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Old 08-07-2011, 08:07 PM   #21
robkelk
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Default Re: In Nomine Virtual Atlas

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Originally Posted by Phoenix42 View Post
Hey, don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining to you - quite the opposite, kudos for going to the trouble of collecting all the settings in one place! I am just ashamed by the fact that none of my fellow european IN gamers have got round to writing settings online. Still, there's always room for improvement...
Nobody else had created such a list, and I was about to need it for my own game, so I decided to share. It's not much extra work on my part to keep the list going, so why not?

(Yes, I am still trying for the forum custom user title "Reliever of Archives". Why do you ask? <g>)

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Though (on a side note) personally, I never really got why Notre Dame is the mega-tether. I mean, yeah, it's big and all that, but compared to other cathedrals in Europe, it's not that much more spectacular. I always got the impression that (no offense) an American author was thinking "what's the biggest, oldest tether-like-thingy you can think of..?", though I will gladly stand corrected on that one.
I'm not sure, but I believe that's something inherited from the original French games In Nomine Satanus and Magna Veritas. I find it understandable that a French writer would put the most important point on Earth in Paris - I might not agree with it, but I do find it understandable.
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Old 08-07-2011, 09:29 PM   #22
Jason
 
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Default Re: In Nomine Virtual Atlas

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Originally Posted by Phoenix42 View Post
I'll be expanding the Mainz setting - though I'm somewhat surprised that that's the only setting for the entirety of continental Europe... Seriously, nothing for Paris, Berlin, or ROME? *shakes head*
I would love to see stuff on these cities. In fact, I would love to SEE these cities. Someone who has actually been to them should write something. :)

And my condolences to you, Beth and Rob. In a similar situation over here right now too...
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Old 08-09-2011, 12:28 PM   #23
Phoenix42
 
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Default Re: In Nomine Virtual Atlas

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And my condolences to you, Beth and Rob. In a similar situation over here right now too...
Best wishes to all of you - hope things get better for you from now on...



Quote:
Originally Posted by robkelk View Post
Nobody else had created such a list, and I was about to need it for my own game, so I decided to share. It's not much extra work on my part to keep the list going, so why not?

(Yes, I am still trying for the forum custom user title "Reliever of Archives". Why do you ask? <g>)
It's great, especially because I've been looking for stuff like that for my game too; every time there's a conversation along the lines of
Player 1: "I'm going to Honolulu - is there a Gabriel tether I can hop to?"
GM: "Yeah sure, some volcano I guess..."
Player 2: "Oh cool, how about an Eli tether...?
GM: "Erm...."

So the more, the merrier! And I hereby officially support your petition :)

Btw, is it intentional that Yves is the Superior in charge of Libraries? The Arch-Yves? Geddit? Sorry, that one hurt inside, but someone had to say it.
*petitions for imp of stupid In Nomine puns*


Quote:
I'm not sure, but I believe that's something inherited from the original French games In Nomine Satanus and Magna Veritas. I find it understandable that a French writer would put the most important point on Earth in Paris - I might not agree with it, but I do find it understandable.
That actually hadn't crossed my mind - but it makes perfect sense, thanks for that one. Ah, that puts my mind to rest - now I can go from blaming the Americans back to hating the French.... I'm British, it's part of the lifestyle ;)

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Originally Posted by Jason View Post
I would love to see stuff on these cities. In fact, I would love to SEE these cities. Someone who has actually been to them should write something. :)
Well, I've been to all of them, but to actually write about them I think one should really live there - still, you wouldn't think people who live there and play IN would be that hard to find...
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Old 08-09-2011, 09:16 PM   #24
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Default Re: In Nomine Virtual Atlas

Hmmm, I'd better get my old chat archives for the IN: Gothenburg campaign out....there are no Swedish Tethers in the canonical rules (nor any other Scandinavian ones, save a minor Ethereal one in Iceland *sigh*). Here are a few locations that came to mind off the cuff:

Divine Tethers:


Eli (canon)/Israfel (heretical): Gothenburg Opera (average).
Jean: Somewhere in the libraries of Chalmers Technical College. (average)
Marc: A variable location along "Avenyn"--whichever shop is offering the fairest deals to customers. (minor)
Janus: The busiest terminal at Landvetter Airport (average/mobile).
Jordi/Novalis (shared): Slottsskogen (average; a huge city park with one of the biggest zoos in Sweden, and a lot of peaceful appreciation for nature going on).
Oannes (heretical): A tour boat running along the Göta Canal (minor).
Yves: Röde Orm rare/used book shop (minor).
Zadkiel: The Raoul Wallenberg memorial (minor).


Infernal Tethers:

Andrealphus: the most popular make-out spot for teens/young adults (mobile/minor); Swedish players, got any suggestions?
Asmodeus: a mid-level clerk's office in City Hall (minor).
Furfur: Studio Fredman (high end of average, given its popularity with Hardcore performers worldwide).
Kobal: Not sure where exactly, but Liseberg Amusement Park seems as much his kind of place as it does Christopher's... (minor to average)
Malphas: some neighborhood hangout for anti-immigrant gangs; any suggestions, Swedish players?
Nybbas: the Scandinavium (performance venue for a LOT of infamous stars; average)
Vapula: As many heavy-industry factories as Gothenburg's got, at least one needs Tech's stamp of approval; any suggestions?
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Old 08-09-2011, 09:47 PM   #25
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As long as we're sharing...

I came up with a list of confirmed Tethers, suspected/hoped for Tethers, and other places of infernal and ethereal interest in Philadelphia. Unfortunately that list has no divine Tethers, because that's a heretical campaign with no angels. Some of these could be pretty easily swapped, though, or turned from places of interest to angel hangouts. Descriptions snagged directly from the custom Google Map I made some months back, all based on real places/events...

Independence Hall: Freedom Tether. This is the site where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were ratified, now depicted on the back of the $100 bill. It has recently expanded into the adjacent Independence Mall since the Liberty Bell's move outside (where it's freely visible for any to see). This is the most powerful Tether in the city, but anyone wishing to use it for travel back and forth between Hell must deal directly with Corinth, a Free Lilim appointed as Seneschal for a few years while she works off a Geas to Lilith. The Tether links directly to the Guildhall of the Free Lilim in Hell's Shal-Mari Principality.

Pat's & Geno's: Gluttony Tether. The locus for this Tether includes the two most famous cheesesteak restaurants in Philly – Geno's, with its gaudy, Vegas-style facade, and Pat's, with its comparably humble decor and typically longer line. It's a popular site to work off dissonance, as demons can "serve" the Tether just by hanging around drunk and pressuring newcomers to heap on the Cheez Whiz.

The Rocky Steps: Dark Humor Tether. After years of overweight tourists running up the stairs like idiots, mimicking a pop-culture figure from a series of stupid movies, and then leaving without even checking any of the art inside the building, this Tether was pretty much a lock for Kobal. This links directly to Kobal's palace in the Shal-Mari Principality of Hell.

Forum Theater: Tether to Lust. The theater at 22nd and Market manages to hold strong even as expensive condos and a Trader Joe's go in across the street. Andrealphus enjoys this foothold in the city, but has minions staked in Delilah's on Spring Garden too, just in case. Demons of Lust generally avoid Club Atlantis, though, finding the wannabe sorcerers among the clientele a bit lame. The Forum Tether links directly to Andre's bordello in Hell's Shal-Mari Principality.

Adult Anxiety Clinic: Rumored Tether to Nightmares. Temple University's Adult Anxiety Clinic helps many people deal with their social interaction phobias. The acute terror felt by those who visit but do not leave feeling cured, however, may have been sufficiently powerful and concentrated in one place long enough to have formed a Tether, which would explain why several different Servitors of Nightmares can be seen passing through Philly regularly. (In a canon game, this could be a Tether to Lightning, Flowers, Protection...)

The Family Court: Rumored Tether to the Game. Despite the best efforts of lawyers, judges, social workers, and others, the Philadelphia Family Court represents damning rules and strictures to too many who pass through its doors and metal detectors. It's rumored to be a relatively weak Tether to the Game, with reports of a probable locus in a waiting room simultaneously occupied by juvenile delinquents, sex offenders, and parents in danger of losing their children. The room's walls are decorated with murals offering a stern Protestant message that those in attendance need more hard work and moral character.

Philadelphia Free Library: Rumored Tether to Fate. Budget cuts nearly forced the closure of public libraries in Philadelphia in 2009, which may have improved chances that this repository of information would become sufficiently unusable to lock in a Tether to Fate. Funding was found to keep it open, however, and the close proximity of a rumored Family Court Tether may make a Tether improbable here. (In a canon game, this could be a Tether to Destiny, and the Game might be trying to disrupt this by muscling in next door.)

The street you don't cross: Rumored Tether to Factions.
Years ago, Malphas had a moderately powerful Tether to Factions along the Schuylkill River, marking the division between Center City and West Philadelphia, and the symbolic division between races and economic classes in the city. That Tether has since been wiped away by the University of Pennsylvania's aggressive takeover of the "University City" district of West Philly. Rumor has it, though, that the Tether never disappeared completely -- it just moved, and keeps moving, to whatever landmark that middle-class locals point to as the street you never cross when you walk at night. If there is still a Tether to Factions in West Philly, its Seneschal is unknown.

Deering Family Massacre Site: Rumored Tether to Death. It's been over a century since Antoine Probst massacred his employer and his whole family with an axe in 1865, and the barn where he stashed the bodies is now completely rebuilt as a parking lot and storage facility just south of I-76, off the Delaware River. For a long while, this was a powerful Tether to Death. Today, however, no clear Seneschal occupies the area. If any Tether still remains, it's an extremely weak one.

Lex Street Massacre Site: Hoped-for Tether to Death or Drugs. Saminga was furious when what has been described as the worst mass-killing in Philadelphia history, the Lex Street Massacre, did not immediately result in a Tether to Death. The former crack house was razed and replaced with a two-family house with a white picket fence. Just in case, Saminga has a Servitor of Drugs in his employ watching the site at Lex Street.

Comcast Center: Hoped-for Tether to the Media or Greed. Comcast's new corporate center is not yet a Tether to the Media, but it may only be a matter of time. Nybbas' Soldiers are already busy within it. The building also employs a few of Servitors of Greed (one in service to the Media, and a couple working for Citizens Bank, the building's second largest tenant after Comcast). Rumor has it that Mammon could try to make a play for the Tether himself, given the chance.

Philadelphia Refinery: Rumored Tether to Technology or Fire. Ever since ENIAC left the University of Pennsylvania, Vapula's strongest openly-recognized Tether on Earth to date left with it. It was long rumored that the Sunoco Philadelphia Refinery -- the longest running petroleum refinery in the world -- might have been a more secret and secure Tether, but a fatal 1975 fire has led to speculation about whether it now belongs to Vapula or Belial. Regardless of how benevolent its owning company may see its aims of providing more affordable energy to surrounding communities, the rows of tanks and stacks belching flames 24/7 suggest something more sinister about industrialization to onlookers. (And speaking of ENIAC, in a canon game, you could always say that Lightning stuck around UPenn.)

Harry's Occult Shop: Location. Harry's Occult Shop was founded as a pharmacy in 1917 by Harry Seligman, a practical businessman who realized that his clientele was more used to folk mysticism than medicine in its health remedies. He augmented his stock accordingly. It eventually passed into the care of a relative, Josiah Ward, a real-deal master of the occult and paranormal investigator (now retired). Josiah lets some of his close friends and freelance "paranormal consultants" use his upstairs apartment as a sort of headquarters and a space for poker night. Most of the local aspiring sorcerers think the place and its proprietor must be a joke. They are mistaken. (In a canon game, this would make a lovely divine Tether. Given that the store is dedicated to selling "protective balms" and herbs for "white magic" and such, it would be delightfully ironic if it were a Tether to Flowers, given that there's a giant painting of the Archangel Michael on the side, hovering over demons with sword in hand, and gorgeous graffiti-style letters around him.)
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Old 08-12-2011, 04:15 AM   #26
Methariel
 
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Well, if I ever get around to do it, I'll write up accounts for Mannheim/the Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, Germany and Freiburg/southwestern Baden, Germany. (Yes, I hail from Mannheim and live in Freiburg.)

While browsing through ideas for the first region, I found that surprisingly Laurence seems to have two Tethers quite near to each other: if we take Phoenix42's cathedral of Mainz as given, I think there are equally good reasons to "promote" the cathedral in Speyer (link to English Wikipedia-article) to Tether-status, too - just look at all those medieval Emperors buried there and the fact that it survived, although harmed, the attempts to destroy it.
And, while thinking about the first region, it's home to the headquarters of the world's largest chemical company: the BASF (link to English Wikipedia-article). I somehow feel that this headquarters should be a Tether. But to Jean or to Vapula?
And in Mannheim, where Carl Benz invented the first automobile, should be a Tether, too. Again, to Jean or to Vapula?

Maybe the combined wisdom of you, dear Forumites, is able to help me on those three points so I can some day start to make those writeups do add my humble work to the glorious Virtual Atlas. (Yes, probably I read one Roman speech to many during the last few months. ;) )

With best regards,

M.
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Old 08-12-2011, 02:52 PM   #27
Phoenix42
 
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Ah, moin Herr Kollege :)

Nice to see someone else doing the German angle ^^

I admit I was a bit careless about the Mainz cathedral, but I think with the masses of work put into, and the respect regarded to cathedrals over the centuries, every one of them (including Speyer) warrants a tether - though there could be some twists, I imagine what with the things that have gone on in some cathedrals, they may well be Asmodeus tethers, or Haagenti ;)...
But even with your standard cathedral, one would have to decide whether the cathedral in question was more Laurence or more Dominic-aligned. I considered Dominic for Mainz because the Archbishop of Mainz used to be the Interrex of the Holy Roman Empire - which includes judiciary positions, but I decided against it, mostly because my Gabriel players would have gone stir-crazy with Dominic on their doorstep all the time. One could also consider catholic cathedral tethers being forked, Laurence/Dominic.

I think what with its reputation, BASF is more in line for Vapula - but that's just my opinion; it occurs to me, wasn't BASF one of the German firms that sold to Saddam Hussein and the US when it came to nerve gas and Agent Orange? That would certainly qualify. Again, I'm not sure, I know that Boehringer Ingelheim (the largest privately-owned chemicals corporation) certainly did both.

I think Benz deserves to be Jean, though - his invention was positive in many respects, and without it, so many Ofanites would be that much sadder :(

Oh, P.S.: why were you reading so many Roman speeches..?
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Old 08-13-2011, 12:32 AM   #28
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Unofficial New York City Tether, in my campaign; I wonder why no players with preschool-age kids considered this one:

Sesame Workshop used to be a major Tether to Children in the 70s and 80s; over the last decade or so, however, Nybbas has corrupted the business with ugly rumors, financial problems, and a dwindling pool of original talent. Now the Tether at SW is Forked between Children and the Media; its power has weakened to Average as more sources of kid-friendly "edutainment" evolved.

P.S. Does a Tether to the Street as an Ethereal domain exist? There's probably a weak-to-average one at the Sesame Place theme park...and temporary ones that form on the site of a recent shoot for the show. :-)
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Old 08-13-2011, 01:21 AM   #29
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Default Re: In Nomine Virtual Atlas

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Originally Posted by Phoenix42 View Post
It's great, especially because I've been looking for stuff like that for my game too; every time there's a conversation along the lines of
Player 1: "I'm going to Honolulu - is there a Gabriel tether I can hop to?"
GM: "Yeah sure, some volcano I guess..."
Player 2: "Oh cool, how about an Eli tether...?
GM: "Erm...."
I've had great fun imagining the tension and denial between Pele and Gabriel, both of whom have powerfully strong ties to Kilauea. I even thought about writing some more IN stuff for Hawaii, but since I've never been there I'm at a disadvantage.

I've also flirted with a War tether along the defense perimeter of Busan, South Korea. There's a film "71 Into the Fire" or variations on (the title's a translation) that treats it in a very inspiring way. There's also a cathedral in Seoul dedicated to 103 Korean Christian martyrs and their generally gruesome deaths---to Faith, or to Death? And which Death? And the DMZ to Jordi, though it would probably be a short writeup.

I could make a case for Dokdo/Takeshima/Liancourt Rocks as a tether to Factions, but that would mean writing about something that irritates me personally and I'd find it impossible not to get snarky.

Alas, my best excuse in all of those is time.
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Old 08-13-2011, 03:34 AM   #30
Rocket Man
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Default Re: In Nomine Virtual Atlas

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Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC View Post
I've had great fun imagining the tension and denial between Pele and Gabriel, both of whom have powerfully strong ties to Kilauea. I even thought about writing some more IN stuff for Hawaii, but since I've never been there I'm at a disadvantage.

I've also flirted with a War tether along the defense perimeter of Busan, South Korea. There's a film "71 Into the Fire" or variations on (the title's a translation) that treats it in a very inspiring way. There's also a cathedral in Seoul dedicated to 103 Korean Christian martyrs and their generally gruesome deaths---to Faith, or to Death? And which Death? And the DMZ to Jordi, though it would probably be a short writeup.

I could make a case for Dokdo/Takeshima/Liancourt Rocks as a tether to Factions, but that would mean writing about something that irritates me personally and I'd find it impossible not to get snarky.

Alas, my best excuse in all of those is time.
What about making Busan a Protection Tether and letting Michael's be near the landing site at Inchon instead? (Laurence is a possibility, too, of course, since it's as much a general's triumph as a soldier's.)
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