Looking for advice on Jordi
 

I'm finally getting back into In Nomine after years of being out in limbo and running a game soon. And wouldn't you know it, right off the bat, one of my players wants to play a servitor of Animals. Specifically, she wants to play a cherub who is that 'crazy cat lady' everyone seem to know one of.

Not a bad idea. But the problem I'm having is how to integrate a servitor of Jordi with a group of angels that I'd really like to act as an ensemble. The dissonance condition, specifically, seems a bit draconian.

Any suggestions on how to integrate such a character? Possibly some creative suggestions on how an angel of Jordi can avoid dissonance while being part of a mixed team? Or is it just too much of a pain? Thanks!

Re: Looking for advice on Jordi
 

Actually, I can see this as a lot of fun ... particularly in the entertaining frustration that it can cause the rest of the players.

As written, there is nothing that stops an angel of Animals from living in a city (although if they want to invoke their Superior, they'll have to leave town). The real key to a Jordite is that they have to constantly ask themselves "What Would Nature Do?" They're prefectly capable of understanding the needs of humans, it's just that when those needs conflict with those of nature (and especially animals), nature wins.

Now, since the rest of the team is likely focused on humanity, this can create a potential for friction. The key to cooperation here is that an Animalist *uses nature's values*. A couple of examples:
--In nature, the young and fertile members of a herd need to be protected if the herd is to survive (often at the expense of the old and weak). So a demonic plot that mainly affected kids, teens or college-age folks would probably get their attention.
--Waste is the enemy of a balanced ecosystem, since it endangers both predator and prey. Any especially destructive plot by Hell will draw their opposition, especially if the servitors of Haggenti are involved.

Basically, a Jordite sees humanity as just one more animal. They won't go out of their way to break human laws any more than they would automatically disrupt the organization of a baboon troop. It's just when those laws put humanity on a higher plane or interfere with what nature says must be done that there's conflict.

One NPC Animalist in our campaign works at an animal shelter. Most of the time, she functioned pretty normally. But when a German shepherd was confined there after killing someone, she refused to consider any laws that said a dog must die for killing a human. As you can imagine, this sparked waves of controversy in the community (and relief among the angels, since the dog was actually a vessel of a Renegade they were trying to Redeem).

So yes, the crazy cat lady is a viable character. She can be part of a team, but a rather eccentric part that will sometimes very much have a mind of her own (as befits her Role). It's true that every so often something she says or does will have major consequences -- but then, so does a Gabrielite smiting cruel people who have never been convicted by human law.

Hope this at least starts the ball rolling for you.

Re: Looking for advice on Jordi
 

Actually yes, that helps a lot. Thanx!

Re: Looking for advice on Jordi
 

Glad to help out.

After leaving the forums, by the way, I found a link you might be interested in. This is a writeup of Jordi done by R. Sean Borgstrom (one of the In Nomine regulars) that she posted online. Some good background and some expanded detail, including several new Attunements: http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~rsean/gaming/jordi.html

It's not at the length and depth of the recent "Superiors" treatments, but it's probably at about the level of the Superior descriptions in the Revelations Cycle books. Hope you find it useful.

EDIT: This post has been corrected to properly identify Ms. Borgstrom's gender, as referenced below.

Re: Looking for advice on Jordi
 

"She", actually. It's Rebecca Sean Borgstorm.

Re: Looking for advice on Jordi
 

*Blush*. Beg your pardon, Ms. Borgstrom. And thanks for the save, Kelly.