“I Was There” (Nativity)

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Asmodeus, Blandine, Caganer, Christmas, David, Dominic, Gabriel, Herod, I Was There, In Nomine, Ineffability, Jean, Jesus, Jordi, Lawrence, Malphas, Marc, Nativity, Saminga, Uriel, Yves

Steve Jackson Games made a very intentional choice with In Nomine to make the setting agnostic to any particular faith. As such, the divinity of Jesus is never firmly established (though Dominic & Lawrence clearly believe it) and attempts to discern the truth of such matters will be foiled by the ineffability of the divine.

However, this isn’t necessarily going to stop players from trying to track down figures who witness moments key to individual faith traditions in order to determine what is correct for their individual game.

Narrative Impacts of 2020

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Apocalypse, In Nomine, Real World

2020 has been one of those years where enough shit happened that I think it’s fairly safe for a GM to include “where were you in 2020?” as part of their 20 Questions.

• Seraphim took dissonance if they accepted “post truth” statements as fact
• Cherubim took dissonance if their ideals placed them at odds with their freinds’ safety
• Ofanim took dissonance if they observed stay at home orders
• Kyriotates took dissonance if any of their vessels contracted Covid 19 under their care

Satan’s Little Helpers

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Adventure Hook, Christmas, Gremlin, Imp, In Nomine, Kobal, Kronos, Lucifer, Malphas

I was a little nervous to write this post at first – it’s very easy for transposed letter jokes to turn into ableist humor.

However, there’s a particularly clever exchange based on the Santa -> Satan transposition in which there is no confusion; Satan just refuses to back down from being a gift giver because he’s standing on ceremony.

The name of Satan was invoked, and Satan intends to deliver.

Adventure Hook: Kill V. Maim

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Adventure Hook, Grimes, In Nomine, Malakite, Soldier

A Soldier of Heaven was recently captured by the forces of hell and a blackwing of The War has landed in town and is insisting that a group of local angels (most likely the party) join them in a raid on a local demon tether.

Demons who get in the way, they kill, angels who refuse to help they maim.

Adventure Hook: Murder by Numbers

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Adventure Hook, Human, In Nomine, Murder, Soldier, The Police

A serial killer is loose in the party’s town. The local police have not noticed the pattern yet, but the party has: all the victims are Soldiers in The War.

The specifics are left to the GM. While it could certainly be a Shedite or Malakite at play, it’s also entirely possible that it’s a normal (if exceptional) human who has chosen to take matters into their own hands.

Adventure Hook: He’ll Ride a Pale Tweet

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Adventure Hook, Apocalypse, Beleth, Blandine, Cretin, In Nomine, Lab 26, Nybbas, Real World, Vapula

If you have not heard, a patriarch of the Russian Orthodox church has warned that smart phone owners should be wary of the internet of things because the two in conjunction could create an avenue to gain control of mankind and thus usher in the Antichrist.

We’ll Take it From Here

If you pick the ‘right’ definition of antichrist, there are some sound theological arguments to be made here, but that’s not the purpose of this blog. We’re going to take this opportunity to present an Apocalypse of the Week.

Adventure Hook: Mephistopheles

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Adventure Hood, In Nomine, Kronos, Mephistopheles, Trans-Siberian Orchestra

As one of the PCs is winding down after a hard campaign, a demon sits down beside them. Assuming a fight doesn’t immediately break out, the demon lets the character know that he has seen or learned of their Fate, and the PC dangerously close to falling.

The demon makes sure the PC is aware of the horrors of hell, and then asks the PC to consider reversing course….

Adventure Hook: Ultimate Showdown (of Ultimate Destiny)

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Balseraph, In Nomine, Nybbas, Yves

A (Lemon) Demon of the Media has managed to convince one of Yves’ followers that the battle for the soul of creation is do be determined by a massive death match.

The players must intercept the rogue angel in his search for champions worthy of winning the Ultimate Showdown without themselves becoming targets of the wily Balseraph that set these events in motion.

Campaign Hook: Lock Away the Sun

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Adventure Hook, Baal, Campaigns, Christmas, Eclipse, Gabriel, Galgaliel, In Nomine, Mammon, Poets of the Fall

Thank you Bryan Gustafson for the song suggestion.

A force of demons led by a powerful if relatively unknown servitor of Mammon (and backed by Baal) is making a play to colonize and privatize the sun. They have already captured or otherwise contained Galgaliel and destabilized Gabriel’s tether.

Should the party do nothing at all, hell will succeed; temporarily blacking out the sun. Only regions that return to their old sun rites (and whose native gods have come to an arrangement with the sun’s occupiers) will have access to its light. Others will be forced to rely upon fossil fuels as their crops begin to wither and their food chains collapse.

Adventure Hook: White Christmas

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Christmas, In Nomine, Uriel

The Tsayadite Eutecta has left the Ethereal Realm, and is heaven bent on creating an Earthly paradise worthy of Uriel.

First she freezes the heart of the worthy to ensure they will not change. While they remain moral, they also become incapable of growth. Eutecta knows that this is an untenable situation, and against the will of the almighty in the long term, but it makes it easier for her to find and eject those who are not worthy.

These purges will be small at first – street criminals, wage thieves, folks that Eutecta believes will not be missed. Depending on the party, she may even be right.

However, around this time she will also start bleeding color from the world. Whites will get a little big brighter, blemishes less noticeable, shadows not as dark, and eventually the myriad hues of the world will start to look bleached.

If not stopped, Christmas shall be entirely white and driven almost entirely by a scripted version of goodness and family. If Eutecta is allowed to get this far, her location will become a beach head for additional Tsayadim to enter the Corporeal realm.