In Nomine: LA

brass · 01-28-2005, 07:48 AM

Hi All,

Just started up on the Los Angeles city setting, after using Austin last year. It seems wonderful in the amount a GM can do with it and the scale is immense (considering my players are all from Ireland with our biggest city having just about 1 mil inhabitants).

My only query is too all GMs and Players what problems or hitches have you found in running the setting?

Many thanks for any input.

Archangel Beth · 01-29-2005, 10:59 AM

The list "feel," the last time this tempest came up, was that the demonic control of LA wasn't as realistic as the book portrayed. I.e., it was a lot easier to sneak angels in, unless the place had a lot more demons than the book seemed to imply.

It's probably possible to maintain the feel, but the GM might want to play up the political/logistical problems of trying to sneak in operatives -- the risk/benefit ratio might be too high, for various reasons. (Such as lack of Tethers; if all your troops are "out of towners," a few key demonic/Hellsworn police people can start hauling people in for questioning as part of mafia/terrorist/lunatic apocalypse fanatic groups while the local demons continue to instigate riots, serial killings, or other intense efforts to make Heaven upset.

(As opposed to letting the lazy demons get involved in local demon-demon politics, and dividing their energies in ways that let humans slip through the cracks. Because if the demons aren't exerting themselves... Well, there are a lot more humans than there are demons.)

So you can play LA pretty close to as-is, but treat the book's explanations as the "simplified for the rank and file" versions, with lots of nuances.

And probably assume that there are some really deep-cover agents (Michael's Saints?) in the area -- who are not going to aid PCs one teensy little bit, and might even shoot them in the back if it's necessary to maintain cover. After all, they'd know quite well that Trauma is not the same as soul-death.

brass · 02-01-2005, 03:42 AM

Well I have bumped up the ammount of hellsworn in the city, Imparticular in the traffic cops (mostly working for the Game) as it seems the city runs off the roads. So a symphonic radar guns that the cops are they report back to Neck and that finds its way to Kevin if its really important. I do like the idea of Neck and the undead population as enforcers with hellsworn back up.

ScaredofScissors · 02-01-2005, 04:18 PM

I thought it was great and one of the best things about the Revelations 4 book, particularly if you DON'T run the Armageddon scenario so you can maintain the relationships.

Some people complain that there aren't enough demons, but I don't think it really matters as long as you give the demons enough human minions (unwitting or otherwise) and keep a "secret agent" tone if you're playing angels.

Isawa Brian · 02-24-2005, 04:47 PM

Speaking as an L.A. native who's run games down here... Frankly, I toss the Rev Cycle version completely out. L.A. is a bad place, it's true. There are some serious problems all over, and there is a decided bias towards the more selfish activities on everything.

On the flipside, we're _not_ demons-only. There's too much brightness, and activity, and community spirit (yeah, places in L.A. with community spirit that DON'T amount to 'mine vs. yours'). The museums and libraries alone are wonderful (if somewhat under siege), not to mention fantastic examples of architecture popping up here and there, community centers, cultural centers, and so on.

So, basically, I tend to rewrite things. The place is definitely on the down-and-out, and Nybbas and Malphas have a good deal of power. There are rumors that the various natural disasters we get are Archangelic meddling- and the reason the fires go crazy is, well, Gabriel on the Angels' team plus Belial on the Demons = You're Screwed, L.A. But there is a strong heavenly presence...

The problem is, it's mostly Eli's, or, well, it was. Not one tether lost, as in the book, but multiple tethers, and places that used to be tethers, over the city and county. Eli's tethers make up _half_ of the ones that constitute the city's heavenly presence- and used to make up more- but he's on Walkabout now. Laurence, as a result, has been trying to move in teams to either protect or assume control of those tethers, which unfortunately hasn't helped much with internal relationships on the heavenly side. And all along, the demonic side is swimming like a pack of hungry sharks.

So, basically, L.A. has heavenly presence, but said presence is either sans superior or in conflict; as a result, the whole group is under retreat and under bite, constantly, from Hell's forces, which, while not great paragons of cooperation, are at least all focused in the same direction- for now.

RazorPhoenix · 02-24-2005, 08:07 PM

Having bright spots does not mean that a place can't be demonically dominated. For that matter, many demons will champion things that bring humans joy, as long as they're selfish joys. A library can serve Fate as easily as it can serve Destiny.

More importantly, there aren't enough demons, in total, to dominate every human in the city of Los Angeles, and therefore there will always be some light and joy and selflessness even in the most demonically controlled place, and there will always be some callousness, cruelty, and selfishness in the most angelically controlled place. Celestials simply do not exercise the amount of pull required to stamp out the side of humanity they don't like, anywhere. If they did, the War would probably already be over.

I like L.A. as No-Angels-Land, but would probably go with the suggestions of adding more demons and Hellsworn and undead, and possibly more Tethers in more logical places.

01-28-2005, 07:48 AM	#1
brass Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Maynooth, Ireland	In Nomine: LA Hi All, Just started up on the Los Angeles city setting, after using Austin last year. It seems wonderful in the amount a GM can do with it and the scale is immense (considering my players are all from Ireland with our biggest city having just about 1 mil inhabitants). My only query is too all GMs and Players what problems or hitches have you found in running the setting? Many thanks for any input. __________________ What a fantastic death abyss! ...Tell the others.

01-29-2005, 10:59 AM	#2
Archangel Beth In Nomine Line Editor Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Frozen Wastelands of NH	Re: In Nomine: LA The list "feel," the last time this tempest came up, was that the demonic control of LA wasn't as realistic as the book portrayed. I.e., it was a lot easier to sneak angels in, unless the place had a lot more demons than the book seemed to imply. It's probably possible to maintain the feel, but the GM might want to play up the political/logistical problems of trying to sneak in operatives -- the risk/benefit ratio might be too high, for various reasons. (Such as lack of Tethers; if all your troops are "out of towners," a few key demonic/Hellsworn police people can start hauling people in for questioning as part of mafia/terrorist/lunatic apocalypse fanatic groups while the local demons continue to instigate riots, serial killings, or other intense efforts to make Heaven upset. (As opposed to letting the lazy demons get involved in local demon-demon politics, and dividing their energies in ways that let humans slip through the cracks. Because if the demons aren't exerting themselves... Well, there are a lot more humans than there are demons.) So you can play LA pretty close to as-is, but treat the book's explanations as the "simplified for the rank and file" versions, with lots of nuances. And probably assume that there are some really deep-cover agents (Michael's Saints?) in the area -- who are not going to aid PCs one teensy little bit, and might even shoot them in the back if it's necessary to maintain cover. After all, they'd know quite well that Trauma is not the same as soul-death. __________________ --Beth Shamelessly adding Superiors: Lilith, GURPS Sparrials, and her fiction page to her .sig (the latter is not precisely gaming related)

02-01-2005, 03:42 AM	#3
brass Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Maynooth, Ireland	Re: In Nomine: LA Well I have bumped up the ammount of hellsworn in the city, Imparticular in the traffic cops (mostly working for the Game) as it seems the city runs off the roads. So a symphonic radar guns that the cops are they report back to Neck and that finds its way to Kevin if its really important. I do like the idea of Neck and the undead population as enforcers with hellsworn back up. __________________ What a fantastic death abyss! ...Tell the others.

02-01-2005, 04:18 PM	#4
ScaredofScissors Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Western MA	Re: In Nomine: LA I thought it was great and one of the best things about the Revelations 4 book, particularly if you DON'T run the Armageddon scenario so you can maintain the relationships. Some people complain that there aren't enough demons, but I don't think it really matters as long as you give the demons enough human minions (unwitting or otherwise) and keep a "secret agent" tone if you're playing angels.

02-24-2005, 04:47 PM	#5
Isawa Brian Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NA	Re: In Nomine: LA Speaking as an L.A. native who's run games down here... Frankly, I toss the Rev Cycle version completely out. L.A. is a bad place, it's true. There are some serious problems all over, and there is a decided bias towards the more selfish activities on everything. On the flipside, we're _not_ demons-only. There's too much brightness, and activity, and community spirit (yeah, places in L.A. with community spirit that DON'T amount to 'mine vs. yours'). The museums and libraries alone are wonderful (if somewhat under siege), not to mention fantastic examples of architecture popping up here and there, community centers, cultural centers, and so on. So, basically, I tend to rewrite things. The place is definitely on the down-and-out, and Nybbas and Malphas have a good deal of power. There are rumors that the various natural disasters we get are Archangelic meddling- and the reason the fires go crazy is, well, Gabriel on the Angels' team plus Belial on the Demons = You're Screwed, L.A. But there is a strong heavenly presence... The problem is, it's mostly Eli's, or, well, it was. Not one tether lost, as in the book, but multiple tethers, and places that used to be tethers, over the city and county. Eli's tethers make up _half_ of the ones that constitute the city's heavenly presence- and used to make up more- but he's on Walkabout now. Laurence, as a result, has been trying to move in teams to either protect or assume control of those tethers, which unfortunately hasn't helped much with internal relationships on the heavenly side. And all along, the demonic side is swimming like a pack of hungry sharks. So, basically, L.A. has heavenly presence, but said presence is either sans superior or in conflict; as a result, the whole group is under retreat and under bite, constantly, from Hell's forces, which, while not great paragons of cooperation, are at least all focused in the same direction- for now. __________________ Brian Cherub of Archives

02-24-2005, 08:07 PM	#6
RazorPhoenix Join Date: Feb 2005	Re: In Nomine: LA Having bright spots does not mean that a place can't be demonically dominated. For that matter, many demons will champion things that bring humans joy, as long as they're selfish joys. A library can serve Fate as easily as it can serve Destiny. More importantly, there aren't enough demons, in total, to dominate every human in the city of Los Angeles, and therefore there will always be some light and joy and selflessness even in the most demonically controlled place, and there will always be some callousness, cruelty, and selfishness in the most angelically controlled place. Celestials simply do not exercise the amount of pull required to stamp out the side of humanity they don't like, anywhere. If they did, the War would probably already be over. I like L.A. as No-Angels-Land, but would probably go with the suggestions of adding more demons and Hellsworn and undead, and possibly more Tethers in more logical places.