Let’s learn about Habbalah – The Punishers, a Band of Demons 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
- 0:26 About
- 0:44 Resonance
- 1:16 Dissonance
- 1:38 Manner and Appearance
- 2:26 Game Mechanics
- 5:08 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
We’re on a mission, from God.
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, Habbalah – The Punishers, A Band of Demons.
Discussion
Habbalah see themselves as the only true Choir of Angels, serving God where His hand is needed most–the abattoir. This is naturally in contrast to all evidence to the contrary. These demons don’t seem to care what anyone else thinks, and continue on punishing those they consider weak.
Resonance
A Demons resonance is their very nature, and the Habbalah, being fallen Elohim, are no longer beings of objectivity, but rather, the Habbalite is anything but objective. They allow their resonance of emotion to drive them, never questioning its source or effect on others. They can tell what emotions a person is feeling, and what emotion would cause them the most harm. They prefer to choose an emotion that accents their personal symphony, and lets it loose, causing incredible psychic damage to their victim in the process.
Dissonance
Dissonance is acting against your nature, or resonance. For the Habbalite, they will gain a note of dissonance if they fail in their emotional attack. If the victim resists, the emotional whirlwind created lashes back on the demon, forcing a choice. They must embody the emotions created, or suffer the dissonance.
Manner and Appearance
The Habbalah don’t even try to hide their contempt for other bands of demons. They insist that they are angels, even to their fellow demons! Balseraphs see them as Hell’s greatest deceivers. A Habbalite resonates in the symphony as a synthesizer of emotion with punishing feedback loops. When they are on the Corporeal Realm, or Earth, Habbalites are beautiful, sexual beings, rebelling against the androgynous Elohim. They dress their vessels to the max with evocative emotional impact. In the Celestial Realm, their true natures are fully revealed. They appear as mangled, mutilated, tattooed and ritually scarred. It is an understatement to say that the Habbalah are broken and resentful, out to prove to the world that they are not the weak ones.
Game Mechanics
With a successful resonance roll, the Habbalah are able to inflict a powerful emotion on their victim. If they fail the roll, nothing happens. When successful, the victim’s Intelligence or Precision is reduced by the demon’s Ethereal Forces! The Habbalite must choose the emotion prior to the resonance roll. The higher the Check Digit of a successful roll, the more powerful the result. The victim may make a Will roll to resist, and if the successful roll’s Check Digit is higher than the demon’s, the resonance backfires. If the Habbalite does not wish to suffer the attack, they may re-absorb the emotion at the cost of a note of dissonance. Elohim are unaccustomed to the ravages of emotion and are at a disadvantage. Their Will roll is reduced by the Habbalites Celestial Forces.
The following are some examples of emotional effects the Habbalite may inflict. Fury: Whatever the victim is looking at causes an irresistible urge to lash out in anger. This attack will prompt a number of attacks equal to the resonance roll’s check digit, or for a number of minutes equal to the demon’s Corporeal Forces. Sadness: The victim is afflicted with a deep melancholy for a number of hours equal to the resonance roll’s check digit. They desire only to crawl into a cold bed and be left alone. Disgust: The current subject offends the victim, and it cannot be endured. For a number of Days equal to the check digit, they must run away, or if unable, loudly protest. If the object of disgust touches them, they must make a Will roll to resist vomiting. Love: the victim is enamored by the subject. It lasts for a number of days equal to the check digit. During that time, they obsess over it and work out how to be near it. And finally Emptiness: The subject can feel no emotion. They are completely drained for a number of hours equal to the Check Digit. Their agility is halved, and other characters take two actions to his one. This is the most dangerous state for a Habbalite to enter. They will alway earn a note of dissonance when rejected and if the demon rolls three one’s on their d666 dissonance roll, they are relieved of their dissolution and may try to redeem themselves and rejoin the angelic choir of the Elohim.
As you can see, the Habbalah are an interesting band of demons which are able to cause mass chaos, with only slight delusions of grandeur. You may want to give this band of demons a try in your next In Nomine 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!