Let’s learn about the Superior: Laurence, Archangel of the Sword 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
- 1:28 Dissonance
- 1:44 Choir Attunements
- 3:01 Servitor Attunements
- 3:34 Distinctions
- 4:06 Relations
- 4:24 Basic Rites
- 4:38 Chance of Invocation
- 5:10 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
Keep yourself finely honed, and never cease to be vigilant when hunting the Diabolical.
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, Superiors: Laurence, Archangel of the Sword.
Discussion
About
Laurence wasn’t always an archangel. He was elevated after Uriel, his former Superior, was recalled to the higher celestial realm for slaying all of Earth’s remaining creatures of myth. It’s a tenuous position being a supreme commander of God’s army on Earth. Not only do his servitors have to keep up with their own missions, whenever another angel begs for help, they drop what they are doing to assist. Laurence needs to not only keep the peace among other Archangels, without threatening their power, he also has to remain steadfast, not budging an inch when threatened.
Laurence is a Malakite, and honorable to a fault. He appears on Earth as a skinny man with long, black hair. He is the youngest of the Archangels and a real phenomenon in a fight. His primary responsibility is the training of Soldiers and assigning and coordinating missions against the foe. He is the patron of Christianity, believing it should be the sole religion of humanity. He is only backed by Dominic in this belief however.
Dissonance
Dissonance is what you earn by acting against your nature or your superior’s Word. For servitors of Laurence, you will earn dissonance for disobeying the word or spirit of his orders. He believes in rigid discipline and holds his troops to demanding precision.
Choir Attunements
All of Laurence’s servitors are fighters, questers and demon hunters. The Choir Attunements he grants them reflect this mission. Seraphim are able to tell at a glance if those they face in battle are good or evil. Cherubim’s attunement is restricted. They may utilize their natural resonance of attunement with anything they can see rather than touch. Ofanim are able to move an extra agility times two in yards when in corporeal form, or perception times 2 in yards while in celestial form. Elohim’s attunement is restricted. They can feel the emotions of those people in their vicinity as well as those in the past, equal to their Celestial Forces in hours. Malakim’s attunement is restricted. They are the most honorable fighters, and may add their Ethereal forces to the check digit of a successful resonance roll. Kyriotates attunement is also restricted. They are bound into the vessel of a warrior who died a meaningless death before finding their destiny. They continue their life as a Role, and they must maintain this vessel, in addition to their normal myriad of vessels. And finally Mercurians are able to read an opponent’s body language in order to avoid being struck. They can add their Corporeal Forces to their Dodge skill, or to the roll’s check digit!
Servitor Attunements
Servitors may purchase additional attunements at character creation or be granted them by Laurence. These include The Blade Blessing of Laurence. This allows the angel to apply a divine edge to any blade by touch. You spend 3 Essence and gain power +5 for the next number of combat rounds equal to the angel’s Celestial Forces. The other servitor attunement is Hunt. It grants the Servitor the ability to unerringly track any being they have fought. They can keep track of a number of opponents equal to their Ethereal Forces.
Distinctions
If you serve Laurence well, he may also grant you Distinctions. The first is Vassal of the Sword. This allows you to remain serious no matter the provocation, and can judge others’ seriousness. The next distinction is Friend of the Lord’s Troops. This allows you to judge the courage of another, and whether they are going to crack. The final distinction is Master of the Armies of God. This allows the angel to state a refusal so adamantly that it actually discourages the reiteration of the proposal.
Relations
While Laurence is careful to leverage his role in Heaven against the other Archangels, there are some that Laurence finds hostile. This includes Eli and Novalis. Laurence is associated with everyone else, and is allied to David, Dominic, Jean and Michael.
Basic Rites
There are a few basic rites that Laurence grants his servitors, in order to regain Essence. These include slaying an evil creature, spending a whole night hunting your prey, and spending four hours resting in an armory.
Chance of Invocation
It is pretty easy to summon Laurence with a base chance of invocation of 4. However you can further improve those odds by holding a practice sword, having a book of military precepts, wielding a high quality sword, ordering a group into battle, holding a fine sword engraved with the Lord’s Prayer, or having a sword blessed by the Pope.
As you can see, Laurence is a warrior’s archangel, and if you want to run a combat focused player or campaign, I would highly recommend including Laurence as a 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!