Let’s learn about the Superior: Gabriel, Archangel 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
- 0:28 About the Superior
- 1:53 Dissonance
- 2:28 Choir Attunements
- 3:42 Servitor Attunements
- 4:15 Distinctions
- 5:12 Relations
- 5:30 Basic Rites
- 5:47 Chance of Invocation
- 6:29 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 energy, hot and fluid.
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: Gabriel, Archangel of Fire.
Discussion
About
Gabriel, the Archangel of Fire’s servitors are fire incarnate. They can fuel the hearts of men and women, and bring joy and inspiration; they can also burn the unwise and unfortunate. Gabriel herself is an Ofanite. She is ancient and inscrutable. While she and her servitors may conduct themselves in an honest and simple fashion, their true natures are complex. She is a perfect celestial. Her celestial and corporeal forms are flawless, taking the female form in recent millennia. She is a powerful and obstinate fighter.
Mentally however, she is a bit unstable. She was present with the creation of Islam and Christianity. She actually recited the Qu’ran to Mohammed! But Dominic declared her heretical as he backed Christianity and tried to have her exiled from heaven. She stormed away a millenia ago and has yet to return.
Her most important duty is to punish the cruel, which she does with vengeance! She was once Heaven’s messenger, but now refuses the role. She is a primal force which can occasionally be channeled, but never controlled. She walks the earth much like a mad woman talking to herself, sometimes screaming, all the while doing her duty to Heaven. Her servitors love her and willingly follow in her footsteps across the hot coals of life.
Dissonance
Dissonance is what you earn by acting against your nature, or your Superiors word. Think of it as Celestial punishment. For Gabriel, you will earn a note of dissonance by failing to punish the cruel. They don’t necessarily need to die, but they must know God’s wrath! Gabriel insists that her servitors punish every human louse they encounter, one at a time. They must feel the fire within a number of days equal to the angel’s Celestial Forces. Any dissonance earned will evaporate once punishment is dealt out.
Choir Attunements
Superiors grant those servitors who serve them both Choir and Servitor attunements. These are supernatural abilities in addition to their Choir abilities. Most of Gabriel’s servitors are attuned to specific kinds of cruelty, which they may detect at a glance. However, details don’t necessarily come through. For the Seraphim, they stalk those who profit knowingly from the suffering of others, or who lie to themselves about being the monsters they truly are. Cherubim burn those who have horribly betrayed someone close to them in the past year. Ofanim are charged with pursuing those who flee justice. They are actually immune to the corporeal damage of heat, radiation and electricity. Elohim are able to sense those who delight in inflicting psychological or emotional pain on others. Malakim are able to encircle their hands with green celestial flames, and burn anything they touch. As a weapon it has a power equal to their celestial Forces and an accuracy of -1. Kyriotates are attuned to people who enjoy inflicting pain on others. Mercurians recognize those who delight in being cruel to themselves. They must prevent them from hurting themselves for a day.
Servitor Attunements
Servitor attunements are purchased at character creation or granted by Gabriel herself. Dance of the Atoms allows the angel to control the ambient temperature in their vision, moving it up or down 10 degrees Fahrenheit for each Corporeal Force they have. This may not immediately kill a person. Smite allows the angel to lash out with a fiery attack on anyone within 10 Yards times their Corporeal Forces, doing damage equal to their Celestial Forces times the Essence used. This fire even bypasses armor!
Distinctions
There are a few distinctions Gabriel may grant a faithful Servitor. Vassal of Fire allows you to strengthen or reduce fire anywhere in sight by thought alone. It requires concentration and covers an area up to ten yards wide. Friend of the Divine Spark allows the angel to amplify a human’s burning passion. The target obsesses over it for an hour each day, lasting a number of weeks equal to the angel’s Ethereal Forces. And finally Master of the Flame of Heaven allows the angel to spend one essence in combat to create a bright flame around their body. It has a radius of 5 yards and lasts until the end of battle or is willed away by the angel. Anyone entering the sphere must make a Strength roll to avoid being dazzled for a number of rounds equal to the angel’s Celestial Forces. This is ostensibly a brilliant light which applies a minus two to all skills requiring Agility or Sight.
Relations
Having walked away from Heaven due to Dominic trying to have her kicked out for supporting Islam at Yves’ request, put the two at odds. So Gabriel and Dominic are eternally hostile to each other. Gabriel isn’t allied to any Archangel, but she is associated with Janus and Yves.
Basic Rites
There are a few basic rites Gabriel offers her Servitors, that they may use to gain essence every day. They may spend three hours near an intense heat source. Spend an hour in intense conflict, mental or physical. Or kill a demon with fire!
Chance of Invocation
Gabriel is more likely than most Archangels to appear when invoked, with a base chance of three. But there are additional elements that may be leveraged to increase that chance. Pray before a fight, clean a piece of metal in flames, hold the life’s blood of a betrayer, be in a tomb of one who died protecting others, be in or surrounded by flames, or invoke her while actively engaged in mortal battle.
As you can tell, Gabriel is not an Archangel to mess with, and she is one that may help round out an already combat or vengeance focused angel for play. I would highly recommend playing an angel with Gabriel as your Superior in your next In Nomine game.
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!