The Seven Lovely Sins

by Elizabeth McCoy

Author's Note: Despite being couched in In Nomine terms, this organization is quite portable to other settings. All it requires is a powerful, frequently ruthless, and likely corrupt group that meets on a regular basis and rotates the people responsible for organizing the party. Players can be members of the group, their security, their enemies, or random bystanders (innocent or not) who get caught up in events. Adventure seeds and suggestions for some other genres follow the In Nomine ones.

Just as Malakim have their Eighth Virtue (see You Are Here), so do Lilim have a floating "party and family reunion," called, traditionally, "The Party," "The Family Reunion," and, most formally, "The Seven Lovely Sins."

The Seven Sins, unlike the Eighth Virtue, is decadal -- it's generally held about every 10 years (give or take a year for extenuating circumstances). Also unlike the Eighth Virtue, there are traditionally seven organizers. This is not a hard and fast requirement, of course, but it is traditional: with that many people on the "ConComm" -- as the Vapulan Daughters often call it -- private grudges are less likely to be settled by a sister with too much power. ("Oh, you haven't gotten that little Discord problem settled? I'd never have gotten the All-Oyster-Buffet arranged if I'd known you were still . . . sensitive. I'm sure you'll stop hiccuping pearls soon.")

Organizing the Seven Sins is both a status job and a pain in the neck, depending on a Lilim's personality and current jobs, tasks, and Geases. Some Lilim seek the job out, while others get stuck with it via a well-placed Geas or unofficial debt that they owe someone else.

The responsibilities of the organizers are assigned with formal wording. For example, saying "Tabitha will take Lust, while Lillian is Sister Gluttony" doesn't mean that Tabitha is a Lilim of Lust, and Lillian a Servitor of Haagenti -- it just means that Tabitha is in charge of providing the entertainment while Lillian has to get the refreshments set up. Naturally, if there are not seven Lilim on the committee, some will have to double up.

It should also be noted that the Seven Lovely Sins committee is supposed to arrange the event with the maximum amount of favor trading and the least amount of actually paying for things. It's considered gauche to write a check -- unless the money was acquired via favors, that is. There's no penalty, per se, for using mundane means to set things up; if you get caught doing that, your sisters will just laugh at you for a few decades and make snide remarks about "the sister who has to work for a living."

Other Bands, or humans, are permitted to attend if they are in the company of a Lilim. Princes and Princesses are naturally permitted to go where they will, Lilim date on their arm or not. Hell's lesser nobility might or might not get in -- it's said that when a Duke of the War attempted to crash the party, he was ejected by the Princess of Freedom herself. It's also rumored that Lilith once brought an incognito Archangel Marc to a Seven Lovely Sins gathering . . .

Non-Lilim are, however, definitely second-class guests (unless they're Princes). They're likely to be shooed off to the bar while sisters "do girl talk" -- i.e., deal-making -- or quietly auctioned off as gigolos or courtesans to Lilim siblings. In general, the Seven Lovely Sins is one of the few places outside the Guildhall in Hell where Lilim are in the majority. And Lilim like it that way. There is no stigma attached to coming unattended.

In deference to the longer duration of the hiatus between Family Reunions, most of them will last two to three days. (One was arranged at a hot-springs resort and lasted a full week, each day with entertainment devoted to one of the traditional seven sins!)

A typical Seven Sins will draw anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred Lilim, depending on location, duration (not everyone stays the full time), and who got invited. The more sisters there, the more status accrues to the organizers, provided it's not a total disaster with angelic raids.

The Organizers' Titles

The following three are the minimum that a Seven Lovely Sins event is deemed to require.

Gluttony: Responsible for catering and one of the simplest of the duties. Sometimes the location of the event gets designated to Sister Gluttony. (If there's no Sister Covetousness or Sister Envy, Sister Gluttony is expected to be the "neutral party" of the Seven Sins.)

Lust: Responsible for providing any live entertainment (male strippers are popular, no matter how much the Tempters claim they only attend to keep in touch with their sisters), and often the location of the event. (If there's no Sister Pride, Sister Lust usually handles check-in as well, unless Sister Wrath isn't feeling overworked.)

Wrath: Security. Sister Wrath organizes bouncers and any other security measures required. She may handle check-in, in the absence of a Sister Pride, if she thinks she can handle it and her other duties. Typically, it's passed off to Sister Lust.

The following are not as vital, but make things easier.

Sloth: Since Lilim need a place to lay their heads (or at least a private room for private deals) for the two to three days the Family Reunion will last, Sister Sloth is in charge of finding a location. Superficially the easiest job, this is complicated by the "pay no money" ethic. Rarely, Sister Sloth will also handle check-in -- if she's bribed enough.

Covetousness: This Daughter is responsible for "holding the pot," either literally if there is actual gambling going on, or figuratively if there are any deals made which require a neutral third party. If she's arranged for a full gambling room (with cards, dice, roulette wheels, etc.), then she's expected to share duties with Sister Wrath for security and spotting cheaters.

Pride: Ironically, Sister Pride is the catch-all gopher for the group. This puts her either in the role of "Cinderella," running around doing the scut-work, or provides a wonderful opportunity to get her sisters owing her unofficial favors. Or both. She handles check-in at the Reunion proper, and is expected to provide little tokens which can be kept as souvenirs (a cross between event badges and party favors).

Envy: Sister Envy is primarily responsible for communications between the organizers, and being a central source of data for the Sisterhood as to the whereabouts and date of the Seven Lovely Sins this decade. (The latter is often delegated to Sister Pride.) Her duties also include making sure that the other Sisters are providing the basic requirements of entertainment, refreshments, and housing. At the event proper, she's the primary coordinator and Lilim to go to if something goes wrong. (If there is no Sister Covetousness, Envy is also deemed responsible for being the neutral party.)

In Nomine Adventure seeds

Demonic

Either, or Both

Angelic Seeds

Other Adventure Seeds

Crossovers

These are In Nomine crossovers, pitching humans -- or other beings -- into the divine and infernal War. It can be played for horror quite easily by emphasizing the inhuman abilities and mindsets of the beings involved. Do they shoot someone who purrs, "You needed to do that; remember I let you kill me"? Do they fire and fire at a slender beauty queen who Just Keeps Coming And Doesn't Die? Does someone vanish from a locked room when their back is turned? Alternatively, it can be played as suspense, comedy (best in a one-shot), or a deliberate introduction for a crossover campaign as Soldiers. (Which doesn't really rule out the horror potential . . .)

Variants




Article publication date: November 28, 2003


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