Let’s learn what it means to be a celestial 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
- 0:57 Essence
- 2:09 The Three Realms
- 5:43 Perceiving the Symphony
- 6:59 Resonance and Dissonance
- 9:06 Discord
- 9:52 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
Being true to your nature is essential for a Celestial
Intro
Welcome to Eviliv3, the live media commentary show that answers the question, do you have any autonomy as a celestial? Subscribe if you’re new to the channel, because today we are continuing our In Nomine series with this episode, What does it mean to be a celestial?
Discussion
Being a Celestial is complicated. Not only are you connected to the Symphony like all other beings, but you are aware of it. You can see how your actions reverberate through the Symphony, and hear other’s actions as well. It’s like shining a flashlight in the dark. You have to be careful how you move through the symphony, especially when in dangerous territory.
Let’s take a look at some key aspects of what it means to be a Celestial, so you may better understand its complexity.
Essence
Essence is the energy of the universe, the backbeat of the Symphony. It makes the world go round. All beings possess Essence which can be used to fuel a Song or temporarily increase a Skill. Using Essence can be a bit dangerous as its use reverberates throughout the Symphony like a gunshot. Celestials in the area can hear it. You can neve hold more Essence than you have in Forces, a starting Celestial character has a max of nine , but other Celestials can freely give you their Essence. It’s a way of saying thank you, or giving a gift. Celestials can not combine their essence to perform a task however. You are also able to store Essence in Reliquaries. These are artifacts with varied limits, none may hold more than six.
While every being regenerates an Essence once per day, Angels and good spirits at sunrise, Demons, evil spirits and undead at sunset, and soldiers, humans and other corporeal animals at noon. You can see how Essence becomes an important resource that you should guard jealously. Of course Angels and Demons who work for a Word-Bound Servitor may regain essence by performing one of their rites.
The Three Realms
There are three distinct levels of reality in the Symphony, these are called Realms and they are as follows. The Celestial Realm, Heaven and Hell, the Ethereal Realm, the Marches containing dreamlands, pagan gods and creatures of myth, and the Corporeal Realm, earth. Each Realm has different laws and requires Celestials to adapt to each, manifesting your Forces in different ways.
The Celestial Realm, Heaven and Hell respectfully, has many planes though players may only enter the lowest of them. Hell and the least divine plane of Heaven is where all players hail from and mortals go to when they die. Angels and Demons take their true forms here, informed by their Bands and Choirs respectfully. Most will only very rarely appear here, as the War keps most busy in the Corporeal Realm. A Celestial may ascend to the Celestial Realm from a Tether in the Corporeal or Ethereal Realms automatically, otherwise they must make a successful Will roll. You will ascend next to your heart, but others may follow you with a successful Perception roll. Demons cannot ascend to Heaven, but Angels may travel to Hell if following a Demon. You may return to the Corporeal Realm at whim, but you must have a vessel, except for Kyriotates and Shedim who have minutes to enter a host. You may adopt your Celestial form on earth with a Successful Will roll, but you are insubstantial. You may engage in Celestial combat but no earthly force affects you. Other Celestials cannot automatically see you in your Celestial form on Earth, but they can try to with a successful Perception roll. If you use a Song, Resonance or Attunement, you are automatically seen.
The mystical dreamland of the Marches are the echoes or haunting reverberations of the Symphony. It is composed of a near-infinite number of half-realities separating the Celestial and Corporeal Realms. When you dream, you go to the Marches, and while it’s technically divided between the lands of Blandine and Beleth, it stretches far beyond their territories. There are dreamscapes Angels never tread, where myths wander freely. Humans freely enter the Marches when they dream and Celestials may find them on Beleth’s or Blandines side depending on the nature of the dream. They may shift sides of the Marches as the dream changes as well. Celestials do not dream, their vessel may fall asleep and enter the Marches with a successful Will roll, and upon entering see mortal’s dreamscapes manifested as pools of liquid or floating spheres which can be observed. You must use a Song of Dreams or other Attunement to interact with dreams however. Celestials will rarely if ever enter the Ethereal Realm. There are many Ethereal spirits though most take refuge in Beleth’s realm as the Angel Uriel killed most creatures of myth before he was called to the higher planes of the Celestial Realm. Many of these old gods claim the Abrahamic god rewrote the universe’s history and do not hold him in high regard. Rarely you may enter the Ethereal Realm through a consecrated Pagan temple. Though it does require a sacrifice.
The Corporeal Realm, or earth is where Celestials spend the vast majority of their time, as it is the battleground of The War. Again, a Celestial must have a vessel to manifest on earth. Campaigns may take place at any time in earth’s history, real or imagined.
Perceiving the Symphony
Celestials can perceive the Symphony infinitely clearer than any mortal or even spirit. They can detect minute changes and their actions resonate in the Symphony so others can hear them. Some actions are overlooked, but a major change in the Symphony prompts a Perception roll to other Celestials in the area to detect it. The distance depends on the impact the action has on the Symphony. Some examples are as follows. Each point of Essence spent sets the Symphony off balance. Using Songs creates added disruption, as does entering and leaving the Corporeal Plane. If a Superior appears on the Corporeal Plane it is like an airplane flying overhead, or a train passing by. Damaging and destroying anything from objects to humans affects the symphony. After all, animals and humans are a part of the fabric of the Symphony. The average distance that one can perceive the disturbance is equal to the perception roll’s modifier in yards, times their Celestial Forces. This echo lasts for a number of minutes equal to the roll modifier. Your check digit will tell you how much you know about the disturbance. Though you will not know what type of Celestial caused it.
Resonance and Dissonance
Celestials Resonate with the universal patterns of the Symphony, both beautiful and terrifying. It’s not just how they perceive and manipulate the world, it defines their very nature. Infernal resonance acts through demon’s Will, reflecting their ability to manipulate the world around them. Divine resonance acts through an angel’s Perception, reflecting how they attune themselves and perceive the Symphony.
A Celestial’s resonance is defined by their Choir or Band. To invoke their resonance you need to succeed in a Perception of Will roll respectively. Since your resonance is your very nature, it doesn’t disturb the Symphony, unless Essence is used. It is easier to oppose demonic resonance than angelic, but ultimately it comes down to who the target is and how strong they are. If a demon fails his resonance, it may lead to notes of dissonance. Angels traditionally have no downside other than being unable to use it again for a time.
A celestial must act as their resonance dictates. Failure to do so breaks the celestial balance that connects them to the Symphony. This loss is called dissonance. Each choir, band and Superior has requirements that are different in bringing dissonance. Angels who are dissonant may become Outcasts, unable to ascend to Heaven, and use Rites and rituals of their superiors. If this pattern continues, they may fall completely and even become a demon. For a demon, dissonance leads to discord, the painful fracture between their evil soul and the Symphony which can manifest physically.
Each act of dissonance requires an immediate d666 roll to determine the result. This is traditionally done in private. This is the one time you want to roll high, over your current number of dissonance notes. There are ways of removing dissonance, like spending time in a Tether, assisting its Senescal. Sacrificing 10 Essence once per adventure, or acquiring a Discord for three notes of Dissonance.
Discord
Finally, let’s talk about Discord. Discord is the visible reflection of a Celestial’s disharmonious nature. It may be on his vessel, mind or soul. Discords are rated from one to six in severity, and will affect how you regain Essence. You will need to roll one die and you will need to roll over your Discord level. If successful, you have coaxed an Essence from the Symphony. The repercussions of going against your nature is severe! You may be censured, shunned, punished or killed outright for acquiring one. Only a Demon Prince or Archangel can remove Discord. You are seen much like a leper is to humanity with them. So do your very best to avoid it if at all possible.
That covers the basics of what it means to be a Celestial. I will be delving even further into the game mechanics, and the three realms in future videos.
Outro
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And as always, remember that evil spelled backwards is live, so get out there and Be Evil!