Let’s learn about the Superior: Belial, Prince of Fire in the tabletop role-playing game In Nomine. In Nomine is a role-playing game designed by Derek Pearcy and published in 1997 by @Steve Jackson Games. You can learn more on the official website here: http://www.sjgames.com/innomine/ or the Wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Nomine_(role-playing_game). You can buy In Nomine products here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12199/Steve-Jackson-Games/subcategory/28908_30775/In-Nomine?affiliate_id=50797
Time Stamps:
- 0:00 Intro
- 0:31 About the Superior
- 1:28 Dissonance
- 1:50 Band Attunements
- 3:36 Servitor Attunements
- 4:13 Distinctions
- 4:58 Relations
- 5:12 Basic Rites
- 5:34 Chance of Invocation
- 6:18 Outro
About In Nomine
Written by Derek Pearcy + Illustrated by Dan Smith
Edited by Jeff Koke, Steve Jackson, and Susan Pinsonneault
Cover art by John Zeleznik (first printing) and Christopher Shy (second printing)
In Nomine is a modern roleplaying game in which the players take the part of celestial beings – angels and demons – as they struggle for control of humanity and themselves. The celestials, powerful though they may be, are merely pawns in a much larger game being played by their Superiors, the Archangels and Demon Princes. Based on the best-selling French RPG by the wonderfully diabolical Croc!
In Nomine won the Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1997.
Transcript
Cold Open
The world is burning – like the ovens at Belsen, like the eyes of a madman, like the heart of the Prince of Fire.
Intro
Welcome to In Nomine, a celebration of my favorite tabletop role-playing games. This In Nomine YouTube channel is a sister channel to Eviliv3. Subscribe if you’re new to the channel, because today we are continuing our In Nomine series with this episode, Superiors: Belial, Prince of Fire.
Discussion
About
Belial, a Calabim Prince of Fire knows that if you’re not fire, you’re fuel. He would rather let the whole world burn, before admitting defeat. Belial rarely makes personal appearances unless absolutely necessary. There is rumor that The Adversary limits Belial’s power, for fear of treachery. Belial takes himself very seriously. His vessels are alway strong and built, hating weakness. And while he dresses well and affects sophistication, he is always armed and very dangerous. All of his servitors smoke, if for no other reason than to carry a lighter. He was a faithful servant of Gabriel before the fall, but Lucifer promised him the word of Fire, and Belial couldn’t resist. Balial represents the literal power of fire, its destructive nature. The rivalry between Belial and Gabriel is legendary, which filters down to their servitors.
Dissonance
Dissonance is what you earn by acting against your very nature. When serving a prince of Hell, they may also grant you notes of dissonance for acting against their self interest. For Belial, it is dissonant for a demon to be burned by their own fire. This is a metaphor, for whenever a servitor of Belial is wounded by their own schemes, they earn a note of dissonance.
Band Attunements
Servitors of a prince are offered Band attunements, and servitors of Belial are no different. Balseraph’s are the only non restricted band attunement and can instantly heat up any metal object, no heavier than their total forces times 10 in pounds. It doesn’t ignite anything or melt, but is too hot to hold. This can be used up to their Corporeal Forces in yards away. Djinn may brand a victim with the dark symbol of his name. The demon is permanently attuned to the victim, which doesn’t count against their possible attunable targets. The only way to remove this is to cut it out, an inch on either side and a half-inch into the flesh. The flip side is that other celestials may use the Celestial Song of Attraction to hunt the Djinn down! Calabim are able to double their check digit on a successful resonance roll, and they don’t disturb the Symphony with it! Habbalah are able to bend their resonance to instead make the subject believe they are on fire with a touch. This lasts for a number of rounds equal to the demon’s Corporeal Forces. Lilim add their Ethereal Forces to any attempt using their resonance to geas someone into mayhem or destruction. Shedim are able to possess flames–one square yard for each force they hold. They control the form, and may direct its consumption, even refraining from burning something in its midst. And finally Impudites may add their Corporeal Forces to their resonance to charm or steal essence when in the presence of fire. The fire must be within a number of feet equal to the demon’s total forces.
Servitor Attunements
If you serve Belial, you may be awarded a Servitor Attunement. The first is incendiary. This allows the demon to ignite anything or everything consumable within a radius of 6 plus their Corporeal Forces in feet. It costs 2 Essence and doesn’t cause any damage until the second round, inflicting 1d of damage every round afterward. The second attunement is Firewalker. This makes the demon immune to the effects of flames, and able to heal lost body hits, no greater then their Corporeal Forces, by touching flame once per day!
Distinctions
Especially favored servitors may be awarded Distinctions by Belial. Knight of the Infernal Furnaces imbues the demon with the knowledge of the ambient temperature within eyesight. They are able to see in the dark as well, by the heat emanating from objects. Captain of the Eternal Fire allows the demon to snap their fingers and ignite a fingertip. This is akin to a lighter, and flames never block their vision. And finally Baron of the Demonic Brazier. This rank turns the demon immune to the destructive power of heat, not just flames. In fact, they are able to pass this ability to others with a touch, a number of times equal to their Celestial Forces.
Relations
Belial is not allied to any other Demon Prince. He is associated with Baal and Vapula. He is hostile to Andrealphus, Haagenti, Kobal, and Valefor, but he has no enemies.
Basic Rites
Belial does offer some basic rites to his Servitors, in order to regain Essence. They may immolate six humans, not necessarily all at once, they may spend an hour resting in 120 deg heat. And they may spend half an hour in 250 deg heat, but they must be immune to fire to leverage this rite!
Chance of Invocation
Belial, like other Princes, is loath to be summoned against their will, and has a base chance of 1. However there are some modifiers which may help raise that chance. The demon may have a match on their person, they may be carrying a charcoal briquette, have fifteen gallons of gasoline, a can of napalm, start or be in a forest fire, or start or be in a skyscraper on fire.
As you can see, Belial and his servitors are a fire waiting to start, and he may be the perfect choice as a prince in an incendiary campaign where you want to make the world burn. I would highly recommend playing a servitor of Belial in your next one-shot or campaign.
Outro
Thank you for watching today’s In Nomine episode. Subscribe and ring the bell if you are new to the channel. Don’t forget to click the like button and comment to let others learn about this award winning role-playing game and this channel.
And as always, remember that evil spelled backwards is live, so get out there and Be Evil!