Let’s learn about Impudites – The Takers, 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
- 0:27 About
- 0:55 Resonance
- 1:28 Dissonance
- 1:48 Manner and Appearance
- 2:36 Game Mechanics
- 4:28 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
They’re the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
Intro
Welcome to Eviliv3 Play, a celebration of my favorite tabletop role-playing games. This 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, Impudites – The Takers, A Band of Demons.
Discussion
You work with them; you live next door to them; some of you may have married them. You think they’re just swell folks. And for their part, they truly, devoutly love the throngs of humanity, and they’re so damned charming that they’ll not only steal the warmth of your heart, but the energies
of your soul as well. The Impudites prefer to live among humans, rather than among the mad and despairing souls of Hell. They truly are people demons.
Resonance
Resonance is both the supernatural power a celestial wields, and their very nature in the Symphony. For the Impudites who know a great deal about the collections of Forces called humans, they understand how Ethereal and Celestial Forces are connected to Corporeal Forces. Providing them frightful control over the ways souls are attached to bodies, and how human souls both generate and spend Essence. They are able to charm almost any creature and suck away its Essence!
Dissonance
Dissonance is what a celestial earns when they fail to follow their nature or Resonance. For Impudites, it is dissonant for them to see humans destroyed. After all, they love them more than other demons. If they kill a human intentionally or unintentionally, they will earn a note of dissonance.
Manner and Appearance
Impudites dress pleasantly and comfortably. They ironically radiate good will and harmlessness. Traditionally, Impudites are gregarious, though not as much as their angelic analogs the Mercurians. They are practiced at working their way into human communities and stealing the Essence from them. If they are ever discovered, they simply move on. They take advantage of Westerners not believing in demons, and thus thrive amid them. In their celestial form, an Impudite looks like their vessel but with leathery wings, horns and a dark halo. They see themselves in the Symphony as singers, front men in diabolical bands, surrounded by adoring human fans.
Game Mechanics
In order to manifest their resonance an Impudite must roll against their resonance to manipulate souls in two distinct ways. Charm and Steal Essence. Both require a traditional resonance roll with a penalty of the victims sum of Ethereal and Celestial Forces. Some Princes will grant bonuses to their Impudite Servants over specific types of souls. Charming people is the simplest way of using their resonance. This ingratiates them to the human, but it does not provide control over them. It lasts for a number of minutes equal to the check digit of a successful resonance roll. This may be resisted with a Will roll. If successful, they will be immune for a number of hours equal to the check digit. Steal Essence robs the charmed victim of Essence. If available, the Impudite may rob as many points of Essence as their check digit. A failed roll means a number of hours they cannot attempt equal to the check digit. The victim may attempt to resist with a Will roll. If successful, and the check digit is higher than the demons, the check digit is the amount of essence the demon loses to the human!
An Impudite may attempt to siphon off Essence from an angelic vessel as well, but it is nearly impossible. If the angel uses Perception to resist, they may realize they are being attacked by an Impudite, and can shut the demon out immediately. If they make their resonance roll, they can try to invoke their Choirs resonance on the attacker!
As you can see, an Impudite can be an incredibly fun and entertaining demon to play, and one that forces humanity to question if demons are actually bad or not. I would highly recommend trying an Impudite 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!