From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Sun Dec 26 14:55:07 1999 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 OAA25856 for ; Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:55:07 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id OAA23975 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:53:28 -0600 Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:53:28 -0600 Message-Id: <199912262053.OAA23975@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 #1474 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Sunday, December 26 1999 Volume 01 : Number 1474 In this digest: Re: IN> Christmas RE: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives Re: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives Re: IN> Contemporary versions of the Bible Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) RE: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) RE: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives Re: IN> Genubath, Demon Prince of Rapine Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) Re: IN> Scientism, Atheism, and In Nomine Re: IN> Khalid and Religion IN> bilbruck@busprod.com Re: IN> bilbruck@busprod.com Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) IN> Contemporary versions of the Bible IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives Re: IN> Genubath, Demon Prince of Rapine Re: IN> Most troublesome bands/choirs/servitors Re: IN> Contemporary versions of the Bible IN> Israfel, Archangel of Music ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 02:28:47 EST From: BillionSix@aol.com Subject: Re: IN> Christmas In a message dated 12/26/99 1:26:52 AM Central Standard Time, ben@zianet.com writes: << But hasn't anyone considered, for just a moment, that Archangel Christopher must *love* this holiday? How many kids get excited around Christmas time? And Novalis must love it, too. After all, even during one of the bloodiest wars of the century (WWI), the fighting stopped and the troops of both sides played soccer because it was Christmas. And imagine all the dreams children experience on Christmas Eve... Blandine has her hands, and dreamscape, full. >> Wow. Hadn't thought of that. After saying all that bad stuff, now you've given me the warm fuzzies. :) Merry Christmas. Rev. B. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 03:57:19 -0500 (EST) From: "Rev. Pee Kitty" Subject: RE: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives On Sun, 26 Dec 1999, Greg Bilbruck wrote: > As a fellow Christian, I am asking you to stop antagonizing the atheists and > agnostics on this list. Show the love of Christ in your answers... not > impatience (at best) or hatred (at worst). Uh...Greg? This whole discussion STARTED with a discussion of the "irony" of David, an athiest/agnostic, writing for In Nomine. He's not Christian. That fact was the genesis of this little debate. HTH. HAND. :) - -- Rev. Pee Kitty, of the order Malkavian-Dobbsian Meow! Though they broke my legs / They gave me a crutch to walk / Laws to guide me / And a crutch to walk. / Amen. -- Chumbawamba, "Today's Sermon" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 00:46:07 -0700 From: "Ben Glickler" Subject: Re: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives >David, > >As a fellow Christian I'm not entirely sure how you decided that David is a Christian. > I am asking you to stop antagonizing the atheists and > agnostics on this list. :P >Greg Bilbruck Ben ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 00:55:52 -0700 From: "Ben Glickler" Subject: Re: IN> Contemporary versions of the Bible >I prefer the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. A good bible for scholars is the New Jerusalem Bible. It does what the NIV does with regards to original translations, but goes even further. It includes a few extra books in the Hebrew Scriptures that are dropped in other versions. Unfortunately, there's no Gospel of Thomas, but you can't have everything. It's what my college bible class used, at any rate... Much as I like the New Jerusalem Bible, the translations are too close to the original text. They lose a lot of their style and literary value. One of my favorite, passionate bible speeches (Jeremiah 18:20-21) is fairly dry and lacks poetic value in the older translations. I'm pretty sure the version I like is in the NIV. And the King James Version, with its archaic language, is perfect for high drama. Heck -- get 'em all, I say. You can never have too many bibles. >Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas. >Greg Ben (atheist bible-fan) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 01:09:54 -0700 From: "Ben Glickler" Subject: Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) Interesting thought. Many of the Archangels do not have faith that God exists. They *know* he exists. Their acceptance of God is based on evidence, not a leap of faith. For most angels, they have to believe in some sort of God, because they can see the effects of his existence. (If you see ripples in a pond, you know something fell in.) So most angels have no faith -- they believe in God because it's fact. Does Khalid have faith that God exists, or does he *know* God exists, thus precluding the possibility that he could have faith? That would be interesting indeed. It would seem that for Khalid to have the word of Faith, he would have to have no idea whatsovever if God exists or not, and would have to choose to believe that God exists, despite a lack of evidence on way or the other. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 02:18:03 -0600 From: "M Trent" Subject: RE: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) "In In Nomine, athiesm is wrong (unless you are playing a fairly divergant game). The belief is in untrue things (because there is a God), and so a belief in athiesm is not faith." I assume by wrong you mean incorrect, but not sinful? (gotta love the English language) because while Atheism is incorrect (just like Baptists, Catholics, and Moslems) it isn't a Burn In Hell offence (unless of course it is you Fate to become an Atheist). Trent Ofanite of Doubt ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 01:21:52 -0700 From: "Ben Glickler" Subject: Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) >I assume by wrong you mean incorrect, but not sinful? (gotta love the >English language) because while Atheism is incorrect (just like >Baptists, Ayep. Ain't a sin, it's just not correct. Since there *is* a God in a standard In Nomine game, believing that there is no God is simply believing a lie. >Catholics, and Moslems) it isn't a Burn In Hell offence (unless of course it >is you Fate to become an Atheist). No offense makes you burn in Hell, except achieving your Fate without also achieving your Destiny. You can murder, rape, beg, borrow and steal, and you won't go to Hell -- unless you achieve your Fate. I suspect, from your post, that you knew that, but it does bear repeating. :-) >Trent Ofanite of Doubt Ben ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 02:50:00 -0600 From: "Greg Bilbruck" Subject: RE: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives > Uh...Greg? This whole discussion STARTED with a discussion of the "irony" > of David, an athiest/agnostic, writing for In Nomine. > > He's not Christian. That fact was the genesis of this little debate. > David wrote: <> >>>I did not attack Christianity<<< I didn't say you did. >>>but in general, though your comment about 'Whiny Pagans' was insulting enough. *Any* comment that characterizes all members of *any* religion in a particular manner is bigoted and rude.<<< I did not characterize all pagans in any manner. I said that I have gotten flack from whiny pagans. That doesn't mean I think that all pagans are whiny. Only the ones who give me flack. If you want to drop it, then drop it. Don't lob more fireballs while claiming to drop it. - -David <> This seemed like response from a "rabid right-wing Christian" on an atheist... not the other way around. My mistake. I am new to the list and I do not know everybody well. David's response confused me. Greg Bilbruck Have a great day! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 12:30:06 +0000 From: Julian Breen Subject: Re: IN> Genubath, Demon Prince of Rapine In message , Rev. Pee Kitty writes >> >>>This seems set up to give a servant of Rapine infinite dissonance. >Sincservants of Rapine -want- everything, wouldn't they start racking up >> dissonance every time they passed up the chance to take -ANYTHING-?<<< >> >> No. They are demons of Rapine, not Greed. They don't want everything. >> They just have to take what they DO want, *if* they can. If there's a >> reasonable reason why taking it isn't feasible, they can pass it up. > >The only sticky spot is the question of what's 'reasonable' and >'feasible', really. After all, 95% of the time, a demon can definitely >overpower a human, or even a small group of them, in some way - or outrun >them or otherwise get away from them. > >For example, say a Servitor of Rapine feels like he needs a car - he likes >Buicks. He sees a person getting out of his Buick and putting the keys in >his pocket. There are lots of people around, no visible cops, and the >demon doesn't know if there are angels in the area. > I think that this is going to be very dependent upon each particular PC, essentially how hardcore they are, and what he or she _thinks_ that they can get away with. >Would it be dissonant for him to jump the man, knock him out, and take his >keys? No. >What if there were cops visible, but the demon thought he could >outrun them? (What if he thought he could out-SHOOT them?) No other circumstances involved I'd rule Dissonant NOT to jump the car owner, if the player told me that he felt this way. > What if there >were known to be angels in the area? > All depends upon the demon and how easily he thinks that he could deal with an angelic response. If they present no risk (in his opinion) then dissonant, yes. But there might be many more reasons to pass up taking something _at that moment_. What if you're working with other demons on a job where you need their help and they have told you to "be quiet!"? Even if you have the Reaver Attunement you might still draw attention to your/their Role(s). ("Yes officer, the thief had just been eating in my diner. He was sat chatting to the Mayor's aide.") - -- Julian ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 12:42:20 -0400 (EDT) From: Richard Gant Subject: Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) On Sat, 25 Dec 1999 dweaver1@ic3.ithaca.edu wrote: > > In In Nomine, athiesm is wrong (unless you are playing a fairly divergant > > game). The belief is in untrue things (because there is a God), and so a > > belief in athiesm is not faith. > > Well, the vast majority of IN humanity has never had and will never had > direct proof of the existence of God and Lucifer until they die and poof! > St. Peter is giving them the once-over. People can fulfill their Destiny > or Fate regardless of their denominations, so I figure a little mistake > like atheism can be forgiven if somebody was a big help down on Earth. Very true. After all, you don't have to believe in God at all (in In Nomine) to go to Heaven. Athiesm is, although an incorrect philosophy in the game, a moot point. > IMHO having an Archangel of Faith who's so devoutly pro-one-religion is a > bad idea. Agreed. However, Superiors 3 (on Pyramid) seems to be fixing that mistake. > P.S. In IN, who's in charge of admissions to Heaven? Is Peter stationed > out there or is it somebody else? If I'm remembering Heaven & Hell properly, there's a couple of Seraphim who have the job. It also notes that Lawrence tries to have Peter on hand to greet faithful Christians. Richard Gant - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Gant's Gaming Ghetto: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/4656/ The Returners Final Fantasy Role-Playing Game Site: http://returners.simplenet.com/ or http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Matrix/5758/ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 13:51:56 -0500 From: Adam Thomas Gieseler Subject: Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) Hmmm. I had assumed that the Rite in Final Trumpet was the same as in the prerelease. It is "kill an atheist." Sorry for the confusion Adam ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 13:56:02 -0500 From: Adam Thomas Gieseler Subject: Re: IN> Scientism, Atheism, and In Nomine I was partly unclear and partly incorrect. What I meant to say was that there is an ideology which endorses science as the total answer to all of life's questions. This is the philosophy that says there must be an ethical calculus, a set of mathematical ruls that give the correct actions in any situation. This is also the philosophy that denies the existence of magic, fairies, angels, God, and life after death. (This second is broader than the first, but they are, IMO, aspects of a single paradigm.) I was incorrect in saying that this philospohy is the philosophy of science, and having read A Brief history of Time should know better than that. Adam ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:00:32 -0500 From: Adam Thomas Gieseler Subject: Re: IN> Khalid and Religion Granted. However, many atheists (like your Balseraph Demon of Atheism) have faith that there is no God. I dont mean to insult these people by comparing them to a Balseraph--I'm one of them! It appears to me that it's obvious, for any being understanding the angelic tongue, that God exists. It's possible to run a game where Lucifer Fell because he realized this was _false_ and the Celestial tongue was perpetuating an untruth, like in that "Symphony = The Computer" crossover posted a while back. Not canon, but consistent with mst of it. Adam ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:07:39 -0500 From: Adam Thomas Gieseler Subject: IN> bilbruck@busprod.com > Before you delve into the Word of God, please read a book entitled “How to > Read the Bible for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible”. I believe that this is off-topic and should have been communicated in a private email. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:12:58 -0500 From: Adam Thomas Gieseler Subject: Re: IN> bilbruck@busprod.com Aargh... That was supposed to be off-list. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:16:08 -0500 From: Adam Thomas Gieseler Subject: Re: IN> Khalid and Religion (was Re: IN> Beliefs in RL) Khalid knows God exsts, through faith. True, if he actually verified God's existence (as a Seraph would do), it would not be faith, but his knowledge through faith is still knowledge (except in a campaign where God does not exist, where it is false belief). Adam ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 13:14:34 -0800 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> Contemporary versions of the Bible >>>I like the NIV because:<<< I'll second the endorsement of the NIV. That's what I use for looking up references and doing Biblial research for In Nomine. Actually, I use the NIV Study Bible, which has lots of annotations, a great index, and maps and historical notes. Of course, when actually writing quotes to put in published material, I usually use the good old KJV, because "thees" and "thous" sound more Biblical. ;) I'd consider the NIV essential for a serious In Nomine writer or GM's bookshelf. Other things one should have are the Quran, a good selection of Apocrypha (especially the Book of Enoch, from which a LOT of Judeo-Christian angel lore is taken), and Gustav David's "A Dictionary of Angels." - -David ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 13:17:54 -0800 From: David Edelstein Subject: IN> RL Beliefs, Paganism, and perspectives >>>David, As a fellow Christian, I am asking you to stop antagonizing the atheists and agnostics on this list. Show the love of Christ in your answers... not impatience (at best) or hatred (at worst).<<< ROTFL! Boy, have you not been reading carefully! I am NOT a Christian, I'm an atheist, and I generally get along fine with the Christians on the list. It's a pagan I'm arguing with right now. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 14:46:16 -0500 (EST) From: Douglas Muir Subject: Re: IN> Genubath, Demon Prince of Rapine On Sat, 25 Dec 1999, David Edelstein wrote: > >>>Well, very few. Rapine might be acceptable if used against someone who> deserved it.<<< > > Even with an "eye for an eye" code of justice, I find it hard to imagine > rapine being used positively, since it entails not simply abusing > someone, but doing so for one's own selfish desires. Perhaps in the Celestial tongue, but the dictionary definition is simpy "seizure by force". > > ...so there might be a rapine-tether or two still out there? What was the> most traumatic act of rapine before 793 AD? Sack of Rome? Something by> the Huns or Assyrians?<<< > > As pointed out in the Liber Castellorum, the most powerful Tethers > aren't always the most famous/historical ones. A single act of rape > unrecorded by history might create a Tether where the Rape of Nanking > may not have. Sure. Still, a certain number of Tethers are created by big, flashy actions relevant to their Word. And anyhow, it's fun to try to think of appropriate historical events. The sack of Rome? Destruction of the Temple? > > Someone remind me what canon says about this bad boy. Is he definitely> dead? Or, like Gebbeleth and Magog, might he still be out there in some> form? > > Canonically, Valefor replaced Genubath in 793 A.D. Genubath hasn't been > seen since, and is presumed dead, but no one knows the details. Sounds like a dangling plot thread to me. > > I misdoubt me about the Lilim, though. Surely they'd have trouble > > reconciling their natures with service to this Word? A bad bargain is one> thing, taking by force another. > > Lilim don't have any trouble reconciling their natures with any other > diabolical Word, why this one? Now, they might have trouble with serving > Genubath personally, for the same reason that Magog and Saminga aren't > likely to recruit many Lilim. H'm, do Lilim have trouble with those Superiors because of their personalities or because of their Words? > I was considering another option for the Lilim of Rapine attunement: > > "Lilim of Rapine sneer at the notion of a "fair exchange." They may > extract Geases 1 level higher than normal for doing a favor. (No single > Geas may be higher than level 6, however, and earning a hook requires > fulfilling at least a level 1 need.)" As someone else pointed out, it makes sense that at least some lils should be able to do this. > >>>The Impudite, not... giving up the> charm is giving up too much. IMC Impudites use their charm much more than> their essence-draining shtick. > > Possibly because draining Essence is so difficult. I thoroughly disagree > that giving Impudites the ability to suck Essence out of people > virtually at will isn't powerful enough. Well, I thoroughly disagree with your disagreement. Any Imp with a half decent Will can dive into a crowd of humans and slurp up all the Essence he needs in a matter of minutes. Furthermore, Genubath's Imps would still be in danger of the the occasional annoying blowback roll. To gain this, they've given up their charm power, which is one of the handiest of all the resonances. Note that you've given Genubath's Shedim the exact same power, too. Except that the Sheds don't seem to have the problem with blowback rolls. Doug M. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 12:35:32 PST From: "Miles 2 Go" Subject: Re: IN> Most troublesome bands/choirs/servitors > >>>Douglas Muir wrote: > > > >Question for all you GMs: which bands/choirs/Servitors do you > >find most difficult to run, or to have active around your PCs?<<< > >Mercurians can be a pain in the butt, especially when they get a >high >check digit. You have to come up with all kinds of detailed >information >about an NPC you might not have thought much about. Mercurians _are_ a pain in the butt for the GM when they are a PC. Not only do you have to improvise history and relationships on the spot, they are extraordinarily likely to spot celestials or other important NPCs Example: "Let's see her favorite activities are sorcery and... Players: "Ah, looks like we've found our villian." >Shedim, as others have pointed out, are incredibly difficult foes -- >especially if they get into one of your friends. Destroying them is next >to impossible, and just putting them in Trauma is usually not feasible >(unless you're extremely bloodthirsty and can get away with killing >innocent mortals). Ah David you got the one that was possessing Allie to leave without much trouble. All he did was find out all your secrets and plans. :-) Shedim are hard to GM just for trying to figure out what they can do with a host. How corrupted is the mortal? Yet they make great recurring villians because they are hard to put down. For sheer causing the GM headaches I'd say Kyriotates are the hardest to GM. The can easily walk over non-combat situations just by possessing the obstacle. Plus if the party splits up, you've got to wait on the Kyriotate's player to wobble back and forth between both scenes. Otherwise you risk continuity problems. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 06:51:26 +1100 From: "Patrick O'Duffy" Subject: Re: IN> Contemporary versions of the Bible David Edelstein wrote: > >>>I like the NIV because:<<< > > I'll second the endorsement of the NIV. That's what I use for looking up > references and doing Biblial research for In Nomine. Actually, I use the > NIV Study Bible, which has lots of annotations, a great index, and maps > and historical notes. I also have the NIV Bible for my research. It's one of the better bibles for athiests/agnostics like David or myself - easy to read, straightforward translations, and a good layout that makes finding material pretty easy. > Of course, when actually writing quotes to put in published material, I > usually use the good old KJV, because "thees" and "thous" sound more > Biblical. ;) Tell me about it. The bible quote from 'Pulp Fiction' doesn't have anything like the same resonance in the NIV. - -- Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia You ought to be peeled, salted, driven through the streets by mental patients with spiked planks, and then used as a toilet and jizz-catcher by baboons in heat. At _best_. - - Spider Jerusalem, TRANSMETROPOLITAN #4 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 12:54:20 -0800 From: "Glenn D. Brown" Subject: IN> Israfel, Archangel of Music Here is a slightly delayed Christmas present. Happy New Year, everyone! According to the Liber Canticorum, Israfel, the Seraph of Music, is currently a powerful 17 Force Servitor of Eli's who has a better understanding of Songs than many Superiors. Music is classified in the GMG as a Major Word, which is the category immediately below Superior Words, and many angels believe Israfel will someday become an Archangel Israfel's Word of Music gives her the ability to use any Song she knows, even the Songs that require an angelic or demonic resonance other than her own. Dominic dislikes the fact that she knows Diabolical Songs,even though she doesn't use them, because the dissonance they would cause would be painful to her. She is currently trying to find out why celestial and ethereal beings with less than six forces can use Songs, but corporeal beings like humans with less than six forces cannot. She would also like to know more about the relationship between the demons' personal symphonies and the Symphony, but has so far restrained her curiosity because she is afraid of Falling. Given the nature of her Word, and since canon states she might become an Archangel someday, what sort of Archangel might Israfel become?. Israfel, Archangel of Music The world is a Symphony. It's not an original insight, I agree, but isn't it remarkable how many celestials manage to delude themselves into thinking the Symphony is really best understood as a Stone or a Game or an act of Judgement or a War or some other note within the Symphony? Look in a dictionary, and you'll see that a symphony is a form of Music. Basic Musical Training Israfel is far more eager to teach Songs to her Servitors than most of the other Superiors. She thinks angels of Music need to be able to sing in chorus (see page 17-18 of Liber Canticorum) to achieve their full potential, and this profoundly influences the way she organizes her Servitors. Ideally, she would prefer that all angels of Music be highly skilled in all Songs, as she is. But since this is practically impossible, she wants each of her Servitors to combine a specialized, high level of skill in a few different Songs, with a generalized, low level of skill in many other Songs. Each Choir has a list of Songs it is compulsory to know, and her Servitors are encouraged to learn at least several additional Songs of their own choice in addition to the minimum requirements. Most angels will chose their optional Songs from the Vassal's Compulsory Songs list, but this is not required. Sometimes, Israfel will suggest that an angel might benefit from knowing some different, quite esoteric Song. Each angel must choose to specialize in a few of the Songs on their Choir's compulsory knowledge list. They can also choose to specialize in one or two optional Songs. As they earn experience points, they will concentrate on improving their ability to sing their specialist Songs. Once they reach the fourth level of expertise in any Song, they are given the title, Chorus Leader, of that Song. Considering the number of Songs Israfel thinks an angel needs to know in order to be minimally educated, most of her angels are eventually likely to have more Songs than skills. But every one of her angels must have at least one level of skill in each of the following areas: Singing, Dancing, Meditation, and at least one musical instrument. Every angel of Music must know the Celestial Song of Charm, and have at least one Song or skill of their own choice that can be used in self-defense. GM's may adjust her lists of Songs to reflect the needs of their own campaigns, but one possible version is given below. Israfel's Servitors While Israfel has a definite vision of what her Servitors should be like, most of the Servitors she currently has don't entirely reflect this vision. She has only just become an Archangel, and hasn't created many new angels yet. Most of her Servitors are recruits, most of whom belonged until recently to Creation. Over the centuries, Israfel had worked closely with most of the Servitors of Eli who are even slightly interested in Music. Many of Eli's angels were unhappy with being seemly abandoned by Eli, and by the way the other Archangels treated them. When Israfel became an Archangel, these disaffected angels flocked to her banner. Other Servitors of Creation decided to go to work for her without cutting their ties to Creation. Eli allows any angel of his who wants to join Music to keep all Servitor Attunements, Rites, and their Choir Attunement. He generously gave her those tethers of his that were related to Music, such as Strativarius's Workshop, in Cremona, Italy, and the Kartnertort Theatre, in Vienna, where Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was first performed. (See Liber Castellorum, pages 77-78, for more details) A few angels formerly belonging to other Superiors have also joined her, including a handful of Wordbound angels, such as Laurence's Malakite of Military Orchestras, Marc's Mercurian of Musical Booking Agents, and Yves' Seraph of Musicology. Some of the Kyriotates of Stone who recently developed pure coda music (Superiors 1 War and Honor, page 29) have also joined her, much to Israfel's delight.Israfel's most trusted adviser is Shiloh, the former Elohite of Creation who volunteered to be Bound into her lyre so that she could become a living artifact which Israfel could play. Shiloh is now a Elohite of Music, and a Master of Melody. But by her own request, she remains Bound to Israfel's Lyre. Dissonance It is dissonant for a Servitor of Israfel to not be harmonious. This means that if they violate their choir dissonance conditions, they receive twice the number of notes of dissonance that a normal angel would receive. However, violating their band dissonance conditions is treated normally.One reason why all her angels must know the Celestial Song of Charm is because she expects them to use it to keep from acquiring dissonance as a result of unsuccessfully using their demonic resonances. Servitors of Music who have the Collaborative Composition Attunement can use it to get rid of dissonance. Choir Attunements Israfel has retuned her instruments to make them more versatile. The choir attunement of each of her angels gives that angel the resonance and dissonance conditions of a demonic band, in addition to those of their normal choir. All her Choir Attunements are Restricted. Her Seraphim receive the Impudite resonance, so they can charm those whom they need to question into willingly talking to them. Since Singers frequently use Songs, they often need the large amounts of essence that the Impudite resonance makes available. Israfel expects her Seraphs to have the good sense not to take too much essence from humans.All her Seraphs learn the Songs of Harmony and Memory, the Ethereal Song of Essence, the Song of Truthswearing, and the Song of Harvesting. Cherubim get the powers of a Shedite to help protect those they are attuned to, though Israfel's Cherubim don't need to corrupt anyone, a trick Israfel says she learned from her study of Asmodeus' personal symphony. Her Cherubim can stay in a borrowed vessel for a number of days equal to the check digit of the successful resonance role. Her Cherubim can use normal vessels when they are not using their Shedite resonance. They can try to take control of any host to which they areattuned. All her Cherubim learn the Songs of Healing, Shields, Lending, and Symbiosis. Israfel does not teach them the Songs of Corruption, and if one of her Cherubim learned them from a Shedite, she would place very strict limits on the circumstances under which they could be used. The need of Ofanim to be free to move around means that Israfel's Ofanim are closely enough related to Freedom to be able to use the powers of a Lilim. All her Ofanim know the Songs of Motion and Speed, the Ethereal Song of Direction, the Celestial Song of Affinity, and the Song of Desire. Israfel's Ofanim cannot receive the Bright Lilim attunements of other Archangels, even though Israfel would like to find a way to allow them to do so. Her Elohim have all the abilities of a Habbalite, for the same reason that Habbalah retain some of the resonance of the Elohim. They all know the Songs of Harmony, the Ethereal Song of Forbidding, the Ethereal Song of Seals, the Ethereal Song of Solace, the Song of Moodreading, and the Song of Hysteria. The Song of Hysteria is only used if the Elohite has his subject in a completely controlled environment for the duration of the Song. All Malakim are thought of as Heaven's warrior choir, but Israfels's Malakim use the destructive resonance of the Calabim in their fight against Evil.Her Malakim must not swear any Oaths that would prevent them from using Songs.Like Calabrim, they always begin play with one Discord, of any type, at a level equal to the number of Forces they have of that type. This initial Discord cannot be bought off or taken away. However, if the Malakites Discord is Celestial, it is invariably Merciful. Israfel's Malakim all know the Songs of Entropy, Healing, and Nemesis, the Song of Virtue, and the Song of Feedback. Israfel's Kyriotates can try to take control of any host to which they are attuned through their Djinn resonance. They all learn the Songs of Form, Shields, and Tongues, the Corporeal Song of Healing, the Song of Castling, the Song of Possession, and the Song of Stalking. Israfel's Mercurians find their understanding of humans is very useful in knowing when and how to use their Balseraph resonance, though of course they would no more LIE than any Seraph or Balseraph. They all learn the Songs of Friendship, the Songs of Opening, the Songs of Tongues, and the Song of Distortion. Israfel has not yet had any Bright Lilim Servitors, but if she ever does, she will give them the resonance and dissonance conditions of an unfallen Grigori. Such Lilim would be able to breed with humans without using the Song of Fruition, and Israfel thinks they might be quite useful in helping her learn how to breed more humans who have six forces rather than just five. This is another reason why Dominic questions Israfel's sense of judgement. Songmaster Israfel's most important Servitor Attunement is the Songmaster Attunement found in the Liber Canticorum. All of Israfel's servants must buy this attunement when their characters are first created. A Songmaster can almost instantaneously teach any Song he knows to any being capable of learning it. He can also learn new Songs much more easily. Song of Angels This is exactly like Michael's Vassal of War Distinction Talent Search This allows an angel to determine the full musical potential of a particular individual by spending one point of essence. Since it measures the ability of a person to use Songs as well as mundane songs and instruments, it is useful in locating potential soldiers and talented musicians who may need protection or support. It can also find concealed demons and ethereals. Collaborative Composition This Attunement is designed to be used by angels working to help Israfel discover entirely new, unknown Songs. Israfel is so determined to learn new Songs that she will give it to anyone, even demons, undead, and ethereals, who will accept a Geas to use it frequently. The Game has ruled that it is illegal for any demon to accept this attunement without permission from both the Game and the demon's own Prince. So far, the only demons who have this attunement are a handful of Renegades whom Michael introduced to Israfel. When Israfel informed the Seraphim Council that she planned to give this Attunement to some demons, Dominic strongly criticized her. But Israfel pointed out that any hour a demon spends using her Attunement is an hour in which that demon is not serving Evil. As explained on page 19 of the Liber Canticorum, discovering new Songs is very hard, time consuming work. Even Israfel can't afford to give many of her Servitors the full time job of researching new Songs, so she is hiring part time help. Whenever this attunement is activated, the person who has the attunement mentally receives a list of things they must do in the next hour. These actions are generally musical in nature, and not too inherently difficult, but will make no sense at all to anyone who doesn't understand the underlying logic of Israfel's research program. For instance, a demon in New York who activated this attunement might be told, "Within the next hour, stand within ten meters of the entrance to the New York Stock Exchange, and sing, "Come to me, my melancholy baby." Then go directly to the nearest bar, and activate the Ethereal Song of Form." One of Israfel's Kyriotates will know exactly what the person using the attunement is doing during the hour its activated, and makes notes. Sometimes the tasks given involve working with other persons also using the attunement, and this can lead to angel-demon or angel-ethereal interactions. GM's should use their creativity in putting player characters in strange musical situations. Assuming the instructions given are followed, the experimenter receives a reward at the end of the hour's work. .If they are a angel of Music with dissonance, then one point of that dissonance is removed. If they are not a Servitor of Music, or if they are, but have no dissonance, then they receive one point of essence, just as if they had performed one of Israfel's rites. Israfel will note any angel of hers who frequently needs to get rid of dissonance, and will investigate to learn why they are so frequently unharmonious. Relations Before Israfel became an Archangel, she was on good terms with all the Archangels. That was one reason why she was elected an Archangel. Some of that goodwill still persists. Allied: Eli, Novalis, Yves (Eli and Novalis are allied with Israfel) Associated: Blandine, Christopher, Gabriel, Jean, Jordi, Litheroy, Michael (Blandine, Christopher, Janus, Jordi, Litheroy, Marc, Michael, Yves and Zadkiel are associated with Israfel) Hostile: Israfel is hostile to no one. (David, Dominic, and Khalid are hostile to Israfel) Distinctions Israfel is currently teaching the more powerful of her recruits the specific talents she believes are necessary to lead angels of Music. Vassal of Music: Vassals receive a +2 bonus to succeed on any Song roll. All Israfel's vassals must have at least three skill levels in each of the skills of Singing, Dancing, Meditation, and playing a musical instrument. Every Vassal must be a Virtuoso in at least one Song. They must know the Songs of Calling, Dreams, Nimbus, Numinous Corpus (Wings), Tongues, and Unity. Seraph Vassals must know the Songs of Sight, Truth, and the Corporeal and Celestial Songs of Essence. Cherub Vassals must know the Songs of Motion and Transferral. Ofanim Vassals must know the Corporeal and Celestial Song of Direction, the Corporal and Ethereal Song of Affinity, The Corporeal Song of Entropy, and Numinous Corpus (Fins). Elohite Vassals must know Corporeal and Celestial Songs of Forbidding and the Corporeal and Celestial Songs of Seals. These Songs are often used to create a controlled environment in which the Song of Hysteria can be safely applied. Elohite Vassals must also learn the Corporeal and Celestial Songs of Solace. Malakim Vassals must know the Songs of Might, the Song of Thunder, the Song of Celestial Light, and at least one Numinous Corpus, in addition to Numinous Corpus (Wings), that can be used in combat. Kyriotate Vassals must know the Songs of Light and at least three Numinous Corps Songs in addition to Numinous Corpus (Wings). Mercurian Vassals must know the Songs of Harmony, the Corporeal and Ethereal Songs of Charm, and the Ethereal Song of Nightmares. Finally, each Vassal must know at least three Songs of their own choice that are not on the above list. Friend of Composers: Israfel was given the Friend of the Divine Spark Distinction by Gabriel before she became an Archangel. Israfel's Distinction is similar, and allows the angel to amplify a victim's interest in music to the point where they must obsess about it for at least an hour every day, for as many weeks as the angel has Ethereal Forces.This works on Celestials as well as humans. Depending on the personality and abilities of the person affected, this may make them compose music themselves, learn to use a musical instrument, join a singing group, research a new Song, or just becoming very interested in a specific performer. Above the rank of Vassal, her Servitors are given more freedom to choose what new Songs they will learn. .Master of Melody Israfel very much wants to learn all the Songs that exist. Masters of Melody can, like Israfel herself, use any Song they know, even Songs that normally only work for Humans, Ethereals, or Demons, such as the Songs of Sacrifice, Souls, Spirit Speech, Blood and Self. When a Master looks into the eyes of anyone who knows a Song they don't know, they will immediately know what that Song is. And if there is any way they can persuade that person to willingly teach them that Song, they will also know exactly what they would need to do to do so. This power doesn't work on Superiors. All Masters of Melody must know the Songs of Symphony. Seraph Masters must know the Trisagion. Higher Distinctions Israfel does not yet have any angels who have a Distinction higher than Master. But when she was asked in the Seraphim Council what plans she had for establishing a set of Distinctions, she explained the following. Though Israfel's work as the Angel of Music led her to spend time in every human culture, Israfel has spent a lot of time over the centuries in China. Confucius taught the importance of learning music, and like many other Angels of Creation, Israfel was very interested in Taoism. (see page 83, GMG) Israfel plans to establish two equal Distinctions, Confucianist, for those angels who distinguish themselves by teaching Music, and Taoist, for angels who distinguish themselves by discovering new Songs. Angels can have both Distinctions. She also mentioned that she would like to become the patron Archangel of Taoism, in the way Laurence is the patron of Christianity, and Khalid is the patron of Islam. Laurence, Dominic and Khalid were not amused. Basic Rites Compose a new song Teach a song, or a Song, to someone else Inspire someone to develop his musical abilities to their full potential Teaching or inspiring a demon gets the servant of Israfel the same point of essence, but most Singers will normally insist that any Songs they teach demons must be paid for with a Geas given to one of Israfel's Ofanim. Many Superiors on both sides of the War don't like their servitors learning new Songs without their approval, and none of the Demon Princes like the idea of angels holding Geases on demons, so all Demon Princes (with the exception of Lilith), and some Archangels have specifically instructed their servants not to learn Songs from Singers, at least not without their specific permission. But when they do want a Servitor to learn a specific Song, most Archangels are starting to think its easier to let a Singer handle the details of teaching it, in return for a small Geas paid directly to Israfel or one of her senior subordinates. . . Chance of Invocation: 4 +1 A musical instrument +2 A child learning to sing or play an instrument. +3 A group of fifty people listening to music. +4 The discovery of a new Song. +5 A person who has been inspired by music to achieve their Destiny. +6 My God, it's the score of Beethoven's Tenth Symphony! When Israfel manifests in the corporeal as a human, she is a woman about sixty percent of the time, and a man the other forty percent. Before she became an Archangel, Israfel maintained a role. (Musician/6 status 4) The role is now being maintained by one of Israfel's Servitors, who is more interested in computers than Israfel was. She has gotten an email address. aaseraph @ musicofspheres.ed It's not quite the same thing as being able to email a Superior, but Israfel does pay more attention to the Servitor running her former role than she does to most of her Servitors. If you really need to get an urgent message to Israfel, you can relay it through this Servitor. But don't abuse the privilege, unless you want an Archangel mad at you. Secret Songs According to the Liber Canticorum, it was suspected, before she became an Archangel, that Israfel knew more secret Songs than most Superiors. Israfel does indeed know many secret Songs, probably more than anyone realized. Over the course of millennia of effort, she has been able to beg, borrow, and steal Songs from seven different Archangels. These Archangels are Eli, Jordi, Yves, Novalis, Blandine, Michael, and Gabriel. As a result, Israfel knows the Songs of Banishing, Battle, Beasts, Blades, Correspondence, Daydreams, Ecstasy, Fruition, Laughter, Numinous Corpus (Flame), Pestilence, Purity, and War. Part of the price she paid for getting most of these Songs is a promise to keep them secret. So she has to be very careful who she teaches them to. Since she became the first Archangel who could use Geases, she's begun occasionally giving out one of these Songs along with a Geas requiring the angel who learns it keep it secret. She also knows some Lost Songs, but for various reasons keeps them even more secret. These include the Songs of Exchange and Soul Binding. It is rumored among some of her Servitors, that after she became an Archangel, Eli broke a law passed by the Seraphim Council before the Fall that says no one is to use or teach the Songs of Creation, by teaching them to Israfel. (See Liber Canticorum, page 95) The one time one of her Servitors dared to ask Israfel about the rumor, she simply said that the Seraphim Council wasn't founded until after the Fall, (GMG, page 93) and told him not to spread stupid rumors. If anyone dared to bring this rumor to Israfel's attention again, she would be most reluctant to either confirm or deny it, unless she were put in a situation where she absolutely had to. There are also rumors among her Servitors that she can use the Corporeal Song of Life, but no one has dared question her about that yet. Here is what the Archangels and Demon Princes think of Israfel. Blandine: Before she became an Archangel, Israfel always spent a lot of her time in the Vale, inspiring musicians with dreams of great music. Her servitors continue to cooperate closely with mine. Many angels find her whole nature disturbing, and fear that she's going to Fall. But Yves seems to approve of her, and I trust Yves. David: It's not a good idea for us to start emulating demons. She's good at recruiting new Soldiers and finding new Songs, but other than that, she's far too flashy Dominic: She is dancing on a knife edge. Perhaps she is a good enough dancer to perform the feat, but what of all her Servitors? The ease with which they can acquire dissonance practically guarantees that many of them will Fall. And trying to solve the dissonance problem by creating an attunement that allows her angels to work with demons and ethereals on Song Research is not in my Judgement an effective solution. Quite the contrary. If this is what a Servitor of Eli become when she becomes an Archangel, then Eli may have even more to answer for than I'd previously believed. Watch the Singers constantly. Eli: It really feels great to see one of the angels I created become an artist in her own right. I've given her most of the Tethers I had that focused on Music. I'm really looking forward to seeing what she creates, now that she's got a new Cathedral to design. Gabriel: Israfel herself has a real creative fire within her. But her angels could easily misuse their demonic powers to become cruel. We shall see what happens to Israfel when her servitors pass through the Fire. Janus: Now this is more like it. She's changed the whole definition of what an angel is. And she wants to change humans, too. I love it. Jean: She's trying to find a way to give all humans the ability to use Songs. She want me to help develop the genetic engineering technologies needed to accomplish this. I think this is a dangerous ambition on her part. Most humans are in no way prepared to handle that much power. Jordi: In nature, most radical mutations fail to survive the test of natural selection. But some of them discover entirely new ecological niches, and thrive. Israfel and her Servitors represent a radical mutation in the nature of angels. But I hope she survives. Some animals have Music, and she's interested in helping those animals develop their musical abilities. I find her suggestions of ways we could collaborate to improve the songs of whales and dolphins and the dances of bees very interesting. Khalid: Taoism is a Divine religion, and therefore Faith in Taoism is a good thing. But it's not a Revealed religion. If Israfel wants to actively promote a specific religion, she could accomplish more for God and humanity by promoting Islam, or even Christianity or Judaism. Laurence: I wish she didn't spend so much time talking to Novalis. I think Novalis may be encouraging Israfel to promote Taoism. I never had a problem with Israfel when she was just an angel, and I still respect her. I like the work her Servitors do finding new Soldiers. She should focus more on that, and on developing new Songs that can help us win the War, and less on trying to find a Song that makes it easier for demons or Undead to be redeemed. She needs to learn to be more practical. In her Inaugural speech to the Seraphim Council, she argued we should start a long term breeding program to raise the average human from five forces to six, so that all humans can hear the Symphony and use Songs. That's a perfect example of a project that's just too speculative and long term for us to put our resources into it now. It's something we might consider after we've beaten the demons. . Marc: It's about time that Lilith got some real competition in the Geas business. But I don't think her proposed breeding program is likely to be cost effective. Michael: I gave Israfel my Vassal of War Distinction before she became an Archangel, which is why she was able to develop a Servitor Attunement based on it. She's already started contributing a lot to War, and could do even more if she wasn't so influenced by Novalis. Her research into new Songs has the potential to give us a major advantage in the War. And I want to persuade her to share some of her choir attunements with some of my people. So cooperate with her. Novalis: We both want to redeem the demons, rather than destroying them. So Laurence and Michael think I'm a bad influence on her. But ironically enough, I think she's almost too sympathetic to demons. I don't approve of anything demons do, except when they seek redemption. But she approves of the fact that demons have discovered new Songs, like Enslavement or Freedom or Poison. She doesn't come out and say it, but I wonder if she doesn't think that God wanted the demons to exist precisely so they could invent new Songs, and thereby improve our understanding of the Symphony. . One reason I talk to her so much is so I can remind her that the Symphony doesn't need demons. Yves: She's taken a major step towards reaching her Destiny. But she needs to be careful, because there is an inherent danger involved in working too hard to understand the nature of demons. For now, she introduces a major new variable of uncertainty into a situation that was proceeding slowly but predictably in our favor. This presents both opportunities and dangers. We must do everything we can to make sure this experiment draws demons to their Destinies even faster than before. Israfel's thinks that, considered in isolation, each Demon's personal symphony is beautiful and musically interesting, though not, of course, even remotely as beautiful and musically interesting as the True Symphony. This is particularly true of the personal music of the Demon Princes. The problem, she would say, is that the demons are not playing in isolation. Each of them is playing their own music as loudly as they possibly can, trying to drown out the Music of both the True Symphony, and the music of all other demons. The result of this selfish lack of cooperation is the complete loss in Hell of all harmony. Israfel thinks that part of her job as Archangel of Music is to use musical innovations developed by demons in the service of the Symphony. That's why she has given her Servitors demonic resonances, and why she'd like to learn the Secret Songs developed by demons. . Andrealphus: As a former Servitor of Creation, she's less uptight about casual sex than most angels. After all, she's used Eli's sex rite a lot over the years. She doesn't have any rites connected to sex herself, but you'll notice she lets her angels keep the Creationer Rites. And her Seraphs need to get close to humans to drain them of their essence, just like Impudites, so she's got some Seraphim with roles as prostitutes. Any angel who has the resonance of an Impudite can't be all bad. Or maybe I mean, all good. Asmodeus: Angels that can collect Geases on demons are intolerable. And how dare she steal my Shedite Attunement. I wonder if Valefor could have had something to do with that. Baal: She's a dangerously creative discoverer of new weapons of War. The only reason her talent for finding new Songs hasn't hurt us very badly is because Heaven finds it hard to keep Songs secret from us. Israfel's also promoted a lot of the music and songs that inspire humans to fight against us. Killing her angels has a higher strategic value than killing the angels of most other Archangels. Beleth She's scared of her own curiosity. And her innovations frighten some of the angels. We can use that. Belial Say, wasn't it Israfel who discovered the Songs of Fire? Yes, I was there when she first showed them to us. That was before the Fall, of course. But that's one big reason why Gabriel always thought she was hot stuff. Let's find out how musically her angels scream when they burn. Fuffur: She plays Hardcore music. She's Damned good at it, in fact. If only she wasn't such a angelic wimp in every other way. Haagenti: Mummm...Singers. Most angels have a fairly bland taste. But Israfel's singers have that demonic resonance, and that gives them just the right touch of spice. Bring me some of them to eat, and there's a Knighthood in it for you. If her Servitors taste so good, I wonder what Israfel herself tastes like? Mummmm...Archangel.... Kobal; So the Servitor of Music asks the demon how he can get to Hell? And the demon says, Practice, practice, practice. The Seraphim Council certainly didn't know what they were getting into when they elected her an Archangel, did they? I'll bet Laurence and Dominic are kicking themselves for voting for her. . Kronos She's taken a major stop toward her Fate, but we must be careful, because if she comes to understand demons well enough, she may yet avoid it. For now, she introduces a major new variable of uncertainty into a situation that was proceeding slowly but predictably in our favor. This presents both opportunities and dangers. We must do everything we can to make sure this experiment pushes angels to their Fates even faster than before, Lilith: My feelings are mixed. Her Ofanim are far too much like my Lilim. But Music has made so many humans want Freedom. Malphas Considering how much some of the other Archangels mistrust her, it shouldn't be too difficult to widen the divisions. Especially considering that 'Archangel of Taoism' business. If you can't stir up trouble between Angels of Israfel and Angels of Laurence over that, you don't deserve to work for me. Mammon: The music industry is just full of Greed. Need I say more? Nybbas: Listen, baby, I'm sending you this Celestial Song of Tongues to let you know you're definitely star quality. Where would the Media be without soundtracks? Without hit songs? Without rock stars? I'd offer you a MEGA recording contract in a second if you didn't keep insisting that Music has to be morally uplifting. But I think there's hope for any Archangel who wants her angels to be able to act like demons. So maybe we can do some business. Have your people contact my people and we'll work something out. Ciao. Saminga Songs kill a lot of people. That's good. Wasn't it Israfel who came up with the Song of Thunder, just after the Fall? To bad she also had to discover the Songs of Healing. She's looking for a Song that will alter Undead so their souls can survive the destruction of their bodies, and reincarnate or go to Heaven if they've achieved their Destiny. Not very likely. Dead is dead. And most of my Undead have achieved their Fates anyway. Valefor I've got to admire the way she's stolen the use of demonic resonances for Heaven. Not to mention her Theft of Asmodeus's Shedite Attunement. This girl may have possibilities. But we better steal all the new Songs she's developing. Vapula Finally, another Archangel who's almost as smart as I am. She seems like a much more innovative thinker than most of those fools in Heaven. If Jean won't give her the genetic engineering technologies she needs to improve humans, then I will give her the help she needs. And in return, she can use her Song Research program to help me reach my goals. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #1474 ******************************** The material here is (C) 1999 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.