Anyone tried flexing the cosmology a bit?

[PenitentDemon]

Curious has anyone tried Tweaking the In Nomine Cosmology to suit the needs of their game?

Was thinking for a moment, it says that NOTHING that is known can make a Mortal a celestial or vice versa

Nothing.

do you think you'd need to rewrite too much of the settings cosmology if you wanted to bend that for your own game

(that is to say if you want to copy the (yes I know Cliche and overdone) theme in movies, where an angel, meets a woman and falls so thoroughly in love with her he's willing to renounce his holy nature, to be with her for eternity.

Albeit that theme may be better for movies then for games but was just curious.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by PenitentDemon

Curious has anyone tried Tweaking the In Nomine Cosmology to suit the needs of their game?

Was thinking for a moment, it says that NOTHING that is known can make a Mortal a celestial or vice versa

Nothing.

do you think you'd need to rewrite too much of the settings cosmology if you wanted to bend that for your own game

(that is to say if you want to copy the (yes I know Cliche and overdone) theme in movies, where an angel, meets a woman and falls so thoroughly in love with her he's willing to renounce his holy nature, to be with her for eternity.

Albeit that theme may be better for movies then for games but was just curious.

Well, you can still run the cliche with the standard cosmology -- but instead of becoming a mortal, the angel becomes an Outcast, unable to ever return to Heaven, summon his Superior or use his Rites. He still retains his basic Vessel and some of his minor miraculous abilities, but he's cut off from everything that once meant the world to him, and may even be stalked by Judgment angels for putting his interests ahead of the Symphony's as a whole. That should be enough tearjerker tragedy for any "hanky movie."

As far as changing the cosmology ... well, you won't be sent to Alcatraz if you do, but it does mean rethinking one of the game's core points: that humanity is special despite being vastly inferior in raw power to the celestials. That's what the War is about in a nutshell; Lucifer fails to see why mankind should be considered so special, while Heaven has faith that they are despite not always understanding why. Having mortals that can become angels or vice-versa makes humanity potentially (and blatantly) quite powerful, even to someone as self-deluding as Lucifer.

That said, it could be an interesting start to a campaign if one day a mortal did achieve the impossible and "halo up" -- or if a Malakite finally Fell and became not a demon, but an ordinary human, bereft of his holy certainty. Either path could lead down some curious avenues.....

EDIT: As far as "changing the cosmology" in more general terms, I suspect most of us do it all the time. My current GM is ISNorden, who's been running threads recently about a third type of celestial called the Grays, defenders of the Marches rather than of Heaven and Hell. In terms of the "classic canon," that's a rather big shift.

[alexondria]

I did something similar in one of my games playing off of the legend of Isis where she was burning the child in the fire to remove his humanity and make him a god. She couldn't make angels or demons but she could turn willing subjects into ethereals.

[Rocket Man]

And then there's a rather unique take on angels and humans that appeared on Moe Lane's site, the result of a "Break Moe's Brain" contest: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moe...est/Purity.htm

[JCD]

It says that nothing can make a mortal into an angel. It never says anywhere that an angel cannot become a mortal. Just saying

Further, the outcast idea has all the same issues, but adds the Highlander spin of having his mortal love wither and die in front of him eventually.

[PenitentDemon]

Also It says that will happen the moment a mortal reaches 9 forces

uh the corporale players guide says a mortal CAN reach a theoretical maximum of 15 forces


(though such mortals are RARE Adam and lilith are the best examples

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by PenitentDemon

Also It says that will happen the moment a mortal reaches 9 forces...

Actually, it refers to the first human child of 9 Forces; i.e., a human born with 9 Forces. If I remember Corporeal Players Guide correctly, all humans are born as 5-Force beings but some have the potential to acquire 6 or more if properly awakened.

Adam, Eve and Lilith wouldn't count in this case since they were never children. :)

EDIT: And now I'm remembering that it's extremely rare for children to even be born with 2 Forces. Still, I think the intention of the piece is a time when 9 Forces is natural for humanity as a whole. It's a "heretical" perspective anyway, but a cool one.

[PenitentDemon]

Well actualy... most COMMON humans have 4 forces... PC's who arent soldiers usualy have 5... 6 or mores considered exceptional.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by PenitentDemon

Well actualy... most COMMON humans have 4 forces... PC's who arent soldiers usualy have 5... 6 or mores considered exceptional.

CPG, pg. 17:

"Most mortals are born with a single Force and the ability to evolve to 5 Forces naturally. Most children have 2-3 Forces, while teenagers usually have 4. ... The vast majority of humans have 5 potential Forces; that's all their individual pattern will allow. A few individuals have only 4 potential Forces or even less, they are born physically and/or mentally stunted."

But yes, 6 or more is truly exceptional.