Roleplaying
2004 Archive
Seminars
| When: | 15 October 2004 |
| Who: | Makatiel |
| What: | Mechanics 101 |
Makatiel steps up to the front of the room, hauling a podium and slide projector out of thin air. Thumping them down, he settles them at the front of the room, and goes to stand behind the podium. A whiteboard appears in the space behind him.
"Welcome to Mechanics 101. I'm your Professor, Makatiel. This class is intended to cover the basics of reading dice rolls, normal vs. contested dice rolls, along with the basics of simple combat. I will also covere Interventions. Time permitting, I may also cover basic Song use, essence mechanics. There will be a Q& A period after the class for other questions. Since this is an informal class, you're welcome to ask questions and make comments provided they're relevant to the subject being discussed. Please keep the amount of off topic chatter to a minimum."
He smiles and pulls out a set of dry-erase markers before nodding. "So. Shall we begin?"
Christina rushes into a seat and smiles, getting out a spiral notebook and frantically searching for a page not covered in concentric circles and constellations.
Sarah is ready~~. GIVE ME KNOWLEDGE.
...please.
Makatiel steps up to the board and writes out the words 'the d666'. "The basic roll of In Nomine is the d666, which is three six-sided dice. Two of these, on our system, are blue, and one is red. Before I go into it, there are a couple of other dice rolls used." He scribbles the term '1d'. "This means, roll one die. Sometimes 2d is used and 1d+2. These work more or less like in other RPGS - roll the specified number of dice and add the results, then add or subtract the modifier. In Nomine uses these for durations and damage of some Songs and abilites, but it's uncommon."
"But back to the d666. The first two blue dice are added together to determine success or failure. Generally they're referred to as the 'target dice'. The red die is used to determine the magnitude of a success or failure, and is called the 'check digit', or 'CD' for short."
Makatiel says, "Following me so far?"
Sarah says, "Yup."
Christina draws a picture of a cat holding up two blue dice on one hand, and a red in the other. She looks up briefly and nods.
"Alright. For the moment, we'll focus on the target number. The majority of rolls will be made against a statistic, or a statistic + a skill (I'll cover how those work later). But, for example, let us say that Alexander wants to notice someone saying his name in a crowded room. This would call for a Perception roll. Since his perception is a 6, he must roll a six or LESS on the target dice in order to succeed. Let us see how he does:"
Roll by Makatiel: (2) (1) (6)
Christina says, "I think he noticed, Makie?"
Makatiel says, "Since the target dice add up to '3', he's succeeded. Also - the CD is a six, which means he succeeded exceptionally well."
Christina says, "So a 3-6 and a 6-6 are effectively the same result, for this purpose?"
Makatiel smiles, and nods. "Now. While the target number is generally the stat involved, a staff member or Judge in a scene may consider a given action to be easier, or more difficult than normal. At thier discretion, or the consent of the persons involved in a scene, the target number may be adjusted by anywhere from -2 for a very hard action, or +2 for a very easy action."
"Continuing the earlier example, if the location Alexander was trying to overhear someone in was an active noisy construction site, that might require a -2 on his roll. He'd still succeed with his earlier roll, but it's less likely."
Makatiel nods to Christina. "Yes. As long as the first two dice added are equal to or less than the targer number, the action succeeds."
Christina nods.
Makatiel continues. "If the target number is a 12 or more, a roll is considered to be an automatic success (barring an Intervention). However, the roll should STILL be made in order to determine the CD of the action. The amount OVER 12 of an automatic success is ADDED to the CD. To continue with Alexander, he has a Fighting Skill of 4, and a Strength of 8. This means any fighting roll he makes will automatically succeed. If he's fighting and an action is considered very easy (not likely in combat, but bear with me), then the +2 to the target difficulty makes his target number a 14 - so it will be an automatic success, and he will add 2 to his CD when he rolls, like thus:"
Roll by Makatiel: (4) (3) (4)
Makatiel says, "With me so far?"
Christina says, "I think so..."
Christina says, "So... I automatically dodge?"
Makatiel says, "Yes. With a +2 on the Check Digit, barring circumstances. Of course, that only applies in Corporeal combat."
Christina says, "Right, right."
Christina says, "In cel_combat, I'm fodder."
Makatiel will go into more detail on combat later.
Christina nods.
Sarah follows ya.
"Next up is Contests. This is where two characters are performing actions in opposition - wrestling for a gun, or one person trying to sneak past another. In these situations, each character rolls against the appropriate skill, song or characteristic. In the example of the pair wrestling for the gun, both would roll against their Strength characteristic. A judge may adjust either roll as he/she sees fit for difficulty. Note that Contests are not always the same statistic - in the case of sneaking past, the sneaker would make a Stealth roll (Move Silently + Precision), while the guard would roll against Perception."
"So. If neither side succeeds in their roll, nothing happens - neither side gains advantage. The sneaker has to stop because he made a noise, but the guard didn't catch it, or the pair struggling for the gun continue struggling."
"If one person succeeds and the other fails, the person with the successful roll wins the contest - the guard notices the sneaker, or one person wrests the gun away."
"Lastly, if both succeed in their rolls, then the check digit determines the success of the Contest. The roll with the higher check digit is treated as a success, while the other roll is treated as a failure for game purposes."
"If the Check Didgits are the same, the Contest is a draw. The contestants may either continue the contest, or try to do something else the next round. Interventions always indicate a spectacular success for one side, depending on the alignment of the contestants and the Intervention rolled. If TWO interventions are rolled, the Judge will determine what happens - just be certain it's going to be spectacular."
Makatiel waits for folks to read and ask questions before he continues.
Sarah says, "The concept of two simultaneous opposing Interventions makes my inner SFX junky go 'squee'. Aside from that, I follow."
Christina nods. "God (111) or Lucifer (666) personally pokes something to make things go their way."
Makatiel will be covering Interventions next.
"So. Interventions - an intervention occurs when someone rolls either 111 or 666 on all the dice of a d666 roll. We have a system here that automatically posts to the admin board when an Intervention is rolled - Interventions will ALWAYS require the attention of a Judge. When you get one, page staff and arrange for a Judge, unless one is on hand."
"A result of 111 is a Divine Intervention - God has taken notice, and chosen to briefly reach out and touch the world. A 666 result means Lucifer is paying attention and is inclined to meddle, and is known as an Infernal Intervention. Divine Interventions always favor the forces of heaven and thwart the forces of evil. Infernal Interventions aren't as consistent - Luficer normally chooses to help evil and foil good, but his plans are complex. Worry when an Infernal Intervention favors the Angels - Lucifer's planning something."
"Interventions are ALWAYS blatantly supernatural in effect - the two great powers are reaching out and meddling in the world, and this can have profound effects."
Makatiel says, "Generally speaking, however, a 666 is good for evil, bad for good. Only very special cases - and probably TP only events - might it have a slightly different outcome."
Makatiel doubts you'll ever see it happen that way.
Christina nods. "So mortals see the freaky special effects as well, and call it a miracle or something?"
Makatiel says, "It is a miracle."
Makatiel says, "Nothing precludes mortals from seeing the effects of Songs, Attunements or other supernatural powers. If you fling around a lot of miraculous or infernal power around mortals, they'll notice."
Christina says, "Well, yes. I suppose it is!" "Thank you God!" "Okiley Dokiley!"
Makatiel says, "Questions?"
Sarah says, "One."
Makatiel says, "Sure. Ask away."
Sarah says, "If no staffers/Judges are connected/handy/what-have-you, what should we do if we roll an Intervention?"
Rufus says, "Good one."
Makatiel says, "Pause the scene - I know it's a pain in the butt. The admin will have a record of who made the roll, and who was in the room at the time. They'll @mail the participants to set up a time to resolve the situation."
Sarah nods. 'kay.
Christina says, "Can we purposefully fudge the roll away from a DI if all parties agree, so as not to break flow of the scene?"
Makatiel says, "No."
Makatiel says,, "Interventions are based off the dice roll themselves - modifiers don't apply. And they can't be fudged from - you roll one, it's gonna happen. While I understand wanting to keep the scene moving, Interventions can have a significant impact on events."
Makatiel says, "To the tune of characters gaining or loosing Forces, Dischords, etc."
Makatiel says, "Anything else?"
Sarah says, "Yeah. Like how the example in-book consists of a teacher becoming a Soldier from a DI."
Christina nods.
Makatiel hrms, and considers what to cover next - probably basic combat. "Mostly I wanted to cover the basics of the die roll - that was the critical part tonight. At this point, I'm open to moving in the direction people are more interested in. Important stuff that I haven't covered is combat, Skills, dissonance mechanics, Song mechanics..."
Makatiel says, "But they all require a basic familiarity with the d666."
Christina says, "Skills, basic combat, dissonance/dischord, disturbance, essence, songs."
Sarah says, "I suppose now would be the best time to ask this, actually, since I can't see it in the +help files..."
Sarah says, "...how the heck do I do a die roll?"
Makatiel says, "+roll"
Christina says, "+roll"
Sarah says, "Thank you, sahs."
"Actually, Skills are quite simple - every skill has two important characteristics that will be included in the +sinfo files when they're complete. The first is the related characteristic. Some skills are Strength skills, some are agility, etc."
"The second important part is what's called the 'Default'. This is the modifier for using the skill untrained as just a straight characteristic roll. Sometimes this default is low - such as Fighting, which has a Default of 0. Some, such as Electronics skill, have high Defaults (-5 in that case)."
"A skill roll is the same as any other roll - only the target number is equal to the characteristic + the skill ranking. Or, in the case of untrained use, the characterist - the default. Clear?"
Makatiel says, "Also! Some skills use more than one characteristic, depending on situation. Fighting and Dodge are examples of this."
Makatiel says, "Depending on the REALM of combat (Corporeal, Ethereal or Celestial), fighting is based off either Strength, Intelligence or Will. Dodge is similar, but it's based off either Agility, Precision or Perception."
Christina says, "Okay, so if I'm in cel_form on earth, I still dodge with my agility?"
Bridgit is quiet and watching. Will pipe up if I have a question. :D
Makatiel says, "No, Christina. If you're in Celestial form, you're only vulnerable to Celestial attacks - corporeal attacks won't effect you. Which means if someone's attacking you, it'll be a Celestial attack, meaning you use Perception to dodge."
Christina says, "Gotcha."
Makatiel says, "Realm of the interaction, not Realm you're on."
Christina says, "Ah!"
Makatiel also notes that Ethereal combat is really uncommon.
Christina says, "So if they throw Mind attacks at me, I dodge with precision."
Makatiel figures that at this point, we might as well move on to doing basic combat. Seems to be what most folks are interested in, anyhow. :D
Christina giggles and gets her knives out.
"So. Combat - at it's simplest level, combat works like this: Each character is allowed to make one attack per combat round - the character rolls against his Song of choice, or a skill check against the appropriate skill. If he succeeds, he's hit and the damage dealt is the check digit of the roll plus the Power of the weapon being used. Now, this is important: SOMETIMES Power is NEGATIVE. This can only reduce the damage dealt to 0 - it never adds health back to the target. If the roll fails, the attack missed. Also, targets can wear armor - this can affect both the target number needed to hit them, and provide Protection. The Protection rating is subtracted from the CD of a successful hit as well."
Makatiel brings in the punching dummy.
Christina smiles.
Makatiel says, "Oh! Before we get started with the practical demonstrations, there's one more characteristic to cover: Weapons can have an Accuracy rating. This value is added or subtracted from the target number needed for a successful attack. Now, let me look up knives really quickly."
Makatiel says, "Ah, here we are. Alright Christina - roll to hit Alexander there. Since this is basic combat, he can't dodge - I'll cover that next, once we cover this."
Roll by Christina: (4) (6) (1)
Christina says, "I think that gives me a check of 3?"
Makatiel says, "Okay - Knives have an accuracy of +1, and Small Weapons is a Precision based skill."
Christina says, "But I'm throwing them at him. Not running up and slashing?"
Christina says, "Shouldn't that use my Throwing?"
Makatiel says, "See, this must be specified!"
Christina nodnods!
Makatiel says, "You didn't pose - hence my confusion."
Christina says, "You didn't say to pose... my bad... one sec."
Makatiel says, "But yes - that does make a difference."
Makatiel says, "Throwing works differently than basic combat, so I'd rather NOT use that, actually."
Christina says, "Okay then. I miss on the slashiness."
Makatiel says, "Yes. Mind if I throw out the numbers so people can see WHY you miss?"
Christina says, "Sure."
Bridgit says, "Please do, I was about to ask... :D"
Christina has Precision of 7. +1 rank of Small Weapon = 8. +1 Acc for Knives = 9. She rolled a 10.
Makatiel says, "So. Christina's using Small Weapons skill, which she has at rank 1. Her Precision is 7, meaning she has a base target number of 8. Since she's using a knife, she has a +1 on accuracy, raising the number to a 9. However, she rolled a 10 - she misses the attack. Now it's Alex's turn to swing back."
Bridgit gets it.
Alexander is using Fighting at rank 4, and has an 8 strength, giving him a base skill roll of 12. A punch has a power of -3, and no Accuracy modifiers. So.
Roll by Alexander: (2) (5) (3)
Alexander says, "Since I have a target number of 12, I CANNOT miss."
Alexander says, "However, I don't do any damage with the punch - CD 3, -3 accuracy = 0 damage."
Christina whew.
Bridgit says, "So the first two die are the to-hits, and the red die is the damage?"
Christina says, "The red die is 'how good you do'. In the case of attacks, yes, it's damage."
Bridgit nods.
Makatiel nods. "The first two dice are added to get the success/failure result. The red die is the Check Digit.
Makatiel says, "The number you need to roll is the Target number, and depends on the roll you're making. In this case, it's Skill + Characteristic. Most rolls will be that, or else just straight Characteristic rolls."
Genevieve whispers to Bri, blue die = action potential in nerves.
Bridgit snrkgiggles.
Christina says, "I do not like melee combat so much, so I'm going to try to get away from the fists of fury."
Alexander now changes the rules on Christina a bit, by lighting his hands on fire with green flame. (Malakite of Gabriel attunement), changing them to an Accuracy -1 weapon with a power equal to my Celestial forces - in this case, 3.
Christina says, "And that does fire damage?"
Alexander says, "Type of damage generally doesn't matter unless you have an attunement to block it. Even Ofanim get burned in Corporeal vessels."
Christina says, "Right."
Roll by Alexander: (6) (6) (6)
Alexander says, "...."
Christina says, "You explode."
Genevieve !!!
Christina says, "I win."
You say, "Well. Alexander's in trouble."
Christina says, "Or more likely."
Christina says, "We both explode."
Makatiel says, "That there was an Infernal Intervention. Which... Yeah - not good."
Christina says, "For either of us, right?"
Alexander says, "That would depend on the Judge, why we were fighting, and which result would better advance the forces of Evil."
Christina says, "I'd think stripping two angels of forces generaly works for the cause of evil... o.o"
Christina says, "But I'm not nearly as devious as Lucifer."
Christina says, "So..."
Alexander says, "Also depends on how twisted Lucifer's feeling."
Genevieve ows as her headache comes back. x.x
Makatiel coughs. "Back to the matter at hand, Intervention aside - when you roll one of those, all the rules of Target numbers and check digits goes out the window. Normal rules don't apply to a roll of 666 or 111. So I'm going to have Alex re-reroll for his flaming fists of fury at Christina.
Roll by Alexander: (5) (6) (2)
Christina ouchies?
Alexander says, "So. This would hit - I needed an 11, and matched it. The check die is 2 - but because the power of my fists is three, I do 5 points of damage to Christina's vessel."
Alexander says, "Now - I'm going to let Christina try and dodge."
Christina oofs! And gets burned. And screams nice and loud.
Christina gets to dodge now?
Christina woohoo!
Makatiel says, "The target of a successful attack can choose to dodge - roll versus your Dodge skill, Christina."
Roll by Christina: (2) (5) (6)
Christina so totally dodges.
Makatiel says, "The check digit of her dodge roll is subtracted from the damage Alex did - since Christina's Dodge roll target number is a whopping 14, each point over 12 is added to her Dodge check digit - meaning, she just Dodged 8 points of damage - way more than Alex did, so she successfully got out of his way."
Christina no ouchie!
Rufus hopes he has such luck in dodging Alex's flamefists.
Makatiel notes that the default for Dodge is -1.
Christina says, "So the first point you spend on dodge gets you two."
Rufus forgot to buy dodge. I'm doomed.
Makatiel says, "Which means if you have NO dodge skill, you make an Agility roll at -1 for Corporeal combat. Go ahead and try, Rufus. Let's see how you'd do at dodging Alex's last attack. :D"
Roll by Rufus: (2) (4) (1)
Rufus says, "Crud."
Makatiel says, "Well, you successfully dodged - but only 1 point of it."
Rufus says, "I liked that Flannel."
Makatiel says, "So you'd take 4 points from the flaming fists."
Rufus says, "Yup."
Rufus says, "But then, I'd strike back. With CALABOOM!"
Christina says, "Okay. So far I like this."
Rufus says, "Heh."
Christina says, "Explain the calaboom."
Makatiel says, "Calaboom is resonance related. :D"
Sarah is a physical-concept sissy of the highest order, so I'm not even gonna try. XD
Rufus says, "I was referring to my resonance, sorry."
Makatiel says, "Everyone clear on the basics of beating on each other?"
Rufus says, "I can MAKE things hurt, break, or explode."
Christina says, "Almost."
Makatiel says, "Okay then - questions?"
Christina holds up her throwing knives. "Were we gonna get back to these?"
Makatiel mutters. Throwing is wierd. It'd be easier if you had a gun. :D
Christina smiles. "But I don't."
Makatiel says, "The way throwing is written, it's generally intended for things like throwing grenades."
Sarah says, "I think I am. I'm kind of splitting my attentions, but I'm sure when I get a chance to look back and read more closely I'll get it all. *_*"
Christina says, "Even nobodies can have knives. Getting a gun requires more than I have."
Makatiel says, "But it works like this: The check digit of a successful throwing roll is subtracted from the target's Dodge roll."
Makatiel says, "Actually, whether or not you have knives is up to a Judge, since you don't have a Corporeal artifact of that type."
Makatiel would suggest you speak to Raphael about it before you assume you have them. It's possible, but a note probably needs to be added to your +sheet.
Bridgit notes I have a gun.
Christina says, "Dude, I -asked you- and you said I didn't need to... or maybe it was Legion..."
Makatiel says, "That would have been Legion, not me. :D"
Makatiel will check with Raph.
Makatiel says, "As I said, it's probably not a problem, nor is it germane to the topic at hand."
Christina says, "Okay then. Because if I can't, I need to take a point out of something and move it over."
Christina says, "Anyways. What's next then?"
Makatiel says, "So. Throwing. I suspect a knife throw would work like a normal combat roll for Knives, with appropriate range modifiers. Next up... well. We've covered basic dice rolling, combat, Interventions - what would people like to hear about?"
Makatiel knows! SONGS!
Christina nods!
Christina says, "Songs are good."
Bridgit says, "Yes *please*. :D"
Makatiel goes back behind his podium, as the mess of the combat demonstration vanishes from the room. "Songs are themes of the Symphony that can be sung with a variety of effects. I'm not going to cover all the possible permutations, but instead cover the basics of song performance. All songs have an associated Realm."
"The target number for performing a song successfully is the level of the song, plus the number of forces the performer has in that Song's realm."
Makatiel hauls Alex back in again for another demo.
Rufus agrees to be an example, should he be needed again, as well.
Alexander says, "So. As people who were here the other day may already know, I have the Corporeal Song of Fire, with 3 ranks. I also have 4 Corporeal forces. This means that on an unmodified performance attempt, is a 7."
Roll by Alexander: (3) (1) (4)
Christina will uhm... not try to sing fire into Alex.
Sarah says, "I can do examples, too, with my swarm of songy things, if needed."
Alexander successfully sings the Song of Fire. Stuff burns. Not gonna worry about that much.
Rufus says, "My Favorite song.... is THUNDER!"
"Anyhow. There is another consideration regarding the level of a Song. It determines what must be done in order to perform it. At level 1, a Song requires both hand motions, and vocal performance in order to be performed. With a successful performance, the song will take effect on /that/ round. A bound or gagged performer wouldn't be able to perform that song."
"At level 2, the Song requires either vocal, OR physical performance, but not both, and still takes effect on that round."
"At levels 3 and 4, the song will take effect on the same round when sung or gestured, but can also be invoked mentally alone, which case it takes place the following round. Lastly, at level 5 and 6, the song can be performed mentally, with it taking immediate effect.
Christina says, "ooooh..."
Makatiel clears his throat and continues. "If you know a song poorly, there is one way to increase the chance of a successful performance - take more time. As follows:"
Two extra rounds of performance: +1
One extra minute: +2
Five minutes: +3
One full hour: +4
Christina says, "spiffy!"
Sarah says, "I see. So...In my case, with Corporeal Song of Light at level 1, it'd be more expedient to just bring a flashlight and some extra batteries. :P"
Makatiel continues, "Also - knowing more than one version of a song makes them easier to perform. If you, for example, know the song of healing in two realms, say Corporeal and Celestial, it gives a +1 on ther check digit. Knowing all 3 gives a +2 on the roll.
Rufus says, "Level 2 or Not, I like My thunder, but, let's say I'm using it as a distraction while cohorts plot elsewhere. Since I have the time, I'll take 5 minutes..."
Rufus says, "+3 . Sweetness."
Bridgit is going to really have to reread this and chew it over later. :D
Sarah foresees I'll be taking time until I start upping my song levels, alright. ^^; Uh, anyway, I follow you.
Rufus isn't going to spam the room with a roll, BUT, what's the celestial disturbance range for Thunder?
Makatiel hasn't covered disturbance, so I don't really know.
Rufus says, "Okies!"
Christina says, "How much disturbance does it cause, numerically?"
Sarah says, "Thunder has an inherent Disturbance equal to the CD + performer's total forces. I'm not sure how Essence spent effects that off-hand."
Rufus says, "Ummm.. Yeah."
Makatiel says, "One per essence spent."
Christina says, "Killing a human is 10 disturbance. and... hold on, I found a page."
Makatiel says, "It's always one per essence spent unless otherwise noted."
Sarah says, "So, given your average demon, it's at least a Disturbance of 11, and that's with just 1 Essence spent and a CD of 1. So that there's a loud Song."
Sarah says, "Er, no, that's angel, demons I think have fewer Forces. ...I'll shut up, I'ma confuse people."
Christina says, "http://www.sjgames.com/in-nomine/articles/Resources/disturbance_stats.html"
Remy just uses Corporeal Shields, and bails. >_>
Bridgit heh.
Makatiel says, "Actually, a LOUD song is the Celestial Song of Cacophony. Disturbance of Performer's Cel Forces, times Essence Spent, times the CD."
Christina The damn thing cubes? O.O
Makatiel doesn't want to confuse pople. "So. Do people get Songs, at basic? They always require essence to fuel, so you'll generally need a Judge on hand so you can spend the essence and adjudicate the results.
Makatiel says, "There is NO automated essence spending code, and never will be. The ORC terms forbid it."
Sarah says, "Oooh, okay. I should've thought about that. So basically, try to have a Judge and/or Staffer available for anything involving Essence expenditure or hitting other people."
Makatiel nods to Sarah. "Judges are the only ones who can handle dealing damage, spending essence, and otherwise dealing with your +sheet values.
Makatiel thinks he's probably covered most of the Mechanics he's going to tonight, and will open up the floor to general Q&A mechanics related questions.
Sarah notes that. Is there a list of what Judges there are somewhere? I mean, I for one probably won't need 'em much, Sarah's got all the combat ability of a powdered donut, but I'm sure it'll come up at some point...
Sarah says, "or is it just Judges == Staff for now?"
Remy says, "Is there an automated Essence GAINING procedure?"
Makatiel says, "For the moment, Raphael, Uriel and I are probably the Judges."
Remy says, "Since technically all of us should have been accruing a point of Essence a day or so."
Rufus says, "Up to Max."
Makatiel shakes his head at Remy. "There isn't. We have to do it by hand."
Rufus says, "Unless you bought a Reliquary."
Remy says, "Well, let's see."
Remy says, "You covered Combat, Songs, Essence..."
Makatiel says, "Actually, I've only touched on Essence."
Christina says, "Yeah, back to essence."
Sarah reserves her question, Essence is important.
Remy says, "We still have Resonance, Dissonance, Discords, Vessels, Symphonic Disruption, Superiors...."
Clearing his throat, Makatiel writes on the whiteboard: Essence - What it means to YOU! "Alright. Essence - here's the basics. All beings contain and generate essence. Any character can hold a number of points of Essence equal to the number of Forces they have. There's also relics called 'Reliquaries' that can store essence as well - I'm not going to cover them in detail."
"But what's Essence good for? A number of things - Essence is used to fuel songs, and can be used to reduce the target numbers on skill and Song rolls on a one Essence, -1 target number basis. Spending essence generates disturbance based on the amount of essence spent - disturbance can be heard by other symphonically aware beings, generally celstials and Soliders."
He continues. "Essence is gained in a number of ways - Angels generate a point at dawn, Demons at Dusk, and mortal beings at noon. Essence is also gained via 'Rites', which are specific to your Superior."
Christina says, "Ethereals get it at midnight?"
Makatiel says, "Yes, but we don't have any, so it's a moot point. :D"
Christina says, "But they do, for sake of symmetry."
Rufus says, "They're here. You're just in denial."
Makatiel gets out his ruler, and eyes.
Rufus clams up.
Christina says, "The NPC ethereals in the far marches gain essence at midnight."
Makatiel says, "They do. But we don't need to worry much about them at the moment. Is that clear enough to folks? Questions? Comments?"
Bridgit gets it.
Sarah says, "Mortals include ALL Mortals, correct? Including Mundanes who can't use it of their own volition?"
Rufus says, "Yup!"
Sarah says, "Coo'."
Makatiel says, "Yes. And animals."
Christina says, "If I get in a plane and fly west, speeding up or slowing down to trigger multiple sunrises..."
Makatiel says, "You only get one point every 24 hours, Christina."
Rufus says, "Even the Damned and Blessed Souls get 1 a day."
Makatiel says, "Anyone else?"
Makatiel notes that mortals can, and do use essence. Just not under their own control, unless they're Symphonically aware.
Makatiel says, "It just happens when they really NEED/WANT to succeed at something."
Makatiel says, "But we're drifting off topic again. That covers the basics of Essence. "You had a question, Sarah?"
Sarah says, "Uhm. I think you were about to cover it, and it kinda trends back toward our MUSH talking earlier - regarding how summoning Superiors is handled here, and on a related note, character points."
Makatiel says, "Character point gain and spending will be handled by admin."
Makatiel says, "As for summoning Superiors... Invocation."
Makatiel nods. Alright - next topic: Calling for help when things get hairy.
Christina says, "Hold on. o.o"
Christina says, "CP gain and spending."
Christina says, "How many CPs does it cost to buy various stuffs?"
Makatiel says, "Depends on what you're buying. I'm not going to cover it in detail, since it will probably be posted in news files sooner or later."
Christina nods. "Calling for help."
Makatiel nods. Trying to get a Superior's attention is known as 'Invoking' the superior. Each Superior has a base chance to be invoked - there are a number of modifiers to that. There's a group of modifiers that are universal to all Superiors. They are:
+2 Angel/Demon's corporeal vessel is in danger of death
+3 Angel/Demon is at a Divine/Infernal Tether
+3 If the celestial is in the presence of enemy celestials. This becomes +4 in the presence of an opposed Superior.
-4 Angel/Demon makes futile demands (aka, stop bothering me modifier)
-10 If the superior being invoked is not the Celestial's own
Every superior also has a set of personal modifiers that range from 1 to 6. I'm not going to cover all of them. Invoking a superior always takes 2 rounds (10 seconds) and costs no essence. Essence can, however, be spent to increase the target number.
Christina nods.
Christina says, "And once you have their attention..."
Makatiel says, "Invoking a superior will require the offices of a Judge here. I'm not sure how Invocations will be handled if/when Superiors become available for applications, but for the time being, interactions with Superiors must be handled via Judgestaff."
Makatiel says, "Once you have their attention, what happens generally depends on the situation, the Superior in question, and what you're asking for."
Makatiel says, "Which is why the Judgestaff needs to be involved."
Rufus invokes Kronos to ask the time. The last words he hears are: "Too late."
Makatiel nods. "Invoking Superiors for trivial reasons, or too often, can result in bad results. Especially with Demon Princes.
Sarah nod nod. Cool. If I recall right, most IC character improvement is handled via Superiors, too, right? (which is, yes, why the CP question was lumped with this one)
Christina says, "Demons are easily recycled. Especially annoying ones."
Makatiel nods. "Improving skills and songs can generally just be done independently. But gaining attunements, new Songs, Distinctions, etc, requires the intervention of a Superior.
Makatiel says, "Characteristics can also be improved, but if you want to buy a full force, it will probably be your Superior who does it."
Sarah says, "Understood. Cool."
Makatiel says, "Force gaining can be organic, or 'WHAM, new force!'"
Makatiel says, "Also, new and/or replacement vessels require Superior assistance, along with Roles."
Makatiel says, "So. What next?"
Makatiel is, at this point, open for whatever. If you have questions about how your particular resonance - or any resonance for that matter - works, dissonance, Falling, Redeeming...
Christina says, "Yeah, cover those."
Sarah doesn't get Angel growing-up processes, so I'm just kinda here. ^^; Anyway! Next, related question. If your Vessel dies and you need a new one, and you petition your Superior for one, is there the associated CP cost if he/she/it should decide to agree?
Makatiel laughs. "Specific questions, please.
Makatiel says, "Alright - Vessel death."
Christina says, "Using resonance."
Makatiel says, "Alright - first up, when your vessel dies with you in it, that's bad. Your celestial form ascends to the appropriate realm, next to your Heart, generally in your Superior's castle/cathedral/fortress/whatever."
Makatiel says, "At this point, most celestials have to deal with what's called Trauma. A piece of you just died - this puts you into a state of shock. It usually takes a couple of hours for a celstial to reform near its Heart. After a number of days equal to your Corporeal Forces, you can make a Will roll to snap out of it. If you fail, you can retry in a number of days equal to your Corporeal Forces + the CD of the failed roll. Some angels or demons never recover."
Makatiel says, "Malakim are immune to Trauma. A Kyrio with part of itself in another host also isn't sent up, although they'll gain dissonance for the death of a host. Shedim go celestial and gain dissonance at the death of the host, but avoid trauma if they find a new host quickly enough."
Rufus says, "MU** Question: Can we make a new Character if we TRAUMA, but not Soul Death?"
Makatiel would imagine getting vessel-killed and deciding to not continuing to play the character and instead make up a new one would be acceptable.
Christina says, "You can make a new character just because you want one, I believe."
Makatiel says, "Up to 4."
Makatiel says, "But yes - Trauma is boring, and sucks."
Makatiel says, "But that's also why Malakim scare the CRAP outta most people. They rebound."
Sarah says, "The newsfiles at present say, if I remember right, that alt limits are 'whatever you want, just don't go overboard, and if Superiors open we'll expect you to be active across the board." Also noted, Mak."
Rufus says, "IF... IF they have another Vessel, that is."
Makatiel says, "But to answer your question, Sarah - if you get vessel killed, the Judges will probably get involved with the Superior taking a hand in getting you a new Vessel."
Christina says, "A Malakim with two vessels is effectively two enemies. You fight evenly with them, and by the time you beat the first vessel they've almost beat your first vessel. Then their SECOND vessel steps out from around the corner."
Makatiel says, "Not all character advantages will cost CP. Some may just be flat out awarded for good RP, accomplishing TP goals, etc."
Makatiel says, "Only if they stashed a Body Bag around the corner, which is something ANY angel can do. If you have anouther vessel on the physical plane when you're killed, you'll go there instead of Trauma." Makatiel says, "A Malakim who's been vessel killed has to run to the nearest Tether, go down it, and run to where the demon was. You've got, at worst, a few minutes to make a break for it."
Sarah says, "Right. And of course that's all presuming you un-Trauma anytime soon (Will is your friend). OH! Quickie: Trauma rolls can be modified with Essence, yes? I can see why they might not be, what with you being catatonic."
Makatiel says, "I don't think so."
Makatiel says, "Spending essence requires force of will."
Rufus says, "The only RELATIVELY safe place to kill a Malakim is in a Demonic teather. THERE, it'll take him a while to get back to."
Makatiel says, "Yes, but if he's there at all, he's probably got backup."
Remy says, "Lots of backup."
Makatiel says, "Scads of backup."
Remy says, "Malakim like to break Demonic Tethers."
Sarah says, "I see. Scarier and scarier. Alright, that's all I got for now. :D"
Makatiel says, "Probably backup of War, Fire and Wind. :D"
Christina oohs...
Remy says, "That's some scary backup."
Christina needs to follow demons back to their tethers and report them to Laurence?
Makatiel says, "And the Sword. Lots and lots of Sword."
Remy peers.
Remy says, "Anyhoo."
Makatiel says, "If there's a Tether assault going on, my bet is that Laurence knows already. And possibly planned it. So - resonances."
Remy says, "Resonances are fun."
Makatiel says, "Which resonance do you want to know about?"
Makatiel says, "Because they're individual to each Choir and Band."
Rufus says, "Calabim, please."
Makatiel says, "Don't you /have/ the books? :D"
Remy says, "I have the books too."
Rufus facepalms. "On loan" I Just need to know what happens when I Fail. It hits something Random, Yes?
Makatiel was mostly directing the resonance question to Christina and Sarah, who do not have the books... I think.
Makatiel ahs. Alright - I'll look up Calabite.
Sarah says, "I have the core book and only the core book."
Bridgit doesn't have any books.
Makatiel says, "Which is all you need for Resonance."
Makatiel fuzzles Bri. You also don't have resonance. :D
Sarah says, "Then I don't have any questions. :D"
Bridgit says, "Exactly! :D"
Christina says, "Can I use my resonance to find my car keys?"
Makatiel shakes his head at Christina. "Nope. You can't be that specific."
Makatiel says, "Besides, it only works for places, not things."
Christina says, "Can I use my resonance to find the place my car keys are?"
Sarah says, "That's more of a Cherub trick. :D"
Christina says, "So how do I target my resonance?"
Makatiel grabs really quick: When a Calabite's resonance is resisted, the demon may either take a note of dissonance or lash out at something else in range. If he chooses to lash out, he can do nothing but invoke his resonance against other targets withing range (including himself) until he finally does some damage.
Makatiel says, "If you fail, you just... FAIL."
Rufus says, "Oh, I See!"
Rufus says, "In the LARP, they modified it so it internalized when resisted. That was harsh!"
Makatiel says, "And if you lash out against another target, and IT resists, you now have TWO bits of it bouncing around."
Christina says, "If you fail, you HAVE to try again until it works. Or you take a note of dissonance."
Rufus says, "Akkk! Wait, WhaT?"
Rufus says, "Oh My....."
Christina says, "You CAN hit yourself."
Makatiel nods. If you try and blast another target after a resist, and they resist, that's now TWO resisted resonance uses.
Makatiel nods. You can hit yourself, and choose not to resist.
Remy says, "Very dangerous."
Christina says, "Less dangerous than taking 8 notes of dissonance because they guy's freaking immune."
Remy says, "Demons stay the hell away from Calabim on a binge for a reason."
Makatiel says, "So most Calabim who have their resonance resisted either blow up the scenery, or take some damage."
Makatiel says, "Anyhow. Ofanite resonance."
Christina nodnodnodnodnodnodnodnod!
Makatiel says, "In game terms, it works in three ways: First, the check digit of a successful resonance roll can be added to the target number for any roll against Agility itself or a related skill. You have to state before you roll which skill you're modifying before you make the resonance roll - the modifier only applies to that skill."
Christina says, "Dodge. O.O"
Christina says, "ALWAYS DODGE."
Makatiel says, "For example: You want to boost your Dodge. Before you check resonance, you tell the other players, or the Judge this, and then make the resonance roll. The modifier applies to Dodge, and DODGE ALONE. You can't add it to Sneak, or to Throwing."
Christina says, "Right."
Christina says, "And that's only if the resonance works."
Makatiel says, "Now. If you fail at the resonance roll, nothing happens. (The resonance roll is a straight perception roll, BTW). If you succeed at the resonance, and then FAIL the skill check, you generate dissonance if the CD of the failed roll is 6 or higher. Also, once you've used your resonance, it will generate dissonance if you use the resonance again without using the skill modifier."
Makatiel says, "They can't be stacked."
Christina says, "What can't be stacked?"
Makatiel says, "Second way: The Ofanite may add the check digit of a successful roll to the target number of any Area Knowledge skill roll."
Makatiel says, "The bonus from invoking your resonance cannot be stacked with a second invocation of the resonance."
Christina says, "Oh."
Christina says, "So I can resonate, maybe get a dodge bonus, automake my dodge, and have a nice CD?"
Makatiel says, "The Ofanite resonance is only for locations in the concious of the public, and does not work for objects."
Makatiel nods to Christina. More or less, yes.
Christina says, "How often can I resonate for dodge, and how long does it last?"
Makatiel says, "Also, the more specific you get with your 'know where it is' resonance, the less likely it is to work - Judges may apply penalties for specific addresses, or for subjective ideas (best place to buy CD's)"
Makatiel says, "You can resonante at any time, and it lasts until used. But recall that if you use resonance without using the skill, you'll get hit with Dissonance - so if you boost for Dodge, and your foe doesn't attack... well, whoops. :D"
Makatiel says, "It takes a turn to use your resonance."
Christina says, "...oh nutbunnies."
Makatiel says, "You can't resonate RIGHT before you dodge - you have to set it up beforehand."
Makatiel says, "Can't do both."
Christina says, "That sounds... bad."
Christina says, "I mean, mechanically bad. Any time I tried to use it, they'd just not attack."
Makatiel says, "Third use of Ofanite resonance - on a successful resonance check, the Ofanite travels a number of miles equal to CD in a single minute while in Celestial form."
Makatiel says, "They don't ICly know you've used it."
Makatiel says, "Which means the Judge will likely SMACK them if they use OOC information IC."
Christina says, "Is there a way to show rolls just to a judge?"
Christina says, "Or for judges to roll silently?"
Christina says, "Those seem important."
Makatiel says, "Nope. +rolls are public."
Makatiel says, "But trust in the Judge to notice if an opponent makes fishy decisions - let us deal with twinking like that."
Makatiel says, "And trust your fellow players - I don't think anyone here will be that sleazy."
Rufus says, "Exactly!"
Cassius glances about furtively. ;)
Christina nods. Okay.
Makatiel says, "That cover it for you?"
Christina says, "I think so."
Makatiel nods. "So - anyone else got any questions about mechanics?"
Christina says, "Vessel biology"
Sarah says, "None I can think of off-hand."
Makatiel is about ready to wrap up - I've been at this for 3 hours, and I need food. Oh, Vessel biology, huh?
Makatiel says, "They don't need to eat or sleep. There. Done. :D"
Cassius says, "But they can.:)"
Makatiel says, "They can. They just don't need to."
Rufus says, "They Need Air, though."
Makatiel says, "But unless there's anything else, I'm gonna declare this class closed, get some food, and kick y'all IC."
Sarah says, "Sounds good. THANKS, this helped a lot and made me feel a lot more secure in the How and Why of things."
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