In Nobilis Inside: the core principles of the merged game

[demiurgent]

This is a compiled, basic list of concepts and checklists, with only very small bits of detail to help set the stage. With luck, this will help explain what In Nomine/Nobilis/Dead Inside would look like if I ran it:

It's extremely long, so it's kept behind a cut. Also, it's geeky as Hell, and also kind of dry. But it's a start, for those wondering about the game as I laid it out. For those who aren't interested in role playing games or anything like this... um... hope you win the lottery, dude!

• Core Concept: In Nomine informs the background, though the background is transmuted both by Nobilis and Dead Inside. The core conflict is the War between Heaven and Hell, though it is not the only conflict going on. Understand that while In Nomine is the strongest background inspiration, it is not the standard In Nomine universe or game. In particular, Superiors act far more like Imperators from Nobilis -- their conflicts take them on many realms and spiritual battles and often take place at several points of history at once, and so they are often incomprehensible to their Servitors. Their Servitors execute their will, but have far more autonomy.
  
  
  • There are two worlds going on at all time. One is the human, mundane Real World. The one outside your door. The other is the animistic, esoteric Spirit World, where all things have a fantastic, spirit based explanation. This is the Symphony, and whenever one of these worlds is being paid attention to, the other is just under the surface, playing harmony.
    
    
    • Humans live in the Real World. Free Spirits, the spirits of the world and the like live in the Spirit World. Symphonically Aware humans, who have had their soul cracked, their mundane and human soul drained, and either exist as an empty Dead Inside, been given a partially divine, infernal or ethereal soul in replacement or developed one of their own through soul cultivation (a Soldier), or managed to develop a double soul and command great power (a Sorcerer) can use many gateway points to travel from the Real World to the Spirit World. Because they exist in only one World at a time, the changes they make in either world, though reflected in both worlds, do not cause disturbance or Dementia Anima. Even their miraculous actions seem natural within the Symphony. Symphonically Aware humans who are not Infernal Soldiers can develop their powers through cultivation of their soul -- activities that enrich their own life and the lives of other -- but have to fight the urge to succumb to Vice and listen to the words of their dark Shadow. Infernal Soldiers develop the selfish ichor that has displaced their original souls through revelling in Vice and pursuing the ends of Hell, but are tempted by the siren call of their Conscience and the yearning in their remaining unstained dregs of soul for Virtue.
      
    • Powers, such as angels, demons, ethereals or humans made into Nobles by Aaron's Serpents are not natural to the Symphony. They are natural to Heaven, to Hell, to the World-Tree of tethers and fiberous connections between them, to the anarchic Far Marches and to the Chancels of Superiors. On Earth, their own Symphonic Awareness means they perceive both the Real World and Spirit World at the same time, and may shift from one to the other at will. However, this means that their miraculous powers cause Disturbance, which can be tracked through Spirit Rites and sensed by others of their ilk, and it also means that when they enact full miracles within sight of humanity, humanity gets glimpses of the Spirit World, which can lead to their perceptions getting lost between both, trapped in eternal Dementia Anima, unable to effectively live in either world. All Superiors have outlawed this, and their Servitors must do well not to disrupt the world too much.
      
    • Archangels, Demon Princes, Ethereal Gods and Aaron's Serpants are all Superiors. They possess the most powerful Words, and share the power of those Words with their Servitors (thus increasing the power of the Word in the Symphony directly) even as the Servitors then share their own power with humans Soldiers. Superiors are distant and seem mercurial, whimsical, even cruel or insane, because their war between their fellows takes place in many places at many times. Parodoxically, Superiors touch the lives of humanity through the Words that weave through the Symphony, so Symphonically Aware humans such as Soldiers or Dead Inside may encounter them regularly in the Spirit World as Imagos -- archetypical visions and guides who advocate their Word and their principles among humanity. In these cases, the Superiors may still seem incomprehensible (the term they prefer is ineffable), but they are far more focused on the human's situation.
      
    • God and Lucifer seem to be Superiors even to the Superiors. God is distant and remote, and though his fingers seem to touch all aspects of reality, his presence is rarely known. Lucifer is less than God but far more powerful than any Superior, and his sardonic humor mocks all of life throughout the Symphony. God is the Source of all things, and when angels die or humans tire of Heaven, it is thought they ascend to a Higher Heaven which is that same Source, to become one with God. This is Destiny, the embrace of the Soul-cultivating activities of selflessness. Lucifer, on the other hand, staves off his own collapse into the Void of nonexistence below him (where it is thought destroyed demons and human souls that can no longer bear Hell slide into) by dragging more and more humans into the soul destroying activities of selfishness and hated and forging a bulwurk with them. This is Fate, the turning away from others and the very Symphony to revel in one's own selfish wants and hateful desires, and it leads to a very seductive, but final oblivion.
    
    
  • Games that center on angels, demons, ethereals or other powers will be run under Nobilis's rules as modified below. This is an epic level of power -- far more powerful than core In Nomine. Human beings are significantly less powerful, but have a few avenues to approach celestials in power. (And the human Nobles of the few Aaron's Serpents on Earth equal it).
    
    
    • Nobilis is diceless, of course. At the level these games take place, there is little chance for randomness and every chance for metaphor.
      
    • Soldiers (made by becoming Anchors or rarely by soul cultivation or soultaking by Dead Inside) are more powerful in their own right than both In Nomine and Nobilis would normally allow, but far less so (generally) than angels or demons (referred to in this text as Celestials) or Ethereals (capitalized to echo Celestials). However, Soldiers can potentially become Sorcerers, whose power approaches that of their former masters, and it is rumored become Immortals whose power would equal that of a Celestial or Ethereal. Some say this is the way that Lilith, a human, became a Superior. Others say she is some kind of Anchor of Lucifer's, and her Word of Freedom is bitterly ironic. Generally, Soldiers will be NPCs or act similarly to Anchors in Nobilis (under the control of players, allowing Celestials to see what is happening in more than one place, and the like), though their ability to affect the Spirit World with Miracles and the like without Disturbance or causing humanity to freak out is extremely valuable to all their masters.
    
    
  • Games that center on Symphonically Aware humans such as the Dead Inside, Soldiers, or Sorcerers will be run under Dead Inside's rules as modified below. This is a far more human level of power, though with potential. Celestials and Ethereals possess the power of Immortal Magi in the terms of that game -- extremely powerful but not indestructable -- and the focus of the game is far less epic and far more personal.
    
    
    • Dead Inside has dice mechanics. There is always the chance for a mistake, for random chance to screw things up. At the same time, focused role playing (Badass Roleplaying, in DI's term) can give significant bonuses to the characters' actions, reinforcing the core idea that cultivation of something deeper than an end result will make things better.
      
    • Celestials and Ethereals are very powerful in this viewpoint, but less so than the Celestial-oriented option above would suggest. It might take several Soldiers or Dead Inside to take down a demon, but it's not impossible.e
  
  
• God/Lucifer=Source (Lucifer acting more as a stepping stone or filter to Source).
  
• Heaven and Hell as per Nobilis/Worldtree, with Tethers forming branches and tendrils along the tree to and fro -- Tethers themselves being the pathways to and from the Superiors’ Chancels. Which means that via the Wood you can actually access the outside of the Tethers and walk them as per the Worldtree. (Warning - Aaron’s Serpents.)
  
• Superiors and the most powerful of Ethereals are Imperators (which are also Imagos). They have their Words as their Domains, but they also have Domain in the Words their Servitors earn, which means each new Word-bound adds to the range of what the Superior can do. The Superiors types are as follows:
  
  
  • Archangels and Demons Princes -- duh. Note that in this version, Fallen Angels are Demons, not Angels. They have Words, which they lend to their Servitors.
    
  • Ethereal Gods powerful enough to usurp Words of their own (empowered by the Belief of humanity) are True Gods. They also have their Servitors who can draw off the Word of the True God, but said Servitors aren’t likely to get Words of their own, thanks to Heaven and Hell’s domination of the Words. They claim the Source is the Wood, not God, and that God has usurped it. Ethereal Gods are built as standard True Gods, though their subordinate Ethereal Servitors may only choose one Primary Domain (secondaries work as per In Nomine)
    
  • Aaron’s Serpents only get involved in Earthly situations rarely. Ophis, who convinced Adam and Eve to eat of the apple, was an Aaron’s Serpent and now is affiliated with Hell. Aaron’s Serpents have Domains wholly as per Nobilis, can empower Nobles as per Nobilis (making humans Nobles, no less), and do not participate in the Word system at all.
    
  • There are no Light, Dark, or Wild Imperators at this time. However, there are rumors that certain Sorcerers are getting close to the point where they can take on the powers of an Imperator. There are also rumors that Lilith, a human who is now an Imperator with an Imperator’s Word, is some new kind of human-based Imperator. (And of course, there’s Yves, who acts like an Archangelic Imperator but isn’t, and Kronos, who is the same on the Demonic Side....) And, there's always rumors that there's something in the Far Far Marches beyond where the Spirit World touches... some anarchic or primal Superior beyond the ken of even the Archangels or Demon Princes. However, the official notice from on high in both Heaven and Hell is there are only Archangels, Demon Princes, Ethereal Gods and Aaron’s Serpents at that level of power. Honest.
    
  • In a human-based game using Dead Inside rules, the Superiors of all kinds are Imagos, and often will interact with Dead Inside or unaffiliated Soldiers in efforts to guide them and promote their own Words and agendas.
  
  
• Angels, Demons and Ethereals=Nobles=Immortal Magi. In a Celestial/Ethereal based game, we use Nobilis rules.
  
  
  • Angels and Demons:
    
    
    • Must take the Code of Heaven (or of Hell, different than the Codes in Nobilis, to be defined later) and Code of their Superior (which is the Dissonance analogue and is enforced as per Cords) as well as the Limits of their Choir/Band (Choir/Band Dissonance).
      
    • They may use their Aspect both for standard Aspect Miracles and for Choir/Band based Resonance (so a Seraph may use Aspect to perceive Truth). They automatically get an appropriate Aspect Gift to reflect their Resonances, as well as Limits if appropriate (Shedites and Kyriotates, for example, get Aspect gifts allowing for possession -- which would usually be a Spirit Gift in standard Nobilis, but also the Aspect limit of having no corporeal form). All Angels and Demons (unless Limited as above) of Aspect 0 or 1 have only a human form on Earth and only an celestial form in Heaven/Hell/their Superior’s Chancel. With Aspect 2 or above, the Celestial may assume human or celestial form where they wish. (Though dementia anima does exist in this setting, so an angelic or demonic form in the mundane world can spread insanity which pisses all Superiors off.)
      
    • They have a Domain of N/A unless they get a Word of their own. When they get a Word, they may perform Word Miracles according to their Word level (0-5, of course), though they only get 0 for free. If they take a new Code to reflect their Word (in addition to their Codes above, not replacing it) they can start with a Domain of 1 after Wording. If they take a Code and at least one limit, they can start with a 2. More than that costs character points as always. Players may, if they wish, choose to allocate points to Domain against their eventual Wording at creation, though until they receive a Word it won’t do them any good.
      
    • To counter this lack, all Angels and Demons can use their Realm scores to enact Miracles based upon their Superior’s Word. So, all Angels of Fire can create Fire miracles. All Demons of Death can create Death Miracles. And so forth. Yes, this means that powerful Angels get to do powerful things in the name of their Superior’s Word. The Superiors like that. And it means Word-bound effectively have two Primary Domains instead of a Primary and a Secondary. Further, Realm also works within their Superior’s Cathedral the way it normally works in Nobilis, so a Superior’s Servitors get to help reshape the Realm. Please note, there are no Attunements in this setting, but a Celestial may take a Secondary Realm (as per the rules for Secondary Domain in In Nomine), granting both the abilities of a second Superior’s Word and the ability to affect a second Superior’s Cathedral.
      
    • Spirit works as it does in IN -- both in terms of Rites and the like (which are the Songs of this setting), in terms of defense against the Miracles of others and the mundane world (and yes, Resonances can be obfuscated with sufficient Spirit), and in terms of numbers of Anchors/Soldiers a Celestial can take (see below).
    
    
  • Ethereals work like normal Nobilis Nobles, in an Angel/Demon/Ethereal based game. They take one of their Ethereal God’s Domains as theirs, and may take a secondary Domain (but only one their Ethereal God has access to), though there may be many Ethereal Servitors with the same Domain of their God’s. (So Athena may have several Ethereal Servitors of Wisdom). Yes, Ethereals are at a marked disadvantage compared to Celestials. This is by design in the setting. Many Ethereals are aligned with Hell, who protects them but requires them to do service for them.
    
  • Lilim work like normal Demons. However, they are created by Lilith, who is a Human who has a Word and an Imperator’s power. It is thought by many that Lilith is in fact an Anchor of Lucifer himself, and therefore the Word of Freedom is actually one of Lucifer’s Domains. She may be some Other form of Imperator (perhaps Light, Dark or Wild? Who knows? No one in this setting has ever heard of Light, Dark or Wild). However, Free Lilim possess Freedom as their Realm (with whatever Secondary Realm scores they’ve managed to contract for). Note that no Lilim in another Superior’s Service has the Secondary Realm of Freedom. Period. Nor does any other Servitor.
    
  • Aaron’s Serpents, being absolutely normal Imperators as per Nobilis, have several Domains, form fully terrestrial Chancels, and actually take humans on as Nobles. These are the only times human beings gain the powers of full Celestials (or Magi) (at least as far as anyone knows, though some Sorcerers come close)
  
  
• Soldiers are Sensitives/Anchors. In an Angelic/Demonic/Ethereal Game, Soldiers are wholly made by being made Anchors, and first must be properly prepared by draining their souls away (letting the Soul of the Celestial or Ethereal displace it). Most Angels, Demons or Ethereals must get the Soldier to agree to this process in order to ‘crack’ them. The new Soldier is created via the Soldier’s Rite (the same as Nobilis’s Servant’s Rite), which drains the soul of the Soldier and fills them with a piece of the Celestial or Ethereal’s soul. (In Dead Inside terms, the new Soldier is instantly made a Sensitive). The Celestial or Ethereal who uses the Soldier’s Rite becomes that Soldier’s Sovereign. In a Soldier’s game, the new Soldier is made a Sensitive, Angels, Demons and Ethereals (and the human Nobles of Aaron’s Serpents) are Magi, and Superiors are Imagos.
  
  
  • Soldiers, by Nobilis rules, act as Anchors in service to the Celestial or Ethereal who made them a Soldier. However, in addition to their normal abilities they also gain 2 character points they can use in Aspect or Spirit, and can purchase one appropriate Gift for the Superior’s Word of the Angel in question. They may, over time, buy up their Aspect and Spirit to a maximum of 5 each, and may buy other Gifts at the GM’s discretion. While there are few Soldiers capable of standing toe to toe with a full Celestial or Ethereal, groups of Soldiers can give even Word-bound a hard time. And of course, the Soldier might get inhabited by his Celestial/Ethereal master at a moment’s notice, and then be wielding the full powers of an angel or demon against their foes.
    
    
    • Please note, Soldiers do require the full Soldier’s Rite to be performed, which acts in all ways like the Servant’s Rite. This includes the need on the part of the performing Master to love or hate them.
      
    • Soldiers must take the Code of (Heaven/Hell/Other) and the Code of their Sovereign’s Superior.
      
    • Soldiers are Symphonically Aware, but cannot shift their perceptions automatically between the real world and the spirit world. They must seek entrances into the spirit world, the same as Dead Inside. As a result, when they are in the Spirit World, their actions have mundane appearances. Therefore, Soldiers may be used when Miraculous power is required publicly (at least for Aspect or Spirit Miracles), making them extremely valuable servants. When in the Real World, Soldiers must guard against Dementia Anima the same as Celestials and Ethereals.
      
    • If a Soldier manages to gather enough Attributes and Gifts that the GM decides they’ve ‘tipped over’ to Mage level, the Soldier can become a Sorcerer -- or one of the double-souled. Sorcerers get access to Realm scores, starting with a Realm of 0 and being able to command Miracles similarly to their Sovereign’s primary Realm. If their Sovereign is Word-bound, they may choose to take their Sovereign’s Domain as their Realm instead. They do not get Realm miracles in their Sovereign’s Chancel, however. There are rumors that some Sorcerers gain the capacity for Domain as well, as if they were Word-bound (possibly in the process of becoming an Immortal), and some point to this rumor as explanation for Lilith... but there is no proof of such a thing.
    
    
  • Soldiers, by Dead Inside rules, are Sensitives -- which are significantly closer in power to the Immortal Magi angel and demons than the above implies. Angels and demons have a much greater range of abilities, though, which balances it out. They use their powers normally.
    
    
    • Please note, if a Soldier is claimed by a demon, their Virtue and Vice scores reverse -- they gain soul points for following their baser instincts, and lose them when tempted to their higher self (unless they badass roleplay said loss, as per Dead Inside). Instead of a Shadow, they possess a Conscience that seeks to turn them to the light.
      
    • Soldiers do have to cultivate their Souls, or use Soultaking or other such powers, to keep their Soul Points up. Note that as with Virtues and Vices, Soul Cultivation and Decay is reversed for Infernal Soldiers. They’re bad, bad people. Well, selfish, at least. In addition, they may Cultivate their Sovereign's Word for soul points. If they serve a normal Celestial, this Cultivation involves the promotion of that Celestial’s Superior’s Word -- so a Soldier serving a Calabite of Dark Humor must cultivate Dark Humor, as an example. If their Sovereign is Word-bound, they may cultivate either their Sovereign’s Word or their Sovereign’s Superior’s Word. So, a Soldier of Israfel, Seraph of Creation, Angel of Music can cultivate their Soul, can cultivate Music, or can cultivate Creation. Naturally, it’s in a Soldier’s best interest to help their Sovereign become Word-bound, even if they hate their Sovereign.
      
    • Soldiers who manage to double ensoul become Sorcerers, and are among the few who can contend with Celestials on their own turf. Sorcerers don’t tend to have the range of abilities as Celestials, and Celestials are ‘triple’ ensouled (at the level of an Immortal, by the rules -- Celestials call that being ensouled in the corporeal, ethereal and celestial). There are rumors that some Sorcerers have managed the same, and gained the powers of even the Word bound or beyond... and there is always the question of Lilith....
  
  
• Humans who have their souls taken, stolen or rotted away from them become Dead Inside, without being Anchored to any Celestial or Ethereal. They begin far far weaker than Soldiers, but with time and cultivation can build their strength to contend with the very angels and demons themselves... without the binds that tie them down. The most dangerous and powerful Sorcerers were once Dead Inside, and now hold no allegiance to anyone.
  
  
  • Impudites can use their Resonance/Aspect abilities to steal Miracle Points from humans. This process Cracks the humans in Dead Inside terms.
    
    
    • Angelic/Demonic/Ethereal Games (Nobilis Rules)
      
      
      • A human being has 5 MPs worth of Miracle Points. The Impudite can steal 2 MPs a day as a Level 4 Aspect miracle (which means an Impudite who can do Level 4 Aspect Miracles as a simple miracle can get 2 MP a day from draining humans at no cost. Those who can do normal Level 4 Aspect Miracles can get 1 MP a day through this method, but must drain 2 MPs from 1 or 2 humans. Those for whom a Level 4 Aspect Miracle is Hard can only break even (and therefore can only do this to be a right bastard or because they want to burn Aspect MPs to get Spirit or some other form of MPs.) The MPs stolen by this method are automatically Spirit MPs. By increasing the difficulty to Level 5, the Impudite can instead transfer those MPs to any attribute he wishes. And for each +1 to the difficulty (independent of whether the Impudite is transferring to Spirit or another attribute), another MP can be drained from humanity that day, up to a maximum of 5 Spirit MPs with a Level 9 difficulty (though that would cost at least 4 Aspect MPs by definition). Unlike regular In Nomine, Impudites cannot drain Symphonically Aware beings, meaning they cannot drain Dead Inside, Soldiers, Sorcerers or Celestials. However, they can drain humans in the Cold, Hard World without penalty, and this action does not trigger Dementia Anima. A human being recovers one MP a week, and cannot use the MP for anything. If he ever drops below 2 MPs, his Cracked state is permanent and he becomes Dead Inside. Note this makes the new Dead Inside Symphonically Aware.
      
      
    • Dead Inside/Soldier/Sorcerer Games (Dead Inside Rules)
      
      
      • Impudites may use Soultaking on uncracked humans for up to 6 points a day (total, regardless of how many humans he drains from) if they also use their charming abilities, though they have to roll each attempt separately. They get to do this even in the Real World at no penalty. Humans are typically Average (0) humans with 2 Soul Points (though they can’t use them), and in day to day life will get stolen soul points back at about one a week (unless their soul is rotting within due to selfishness, of course). These stolen points do not affect the human -- he remains uncracked, is not Symphonically aware, is still subject to Dementia Anima, and is still protected against most attacks below a Sorcerer’s.
        
      • Should a Human be drained by an Impudite (with or without other soul degradation) to the point where they downshift below “Poor Human,” their soul will be lost. The trauma of this will cause them to become an Average (0) Dead Inside with 2 Soul Points, at which time the Impudite can only Soultake as he would any other Aware being.
    
    
  • Lilim, similarly to Sorcerers or the like, can bargain (or trick) humans out of their souls, leaving them Dead Inside.
    
    
    • Angelic/Demonic/Ethereal Games (Nobilis Rules)
      
      
      • While no Lilim (not even a Lilim of Death or a Lilim of Fate) can use a geas to force a person to yield up their soul, if they get a human to agree to give them their soul for any service (even if kidding), and then provide said service, they automatically get 5 MP to be applied however their choose among their attributes and the human becomes Dead Inside. (Please note, “Bright” Lilim, serving Heaven, will be in astounding trouble if they do this.)
        
      • Lilim with at least a Spirit 4 can also broker deals to create Soldiers for other Celestials. If the human agrees, the Lilim receives the 5 MP from the human as above, and the other Celestial loses 5 MP of any type (it is poured into the human’s soul). The human becomes an Anchor and Solider of the other Celestial, who must have enough Spirit to accept this Anchor. However, neither the Lilim nor the Celestial will need to love or hate the human, allowing for a “purely business” bond for a new Soldier. Lilim cannot perform this for themselves, though they can for other Lilim. And though Lilim receive 5 MP in the process, they also typically will have a Geas from either the Celestial or the Soldier, depending on who initiated the request for service.
      
      
    • Dead Inside/Soldier/Sorcerer Games (Dead Inside Rules)
      
      
      • A Lilim can trick or bargain the Soul from a human as per Dead Inside automatically, with all the usual benefits thereof for her, so long as she provides in good faith the service she “offers.”
        
      • A Lilim can also turn a willing human into a Sensitive/Soldier automatically by binding him as an Anchor to a Celestial. She receives his soul in the process, while said new sensitive becomes ensouled from the Celestial automatically.
    
    
  • Dead Inside
    
    
    • Angelic/Demonic/Ethereal Games (Nobilis Rules, DI are typically NPCs.)
      
      
      • A Dead Inside human gains a Spirit of 1, an Aspect of 0, and one Gift. They may take a second Gift if they take an appropriate Handicap. They do not have to take a code of any kind, though they may choose to for MP benefits. As they cultivate their soul and grow in power (subject to GM interpretation), they can build their way up to Soldier level or even find their Soul again depending on circumstances. This will make them a Soldier with all the abilities of a Soldier... only not bound to any Sovereign. From there, they can develop like a Soldier normally would, eventually becoming a Sorcerer and beyond. However, when they get Realm abilities... they get actual Realm miracles throughout the Spirit World and even in the Real World -- making them capable of a broader ranger of miracle than any Celestial, Ethereal, or Noble. Once again, rumors about Lilith usually show up around here... especially when the rumors that ultra powerful Immortal level Sorcerers, unbound to any Celestial, have even gained Words and possibly even access to Imperial level miracles...
      
      
    • DI/Soldier/Sorcerer Games (Dead Inside rules, DI are typically PCs, and Celestials are typically NPCs)
      
      
      • Dead Inside work fundamentally the same as per Dead Inside. Unbound to any Celestial, those who build their way up to Soldier or even Sorcerer level are extraordinarily powerful, and all the more so because they are not beholden to (and part of the power of) angels, demons, ethereals, or even the Noble Humans of the rare Aaron’s Serpents.
        
      • As above, Dead Inside can progress to become Soldiers in power, or even Sorcerers. However, being wholly unbound means that they are free of bond. However, with the Superiors of both sides acting as Imagos, particularly in the Spirit World, it’s hard not to end up beholden (and possibly bound and anchored) to someone before you reach that point. And if one can manage to become an Immortal, or beyond...
  
  
• Qlippoth
  
  
  • In either sort of game, Qlippoth -- and any result of husking -- are actively cultivated and developed by Saminga, the Demon Prince of Death, and his Servitors. Qlippoth that Demons of Death actively create fall under their control. “Natural” Qlippoth do not, but often work with the Samingans anyhow, as their goals tend to be similar.