From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Wed Jan 17 21:45:20 2001 Return-Path: Received: from lists.io.com (majordom@lists.io.com [199.170.88.15]) by pyramid.sjgames.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA04520 for ; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 21:45:20 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id VAA23925 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 21:46:41 -0600 Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 21:46:41 -0600 Message-Id: <200101180346.VAA23925@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 #2023 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, January 17 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2023 In this digest: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters Re: IN> Question about Lilith IN> Completely Off Guard (Seed) Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters Re: IN> Question about Lilith Re: IN> Completely Off Guard (Seed) IN> Summoning Superiors Re: IN> Question about Lilith Re: IN> Summoning Superiors Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters Re: IN> Summoning Superiors Re: IN> Angel of Gunfighters Re: IN> GURPS In Nomine (feedback 2) Re: IN> Question about Lilith Re: IN> Question about Lilith IN> The Angel of Fantasy Hero(in)es IN> heretical Habbalah Choir writeup Re: IN> January 16, 2001 (ML) Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:33:34 -0500 From: "Tyto Alba" Subject: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters >But about Nybbas: Dime novels were certainly an important medium >in that time and place, but was Nybbas a Prince at that time? Dime Novels are too cool a thing to give over to a geek like Nybbas. They belong to Blandine, because they are a way to keep hopes up and dreams alive during the depression. tyto a. Join 18 million Eudora users by signing up for a free Eudora Web-Mail account at http://www.eudoramail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:36:49 -0500 From: "Tyto Alba" Subject: Re: IN> Question about Lilith > >No marks, no touching at all. > I don't know if this has anything to do with angels touching her, but in medieval Jewish legends, you could tell who Lilith was (under certain circumstances) because she was hairy like a goat from the waist down. tyto a. Join 18 million Eudora users by signing up for a free Eudora Web-Mail account at http://www.eudoramail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 11:47:12 -0600 From: "Bradley Paranial" Subject: IN> Completely Off Guard (Seed) "Good bye Children, I hope you all, do your homework, sleep well and have pleasant Dreams" Said Ms.. Liana to her first Grade class as the bell rang at 3 o'clock and the Children hurried out of her classroom. "Though sadly, I cannot be so sure about the last two, if I'm right" she said sadly to herself when the Children were all gone. "He said he would be here soon" About five minutes had past, when a tall brown haired man with glasses, dresses in plain clothing, walked into her classroom he approached her desk, and stood before in a straight rigid manner. "You said that you needed my help Lianiah" The man replied in a neutral monotone that seemed devoid of emotion "Yes Lorien" replied Lianah, Mercurian of Children also known as Erica Liana, first grade teacher. "It is as you would expect the Children?" "I would think so" Lorien replied "What of them?" "Well the have been having bad dreams" "Mortals have bad dreams all the time especially Children" Lorien replied still not betraying any emotion at all, in spite of the fact that his patience was already wearing thin. He was supposed to have a staff meeting with the Vassals under him and the head of his group of Soldiers, right now, and the city's lone Chistopherian calls him telling claiming urgent business, and all she can talk about are Children's nightmares, The Sword should not be invoked so lightly, but still, since she saw fit to call him he might as well hear her out. "Please continue" was all he could say next. "Not all at the same time" Lianiah replied, "Not half of a school of 1500 at a time" "And most certainly not all featuring the same monsters" She than handed him several crayon drawings, while the were all understandably crude, and colored slightly differently, there was no mistaking the celestial forms of a Djinn, a Shedite, and a Balseraph. He handed them back to her "Beleth" "That's what I thought to" Lorien let out a Sigh " And we do not have one single Servitor of Dreams in this city" "I know that, that's why I called on you, you are the Ranking member of the Sword and the only one organized enough to do what needs to be done" "Find every angel or solider of God in the city who knows either the Songs of Dreams or posses the Dream walking attunement, and have them watch over the children's dreams" Lorien said without hesitation. "Yes" Lianiah replied. "Good" Lorien smiled "Than not only are the first volunteer but also in charge of the group that I shall be sending out into the Marches as soon as I can assemble on consisting of people other than you" The Mercurian was taken aback at first HER in a position of leadership but if it meant that these Demons of Nightmares would no longer harm her charges she would do it she nodded. "I knew you would except" Lorein replied "I could feel it" Lianiah smiled, knowing to well that is was impossible to hide one's feelings from an Elohite. "While in the mean time I will be assembling another team that will attempt to find the Demons on the Corporeal Plane, and send them back to their Dread Lady, is there anything else that you wish to tell me?" "No" "Very well than I shall get to work" The Children in a neighborhood are being terrorized in the Dreams by servitors of Nightmares, and there are no angels serving Blandine in the entire city, none, zip, zero. As the opening vignette shows this was first noticed by Lianiah a Mercuiran of Children, unable to handle things on her own, despite posseing all of the Songs of Dreams. She enlists the aide of an old and powerful Elohite Friend of the Lord's Troops named Lorien, who is the de facto leader of the angelic community in the city. Lorien's plan to deal with the Situation is simple, search high and low for anyone who knows any of the Songs of Dreams, and send them to the marches to watch over the Children in their dreams and deal with the demons as they encounter them. While he assembles a second deal to search the city for the Demons of Nightmares and deal with them in a more, Corporeal Fashion. It should be pretty obvious how PC's can get involved. Comments? _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:06:50 -0600 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters From: "Tyto Alba" > > Dime Novels are too cool a thing to give over to > a geek like Nybbas. They belong to Blandine, > because they are a way to keep hopes up and > dreams alive during the depression. They came out long before the depression, though, and the way the ones based on actual people played fast and loose with the truth makes them perfectly suited to The Media... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:07:57 -0600 From: "Prodigal" Subject: Re: IN> Question about Lilith From: "Tyto Alba" > > but in medieval Jewish legends, you could tell who Lilith was > (under certain circumstances) because she was hairy like a > goat from the waist down. These days, however, we have Nair... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 18:08:21 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> Completely Off Guard (Seed) >From: "Bradley Paranial" >Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >Subject: IN> Completely Off Guard (Seed) >Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 11:47:12 -0600 >The Children in a neighborhood are being terrorized in the Dreams by >servitors of Nightmares, and there are no angels serving Blandine in the >entire city, none, zip, zero. Errrrr... why should that matter? Unless I'm vastly mistaken, the Marches don't give a flying fig about corporeal geography. So what I'd do is go celestial, zip over to Laurence's Cathedral and leave a Post-It Note(tm) on the door saying what you're up to ('tis always nice to check in with the boss, especially when you're calling in another Archangel's servitors -- but the emergency nature of the situation can, or should, forgive you not standing in line first... after all, your Archangel wouldn't have given you a measure of discretion unless he wanted you to *use* it), then zip over to Blandine's Tower and explain the situation. Mentioning *seven hundred and fifty* children all in the same school all being slammed on in the same way by Nightmares ought to move you at least *slightly* higher up in the queue... ... and voila. A crack team of Blandine's roving troubleshooters will be riding ethereal shotgun over those cute widdle kiddies before you can say "Mr. Sandman". (I sincerely doubt that there's any Archangel who *doesn't* have a pool of Servitors who are assigned to no specific geographic area or Roles, but instead are kept on hand as a reaction force. This would, IMO, go doubly for Blandine, given that her major battleground isn't limited by corporeal geography to begin with.) Of course, the PCs can *still* get involved with this, even if not a single one of them knows the Song of Dreams -- after all, Blandine's servitors can only point out *where* the Nightmares are hiding in your town. What with Blandine's distaste for "direct material action" (read: loud explosions), somebody *else* will have to go over to where they're hiding and Put The Boot In... - -- Chuckg _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 18:23:01 From: "Janet Anderson" Subject: IN> Summoning Superiors I was talking with my husband, who regularly plays a Kyriotate of Creation IST Destiny, and he observed that Servitors of Creation normally have not one but two Superiors and can therefore summon either of them at need, unlike any other Servitors. This struck me as unfair; I would rule that you could only summon whichever Superior you were working for at the time -- i.e., if Eli drops in and hands you an assignment, and you end up knee-deep in demons, you summon him. If Yves sent you to Earth, and the same mayhem ensues, you summon him. On the other hand, it says in the book that *any* other Superior can be summoned by someone who's been sent on a mission by that Superior -- like if a bunch of players with different Superiors end up on a mission from Laurence -- so perhaps it balances out. (And what about mixed angel/demon parties? Does this mean that in such a party, if a demon is working for an Archangel, he can summon him? Or if in, for example, a Judgement/Game group an angel wanted to summon Asmodeus, he could?) Janet Anderson _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 13:52:52 -0500 From: Whistling in the Dark Subject: Re: IN> Question about Lilith At 12:07 PM -0600 1/17/01, Prodigal wrote: >From: "Tyto Alba" >> >> but in medieval Jewish legends, you could tell who Lilith was >> (under certain circumstances) because she was hairy like a >> goat from the waist down. > >These days, however, we have Nair... I just had this horrid vision of an Ofanite of Trade tapping away at a computer. "Boss!" he yells. "We've got a trace on Lilith's movements -- we're following a pattern of overly large electrolysis purchanses..." - -- Eric Alfred Burns - Habbalite of Belaboring the Point ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 08:35:55 +1300 From: "Alex Liddell" Subject: Re: IN> Summoning Superiors >I was talking with my husband, who regularly plays a Kyriotate of Creation >IST Destiny, and he observed that Servitors of Creation normally have not >one but two Superiors and can therefore summon either of them at need, >unlike any other Servitors. > >This struck me as unfair; I would rule that you could only summon whichever >Superior you were working for at the time -- i.e., if Eli drops in and >hands >you an assignment, and you end up knee-deep in demons, you summon him. If >Yves sent you to Earth, and the same mayhem ensues, you summon him. > >On the other hand, it says in the book that *any* other Superior can be >summoned by someone who's been sent on a mission by that Superior -- like >if >a bunch of players with different Superiors end up on a mission from >Laurence -- so perhaps it balances out. If you have an Attunement of a particular Archangel/Prince, you can perform the Invocation. This doesn't mean that they will come though. Demon Princes especially. It implys in the main rule book that you can summon ANYONE you want at -10 to the roll but again, who says that they have to answer. This is particulary true of Gabriel, who even at -10 can be summoned very easily by anyone. >(And what about mixed angel/demon parties? Does this mean that in such a >party, if a demon is working for an Archangel, he can summon him? Or if >in, >for example, a Judgement/Game group an angel wanted to summon Asmodeus, he >could?) No. Never. An Angel can't summon a Demon Prince unless he has an Attunement (or rite?) of that DP. Ditto a Demon summoning an Archangel. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 14:48:40 -0500 From: "Tyto Alba" Subject: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters > >They came out long before the depression, though, and the way the ones based >on actual people played fast and loose with the truth makes them perfectly >suited to The Media... > True, but even Ned Buntline's western "biographies" had a core of nobility that would be offensive to Nybbas. They weren't concerned with scandal mongering, but with mythmaking. I'm still holding out for Blandine; she isn't that concerned with literal truth, anyway. tyto a. Join 18 million Eudora users by signing up for a free Eudora Web-Mail account at http://www.eudoramail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 15:17:08 -0500 From: Elizabeth McCoy Subject: Re: IN> Summoning Superiors At 6:23 PM -0500 1/17/01, Janet Anderson wrote: >I was talking with my husband, who regularly plays a Kyriotate of Creation >IST Destiny, and he observed that Servitors of Creation normally have not >one but two Superiors and can therefore summon either of them at need, >unlike any other Servitors. True enough, though they also have triads of Judgment visiting them (read, harassing them) every now and then, and _especially_ if Eli's shown up recently. But, generally, one _should_ invoke "the one what brung ya" when you're in a mess. Among other reasons, if Superior X gave you the assignment, and you summon Superior Y, then Superior Y may not handle the mess the way Superior X _wants_ it handled. E.g., "What do you MEAN Eli took the artifact with him? I SPECIFICIALLY said _I_ wanted that artifact!" Or, "Hey, dude, you were supposed to get the demon to redeem, not have Michael soul-kill it. _Now_ who's going to be in line for the Angel of Mixed Drinks?" >(And what about mixed angel/demon parties? Does this mean that in such a >party, if a demon is working for an Archangel, he can summon him? It is theoretically possible, but unless the demon has a yen to redeem pretty darn soon, the demon is unlikely to _want_ to invoke the Archangel. Maybe if a Prince shows up in a tizzy, things would be bad enough. Otherwise, look at it from the demon's view: Angel Princes are known to toast demons for breakfast when they get a yen. Invoking one because you are in deep kimchee means you screwed up (that's how Demon Princes look at it, anyway). Do you really want a homicidal Angel Prince invoked to get your little barb-tailed tuchus out of the frying pan? At least, that's the general opinion that my Free IST Lightning has about things. O:> Besides, the Archangel in question would have to be "listening" for that demon for some reason, likely involving having met said demon personally. >Or if in, >for example, a Judgement/Game group an angel wanted to summon Asmodeus, he >could?) I'd say that Asmodeus would have to have personally met the angel and granted the angel his "attention" -- i.e., he'll be listening for invocations for a while. Of course, invoking him is a sure way of telling Dominic that you'd really like to go work for the other side, which, depending on Brightness level, may get you reassigned (probably with a boot-print on your butt) or merely put on trial for insanity and (mayhap) destroyed... - --Beth, typing w/a uncoopertive baby (iolanthe) causing typos. "I'm nursing a TROUT! With legs!" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 16:15:39 -0500 From: "Krishnaswami, Neel" Subject: Re: IN> Angel of Gunfighters You wrote: > -Charlemagne > Ironically a pacifist and Pro-Life opponent of the Death penalty That's not ironic, since I can see that as a consistent philosophical position. Good work on the angel, though. The idea of Nybbas being the force behind dime novels and the pulps is a cute one. I like it. :) - -- Neel Krishnaswami neelk@cswcasa.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 00:08:08 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: Re: IN> GURPS In Nomine (feedback 2) > >>[Reliquaries] > >>The stuff on p. GIN160, regarding stored Essence, strongly suggests > >>to me that reliquaries should be 100 points/level and somewhere a 0 was > >>eaten. > >> > >>Ho, errata. O:p > > > >Glad to be of service. :) > >The real service would be noting it on the errata page for me, actually. >I can't get at the books because I have a baby sleeping across my arms. > Done. (like, a minute ago) > >Question remains, why then, would the Essence Cost to enchant an artifact >to > >hold Essence for *general* use (i.e. a Reliquary) be the same as to >enchant > >an artifact to hold Essence which can *only* be used to fuel the Song in >the > >Artifact? > >Because the Essence Cost is, frankly, only there to make the _time_ to >enchant come out right. If the time to enchant something goes up or >down there, then the EC would as well. Otherwise... hey, it's ineffable. Okay, but why isn't there a powerstone/reliquary parallel made for "dedicated powerstones" ?? A dedicated powerstone (pB161, pM42) provide TWICE as much mana to fuel the item. As pIN70 states, a relic whose reliquary can /only/ be used to fuel the song in the relic is LESS EXPENSIVE that one whose reliquary can be used for tasks other than the song. I feel that this should be parallel in GIN, perhaps using the rules for "dedicated powerstones," replacing the word powerstone with reliquary and making other necessary small changes. I also made a note of this in my errata submission to Andy. - -Perry perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo "And that's the hardest thing for a human being to do - be wrong. Do you know that people would rather die than be wrong?" - --from A Matter For Men by David Gerrold _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 00:13:34 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: Re: IN> Question about Lilith > >No marks, no touching at all. > > >I don't know if this has anything to do with angels touching her, but in >medieval Jewish legends, you could tell who Lilith was (under certain >circumstances) because she was hairy like a goat from the waist down. > >tyto a. Hrm . . . reminds me of another God I know of who may have been competition for good ole YHWH. I'm /sure/ that had NO effect on their descriptions of "evil" characters in their own religion. After all, there's NEVER been ANY demonization of other religions by ANY RELIGION EVER. - -Perry, kfc perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo "And that's the hardest thing for a human being to do - be wrong. Do you know that people would rather die than be wrong?" - --from A Matter For Men by David Gerrold _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 00:24:47 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: Re: IN> Question about Lilith >From: Whistling in the Dark >At 12:07 PM -0600 1/17/01, Prodigal wrote: >>From: "Tyto Alba" >>> >>> but in medieval Jewish legends, you could tell who Lilith was >>> (under certain circumstances) because she was hairy like a >>> goat from the waist down. >> >>These days, however, we have Nair... > >I just had this horrid vision of an Ofanite of Trade tapping away at >a computer. "Boss!" he yells. "We've got a trace on Lilith's >movements -- we're following a pattern of overly large electrolysis >purchanses..." "QUICKLY! Summon the Angels of Hair Removal!" "All of them?" "YES! ALL OF THEM!! We've got to get the ROOT of the problem and nair Lilith for all its worth!" "Uh, why?" "Think Sampson, Sampson you fool!" - -Perry perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu http://www.geocities.com/llloyd.geo "And that's the hardest thing for a human being to do - be wrong. Do you know that people would rather die than be wrong?" - --from A Matter For Men by David Gerrold _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:29:17 -0500 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> The Angel of Fantasy Hero(in)es Vallania Malakite of War Master of Valor Angel of Fantasy Hero(in)es Cor- 6 Str-12 Agility-12 Eth- 4 Int-8 Pre-8 Cel- 5 Will-12 Per-8 Artifacts: Holy Spear /4, Blessed Chain Mail /4, Holy Bow /3, 4 Holy arrows Vessel: Young twenty something female /4 (+3 Charisma) Songs: Song of Dreams (Coporeal 4/, Ethereal 3/, Celestial 3/), Song of Form (Corporeal /3, Ethereal /3), Wings /4 Skills: Dodge 5/, Fighting 3/, Large Weapon (Spear /6, Sword /4), Ranged Weapon (Bow and Arrow /4), Savoir fair 2/, Throwing 3/, Tracking 2/ Attunements: Awe, Seraphim of War, Seraphim of Creation, Malakim of War, Profiency (Spear), Howl, Inspiration, Master of Valor Oaths: (I) I shall suffer no evil to live if it is my choice (II) I shall never surrender to Hell (III) I will protect all honorable warriors from forces they cannot oppose (IV) I will gaurd well the innocent being preyed on by the wicked (V) I will serve as an inspiration to all who would honor me, Michael, God, or Heaven (VI) I will promote the stories which create beutiful Godly images in the imagination of mortals Word Forces: 6 Angel of Fantasy Heroes attunements: Awe: The power of Awe causes all to look upon Vallania to instantlly recognize what a glorious being she is or know at the very least there is something very special about her. This basically means that every intial reaction roll Vallania makes is raised by one level by any being sort of a Superior. Those which are already a six check are instally smitten/adoring of Vallania and will do pratically anything she asks. This power only functions while Vallania is in their presence and once she leaves it will go down to it's nonadjusted level. Inspiration: The attunement of Inspiration allows Vallania to bestow temporarely the ability for young artists to put their visions to paper with skill that they normally would not possess. For every point of essence Vallania expends during the usage of this ability the would be artist is gifted a point of Artistry Art, Writing, or GMing to create a work of truly beutiful value. If the artist already posseses skill to do so the extra points are added on to their existing skill. Vallania must be in the presence of the person to enact the attunement but since she can enter dreams and is around young aspiring creators every day this is not difficult. Vallania does NOT have to be present during the actual creation. Special Rite: * Inspire a young mortal to create a heroic or beutiful work of fantasy (+2 essence) Vallania is a very old angel and has seen more than six thousand years of fighting from the lands of Mesopitamia to the high lands of Egypt to the Amazon jungles to the high Middle ages. In that time Vallania has fought demons, ethereals, hellsworn, sorcerors, and all too human evils with the fury of a true Malakite sworn to oppose the spread of darkness wherever they spread. Her adventures were numerous and great and often spoken of by mortal bards and storytellers whom she encountered along the way. However Vallania paid them little heed as she her concerns were the salvation of the innocent and the destruction of the vile alone. It was however in the early 20th century that one of Vallania's soldiers fell in love in love with her as they were ought to do and wrote up a beutiful series of pulp novels which described in vivid detail a number of stories that he had gleaned from listening to her tales that was a small sucess. Vallania was annoyed to discover this of course and ended up having to slay three demons who used the novels to track her down and attempt to destroy her. However she was more surprised to discover that the works had been extremely popular and was out and out shocked when the Archangel Eli who had been absent from Heaven for so many years came to her to say how much he enjoyed the work. Bestowing an attunement on her allowing her to sense the potential of young authors he encouraged her to do some more "musing" because young women and young men needed heroes in an age ruled by fear. Vallania took these words to heart and began campaigning through her superior to support fantasy fiction, Michael reacting better to his servitor's workings than most Seraphs because he knew most such tales were closer to the truth than many suspected. After a short competition with two servitors of Blandine, Vallania suceeded in winning the word of Fantasy Heroes. Vallania's word is on the rise because the number of mortals seeking an escape from the dreary banal nature of the actual world to a time and realm of great deeds is on the rise as is the mediums which can portray them. While Vallania knows the many ages she helps romanticize were far from beutiful, attractive, or pleasant times she rationalizes that it is the spirit of the time they seek. The Malakite of War takes special care to encourage strong, intelligent, female role models in her work and is especially pleased with the number that have emerged in the works she has travelled through. You would be surprised at the number of warrior women whose ultimate origin has it's basis in Vallania and her travels. Currently Vallania is a hanger on and occasional model at Conventions, Fanasty Cons, and Artists symposiums where she seeks out her aspiring works. She uses this time also to flush out any demons of the Media or Beleth who tend to migrate to such places as well though they are rarely high ranking servitors, it satisfies her Malakite need to purge the wicked. Vallania has also toyed with the idea of accepting the offer to star in her own TV show. - -Charlemagne ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 22:27:57 -0500 From: "Jason F. McBrayer" Subject: IN> heretical Habbalah Choir writeup This is a revisionist history of the Habbalah, written for my (upcoming) online campaign, Truth and Reconciliation (the most important thing for a campaign is that it have a catchy name). The following is _very_ heretical, but it takes place starting from a setting that's _almost_ canon In Nomine. The background has the following differences from canon: 1. The light of Heaven does not burn demons. The Fallen were thrown out of Heaven by the loyal angels, not by divine fiat making it impossible for them to stay. 2. Lilim cannot Redeem; there are no true Bright Lilim. Ordinary demons are either "broken" angels, or Celestials made on the template of a broken angel. Fixing that break restores the demon to its former (or appropriate) Choir. Lilim have no such "break", and no angelic counterpart. There are, however, "Bright" Lilim -- Free Lilim who are in service to an Archangel, or Lilim who have willingly been bound permanently to an Archangel's word (just as they would be bound to a Demon Prince). "Bright" Lilim don't have wings, are still green, and still have horns; their resonance and their Band dissonance condition do not change. They can have angelic Hearts. "Bright" Lilim are still _technically_ demons, but their resonance is so useful that many Archangels actively seek them out. 3. In addition to those angels who became Malakim in reaction to the Fall, a few angels of various choirs (mainly Seraphim and Cherubim) have become Malakim over the millennia. Those angels who became Malakim were always Dissonant before the change, but were each transformed in the act of making a great sacrifice in the service of God and their Superior, finding themselves black-winged and washed pure of their Dissonance. Only about a dozen Malakim have been created this way since the first "generation" of Malakim rose up against the Horde. No Elohite is ever known to have become a Malakite in this way, even in the first generation. Please notice that the net effect of these changes is to diminish the distance between angels and demons. The "malakim can't fall... off the floor" theory is much stronger in this setting than in canon, for instance. I'll be posting this in two parts to keep it from filling up the digests (each part should be under the 10k limit): the Habbalah Choir writeup, and Archangelic opinions and attunements. I'm also playing with a few notable Habbalah of the Truth and Reconciliation setting, but I don't know if I'll be ready to post them anytime soon. HABBALAH The Punishers (a revisionist history) "Did you ever notice how, in the Bible, whenever God needed to punish someone, or to make an example . . . or whenever God needed a killing . . . He sent an angel? . . . Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood . . . Would you ever really want to see an angel?" -- Thomas Dagget, The Prophecy The Habbalah are obsessed with punishing those whose weakness or impurity taints the Symphony. Though many Habbalah now serve an Archangel, most feel that they work directly for God. They see themselves, along with the Malakim, as the only true Choir of angels, serving where the weak, fallible Choirs cannot -- in the abattoir. Resonance When the Rebellion first shook heaven, many angels, mostly Seraphim and Cherubim, but others, too, raised their fists in anger at the defilement the followers of Lucifer had wrought upon Heaven. Most of these angels, notable among them the Seraph Uriel and the Cherub David, became Malakim, black-winged defenders of Heaven's honor. However, among the new Choir were to be found no former Elohim. Those among the Elohim who threw aside their objectivity in outrage at the Rebellion became Habbalah; the first of these was Aballam, the Angel of Reason. A Habbalite's resonance is for emotion. Like an Elohite, he can tell what emotion a person is feeling. He can also tell what emotion would cause that person the most harm, accent that feeling in the local theme of the Symphony, and then let it loose. This does incredible psychic damage to his victim. It is hypothesized that this resonance was originally granted to the Habbalah to inflict shame upon the rebel angels for their disobedience and weakness. Something went wrong, however, and for various reasons, the loyal angels did not accept the Habbalah among their ranks. Perhaps it was because the Habbalite resonance and demeanor was so foreign to their former natures, or perhaps it was in part because of their tortured Celestial appearance, the Habbalah were assumed to be Fallen, and were cast out of Heaven by their brothers the Malakim. Aballam, for his rage and his insistence that he still served God, was granted the Word of Madness by Lucifer. For thousands of years, all Habbalah served God as best they could in the service of Demon Princes or as Renegades, pursued by the Game and the Inquisition alike. Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission declared the Habbalah true angels, many Habbalah, including nearly all known Renegades, have returned to the fold to serve Heaven in the service of an Archangel. Many others, however, have been unable or unwilling to leave their Princes; this "Band" is now known as the Bal-Habbalah. A Bal-Habbalite will still insist that it is an angel; the Habbalah who returned to Heaven are weak, and unable to hold fast to God's hard command that they serve from Hell. Dissonance God has ordained that the Habbalite resonance is to be used to punish those whose weakness leads them to sin. If a Habbalite misjudges, and uses its resonance against one whose will is strong, it is the Habbalite who must be punished, either through Dissonance, or by being engulfed by madly-raging emotions, which the angel must manifest, in submission to God's will. Manner and Appearance While most Habbalah are grateful for being returned to Heaven and recognized as true angels, they consider themselves somewhat above the other Choirs -- except for the Malakim. Habbalah are proud of the fact that they cannot Fall, and though many bear a grudge against the Malakim ( for the casting out of the Habbalah during the Fall), they respect this trait in them as well. Surprisingly, many Habbalah get along well with Elohim, and vice versa -- their contrasting perspectives on the phenomenon of emotion give them much to talk about. Most Habbalah _hate_ "Bright" Lilim, those Free Lilim who have taken up permanent service with Archangels. Habbalah know that they are angels -- and they know that Lilim _aren't_. As instruments, Habbalah often see themselves as synthesizers of emotion, with punishing feedback loops. In the corporeal realm, the Habbalah are very beautiful, very sexual beings, dressing their vessels to maximize their emotional impact, and often reveling in the flesh God and their Archangel have granted them. Celestially, their forms show the sacrifices they have made to purify the Symphony. Like the oath-chains and ear-piercings of the Malakim, the scarification and tattooing of the Habbalah serve to indicate their submission to God. Game Mechanics [As in the In Nomine core rules, pages 146 to 147. Substitute the word "angel" for the word "demon" where it appears]. Habbalah cannot Fall. Dissonant Habbalah run the risk of accumulating Discord, in the same way that Malakim do. However, the Habbalah do not police their own ranks as strictly as the Malakim -- since they _know_ they can't Fall, what's the point of worrying about a little Dissonance or Discord now and then? Habbalah can "Jump", becoming Bal-Habbalah, by following a demon to Hell and entering the service of a Demon Prince. A "Jumped" Bal-Habbalite will lose any attunements it has from its former Archangel, as well as access to any rites, _once it accepts the Bal-Habbalite Band attunement from its Prince_. Next up: Archangelic opinions, and Habbalite Choir attunements. - -- +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Jason F. McBrayer jmcbray@carcosa.net | | The scalloped tatters of the King in Yellow must hide Yhtill | | forever. R.W. Chambers _The King in Yellow_ | ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:32:07 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> January 16, 2001 (ML) - --- Maurice Lane wrote: > The Loophole Hah! Stuff like this is why I'm on this list. Nice one, Moe. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 "If you want someone to take off their armor, you must first put down your sword." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:35:30 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters - --- Charles Phipps wrote: > Dinhabbah > Ofanim of War > Friend of Fighters > Friend of Fighters > Angel of Gunfighters > Vessel: Human Mid-thirties 6/ Let me guess -- the Seraph of Destiny doesn't work on him. > High Noon I love this Attunement. Mainly because of how much demons would hate it. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 "If you want someone to take off their armor, you must first put down your sword." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:38:36 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters - --- Earl Wajenberg wrote: > But about Nybbas: Dime novels were certainly an important > medium > in that time and place, but was Nybbas a Prince at that time? > Maybe so; I recall he invented TV around the time of the > American Civil War, then was frustrated because he had to wait > to introduce it; and as I recall, Lucifer elevated him to > Prince as soon as he saw TV. Noooo... TV wasn't invented until the early 20th century (whether the inventor was Philo T. Farnsworth or Vladimir Zworykin depends on which sources you refer to). Telegraph existed at that time, though, and I think that Marconi and radio weren't far away. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 "If you want someone to take off their armor, you must first put down your sword." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 19:44:15 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> The Angel of Gunfighters - --- Prodigal wrote: > From: "Tyto Alba" > > > > Dime Novels are too cool a thing to give over to > > a geek like Nybbas. They belong to Blandine, > > because they are a way to keep hopes up and > > dreams alive during the depression. I see Eli being all over them, myself. But there's also an argument for -- wait for it -- _Michael_ being behind them. Consider; the penny dreadfuls (predecessors of the dime novels) were mainly adventure stories featuring bold heroes fighting the good fight. Michael is all about heroes. > They came out long before the depression, though, and the way > the ones based > on actual people played fast and loose with the truth makes > them perfectly suited to The Media... Which may be why Hell had such an easy time taking over that artform. The penny dreadfuls gave way to dime novels which gave way to pulp -- and Heaven's briefly regaining dominance in the mass market literature market during the golden age of science fiction. ===== Michael Walton, #9805-068 "If you want someone to take off their armor, you must first put down your sword." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2023 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.