From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Fri Feb 27 15:25:08 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 PAA14686 for ; Fri, 27 Feb 1998 15:25:08 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) id OAA09092 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Fri, 27 Feb 1998 14:24:29 -0600 Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 14:24:29 -0600 Message-Id: <199802272024.OAA09092@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 #651 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 Friday, February 27 1998 Volume 01 : Number 651 In this digest: IN> Re: IN- Role Q Re: IN> Evil Trick with Roles Re: IN> Re: IN- Role Q IN> Blandine IN> Jordi Re: IN> Re: IN- Evil Trick with Roles Re: IN> Evil Trick with Roles Re: IN> Strength of Lucifer (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Re: IN> An Expanded Jordi Writeup (warning: liberties /have/ been taken.) Re: IN> Eli's Kyrio's Re: IN> Statistics for Superiors Re: IN> Mammon (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Re: IN> Mammon (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Re: IN> Mammon (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Re: IN> Evil Trick with Roles IN> IN: Cats IN> Mephistopheles Re: IN> Mephistopheles Re: IN> Mephistopheles IN> Medical Skill ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 00:14:47 PST From: "David Streeter" Subject: IN> Re: IN- Role Q >My understanding is that a role is a "grounding in reality" that >dampens the disturbance unauthorized interaction (ie. Celestial >meddling) would cause. There is no point difference whatsoever for a >status 2 window cleaner or a status 2 marine on the front line of a war. Yeah, the level of the role is, essentially, how "fleshed out" the role is in the symphony. A level 1 role as a cop would have him on the payroll, and a few other things (a coffee cup at the station, a few people - probably his boss - that knows him vaguely). At higher levels, they'd have a tax file number, a few regular drinking buddies etc. Level 6 roles are virtually indistinguishable from real mundanes - but require either a lot of work by the celestial to create the role, or (more commonly, I'd imagine) stepping into the shoes of a mundane killed by a celestial. (A good punishment for an angel who accidentally kills a mundane - to live their life out as if they were not killed). For undercover cops and "roles within roles", I would argue that since the role is more complex, the higher the level of the role should be (eg. top secret documents confirming the cop was assigned to infiltrate the MAFIA). For a role as a criminal who has a sub-role, though, the celestial has to weigh up the advantages. At higher role levels, disturbance will be masked more effectively, but at the cost of somebody somewhere knowing their MO. Lets look out our celestial who pretends cat-burglar who masquerades as a window-cleaner. Alfonse (a Calabite of Theft) has a role as Bert (a cat-burglar) who pretends to be "Charlie the windows cleaner". Alfonse decides that destroying a bottle of Windex will aid the forces of Hell**. Normally, as either Alfonse or Bert, that would cause disturbance - probably even not Charlie would have much cause for destroying a bottle of windex. However, in his role as "Bert, pretending to be Charlie", this might be okay. At level one for the role, a policemen, somewhere, might be aware of a string of thefts with no obvious attempts at break in. At level three, a cop might have noticed that windows at all the crime scenes have been sparkling clean. At level six, a policemen and his partner have documented evidence that all the thefts have happened at companies that hire "Charlie's" window washing company. If Alfonse had decided to buy the roles separately (I'd guess you'd need two vessels, or song of form), the police would probably never match "Bert" and "Charlie" together. If both "Bert" and "Charlie" were bought at, say, level 3, their fingerprints might be on record as not matching. At level 6, DNA testing would PROVE that they weren't the same person. SurturZ Dissonant Elohite of Stone ** How, do you ask? Well, as a result, a particularly dirty window will stay dirty - meaning that Derek never sees Eliza, his destined wife, through that window. Never knowing true love, Derek becomes cynical and bitter, embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from his employer. Not only does Alfonse cause a mundane to meet his Fate, but he gets the big thumbs up from Valefor, eventually earning his Word - quake in fear of Alfonse, Calabite of Theft, Demon of Computer Embezzlment! (He still owes a level 6 favour to the Lilim of Fate that told him about windex, though - a great example of a need trifling for the Lilim, yet extrememly difficult for the victim!). ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 03:34:17 -0500 From: Brandon Quina Subject: Re: IN> Evil Trick with Roles > Now you have a 9-Force demon on Earth whose every act that > would be in character for a Soldier of Hell is protected > from causing disturbance. Which includes smashing things > to further the goals of his DP... A role cant be 'soldier of hell'. A role is something you put down on a job application. If you'd write 'soldier of hell' on your job application to McDonalds then I feel for you. I also laugh at you, but hey;) Soldiers are /not/ celestials. They /have/ real jobs and real lives, maybe even children. If the soldier in question didnt have a real job, then you couldnt 'take over his roll'. If he was a bank teller, then 'bank teller' could be your roll. However, that wouldnt make killing people non-dissonant just because your roll is a soldier of hell on the side. Basically, it would be like letting characters have 'demon' for a roll. Also, dont soldiers make disturbance for using songs?? I know they dont for spending essence and killing people, but what about songs?? :) - -- (lore@tmgbbs.com) \|/// Zzzzzzzzzzzz Brandon Lance Quina (- -) ICQ Number: 6809944 ---ooO(_)Ooo--- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 09:48:40 -0000 From: "Hart, Joanna" Subject: Re: IN> Re: IN- Role Q - ---David Streeter wrote: > (A good punishment for an angel who accidentally kills a > mundane - to live their life out as if they were not killed). Now that.. is an excellent idea ;-) Thanks. (** brain whirrs -- we're still running on clockwork here **) > Alfonse (a Calabite of Theft) has a role as Bert (a > cat-burglar) who pretends to be "Charlie the windows cleaner". Three cheers for synchronicity. I just wrote up an NPC calabite of theft called Alfonso! jo ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 05:08:24 -0500 From: AmadanSJG@compuserve.com Subject: IN> Blandine > In this case, Blandine should NEVER appear Celestially. Probably the easiest course of action would be to Errata the statement so. From my interpretation, I had decided that Blandine almost never left the Marches, so if Successfully summoned she would use a Song of Projection, or in the most extreme cases appear Corporeally for the briefest of periods.< Well, for what it's worth from the guy who wrote it, had this inconsistency pointed out before it went to press, agreed and _thought_ it was going to be corrected...yeah. That's how I'd rule too. - -David, Dissonant Elohite of Judgment who makes mistakes sometimes and whose Word is _not_ Disagreeing With the Demon Princess Line Editor (that I do just for fun ;)) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 05:08:17 -0500 From: AmadanSJG@compuserve.com Subject: IN> Jordi >Well, if you want to be compatible with canon, Jordi was one of the Archangels who protested to the Seraphim Council about Uriel's purification campaign. (As did Blandine and, I think, Novalis.) < Correct. Canonically, Jordi would definitely be listed as "Hostile" to Uriel. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 08:38:06 -0500 From: Andrew Frades Subject: Re: IN> Re: IN- Evil Trick with Roles David Streeter wrote: > > >My character, which is a Seraph of War, and have a Role/6 as a > vigilanti > >demon hunter (can break things, shoot ppl, etc and all be in a role of > a > >vigilanti demon hunter) and status/1.. cost only 3 points too.. > > Hmm... shouldn't it cost 4 points? I think you round up. (that's why I > said role/6 status/2 - costs the same) Cost for roles is now (level x status)/2 as per the FAQ (and the errata I believe). So the 3 points is correct. Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 09:06:41 -0500 From: Andrew Frades Subject: Re: IN> Evil Trick with Roles Ehrbar wrote: > > Here's a scary idea -- you're a DP, and one of your better > Soldiers of Hell has gotten himself offed by one of your > Servitors, his body disposed of successfully, and his soul > sitting in your Realm. You off the idiot Servitor and > promote a loyal one to Earth duty -- and give him the > Role/6 of and a vessel that looks like your dead Soldier > of Hell. > > Now you have a 9-Force demon on Earth whose every act that > would be in character for a Soldier of Hell is protected > from causing disturbance. Which includes smashing things > to further the goals of his DP... No. The role would only protect the demon from disturbance from the stuff that that now dead mortal would have done, barring celestial intervention. In other words, stuff that their job and/or natural place in the Symphony would have expected them to do, not the stuff they did as a combattant in the Celestial War. Admittedly, this is only my opinion, but I am a firm believer in the "no free lunch" maxim. Well actually I believe in the "really cheap lunch" maxim, but thats just too darn cheap, there's got to be some governement cheese in there somewhere. Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 09:33:02 -0400 (EDT) From: gantr@NKU.EDU Subject: Re: IN> Strength of Lucifer (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) On Fri, 27 Feb 1998, Simon Hailes wrote: > The age old question of In Nomine is, can Hell win? I know this has been > discussed before but I don't thin anyone has really paused to think of the > implications. Now Lucifer is a smart fellow (he reads his Kant and Zeno) > and I'm sure that if challenged to a match of chess he would beat all those > uppity russian blokes (check mate! next, oh gee, only five seconds this > time!) so why would he fight a war which he knew he could not win? In my campaign, anyway, he can't win and he knows it. He's fighting to try and deny victory to Heaven. To Lucifer, every mortal soul he drags into Hell is a loss for Heaven. That's enough for him. He failed; nobody else gets to succeed. > Is it as a Balseraph he has convinced Himself he can, or is it he knows > something no one else does? (no one except for God). Hell is described as > a place beyond the light of God (in both In Nomine and The Prophecy) except > for those rare Divine Interventions, which means, Lucifer as the presumably > most powerful being in Hell (we have no idea what could be lurking in the > Lower Hells but as a GM I'm working on it!) then Lucifer is for all sakes > and purposes God in Hell (which is yet another reason why Michael and chums > don't just march of in to the depths to make Lucifer Kebabs) just as he > took a third of the angels from Heaven he also took a third of reality with > him, which means that Lucifer has roughly a third of God's power, making > him weaker then God yes, which accounts for the whole Intervention bizzo, > but not that much weaker, He could, conceivably with a lot of luck, and > cunning, defeat Numero Uno Herself (Himself, Itself, whatever, I don;t > think God is definable by gender). Hell isn't "beyond the light of God" (in the sense of a hiding place). It is *removed* from the light of God. God still has absolute power there, but He doesn't ever reveal Himself to the residents in any way at all. Also, I don't think that taking a third of somebody's manpower is taking a third of their power. Lucifer has a third of the Host, yes. He has none of the power of God, and only the Hell part of reality under his control. > If you had control of a third of our a country's power, would you go towar > against it, I would, and remember, Vietnam did not have half the man power > or the equipment of the U.S. but it still was able to defeat the U.S. No, power had nothing to do with the U.S. loss in Vietnam. The U.S., had it wanted to bring it's entire power to bear against Vietnam, would have won. There might not have been anything but radioactive glass to win (not to mention another world war, this time against the USSR and China), but we could have won. By the same token, even if Lucifer *did* have 1/3 of the power of God at his disposal, that still leaves God with the other 2/3s. If it came to a straight power fight, God would crush him. He might destroy large parts of reality, but Lucifer would be buried under the sheer weight of power God could bring to bear. > So, Lucifer, being the smart guy I referred to before, knows he can win, > even if only by subverting the majority of the Symphony, except for that > closest to God, that would still be a victory, for all practicalities God > would be exiled! Very true. But I don't think it could happen. Rich Gant ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 09:47:29 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> An Expanded Jordi Writeup (warning: liberties /have/ been taken.) Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > #1: check out the poetry on the INC (I think it's in "non-specific > resources), where "My Cat Geoffry" is of tribe Tiger and clan > Cherub, or something like that. "The cherub cat is a term of the angel tiger." The use of "term" is sort of strange. The sentence probably means more than "cats are miniature tigers," but that is probably most of what it means. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 08:59:38 -0600 From: rbeall@fdldotnet.com (Grim88) Subject: Re: IN> Eli's Kyrio's >Simple question really. One of my players thinks that you get a free >Celestial Song of Form as one of Eli's Kyrios, as well as being able >to use it essence free. I think he's wrong and you still need to buy the >song in the first place. But, fair being that I am, I thought that I >would give him the benefit of the doubt and ask here. If he is correct, >then what level do you get it at? They must purchase the Song as usual. And they should...It's a VERY useful attunement...may not look like it is...but it is. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 12:56:44 +0000 From: Julian Breen Subject: Re: IN> Statistics for Superiors Jo writes >>>Bear in mind he can probably teleport in several legions faster than most >>>angels can think, if he needed to. >>> >>Yes, he could. But that might mean bringing them in from where they were >>currently ganged up on David or Michael, and that might mean that that >>part of *the plan* goes awry. > >Right. There may be reasons not to do it (although I'm sure he has plenty >of soldier demons and special forces hit squads on call in Hell in any >case) but its an example of why you have to think these things through in >terms of what motives and resources a superior will have before just >writing down '10,000 shedim can take down Michael'. > *Precisely!* And what I have been saying all along is that no matter how, you go about it (working out power gained from subordinate Words, defining forces of Superiors, applying 'Word Forces' etc.) what would help *me* on thinking this through is some vague idea of the power levels inherent in superiors. Then I can reach an informed decision, rather than just spur of the moment saying that Haagenti does a Mr. Creosote when he eats Mammon. :) Regards, - -- Jules - Demon of Just *One* More Wafer Thin Mint... jules@bigjules.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 10:27:40 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Mammon (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Julian Breen wrote: > Is stealing a loaf of bread to feed yourself really some form of > Gluttony? I just can't swallow it . > The desire for consumables I think, would have to be above that > necessary for basic sustenance or it isn't gluttony, it's survival. No, stealing bread under provocation of hunger is not gluttony. In fact, I don't think it would fall under any of the Seven Deadly Sin and so I think would be a "venial" (non-deadly) sin if I remember my taxonomy of sins properly. (No guarantees.) I was thinking of something more like this: Gluttony is, in the abstract, making food (and other consumables) too important in your life. Affluent people typically get tempted into gluttony by pleasure - -- the carrot, not the stick. But poor people could get tempted into gluttony by the stick, not the carrot, by anxiety, not pleasure. Examples of "gluttony of privation" would be: - hoarding food at the expense of your family or neighbors - stealing food when you are not immediately hungry - or allowing your social conscience to be swayed simply by which proposed leader feeds you (or promises to feed you) more or soonest (I am thinking of the "bread and circuses" policy of the Roman emperors for dealing with the Roman proletariate) - ignoring more pressing obligations to go after food An affluent person may well have the uneasy feeling that "gluttony of privation" is a lot more excusable than "gluttony of excess" or "gluttony of delicacy," and that may be true, but "gluttony of privation" could still be a wide-spread (if low-grade) form of gluttony. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 13:26:52 +0000 From: Julian Breen Subject: Re: IN> Mammon (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Ehrbar writes >Mammon really only rules the hearts of those who want money for its own >sake. Not strictly true. As Baron Samedi points out elsewhere, you may be expanding upon gluttony and limiting greed. But then, as a servant of Haagenti, you'd be used to expanding }:> IMO greed doesn't *just* refer to cash. Take the following example; Recently Jules sits down to a chinese takeout with friends. Two *friends* proceed to pile their plates high with food. One scoffs their's most rapidly, the other toys with the food and eats very little. Gluttony and Greed!; "I want lots 'cause I like it, even though I'm bursting!" "I want lots because, well, then *you* can't have it" Result? Jules sharpens chopsticks and serves another Word. Starting on Greed, cause it's just plain more ANNOYING! >>IMC, Haagenti has very little power, and is hanging on to his Princedom >>by the skin of his teeth. On earth, he is only really powerful in the >>US. His word is virtually non existant in the Third World. > >>His word *is* set to gain momentum however. Read the other day that by >>2010, 75% of Americans will be clinically obese...(:)))) > >And 51% already are, and a bunch of the rest are bullemics who also >strengthen my Prince. Which is perfectly nice. But did you know >consumption of literarily worthless novels is also skyrocketing? >Millions of dollars spent on books not worth the paper they're printed >on, read once and then put on bookcases to moulder and eventually be >thrown away. That's where Gluttony is making *real* strides. > >Not to mention my colleauges in the software industry, busy promoting >software bloat so hardware that will work for 50 years is junked after >five. Or the Marquis of Roleplaying Supplements who reports to me, >busy cranking out M:TG expansion sets and Complete Half-Elven Barbarian >Druid Paladin Handbooks and second editions of fourth editions of RPGs. >Or the Duke of Arms Races, whom Haagenti shares with Baal, helping >countries waste billions in weapons research and procurement... > >Steven Ehrbar, Calabim Duke of Paperback Books, Servitor of Gluttony. Eloquently put oh calabite. In fact worthy of a balseraph... I would like to quote some other illustrious person on this list who came up with the following. I'm sorry that I don't know who you are but this was cool! "Gluttony is buying 300 packs of the latest CCG expansion just because you want to make sure you have every single card. Greed is buying 300 packs of the latest CCG expansion so you can put all the rare ones in plastic sleeves, hold onto them, and sell them a couple of years later at ridiculous prices to Gluttons who want to complete their collections." - -- Jules - Very Tiny and Not Worth Eating jules@bigjules.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 11:20:55 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Mammon (was Varying Superior Disturbance Levels) Personally, I'd call it Gluttony versus Avarice or Covetousness (sp?) because "greed" is ambiguous. And I'd regard Gluttony as a "sin of the flesh," done for sensual satisfaction, and so centering on physical consumption -- eating, drinking, shooting up, perhaps stuff like excessive TV-viewing but that's getting borderline. Other "sins of the flesh" from the Seven Deadlies are Lust and Sloth. Maybe Wrath, too. Avarice is a "sin of the world" and, to my mind, involves possession and acquisition, not consumption. Not that the two are incompatible. And "I want lots because, well, then *you* can't have it" is Envy, also a Deadly and a "sin of the world," as is Pride. Earl ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 08:32:00 -0800 (PST) From: Querent Subject: Re: IN> Evil Trick with Roles For every Calabite you come up with with a level 6 role of Serial Killer, I've a Seraph of Judgment leading the FBI investigation backed up by a Cherub of Laurence Federal Marshal and a full Malakim SWAT team, all with level 6 roles. For every knot you tie in a well balanced game, a crafty GM can turn it into a noose. Want to play with some rope? - ---Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > > At 9:51 PM -0400 2/25/98, gantr@NKU.EDU wrote: > >On Wed, 25 Feb 1998, David Streeter wrote: > > > >> This got me thinking... if I was a Calabite of Death, I'd get a level 6 > >> Status/2 role as "A Serial Killer". That way I could kill humans without > >> causing disturbance! == --Querent, Angel of Widescreen. Mercurian Servitor of Creation. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 10:43:19 -0600 (CST) From: Martin Leslie Leuschen Subject: IN> IN: Cats : Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 20:00:34 -0500 : From: Elizabeth McCoy : Subject: Re: IN> An Expanded Jordi Writeup (warning: liberties /have/ : been taken.) : #2: this is, of course, entirely untrue -- cats are demons. Or : Habbalah. Hm. Definitely Habbalah-ish -- beautiful, make you : love them and do what they want, selfish, and will bite and : scratch when annoyed. But they are not judgemental, and are callous rather than cruel. Cats are IMHOEtherials. One of the rare kids that aren't starved for essence - they seem to have no problem finding worshoppers. Have you placted Bast today? Regards, Martin Leuschen martinl@rice.edu P.S. Glad to hear Huntington's doin' better. Say "pdrdrdrrraow" for me. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 17:58:49 +0000 From: Julian Breen Subject: IN> Mephistopheles I've been having so much fun recently serving Peril that I thought that I'd post up my version of Mephistopheles for perusal. Its not an ego trip, I know that many of you will have better such write ups, but it works for me :) I just thought that I might be able to milk you all for some better ideas... Note that this write up does not allow for Faustian Redemption. If you want to go for that but still use this, then you'd just need to tinker with the history as I've writen it. I just sat down reading the funky Dictionary of Angels one day and thought that this seemed appropriate. (Especially as I was about to run No Dinero from H&H.) Please see the comments at the end also. MEPHISTOPHELES Prince of Peril The world is fraught with danger, one wrong step can send you tumbling into the Abyss. Mephistopheles was once a valued servant of Zadkiel. He had been assigned to earth to protect humanity from the depredations of demons in the years following the Casting Out of the Grigori. Whereas his vigour and enthusiasm in fighting the Host's enemies was exemplary, his interaction with humanity was less so. The more that Mephistopheles dealt with humans the more he found them to be treacherous, despicable little beings, not worthy of God's adoration. The thought that God's special creations were flawed was greatly disturbing... As time passed he began to have serious doubts as to whether or not fighting his fallen kin in efforts to save mankind was the best course of action. He also wondered if the Word of Safety to which he aspired was perhaps not at all suited to a seraph. It was in such a jaded state that Mephistopheles one day encountered Belial wreaking havoc in the mortal world. Belial recognised the seeds of doubt within Mephistopheles and decided that he would be a valuable addition to hell (and an even better servant). Belial claimed that as a seraph in pursuit of the truth, should Mephistopheles not at least listen to the arguments of the other side? What if for example, he had only come to believe what God told him was the truth? Thus, Belial arranged for Mephistopheles to speak with Lucifer so that he might understand the demons' viewpoint a little more clearly, and the wayward angel, ignoring all that he had ever believed in and aspired to, set about his path of damnation. Lucifer's oratory was too strong for him. He questioned his existence, he questioned truth, and he questioned God. With that, he fell. Lucifer seemed to pay an interest in the fledgling demon and stayed well informed of his activities enquiring of Belial occasionally how his new servitor fared. Belial replied that although Mephistopheles was quite original and inventive, he was very disappointing as his destructive endeavours left rather too much to chance. Belial was thus keen to trade him on, and he did so to Lucifer himself who proceeded to charge Mephistopheles with acquiring the soul of a particularly arrogant sorcerer whom the dark prince desired. When Mephistopheles succeeded with a distinction, he craved a boon from Lucifer, a Word that was opposite to the one that he had originally sought to aspire to; Safety. Lucifer not only gave him the Word of Peril, but crowned him a prince also... Mephistopheles is something of a rarity in Hell. Although he has no real friends or allies, there are likewise no princes actively hostile toward him. This is perhaps because most other princes see Mephistopheles' Word as working at least somehow in harmony with theirs. Even Saminga (although, like Belial, he does feel that Mephistopheles leaves too much to chance). He does however, have one enemy; Asmodeus. The Djinn of the Game openly dislikes and distrusts Mephistopheles. Perhaps he feels that one who embodies danger is to be viewed as especially dangerous himself. Or perhaps it is the fact that Mephistopheles is virtually ignored (or 'overlooked' as Asmodeus puts it) by the other princes that is of concern. He seems to be content to take a back seat away from the machinations of his peers, and this naturally leads Asmodeus to believe that he is up to something. Asmodeus has planted several spies within Mephistopheles' camp to bring forth condemning evidence as quickly as possible. So far, none has been forthcoming, and several of these servants have since learnt the true meaning of danger. Mephistopheles is a balseraph. When he appears in a mortal form he takes pains to ensure that he is not viewed as threatening, which is of course to instil a false sense of security (he has appeared as a monk, a jester, and a black spaniel for example). He and his servitors dwell in an inaccessible icy wilderness in Stygia. It is always darkest night in his realm with a dim suffusion of moonlight cast by an absent moon. Raging blizzards obscure vision, hiding bottomless ravines and chasms. Avalanches are an ever present threat, and precarious rope bridges are often the only way forward. At the summit of treacherous mountains lies the castle of the Prince of Peril. Inside, are even greater hazards than presented by the surrounding terrain. All manner of ingenious traps and pitfalls lie in wait for the souls of the damned who in life jeopardised others with recklessness or callous disregard. Some of the more insidious of these traps are rumoured to deposit intruders/undesirables into particularly lethal situations in other domains... DISSONANCE It is dissonant for servants of Mephistopheles to help a human in danger. Pretending to help is fine, so long as the outcome is not affected positively. CHOIR ATTUNEMENTS Balseraphs Balseraphs serving peril are adept at convincing people that something that is downright dangerous is in fact perfectly safe. They may add their celestial forces to any attempt at using their resonance to promote this. Djinn Djinn of peril are considered to have a check digit of 6 on a resonance roll when the object of their attunement actually *is* in danger. Calabites These demons may apply their resonance on a timed fuse, so that their destruction is basically an accident waiting to happen. Such examples include fraying lift cables, loosening rivets on construction sites, rotting the rungs on ladders etc. The timer has a maximum setting equal to 7 minus the check digit in minutes, +1 per essence spent. Note that many calabites are too impatient to use their resonance in this way. They want to destroy and they want to now!!! Habbalites These exploiters of insecurity are able to impose their resonance more resolutely upon victims who are in emotional danger, e.g. A spurned lover, somebody on the verge of a nervous breakdown, etc. Subtract the demon's celestial forces from their victim's will roll. Lilim Lilim serving peril can elect to up the stakes with their resonance. After completing a victims wish, she can offer *double or quits*. If the victim agrees then she flips a coin. Victim's call. If he wins he owes the lilim nothing. She has permanently lost out on the deal, gains a note of dissonance, and may not bother the victim again in any way with regard to that favour, although the dissonance, as usual, can be erased if she later successfully geases that victim with another favour. If the lilim wins however, then she is owed an extra favour at the same level as the one due her, and when she eventually calls in these favours (which are cumulative as usual) the victim gets no will roll to resist! Shedites Shedites use their hosts to endanger themselves, and/or others, with their evil acts being cleverly staged to look like the direst of accidents. Consequently, to the befuddled host the disasters occurring at his hands simply seem to be unavoidable bad luck. The hosts get no bonuses to their perception rolls for the duration of the shedite's stay. Impudites Peril's impudites are adrenaline junkies. They love danger and more importantly they love people in danger! The rush of essence that comes from such a person is like nectar to these demons. They have no need to charm any such person before tapping them for essence, and generate no dissonance if the victim dies in the accident. Sure,it's a waste, but fate is harsh. These fellows are often found in roles as the longest standing members of dangerous sports clubs. SERVITOR ATTUNEMENTS 911 is a joke At the cost of one essence, all phones within a radius equal to the total forces of the demon in yards fail to work when dialling 911 or any such emergency number for a duration in minutes equal to the demon's celestial forces. The radius of effect can be increased by spending extra essence, multiplying total forces by essence spent. Whether or not this affects relevant artifacts or abilities such as the cherubim of lightning's servitor attunement is GM's discretion. Give any caller one d666 roll (regardless of how many times he tries to call) with a 111 not only connecting but no doubt bringing an ofanite of Zadkiel, and a 666 could well put you through to an operator who happens to be a very suggestive lilim... The Negative Principle When this attunement is invoked, the demon causes 'bad luck' to temporarily strike a victim. The demon spends from 1 to 6 points of essence and makes a Will roll. The victim then also makes a Will roll (celestials add their celestial forces). If this roll fails, then the check digit is added to the demon's ethereal forces and this is the duration in rounds of the attunement. During this time, the victim subtracts from all rolls the number of essence that the demon has spent. If the victim's roll was successful, then the demon is unable to try again against that victim for a number of days equal to the successful check. If the check digit is a 6 however, then cosmic law has also rebounded upon the demon, and he himself suffers the attunement for that many rounds! DISTINCTIONS Knight of Accidents The demon is able to turn potentially hazardous situations into definite ones with a glance. The truck parked on a slope with its handbrake on and engine running suddenly starts careering off towards the school crossing... The pan of oil left on a low light suddenly flares up... 'Gee, isn't the ice a little too thin for skating this year..?'. Captain of Catastrophes With a glance, the demon is able to disable alarm systems, smoke detectors and the like. This disablement lasts for a number of minutes equal to the demon's corporeal forces. Baron of Reckless Endangerment Barons serving Mephistopheles are able to make people oblivious to danger. Depending on the victim's personality, this might be defined as blissful ignorance, or sheer pig-headedness; the ' nothing'll happen to me' approach. With a successful will roll, the victim must then make a perception roll (celestials may add their celestial forces) in order to see through the demon's ruse or they will not recognise the situation for what it is. For example, the demon might just offer you a smoke when you happen to be filling the car with gas, or he might convince you that the double diamond slopes are good for ski-ing on even though you've only had one lesson. If the victim becomes damaged by the incident he'll 'snap out of it' instantly. By then however, it may just be somewhat too late... RELATIONS Allied: No one Associated: Baal, Belial, Kronos, Kobal Hostile: No one Enemy: Asmodeus BASIC RITES Place at least one mortal life in danger Place a mortal soul at risk (+2 essence) CHANCE OF INVOCATION: 3 INVOCATION MODIFIERS: +1 A child's cheap imported toy +2 An empty fire extinguisher +3 A tourist in the bad part of town +4 A building with faulty wiring +5 A workplace that blatantly ignores safety regulations +6 A mortal willing to make a pact with Hell. Now; the points that I'm still not all too sure work that well are the Lilim resonance, and the Negative Principle attunement. I also thought originally of the bal's having some form of limited danger sense or making that another servitor attunement, but couldn't figure the best way to do it. Suggestions? - -- Jules - Still Skating on Thin Ice jules@bigjules.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 12:50:08 -0600 From: tom timberlake Subject: Re: IN> Mephistopheles Julian Breen wrote: > > I've been having so much fun recently serving Peril that I thought that > I'd post up my version of Mephistopheles for perusal. Its not an ego > trip, I know that many of you will have better such write ups, but it > works for me :) I just thought that I might be able to milk you all for > some better ideas... > > Note that this write up does not allow for Faustian Redemption. If you > want to go for that but still use this, then you'd just need to tinker > with the history as I've writen it. Since I'm an optimist and _my_ reading of Goethe's "Faust" leaves room for either an Angelic *or* Demonic victory, I guess I will be busy tinkering, making some _other_ dark sorceror the unfortunate one that Meph. won out over. And yes, I am very cozy with Cherubs, why do you ask? [Imagine that, a RL security guard with a thing for Cherubs 0;-} ] I just sat down reading the funky > Dictionary of Angels one day and thought that this seemed appropriate. > (Especially as I was about to run No Dinero from H&H.) > > Please see the comments at the end also. > > MEPHISTOPHELES > > Prince of Peril > > The world is fraught with danger, one wrong step can send you tumbling > into the Abyss. > [Much snippage as offering to the greater Etherial god of Bandwidth] > > Now; the points that I'm still not all too sure work that well are the > Lilim resonance, and the Negative Principle attunement. I also thought > originally of the bal's having some form of limited danger sense or > making that another servitor attunement, but couldn't figure the best > way to do it. > > Suggestions? How about something like the Malak of War attunement? GM rolls the Djinn's Perception behind the screen, success indicates the Djinn [they are Hell's Stalkers] has locked on to a person or place fraught with imminent danger. Tagteam them with a Lilim, who can offer to get the person out of their peril...for a price, and there you go. Of course, the Djinn doesn't really _care_ about whether or not the person is saved, but hey, it keeps their DP off of the Djinn's back, so they don't end up having to walk the halls of the Castle Perilous to answer Meph.'s summons. After all, some of those trapdoor slides lead to Vapu-Labs in Tartarus, and even the most apathetic of Djinn cares about not becoming an experimental subject, for some strange reason *g*. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 14:17:51 -0500 From: Earl Wajenberg Subject: Re: IN> Mephistopheles tom timberlake wrote: > Since I'm an optimist and _my_ reading of Goethe's "Faust" leaves room > for either an Angelic *or* Demonic victory, I guess I will be busy > tinkering, making some _other_ dark sorceror the unfortunate one that > Meph. won out over. Perhaps Julian was thinking of Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus," which has an unambiguously damned ending. For a historical survey of the Faust theme, see: http://192.146.206.5/www/faculty/shaferi/faust.html I found this on the "Ecole Initiative" pages, where you can find lots of other theological stuff. Of interest to this list might be: An article on the Holy Grail at: http://192.146.206.5/www/faculty/shaferi/grail.html An article on Mithraism at: http://www.evansville.edu/~ecoleweb/articles/mithraism.html The Ecole Initiative itself is at: http://cedar.evansville.edu/~ecoleweb/ecolea.html Earl ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 15:14:39 -0500 (EST) From: Emily Dresner Subject: IN> Medical Skill Can someone explain to me what is going on here? Under the skill medicine, it has the following chart (pg 76): Skill Level Treatment Time Hits Healed 1 1 minute == to patient's ST 2 1 day 2x patient's ST 3-4 1 week 3x patient's ST 5-6 1 minute 2x patient's ST I know this has been gone over before, but this chart makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Well, it sort of does, in a very very vague sort of way, but whoever thought this up was on something good and is still not sharing. I had the misfortune to run into this chart last night during gametime, and just ended up closing the book and making something up. The last entry at the 5-6 level just looks _wrong_. Why can you suddenly heal an order of magnitude less, but at such an exponential time faster? Are you now a crappier physician who can wrap wounds at a higher rate? What happens if the physician takes more time? Why does it take a doctor at 3-4 to spend a week, and at 5-6, only a minute? This table makes absolutely no sense. Is there someplace that it's errated or explained or something? THANKS. - - Em ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #651 ******************************* The material here is (C) 1997 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.