in_nomine-digest Sunday, July 21 2002 Volume 01 : Number 2712 In this digest: IN>Reign of Fire Re: IN> The Halo - And the Horn. Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed Re: IN> Animal Crackers Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed IN> Judgement and the Game Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed Re: IN> Animal Crackers IN> I've had a bit of a go at the skills system Re: IN> Judgement and the Game ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 19:52:58 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: IN>Reign of Fire (WARNING, MAY HAVE QUASI-SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE) I saw Reign of Fire a little while ago, and I have to say, it was satisfactory. It wasn't very deep, it wasn't well written, and the acting was decent. But you know, it was a darn GREAT movie about dragons and killing them. That said, I wondered what kind of world RoF would be compared to In Nomine. Either the Ethereals became powerful enough to slaughter Heaven, or were dormant for so long that they had enough essence to do a mass slaughtering. On the other hand, the movie taken itself could be a Nybbasian plot to enhance/decrease evil ethereal dragon power. Cause in the movie, dragons were shown in a rather deadly light. If nuclear power and such couldn't kill them... then again, the movie did have gaping logic holes, but it was about killing dragons. Ah well. What would be your take? _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 20:54:22 +0000 From: "Perry Lloyd" Subject: Re: IN> The Halo - And the Horn. >Each Horn contains the Forces of the demon who was used to make it, and is >theoretically a kind of living artifact. Or maybe an undead one, since no >Horn has ever been "unpacked" again, and the doner demons can't be contacted. >Halos are general items that Archangels may bestow upon Servitors; Horns >required Andrealphus' agreement for some time before he was pressured into >granting one to a Servitor of Technology. (Vapulan Horns may have other... >side effects.) whirrrrrrrr *cough cough* sorry ... Of course, Baal would likely take a demon, bind a sort of permanent armor into its forces and then warp them into such a diabolical artifact. That'd be neat - living armor. Oh, wait, that's been done before; never mind. Of course, it wouldn't have to be a horn, eh? I can see Kobal making hand-baskets that look like impudite/human heads (open the top of the skull to access the storage area - easy, efficient and trendy!). And /hats/ keep coming to mind, specifically bowlers. Dunno why. - -Perry perrylloyd@hotmail.com pl312993@oak.cats.ohiou.edu http://www.geocities.com/perrylloyd/ "And that's the hardest thing for a human being to do - be wrong. Do you know that people would rather die than be wrong?" - --from A Matter For Men by David Gerrold _________________________________________________________________ Rejoignez MSN Hotmail, le plus important service de messagerie http://www.hotmail.com/fr ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 19:31:46 -0400 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed >> >>At 3:49 PM +0000 7/19/02, Sirea Theyal wrote: >>[...] >> >also... throw a Superior or two in the mix to make it more interesting. >> >>Say, Gabriel, Eli, Saminga, Kobal...? O:> > >Actually... who would be most likely to be corporeal at the time? Dominic >and Eli for one... ugh. Dominic and Eli. And Gabriel. THAT would get ugly, >fast. Among Archangels, probably Eli, Gabriel, and Khalid (with a lesser probability of Dominic) would be corporeal. Creation, Faith, and Fire would make a kicka** team of Archangels on Earth duty, in my opinion. For the Demon Princes, I'd imagine Andrealphus would be most likely, followed by Haagenti and Nybbas (pleasures of the flesh, and all that), with a lesser probability of Asmodeus for the same reason as Dominic. Toss him out, I'd say, and let Lust and Greed tighten their partnership with The Media. Let the old-fashioned sins get worshiped on the tube! Now, the biggest hostilities here are going to be between Eli and Andrealphus, though Khalid has serious problems with The Media. Gabriel and Haagenti would be the wild cards -- would Gabriel help the others out? If Eli attacked Andrealphus, would Haagenti lend a hand or seize a chance to further his inroads on Andre's turf? And, of course, is Lilith anywhere about...? Since I haven't mentioned it to the original writer -- I love this setting. Good way to snip off the bits of the IN universe you don't want, and leave reality underlying it. Plus, if you want them back, simply let the Earth heal. William ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 16:32:18 -0700 From: Kish Subject: Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed "William J. Keith" wrote: > > >> > >>At 3:49 PM +0000 7/19/02, Sirea Theyal wrote: > >>[...] > >> >also... throw a Superior or two in the mix to make it more interesting. > >> > >>Say, Gabriel, Eli, Saminga, Kobal...? O:> > > > >Actually... who would be most likely to be corporeal at the time? Dominic > >and Eli for one... ugh. Dominic and Eli. And Gabriel. THAT would get ugly, > >fast. > > Among Archangels, probably Eli, Gabriel, and Khalid (with a lesser > probability of Dominic) would be corporeal. Lesser probability? Dominic always has at least one Corporeal Vessel. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 17:43:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Walton Subject: Re: IN> Animal Crackers But what about the prize? Surely there's a prize in the box... };> ===== Michael Walton, #US2002023848 "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff." -- Frank Zappa __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 03:12:44 -0400 From: "William J. Keith" Subject: Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed >> Among Archangels, probably Eli, Gabriel, and Khalid (with a lesser >> probability of Dominic) would be corporeal. > >Lesser probability? Dominic always has at least one Corporeal Vessel. Does he? I know he checks up on his Servitors weekly, but I didn't know if it was continuous. I never got the impression that he spent much time on the Corporeal other than checking on Servitors. The three major ones I mentioned are ones who have spent so much time on Earth that they're known for it. (Yeah, having the War fought by Heaven's exiles -- that'd be enough to give Dominic fits.) Of course, a while back I proposed that *every* Superior would not only have a Vessel, but in fact have a Role/6 at any time, which an instantiation had lived from "birth", just in case it was necessary to arrive somewhere without dumping 20 points of Disturbance onto the Symphony, or to do something so on the sly that even a Servitor would be a security risk. But that would make this whole scenario less interesting. ;^) William ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 10:20:38 +0000 From: "cassandra benner" Subject: Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed >Of course, a while back I proposed that *every* Superior would not only >have a Vessel, but in fact have a Role/6 at any time, which an >instantiation had lived from "birth", Which wouyld mean you'd have some almost remnantized AA/DP's running round. Sure they're bigger n better than other people, but they dont have all the power a standard AA/DP would have as they are disconected from the source of themselves. They are only multi-tasked fragments. Hmm, i'd say have the whole thing kicked off by a really bad experiment of Vapula. Afterall, science removes the mysticism surronding god and the occult(1). This would be the ultimate way for it to be expressed. Hmm, what would vappy be doing in the corporeal that would cause such a kick off.. >William Cas *Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be Evil.* (1) Occult meant in its proper use meaning "hidden". In Nomine @ http://www.angelfire.com/goth/psyber/i-n.html In Nomine yahoo @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inveritas ADnD forum @ http://www.drunkendwarfinn.co.uk ADnD stuff @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ADandD_Stuff _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 23:10:59 +0930 From: "G N E Z D A" Subject: IN> Judgement and the Game Heya folks :) I was just wondering, has anyone here had any experience playing in an IN campaign involving a servitor of either Dominic or Asmodeus? The group we are running will be consisting primarily of soldiers and saints, with one vampire (unsure yet if he's a 'good' vampire or not, and he's more like the Anne Rice vampires to the cannon vampires), and a balseraph of factions masquerading as the vampire's sire. I was considering being either a Judger or a Gamester, although my character would possibly be incognito, perhaps investigating one of the PCs (prob either demon or vampire). Just wondering what everyone else's experience of those two Superiors was, and if a servitor of either of them would work well in a group (given your experiences), or if it'd be best as an NPC. I'm thinking more an NPC, but still undecided. Milan ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 16:53:50 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed > >Hmm, i'd say have the whole thing kicked off by a really bad experiment of >Vapula. >Afterall, science removes the mysticism surronding god and the occult(1). >This would be the ultimate way for it to be expressed. > >Hmm, what would vappy be doing in the corporeal that would cause such a >kick off.. > That could be another good reason also... the way I planned it to be a kicker, the last event that causes the breaking is one the PC's are involved in, if not CAUSED. Let's see... we have - -Vapula experimenting - -Death/Trauma of a AA or DP or both - -Legion coming back (based of this seriously wacky dream I had...) - -Dozens of consecutive events - -Ungodly amounts of disturbance - -Huge amounts of Angels Falling/Demons Redeeming. Or maybe even a AA or DP doing it, in counter to them killing one another. Heck, basically anything that would make the Symphony keel over and clutch it's stomach. _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 17:01:46 +0000 From: "Sirea Theyal" Subject: Re: IN>Wounded Earth- Plot Seed > >Among Archangels, probably Eli, Gabriel, and Khalid (with a lesser >probability of Dominic) would be corporeal. Creation, Faith, and Fire >would make a kicka** team of Archangels on Earth duty, in my opinion. > >For the Demon Princes, I'd imagine Andrealphus would be most likely, >followed by Haagenti and Nybbas (pleasures of the flesh, and all that), >with a lesser probability of Asmodeus for the same reason as Dominic. Toss >him out, I'd say, and let Lust and Greed tighten their partnership with The >Media. Let the old-fashioned sins get worshiped on the tube! > >Now, the biggest hostilities here are going to be between Eli and >Andrealphus, though Khalid has serious problems with The Media. Gabriel >and Haagenti would be the wild cards -- would Gabriel help the others out? >If Eli attacked Andrealphus, would Haagenti lend a hand or seize a chance >to further his inroads on Andre's turf? And, of course, is Lilith anywhere >about...? > >Since I haven't mentioned it to the original writer -- I love this setting. >Good way to snip off the bits of the IN universe you don't want, and leave >reality underlying it. Plus, if you want them back, simply let the Earth >heal. > Thanks ^_^ it was my idea Pretty much any Superior is valid at the time, but the idea is to not have TOO many of them, else the idea is ruined. The Earth sucked up everyone for a reason, and it won't help to have to many of the Superiors around. Or on the OTHER hand, maybe you can have tons of them, but they all know they have to light-step it more than ever, else they risk something... Very Bad (or maybe the more disturbance you make, the longer it will be before the Earth opens the Tethers again). I'd be a fan of having around 6-7 Superiors max from either side. And remember, the amount of Soldiers of God and Hell far outrank the number of celestials. Suddenly, resources are going to become very precious, and with Soldiers causing no disturbance, tey will be a lot more liked than before. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 13:34:55 -0400 (EDT) From: "Christopher Anthony" Subject: Re: IN> Animal Crackers Michael Walton said: > But what about the prize? Surely there's a prize in the > box... };> Wrong snack, I'm afraid. What you're thinking of is Cracker Jacks Who can resist them? It's a simple conceit - coat peanuts and popcorn, both unsalted, with a caramel-based mixture, and stick them in a lightly-waxed cardboard box. They last about forever, taste great, and are inexpensive: the perfect ballpark treat. Oddly, that's not why people go for them. Inside every box of Cracker Jacks is a "prize". This is typically something that looks inexpensive and flimsy, patterned after toys and games that children will love for about five minutes and then throw away. Servitors of Heaven (and, occasionally, Hell) know better, though: sometimes, the "prize" is actually a simple, one-use Relic, its form fitted to its function (a plastic magnifying glass might contain the Song of Light, for instance). Of course, mortals won't know how to activate them, but they're invaluable to those in the know - - especially since, marketed as they are on the corporeal realm, they can be paid for with Earthly cash instead of Essence. Not every box of Cracker Jacks contains a relic: when the PCs encounter a box, the GM should roll 1d6. On a 1 or 6, the box holds a relic; with any other result, it's just a tasty snack. However, Cracker Jacks are not always sold separately, and the resourceful character can find packages of 6, 12, or 24 boxes. One out of every three boxes in these packages contains a relic - and, as an added bonus, one out of every four relic-carrying boxes is a one-use reliquary, allowing anyone (yes, anyone) who consumes at least two-thirds of the snack to regain 1 Essence. Cracker Jacks (always level 1) Song (random): 3 CP Fragility (Any hit will break it): -2 CP One use: total/4 Total: 1/4 CP per relic-containing box (a package of 12 boxes costs 4 CP) Or: US$1 per box, 6 for US$5 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 20:00 +0100 (BST) From: jgd@cix.co.uk (John Dallman) Subject: IN> I've had a bit of a go at the skills system ((and yes, this was under 10Kb when I checked it)) Extending the In Nomine skills system The IN skills system is good in many ways as it stands; it's quick and simple and matches the 1-6 range of everything else. However, it has some problems in dealing with characters with highly specialised skills. Here is a collection of techniques for over coming this in character design and development. Skills with specialisations Artistry is the canonical example, where the skill can be bought several times for different forms or media. These are written below as Artistry/Public Speaking, Artistry/Calligraphy, and so on. The same notation is used for other skills where this idea can be applied, notably Driving. Large Weapon and Small Weapon also use the same system for different weapons. Knowledge skills These handle "academic" knowledge effectively, but aren't so good for skills that are obviously based on characteristics other than intelligence. Create extra skills This is generally not the best approach. It's very easy to get into a situation where skill dilution discriminates unfairly against skill-based characters, as GURPS has demonstrated across the years. Sometimes it's necessary, but think carefully before doing it. This document includes all the skills from the IN Collection, which are written up at http://www.sjgames.com/in-nomine/articles/skills.html, except where published books take precedence. Add-on capabilities While the basic skills are pretty broad, it stretches credibility to have them include absolutely everything that could be claimed to come under that subject area. For example, a doctor who worked in public health problems would likely be a specialist in epidemiology and the management of mass vaccination programs, subjects where a standard doctor would be at a noticeable penalty. To handle this, the public health specialist would have bought the add-on "Public Health", which allows him to use his medicine skill at full level for these extra issues. Most add-ons cost one point: the example would be written "Medicine + Public Health". A deeply obscure speciality might cost two or three points, written "skill ++ speciality", or "skill +++ speciality". The penalty for trying to use an add-on that you don't know is at least the point cost fir the add-on, and sometimes more, but never worse then your characteristic-based default for the basic skill. Combinations of skills Here, a specialised skill is represented by a combination of two skills, denoted by "Skill & Skill". Uses of the skill will generally be rolled against the lower of the two skills, but this is subject to GM whim. Examples: GURPS skills As a test of these techniques, all the GURPS Basic Set skills, selected Compendium I skills and a few others have been converted: Animal Handling INC skill: Animal Handling, Will or Precision -3 Falconry Animal Handling ++ Birds of Prey Packing Animal Handling + Packing Riding Animal Handling Teamster Driving/Wagons Veterinary Medicine Appreciate Beauty Artistry/Appreciation Artist Artistry Bard Artistry/Public Speaking Calligraphy Artistry/Calligraphy Choreography Dancing + Choreography Conducting Musical Instrument/Orchestra Dancing Dancing (Liber Canticorum, p26) Directing Emote + Directing Musical Instrument Musical Instrument (Liber Canticorum, p26) Photography Artistry/Photography Poetry INC skill: Poetry, perception -2 Sculpting Artistry/Sculpting Singing Singing Video Production Artistry/Video Writing Artistry/Writing Acrobatics Acrobatics Body Sense Acrobatics Breath Control Running ++ Breath Control Free Fall Acrobatics (Free Fall) Juggling New Skill: Juggling, Agility -0 Jumping Acrobatics Parachuting Driving/Parachute Running Running Scuba New Skill: Diving, Strength -2 Skiing Driving/Skis Sports New Skills: Sport, Strength or Agility -2 to -4 Swimming Swimming Throwing Throwing Combat/Weapon skills All Fighting, Small Weapon, Large Weapon, or Ranged Weapon except: Battlesuit Driving/Battlesuit Body Language No translation required by the combat system. Fast-Draw No translation required by the combat system. Style Analysis No translation required by the combat system. Lucid Dreaming INC skill: Lucid Dreaming, no default Meditation Meditation (Liber Canticorum, p26) Armoury Engineering/Armoury Blacksmith Craftsmanship/Blacksmith; Craftsmanship from INC, Precision -3 Carpentry Craftsmanship/Carpentry Cooking INC skill: Cooking, precision -2 Jeweller Craftsmanship/Jeweller Leatherworking Craftsmanship/Leatherworking Mechanic Engineering Pottery Craftsmanship/Pottery Shipbuilding Engineering/Ships Woodworking Craftsmanship/Carpentry Games Knowledge/Games Gesture Treat as a language Sign Language Treat as a language, including Gesture Telegraphy Treat as a language Diagnosis Medicine First Aid Medicine, but at fairly low levels Herbalist Medicine + Herbalist Hypnotism New skill: Hypnotism, Will -5 Pathology (Cops) Medicine + Pathology Pharmacy Medicine + Pharmacy Physician Medicine Surgery Medicine ++ Surgery Explosive Ordinance Disposal Demolition + EOD Forward Observer Tactics + Forward Observer No-Landing Extraction Acrobatics ++ NLE NBC Warfare Knowledge/NBC Warfare Climbing Climbing Fishing Survival Hard-Hat Diving Diving Hiking Running Naturalist Knowledge/Nature Navigation Knowledge/Navigation Orienteering Knowledge/Navigation Seamanship INC skill: Boating, precision -2 Survival Survival Tracking Tracking Accounting Knowledge/Accounting Computer Operation Computer Operation Electronics Operation Electronics Heraldry Knowledge/Heraldry Law Knowledge/Law Agronomy Knowledge/Farming Alchemy Very different from Alchemy (Corp.Players Guide) Anthropology Knowledge/Anthropology Archaeology Knowledge/Archaeology Architecture Knowledge/Architecture Astrogation Knowledge/Navigation & Knowledge/Astronomy Astronomy Knowledge/Astronomy Biochemistry Chemistry Biology Knowledge/Biology, or Medicine for humans Botany Knowledge/Biology Cartography Knowledge/Navigation Chemistry Chemistry Computer Hacking Computer Operation Computer Programming Computer Operation Criminology Knowledge/Crime & Tracking Cryptanalysis Knowledge/Codes Cryptography Knowledge/Codes Cryptology Knowledge/Codes Ecology Knowledge/Biology Economics Knowledge/Mathematics + Economics Electronics Electronics Engineer Engineer Forensics Chemistry & Tracking Genetics Knowledge/Biology Geology Knowledge/Geology History Knowledge/History Linguistics Knowledge/Languages Literature Knowledge/Literature, or History, or Languages Mathematics Knowledge/Mathematics Metallurgy Engineering + Metallurgy Meteorology Knowledge/Meteorology, or Survival for the here-and-now Nuclear Physics Knowledge/Physics Occultism Alchemy, Enchantment or Necromancy, by subject area Philosophy Knowledge/Philosophy Physics Knowledge/Physics Physiology Medicine Planetology Knowledge/Geology & Knowledge/Meteorology Prospecting Knowledge/Geology Psychology Medicine ++ Psychology Research Knowledge/Information Resources Theology Knowledge/Theology Xenobiology Knowledge/Biology Xenology Knowledge/Aliens Zoology Knowledge/Biology Acting Emote Administration Knowledge/Administration Area Knowledge Knowledge/Area Carousing Emote Diplomacy Savoir-Faire & Detect Lies Gambling INC Skill: Gambling, Perception or Precision -2 Intimidation INC skill: Intimidation, Strength or Perception -3 Leadership INC Skill: Leadership, Will or Precision -3 Merchant Knowledge/Merchant Performance Emote Politics Lying Savoir-Faire Savoir-Faire Sex Appeal Emote Strategy Tactics Tactics Tactics Teaching Knowledge/Teaching Camouflage Move Silently Demolition INC skill: Explosives, Intelligence or Precision -5 Detect Lies Detect Lies Disguise INC skill: Disguise, Intelligence -4, or Artistry/Disguise Escape Move Silently (Escape) Forgery Artistry/Forgery Holdout Move Silently Intelligence Analysis Knowledge/Information Resources Interrogation Detect Lies Lip Reading Treat as a language Lockpicking Lockpicking Pickpocket INC skill: Pick Pocket, precision -2 Poisons Chemistry & Medicine Scrounging Survival & Fast-Talk Stealth Move Silently Streetwise Tactics Traps INC skill: Trapping, Intelligence -4 Underwater Demolition Diving & Explosives Ventriloquism Fast-talk ++ Ventriloquism Bicycling Driving Boating Boating Driving Driving Exoskeleton Driving/Battlesuit Motorcycle Driving Piloting INC skill: Piloting, precision -5 Powerboat Boating Vacc Suit Driving/Vacc Suit Opinions? I already know it isn't very cinematic, but there are some characters who want to learn specalised skills... - --- John Dallman jgd@cix.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2002 21:00:02 +0100 From: "Genevieve Cogman" Subject: Re: IN> Judgement and the Game - -----Original Message----- From: G N E Z D A To: in_nomine-l@lists.io.com Date: 21 July 2002 15:42 Subject: IN> Judgement and the Game >Heya folks :) >I was just wondering, has anyone here had any experience playing in an IN >campaign involving a servitor of either Dominic or Asmodeus? The group we >are running will be consisting primarily of soldiers and saints, with one >vampire (unsure yet if he's a 'good' vampire or not, and he's more like the >Anne Rice vampires to the cannon vampires), and a balseraph of factions >masquerading as the vampire's sire. > >I was considering being either a Judger or a Gamester, although my character >would possibly be incognito, perhaps investigating one of the PCs (prob >either demon or vampire). Just wondering what everyone else's experience of >those two Superiors was, and if a servitor of either of them would work well >in a group (given your experiences), or if it'd be best as an NPC. I'm >thinking more an NPC, but still undecided. I've had Dominicans in my game as PCs, and seen both Dominicans and Asmodeans as PCs in other games. I think that they can work perfectly well, as long as the GM puts a few reasons into the campaign -- and the PC is sufficiently flexible as a character -- to avoid any immediate I MUST REPORT YOU ALL FOR TREASON OR EXECUTE YOU reactions. Either GM or PC can usually find a reason for current cooperation with the other PCs, at least for the duration of the current matter. Genevieve ------------------------------ End of in_nomine-digest V1 #2712 ********************************