Character Creation: In Nomine

I considered making two In Nomine characters (angel and demon), but I think I'll just do the one for now. I might come back to it later and make another one, who knows?

In Nomine is an interesting game. It's about Heaven, Hell, angels and demons, yeah, but it's pretty light, especially if you check out the art. But reading the text, there are some heavier things at work. God, in the game, remains inscrutable, while Satan is a little more accessible, but that just makes sense, because, just as in the real world, if you want to make God understandable you eventually run up against that "He got the mustard out, but let a million babies die the tsunami" kind of issue. By making Him invisible, or least unknowable, you dodge that issue.

Demon: The Fallen did the same thing, incidentally. The options for angels who wanted (reasonably) to know why they were commanded to love humanity, but never reveal themselves, were "Come unto me and basically be vaporized" or "Shut the fuck up and do as I said."

One of these days, I'll do a post about presentations of God in movies and literature, because I think it's interesting how, in movies like Oh God! and Bruce Almighty, the first thing the character witnessing God does is ask for proof (which God then provides), while in horror movies that feature God Seventh Sign, The Reaping, kinda) we don't see Him, and he tends to go psycho.

Anyway. I'm making an angel character, because I think it'll surprise some people. And I promise he won't be speedy and flippy. 

The Game: In Nomine
The publisher: Steve Jackson Games
Degree of familiarity: Some. I played it when I lived in Toledo and ran a one-shot before I moved to Atlanta
Books Required: Just the In Nomine book. I have a bunch of sourcebooks that I got on the cheap from my brother, but I just pulled out the Angelic Player's Guide. 

 
OK, one of the things that bugs me about this game, as opposed to similar ones like Demon and Nobilis is that I can't play a word-bound starting character. If I wanted to play, say, the Angel of Solace...I can't, because I start out as a weakling. If you've been following, you know how I feel about that. But, let's begin.

My first step is talk my concept over with my GM. Moving along.

I flip through the choirs, and hit on Elohim. These angels are objective. They cannot judge any one thing to better than another - that's dissonant to them. They're incarnations of balance. Since I can't start off word-bound, I think this would be fun to play. I want an angel of objectivity, one that doesn't judge God's plan because that would require interpretation. He does what's required of him, and he doesn't argue the niggly bits - the world is what it is, it is that way because God wants it that way, God wants him to do what he's doing, so here we are.

As for a superior, I'm already picturing my character as a science-y type, and Jean, Archangel of Lightning, is perfect. As an Elohite of Lightning, I can create my own little handheld computer for 1 Essence. Neat! I mark down "Elohite of Lightning" on my sheet.

Now, let's do my Forces. As an angel, I get 9 Forces, at least 1 of each type. I'll skimp on Corporeal ones, but I want lots of Intelligence and Perception. I put 1 into Corporeal Forces, 5 into Ethereal and 3 into Celestial. I'm a smart fucker. That means I have 4 points to divide between Strength and Agility, 20 to divide between Intelligence and Precision (jesus) and 12 to divide between Will and Perception.

Corporeal: Well, given that Strength influences how much health I get, I'll go for Strength 3 and Agility 1. I'm clumsy as hell, which I think my angel compensates for by being extremely slow and methodical.

Ethereal: Divided evenly, I'd still be at Human Upper Limit for both Intelligence and Precision. Screw that. I'll do 12 Intelligence, making me so smart that other angels go "wow, he's smart" and 8 Precision, which is still impressive by Celestial standards.

Celestial: I'll actually divvy this one up evenly; 6 in each. That's average for an angel.

Character Points: I get 36 of these bad boys to buy skills, resources, Songs (magic) and servants. That's not nearly enough, but whatcha gonna do? I'll take Vessel at 3 (nine points), and I'll burn 10 points on my Role: Scientist. My character's body is that of a professor and researcher at the University of Wherever This Game is Set. He took on the role on orders from Jean, and set about doing research. He's not really able to dodge the acclaim, though (I mean, remember how smart this guy is), so the role just got more and more cemented, at the expense of virtually everything else. I think that's probably why Jean is tapping him now, saying, "Uh, dude, go further the cause of lightning some more."

Obviously, I need a Skill to back that up, but Skills are cheaper than Roles. Let's see. I'll take Computer Operation 2, Engineering 3, Knowledge (Physics) 2 and Electronics 2. Those numbers aren't real high...but they're all Ethereal-related Skills, meaning that even with just raw talent, I'm impressive.

All of this means I have 8 points left. Hmm. I think I'll take a level of negative Charisma attached to this vessel; my angel's scientist persona is just too cold and calculated to get along with people. He just doesn't seem to have a personal life, or any real opinions - it's creepy. That gives me 2 points back, effectively. I've got 10, then. Let's have a look at Songs.

I definitely want the Ethereal Song of Harmony - makes people incapable of fighting. If I have to get unpleasant with people, I'd rather not hurt them. I'll take Celestial Song of Entropy. Finally, I take the Ethereal Song of Form, which allows me to turn invisible. I'll put three into each of these, and put the extra point into Harmony (which is the one I'd really not want to fail).

From here, I figure out my Body hits (12 - suck, I better not get shot), my Mind hits (60 - don't mess with me in mental combat) and my Soul hits (18, I'm about average). Now all I need are a few notes.

I see this character as kind of obsessive. He does what he's told not because he's weak willed, but because he thinks that judging one activity over another is dissonant. All else being equal, he doesn't want to make waves. He's done research into physics, harmonics, computers and various other disciplines, but he's not passionate about it (which makes him a great co-author, because he doesn't grouse when other people hog the credit). Jean is thinking about "retiring" his role sometime in the future, unless he can do something with it to prove that he should keep it. That puts my angel in the strange position of having to fight for something.

His name, among humans, is Dr. Alvin Kohler. Folks on campus call him "Dr. Colder." His celestial name is Variel (I didn't consult an angel dictionary, I just made that up).