In Nomine (role-playing game)
 |
|
| Designer(s) | Derek Pearcy |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Steve Jackson Games |
| Publication date | 1997 |
| Genre(s) | horror |
| System(s) | Custom (d666) |
In Nomine is a role-playing game designed by Derek Pearcy and published in 1997 by Steve Jackson Games, based on the French game In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas. Players typically assume the role of angels and demons in a setting that draws heavily on the traditional Christian mythos.In Nomine won the Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1997.
The game combines the supernatural with mundane reality, with campaigns often set in the modern world. Supernatural characters take on a human (or other mundane) form to further their various agendas. Although individual campaigns can focus on combat or direct conflict, Heaven and Hell settled into a Cold War called the "Great Game". Angels and demons typically struggle indirectly, by attempting to draw humans closer to their respective sides. Open hostilities are costly, and, in the game setting, rarely prove to be the most efficient option. This allows In Nomine to have the qualities of a morality play as well as those of a more standard role-playing game.
Angels and demons, collectively termed celestials, are sorted into different Choirs (angelic) or Bands (demonic). Musical themes permeate the literature. For example, all of creation is collectively termed "The Symphony", and "spells" do not exist; celestial powers are either Resonances, Attunements, or Songs. Every Choir or Band has a "resonance" associated with it, a unique way in which they interact with the Symphony that functions as a supernatural ability.
A celestial generally also has two sets of "dissonance conditions" that determine how they acquire notes of dissonance. One set comes from the base Choir or Band, and the other set comes from the Word they serve. Violating these conditions involves fundamentally rejecting their identity (for demons) or their place in the Symphony (for angels), and this rejection manifests itself in dissonance. Dissonance impairs a celestial's abilities in certain ways, and is keyed to spiritual anguish. For example, Seraphim see lies plainly (via use of their resonance) and in turn cannot bring themselves to lie without betraying their natures (which earns them dissonance). Acquiring notes of dissonance, in turn, interferes with their ability to use their resonance. Thus, once an angel starts distancing itself from the Symphony, it runs the risk of getting caught in a vicious cycle that leads it further and further from its angelic nature - and down the path to Falling. Bands do not tend to have a similar problem; a demon typically requires Superior intervention, whereas an angel can Fall spontaneously by itself.
...
Wikipedia