Servants and Shedim

[Omegonthesane]

During one of my more recent games, we got into a needlessly bitter argument after my human (mafia) Servant was possessed by a Shedite and promptly decided to steal my car. Regardless of whether this behaviour should have prompted Will rolls on moral grounds, I felt that the fact it was my servant who I spent character points on, and I had done nothing to offend him, was enough to merit rolls, because the mind of the person who serves me is explicitly still present, still able to make decisions, and still able to resist the demon.

Basically, as far as I'm concerned, being somebody's Servant should increase your ability to resist a Shedite if (and only if) the two supernatural compulsions act directly at cross purposes (such as if the Shedite is unsubtly telling your servant to screw you over). Thoughts?

[robkelk]

I'd say it depends on the Servant. If he doesn't want to be the Celestial's servant any more, then he wouldn't get any bonus, but if he's happy in his position, he'd get the bonus for acting against his nature.

[Archangel Beth]

Well, it's up to the GM...

But if you have the Liber Servitorum, p. 120, you might look at the last paragraph on the left side of the page. (Malphas' Shedim remove the consciousness, and thus the level of the Servant means nothing once the Shedite has moved in.)

[Omegonthesane]

I pointed the page out to the GM, which raked up another issue. Servant bonds are meant to be something deeper than actual loyalty or mind control - the ability to magically coerce your Servant into acting against its will. This seems difficult to reconcile with a game where Heaven is in favour of humans acting without interference as God intended and Heaven has no problem with angels having human Servants - even if they were willing when the oaths were taken, being vulnerable to mind control for the rest of your life is hardly free will. I can only see it working if one assumes - as I do, and the GM doesn't - that Heaven is well aware that they are fighting a War, not running for election, and thus willing to compromise their ideals to win that War.

[Archangel Beth]

If you and the GM aren't seeing eye to eye on some of the fundamental stuff, then this may be a case of Simply Not Fixable.

However, the default rules do assume that, for whatever reason, the mortal has bound him/herself to Higher or Lower Powers, and the mechanics will work as written. If the GM isn't going to allow that for Servants of angels, I would say that you're within your rights to ask (nicely, of course) what comparable advantages you get for your points, or ask to get a point discount. If you're not getting all the benefits that a demon would, why are you paying the same amount? (Yeah, it's In Nomine, and power-value to price is all over the map with Servitor and Choir/Band attunements -- but for all the other stuff... a Song is a Song, with the same mechanics. A Role is a Role. A vessel is a vessel. And thus, a Servant should be a Servant, unless the player and GM have agreed otherwise ahead of time.)

[Omegonthesane]

Mechanically, the demons get the same deal as the angels - it's almost entirely a flavour divide. While it's been used as part of an excuse to weaken Servants in general, I've had it clarified that demons suffer the same nerfs to their Servants.

What I'm trying to get at is, how do you reconcile canon Servants with the canon angelic mentality? Do angels just assume that there are enough checks and balances to stop them extracting the Michael when rationalising taking control of a human?

[Archangel Beth]

Personally, angels-and-Servants hasn't really come up. The mechanics harken more to the original satire-version (see also the core rules fiction...), so to justify it...? Can be tricky. However, if one alters the flavor-text a bit...

1: The Holy Servant. This Servant wishes to serve Heaven, opening his/her heart to the Holy Word. The level of Servantness is the "level" of their devotion to the Cause of Heaven. Not recommended for Servitors of the Wind. Very likely to be working for angels of the Sword, Dreams, Destiny, and Flowers (possibly sometimes rebuking the Novalites for not taking angelicness seriously enough). If Khalid works back to stability, Faith is another good choice.

2: The Desperate Servant. Some Servants come from backgrounds where... Well, they basically figure they need all the help they can get, to stay out of Hell. Their level is more the "level" that they're scared they're damned by their prior actions. Likely to show up working for Judgment, Flowers (if sufficiently reformed), War, possibly Trade (for the extremely white-collar sort), and any Elohite who can deal with them.

3: The Fanatic Servant. A lot like Holy Servants, but instead of the serenity of accepting the Word of God into their hearts, these Servants burn with a passion to serve Heaven. They're less likely to seem to be aspiring to sainthood -- and more likely to be willing to jump off a bridge if they're tackling a demon on the way down. The higher the level, the more a fanatic they are. Likely to serve angels of Fire, Faith (either version), War, Sword, Wind, most Malakim, and probably some others I'm forgetting right now.

3a: The Word-Fanatic. It's not about the angel. It's not about Heaven. It's not about God. It's about THE WORD, and by all that's holy or otherwise, this Servant is going to PROMOTE that Word! Likely to be working for Fire (duh), Flowers (PEACE!), Faith (especially less-stable Faith), Revelation, and Animals. The angel they're attached to may be viewed as a nearly-infallable emissary of the WORD, or simply the not-easily-replaced means by which they get guidance in promoting the all-important WORD (so they don't accidentally harm it, or work at cross-purposes).

4: The Lovesick Servant. Someone's been reading way too many paranormal romances, and they're really, really in love with an angel. This may be a hopeless, doomed love that they never openly talk about, or it may be consummated! (Better hope that they're not in love with a Grigori...) The level represents the depths of their emotions. Likely to be working for angels of Flowers, Creation, Wind, and Fire, but they could be attached to Mercurians and Cherubim of nearly any Word (if their affections are reciprocated), or Seraphim, Malakim, and Elohim (for the hopeless affection).

5: The Blackmailed Servant. This one's not really an "angelic" sort, but sometimes it happens. This type is related to the Desperate Servant, but they're at least as concerned for their current life as their afterlife; they have enemies, they've done something they shouldn't have, whatever. But lucky for them, they ran into an angel who'll keep them on the straight-and-narrow while making use of them in God's Plan. Most angels who'd take on one of these Servants are either extremely ruthless (*cough*Elohim*cough*), and/or think the Servant is... pretty awful, and needs a choke-collar to drag them away from Hell. Likely to be working for War, Wind, possibly Trade, Elohim, the more flexible Malakim, Fire, possibly Judgment (if being a Servant is an appropriate punishment for the crime).

Blackmailed Servants are least likely to get their level applied to resist attempts to influence them -- unless they've internalized their situation and turned into Desperate Servants. (Demons might call this StockHoly Syndrome. Demons might be right.)

[robkelk]

Bob Schroeck has suggested another one: The Vengeful Servant. Having been exposed to Celestials in a manner that didn't work out well for the mortal, the connection to a Celestial on the other side of the War gives the mortal access to enough power to get back at the Celestial that wronged him. ("I'll get back at them for you if you help me...") This background combines elements of Desperate and Blackmailed Servants without be quite like either. They're more likely to be working for Fire (vengeance) or Trade (the deal) than the other Archangels; on the other side, Freedom might have some of these Servants.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by robkelk

Bob Schroeck has suggested another one: The Vengeful Servant. Having been exposed to Celestials in a manner that didn't work out well for the mortal, the connection to a Celestial on the other side of the War gives the mortal access to enough power to get back at the Celestial that wronged him. ("I'll get back at them for you if you help me...") This background combines elements of Desperate and Blackmailed Servants without be quite like either. They're more likely to be working for Fire (vengeance) or Trade (the deal) than the other Archangels; on the other side, Freedom might have some of these Servants.

As would Factions. And maybe even Death ...

[Captain Midnight]

Originally Posted by Omegonthesane

Servant bonds are meant to be something deeper than actual loyalty or mind control - the ability to magically coerce your Servant into acting against its will. This seems difficult to reconcile with a game where Heaven is in favour of humans acting without interference as God intended and Heaven has no problem with angels having human Servants - even if they were willing when the oaths were taken, being vulnerable to mind control for the rest of your life is hardly free will. I can only see it working if one assumes - as I do, and the GM doesn't - that Heaven is well aware that they are fighting a War, not running for election, and thus willing to compromise their ideals to win that War.

Your two basic postulates about Heaven are certainly plausible ways to run one's game, but they're not the only way to do so. It could be taken as a matter of emphasis -- did God intend for angels to have no influence over humans at all? If so, then why were they created, and why are they designed (or even allowed) to influence the Divine Symphony?

It seems clear that humanity is given a principal role, but "without interference" is not so clearly intended.

It's also not clear that Heaven is united in any policy toward human Servants, or that any policies put forth by various Archangels would look favorably on servitors who overrode a Servant's will without what the Archangel would consider good and sufficient reason. There's a big difference in "being vulnerable" and "losing one's free will" -- if I allow a surgeon to sedate me, I have made myself vulnerable, and yet I have a strong expectation that nothing will happen to me that I have not consented to, always barring an emergency, whereupon the surgeon may safely assume my consent to her doing what she feels necessary to save my life.

Game mechanics-wise, you should discuss this with the GM before buying Servants for any PCs, especially angelic ones. Make sure you're on the same page about what you see as the nature of the bond, and what it might mean in actual gameplay. Discuss what your Superior is going to think about your interactions, and make sure that the expectations are clear on both sides.