In Nomine Superiors - Asmodeus

In Nomine Superiors - Asmodeus, Podreczniki RPG, In Nomine

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In Nomine
was written by Derek Pearcy
based on an original game by CROC
™
SUperiOrS:
ASmodeuS
By S. DiGiovanni, Jordan Grooms,
AnnaLinden Weller, Steve Kenson,
and Derek Pearcy
Additional material by Elizabeth McCoy
and William J. Keith
Edited by Elizabeth McCoy
Sigil by Jordan Grooms
Playtesters: Chris Anthony, Genevieve Cogman,
Nathan Henderson, William J. Keith, Fade Manley,
Christopher Pipinou, Sirea, Grady W. Smithey III,
Leticia Sparkman, James Walker, and everyone else who
didn’t present valid Hadean passports. Please follow the
nice Impudites and answer their questions.
AN e23 ADVENTURE
FOR
IN NOMINE
®
FROM
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
FOR 3 TO 6 PLAYERS
GURPS
, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated.
Pyramid
,
In Nomine, Superiors: Asmodeus
,
and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated,
or used under license. Some art copyright © www.clipart.com. All rights reserved.
Superiors: Asmodeus
is copyright © 2007 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal,
and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.
Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
STEVE JACKSON
GAMES
e23.sjgames.com
®
Stock #37-3313
Version 1.0 June 15, 2007
Contents
Variations on a Theme . . . . . . . . . . 14
War Crimes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Endgames
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Ulamalitzli: Aztec Games
. . . . . . 15
H
ADES
: T
HE
G
RAY
C
ITY
. . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Houses of Cards:
Places in Hades . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Denizens of Hades . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Word-Bound Servitors
. . . . . . . . . 18
Asmodeus’ Tethers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Game Writ Small
. . . . . . . . . . 19
P
LAYERS AND
P
AWNS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Asmodeans, Asmodicans, Canes
Asmodei, Gamesters . . . . . . . . . 20
Suits of the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Name of the Game
. . . . . . . . 20
Bands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Learning to Play: Chess,
Go, Mao
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn
. . . . 22
Winning Free
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Benedict Chess:
Changing Superiors
. . . . . . . . 23
Playing the Game:
Inside InfSec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Emerald Countess
of Intrigue
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Tools of the Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Games Gone By
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Rules for Rules’ Sake
. . . . . . . . . . 26
Humanity in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Stealing Information:
Theft and the Game
. . . . . . . . . 29
Playing Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Caseworkers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Corner Police Stations
. . . . . . . . . 30
Sample Servitors . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
Across the Board:
Judgment and the Game . . . . . . 34
Games within Games . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Trouble with Judges
. . . . . . . 35
Dealing with the Game,
Inside and Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Bureaucratic
Departmentalization
. . . . . . . . 36
Anatomy of a Hunt
. . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Crimes Against Hell
. . . . . . . . . . . 38
G
AMING WITH THE
G
AME
:
A
DVENTURE
S
EEDS
. . . . . . . . . . . 39
An Otherwise Unconvincing
Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The First Rule of LARP Club . . . . 39
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
. . . . 39
Go Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Talking Is Prohibited . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Real Life Games
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A
SMODEUS
D
JINN
P
RINCE
OF THE
G
AME
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Dissonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Do As You’re Told
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Band Attunements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Servitor Attunements . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Distinctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Higher Distinctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Oh, the Humanity
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Sidestepping
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Rites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Secret Songs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Asmodeus’ Secret Rite
. . . . . . . . . . 7
Additional Rites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chance of Invocation: 1 . . . . . . . . . . 8
Invocation Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
GURPS
Point Breakdowns
for Asmodeus
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
A
SMODEUS IN
D
ETAIL
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Names, Appearance,
and Manner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Word of the Game . . . . . . . . . . . 9
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Game Theory
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Personality and Outlook . . . . . . . . . 11
Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Towers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
GURPS I
N
N
OMINE
This expanded Superior write-up includes material
both for the traditional
In Nomine
rules and
GURPS In
Nomine
. Converted characters have been only slightly
“normalized” – they are straight conversions, using the
rules in Chapter 9 of
GURPS In Nomine
. The only
exception is in levels of Discord; in a normal conversion,
an adapted Frequency of Submission table (pp. CI10-11)
would be used. For simplicity, Discord has been taken
“straight,” with the default
GURPS Basic Set
or
GURPS
Compendium I
mechanics. Human characters have also
been rounded or approximated in some cases.
Note that Songs have had the -5 applied for use outside
the celestial realm. If these characters go to Hell or
Heaven, they will have +5 to all Songs.
The default Tech Level for
GURPS In Nomine
is
TL7.
Power Investiture
and Essence Control
The
GURPS In Nomine
advantages Power Investiture
(p. IN27), and Essence Control (p. IN31) are both includ-
ed in the Basic Celestial Template (pp. IN9-10). Non-
player celestials are assumed to have the default 9 levels
of Essence Control, and have allocated their initial Power
Investiture levels to Power Investiture (Corporeal) 3,
Power Investiture (Ethereal) 3, and Power Investiture
(Celestial) 3. Any totals listed in the descriptions include
these levels plus any additional purchased.
Page References –
GURPS and
Original In Nomine
Rules and statistics in this article are specifically
for the
GURPS Basic Set,
(Third Edition, revised),
and
In Nomine
,
third printing (available from e23)
.
Any page reference that begins with a B refers to the
GURPS Basic Set
– e.g., p. B102 means p. 102 of the
GURPS Basic Set,
Third Edition, revised. Page refer-
ences that begin with CI indicate
GURPS
Compendium I
,
M is for
GURPS Magic
, and IN
refers to
GURPS In Nomine
. For a full list of
GURPS
abbreviations, see p. CI181 or the updated web list at
www.sjgames.com/gurps/abbrevs.html
.
Extra Hit Points
and Reduced Hit Points
Many converted
GURPS
characters have Extra Hit
Points for physical, mental, and celestial combat. The
physical advantage is written as Extra Hit Points for the
vessel in question. Extra Hit Points (Mind) are bought
with the -50% Limitation, “Only for mental combat,” and
Extra Hit Points (Soul) are bought with the -20%
Limitation, “Only for celestial combat.” Reduced Hit
Points for Mind hits and Soul hits have the same
Limitations. See pages 27 and 28 in
GURPS In Nomine
for more information.
SUPERIORS: ASMODEUS
2
ASmodeuS
Djinn
Prince of
the Game
against the expressed or implied wishes of his Prince, if he
possesses dissonance or “angelic” Discord, or if his actions
call his loyalty to Hell into question – in short, if he breaks
the rules.
Above all, Lucifer uses Asmodeus to weed out demons
who might defect to the angels or threaten Lucifer’s own
plans. The Game is the counterweight to the unrest Malphas
stirs up, a force of totalitarian order imposed on an ever-
volatile Hell. While any Prince may call upon the Servitors of
Asmodeus, most prefer to deal with problems themselves
rather than risk close scrutiny.
Asmodeus usually appears as a tall man with burning eyes
– the Inquisition incarnate.
D
ISSONANCE
Servitors of Asmodeus generate dissonance by disobeying
any of his direct orders or by helping a Renegade to escape
judgment.
The world is a game, whose rules must be followed.
Asmodeus and his Servitors are Lucifer’s secret police,
responsible for hunting down Renegades and other traitors to
the infernal armies, and for keeping order in Hell.
The Prince of the Game is one of the most powerful of
Hell’s royalty. He is widely feared and roundly hated by his
peers. His agents always have at least one cover identity and
often move through infernal society unseen, only unmasking
themselves to levy an accusation and make the subsequent
arrest.
Gamesters are charged with slaying or seizing any
Renegades they encounter. To Asmodeus and his servants, a
demon is Renegade and within their jurisdiction if he acts
B
AND
A
TTUNEMENTS
Asmodeus’ Band Attunements are for his Servitors only.
Gamesters are attuned to the members of their respective
Bands, and can identify them with a successful Perception
roll; they will also know how much dissonance the target has,
if any. This is a passive attunement: the GM may roll private-
ly as needed. A Servitor with more than one Band Attunement
rolls only once and knows which Band he has detected. If the
roll fails, the Gamester will be unaware of the subject’s nature
for the check digit in hours – at which point the GM may
make another roll.
All Servitors of the Game also get 12 extra character
points, which must be spent on a Role or skills for that Role
(
In Nomine
, p. 43, or p. IN32); this is a one-time bonus, not
associated with Band Attunements. (Shedim may spend this
on Servants, to use as hosts, or Roles
as
their Servants; see
p. 22 for more Shedite-host-Role tricks.) While Asmodeus
may grant
Roles
to others’ Servitors, it is certain the Game
knows everything about such gifts.
D
O
A
S
Y
OU
’
RE
T
OLD
Asmodeus’ dissonance conditions provide
him with an extremely effective way of pre-
venting sedition in the ranks of the Game: all
he has to do is forbid his Servitors from
attempting to redeem, breaking their Hearts, or
running. As this aspect of Asmodeus’ disso-
nance conditions makes it more difficult to
play Renegade Asmodeans, GMs may consid-
er it an optional Rule of the Game.
(The GM should assume that celestials lose
Word-imposed dissonance conditions if their
Hearts are broken (p. IN12). Not using this rule
makes it effectively
impossible
to escape from
the Game without excessive amounts of
Discord, given the existence of the Song of
Celestial Tongues.)
Balseraphs
Balseraphs of the Game assume Roles such as lawyers,
stockbrokers, meteorologists, and politicians, which permit
them to creatively redefine opinion – though always within
the Rules.
Djinn
Asmodeus’ Djinn serve the Game by taking jobs as secu-
rity guards, accountants, police officers, and members of the
military: positions from which they can watch over, possess,
and control lesser pieces on the board.
SUPERIORS: ASMODEUS
3
Calabim
Calabim in service to the Game tend to get Roles as con-
struction workers, oil tanker captains, organized crime mem-
bers, and other places where their destructive nature can open
new lines of play.
Perception roll; a simple success is enough to notice the flaws
and inconsistencies in the demon’s argument. If the manufac-
tured evidence is
very
good, the GM may allow the subject to
still favor the explanation! However, if proof of the false
nature of the demon’s “evidence” is shown to the victim, his
mind will be unclouded – and he
will
remember who lied to
him.
The demon cannot attempt to use Argument of Casuistry
again
at all
for a number of hours equal to the check digit of
the target’s successful Perception roll.
Habbalah
The Habbalah who work for Asmodeus occupy Roles
where they can punish those who break the Rules, such as
therapists, school counselors, corrections officers, and
judges.
Dissonance Binding
For 3 Essence, this attunement permits its owner to bind a
celestial in his own dissonance, creating invisible chains that
restrict the victim’s movement. The subject’s Agility is
reduced by his dissonance plus the Celestial Forces of the
binder for the binder’s total Forces in hours; penalize the
appropriate attribute in other realms, whether the victim was
affected in the corporeal first or not. The bound celestial may
not spend or regenerate Essence. (It does not work against a
target who is not dissonant at all.)
Lilim
Lilim who Bind to the Game become traps for the unsus-
pecting and unprepared, pinning their adversaries between
the snare of their resonance and their Roles. They range from
private investigators, policemen, and lawyers to prostitutes,
students, and aides to people in power.
Shedim (partially restricted)
Asmodeus’ Shedim need not wear out their welcome by
perverting their hosts – their Lord has other duties for them,
preferring their capacity to spy over their ability to corrupt.
They may stay in a borrowed body for a number of days
equal to the check digit of the successful possession roll and
don’t generate dissonance if they fail to corrupt their host.
(Members of other Bands may use this attunement to iden-
tify Shedim and their dissonance.)
Humanity
This attunement lets a demon pass as a human under any
circumstance, to anyone shy of Asmodeus or Lucifer himself.
It costs 1 Essence to activate and remains in effect for 24
hours (no more, no less). During this time, the demon will not
make disturbance when damaging objects or people. He
becomes a mundane human in almost every regard: his ves-
sel requires food and maintenance, and he can’t perform
Songs, or assume his celestial form on Earth. Invoking
Humanity while
in
celestial form would mimic a ghost! In
Hell, he would seem to be a damned soul; in the Marches, a
dreamshade. He may use attunements, both passive ones and
those requiring Essence to fuel them (including Humanity
itself), as well as his basic resonance, and he may spend
Essence to enhance die rolls. Spending Essence for any rea-
son will cause disturbance. He may not exchange Essence
with someone else, nor regenerate Essence naturally (even at
noon or via Rite).
Impudites
Gamester Impudites become doctors, solicitors, creditors,
telemarketers, and other Roles that provide opportunities to
leech away all of their target’s support, leaving them vulner-
able to more direct plays.
S
ERVITOR
A
TTUNEMENTS
Insert Coin to Continue
For 1 Essence, the Gamester may massage the Rules of
the Symphony in order to give himself another chance if he
has
failed
. After the Gamester’s player has rolled the d666
and failed, he may invoke this attunement and re-roll the dice.
Essence spent to improve the failed roll is still gone, though
Essence may still be spent on the new roll as is normal. (The
Essence used to activate the attunement does not improve the
new roll.) Interventions of either kind may not be re-rolled,
and if the new roll also fails, the attunement may not be
invoked again on the second failure. This ability may be used
as many times per day as the Gamester has Celestial Forces.
Argument of Casuistry
A Servitor using this attunement can use convoluted logic
to convince someone else of the rightness or wrongness of a
particular premise, based on actual evidence. This evidence
can be flimsy, circumstantial, or self-manufactured. The
Gamester could try to convince the witness of a crime that the
blood he saw was a movie prop by “discovering” a burst cap-
sule at the scene, but could not convince someone that his
spouse was cheating on him without some kind of evidence
in support.
This ability requires a Will roll to activate and lasts for the
check digit in minutes. Subjects negate the effects with a
SUPERIORS: ASMODEUS
4
frowns on thus revealing the nature and powers of his pieces,
unless the angel is killed or captured before it understands
what exactly happened.
O
H
,
THE
H
UMANITY
“So, will I be affected like a mundane
human would be if-”
“Yes.”
– A conversation between senior and junior
partners.
Sense for Betrayal
While all of Asmodeus’ Servitors can sense dissonance in
their Bandmates, this attunement allows them to perceive it in
any
celestial, including angels. It functions similarly to the
Band Attunements, requiring a successful Perception roll to
activate and lasting for the check digit in hours. It will not
identify a celestial’s Choir or Band, or even its divine or infer-
nal nature, but the general efficacy of this attunement makes
it quite popular among Gamesters, particularly since they can
use it to estimate how close an angel is to Falling as well as
how close a demon might be to running Renegade.
By default, any attempt to distinguish the
Gamester from a 5-Force human
fails
. He
requires food, water, shelter, and sleep, and
generates a dreamscape normally (though he
may dream . . . odd things). Essence reserves,
as seen by Vapulan Impudite glasses, are with-
in human norms and appear to regenerate at
noon. A 7-Force Shedite could possess a 18-
Force Duke of the Game, and notice nothing
odd – until evicted, should the attunement
lapse. If the Servitor tells a Seraph he’s really a
demon, the Seraph will believe he’s lying or
deluded.
For some GMs, this is far more potent than
desirable! However, weakening it is quite pos-
sible. See
Humanity in Action
, p. 27, for more
details.
D
ISTINCTIONS
Knight of Judgment
The Knight has the power to impress the humans he
meets. They will respect his opinions and will not dispute his
judgments. He receives Charisma +3 (respectable authority)
for free, which functions in any form and stacks with normal
Charisma.
Captain of Integrity
Asmodeus’ Captains can instantly detect anyone whose
spoken words differ from their secret feelings, recognizing
lies and hypocrisies as soon as they are heard. (This functions
like Detect Lies, not like the Seraph resonance.)
Rule of Law
This attunement can only be used by a being who has
invoked Asmodeus’ Humanity attunement. Rule of Law
forces celestials in the corporeal realm to play by corporeal
rules, whether they want to or not. The targeted celestial has
all the restrictions of Humanity (whichever the GM is using;
see p. 27), adapted to suit his current form. This requires 3
Essence, cannot normally be resisted, and the victim must be
inhabiting a corporeal vessel or host which is within touching
range. (This applies to
any
vessel or host: a Kyriotate of
Lightning possessing a piece of technology might require
maintenance, but not the same maintenance as a human
form.) The effects last for a number of hours equal to the
user’s Celestial Forces,
or
until the user’s own Humanity
ends, whichever comes
first!
Rule of Law is a useful means of avoiding disturbance
from celestials the demon might be hunting while simultane-
ously limiting the target’s means of escape or self-defense.
This attunement is especially useful when dealing with celes-
tials whose human Roles have a lower Status than the
demon’s: when all else is even, the Gamester’s influence in
society may be the deciding factor. Some Gamesters, posing
as Hellsworn or human servants of demons, have used Rule
of Law to discomfit angels trying to kill them. Asmodeus
Baron of Justice
The demon may identify those whose opinions are just,
fair, and accurate. His Celestial Forces indicate how much
detail the demon gets about their judgment.
H
IGHER
D
ISTINCTIONS
Distinctions above Baron are granted by Asmodeus for
faithful and loyal service over
very
long periods of time. A
servant of the Game must have a spotless record for
Asmodeus to even consider offering a promotion to such an
exalted position. Higher Distinctions also come with a com-
mensurate increase in duties. The closer a demon of the Game
gets to the top of the ladder, the more of Asmodeus’ attention
he draws, for good or ill.
Asmodeus’ Marquises, Counts, and Dukes are always
Word-bound to some lesser but important aspect of the Word
of the Game. Each one plays a particular role in Asmodeus’
plans, and they tend to spend more time carrying out the
schemes of their master in Hell than on Earth.
SUPERIORS: ASMODEUS
5
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