From owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Fri Jan 26 00:50:06 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 AAA14663 for ; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:50:06 -0600 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by lists.io.com (8.9.3/8.9.1a) id AAA18913 for in_nomine-digest-outgoing; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:51:24 -0600 Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:51:24 -0600 Message-Id: <200101260651.AAA18913@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 #2033 Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Sender: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Errors-To: owner-in_nomine-digest@lists.io.com Precedence: bulk in_nomine-digest Friday, January 26 2001 Volume 01 : Number 2033 In this digest: IN> January 25, 2001 Re: IN> January 25, 2001 IN> The Purity Crusade was Right -A Davidian Manifesto Re: IN> January 25, 2001 IN> The Crusade of the Sword. Re: IN> An Open Letter from Laurence Re: IN> The Purity Crusade was Right -A Davidian Manifesto IN> Seed: Jean, Blandine, Beleth, and/or Vapula ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 20:53:30 -0800 (PST) From: Maurice Lane Subject: IN> January 25, 2001 It was going to happen eventually. It seems that everybody who gets to Heaven when they die has a little list of people they want to meet, and things can become difficult if the people they want to meet never showed up in the first place (want to make an angel wince? Ask where St. Jerome is). And, of all the 'oops' there are, the worst is... well, Paul. No, really. Shocking, huh? You would think that Paul would have managed to peg either his Destiny (from Laurence's point of view) _or_ his Fate (from Malphas')with his work in early Christianity, but it didn't happen. When asked, Yves just shrugs and reminds the questioner gently about why blatantly direct interference is frowned upon by his Servitors. Too much of the "Saul, Saul, why doth thou persecuteth me" bit, and the poor human's free will goes out the window. A real embarrassment all around... but apparently Paul's been riding the Reincarnation Express all this time, and somebody finally got a lock-on. Unfortunately, so did Hell. There's going to be a fun little fight over this one soul. Now, the PCs will probably not be mighty enough to handle the careful - very, very careful - nudging of Paul (who hasn't yet made any inroads towards either state. Heck, he's a 13 year old girl this time around). They _will_ be mighty enough, no doubt, to assist the team of Destinians/Faters sent down to fiddle with the controls. Said fiddlers will do their best to explain why they need strange, bizarre things done in strange, bizarre ways, but you know how specialists get when trying to explain stuff. Need I also mention that the Other Side will be doing the exact same thing? Now, this can easily be played for laughs (as usual), but for those who like a sharper, darker edge, look no further than the (optional) blade held by the Malakite of the Sword assigned as a liason to the angelic team. After all, if Paul(ine) should achieve her Destiny, why... ... don't you think that it's time that this worthy soul finally received its proper reward? Moe ===== In Nomine stuff: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine.html Last updated 11/25/00 (this is usually way out of date) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 23:04:16 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> January 25, 2001 - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maurice Lane" To: Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2001 10:53 PM Subject: IN> January 25, 2001 > It was going to happen eventually. > Now, the PCs will probably not be mighty enough to > handle the careful - very, very careful - nudging of > Paul (who hasn't yet made any inroads towards either > state. Heck, he's a 13 year old girl this time > around). Moe, Moe, you're not being *nearly* twisted enough here. You should have turned the poor barstid into Britney Spears or something. *g, d, & r* - -- Chuckg ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:26:14 -0500 From: "Charles Phipps" Subject: IN> The Purity Crusade was Right -A Davidian Manifesto The Purity Crusade was Right - --A Davidian Manifesto By. David Fools. This is my summation of those who boo-hoo-hoo about the Ethereal forces that have been slaughtered by Uriel. My regret isn't that we started the Crusade but that we have yet to finish it and I await the time that one will make a mistake and attack myself or one of my servitors that we may take righteous revenge on them. I am older than the Earth, Older than the Stars, and a creation of the Lord God almight himself. Uriel was the same. Together we are Malakim the most righteous if not Holy of God's warriors and his tool for revenging himself upon the Darkness. Laurence's noted overstated Catholic guilt will hopefully after a few confessions and seeing how much damage the Ethereals do to us will return or properly hand over the status of Commander of the Host to those who desire and can fufill the position properly but that is not why I write this manifesto. A statement of God and the Marches You are fools who think God made the Marches to be inhabited by demonspawn, succubus and incubus rapists, and tormented creatures of a deluded psyche. The human mind is diseased it seems by at least a third due to the noxious presence of the Hellqueen Beleth along with her pagan supporting philosophers and on Earth men take the suffering that they bring into the realms where they should be designing new things to improve their or gaining rest to refresh themselves for the new day. *NOT* to be preyed upon by creatures that sip their life force in order to empower themselves and weakening the species as a whole to deal with the challenges of conquering a Hell corrupted world! I know God, I know his law, I am his child and verilly I say unto you that God made the Marches a place of wonders and creation but he charged his angels with tending this place. Humans have granted their dreamshades self will but they are not ensouled beings, they are not flesh or spirit they are thought. Like weeds in one of Novalis's gardens the self willed ethereals are symptoms of a diseased mind. Thoughts which because of Beleth's corruption fear oblivion and last long after their usefulness has passed. Angels are present in the Marches must look after humans will to deal with the dangers and traumas of life and protect their Holy wills, thus any and all measures to do so are justified. A Statement of the Righteousness of the Crusade I:) The Ethereals are Parasites Jordi knows parasites well but his hatred of humanity is well known so his bias against what preys on them is evident. Ethereals do not give anything back and their existence weakens humanity much like Crack/cocaine or Heroine does. When a human man is addicted to a idealized female that he sexually is molested by every night he is less likely to seek a true woman to join with and fertilize with new children. The Angel of Disease does not encourage diseases to grow and spread because he finds them pretty such as so should be with us, while a dream may teach us what we want in a mate or a house we should not mistake it for reality. In order to prolong their lives the Ethereals have A:) Encouraged superstition and lies about the Cosmos B:) Have enocuraged human beings to avoid travel and stay regional in culture and beliefs or worse use it soley for conquest lest they be polluted in their beliefs even when grossly wrong. C:) Ethereals steal essence from Heaven when they create religeons that are blanket lies created by their own warped minds. They are in effect nervosas by ignorant humans who seek to impse themselves on other men...Uriel understood this. D:) They encourage laziness of mind and body (see my above example with the ethereal female and her unnatural caresses) E:) They have no natural lifespan but how long humans belief in them...what greater proof God did not give them immortality do you wish!? All creatures self aware were given immortality by God but Ethereals do not have it and thus are not self aware....theres is a duty to be forgotton once their purpose is done. II:) Ethereals are creations of Hell Beleth was the Archangel of Fear and thus her purpose was to craft terrors that humans were to face and overcome thus strengthening them by removing her fear. Thus all ethereals who are created for such by the human psyche are left unattended to prey and indeed are encouraged to do so by Beleth! A:) Blandine so concerned about Beleth and her precacious ethereals did nothing to curb the proliferation of ethereals on her side because Beleth did the same, a dangerous action to mirror a demon Prince. Uriel stepped in because his word encompassed mental purity...he was fufilling a need that I pray every other angel would do for me should I become so grossly lax! B:) Laurence has already read off the litany of crimes the selfish ethereals have made and the stealing of souls is no small part of it. Some have said we punished the innocent ethereals and souls in the process but I decry this that every soul serving the Ethereals lost their chance at a destiny because they were too twisted by their masters to hear the true word of God which would have led them to such as much as any pseudo-teaching of Zeus! Cry also for King Arthur, your beutiful Eolwyn but spare some tears for King David who adultered like Arthur's Lancelot with his Guinevere in beutiful Bathsheba but REPENTED unlike they! REAL FIGURES! REAL STORIES! REAL INSPIRATION! C:) The Ethereals did not all retreat to Hell, the Loas had the courage to not lie there was a God and to agree to surrender to the truth though it may not survive because of it. Uriel only wanted the lies to stop; Zeus, odin, and the rest refused did it ever OCCUR to you we hunted the worst offenders down in prey these CREATURES would resume their natural place in the cosmos? More mercy than they deserved Loki Midgard Serpent father and King Oberon the architect of his own wife's magical rape deserve I think....demented hallecinations one and all. III:) Uriel was neither insane nor am I This should go without question but like the Nephilim I slaughetered the Ethereals with the Commander of the Host and it was not Blandine, not Novalis, not even myself but a servitor of Uriel who went unto the Commander of the Host's position. URIEL WAS NOT DISSONANT OR MAD EITHER and I spit on you knight for calling my blood brother so, hit me so I may give you the thrashing you deserve. Uriel alone kept his mind clean of the lies that routinely infest so many of us from Khalid to others. No man was more pure for that was his name and you shame all Malakim you cowardly piece of stinking love sick for your Sleeping Tower Woman offal spineless softrock Laurence! his Discord and madness would be on US if it were true. Slug! A:) Uriel did this deed because despite monotheisms aid in eradicating such entities like Bridget who dissapeared despite being given the honor of SAINTHOOD which boils my blood but because the Ethereals had the power to dictate angels lives and the morality of the land in lieu of their awesome might No angel could rip free a young faithful stone child daughter from her father's funeral barge or rescue a child from being devored alive by the Rain God or even speak of the true god without being "corrected" by their patron god. To give you the freedom to act and mortals to learn Uriel challenged a thousand superior level beings to combat and by the grace of God slew them all. Save the midgard serpent and my words to Isaiah the Bleeding Heart Seraph and so Human loving that he seems to have forgotton his Choir...I verilly say unto you that Thor's slaughtering the creature was the end of two miserable existences one and all. God's symbolism in the serpent swallowing it's own tail was strong indeed..evil devours evil. If you can label these phantoms of the mind evil and not just parasites. B:) Uriel did the deed to protect humanity and allow them to grow and free in human's mind. Uriel was not a warrior alone but a teacher of law, cleanliness, and devotion. He was a devoted follower of the prince of PEACE of all people! Christianity a religeon I disagree with deeply on many a level (at least in modern context) spoke of turning the other cheek...Uriel did until it was blood red with pain but he did his duty nontheless. C:) Uriel did it because his word willed him too Purity was threatened and God's granted word told him too. I do not know why God withdrew Uriel to the Higher Heavens but I imagine it was because he wished him not to be executed like a common crimminal by his own brothers and sisters in Heaven though I know he would have submitted meekly to it like the christ he loved. I only pray the Tsaydim finish keeping the darkness in check before your scandal and libel weakens the darkness to rise again! - -Charlemagne ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 22:39:42 -0700 From: Tim Groth Subject: Re: IN> January 25, 2001 >Moe, Moe, you're not being *nearly* twisted enough here. You should have >turned the poor barstid into Britney Spears or something. This is a bit of overkill, considering that Britney is already become the poor pawn in an Andrealphus/Nybbas power play. And all the other teen pop sensations are clones of her, or at least updated versions. Each generation is getting more sophisticated, and ripening earlier than the previous one. Soon they'll be able to seed a crop of them and harvest next year. The perfect time schedule for pop hits. - -- Timothy, Angel of Rambling Ofanite of Creation ArchRival of Mathus If you have time to kill, why not kill it at http://ucsub.Colorado.edu/~grothtp/In.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:37:20 -0500 From: "Rolland Therrien" Subject: IN> The Crusade of the Sword. My my my... I originally wrote that "Open letter" with the intention of writing what I felt was Laurence's view of the Purity Crusade, but I accidentally opened a Pandora's Box full of Archangelic Opinions along with that. ...Opinions which sparked my Imagination. ...So I wrote that "Memo" to set up another idea of mine. I'm glad to see the Memo did it's job, and spread a little more chaos into the fold. Janus must be so proud. ...And I'm only now getting to the Good Part... *Wicked Grin* The Crusade of the Sword. It was about two days after Laurence's depature into the mists of the Marches, that the guards at the entrance of Blandine's Towers saw the incoming Ethereals. As per their instructions, they called forth their comrades within the Tower, whether to protect the tower from Nightmarish intruders or to greet Dream beings in need of Health. They were quite surprised, when the Ethereals came within clear sight, and were revealed to be Lord Auberon, his wife Queen Titania, and many of their Retainers. Archangel Blandine was immediatly called forth, as per instuctions, and came before the visiting Faerie and his wife. She was used to meeting with them, and had many times tried to convince them to join Heaven's side, without much sucess, to her dismay. So she was taken aback when Auberon dismounted and walked to her, before falling to his knees and swearing fealty to her, to the Council of Seraphims and to the Laws of God, as per the Oath he made to Sir Laurence of the Eternal City. The other Faeries of Auberon's court followed suit, and asked for the right to establish their new encampments in the shadow of Blandine's towers. Quickly recovering from the shock, she immediatly gave permission, but asked why Auberon and his court were now so willing to join the battle against Hell. Auberon told the story... The day before, a mysterious figure entered Auberon's castle, and openly challenged the lord of the 'Folk, questionning his honor and virtue. Offended, Auberon took the challenge, yet asking what would be the prize of this battle. The Stranger said that whoever lost this battle would have to swear an Oath of the Winner's choosing, which would be carried out, without question and without compromise. Auberon agreed, and drew his sword. The Stranger did the same, and the two began to battle. The Duel between the two lasted for hours, with neither side losing or gaining ground. After a long time, both warriors began to tire, and Auberon tripped, dropping his blade. His opponent didn't take the opportunity to strike at the fallen Fey, however. He simply lowered his blade, bent over to help Auberon back up and retrieved his blade for him, offering a moment of rest before they resumed the battle. Auberon agreed, and called to his servants to tend to both he and the stranger, in return for his actions in battle. The two strangers talked for a moment, the Stranger asking questions about the Fey King about he and his people, questions Auberon was more then happy to ask, though the Stranger declined to answer such questions about himself until the battle was over. And with that, the two warriors resumed their Duel, continuing for many more hours, until finally the Stranger disarmed Auberon and delivered a minor wound, giving the Daoine Sidhe a slight scar under the eye. Dismaid, the Fairie King simply kneeled before his foe, resigned to Defeat, simply asking the Stranger his name. This was when the Stranger removed his cloak, and revealed himself to be Laurence, which many of the Fairies remembered as being a participant in the Purity Crusade, which slew many of their numbers. In an instant, Auberon feared for himself, and even more for his people. The soft words the Celestial would speak next quickly burned away those fears. "It is of the opinion of my fellow Celestials that many amongst you Ethereals are worthy of fighting along side us of Heaven. I have taken grave risks to come out here, into the Marches, to see if this is so. I am pleased to see that The Lady Blandine was at least right about you, Lord Auberon." "What shall you do of us, Angel? What is this Oath you want me to make?" "I wish to repair the great crime done unto you by my predecessor, Uriel. I offer you to join Heaven; to gain Essence for you and your court under the watchful Eye of God, in promoting dreams of chivalry and courtliness." "You offer Amnesty to Ethereals? I thought you loathed the sight of us!" "That was before I learned to know you, to see the Honor that lies within you. Do you still wish to take my offer?" "What do you have to offer us that The Media and Nightmares do not already offer us? They allow us to collect Essence, only asking for a meager Teind in exchange." "If you decide to join Heaven's side of the Marches, you shall not be forced to offer a Teind. What little Essence you and your kind collect shall not be missed by God." "I do not understand... Surely there must be a trick..." "No Tricks. Only one Condition." "What is it?" "You must be Baptized. By Me. Only then will my Servitors know not to attack you, and neither will the rest of the Host." "So you say. What about the Tsayadim? They certainly don't seem to care what Blandine or any other Archangels have to say." "I give you my solemn Word of Honor that you will be unharmed. And I shall personally handle the Tsayadim issue." "... Very well. I hold you to your promise. I agree to your conditions." And with that, Laurence simply rubbed two of his fingers along his blade, cutting them, while looking at Auberon. "Do you Renounce the Works of Lucifer, the Horrors of the Princess of Nightmares, and the Illusions of the Prince of Medias?" "I do." "Do you swear loyalty to God, to Heaven, to the Holy laws of Justice and to the cause of Rightousness?" "I do." "Then by the power invested in me by God, in the name of The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit, I hearby baptize you." And with that, Laurence used his own blood to draw a cross upon Auberon's forehead. A cross that glowed softly before fading away, causing the Faerie King to smile and cry a bit, as if he'd just recieved the Revelation of God himself. ...And, he now realized, perhaps he had. The other Seelie faeries present, seeing that the King was well, decided to take Laurence on his offer and asked to be baptized as well. Before Laurence left them to go to Blandine's Tower, a vast majority of the Seelie host were faithful Christians (at least nominally) and were more then willing to go in Service to Heaven and Dreams. Laurence just went further into the Marches, once more cloaked. By the time the whole of the Host heard this tale, Novalis shed a tear of joy, Michael was grinning like crazy, Gabriel was practically glowing, Yves was chuckling to himself, and Dominic was grumbling as he looked through one of his books, before finally giving up and accepting the fact that if Laurence baptized and recruited them, that officially made them all Soliders of God, Ethereal Nature not withstanding. Michael finally greeted Auberon, welcoming him as a fellow Servitor of Good, and began organizing meetings on what the Faeries could do to help out on Earth and in the Marches, as soon as Dominic finished with his bloody "Debriefings". That would've been the end of it, if not a few days later, another caravan of Ethereals were coming in over the Horizon. This one was a trail of Human-looking knights, in medieval armor, lead by a king who, of course, introduced himself as King Arthur, who immediatly began to repeat Auberon's previous act, and swore fealty to Lady Blandine, to the Seraphim Council, etc. There was a notable difference with Arthur's story, however. They had a coffin with them. The Celestial remains of a Cherub Tsayadim were within it. Lord Laurence had apparantly saved the people of Camelot from being slaughtered by the powerful Celestial. While the two Angels fought, Laurence, nearly in tears, kept pleading the Tsayadim to surrender and return to Heaven. But the Purity-mad Angel kept calling Laurence a Traitor and pressed on, forcing the Malakite to soulkill the Tsayadim. In grief, he barely had the heart to present himself to Arthur's court, offering them the same bargain he'd given the Faerie Court. Fortunetly, the people of Camelot were already Christians in belief, and where thrilled to be offered a chance to truly serve God, even accepting Laurence's request to bring his dead brother home, to be buried with honor. There was a short memorial service for the late Tsayadim, who's remains were buried near the Castle of Purity. But now, while Camelot is being brought towards the shadows of Blandine's tower, all of Heaven wonders what will happen next... Ok, if you haven't figured by now, Laurence has decided to make up for the Purity Crusade by going out into the Marches, to find those Ethereals who are Honorable enough to join Heaven's side of the Marches, and to end the threat of the Tsayadim, even if he has to put an end to their lives himself, as painful as the idea may be to him. So far, Laurence has gone to those Ethereals who're at least open to the idea of Working for Heaven, like the Seelie Court and Camelot (The Ethereals made by the legends of King Charlemagne are next). Soon, however, he'll begin to visit the more challenging pantheons, like the Celtic Tuatha de Danu and the Aesir (they've more or less recovered from the Crusade, being sustained in part by one comic from Marvel...) Meanwhile, things are pretty chaotic in Heaven, what with Michael and Dominic having to get used to working together on a semi-permanent basis. But now, Laurence, once the guy who couldn't even consider the idea of Ethereals working for Heaven, is now actually recruiting them by the Pantheonfull, and now they have to deal with a whole lot of Ethereal Soldiers of God who're just begging for a chance to go to Earth and do stuff, so they can keep their Oath to Laurence AND get the chance to Earn some Essence. And just wait until Hell finds out about what Laurence is doing. The guy's slowly making his way to Beleth's side of the Marches... I hope you Enjoy this little Idea. ;) - -Exit the LoneWolf ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 05:56:47 From: "Jo Hart" Subject: Re: IN> An Open Letter from Laurence > >...but if there's anyone who could justify the Purity Crusade, I believe >it'd be Jean. > and it is very much in the nature of Lightning that when he attacks, he strikes first and strikes to kill. jo _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 23:58:12 -0600 From: "Charles Glasgow" Subject: Re: IN> The Purity Crusade was Right -A Davidian Manifesto - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Phipps" To: Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2001 11:26 PM Subject: IN> The Purity Crusade was Right -A Davidian Manifesto > The Purity Crusade was Right > --A Davidian Manifesto > > By. David > > Fools. [snip] I know David. David is a friend of mine. And you, pal, ARE NO DAVID! I can't *believe* you actually got this much wrong for so long! > and you shame all Malakim you cowardly piece of stinking love sick for > your Sleeping ower Woman offal spineless softrock Laurence! Oh, picking on him behind his back. That's *so* [bleeping] brave. And so very unlike you! Are you feeling all right? Of course, since I agree fully with Laurence's change of heart at the end, if you're going to take offense with those opinions of his then you're going to take offense with *mine* too. So why don't you hop on over to the Groves and say that again to my face? BTW, you're totally ignoring your current duty to help keep Heaven *working together* in Laurence's absence, or did you decide to disobey Laurence's last standing order? Look, if I can suck it up and take orders from the Sword with no backtalk, so can you. And you *will*. Because if Dominic comes after your butt for this, *I'm* not going to jump in to try and save it here! And finally, have you bothered to catch up with current events? Notice some things happening down at the Tower? Happen to check out Heaven's latest bunch of Soldiers? And have you *heard* just how badly Nybbas and Beleth are eating out their livers in sheer frustration right now? Or the stroke Kronos damn near had? Demon Princes are quite the reliable set of parameters. If it makes 'em genuinely miserable, it's something we ought to like. And right now they are in *ten* kinds of panic down there, according to all my various sources. Damn, I am prouder of Laurence than ever. I *salute* what he's doing out there. Laurence, if you're reading this, just ignore the naysayers and keep on soldiering because I'm with you on this all the way. If you need a hand, just ask, we're all standing by. I'll make *sure* of that. > No angel could rip free a young faithful stone child daughter from her > father's funeral barge or rescue a child from being devored alive by the > Rain God or even speak of the true god without being "corrected" by their > patron god. Ex-CUSE me, but what part of "Stomp the bad, work with the good, and don't alienate the neutrals" did you not understand the last thousand times I said it? *Stone isn't immune to basic strategic necessities*, David! *Nobody* is! For the last time -- slaughtering things blindly and by broad categories is *Baal's* Word, not any of ours! Or Magog's! Or Belial's! And as far as all your 'factual' points as to why the Purity Crusade was such a good idea? Factually incorrect, the whole lot of 'em. Listen to me and hear the Truth on that. Flaming Wheels in the sky, how many eons has it been since me, Dominic, Novalis, *and* Blandine all agreed unanimously on something? Isn't that a *hint*? I know you're stubborn, but you're not *stupid*. [snip] > Uriel did the deed to protect humanity and allow them to grow and free > in human's mind. Check out the benefit of hindsight, David. It *DIDN"T WORK*. I can understand you not catching it in foresight, but *nobody* has an excuse for missing something in this blatant and long-term a hindsight. Your word is Stone, David, not Blindness . Stone stands strong and unmoved in the name of God because it stands on ground that's worth fighting for. A Stone standing firm in the wrong place isn't a help, its a hindrance. If it gets big enough, it's an obstacle. And bigger yet, it's a disaster looking for a moment to happen. So *get over it*. Uriel was wrong, you are wrong, and Laurence and all the rest of us are right. And until you do get over it, I'd like to remind you that the current acting chain of command has you on one of the *lower* rungs. Care to question *my* good judgement when it comes to forces command or military strategy? Or accuse *me* of "going soft"? Didn't think so. Archangel Michael, Acting Commander of the Armies of God assigned to Earthly missions (and first among equals under pretty much any set of circumstances in Heaven) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 01:48:53 -0500 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: IN> Seed: Jean, Blandine, Beleth, and/or Vapula Well... pick from Column A, or Column B, but preferably not both. ;^) In other words, this adventure(with different objectives) is designed for an angelic group containing Dreamers and/or Jeanites, or a demonic group containing Servitors of Nightmares and/or Technology. Ethereal characters could help or hinder either, as could any mortals in the mix, as usual. Naturally, the stages need not be taken in linear order. It is a matter of what the PCs do and know. Stage 1 can easily be skipped for a shorter game - -- merely assign the PCs to the team and hand them the known information. It's best to being in Heaven in this case, so the choice of routes forward isn't biased by already being in one realm or the other. The purpose of this adventure springs from a line I tossed into a post earlier on anime In Nomine. Honestly, I think Jean and Blandine should understand each other a great deal more than they seem to. Both of them deal in large part with the human mind. Reason and dreaming are different, but much more alike than either of these and virtually any other Word save perhaps Judgment. Yet their opinions of each other are cold at best, and Blandine is Hostile to Jean. I don't like this; the Archangels of the human mind should be able to find common ground, hence this adventure. (Its suitability for Beleth/Vapula players is an afterthought.) Stage 1: Discovery (Corporeal) In a city of some significant size, possibly major, sightings of unusual occurrences have increased dramatically. Investigators find an area where items -- some of them bizarre -- appear and disappear, seemingly at random. This may occasionally include teammates. The volume affected is up to the GM but should include at least a city block. The sightings and disappearances are enough to make note in public news sources but not enough for mundanes to suspect any supernatural activity. If the PCs check out current events, they will find no major unusual events in the recent past. Among the usual miscellany, a scientist of some note (Dr. Raymond Thibodeaux) has died, apparently of natural causes. It may have been a robbery, since some of Dr. Thibodeaux's equipment seems to have disappeared. (Ethereal) A fixed dreamscape has appeared in the Marches. This is almost a contradiction in terms. Nevertheless, it is in sight of both Towers and seems to stay positioned almost exactly halfway between the two, which is as close to a fixed position as you can get in the Marches, other than the Towers or ethereal Domains. If PCs investigate the dreamscape, they will find it easy to enter, and within to be a coma-like dreamscape of very solid reality, although objects will flicker in and out of existence, as will people that would fit in the major city which, though nearly unpopulated, seems to form the background. No sign of the dreamer himself, nor of activity by the Other Side. Stage 2: Joining Forces If the PC team contains only one of the types listed for their Side, a lack of immediate information or more pressing current concerns should cause them to report the incident as standard. After a remarkably short delay, they are reassigned to investigate more thoroughly. Joining them will be Servitors of the other group. Alternatively, the other Servitors may be encountered "by chance" while investigating. Also, if they show no signs of going until they have figured out the mystery, have the other team show up. Each side should find it in their interest to share the information they have found, so that the PCs now know all of the information from Stage 1. Don't force it; if the PCs keep their secrets the mission will not be impossible. It's somewhat in character, of course, since the denizens of the Marches will often think the others hidebound rationalists or geeks, while the more scientifically-oriented may consider the others flighty and unfocused. Stage 3: The Keystone There are several avenues of attack. If the PCs know about Dr. Thibodeaux, they may suggest investigating his apartment. Anyone who has seen the dreamscape will instantly recognize the local cityscape, and its boundaries. The dreamscape itself will be centered on this apartment, if someone thinks to locate these boundaries from the Marches. Careful analysis of the sightings and occurrences(most likely to occur to the scientific types) will reveal a linear increase in frequency of reported sightings and dis/appearances in a roughly circular pattern centering on a particular building, where speaking to residents will certainly mention the recent death. Entering the apartment(which will require breaking in corporeally, or simply entering the unlocked door if entering the Marches) will reveal to the PCs' awareness the locus of a Tether, one to the Marches(with potential for Dreams, Nightmares, Lightning and Technology). A piece of cutting-edge technical equipment will flicker in and out of "existence," as will celestials, ethereals, relics, talismans, and the city population outside the windows. The GM should carefully note the underlying pattern -- though they seem random at first, in fact, the apartment is such a strong Tether locus that these people and possessions are moving back and forth between the Marches(with unpopulated streets) and Earth(with the standard population), seemingly at random. When the PCs are on the Marches side, they see the piece of equipment and anything or anyone else on that side, while the PCs on the Earth side see only items still on Earth, and not the equipment. Succeeding in a Will roll will fix a celestial(although not his possessions) on one side of the Tether or the other. A simple investigation of the apartment on either side will find clues leading to the following information: Dr. Raymond Thibodeaux was a physicist and computer scientist who taught at a local University, and seemed respectable in his field of frontier computing hardware, although by no means renowned. Dr. Thibodeaux's wife Allison, a psychologist and neurologist, died several years ago. He has kept her possessions, like her diaries and professional notebooks, in good order in the bedroom and living room. The two of them were doing joint research on AI. Just after she died, work stopped, then restarted. Any examination of this work by someone who is skilled in any of these areas will reveal its accuracy and depth. Any perusal of the later work, done by Raymond on his own, will give different impressions to different readers: Dreamers will notice a substantial increase in speculative material which reflects the Marches oddly. Jeanites will notice detailed discussions of increasingly hypothetical constructs which begin to resemble Ethereal Forces. Nightmare Servitors will notice a growing disjointedness and sense of urgency to the work. Vapulan Servitors will notice catch phrases their organization uses. A detailed investigation of the apartment on either side will reveal a small hidden drawer in back of the desk in the study. Within are pieces of a talisman and a relic, along with standard materials that Technology gives Soldiers doing corporeal research. Copies of reports made to Vapula's organization are there, as well as notes indicating that Dr. Thibodeaux was much further along than he reported to his superiors. Stage 4: The Man If the PCs stay for substantial time in the apartment, or disturb the equipment at all, a couple will appear at the door to the apartment. They will act as any normal humans would upon seeing strangers in their home -- whether the celestials are wearing unusual ethereal icons will be irrelevant. They will be hostile, although the woman will be more afraid. Players are pulled into the Marches, although a city population appears outside the window. The male is, of course, Dr. Raymond Thibodeaux, now a dreamshade. He refers to the woman as Allison, and she responds in kind. She does not understand what is going on and seems to see the celestials as humans in her apartment. The apartment's environment will immediately become more mutable and unstable. Any object upon which Raymond fixes his attention will be held in the Marches, including players. Common dream effects will occur as if he is the dreamer -- when he threatens to call the cops, he is at the phone instantly, and the police arrive immediately thereafter, and so forth. He will not take any violent moves personally, but if attacked will defend himself. He will demonstrate a high level of the Lucid Dreaming skill, enough to be a formidable opponent. The PCs have a few options at this point. If they fight, the Tether *will* echo Disturbance on its corporeal side, should they damage any human-seeming object! This may get celestials from the Other Side involved, which will up the difficulty quotient considerably... in all stages below, add conflicts with Servitors of the other side who may have different goals entirely. Dr. Thibodeaux and the police (automatically on his side) will together form a considerable suite of opponents. Damaging Dr. Thibodeaux or the technical equipment will cause the entire dreamscape to "shiver" and inflict Mind Hits equal to the damage caused, to everyone inhabiting the dreamscape. PCs who attempt destroying either Dr. Thibodeaux or the equipment may succeed -- but automatically reduce all inhabitants of the dreamscape to 0 Mind Hits. (It will also end the adventure, save for Allison's existence -- see later sections.) If they try to talk to Raymond about what is going on, Raymond will send the woman into another room and will ask the PCs to, regardless of their other intentions, leave her out of it. He will ask what they are and what they are there for. His story, which he will believe to be true, is that he has been living in happy wedded bliss with Allison since they were married, doing research. He will deny knowing about the War, and stare blankly at any evidence presented. The dreamscape will move toward Nightmares. If the PCs humor Raymond and get on his good side by some means -- acting as if they believe his story, expressing an interest in his work, complimenting his wife, or apologizing for their entrance will do -- Raymond will relax and the scene will become more homey. The dreamscape will move toward Blandine's realm. They may talk for a while, about his work and sundry matters, and learn about his personality. Raymond is a relentlessly rational and scientific man, and will say he refuses to believe "some nonsense about angels and demons," although Seraph resonance or a close body language reasding will get uncertainty from him in this declaration, and he may betray signs of awareness every now and then. Allison, on the other hand, is an almost idyllically lighthearted and laughing lady, constantly speaking of the subjectivity of the consciousness experience and the instability of the senses, indulging in flights of fancy which Raymond listens to with fondness. He will, however, ask the intruders to leave his apartments soon. If they do not, he becomes hostile. Return to the scene after entrance. If the PCs retreat or otherwise leave, they can see from the Marches side that the dreamscape will return to its neutral position in the Marches, and from the Corporeal side that the locus has strengthened. Regardless of the circumstances under which the PCs left the Tether, its activity will have increased considerably; movement of people and objects across the Tether will increase noticeably. Ethereal beings will be attracted and begin to appear to perceptive humans when within the boundaries of the Tether. However, they cannot take corporeal form unless they have enough Essence, and objects of dream will fade if removed corporeally from the boundaries of the Tether. Stage 5: New Orders It's time to decide what's going on, and what to do about it. Some considerations when receiving orders from ranking officers in the organizations: Jean accepts any human invention as integral to the Symphony, and much of the Drs. Thibodeauxs' work came before Raymond joined any infernal organization; while not a breakthrough, it does lay considerable groundwork in the direction of the equipment. He will want the situation resolved and the underlying material studied. Blandine will not appreciate the Marches intruding on corporeal reality, an echo of her Dissonance Condition. She will also want Allison's "status" ascertained, whatever that means. Beleth will want the Tether destroyed, but will want to know how it came about. This latter will be Vapula's *sole* objective in the matter, and if the organization is contacted they will be able to inform the PCs of Dr. Thibodeaux's status as a Soldier of Technology with a sixth natural Force, who was of uncertain status -- he seemed too uprightly optimistic to be really trusted, although some low-level information on Force physics was imparted to him, nothing he really should have been able to use without Sorcery abilities, which they might have offered later as greater infernal temptation. In short, the Fantasists and the Rationalists are going to have to work together to get the jobs done that their superiors want. Stage 6: The Next Step When the PCs re-enter the dreamscape, they will be immediately transported to the Marches side if not already there (although the difference is growing less distinct) and confronted by Allison. She will be troubled about the previous day's incidents, and will have been kept in the dark by her husband. She wants to know what is going on. If examined subtly, Allison will be noted to be made up of all three types of Forces. She is not subject to Raymond's Lucid Dreaming abilities, rather the opposite -- anything she focuses on holds its position and the environment around her seems stable. She believes she is Allison Thibodeaux, although if research was done earlier a funeral, complete with body, was well-attended and reported on. She knows everything one might expect about her life, especially her life recently. She believes she is an inhabitant of a normal metropolitan area, although she will refuse to pass the boundaries with a nervous glance. An attempt to *force* her out, with Songs e.g., will bring Dr. Thibodeaux running immediately; however, it may also succeed, without damage to the dreamscape. If so, Dr. Thibodeaux will be despairingly furious. Initiate combat as above; Dr. Thibodeaux is virtually suicidal, but unaided by officers. He is likely to lose, with the resultant consequences, unless the celestials restrain themselves and retreat outside, in which case things wil return to calmness and he will not seem to remember; loop to beginning of Stage 6 again. Otherwise, Allison will listen to the PCs' explanations, and invite them back to her home. As they pass through the dreamscape, odd scenes will appear on the streets, both idyllic and horrific, which Allison will rationalize if pointed out to her. Those skilled in Psychology or Dream Interpretation, or merely regulars of dreamscapes, may realize that Dr. Thibodeaux is reliving memories of his life with emotional twists to them, becoming more internalized. Mundanes who see these from the Corporeal side will react appropriately. The city will begin entering a state of confusion in the area. If the PCs react to any of the scenes, note whether they act selflessly or in some self-serving way, rationally or fantastically; Allison's behavior may begin leaning in this direction. With Allison beside them, the PCs will gain peaceful entrance to Dr. Thibodeaux's apartment. He is worried about Allison, and about his equipment, over which he seems to be obsessing. From here on out, completing the adventure to the best ending for one's side will require *both* points of view. The Rationalists must realize the physical effects occurring. Apply any skill the GM thinks might be useful -- Physics, Theology, Electronics, Computer Science, Psychology, or many other skills might work. An analysis of the technical equipment, even to someone not familiar with the specs (this is everyone except Dr. Thibodeaux) will reveal that it is breaking down if one passes any Electronics or Computer skill checks. Dr. Thibodeaux must be made aware of at least one of these pieces of information by someone who can speak to him in the coolly rational way to which he is accustomed -- he will dismiss talk not based in a specific skillset as "flights of unreasonable fancy." Furthermore, they must be able to explain the basics of his situation as a Dreamshade. He will not necessarily buy this, and insist that he and Allison are real, as will she. The Dreamers must be able to get Allison to realize the unusual dream effects occurring. Something beyond any rational version of Earth mut be shown to her, something she cannot rationalize, but can sense and believe. Displays of celestial powers may be able to achieve this. She will react well to someone capable of working in the style of the fanciful oratory she enjoys. Dr. Thibodeaux will try to keep her rational; he still subconsciously remembers that he was a Soldier of Hell, even if in name only, and is ashamed and does not want his wife to know. At worst, if the increasing number of unusual occurrences about does not convince her, she is vulnerable to attack on why exactly she does not want to venture beyond the boundaries, or to a demonstration of her own innate Essence Control. If Allison admits she is not on Earth, and Dr. Thibodeaux realizes that his situation is finite, he will grasp at one last straw. He will believe that Allison is the soul of his dead wife returned to him by his experiments, and will refuse to leave her or give the celestials anything they want, in the belief that they will separate him from his wife once more (he firmly believes that she is in Heaven and he is going to Hell). The only way to convince him is to produce explicitly contradicting evidence, and he will say so. This is possible: the PCs must go back to the corporeal apartment (they can do so with a simple Will roll, if they think of this). Among Allison's corporeal things are her diaries, professional notebooks, and a few sealed letters she wrote. Dr. Thibodeaux does not know what is in them, and neither will this version of Allison -- who only knows what Raymond knew about her. If the PCs cannot think of this or some equivalent measure, they must work together in a combined effort -- Rationalists with knowledge of Celestial workings and Fantasists with knowledge of the Marches must convince one or the other of the pair that Allison cannot possibly be the returned soul of a dead woman. Faced with this evidence, Dr. Thibodeaux will yield. He accept his final judgment; the dreamscape will fade; the equipment will return to the corporeal realm and power down; Allison will remain, independent of the dreamscape. If he remains unconvinced and begins to get annoyed at the celestials' efforts, the dreamscape will simply begin to disintegrate as he slips into obsessive madness. Dream scenes will begin slipping about, possibly beginning to affect the sanity of nearby persons in the city, whether horrors of nightmare or euphoric rushes of emotion. If the GM decides the PCs have failed, the dreamscape collapses completely and Dr. Thibodeaux heads to his final judgment; all PCs in the dreamscape at this time are reduced to 0 Mind Hits with all the accompanying effects. If Allison is left alone or not convinced to join one side or the other before the PCs lose consciousness, she becomes an independent operator. Stage 7: Closure The notes and equipment: these items will admit of examination by either side's Rationalists, to the tune of a substantial reward from the Rationalists' Superior, *if* the equipment is in good working order. Otherwise, the notes are worth a minor reward. Allison is an independent ethereal being. She honestly believed her origin story, and only upon exiting the dreamscape will she be fully aware of her nature and environment -- she was created by Raymond's experiment, and the real Allison is wherever she went. Her attitude towards Heaven and Hell will depend on her treatment by Raymond and the PCs and the side the PCs are on. Since Ethereals with scientific skills are rather a rarity(and after ten years of marriage and close collaboration, Raymond knew enough about Allison's fields to implant in this version skills sufficient for a decent B.S.), Dreamists who can bring Allison to their side will rate a reward from their organization, and possibly punishment from Beleth if they are Nightmare Servitors and lose her. Blandine will merely regret her choice if Fantasists lose her to Hell. Dr. Thibodeaux's final reward: Among the reasons Dr. Thibodeaux was capable of becoming a dreamshade was that neither his Destiny nor his Fate was yet fulfilled, but they still could be! If Allison chooses Heaven and the notes and equipment fall into the hands of Heaven, he has achieved his Destiny - to create a pious, idealistic Ethereal, advance Heavenly knowledge a mite, and create at least a small bond between two Archangels who are otherwise at loggerheads. If Allison chooses Hell and the notes and equipment fall into the hands of Hell, he has achieved his Fate - to create yet another embittered, spiteful Ethereal in a position to aid Hell, advance Vapula's dream of further understanding the cosmos, and forge a link in a possible chain binding the two Demon Lords of the inner mind. If only one of these happens(Allison dies, or the notes are destroyed), the other event chooses his reward. If neither happens, he reincarnates. If celestials from the Other Side manage to gain a partial victory, choose which side seemed to gain more - in case of difficult choice, he reincarnates. If he reaches either side, he will arrive almost immediately, and be quickly reported to the appropriate Superior, who will reward his own servants involved. ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2033 ******************************** The material here is (C) 2001 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All rights reserved.