From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Wed Jun 7 03:38:13 2000 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 DAA17593 for ; Wed, 7 Jun 2000 03:38:13 -0500 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id DAA16435 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Wed, 7 Jun 2000 03:35:14 -0500 Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 03:35:14 -0500 Message-Id: <200006070835.DAA16435@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 #1664 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Wednesday, June 7 2000 Volume 01 : Number 1664 In this digest: IN> Welcome to Fat Charlie's! Re: IN> Gorgon/Nephalim Question Re: IN> Laurence and Baladine Re: IN> Next Playtest? Re: IN> Dominic and Destiny Re: IN> Marx RE: IN> Dominic and Destiny IN> Plot thingy needed! Re: IN> Writing for Pyramid IN> A Word rom Our Sponsors... Re: IN> Jack the Ripper Re: IN> Jack the Ripper Re: IN> Welcome to Fat Charlie's! Re: IN> Next Playtest? Re: IN> Jack the Ripper Re: IN> Jack the Ripper Re: IN> A Word From Our Sponsors... IN> The Children's Librarian ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 22:04:52 -0400 From: Douglas Muir Subject: IN> Welcome to Fat Charlie's! The old, familiar smell of the bar hit me as I walked through the door: beer, sweat, floor wax, a whiff of fried food from the kitchen, the sour reek of garbage. No, wait, that last wasn't right. The garbage smell was from the alley behind the bar, where my cat vessel was keeping watch. I shook my head, smiling. I love animal vessels, but sometimes their senses can be overwhelming. Useful, though! The cat would keep watch on the back of the bar, the pigeon on the wire across the street would do the same for the front door, and my human host -- "Hi, Charlie." I slid onto a stool, hands on the bar. "It's me, Jammie." Of course he wouldn't know this vessel. I cleared my throat, pointed to a whiskey bottle, and whispered. "Inspiring bold John Barleycorn! What dangers thou canst make us scorn! Wi' tippeny, we'll fear nae evil; Wi' usquebae, we'll face the devil!" The fat man grunted in noncommital response, but he turned and poured a jigger's worth (I knew he knew me; I've been quoting Robby Burns at him for fifty years now). Four hundred pounds of bald, sweating bartender, it was hard to believe that he could turn around in the tiny space behind the bar. He could, though, and then some. Anyone who thought that Fat Charlie was slow and clumsy was making a big, big mistake; I'd seen him come over the top of the bar like an avalanche in an apron. I raised my drink in salute (the cat stalked the shadows behind a dumpster, the pigeon hunched its shoulders and cooed softly). "Is my, ah, special friend here?" That got me a flat stare and several moments of silence. Then, with the jerk of a head. "Your sorcerous... acquaintance is at the table next to the juke." That was a major speech, for Charlie. I glanced across the room. Martine changes her appearance more often than most mortals change their socks (it can't be a Song, where would she get the Essence, some sort of artifact?) but I recognized her in the blonde woman nursing a pineapple daiquiri. It's very hard to hide such things from us Dominations, you know; we're used to picking up on each other, after all. The body language gives a lot away, and then of course her taste in drinks and... "Ah, hah. Charlie buddy, who's that sitting next to her?" Another long silence, Charlie seemingly engrossed in the glass he was cleaning (and it needed it... this was really a pretty grubby place; my host for the evening, a tax attorney with a nice house in the suburbs, would never come here under his own power). Then, with another jerk of the head: "Cuffs." Cuffs? I turned to look again. The man next to my sorceress had... yes, French cuffs. On a shirt, that was under a suit, that was much, much too nice for a place like this. And a neatly trimmed little pencil-thin mustache... I turned back to Charlie. "Ras Razash! That's our little Impudite friend from the Derg! I'd know that mustache anywhere!" That got another grunt. Clearly Charlie wasn't sharing my excitement. "But we heard that he went renegade last year, after the Doctors Without Borders thing!" I kept my voice low (but outside the cat snarled softly, the pigeon fluttered on its wire). "What's he doing here? And snuggled up to our turncoat sorceress?" No grunt, but Charlie's fat rippled in what might have been a shrug. Well... this assignment had just gotten a lot more interesting. "Okay, well. I guess we'll find out." I slapped a bill down on the bar (and reminded myself to do something nice for my host, since he was buying. "Keep the drinks coming, Charlie, and watch my back." I strolled over to the table by the juke, drink in hand, humming softly to myself and myself and myself. Did Burns have a line for this? Maybe. "As Father Adam first was fool'd, a case that's still too common -- here lies a man a woman ruled, the Devil ruled the woman..." Behind the bar, Charlie went on polishing his glasses. * * * * * In a less-then-wonderful neighborhood of a major city, there's a bar. It's small, not particularly clean, and illuminated by the usual cluster of beer ads plus a buzzing neon sign that reads "Fat Charlie's II". It's in no way remarkable, except for this: it's an angel bar. It's not a Tether, but it is a place where some of the local angels come to hang out, swap stories, and let their hair down a bit without the security and formality concerns of a Tether. The local demons know about Fat Charlie's. but they're not likely to try anything, largely because of Fat Charlie Carola, Seraph of David 4 Corporeal Strength 10 Agility 6 (4) 3 Ethereal Intel 7 Precision 5 4 Celestial Perception 7 Will 9 Role (Bartender) - 2 Status - 2 Vessel - 5 Charisma - minus 2 Skills Area Knowledge (home city) - 2 Fighting - 6 Knowledge (bartending) - 5 Large weapon - 5 Knowledge (steel work) - 5 Small weapon (sap) - 5 Knowledge (mining) - 4 Songs Celestial Attraction - 3 Celestial Charm - 4 Celestial Form - 2 Corporeal Charm - 3 Corporeal Form - 3 Corporeal Healing - 2 Song of Thunder - 5 Attunements/Distinctions Seraph of Stone Vassal of Stone Mercurian of Stone Rock Hard Discords Obese - 2 Bound - 2 A long time ago, there was a Seraph of Stone, one Carola by name, who worked with humans... with miners and steelworkers, to be precise. The Truth of their lives was that their work was dirty, dangerous, and utterly vital. Also that they were overworked, underpaid and exploited by predatory employers. The Seraph showed them this, and helped organize them into guilds, unions and other self-help organizations. His work went well, the Archangel of Stone approved, and Carola was granted the Vassal distinction. But Carola was unable to overcome a certain arrogance. Humans were so grubby, so flimsy and silly, and such *liars*. Over time he slowly moved from helping them to pushing them, from patient assistance behind the scenes to stern commands delivered from above. And when it occasionally became necessary to bend the Truth, well, it was for their own good and to serve a higher purpose... By the time David came to investigate (alerted by the Inquisition), his servant had taken on the Role of a wealthy union boss. The union was prospering, its humans were united as never before... and the Seraph, living a life of mortal wealth and power and intrigue, was severely dissonant and on the verge of Falling. "Look at me, Carola," the Archangel commanded him, and then slowly began to recite his transgressions. Trembling with fear and rage and shame, the dissonant angel teetered on the verge of Falling... and saw the Truth in his master's eyes and fell sobbing to the ground, begging forgiveness. The union leader disappeared that night, never to be seen again. The repentant angel was set a harsh penance: his dissonance converted to an ugly and hampering Discord, he was Bound to a sturdy but unattractive Vessel, and then set down on a street corner in a poor working-class neighborhood. "Stay here, build, and learn," said the Archangel, and left him alone. The fat, ugly man walked into the building on the corner and found that it was a bar. There was an opening for someone to sweep the place up and throw out the drunks at the end of the day... That was many years ago. Today Carola -- Fat Charlie -- owns the bar and the building it's in. The neighborhood hasn't gotten any nicer to look at, but the bar is relatively clean and reasonably safe; the local bad boys have learned that it's really not wise to mess with Charlie's place. Carola appears as a grossly overweight human male in his mid-'40s. His vessel is _big_ -- about 6'4", and something over 400 pounds. He's bald and typically wears a rather soiled apron over jeans and a bowling shirt. He has a Role as the owner and full-time bartender of a small bar in an urban, ethnic, working-class neighborhood of a major city (the GM can fill in details to fit his campaign). Carola's work is to build up the neighborhood, one human soul at a time. A variety of neighborhood groups have the bar as their meeting place, and he quietly encourages them to hold together, work, and grow. He also serves as an impromptu therapist... an unusual job for a Seraph, but he's gotten rather good at it. Humans tend to talk to bartenders, after all, and Carola knows the Truth of what they're saying. Over the years, he's found that sometimes a few words -- carefully chosen, _true_ words -- can make a huge difference in a mortal life. Of course, Charlie the bartender is usually quiet to the point of surliness. Often an entire evening will go by without him saying more than an occasional grunt to acknowledge an order. This is, naturally, Seraphic reluctance to speak; if Carola can't say Truth, he isn't going to say anything. However, the local humans have learned that beneath his ugliness, obesity and silence is one solid, stand-up guy who'll always tell it like it really is... and they love him for it, more than he knows. The local celestial community knows that Charlie is an angel, and may or may not know that he is a servant of Stone, but they aren't aware that he's a Seraph (a fat man in a dirty apron, tending bar... one of the Most High? Right.) Most of them think he's a Cherub, or perhaps an unusually sloppy Mercurian. This bit of confusion is fine with Charlie, who has carefully cultivated his reputation for surliness and silence. By now almost everyone thinks it's either a deeply ingrained quirk or some strange sort of Discord; nobody suspects the Truth. - -- Although a very smart, very perceptive observer might notice that while the bar has the usual complement of ads and posters, they're all the sort that have pictures or just single words ("Budweiser" won't bother a Seraph, but "Coke adds life!" or "The Champagne of Beers" would tend to grate after a while). If anyone ever asks him, Charlie will just stare at them and not reply. Of course, he does that a lot of the time anyway... Oddly enough, although Fat Charlie's II is an angel bar, it's also occasionally frequented by demons and other members of the supernatural community. After all, Carola is an angel of Stone; he can glower at a demon, undead, or Hellsworn soldier, but if they behave themselves he can't throw a punch or toss them out. (It would be unwise for a demon to presume too far on this, though; if one got too far out of hand, either with violence directed against other patrons or with mockery, Charlie might well be willing to eat a point of Dissonance in order to send the Hellspawn into Trauma.) Fat Charlie's is thus a place where angels, demons, outcasts, renegades,sorcerors, soldiers, undead and what-have-you can sit down across a table and talk... and as long as they keep it civil, no one will bother them. Those on Hell's side would be wise to mind their manners, as this location is firmly associated with Heaven, but an unspoken truce usually prevails. Of course, there's always some wise guy... Picking a fight with Charlie is probably a bad idea. True, his Obese discord cuts his Agility to the point where he can't Dodge much, but then, with 90 Body hits, who cares? Against mortals and lesser celestials, Charlie will simply use his strength and Fighting skill, perhaps augmented with a baseball bat from under the bar. Against more powerful opponents, he has a considerable arsenal of Songs. And, of course, any humans in the bar will be inclined to help him unless the foe is obviously supernatural; Charlie is a neighborhood fixture, and well beloved by those who live here. If seriously threatened, he can literally bring down the house. Thanks to his Mercurian attunement, Charlie knows a place on the wall where a punch, delivered by a Rock Hard fist with a Strength of 10 or more, will cause the entire three-story building to collapse. It's a brick building, so Charlie won't even be scratched (his Vassal attunement), but anyone else in the bar will take 30 Body hits, be stunned as by a Song of Thunder, and be pinned beneath the rubble for 10 minutes x (12 minus their Strength). Carola has had to use this tactic once, against an aggressive young Calabite who was trying to earn his horns... hence "Charlie's II". The incident was explained away as a gas explosion, the building was rebuilt within a couple of months, and the demon is still shovelling brimstone and trying to figure out what happened. This tactic doesn't discriminate between friend and foe, of course, but hey, he's an angel of Stone. Fat Charlie is actually one of David's success stories (that tough love thing has to work _sometimes_). He has learned humility, patience, and even a certain measure of compassion for the human condition. He's also made the neighborhood a much nicer place to live, built local institutions that look good to last for many years, saved any number of human souls, and recruited several Soldiers. Carola doesn't know it, but the end of his penance is very near at hand. He'll miss the place terribly, but there'll be some more challenging assignment waiting for him somewhere else. And when David strips his Discords away, he'll be one tough customer; it's possible that the Archangel has a Word in mind for him, a bit down the line. Meanwhile Fat Charlie's can be popped into most campaigns as a meeting-place for almost any sort of character, and also as a flophouse and way station for angelic ones. Doug M. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 21:56:19 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Gorgon/Nephalim Question Daedalus3D@aol.com wrote: > That's it. I was just a little confused with the wording of "Nephalim have > the same traits as Gorgons" when it seemed like there were some things that > obviously weren't meant to be the same. Thanks a bunch. In game terms, they're pretty much the same. It's their origins and implications that distinguish them. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 22:01:34 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Laurence and Baladine Charles Phipps wrote: > Actually our points differ on one fundamental difference. In RL I believe so > but in In Nomine Laurence likely looks at the Bible quite literally as a > historical document and guideline for life. That doesn't require it to be regarded as literally inerrant, however. - -David ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 22:24:17 -0500 From: David Edelstein Subject: Re: IN> Next Playtest? Andrew Hackard wrote: > To be frank, I don't want to wait that long. The reprint removes a lot of > the impetus to do a second edition, which is unfortunate but not as > unfortunate, IMO, as leaving the core IN rules out of print for the better > part of a year. That's what a second edition would take. Actually, at this point, I think IN might be BETTER off long-term if it was out-of-print for a while, and then brought back in an all-new 2nd edition with much fanfare and publicity. Let's face it, right now, IN does not sell well. GURPS IN is not going to change this. It might increase sales *slightly*, but it is is not going to have a major impact on IN's popularity in the gaming community. The only thing that will give IN a new lease on life is making a BIG deal out of the 2nd edition, in which case letting the 1st edition go out of print would not be such a bad thing. It would make printing the 2nd edition almost like putting out a whole new game. - -David ------------------------------ Date: 6 Jun 2000 20:23:13 -0700 From: Casca Subject: Re: IN> Dominic and Destiny On Tue, 06 June 2000, "Charles Phipps" wrote: > Very well it means the universe ultimately equals exactly what you make of > it. God's greatest gift to us was the ability to choose to follow where we That whole Free Will thing again. :) > want to go and what we want to do when we get there....plus to leave > whenever we get bored.... This I don't get. It sounds like voluntary suicide, but I doubt that's what you intended. > See wouldn't it have been much more fun if you had guessed? Not at all. I hate guessing. Now, if you had given me some clues, from which I could have derived the answer... > Yves needless to say grumbled and is going to recheck his math for the next > few billion years. I think you're selling him short. Remember he's the Archangel of DESTINY, the oldest entity other than God, and the next best thing to omniscient. > >You're forgiven. Remember, Dominic hangs out with Laurence, of all people. > If Dom started acting funny, I >think his Malakite buddy would tell him. > > Unless he's still pining for Sleeping beuty. Which is nothing more than a plot seed, and not even canon. > Do I look dissonant or feel it Sparky? > (his trusty reliever gavel) > "No sir." Do you really think Dominc is that stupid? > >Dangerous in what way? > > If God isn't going to intervene next time.... > then Dominic's safety net went bye bye Y'know, I think Dom gets too much grief over that. Over the course of THOUSANDS of years, he's had his verdict overruled ONCE. Uriel doesn't count, because God intervened -before- the verdict was rendered. Once in howevermanyyearssincetheFall is a freaking -sterling- record. > >Humans do it, too. Worse, they often do it without -thinking-. > Yep! Angels aren't so differnet from us then. As per the back cover and alla that. - -- Casca "...I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying...At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke." -- Isaiah 6:2,4 _______________________________________________________ Are you a Techie? Get Your Free Tech Email Address Now! Many to choose from! Visit http://www.TechEmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:28:54 -0400 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> Marx At 9:22 PM -0400 6/6/00, Charles Phipps wrote: > >Stalin I say was never human. No being on Earth I think could..it's hard to >believe in Real life he was!...consistantly alter the truth to the point of >where he himself didn't believe it otherwise. He never killed anyone but >those he kept around him butchered millions... I believe he's held up in some supplements as one of those figures that Demons point to, saying "see -- we may be evil, but humanity? That's *Evil,* dude." - -- - -- Eric Alfred Burns It was then I felt my heart break like a in-sabre@annotations.com fragile Scooby Snack upon the harsh teeth of http://www.annotations.com Reality -- and it's been broken ever since. http://www.annotations.com/~journal --Johnny Bravo ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 13:41:30 +1000 From: "Leath Sheales" Subject: RE: IN> Dominic and Destiny Casca wrote: > Y'know, I think Dom gets too much grief over that. Over the > course of THOUSANDS of years, he's had his verdict overruled > ONCE. Uriel doesn't count, because God intervened -before- the > verdict was rendered. But doesn't that make it even scarier? It's pretty much stated in Superiors 1 that Dominic views God as his safety net. If he over-persecutes a case (however unintentionally) he believes God will overrule him and everything will be fine. So he goes after Eli, confident that God will make sure everything works out right. All because "over the course of THOUSANDS of years, he's had his verdict overruled ONCE". IMO, anyway. Leath. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:37:02 -0400 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> Plot thingy needed! Well in my opinion Kobal using all the essence he's stored up...frankly in all of Hell he has to be the guy with the most of it could create something unique in Hell-different from all bands or perhaps even just a dark version of a Malakim (in my opinion-Uriel like David is a Malakite). This would probably freak Hell out as much as everyone else as they see a being come to judge them for their "sins". Or Kobal could do his essence sharing with the Ethereal to do so...*or* here's an interesting thought, chain one Seraphim....alter him...get out the old Balseraph and make the man nutty as a fruitcake. Still any artifact will work I think to get someone cloaked and into heaven. However for something like this I think you want more than the average slip ergo I present for you a set of artifacts...one of which I intend to use for my campaign. Your thoughts would be appreciated. The Rainbow Bridge.... 1:) Heimdale (before he bit the big one) used to gaurd the gateway to Asgard here that Celestially speaking allowed mortal souls to go to either heaven or hell (in the Aesir sense). However it also had a path to heaven unbeknownst to most folk as certain modern day Aesir legends (not so bizzare as you may think) actually put Christianity at it's birth as fairly cordelial with certain groups (Thor placing his hammer in Jesus's crib as well). In my opinion this legend is partially true and the ancient path was destroyed by Uriel before his crusade.... With the essence Kobal provides the thing is "fixed" for the time being and it allows Ethereals to go to Heaven as well.... 2:) The Jordi Portals: Unicorns in Heaven? Dragons? Dinosaurs? What the Heck?-Dominic upon seeing Jordi's realm for the first time since the Crusade. Jordi during the Uriel Crusade had his followers move the ancient beasts to Heaven through specially crafted portals that led to his beutiful part of Heaven. Thus allowing the beings to become the equivalent of relievers in his place. Baladine was a major help here...however unfortunately Kobal through a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend knows about them now and has a backdoor through the Ethereal marches... If he can take Baladine's tower (we need Laurence to save her!). 3:) Hepheteus's belts Magic belts made by Hepheteus to help him work with Jean on some prodjects before the ancient one lost his forger god buddies (Jean was one of the angels who saw the loss of small ammounts of human essence a necessary trade off truly-he judged the gods by greater crimes agaisnt sceince and the like). The design is copied and moved. To answer your question...the entire united population of the Dreams of humanity versuss the forces of heaven would destroy both realms....and both would recover...unless...well Hell took over everything. No matter how many ways you slice it Kobal and his faux Uriel are leading a group of warriors to their deaths and every god of wisdom knows this (Athena especially-despite her crush on that Laurence boy has no love for heaven but she'll tolerate them if slaughter is the only other option) while warrior gods are less cool headed. Thus no united Dream land. Still Kobal's goal is to make heaven burn and destroying god's of light and many angels who will either be guilt stricken, awed by all this, or the like will be all too easy....until Michael and Laurence and David (plus Gaby) retaliate and wipe out the enemies. Once L realizes his Uriel could never be this mean. Dominic if he's confornted by a fallen Uriel or a charistmatic one will likely be overwhlemd with gult and useless. Uriel if he returns will likely either A:) Finish his crusade or B:) Offer himslef up as a sacrfice to the gods as weirdgeild C:) Pennant monk type. Thus the way I see it: Archangels effected: Dominic: Guilt feelings for old buddy. Laurence: Examines situation carefully Baladine: sees through it immediately Demon Princes: Kronos and everyone else but Beleth: *snicker* Beleth: I had uses for those gods Kobal.... Gods: Athena: Idiots! It's a trick...why hello Laurence. Thor: At last I will avenge my father and his kingdom... Cthulhu: Mmmmm Kobal - -Charlemagne ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:00:19 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Writing for Pyramid At 4:03 PM -0700 6/6/00, Casca wrote: >On Tue, 06 June 2000, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: > >> Moderately well-spaced chunks, though, eh? A whole bunch of little >Considering that I would be writing something, posting it, then writing the >next installment before posting -that-, yes. So, how fast do you write? O;> >> Ya get my drift, or do I hafta send my Habbalah around ta rough >> ya up? > >Jesus, Beth, I've been on this list since summer '97. I KNOW list etiquette. >Thanks for the vote of confidence. Hey, i've seen stuff tried by folk who shoulda knoen better... besides, noe _everyone_ knows, so you have served as a springboard for the education of many. and not even in the "public execution in hades" sense! (And yes, it _was_ done once -- a large post by I forget who, around 40K, was posted to the list. It bounced into my email box as TOO LONG and I bapped the author. Who then proceeded to post it in several chunks, all at once, after I _thought_ I'd been pretty damned clear about DO NOT DO THIS for the reasons that I listed in my original message. If you _must_ get the reference, not remembering that little tempest in a teapot, then I can probably dig the blasted thing up. But it has happened, and it was VERY annoying, and I'm hair-triggered. And generally short of sleep.) - --Beth, catching up as she can, typing with a baby (iolanthe) in her lap. But now with a computer desk! Vapitalizatoin and spelling still difficult, typing w/ 1 hand (and often a wigglebaby in the other). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:57:08 -0400 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: IN> A Word rom Our Sponsors... This is purely because seeing improper numbers for the Bands and Choirs has reached the point (as it does periodically) where it makes my teeth hurt. (I had a hard time training myself to get the plural-singular stuff right in the first place -- I don't want to backslide.) In Nomine Stylesheet 1/21/00 Official usages [Authors should use these] =========================================== Singular Plural Prefered Alternate/Title Seraph Seraphim the Most Holy Cherub Cherubim Guardian(s) Ofanite Ofanim Wheel(s) Elohite Elohim Power(s) Malakite Malakim Virtue(s) Kyriotate Kyriotates Domination(s) Mercurian Mercurians Intercessionist(s) reliever relievers [The LE uses Helper(s) in her own fiction) Menunite Menunim Nephallite Nephallim Grigori Grigori Balseraph Balseraphs Liar(s), Serpent(s) Djinn Djinn Stalker(s) Calabite Calabim Destroyer(s) Habbalite Habbalah Punisher(s) Lilim Lilim Daughter(s), Tempter(s), Temptress(es) Shedite Shedim Fleshless, Corruptor(s) Impudite Impudites Taker(s) imp imps gremlin gremlins Pachadite Pachadim demonling demonlings The secondary alternate names in the main book may also be used, but the preferred alternates are clearer, generally. Secondary alternate names are for times when there's just _too_ many primary and alternate names. Common (mis)usages: Authors should avoid these, but characters might use them. ============================================================ Plural Seraphs Cherubs Misusages that should *only* be found in quotes, mangled by a character: =========================================================== Singular Plural Malak [A singular Malakite...] Kyrio Kyrios Grig, Grigi Grigs, Grigi [as in "Grig-kin" for the Children of the Grigori] Bal [As in Balseraph] Habbie Habbies [Punishers hate that...] Lil [As in Lilim, when she's not around] Imp(udite) --------------->[Might get shortened to "Imp," but not around *real* Impudites (and maybe not around real imps).] anything taking the singular and adding a "s" -- Calabites, Habbalites, Shedites, Lilims, etc. This exerpt has been brought to you by the IN Stylesheet. I would give a URL but am typing with one hand and a baby in the other. - --Beth, catching up as she can, typing with a baby (iolanthe) in her lap. But now with a computer desk! Vapitalizatoin and spelling still difficult, typing w/ 1 hand (and often a wigglebaby in the other). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:39:22 -0500 (CDT) From: Matthew Philip Walsh Subject: Re: IN> Jack the Ripper On Tue, 6 Jun 2000, Charles Phipps wrote: [re: Jack the Ripper as a Shedite] > I'm thinking Saminga is his prince. Serial kilers and all that. Definitely a possibility. On the other hand, while Saminga certainly *approves* of serial killers, he'd probably consider them a little inefficient. I mean, really, one at a time? Some other options for Superior that spring to mind: * Beleth. A string of well-publicized murders that sent terror through the whole of London could well be the work of one ambitious demon of Nightmares, spreading the Word to the corporeal plane. (Something tells me that there's some possible connection with the Gallery of the Dreams of Murderers from YAH to be exploited...) * Kobal. So the guy kills these women, and then writes little poems to the newspapers. That's pretty funny from a sufficiently twisted angle. * Nybbas. Someone a little more up on exact dates should check me on this, but I seem to recall the whole Ripper affair as being in the late 1880s... very shortly after Nybbas first gained his Word and Principality. As you said in your original post, one of the hallmarks of the Jack the Ripper scare was its sensationalism, and we *know* whose Word that falls under. Could it have been a demon with no talent for reporting news, but a certain flair for making it? (That last one scares me the most, come to think of it. If the demon in question was going on a comeback tour... how can you top that, especially in this day and age when such things are more commonplace? How far would such a Shedite go?) Matt ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:53:30 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Jack the Ripper > [re: Jack the Ripper as a Shedite] It occurs to me that a prospect that could more greatly disturb a group of players would be to have Jack be human, but have England's horror at his actions create an Etherial. Jack then disappeared because it ate him, having managed to figure out that if Jack was never caught, humanity would continue to feed it Essence... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:52:55 -0500 From: "David Rodemaker" Subject: Re: IN> Welcome to Fat Charlie's! - ----- Original Message ----- From: Douglas Muir To: Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2000 9:04 PM Subject: IN> Welcome to Fat Charlie's! Keep 'em coming!!! The Other David ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 23:58:40 -0500 From: "David Rodemaker" Subject: Re: IN> Next Playtest? > Andrew Hackard wrote: > > To be frank, I don't want to wait that long. The reprint removes a lot of > > the impetus to do a second edition, which is unfortunate but not as > > unfortunate, IMO, as leaving the core IN rules out of print for the better > > part of a year. That's what a second edition would take. > > Actually, at this point, I think IN might be BETTER off long-term if it > was out-of-print for a while, and then brought back in an all-new 2nd > edition with much fanfare and publicity. David has a point, the timing for that sort of thing is *real* touchy but he does have a point. I don't know if the game has a good enough following to support the solution however... of course that might be a bonus after all. The Other David ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:27:41 -0500 From: "Tafka J." Subject: Re: IN> Jack the Ripper At 11:53 PM -0500 06/06/00, Prodigal wrote: > It occurs to me that a prospect that could more greatly disturb a group of > players would be to have Jack be human Most of History's Infamous have been mortal humans. Some of them are _so_ bad, that they squick even the Shedim of Cruelty (perhaps the most vile of demons). So yes, it _would_ be Scary if Jack is just a human. So who is the modern 'Jack'? It could either be a copy-cat killer, or perhaps Kobal decided 'what the heck' and turned Jack into Mummy/Vampire. If Nybbas was a Prince around the same time, then one could take it a step further and say that because he had Vapulan connections, it was him who turned Jack into one of the Undead. Other alternatives, for those of you who think Jack is a Celestial: What if Jack was a Habbalite? (Punishing the weak human prostitutes.) What if Jack was an Elohite? (They're the ones that the line: "when God needed a killing done, he sent an Angel to do it" is all about.) Be seeing you, - - Tafka J. = tafkaj@thrifty.net # Balseraph of Fate, Marquis of Delusions of Grandeur ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 00:31:19 -0500 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Jack the Ripper From: "Tafka J." > > So yes, it _would_ be Scary if Jack is just a human. So who is the > modern 'Jack'? In my version, the Etherial in a vessel designed to resemble the person whose actions birthed it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 01:11:05 -0500 From: "Tafka J." Subject: Re: IN> A Word From Our Sponsors... At 11:57 PM -0400 06/06/00, Elizabeth McCoy wrote: >This exerpt has been brought to you by the IN Stylesheet. I would >give a URL but am typing with one hand and a baby in the other. Just because the Stylesheet has _MORE_ good stuff on it, here it is anyway: http://www.sjgames.com/general/guidelines/writers/in-nomine-style-sheet.html (This is the convention that the Authors & LE of In Nomine have decided upon, in order to keep things consistant. That, and prevent people from spelling something like Bleaseraphim; which you can agree is just _wrong_. };;;>) (It's also for those of you looking to do prospective writeups for various things: be it Pyramid or perhaps a submission for the next Book! C'mon. Read 'em, learn 'em, be one with 'em, and don't stray from 'em. Ever. };;;> You know you want too.) Be seeing you, - - Tafka J. = tafkaj@thrifty.net # Balseraph of Fate, Marquis of Delusions of Grandeur ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 04:30:50 -0400 From: Douglas Muir Subject: IN> The Children's Librarian The boy was trying not to tremble as he pushed his books across the counter. _Maybe she won't remember me_, he thought. _It's been a whole semester..._ The plump, pretty young woman behind the counter took the books, glanced up from her screen, looked away to swipe the laser pen across them... and then paused, and looked back. Her expression hardened. "You're Jimmy Morrison, aren't you." "Umm... uh, yeah." "Yes. _Ma'am_." "Yuh, yes ma'am." Jimmy could feel himself blushing, sweat breaking all over his body. "The same Jimmy Morrison who, last November, tore... *three*... pages out of a magazine in the children's section. Yes? *That* Jimmy Morrison?" Jimmy started to speak -- to apologize, to say that he'd paid for the magazine, anything -- but all that came out was a dry mumble. _She's so scary_, he thought despairingly. _All the grownups think she's nice, but the way she /looks/ at you..._ He stared at the carpet, unable to raise his eyes, unable to speak. _Why'd I have to do this stupid book report? Why'd they make us come *here*?_ Behind him, a little girl turned towards her mother, face clouding. "Mommy, I don't _like_ coming to the library." * * * * * Ylisha, Habbalite of Fate 2 Corp Str 4 Agil 4 3 Ethereal Int 7 Precis 5 3 Celestial Per 5 Will 7 Vessel - 2 (female) Role - 3 (children's librarian) Skills/Songs Knowledge (library science) - 3 Lying - 2 Knowledge (child psychology) - 2 Emote - 2 Corporeal Projection - 4 Possession - 4 Attunements/Distinctions Habbalite of Fate Fated Future Ylisha appears as a plump young woman in her middle twenties, well dressed and reasonably attractive (the sort that everyone says would be stunning if she'd take off the glasses and lose 20 pounds). She's warm and open to adults, and also to children... when other adults are around. A few perceptive adults may notice that children treat her with exaggerated deference and respect, but they just assume that must be because she's so nice... Ylisha is a new demon, fresh out of Hell, but she has great plans. Right now she's working as a children's librarian, terrorizing children into hating and fearing the library and, by extension, all sorts of reading and learning. She views this as a sideline, though (albeit a deeply enjoyable and fulfilling one). Her real job is scanning the little ones for potential Fates and Destinies. When Ylisha spots a promising or interesting child, she'll spend the Essence to use her attunement (obviously, she can only do this every other day or so, so she studies them carefully first). When she finds something interesting, she'll tenaciously follow the child, using her Songs to watch it at home if necessary. With her Song of Possession, Ylisha can make all sorts of interventions in a child's life, from administering a beating to changing a grade on a test. She is absolutely remorseless; if the child can't handle her proxy attacks (which may involve anything from teasing to sexual assault), it's the little weakling's own fault. She's also fond of using her Habbalite attunement on her victims to nudge them towards their Fate (say, by throwing a temper tantrum at the dinner table, or suffering a panic attack during the class pageant). In just the year or so she's been in this Role, she has done a great deal of subtle but lasting damage. Ylisha would be almost helpless in a fight, but she shouldn't be underestimated; she uses her songs with a great deal of cunning, and she'll be very alert to any sort of attempt at interference with her work. PC angels could encounter Ylisha by being sent to help a child towards its destiny, only to find their work being strangely blocked at every turn (by humans, or so it seems). Any angel of Yves or Christopher would _want_ to mix it up with her -- finding and eliminating her would win at least a pat on the back from either of these Superiors -- but they'll have to figure out what she is first. Ylisha is quite clever, and will use her attunment and the Song of Possession to cause other teachers and staff members to act suspiciously and divert angelic attention from her. If Ylisha feels threatened, she can call for help, and she will be answered fairly promptly; Kronos will not want to lose such a promising servant. If she has been exposed, she'll be extracted and sent somewhere else. If not, angels will quickly be subjected to harassing attacks and distractions from other Servitors of Fate. Ylisha is a suitable opponent for a small group of beginning PC angels or a group of humans. Doug M. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #1664 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2000 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.