Let’s learn about the Superior: Marc, Archangel of Trade 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 the Superior
- 1:25 Dissonance
- 1:39 Choir Attunements
- 3:09 Servitor Attunements
- 3:49 Distinctions
- 4:35 Relations
- 5:06 Basic Rites
- 5:30 Chance of Invocation
- 6:19 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 trade, the give and take of day-to-day life.
Intro
Welcome to Eviliv3, the live media commentary show that answers the question, are angels responsible for the state of the economy? Subscribe if you’re new to the channel, because today we are continuing our In Nomine series with this episode, Superiors: Marc, Archangel of Trade.
Discussion
About
Marc invented the concept of a salary. This Mercurian Archangel of Trade completely understands the complexities of the fiscal world. He is well-suited to human understanding, and as such, he and his servants are divine diplomats. These Heavenly negotiators lie only by omission, and only for good reasons! Marc can always be counted on, so long as one reads between the lines and pays attention to the fine print. He understands that commerce has complicated the lives of humanity, but on the other side of the coin, it’s also reduced the amount of violent conflict as well.
And so Marc bears the heavy burden of promoting the abstract concept of currency and managing the divine fortune. He is always dressed fashionably, and is one of the celestial in-crowd. He has only stumbled in times of turmoil when his Word has not been given the proper respect, and the only thing that ever stands in his way are the hoards of Lucifer.
Dissonance
As dissonance is the result of an angel failing to follow their nature, servants of Marc will gain notes of dissonance when they break their word that they have given freely. This is the cost of cheating on a deal.
Choir Attunements
Marc grants attunements to his servants, and most of them are attuned to the abstract structures of commerce and ownership created by humanity. This concept tends to extend into the Symphony. Seraphim’s attunement which is partially restricted is based on their managerial and trader roles. By simply looking into a person’s eyes, they can tell exactly what they will pay for something. Resonance roll failures may also be made within seconds rather than minutes. The Cherubim, being devoted angels of protection, know the true owner of any object with only a touch. Ofanim’s attunement is also restricted. They know the fastest way to get anywhere, with anything. They are the best shippers in the business. The Elohim are divine appraisers. On touch they can instantly tell the market value of an item. Malakim, being the darkest of the angels, are Marc’s espionage agents. They can tell what something means to an individual by looking into their eyes. This lasts for minutes equal to their Ethereal Forces. Kyriotates attunement is restricted. They can automatically enter a host. They will make a resonance roll for the check digit still, and the host may resist with a Will roll. And lastly Mercurian’s attunement is also restricted. They can look back over months and tell how much a person has received and how they earned it.
Servitor Attunements
For those who serve Marc, he offers two special attunements. The first is Divine Contract. The angel may sign one or more people into a contract of their own free will. If they then voluntarily break their word, they will take body hits equal to the amount of Essence in the contract times six! The second attunement is called Head of a PIN. Once a day, a servant of Mark may take $100 out of any ATM or wire transfer, times the Essence spent toward the attunement. The money is in local currency and is manifested by the Symphony.
Distinctions
Of course servitors who please Marc may also be gifted Distinctions. The first is called Vassal of Trade. If they succeed in a Perception roll, they are able to tell exactly what the person wants out of the trade in the long run. They also know exactly where someone is who broke a contract with them from the Divine Contract attunement. The second distinction is called Friend of the Shareholder. This angel may read any agreement in any language and discern any unfairness or escape clause crafted by the creator of the agreement. The final distinction is called Master of Finances. This grants the angel the Fast-Talk skill at level 6, or adds 6 to their existing skill in any financial discussion.
Relations
As Marc works in the abstract structures of the corporeal realm, he has been seen as a diplomat between those who deal with the beauty of celestial abstraction like Blandine, Dominic, and Gabriel, and those who deal with corporeal reality like David, Laurence, and Micheal. Their servants are often at odds with each other and Marc and his servants tend to smooth things over between them. Thus Marc is allied to no one, though he is associated with Janus. And he is hostile to no one.
Basic Rites
There are a few Basic Rites that a servitor of Marc may perform in order to gain extra essence every day. The first is to make a 100% profit on an honorable transaction. The second is to possess an object or document worth more than ten million dollars, for at least an hour, they may gain two essence if it’s worth more than one hundred million dollars.
Chance of Invocation
It is not as difficult to summon Marc as it is some other Archangels, with a base target number of three, but there are some invocation modifiers a servitor may benefit from in the effort. For example, if you were given a dollar for nothing, if you have $100 dollars from three different countries, if you have illegal goods smuggled from another country, if you possess a contract worth one hundred thousand dollars, or a contract worth one million dollars. And lastly if you have the beads that bought Manhattan.
It is clear that Marc and his servitors are the go between diplomats of Heaven, and as such you will inevitably run into them in your campaign, but I would encourage you to try to play one, as it would open up much needed drama and intrigue in a more political or subterfuge drive 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!