Body Language: The Skill

[JCD]

In Nomine provides some interesting implications in RP which keep cropping up.

The latest in my campaign is one of the subtleties of vessels. A player had her vessel killed by an NPC. She is now in another vessel and feels, with a certain amount of confidence, that she is now unrecognizable. And I have to agree.

But how absolute is it? I recall from Children of Dune the section where Alia was possessed by the Baron Harkonnen. While her mother was watching her, she noted that Alia had a nervous tic in her hand which was identical to that the Baron and acted on that knowledge accordingly.

Now, not everyone has a nervous tic, but gestures, postures, phraseology etc can all help identify a person. How often has someone blocked from a forum logged on under another name and e-mail in an attempt to bypass, only to be identified by his/her style, phrases or habits of writing? When one adds the physical dimension, it becomes more likely

So I am speculating on a Body Language: Identification skill for celestials and ethereals, which would give them a small chance to identify a previously met celestial in a new vessel.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before or how other GMs handle this issue.

[William]

I would probably allow this as a use of Body Language skill, with a base -2 for not being familiar with the target unless one has spent some considerable time around the suspected previous host. Having a tic like the one you described would be a Distinguishing Feature, each a GURPS Quirk giving +1 to rolls to identify the holder. I would probably restrict such Quirks to beings for whom it was most commonly useful: Kyriotates, Shedim, Malakim who frequently burn through Vessels, and ethereals that often change their Vessel.

[ladyarcana55]

It sounds to me you would need an Observation skill check just to notice something is off. Otherwise you would have no reason to look for those quirks, body movement, Mannerisms, what all.

[JCD]

To jib in on what ladyarcana said, I'd probably require an Observation roll on a specific person as a quick feat to pick up mannerisms, or rule that one needs to spend a couple of days with that person to make the connections before I'd even allow a skill role. (Though one could postulate a body language roll of -6 or so to notice that the person doesn't move like a normal human. For an extreme example, think the Roach Man from MIB or less extreme the angels in Prophesy)

Possession is the other place where it would be useful, such as in "A Dark Dream" where Sabrina twigged on to Marcus' deception pretty quickly, though that isn't exactly the same thing.

[Attercap]

I've always thought it a little odd that Kyriotates are written as having a device to help friends let them know who they are regardless of host, but there's no similar line in place to help celestials who already know each other should there be a vessel-change.

For plot and story purposes, as a GM, I tend to gloss over it and, if the celestial has already met and is familiar with the other celestial in an previously unseen vessel, the Symphony just lets them know who it is. This doesn't work with Kyriotates or Shedim, however, as there's too much of the host in play for the Symphony to carry the vibe through. It's not a celestial detector in general, it's just a gloss-over when dealing with friends. I prefer my games rules-light, though, so YMMV.

[JCD]

That makes a certain amount of sense. A friend will be happy to identify himself to you.

This is more of a tool to help the players. If an enemy puts on a different vessel, the players have a chance to detect it instead of being caught flatfooted.

Of course, it can also work against the player, restraining them from arbitrarily bushwacking someone else without any tension or drama.