in_nomine-digest Friday, July 19 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2710 In this digest: Re: IN> David, the Demon Prince of Unity (Background) Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued Re: IN> The Halo Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word Re: IN> The Halo Re: IN> The Halo Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... Re: IN> The Halo Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued Re: IN> The Halo Re: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued Re: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) RE: IN> The Halo Re: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 20:22:44 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN> David, the Demon Prince of Unity (Background) This is so Dark it hurts. And not in a good way. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 20:36:16 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... >From: "vez o'rama" >Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >Subject: Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... >Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 20:53:23 -0300 > >>http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine/heretics/NovalisC.htm >> >>It's rough draft: comments are welcome. :) >> >>Moe > Wow... Mom as the Commander... and I thought Eli as Commander was whacked. Very cool. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 20:40:50 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors > > You have just made my day... > > Truth be told, I think that the Honorium should be -BRIGHT-. > > Not merely glowing, but SHINING. Angelic comparisons should >PALE in light (heh, funny word that) of what the Honorium truly is. Really? > > Honor beyond reproach. Righteousness beyond rightness. > > And in a way, they all, directly, represent and follow the legacy of the >Lightbringer himself. Lucifer, after all, was perfect, was he not? And >what better way to emulate his perfection than to follow his path beyond >reproach, and -choose- to turn from the Light? Hmm... I never thought to take it in that light. Heh. Light. > >Kamika-Z, who bet they'd be Lilith's favorite new amusement... > > > >_________________________________________________________________ >MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: >http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 16:53:10 -0400 From: "S.D." Subject: Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... >>http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine/heretics/NovalisC.htm > >Wow... Mom as the Commander... and I thought Eli as Commander was whacked. >Very cool. Bah, I'm waiting for someone to write up Kobal, General of Hell's Armies. ^^ On another note, I *like* this one. Not quite as much as Laurence-the-Mercurian, but it's still really interesting...any chance of Princely opinions on Commander Novalis? (At least, say, Baal and Andre? ^^) ~S.D. Ryukage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...roses scent my footsteps in peace...brambles pave my way in war..." Shizumaru, Child of Wood, 'Through a Mirror Darkly' (I think I've used this before, but really, is there a *better* quote for a thread about Commander Novalis?) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:27:42 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued I originally was also going to add the power that Honorium are not affected by Heaven's Light- they can walk in the Eternal City with no problem, but considered that may make them TOO powerful. Anyway, to continue the history write up, along with a few quick Superior attunements I had... In Hell, there are currently 9 Honorium. 4 serve Dark Humor, one of those being Eclipsis, who is a 17 force monster and a Duke of Dark Humor. In addition, there is also 1 serving the War, 2 serving Fate, 1 "serving" Freedom, and one last one serving the Game. Honorium of Dark Humor: For 3 essence, they can make any angel suffer the Malakim dissonance conditions for anything the angel swears to do. Even if the angel says "I promise" they WILL take dissonance if they break that promise- even if they didn't mean it. This will last for Check digit hours. Honorium of the War: These Honorium can force there terrible honor onto anyone they are fighting with for one essence, often evening the playing grounds for the Honorium. They love, -LOVE- to do this to Malakim. It often makes their heads get all explodey. Honorium of Freedom: None- but they are in definite favor with Lilith. Rumor says though... that she tells her Honorium to keep an eye on Laurence... because she doesn't want him to Fall. Honorium of Fate: These Honorium are absolute HORRORS in combat. For 6 essence, they can make check digit copies of themselves for the duration of the fight they get into, at which point the copies vanish. (Sort of like the Fugue advantage from GURPS...) Honorium of the Game: Oh God, RUN. These demons get to add their celestial forces to their resonance roll when they are checking someone out for... inconsistancies, but only if on order to. You see, if the Honorium suceeds, they will know immediately if the target has been dishonorable to Hell in some significant way- and thus are alomst fool-proof rebel detectors. Also, every Honorium serving the Game is required to take the Vow "I will destroy myself/turn myself in if I decide to rebel or go Renegade." _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:56:36 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN> The Halo Wow. That is an awesome idea. Sounds good for only a very mature party though. Maybe a long lost ability? I like it as a minor-choir resonance the most. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:59:54 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word >From: Kanako Otaku >Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >Subject: Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word >Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 20:37:26 -0700 (PDT) > > >So if we accept the idea that the symphony gave her > >the word, does that > >imply it's the angelic word? There weren't any >Lucifer->granted words, > >back > >before The Fall, after all. > >I've always held Lilith and her Word to be more of a >neutral element to In Nomine. She's not really evil, >nor good. As one of my PCs put it "Lilith is the >eternal rebel, if Hell wins, she'll side with Heaven's >left overs. If Heaven wins, she'll start a new Hell. >Why? Becuase she will always be fighting to remove the >status quo, since she sees it as something that >restricts freedom." I always held that idea also. In one of my projected campaign ideas (a loooong and painful one...) a very powerful alien Superior gains Lilith's aid by granting her a neutral celestial realm which operated as his base of operations also, in his campaign to banish God and destroy Lucifer. Lilith should be respected... she is what humans could have been if not for Lucifer, which should scare him even a little. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 21:11:15 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> The Halo > > Version 2: The Halo, innate ability > > The main problem with this one is that the shift in the > vignette wouldn't be a surprise. In fact, the Calabite > would probably do the same thing. Unless you restrict the > ability to angels, in which case you now have to explain > why Heaven hasn't won the War yet. Erm. I'd forgotten about that. See, I'd intended to post *three* versions, but the last two kind of merged as the third version was far too twinkish to even contemplate. My intention here was that, while the abilte is innate, the skill to manipulate is *not*, and therefore cannot be performed unskilled. Few individuals have the courage to tamper so with their soul; fewer still have the ability to do so, and the percentage of those willing to teach it to someone else... Short version: I saw it as an "Eli taught me this wifty new ability" thing, pursuant to what's going on in my campaign, and forgot to explain that to everyone else. Mea culpa. > > Skill: Force Rearrangement > > Nonononononono! This is just too freakin' wrong to even > be contemplated. Why? Because, theoretically, _Humans_ *blink* *blink* I Had Not Thought Of That. *blinks, looks over original post* Okay, at one point I specifically said, "When in their native form, a celestial...", which indicates [to me at least] that the performer must have some way of going celestial before this skill can be used. So while Saints can, in fact, learn and use this skill, strictly interpreted it shouldn't be open to soldiers and animals and suchlike. Excellent munchkin reflexes, however. With a liberal interpretation, I can see your point. I applaud you. *golf clap* > > Unfavorable Interventions should be exceedingly messy. > > Oh, hell yes. So, is loss of those Forces on an unfavorable Intervention too cruel? No no no. Too cruel is when those Forces rip off you, change realms if necessary, and merge with stray Symphonic Forces to form a Celestial of your opposing Choir/Band. With all your memories and abilities. And who looks just like you except for a goatee.... >;) - -- Casca "Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing." --Margaret Chittenden, writer ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 21:25:33 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> The Halo > I like it it a lot. I especially like the variable rules. Is this going to > make it into your game? Slim possibility, though if it does the mechanics will of course be different as I have an unholy combination of IN setting and White Wolf rules. So you might be able to, say, switch points out of Strength and into Intelligence, or from Virtue into Resonance, but this is off the top of my head and I make no guarantees. > Is there any reason that the characters in the story seem to mimic the characters in the game that you run? Oh? They do? Hmm. Imagine that. Sheer coincidence, really. >:) > Bartimeus as a remnant with Malakite of Creation is a SCARY thought. > Although there would be a good job lined up for him as a hitwoman. Bludgeoning someone with your purse until they die does NOT make you a hitwoman. ;) - -- Casca "Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing." --Margaret Chittenden, writer ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 21:37:39 -0400 From: "Eric Bertish" Subject: Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... > Bah, I'm waiting for someone to write up Kobal, General of Hell's Armies. ^^ Nah, Kobal's too busy with his Role as Nyarlathotep to spare the time. - -- Casca "Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing." --Margaret Chittenden, writer ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jul 2002 22:00:48 -0400 From: Robb Kidd Subject: Re: IN> The Halo On Thu, 2002-07-18 at 21:25, Eric Bertish wrote: > Bludgeoning someone with your purse until they die does NOT make you a > hitwoman. ;) Pretty good pun, though. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 23:01:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Kanako Otaku Subject: Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word >she is what humans could have been if not for >Lucifer, Precisely. The whole of In Nomine history would change drastically if even one other human had Lilith's level of power. Also, I think if certain circumstances were different, both Heaven *AND* Hell would be scrambling to get her to work for them, regardless of her nature. Which is precisely what my heretical version of Lilith is. On an unrelated question, how powerful could a kid mothered by Lilith (not a Lilim, a *REAL* human child) and a Grigori (preferabbly Superior level, or close to it) would be? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 03:51:42 -0700 (PDT) From: W S Subject: Re: IN> How Lilith Got Her Word > On an unrelated question, how powerful could a kid > mothered by Lilith (not a Lilim, a *REAL* human > child) > and a Grigori (preferabbly Superior level, or close > to > it) would be? Fear the human born as a Superior. Fear the Nephilim born as a Superior so much more. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 11:47:40 +0000 From: "Fallen Seraph" Subject: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) Ok, it isnt quite the really wierd superiors theme, but it is one thats been lurking on my HD for a while. Its part of my Shadow Cast in Heaven setting, and sits alongside my Azrael writeup. Its dark up there... Marc Mercurian Archangel of The Deal "The world is built on the flow of money, and the trading of favours. Control them both and you control the world" History Marc holds the distinction of being the first Archangel _voted_ into that post. The vote was not unanimous, but a 66% majority did vote for him. this was in no little part because Marc had done his research and identified members of the council who had been even slightly sympathetic to lucifer's cause, and timing his run for Archangelhood to coincide with a bout of paranoia about the fallen, he threatened to reveal their leanings. afraid of being ostracised, many of them swung their votes in his favour. It was not by far the most rotten vote taken by the council, but it was the first rotten vote. Since then, marc has cemented his place in the heirarchy of heaven with threats, bribes, information brokering and by making his services indispensible to all the other heavenly factions. His prime focus however, is on the corporeal, and the aquisition of wealth in the name of heaven (ie, for him). Marc's angels are infiltrated into most major financial and business organisations on the planet, and could, if ordered, cripple the world economy in one night. The threat of the chaos this would cause is part of what he uses to remain in power in heaven, despite opposition from several archangels. Aside from finance, Information is his main stock in trade. He has access to millions of records pertaining to backgrounds, employment, assets, shipping etc. and can find out most information about most people in the first world (for a price). it also puts him in the perfect position to create roles for other archangels, at a standardised tariff dependant on the level and status of the role. Legal finance is all very well, but marc wants more. he is already extending the fingers of his influence into the criminal underworld, and at least two mafia organisations now owe their ultimate allegience to 'Don Marco'. Drugs are still primarily Fluerity's realm, but Marc covets that too. No one seems to be safe from the Depradations of theAngels of The Deal. He is behind a number of rainforest clearence programs, and encourages businesses to open third world sweat shops. He ruins those who oppose him, and _always_ takes a cut out of any deal made in his name. His main enemy on the Infernal side is Lilith. He's never forgiven her for her hand in the abolition of the euro-american slave trade, and he is envious of the power she grants her daughters. Outlook Marc is cold and calculating, but hides it behind an open and aproachable facade. He will always be watching for any sign of weakness, and will note it and exploit it to his advantage as soon as it becomes profitable to do so. He knows that Novalis would sulk if she knew his complicity in the destruction of her precious rainforests, but she is dizzy and easily misdirected by his large donations to her favourite charites. (Of course, his angels are already in important positions in these charities, and much of the money gets redirected back to Deal operations anyway). He knows the dirt on all his fellow archangels, and if he doesnt, it won't take him long to get it. He is of the opinion that when armageddon comes, and the demonic rebels are obliterated, he will have stockpiled enough resources that he can rebuild the world in his image. Until then, he watches, waits, and hordes. Dissonance It is dissonant for a servitor of The Deal to come out behind in a deal. Even coming equal will get them stern looks, although it in itself isnt dissonant Choir Attunements Seraphim -R- If a seraph of The Deal makes a True statement, it will be recognised as True by all who hear it. The Deal's Most Holy take great pleasure in breaking up other peoples deals by revealing loopholes and get out clauses. Cherubim -R- Marc's Cherubim act as bodyguards and enforcers. If a cherub is attuned to someone with whom he has made a deal, and that person breaks the deal, their choir dissonance condition no longer applies, and the attunement Automatically becomes a Nemesis attunement. Misuse of this ability will incur Marc's wrath, but only because he dislikes sloppy Servitors. Ofanim -R- "When do you want it there?" Marcs ofanim are the symphonys best smugglers. Whether its Cuban Cigars into the US, Guns out of Russia, or Angelic propaganda into hell, Wheels of Trade may add their Ethereal forces to any resonance roll involved with circumventing trade restrictions. Elohim -- Divine Marketeers, The Powers of Trade know exactly how far they can push up a price before it is rejected. They are hagglers and barterers par excellence. Malakim -R- Marc's Virtues, experts at greasing the wheels of trade, may use their resonance to determine a persons price: Exactly what, and how much, will bribe that person into doing a particular act Kyriotates -R- When possessing a host, the Domination has access to all the hosts Financial related skills and memories (such as Accounting, or pin numbers, or Swiss bank Account numbers). Enemies of The Deal who value their assets consider force catchers worth 10 times their weight in gold. Mercurians -R- A Mercurian of trade automatically knows if someone he resonates on has ever betrayed someone close to them for money or power, and how recently. Marc uses them as Divine talent spotters and corporate recruiters. Servitor Attunements You Scratch My Back... -- It is well known that Marc is extremely jealous of the lilim ability to impose geases (and as a consequence, of Lilith herself). This attunement works in a similar way, although it is by no means perfect. Since they have no other way to detect the Need, they must negotiate it with the target. If they fulfil the Need, they must then spend essence equal to the level in order to impose the geas hook. When it is called in, the target may still resist, and if successful inflicts soul hits equal to the CD of the will roll + the Level of the geas, along with a point of word dissonance. Marc considers this a fair trade off for the ability. Divine Contract -- As per Canon, save for the fact that the angel is not bound by the contract. If the angel breaks the contract, then tough luck everyone else. Distinctions Vassal of The Deal -- As Cannon Vassal of Trade Friend of Profit -- A Friend of Profit knows instantly the resolve of someone with whom they are making a deal. They know how stubborn that person is going to be in upholding what they want out of the bargain, and thus can more easily tailor their offer towards making profit. Master of Negotiation -- Masters of Negotiation automatically succeed at their resonance checks when resonating on someone with whom they are currently negotiating. They should still roll for CD and Intervention however. Relations Allied: Dominic, Janus Associated: Everyone else except Neutral: Jordi, Azrael Hostile: Gabriel Basic rites: - -- Make more than 100% profit on a deal - -- Spend 4 hours on a trading floor and make a profit - -- Open up a new avenue of trade. Invocation chance: 1 - Marc is always busy with his own corporeal affairs, and hates to be disturbed. He expects self-reliance from his servitors. If he manifests, the Angel had better have a good reason ready. Invocation modifiers +1 - A rolex, bought through your own progit +2 - A boardroom meeting +3 - A deal where more than $10,000 changes hands +4 - A contract that gives a Deal company the right to buy out and Asset strip another company +5 - In the CEOs office of any multinational with assets over $20bn +6 - $50,000,000+ in untracable money (need not be physical) enjoy. - -FallenSeraph "tausend graue Mäuse mit blauen Mäusehäusern" http://www.geocities.com/archangel_nine ICQ: 110193631 _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 05:45:12 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued [twitch!] So much for game balance. These are some realy powerful Attunements. If I handn't already decided that Honoriua should all be NPC's, that would've tipped the scales. ===== Michael Walton, #US2002023848 "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff." -- Frank Zappa __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 05:48:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> The Halo - --- Eric Bertish wrote: > So, is loss of those Forces on an unfavorable > Intervention too cruel? > No no no. Too cruel is when those Forces rip off you, > change realms if > necessary, and merge with stray Symphonic Forces to form > a Celestial of your > opposing Choir/Band. With all your memories and > abilities. And who looks > just like you except for a goatee.... >;) ...but that would look really wierd on Celestials with female Vessels. };> ===== Michael Walton, #US2002023848 "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff." -- Frank Zappa __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 05:56:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) I love the Choir Attunements in this. In fact, the Ofanite Attunement is better than the canonical one IMO. ===== Michael Walton, #US2002023848 "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff." -- Frank Zappa __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:01:42 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued >From: Michael Walton >Reply-To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com >Subject: Re: IN>Honorium, the Warriors, continued >Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 05:45:12 -0700 (PDT) > > [twitch!] So much for game balance. These are some >realy powerful Attunements. If I handn't already decided >that Honoriua should all be NPC's, that would've tipped the scales. Yeah, but remember, these are sketchy and without rulebook attunements I made on a whim. I know they're extremely unbalanced, and plan to someday revise them if I ever get to a roleplaying group. I'd appreciate some level-headed suggestions for attunements, or some more limited, play-balanced versions of the ones I have. When I get lazy and tired, I tend to make horribly powerful attunements as is -_-; As for them being NPC's, heck yeah, I don't trust PC's wth them ^_~ but it would make for a Dark and interesting game to follow the life of a Malakim who discovered the "secret" rose to be a star in celestial life, and then went *PLOMP!* I'd like to think of the Honorium as being an exclusive and secret Band that players can get only if they play their cards just so. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:09:24 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) Wow... well done, and very Dark. This Marc is mean! ;-; I'm interested, what is your Shadow Cast setting like? _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:17:33 -0400 From: "Adams, David" Subject: RE: IN> The Halo > Bartimeus as a remnant with Malakite of Creation is a SCARY thought. > Although there would be a good job lined up for him as a hitwoman. Bludgeoning someone with your purse until they die does NOT make you a hitwoman. ;) No, but walking up to a foreign dignitary in the middle of a crowded subway and eviserating them with the style section of the Washington Post does. How about using the Mcdonalds Happymeal(r) toy to shoot through the cop staking out your employer. The one bad part about it is that with no will or perception you may not notice who the mark is unless you carry a picture of the mark or ask everyone for their name. Bart would pretty much become a living weapon. Take off bllindfold, point in general direction, walk away and pick up later. Although the purse bludgeoning thing is a definite possiblity. In the immortal words of Wilma and Betty "AAAHHHH A masher!!! Asuki saki HA!" followed by a large crashing sound. Dave So what if I intend to spend three days at the beach and write up a couple of stuck in my head Superiors. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:54:14 +0000 From: "Fallen Seraph" Subject: Re: IN> wierd superiors challenge: Marc, Archangel of The Deal (Shadow Cast In Heaven) >From: "Sirea Theyal" >Wow... well done, and very Dark. This Marc is mean! ;-; > >I'm interested, what is your Shadow Cast setting like? > Basically, its an attempt to make IN really dark. its somewhere between Backwards and Pitch Black in tone. Hell is still hell, demons are still evil, and out to take advantage of humanity. Heaven however, is just as bad. a vicious, vengeful, and manipulative Autocratic State with Fascist and Dicatatorial leanings. Sure, humans have free will, but if they don't freely choose heaven, then heaven will make them choose. if they resist, then throw them to the demons. In this setting, Project Silence would be right in their analysis of the threat presented. I've found its best played in an adversarial style, either with demons fighting the host, angels rebelling, or humans desperately trying to defend their freedom. There is light at the end of the metaphysical tunnel however. two major players on opposite sides have made a shaky allience. Eli, because he loves humans and their creativity (this is why he's awol. he's practically an outcast), and lilith, because a) she's human too, and b) if all of creation is enslaved to either side, she fears the word damage will destroy her. They have been slowly seeking allies amongst the remaining Grigori. as a side note, not everyone in heaven is corrupt and dark. Novalis is sweetness and light. she's too sweetness and light however. her care is a smothering one, and she cannot see the wrongness around her. she's also quite air-headed. think Clueless and you wont be far wrong. gabriel is also not quite as dark. She left heaven, partly over the islam debacle, and partly because heaven's practices keep pinging her cruelty sense. her prophetic powers, coupled with screaming levels of dissonance because she cant punish the other AAs, have driven her mad. Should she ever recover her sanity, (as eli is hoping) she would be a mighty ally for the freedom alliance. (those fallen malakim of mine (or yours. they rock btw.) would be right at home here) Check out the Azrael, AA of Death write up on my site for the other fully finished Shadow Cast AA. Theres also a short piece of fiction related to Dominic that i've written, and i'll upload that later this afternoon, along with Marc http://www.geocities.com/archangel_nine/innomine.html - -FallenSeraph "tausend graue Mäuse mit blauen Mäusehäusern" http://www.geocities.com/archangel_nine ICQ: 110193631 _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 11:09:01 -0400 (EDT) From: Ryan M Roth Subject: Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... > > Bah, I'm waiting for someone to write up Kobal, General of Hell's Armies. > ^^ Close, but not quite. :) (PS: this is a trimmed-down write-up; I may flesh it out more later) Kobal, Mercurian Archangel of Laughter Commander of the Host "The world is meant to be enjoyed...we are to guard it so that it may be enjoyed." His elevation was certianly unexpected, but than again, Kobal's career had always been full of little (read: huge) surprises. For instance, when Lucifer began his rebellion, Kobal started out on Lucifer's side. Midway through the fighting, Kobal did the angelic equivalent of janking down Lucifer's pants (quite a trick, really, considering he was in his natural Celestial form at the time). Later on, he explained that he had hoped to stop the Rebellion by making a really big joke so that every one would laugh and start talking to each other. It didn't quite work the way he wanted (Lucifer nearly gutted him), but in the end Lucifer was kicked out and Kobal was still in Heaven, so it wasn't all bad. Kobal spent the next few centuries helping out Eli, Marc, Novalis and most everybody else on Earth; his help was accepted, but always met with a certain 'oh Dear God' undertone. Then the Purity Crusade came and went, and Heaven needed a new commander. God picked Kobal. Kobal claimed to be surprised, but many remembered that Kobal was the second-to-last one to actually speak with God, and wondered anew as to the context of that meeting. Kobal shouldered his new responsiblities with a modicum of seriousness, but the aforementioned 'oh Dear God' undertone was -- and often still is -- quite palpable in the Council chambers. Kobal takes things in stride. He was more than a little overwhelmed at first -- he found that it is much more simple to make fun of command decisions than to actually _make_ them. But his natural talents helped guide him through the rough period, and then allowed him to make stunning advances. After all, we are talking about a being who often would spend centuries maninpulating events and people to culminate in one huge laugh. In the words of Micheal, "Kobal...is by far the most devious b**tard I have ever had to work with. This alone would have earned by approval, but if you had only seen the look on Lucifer's face..." Dissonance Servitors of Laughter must either encourage someone to laugh or prevent someone from stifling the enjoyment of another at least once a day. They can also avoid dissonace by playing pranks on the forces of Hell (as this makes Kobal laugh). Organization Some question whether or not Kobal's servitors have _any_ organization. The way his Servitors operate is rarely the same in more than one case; one time his people will work in teams, another in brigades (fear the Banana Brigade), and other times as consultants with other Words. This lack of consistancy is often a huge advantage; Baal has often been frustrated by the lack of predicability in Heaven's actions. Other times the lack of structure prevents information from flowing to the right people, and tragedy results. So far, Kobal's record is more positive than negative, so there have been few complaints. Still, given the manner in which his mind works, it has been suggested that Kobal has in fact already started Armageddon, and Hell just hasn't realized it yet. Other Word Relations Kobal considers it his duty to keep in close contant with all of the other Archangels. He has realized that proper information sharing is vital to the War, and makes sure that he gets ahold of everything he needs to know. Kobal rarely resorts to pulling rank to get what he needs; it is often simpler for him to manipulate circumstances so that the other Archangels want to do what he wants them to do without him asking for it. One the one hand, the Archangels appreciate being given free reign to support their Words without receiving constant orders from above; on the other, few of them like being manipulated. Kobal and his people don't restrict their manipulations to the Archangels themselves; if this Servitor of X needs to do Y, they are going to make sure he does it, probably by convincing that Servitor that it was his idea. Servitors of Laughter are supposed to be given a certain amount of deference for their Superior's authority; this rarely happens. Still, Kobal's people don't really need such respect -- they get the job done anyhow. As for the other superiors, Kobal finds his greatest support in his fellow Mercurians and in the Archangel of War. Once upon a time, Koabl's Servitors facillitated the Redemption of a certain Calabite of Fire; the now Archangel of Gusto is one of Kobal's most vocal supporters. Blandine, Novalis and Yves also support him, since Kobal's tactics in the War encompass more than just defeating Hell -- Kobal operates to spare humans unnecessary grief at the same time. Of all of them, Laurence is the most hostile to Kobal, for he cannot understand how a general can treat a command as lightly as Kobal appears to. Kobal merely chuckles at Laurence's (frequent) objections to his style. Needless to say, Kobal's people rarely have to look hard for a straight man (or a prink target) if a Swordie is around. Dominic...worries about Kobal: he sided with Lucifer in the very beginning, and every Commander's career has ended with a trial. And Kobal relies too much on manipulation for Dominic's liking. For now, Dominic waits and watches for signs of danger in the Commander. Allied: Eli, Marc, Micheal, Haagenti Associated: Novalis, Yves, Blandine Neutral: Everyone else Hostile: (Dominic & Laurence are hostile to Kobal) As for Hell, it is hard to find a single Demon Prince who hasn't been burned by Kobal's Pranks; the Archangel takes a special delight in taunting and laughing at them afterwards. The only Prince who Kobal hasn't targeted directly at one time or another is Lilith; she is still human, after all, and Kobal would dearly love to have her in Heaven's camp. Rites :Make 10 people laugh at one joke (where no innocents were harmed) :Make 100 people laugh at one joke (+2) :Spend 4 hours admist dozens of people laughing, like in a comedy club :Prank a Servitor of Hell into harming themselves or their goals Chance of Invocation: 3 Kobal isn't particularly difficult to Invoke, as he wants to make sure all important information gets to him. Plus, he always wants to see the end results of his people's jokes. +1 a banana peel, whoppie cushion, or cheap comic novelty item +2 a really good joke +3 a group of 10 or more people laughing at a really good joke... +4 ...that's never been told before +5 the ruins of a Servitor of Hell's plans after it has been Pranked to death +6 The flaming wreckage of a Demon Prince's Tether or plan after it has been Pranked to death ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 15:26:58 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN> Not quite a Just Plain Wrong Contest Entry... Ouch... just... ouch. Never saw that one coming. Interesting concept though... poor Larry ^_^ _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 15:49:20 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed (I figured this might be a somewhat interesting twist for a campaign, even if it is utterly non Canon in anyway.) Angels and demons were never meant to involve themselves with humanity so much. We know this from God having banned everyone from going to Earth after the Eden Experiment. You see, there was a reason for this other than the stunting of human growth. Celestial interference on the corporeal plane is just NOT GOOD for it. It can't handle the constant beatings, and the Symphony, despite being everything, can still get worn down and abused. Angels are just as bad as demons are when it comes to this. So no one saw it coming. Come the turn of the century, everyone could start to hear a gentle groaning in the Symphony... so soft that only the most attentive could hear, and they couldn't even guess as to what it was. Then, the final straw comes. Maybe Legion returns for another go. Maybe a Demon Prince and Archangel die battling each other on Earth. Or maybe a million small events accumulate and "break the camels back". Either way, one day the PC's will be on Earth duty, far from any major Tethers, when they hear the Symphony -SCREAM- and then... dead silence. Then, if they listen very closely, the PC's will hear an odd noise that can be compared to a vacuum filling with air rapidly. Suddenly, the PC's will feel a major PULLING on their very souls, and as if someone turned on a massive vacuum cleaner, they will start flying uncontrollably to the nearest Tether there is, in celestial form. Just as they get there though, the pulling stops and they drop down, and hear utter and complete SILENCE all around them. They will find that they cannot Ascend/Descend, use Tethers, call Superiors, or anything of the sort. The PC's have become effectively earthbound, and are of the very very few celestials that managed to avoid the Purging. *What in the Nine Hells happened?* You see, the Earth got sick everyone. Sick of the disturbance, sick of the interference, sick of anything and everything celestial. So it decided to heal itself. Through means unknown, every celestial and ethereal Tether became a sudden celestial vacuum, sucking up every celestial nearby into Heaven for angels, Hell for demons, Marches for ethereal, and then sealed up. Totally. About 3% of the celestials that were earth at the time remain now, and it is utterly quiet. No one can get to Heaven, Hell, or the Marches from Earth, and vice versa. The planet has decided to take (X) years to heal itself, and now the PC's are stranded with whoever else got stuck down there also... throw a Superior or two in the mix to make it more interesting. The Tethers will open again someday, but nothing anyone can do until then can get them back or forth. (or maybe you can go one way... but not back until they open again) _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2710 ********************************