Exorcism, banishment, and Soldiers

[Dalillama]

White Sorcerors are a more valuable resource than many in Heaven realise; With sufficient skill, they can cast a demon out of the Corporeal plane, or drive Shedim from their hosts, which Soldiers in general cannot do (Banishment is a Secret Song, and to drive a demon entirely from the Corporeal plane requires the Celestial Song of Banishment, which only a very few Soldiers can use even if they were taught the Song for some reason). OTOH, Laurence is listed as one of the Superiors who teaches it, which means that a major source of Western exorcists is covered. One can easily imagine though, that an angel in service to a Word like War or possibly Stone would take the tack that any weapon is acceptable when dealing with demons, and start actively seeking Sorcerors to learn from in order to teach it so Soldiers with sufficient Willpower who are willing to undergo an Initiation. There's probably several adventure seeds to be found in that depending on who the PCs are and who they serve.

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by DAlillama

White Sorcerors are a more valuable resource than many in Heaven realise; With sufficient skill, they can cast a demon out of the Corporeal plane, or drive Shedim from their hosts, which Soldiers in general cannot do (Banishment is a Secret Song, and to drive a demon entirely from the Corporeal plane requires the Celestial Song of Banishment, which only a very few Soldiers can use even if they were taught the Song for some reason). OTOH, Laurence is listed as one of the Superiors who teaches it, which means that a major source of Western exorcists is covered. One can easily imagine though, that an angel in service to a Word like War or possibly Stone would take the tack that any weapon is acceptable when dealing with demons, and start actively seeking Sorcerors to learn from in order to teach it so Soldiers with sufficient Willpower who are willing to undergo an Initiation. There's probably several adventure seeds to be found in that depending on who the PCs are and who they serve.

Being a huge fan of sorcerers (obviously, I think) I would remind you of one thing: There are no humble selfless sorcerers. None. The act of magic requires you to think "I am the most important being in my world, I have the right to shape the world to my will." Thnk, nay actually believe it. I've fudged that a little with Ryuki so that he's not quite as selfish as that, but that's the heart of it.

A priest exorcises in the name of the Lord, but in the end it's "I expel you in the name of". It's not that sorcerers are egotistical--it's that sorcery itself is.

The Song of Banishment is possibly very different in its construction, which is why it's a Song. It's also possible that it's quite the same, which is why it's so rare--Laurence doesn't like giving that kind of temptation to just anyone. I don't have L. Canticorum with me but I'll read it later this weekend.

For an adventure, I can see Michael or maybe Janus creating a sorcerer out of a Soldier, but that would be squicky even to them. It's not just an Initiation and a spell--it's more like a course of study. You can't Banish until you learn how to Summon, you can't Summon safely until you learn how to Ward, you can't Ward until you learn how to write the arcane languages, you can't write the arcane languages until you learn how to read them, and there are so many goodies to be read, so very many, Boss let's just use this one too?

I see sorcery as practically a lifestyle.

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by tHEhERETIC

Being a huge fan of sorcerers (obviously, I think) I would remind you of one thing: There are no humble selfless sorcerers. None. The act of magic requires you to think "I am the most important being in my world, I have the right to shape the world to my will." Thnk, nay actually believe it. I've fudged that a little with Ryuki so that he's not quite as selfish as that, but that's the heart of it.

What about the Ignes? (Sups 3, p 62.) They're not exactly humble, but they are created by an Archangel.

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

What about the Ignes? (Sups 3, p 62.) They're not exactly humble, but they are created by an Archangel.

Oooh! Line and verse, thank you!

I totally missed that sidebar, had no idea that Gabriel initiated sorcerers sometimes (apparently most Celestials have no idea of it either). They're still not humble and selfless, though. Even the idea of melding one's flame with the Godhead is a noble ideal, but I've seen such things in practice actually, and they're still fairly selfish. "I am a part of the Greatest Thing Ever" is still ego, it's just a bit less individually so.

Must think on this.

[William]

Like many human things, Sorcery is probably best when least interfered with celestially. The Ignes are very hands-off, with Gabriel only possibly appearing, and if so, likely only at a required stage of initiation.

The Corporeal Player's Guide recommends that the GM come up with new rituals, and the description of the Ignes suggests that this is a strong component of their tradition. The Focus skills are based off of Precision rather than Will, so presumably other rituals can be as well, meaning that an Ignes Sorcerer doesn't necessarily have to be any more willful than the basic requirements to be a Sorcerer. Such rituals would especially make sense given the Ignes' concentration on purification and cleansing. The Exorcism skills are Will-based, but the Wards are not, so possibly other defenses can be built on Precision.

At http://earl.of.sandwich.net/In_Nomine/Mystique.txt I list a variant of Sorcery which is based on Perception, as are most of its skills, with one based on Intelligence; however, depending on the GM's permissiveness it might be entirely possible to ditch the introductory paragraphs and simply use the rituals as another Sorcery tradition.

[tHEhERETIC]

Originally Posted by William

At http://earl.of.sandwich.net/In_Nomine/Mystique.txt I list a variant of Sorcery which is based on Perception, as are most of its skills, with one based on Intelligence; however, depending on the GM's permissiveness it might be entirely possible to ditch the introductory paragraphs and simply use the rituals as another Sorcery tradition.

I read most of that (I haven't had my coffee yet, and lack the focus ;) to read it all) but Rapport has a canonical analog. I don't have it at my fingertips, but I used it for my Corps concept--they can synchronize their attacks no matter what their distance from each other. It's probably a War thing, but I can't find it offhand.