Let’s learn about the Superior: Malphas, Prince of Factions 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
- 0:25 About the Superior
- 1:13 Dissonance
- 1:32 Band Attunements
- 3:00 Servitor Attunements
- 3:41 Distinctions
- 4:14 Relations
- 4:32 Basic Rites
- 4:42 Chance of Invocation
- 5:32 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
Each of us is a faction of one.
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: Malphas, Prince of Factions.
Discussion
About
Malphas is a Shedite. He presents himself as an older man, mean to the core. One may ever mistake him for a war criminal or deposed tyrant! This suits him fine for he is used by Lucifer as a diplomat, when the outcome matters. Lucifer likes to leverage Malphas against his Princes as well. As long as they are working against each other, they can’t unite against Lucifer.
Malphas is manipulative with his servitors. They all think they have an ‘in’ with him, as he listens to each and every complaint. In truth, his organization is probably the least effective, as each player is acting against each other. Malphas is never violent and expects the same from his servitors. Inciting violence is good, using it directly is the mark of failure.
Dissonance
Dissonance is what you earn if you act against your resonance, or nature, or your superior’s Word. It is dissonant for servitors of Malphas to go a day without sewing discontent between two people. You can make up for a missed day by doubling down the next, but after that second day, the note of dissonance is permanent.
Band Attunements
Attunements are supernatural powers. At times granted by your superior due to your band. Balseraphs are divisive liars and can make one person at a time take the demon’s opinion as their own for a number of hours equal to their Ethereal Forces. Djinn is restricted, they can make a person who they are attuned, hate any person or object the demon points out for a number of hours equal to their Ethereal Forces. Calabim is also restricted. They can destroy any relationship with a resonance roll. This lasts for a number of hours equal to the demon’s Ethereal Forces plus the check digit modifier. It may be resisted with a Will roll minus the demon’s Celestial Forces. Habbalah can make any person take an unwavering stand on any opinion for a number of minutes equal to their Ethereal Forces. Disagreeing causes a violent response, physical if they fail a Will roll. Lilim is restricted as well. They use their resonance to command the total attention for a number of minutes equal to their Ethereal Forces. Shedim is restricted. They drive away the hosts’ minds entirely, with no need of a Will roll, and they retain their memories. And lastly Impudites is partially restricted. They make a Perception roll to destroy a person’s trust in something or someone. The check digit infers the importance of the trust. Afterward they may steal Essence from them equal to the check digit roll!
Servitor Attunements
There are a couple Servitor Attunements that may be purchased at character creation or rewarded for service. Imbroglio allows everyone in range to take everything said in the worst possible way. A Perception roll may be used to avoid the miscommunication. Its range is in yards equal to the demon’s Ethereal Forces, lasting for minutes equal to the Essence spent. The second attunement is Polarize. This allows the demon to ignite conflict between two people. Essence spent adds to the check digit with results varying from Cold separation for a day to using any weapon handy and attacking each other for 6 seconds!
Distinctions
There are also some distinctions Malphas may reward faithful servitors with. The first is Knight of Deception. This grants the demon the ability to detect degrees of hatred between two people, and intuit its origin. The second is Captain of the Broken Promise. With a touch it allows the demon to know who the target has recently betrayed, and how. And finally the third is Baron of Inner Torment. With a touch the demon knows any painful secrets the victim keeps, including Ethereal Discord.
Relations
Malphas is generally in favor of all princes, but he doesn’t return the affection. He is allied with Beleth and Nybbas. He is associated with Andrealphus and Kobal. And he is hostile to Baal and Haagenti, and an outright enemy of Saminga.
Basic Rites
Malphas does offer a rite to his demons to regain Essence. They must initiate a conflict between two people, and it can be used twice a day!
Chance of Invocation
There is a base chance of invoking Malphas of 2. You may improve that chance with the following: Giving bad directions to a stranger on the street, Leading a blind man astray, convincing someone to betray his spouse, convince an employee to cheat his boss for over 20 thousand dollars, sell illegal arms of at least 2 million dollars value, or involve at least 100,000 people in a conflict.
You can clearly see that including Malphas in your campaign would be perfect for a thriller, mystery or espionage themed adventure or campaign. I would highly suggest giving it a try, as that is at its core, what In Nomine is all about. Espionage is essential to the success in any war. And let’s not fool ourselves, this is a war based 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!