Too Too Solid Flesh Jade enema pumps, cloning experiments, the head of John the Baptist, zombis, mad Japanese doctors, Quentin Tarantino and more demons than you can shake a scalpel at... just another day for the Medivac unit at Bethlehem West Hospital. What has gone before A servitor of Valefor pulled off a coup when she managed to get hold of the long-lost head of John the Baptist, an intelligent artifact that can determine the future and divine the Destiny or Fate of the owner. Unfortunately for her, Kronos found out, had her killed and took custody of the Head. Unfortunately for him, the Head is dedicated to good, and will not work for diabolicals. A plan was hatched between Kronos, Vapula, and Lucinda, the fledgling Demon of Cloning. They would clone the Head's brain material, which would hopefully contain some part of the Head's oracular powers. This brain matter could be placed in Vapula's technological devices in order to divert the user towards their Fate. Lucinda set up a laboratory in the Bethlehem West hospital in Brisbane, hopefully far from detection or interference. With the assistance of Absalom and some duped humans, she has been working on the cloning experiments for about two months. The hospital administration, fooled by Lucinda's lies, believe she and her team are working on possible cloning techniques for antibodies and medicines. The work has progressed slowly but surely, and they hope to make the breakthrough soon. What no one realized was that there was another demon in the hospital - Irene, a servant of Saminga who works as the morgue attendant. Irene is a fairly sad, disreputable demon with a habit of screwing up. She lost a few ranks and Forces some months back, and has been demoted to working here. She's quite lonely, and more than a little bit crazy. Some weeks ago, she made a zombi to keep her company on the long shifts, which cheered her up immensely. The zombi, called Johnny, has been reduced to only a head, which she feeds blood and keeps in a refrigerator. The noise of the zombi's creation was heard by Lucinda, who panicked, thinking it could be angels in the hospital. She formulated a plan to try and distract any angels, by having some other event happen at Bethlehem West. She contacted Duke (an old acquaintance), who she knew was at Movie World shooting a film with Quentin Tarantino, and asked if he could stage something with his people. Rather than jeopardize his cover, Duke called in a favor from Usagi, who was on his way to Australia with Dr Yamaguchi and his team. After some arm twisting, Usagi agreed to send Yamaguchi to Bethlehem West. Unfortunately for everyone's sake, security failed at two points. First, news leaked of Yamaguchi's cancer cure before they left Japan, and the media hype is putting focus on Bethlehem West before they even arrive. Secondly, Irene's burst of noise was detected by a passing servitor of Janus, who didn't have time to check it out but has passed the news along. Now a team of local angels is sent to look into the matter and see what's going on - both with the cancer cure and the disturbance But wait, there's more. Unbeknownst to anyone, a Shedim servitor of Malphas has come to Bethlehem West in the last few days. Pathros was inhabiting a young man who was injured in a bus accident, which was attended to by the hospital's Medivac unit, an emergency response team, with a very high success rate. Pathros has decided that the unit should be closed down, since saving lives is hardly what Malphas wants. He has taken over the body of Harry Richards, the director of Medivac, and has started trying to sabotage relations within the unit. He knows nothing of the other demons, and is very surprised by the arrival of Yamaguchi and Co. The Current Situation The Yamaguchi team is on their way, scheduled to arrive in the afternoon. Pathros is working on the Medivac team. Irene is getting bored with Johnny and thinking of making a new zombi, maybe torturing some patients to death. Lucinda and Absalom are trying to stay quiet. Duke has decided he doesn't want to miss this - he's convinced Connie Tarantino (Quentin's mum) that she has cancer, and Quentin wants to take her in to be treated by Yamaguchi. There is almost no communication between the demons, and no one knows all the answers. Then the PCs arrive. Player Knowledge An eccentric Japanese doctor named Motofusa Yamaguchi has announced that he has discovered a cure for cancer. The announcement has come as Dr Yamaguchi has come to Brisbane - allegedly to play golf with other Japanese on the Gold Coast. He is announcing details of his treatment and holding press conferences at the Bethlehem West hospital, a new medical center recently opened in southern Brisbane, known for its Medivac unit, a special emergency ward. A cure for cancer would be a wonderful thing for humanity - but it could be a demonic trick. A passing servant of Janus reported hearing a very faint celestial disturbance in the area a few weeks ago, but he was on his way to Nimbin and couldn't hang around. As the angels on the spot, Heaven wants you to investigate and see what is going on. And while you're there, there's plenty of opportunity to help humanity. Do everything you think is necessary... - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia The ants are in the sugar The muscles athrophied We're on the other side, the screen is us and we're TV MARILYN MANSON, "Man That You Fear" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 06:52:23 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Too Too Solid Flesh - Pt 5 Section 4: How to run this This is a very loose scenario, with few set scenes and no set plot. There is a rough timeline, but that's sure to change as the PCs interfere. Simply wind everyone up and let them go. The NPCs have motivations and relations that are sure to get them into trouble, or at least make things happen. Only the relations between the demons have been established here - I kinda like the idea of rolling reactions for all the other inter-NPC and NPC-PC relationship. One thing that may be annoying is keeping a grip on Disturbance. There are two ways to handle this. One is to use dramatic necessity - have the enemy hear the noise only if it serves your purpose. The other is to try and work out where other Celestials are when a character causes Disturbance, then work out the odds and roll the dice. Or you could combine the two. A large chunk of the adventure is keeping secret just who's a demon, and rolling dice whenever the PCs encounter someone significant is a bit of a giveaway. One idea might be to make a bunch of dice rolls ahead of time, and write the results (the d666 numbers) down in a list, crossing a roll off in order whenever the rules call for it. Cumbersome, but sneaky. 100 d666 rolls are in an appendix of the adventure (the Word version) Goals for the PCs What's "important" for the PCs to achieve in this adventure pretty much depends on what the players want to do, and the style of game the GM wants to run. The 'perfect' ending would involve the PCs kicking the arse of every demon in the hospital, guiding Dr. Yamaguchi to his Destiny, stabilizing the Medivac unit and possibly converting some of the doctors to Soldiers of God. The cloning plotline is 'high-concept' - it has little immediate relevance for the War, but could have big effects in the long-term. It's the least obvious problem facing the PCs, and could be overlooked by the really oblivious. Usagi and the cancer cure are the most immediate things facing the PCs, but hopefully they'll be immersed in the swing of things to look for fun above and beyond this plotline. Pathros and Medivac are more 'realistic' problems - a direct and immediate case of demons trying to increase human suffering. While minor in the 'big picture', this is something the more down-to-earth types will enjoy playing with. Duke and Tarantino are partially comic relief, partially an 'immediate' thing, what with Duke trying to manipulate Tarantino's movies. This should be fun for the more extroverted players. Finally, Irene exists largely as a red herring, but a fun red herring, and one who can become fairly important in the other plotlines. She also provides an avenue for action (along with Absalom and Max Shelby). On the whole, this adventure should have a fairly "Twin Peaks" feel - - yes, there are lots of strange characters, but the strangeness doesn't quite overtake the events and the more 'normal' elements. There's room for comedy, but also for some quite nasty things. Section 5: Bethlehem West Medical Centre The above diagram (sorry, diagram is in the Word version) is the basic shape of B. West. The building is 12 stories high, and has two basement levels. There is one set of three elevators in the 'bump', which are available for public use, plus a number of elevators for medical use or freight only. The floors are 2.5 metres high, with .5m floors (building is about 40m high). Lower Basement: Morgue, some labs, few offices or other important areas. Upper Basement: Storage, supplies, etc. Ground Level: Ambulances, Medivac/ emergency area, casualty. Second Level: Outpatients, check-in, teller machines, shops, etc. Third Level: Administration offices, staffroom Fourth Level: Radiology, neurology, physiotherapy Fifth Level: Wards Sixth Level: Wards Seventh Level: Wards - private rooms Eighth Level Operating theatres Ninth Level: Pediatrics, obstetrics, nursing Tenth Level: Laboratories (including the cloning project) Eleventh Level: Research and teaching Twelfth Level: Dental clinic, dietician, psychiatry The parking lot is to the side of the building. There is a helipad on the roof, as well as on the ground (away from the parking lot) for emergency use. The hospital has two helicopters, used mainly for Medivac. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia The ants are in the sugar The muscles athrophied We're on the other side, the screen is us and we're TV MARILYN MANSON, "Man That You Fear" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 06:41:56 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: IN> Too Too Solid Flesh - Pt 2 Section 1: Celestials Lucinda Balseraph of Vapula, Demon of Cloning Corporeal Forces: 3 Strength- 5 Agility- 7 HP: 25 Ethereal Forces: 4 Intelligence- 8 Precision- 8 HP: 32 Celestial Forces: 5 Will- 11 Perception- 9 HP: 45 Vessel: 2 Essence: 12 Role: Scientist/4 (Status 3) [Lucinda Germane, Ph.D.] Computer Operation/4, Dodge/2, Emote/ 5, Ranged Weapon/ 2, Japanese/ 4, Medicine/2, Seduction/4, Knowledge/Cloning 6 Ethereal Form/ 4, Celestial Motion/ 2, Ethereal Light/ 3, Celestial Light/ 3, Possession/ 4 (8) Unholy Pistol/ 4, 3 bullets Knight of Combustion Special Rite - 2 Essence if she encourages someone to clone something Story - As a fairly new recipient of a Word, Lucinda is out to prove something. She saw the potential in the Head, and suggested the cloning project to her Superior. She had thought that coming to Brisbane would keep things quiet, but she hadn't counted on Irene making noise. She wasn't sure what the situation is, whether the disturbance is divine or profane, so she pulled some strings and arranged for the Yamaguchi Project to come to Bethlehem West. Now she isn't sure what's going to happen, and is losing control over the situation... Lucinda is very good at making decisions - she's firm and determined. She's not good at gathering information, though, and sometimes (like now) she makes a decision without thinking it through properly. She tries to cover this up, but if it gets away from her she loses all confidence. Absalom Djinn of Kronos Corporeal Forces: 3 Strength- 6 Agility- 7 HP: 36 Ethereal Forces: 3 Intelligence -6 Precision- 6 HP: 18 Celestial Forces: 4 Will- 8 Perception- 6 HP: 32 Vessel: 3 Essence: 10 Chemistry/ 2, Computer Operation/2, Dodge/3, Fighting/ 4, Lying/3, Move Silently/2, Ranged Weapon/ 3, Medicine/ 3 Celestial Entropy/ 4, Ethereal Motion/ 3, Claws/ 5, Celestial Shields/ 4 Servitor Attunements - Fated Future, Temporal Projection Story - Absalom has been assigned by Kronos to guard the head of John the Baptist, and to keep an eye on the somewhat ambitious Lucinda as well. Absalom is quite egotistical, fairly arrogant, and a bit of an arsehole. Kronos is the most powerful Demon Prince, and Absalom is fairly powerful for a non-Word-bound servitor. He's developed his natural Djinn emotional state to a disaffected, cynical state, and tends to sneer at anything and anyone. He would really like a Word, but he hasn't worked out what he wants to try for. Absalom's main problem is his lack of diplomacy. Sure, he can pretend, but he's not good at forging alliances or working with others. He's unlikely to get a Word because he won't make the connections he needs in the world of Infernal politics. He's too blunt, and he tends to sneer at those who come to him for assistance. Currently, he's posing as Robert Absalom, assistant to Dr. Germane. He hates this, but realizes that he doesn't have the knowledge to carry off a better disguise. He takes out his frustrations on other people throughout the hospital. He offers to assist the staff when he has free time, just so he can interfere with the patients and the setup. He often hangs around the Medivac area. He's careful about causing Disturbance, and will rein in his hobby if he knows that there are angels in the area, but probably won't have the willpower to give it up completely. He does check on the Fate/Destiny of patients on occasion, and this might be a clue that gives away his presence. If he has to choose between the cloning project and a particularly juicy Fate/Destiny thing, he'll agonize over it but probably go for the later. Absalom does have good fighting skills, and has a sawn-off shotgun hidden in the laboratory. If it gets to the stage of open warfare, he'll gleefully start stalking the halls, gun in hand (if that fits in with the tone of things). Pathros Shedim of Malphas Corporeal Forces: 3 Strength- 6 Agility-6 Ethereal Forces: 3 Intelligence- 6 Precision- 6 HP: 18 Celestial Forces: 3 Will- 7 Perception- 5 HP: 21 Essence: 9 Detect Lies/ 3, Emote/ 3, Lying/ 4 (10) Ethereal Attraction/ 5, Corporeal Healing/ 1 Servitor Attunements - Imbroglio, Polarize Story - Pathros was inhabiting the body of a young man who was having problems relating to his co-workers. The plan to exacerbate the problem was going quite well - until there was a bus accident and the original host was put into a coma. The bus crash was attended by the Medivac unit, and Pathros saw how well the team worked together. He's decided to break up this group, and has inhabited the body of Harry Richards, the Medivac administrator. Pathros' main fault is that he thinks small. He's taken centuries to build himself to the fairly average stage he's at now, and confines his attentions to small matters. Breaking up Medivac could be beyond him. He avoids physical confrontation, is terrified of angels, but fears screwing up even more. He's an accident waiting to happen. Pathros' general strategy is to break the trust between the Medivac members. His main weapons are his Attunements, which cause Disturbance (pity that). He'll also use the Song of Attraction to play with the emotions of NPCs. As a Servitor of Malphas, Pathros has completely overpowered the personality of Harry Richards. While he has all the memories, his actions are a bit off, and this can be noted by those who know Harry (like Craven and O'Malley). Harry Richards: Medicine/5 Knowledge (Administration)/ 4 Harry went straight from Med. School to Vietnam during the war, and still has some problems dealing with that part of his life. He's worked in and administered emergency wards for years, and has been the best in the country. These days, however, he's drinking more, overwhelmed by memories of Vietnam, and the Medivac unit isn't as successful as it could be. His office is filled with photos and articles about the wards he's managed before, and a few photos of the war. There's a bottle of whiskey in his desk drawer. HP: 2 (24 when possessed) Duke Balseraph of Nybbas Corporeal Forces: 2 Strength- 4 Agility- 4 HP: 16 Ethereal Forces: 4 Intelligence- 8 Precision- 8 HP: 32 Celestial Forces: 4 Will- 8 Perception- 8 HP: 32 Vessel: 2 [Charisma +1] Essence: 10 Role: Personal agent/ 5 (Status 4) ['Just Duke, baby'] Servants: Quentin Tarantino/ 2, Max Shelby/ 5 Detect Lies/ 4, Dodge/ 2, Fast-Talk/4, Knowledge (Hollywood)/ 5, Savoir-faire/ 2, Knowledge (Lounge music)/ 3 Celestial Form/ 3, Corporeal Healing/ 2, Ethereal Form / 3, Ethereal Tongues/ 3 Story - Duke has seen better days, but he's on his way straight to the top. A few years ago he seemed a definite to get the Word of Artistic Management, but it was snatched out from under his nose. Now he's aiming for the Word of Chic Violence - which is where Quentin comes in... Tarantino's films have been pilloried for their depiction of violence as 'cool', for their profanity, for... well, for lots of things. Most of this is Quentin's own idea - but Duke's been working to encourage that style ever since he saw the potential in Reservoir Dogs. Duke has been cruising for a while on the success of Quentin's films - Nybbas loves the idea of desensitization to violence - but he knows that he has to start pushing the envelope to have a shot at his Word. His current plan is to up the stakes - make the films darker, wittier, crueler, to have people leave them with murder in their minds and laughter on their lips. Tarantino is filming at the Gold Coast Movieworld at the moment, and Duke wants this film (make up a film you think will be amusing) to be the breakthrough. One problem here is Connie, Tarantino's mother, who doesn't like Duke much and has too much influence with Quentin. Duke's been trying to think of a way of getting rid of her - and then came this thing with Lucinda... Duke arranged for Usagi and Dr. Yamaguchi to come to Brisbane. Then he convinced Connie that she has bowel cancer. Tarantino decided to bring his Mom to the hospital to get her cured. This gives Duke a chance to watch the show, and possibly a way to get Connie taken down a peg or two; since she hasn't got cancer, she'll seem less credible in Quentin's eyes when he finds out (and if that fails, there's a lot of things that can go wrong in a hospital...). Hell, if Connie dies, that could be just the thing to push Quentin into making the kind of movies Duke's after... Usagi Impudite of Kobal Corporeal Forces: 3 Strength- 6 Agility- 6 HP: 30 Ethereal Forces: 3 Intelligence- 6 Precision- 6 HP: 18 Celestial Forces: 4 Will- 8 Perception- 8 HP: 32 Vessel: 2 [Charisma +1] Essence: 10 Role: Medical student/ 2 (Status 3) [Usagi Kiimigo] Emote/ 3, Fast-Talk/ 3, English/ 3, Lying/ 3, Medicine/ 2 Ethereal Light/ 3, Corporeal Harmony/ 3, Corporeal Healing/ 4, Thunder/ 2 Servitor Attunement - Prank Discord - Coward/ 1 Story - Kobal still has problems understanding the Japanese sense of humor, and how they can be both so serious (all that business stuff) and so stupid (those self-mutilation games shows). His Japanese Servitors are charged, along with their other projects, to try and work out the Asian sense of humor. Usagi is a young but upwardly mobile servant of Dark Humor who's doing his best to put it all together. It's all about the incongruity of things, he's decided - the juxtaposition of the staid with the surreally funny. As an experiment, he's put into motion the project with Dr. Yamaguchi. He's convinced Yamaguchi that the Shenzau enema pump, in conjunction with the doctor's brown rice and vitamin mix, can cure cancer. The project is two-fold - first, the humor of everyone coping with the whole 'enema' thing, which is obvious and weird and designed to appeal to the Asian sense of humor. And second, the comedy value when it's revealed that the cure doesn't work! Unfortunately, things have gotten out of hand. Duke called in a favor that Usagi couldn't refuse, so he's had to spring things early. Now the secret is being revealed in a non-Asian setting, and Usagi can't get an 'accurate reading' from his great experiment! Even worse, the news leaked early, so there's the media crowding around, which carries a risk of the secret being revealed too early. Still, you've got to laugh, right? Usagi is a bit peeved with the way things are going, but is carrying on regardless. He's doing his best to keep the experiment going, as well as have some fun in Bethlehem West with the whole culture-clash comedy thing. He also has a weakness for human women (not surprising in an Impudite). He pretends to have a fairly weak grasp of English, both as a precaution (so he can snoop around), and because it's funny. Irene Habbalah of Saminga Corporeal Forces: 4 Strength- 8 Agility- 8 HP: 56 Ethereal Forces: 2 Intelligence- 4 Precision- 4 HP: 8 Celestial Forces: 3 Will- 7 Perception- 5 HP: 21 Vessel: 3 [Charisma -1] Essence: 9 Role: Morgue attendant/ 3 (Status 2) [Irene Stadler] Dodge/1, Fighting/ 4, Melee/ 2, Medicine/ 2, Move Silently/ 2 Tongue/ 5, Possession/ 4 Servitor Attunement - Zombi Discord - Paranoia/ 2 Story - It's not her fault, you understand; she's doing her best, but others have it in for her. They told Saminga that she was incompetent, that she was useless, but that's not true. Yes, she made a mistake or two, but she tried, and that should count for something! But they convinced Saminga to demote her, strip her of authority and responsibility. But she's going to show them. She found the job as morgue attendant at Bethlehem West, and works among the corpses (you can trust dead people). She's got a plan, too - she's going to make this hospital into a Tether of Saminga, with herself as Seneschal. She's not sure exactly how, just yet - it'll probably involve killing lots of people, so that's alright. She's been very lonely, so she made a playmate a while ago; just a little zombi called Johnny. Johnny's head fell off at one point, and the body stopped working, so she keeps his head in a freezer and feeds him bits of bodies. Johnny's not much of a conversationalist, so she's going to make another friend soon. Frankly, Irene's loopy. She's paranoid, lonely, and a Habbalah, so she's got some bad craziness. She'll assume that any celestial presence or strange events in Bethlehem West are her enemies trying to hurt her again. She'll fight back as best she can - which might mean killing anyone who looks suspicious (and that's everyone). Irene has one trait that makes her a very dangerous opponent - she's stopped caring about the rules. She acts without regard for the Disturbance her actions make, and she doesn't care overly if mortals realize she's a demon (although she has enough control to not bring it up in casual conversation). Irene is the wild card in this adventure. Her pet zombi head is a nice red herring as well - if/when the PCs realize they're chasing a head, they might grab the wrong one... How the Bad Guys get along At the start of things, Irene and Pathros are completely out of the loop, but this could change pretty easily. Here are the most likely reactions that the demons will have to each other. Lucinda: She tries to be ingratiating and friendly to everyone (of course she doesn't mean it, she's a Balseraph). If alliances are needed, she'll attempt to get friendly with anyone who can help her get ahead. Absalom: She somewhat resents having a watchdog of Kronos' in on her project, but she copes. She has no major beef against him, finding him a bit too overt but still reliable. She depends on him if things go wrong... Duke: She knows Duke from way back, and while they don't trust each other, they share lines of communication. If betrayal seems likely, she'll suspect Duke first. Pathros: As long as he doesn't disrupt her operations, she's indifferent. If he interferes, she'll try to dispose of him somehow. Irene: Get rid of her! Irene's presence has jeopardized this entire project - and anyway, Saminga's servants should all just piss off! When Lucinda finds out about Irene, she will do her best to dispose of her quietly... Usagi: This is what Duke cooked up as a distraction? Bizarre. She'll try to ignore Usagi and Yamaguchi for as long as possible. Absalom: He knows who's really in charge - the Servitor of the most powerful Prince, that's who. He'll be condescending to any plea for assistance, reluctant to get help if he's in trouble. Lucinda: The glory from this project belongs to Kronos, not Vapula. Let her think he's on her side for as long as necessary, then discard her and take charge of things. Duke: A clever operator, and his master is in favor with Kronos. If needs be, help him if he's in danger, but don't go out of the way. Remember that he's a Balseraph and can't be trusted. Pathros: Who cares? Stay out of the way, little Shedim. Irene: An annoyance, particularly if she interferes. Ignore her until it becomes necessary to have her removed. Usagi: This three-ring circus - you call this an appropriate smokescreen? This is ridiculous. Try to make sure that Usagi (and Kobal) lose face over this - as long as the cloning project stays secret... Duke: Man, it's a hell of a show here - wish I'd sold tickets. As long as no one bothers my boy Q or gets in the way of what I want, let 'em go. This is funny. Lucinda: Cloning? Could be potential there... who needs to hire extras? You've done your part, arranging for the show - if she needs more, she'd better pony up with the goods. Absalom: Bit creepy, but he works for the Man, you know? Stay on his good side, but not to the extent of kissing his ass. Usagi: Those wacky Japanese. Enemas? The boy's a riot. If this works out, it'll be good media, and it helps get a line on Connie. Encourage the boy. Pathros: Yeah, whatever. Stay on your side of the court, don't get in my way. Maybe we'll do lunch sometime. Irene: What is this, Halloween? Slasher flicks are way passe, kiddo. Scrape that stuff off your face and go back where you came from. Idiot girl - get rid of her. Pathros: You cultivate a certain smidgen of paranoia as a servitor of Malphas. Pathros doesn't trust anyone, least of all demons - but he could be in over his head here, and he might need allies if he's discovered. Lucinda: Cloning? Hmmm... something Malphas should learn about. Don't disrupt anything just yet - but take notes. Absalom: A bully, but he can respect that. Ultimately untrustworthy, but try to stay on his good side. Usagi: Strange idea, but good if it works out. Help out if necessary, but only if he pays you somehow. Duke: Those Tarantino films are great, you never miss 'em. Duke has lots of contacts in the industry - be his pal and help out. Irene: What a loser. Slice her up and throw her in the incinerator. Usagi: I could be in over my head here - but if it works, what a coup! If I can find other chances for jokes, I can stay on Kobal's good side. Lucinda: Cloning? Wacky. There's potential there, but I don't wanna go too far. Maybe leave her alone. Absalom: A fate-finder? Humiliation time! Gotta get a plan to stick it to the Man (or Kobal'll stick it to me...). Anyway, stuffed shirts are easy to embarrass. Duke: He twisted my arm to come here, but now I'm here it's kinda fun. And man, Tarantino films are a scream! Stay on his good side. Pathros: Who cares? Just do your thing; stay out of my way. Irene: Now that's funny. Help the poor girl out - this could be hilarious. Irene: I'll show them. Show them all. They think they're better than me, but we'll see just who comes out on top, won't we Johnny? Lucinda: Bitch. I want to make a glove puppet out of her head. Absalom: Make him die, make him die, make him die... Duke: Those films are stupid, and not enough people die. Make Duke pay for treating Death lightly. Pathros: If more people die, good - but that's my job, not yours! Get out! Usagi: Alright, you can live, but only because cancer is a good thing. But don't you laugh at me. Don't laugh! - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia The ants are in the sugar The muscles athrophied We're on the other side, the screen is us and we're TV MARILYN MANSON, "Man That You Fear" ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #508 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.