It's not as if Role Playing Games (RPGs) are uncommon these days - walk into any gaming store and you will be bombarded with all manner of weird and wonderful tabletop RPGs, stories that you play. Most of these take place in fantastical, mythical kingdoms inspired by The Lord of the Rings. A few are in sci-fi universes populated by aliens, robots, and various other futuristic entities. One occasionally finds something that re-enacts historical events, such as World war II. However, no RPG has attempted to take on the battle between Heaven and Hell - until now, that is. Presenting ... In Nomine!

The RPG

As you have almost certainly gathered from the introduction, In Nomine is an Role Playing Game, or RPG. If you are familiar with tabletop RPGs, you can skip this section. If not, listen up.

A tabletop RPG is basically a story that is acted out by a group of players. These players represent the characters in the story, and shall henceforth be referred to as PCs, Player Characters. Note that in this entry, PC will always refer to Player Characters, not Personal Computers or Police Constables.

One of the players does directly play any one character, but is arguably the most important person in the game. This player is the Games Master, or GM. The GM plays God (and, in the case of In Nomine, Lucifer), controls Non-Player Characters (NPCs) *, and writes up the adventure before playing.

Gameplay works as follows: the players tell the GM their actions, and the GM then tells them the consequences. Example:

Player: I kick down the door.

GM: You surprise the demon inside for a second, but he then comes running at you.

Origins

In Nomine is based on a French RPG called In Nomine Satanis/ Magna Veritas, produced by Croc and published by Asmodée. INS covered the demons, and MV had to do with the angels. The two were originally published as two paperbacks in a black box, and were recently compiled into a single hardback. In Nomine is an English Language adaptation by Steve Jackson Games, written by (primarily) Derek Pearcy and illustrated by Dan Smith. In Nomine (and the inspirational volumes) are about the combat between angels and demons, as they attempt to pull civilisation towards Heaven or Hell and try not to displease God, Lucifer, or the Archangels or Demon Princes.

One word of warning, though; In Nomine is intended for mature readers and players. It contains interpretations of religious events which some may find unsettling.

Numbers

Characters are defined by several characteristics, such as Strength, Intelligence, and Perception. However, what these numbers imply is more important. For example, a high strength score means a character can lift heavy objects, but one should also consider how he feels about this. Does he flaunt his muscles or try to look smaller, more average? These tell more about a character's personality than any amount of numbers ever could.

The creators of In Nomine repeatedly stress that imagination is more important than numbers. If the players feel that a rule or number doesn't work, it should be changed. Rule interpretations should generally be left to the GM, but if all the players want a change, the GM should follow through. As the demons say, sometimes it's more important to have fun than to follow the rules. However, the players should obviously not try to change a number just because they don't feel like dying, for example if they're in a room full of nerve gas and don't make it to the door in time. The whole point of having the numbers is mainly for consistency. The creator explains this with an analogy to playing cops and robbers using hands as guns, and using paint pistols. Someone might argue about being hit, but when they're dripping with paint or staring at an unlucky die roll, there's somewhat less room for argument. However, the author is keen to stress, numbers should serve only as neutral arbitrators, and not get in the way of the story.

Characters

The various categories of character each have different amounts of Forces, and the more Forces a character has the more powerful he, she, or it is. It is pointless to go through the whole character creation process here, since if you get the game it will be explained anyway. However, the various allocations of Forces should be noted.

Angels and Demons

These are the main characters in In Nomine, and have already been discussed. They all start with a total of nine forces, making them the most powerful characters. All angels and demons (including Outcasts, Renegades, and Remnants) are collectively referred to as 'celestials.'

All full angels and demons serve an Archangel or Demon Prince, and it is their job to see that their master's word is forwarded and propagated as much as possible. The downside is that, in general, deviating even the slightest bit from assigned orders will bring the wrath of that angel's or demon's Superior down on their heads. Also, everything that they do will create some disturbance in the Symphony. Even just being on the Corporeal (physical) plane causes atoms to bounce off them and deviate from their predetermined paths. Most disturbances are very small and easily overlooked, but there is a lot an angel or demon can do to attract unwanted attention.

Outcasts and Renegades

An Outcast is an angel stuck on earth, either because he/ she got too much dissonance, pissed his/ her Archangel of seriously, or, in the case of the Malakim, broke their code of honour. A player may start as an Outcast.

Renegades are demons who have escaped from Hell to live on Earth, doing as they please. Hell's rulers do not like this, but it happens more frequently than anyone would care to admit. A player may start as a Renegade

Outcasts and Renegades start with nine forces and a level 3 Discord. They cannot use Rites, ascend to Heaven or Hell, or summon their Archangel or Demon Prince. This makes them less powerful than other angels and demons, but they have much more freedom. Actions such as killing a human will still cause disturbances in the Symphony.

A player who is playing an Outcast or Renegade must consider their background story carefully. What did they do to get kicked out of Heaven, or what did they believe so strongly in that you put your very existence on the line? What are their motives now?

Remnants

A Remnant is an angel or demon whose Celestial Forces have been lost in combat. If they have a vessel, they are forced back to Earth to live out the rest of their mundane lives, cut off from Heaven or Hell. They may retain a meagre selection of Songs, perhaps even Rites and attunements, but cannot use them in a directed manner. They retain no memory of their celestial lives, but they do know that they've lost a huge part of themselves. They are often very weak, but may only be recognised as former celestials by those who happen to know the face of their vessel. Remnants start with a maximum of five Forces. They are mostly 'wild card' NPCs, but there is no reason a player may not play as one.

Soldiers, Mundanes, and Undead

Soldiers are supernaturally enhanced humans, who look just like regular humans but know of the Symphony and can control the spending of their Essence. They can also learn Songs. Soldiers start out with six Forces. They have the advantage of being living, breathing humans, and thus nothing they do will disturb the Symphony in any way, except for spending Essence.

Mundanes are just regular humans. They may spend Essence, but only unconsciously. They start with 5 Forces. Mundanes have no advantages over Soldiers, so the only reason to play as one is if you really want to.

Undead are humans who have sold their souls for greater powers. They do not need to eat, breathe, or sleep, but they may do these things if they wish. Angels hate them, and despise the fact that nothing they do created ripples in the Symphony. However, the only thing holding an Undead's soul together is its Corporeal flesh; if the body dies, so too do the mind and the soul. Undead can be mummies (6 Forces, and are not necessarily wrapped in bandages), vampires (5 Forces, plus weakness to sunlight and need for blood), or zombis (sic) (4 Forces maximum, very weak - no reason to play as one, but you may like one as a servant).

Spirits

Spirits are minor Ethereal and Celestial entities sent to help or hinder humanity. They may be gremlins, which screw up the works, plans, and machines of humanity, imps, who try to annoy humans as much as they possibly can, or relievers, little fairies who work against imps. They may also take the form of familiars, assistants to Celestials in animal form from which the Celestial can withdraw Essence, temporarily displace Discord unto, or do various tasks that would be difficult for humans.

Character Points

Each character starts with a certain number of character points, based on how many Forces they have. These can then be used to buy things such as Songs, Relics, and attunements. Accepting Discord at character creation gets a player extra points. More may also be earned after an adventure in several ways and for a variety of reasons, at the discretion of the GM.

Essence

Essence is the energy of the Universe. In a very real sense, it's what makes the world go round. All sentient beings have some degree of Essence, but not all can use it consciously. Mundanes automatically use it unconsciously whenever they really want to succeed at something. Celestials, Soldiers, and Undead can use it as they wish. In the game, essence is used to fuel various supernatural abilities and to briefly enhance skills. A player starts with Essence points equal to their number of Forces. Angels and Outcasts regain 1 point of Essence at sunrise (in the game), Demons, Renegades, and Undead at sunset, humans and animals at noon, and spirits at midnight.

d666

In Nomine differs from other RPGs by using only three 6-sided dice as opposed to the various collections of poly-sided dice favoured by most RPGs. It is, however, important that two of the dice are similar and one is markedly different; for example, you might use two white dice and a red one. The dice are used to resolve fights and often to decide how well a certain skill works. There is little point in describing combat in detail here. When determining the skill, the general method is to roll all three dice. If the total on the two similar dice is less than or equal to the skill, Song level or attribute being used, the PC is successful in its use. If it is higher, they are unsuccessful. Note that there are exceptions, however. The number on the different die is the 'check digit,' which determines the degree of success or failure, with 1 being OK or a little poor, and 6 being spectacular or disastrous, depending on whether the roll was successful or failed. It can also determine specific things; for example, if you're trying to find the shortest route to somewhere, the check digit of a successful roll could indicate how many minutes you save over the normal route, but the check digit of an unsuccessful roll could be the amount of minutes you lose before realising that you've take the long way.

Two special combinations are the rolling of 111 and 666. These represent the Holy Trinity and the number of the Beast. A roll of 111 indicated divine intervention, which is good for angels and bad for demons. 666 is infernal intervention and is the opposite - good for demons and bad for angels. Both of these are overtly supernatural.

Example: an angel is searching for a demon in a power plant. If the angel roll 111 against her perception and a bolt of electricity might shoot from a generator and harms the demon, illuminating him in the process.

If the angel did not roll 111, then the demon might roll 666 against his stealth skill. If this happens, he might find a staircase that the angel didn't notice and climb to the to of a gantry. Here he finds a sniper rifle that wasn't there ten minutes ago.

Songs

These are not simply things you sing; they are miracles on call, fuelled by Essence. They have a wide range of effects, ranging from healing to possession. Most have three different forms - Corporeal, Ethereal, and Celestial. Knowing more than one form of a song gives a bonus to the effects of its use in ~any~ form. Each Song costs a certain amount of Essence, but its effects may be increased by spending more. Using songs disturbs the Symphony.

The different forms of each Song have special effects. For example, the Corporeal song of attraction causes two objects to gently 'tug' at each other, so that the holder of one can 'feel' the location of the other. The Ethereal version, however, causes a victim to become madly, passionately in love with something, and the Celestial form allows the performer to sense where in the Symphony and object he is touching at the time is.

Numinous Corpus

This is a special set of Corporeal songs which cause various (and temporary) physiological changes in the performer, ranging from wings and fangs to acid spit. Each Numinous Corpus must be learnt separately

Dissonance and Discord

Dissonance is a condition brought on by a celestial acting against his/ her true nature; for example, if a Mercurian hurts someone, or a Calabite goes a day without hurting someone! Each time this occurs, the character gains one point of dissonance, and the more they get, the more likely the angel is to fall or the demon is to gain Discord. Undoing the source of the dissonance will often get rid it, and there are also other ways.

Discord refers to a large number of physical, mental and celestial deformities and disorders, brought on by too much dissonance. A character may also take on Discord at character creation in order to gain extra character points. There are various types of Discord, including Stigmata*, obesity, useless, vestigial limbs, paranoia, phobia, greed, and gluttony, among other things. Discord can only be removed by an Archangel or Demon Prince. Note that Outcasts, Renegades, Vampires, Zombis, and Calabim automatically start with Discord of some form.

Geas

This is a special type of Discord, a promise made to another that must be upheld. A Geas is generally used by a Lilim in order to get what she wants; for example, she might offer someone money who really needs it, in return for which that person would have to steal an artifact, perhaps. All Lilim start with nine Geases owed to Lilith herself.

Artifacts

There are three types of artifact: Corporeal, Ethereal and Celestial. Corporeal artifacts are not really any different to normal, physical objects, but the owner will always know where it is. Ethereal artifacts enhance appropriate skills when used; for example, a pistol would enhance ranged weapon skill. Celestial Artifacts come in two varieties: Relics and Reliquaries. Relics contain Songs, but can only be used if your character is able to learn the appropriate Song; they do not have to actually know it, but must be able to know it. Reliquaries are gadgets which generate and store Essence, generally to be used by any Celestial, though some may only be used by angels or demons.

The Three Realms

In Nomine has three realms: the Corporeal, Ethereal, and Celestial. The Corporeal is the physical world. Look out the window: that's the Corporeal plane, right there. Most adventures take place in the Corporeal realm. The other two require a bit of explanation.

The Ethereal Realm

This is the dreamworld, the realm which divides the Corporeal and Celestial planes. Humans automatically come here when they dream; Celestials must find other ways in. Being the world of dreams, things in the Ethereal Realm can be as weird as the GM wants.

According to Heaven and Hell, the Ethereal Plane is divided into two halves: Blandine's Marches, where people dream, and Beleth's Marches, where they have nightmares. However, there is another region, the Far Marches, occupied by pagan gods, formed from the collective dreams of humanity, fairies, dragons, and various other creatures of myth. Beleth gave refuge to the pagan gods after Uriel, Archangel of Purity, 'purified' Blandine's side of the Marches. Though some pay Beleth lip service, very few will actually fight for her.

The Celestial Realm

The Celestial Realm contains Heaven and Hell. In this realm, angels and demons assume their true forms, described below. Full angels and demons can always ascend to the Celestial realm when they are at a Tether*, but other characters may not. Celestials may assume their true forms on Earth, but may only be seen by beings with high Perception.

The Campaign

At its most basic level, a game of In Nomine consists of the GM writing an adventure and letting the PCs play through it. The GM should not be too rigid as to where it is going - most players make mincemeat out of the GMs plans, and might spend ages searching for a single goal. For this reason, an adventure can be run quite successfully with no clear end or destination in sight. Not only does this afford the players and GM a lot more freedom in playing, it also opens the way to myriad subplots and many more possibilities than would be possible with specific goals. However, the GM should have a rough idea of the mission beforehand, to afford consistency. There are technically four types of In Nomine game: Realistic, Dark, Mythic, and Humorous. In reality, games are rarely as clear-cut as this, many of them taking in aspects from all four.

Realistic

This focuses more on the daily interactions of humans, how the Celestials try to help or harm them, and how they deal with the whole Celestial conflict thing. This is the easiest campaign in which to incorporate other ideas - after all, how realistic can you get in a world where angels and demons walk among us?

Dark

Some prefer the alternative term Gothic, though Dark is a better description. These adventures will focus on the sliding of humanity towards the Pit. Angels will feel at a loss, and demons can get away with more. In one of these campaigns, the angels will question their own natures as the Host feels somewhat helpless, and the demons will have a sense of Pyrrhic victory, winning the War at the cost of his/ her soul. The TV and comic book series Spawn is a very good example of the darkness being discussed here; Angel less so, but still applicable.

Humorous

This is a satirical, socially ironic adventure, and is good for a laugh, though is fairly hard to do unless the GM has a talent for humour. In one of these, Kobal's servants will shine, though no Choir or Band has the market cornered on irony. After a long, Dark session, a quick Humorous adventure is good for sending people home happy, especially if it's late at night.

Mythic

This is basically the opposite of realistic, and focuses on the epic battle between Heaven and Hell. This affords the players and the GM much more imagination than the other categories. As an example of how a Mythic campaign differs from a realistic one, consider a widespread insomnia epidemic. In a realistic campaign, the PCs would examine the water supplies or search for Divine or Infernal technological devices, but in a Mythic campaign they would more likely journey to the Ethereal Realm to examine dreams.

Short Adventures

In the course of a campaign, the players will likely run up numerous subplots which don't have much effect on all the regular players, of which there are often about six. This is where short adventures come in. They can be played as a break from regular sessions by a smaller group, perhaps even just one (plus the GM, of course) and can accomplish in less than an hour what might take a few sessions with a regular group, without boring the players for whom the adventure has no bearing. Considering that most groups get together about once a week, you have a powerful time and boredom saving tool on your hands - and in many cases, the sooner the short adventures are out of the way, the sooner you can get back onto the big ones. Short adventures will usually flesh out NPCs histories and resolve important subplots.

Mixing It Up

Eventually, players will likely want to play a mixed game, with angels and demons working more or less together. This is not difficult, but does take a little thought. There should be no Malakim in a mixed party, unless there was some way that the fact that some PCs were demons could be concealed. One possibility is that some servitors of Dominic and Asmodeus team up to hunt down a group of Outcasts and/or Renegades. Another is Servitors of Eli and Kobal teaming up against them for a laugh. Or the players might even play as the Outcasts and Renegades, running to avoid destruction. Also, it should be noted that, like on Earth, Celestials do things besides work. Some may have stayed in touch with friends who chose the other side. It's possible that some Celestials were (and even still are) literally sleeping with the enemy.

Further Reading

The core material of the game is contained in a glossy, A4 sized picture book called, simply, In Nomine. This is available from most gaming stores, or you may be able to make a deal with the owner. There are also numerous support books for In Nomine, and a complete list may be found at www.sjgames.com/in-nomine The main Steve Jackson Games website can be found at www.sjgames.com . For a complete catalogue of all SJ Games products, send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) to SJ Games, PO Box 18957, Austin, TX 78760. More information on In Nomine and other RPGs can be found in Pyramid magazine.

Inspiration

Listed below are some of the books, movies, and TV shows, which appear at the end of In Nomine and are described as having had the greatest influence on In Nomine. The author (of the book, Derek Pearcy) says that the list is not exhaustive, but will point you in the right direction.

Books

In Nomine Satanis/ Magna Veritas

This is the two books that started off In Nomine. They are already described at the start of this entry, and are available from Asmodée Éditions. The only problem is they're in French; however, it is mostly quite simple, and anyone with a smattering should be able to figure them out. INS/ MV were recently compiled into a single hardback book. To mail order information and a current list of publications in print, write to:

INS/ MV are also available separately in German, from Truant. Write to:

Movies and Television

The following were not mentioned, but this researcher feels they are worth looking into.