Deconstructing Bright Dream

[JCD]

Scene Three: The Car and Fight.

So we meet Tariel. I must say I like the subtle touch of the incredibly ugly purple car. An angel wouldn't care, except for a Mercurian. Then they ruin that by having Tariel have incredible insight into how children deal with trouble far beyond what I would think Celestials would know. Sigh.

Tariel expositions about choirs and archangels for a bit. The big thing that glared from this part was their plan. The Corporeal Arrival of an Archangel is a Disturbance of 20. As we saw from the example of Nicole, this is detectable at long distances. A basic perception roll goes out to 1200 yards. One needs to be more then 1500 yards for it to be undetectable. The problem isn't how to mask this. Go far away. The problem is: where are the people you are avoiding? So Nicole is left at a random dance club without a ride (Does anyone else wonder how she is coordinating everything? Nary a cellphone is mentioned...) and suddenly she appears in the wilds with a motorcycle. This ties in later.

Back to Tariel. His plan to keep the demons guessing is to wander around the streets of Austin(?) setting off little Essence flares carrying his charge, Patricia with him. Let me say this again: Tariel, a Cherub is going out, looking to attract demons, with his charge. A tied up, helpless charge. Not in a closet. Not in a bedroom on a nice four poster bed. In an ugly obvious car, at night trying to attract demons! Never mind that one cop who sees a girl with duct tape over her mouth could ruin their whole day. Checking his character write up, I see that Michael is going cheap on the ethereal forces...

The most he can set off is 10 points, but as we see, he is only spending a maximum of 8. So his range for the last Essence flare is 8 (the accumulated disturbance for all his flares.) 8 times 3 is 24. Automatic detection range is 50 yards, basic perception range is 192 yards. Doing some geometry, that's about .03 square miles. You can pack a lot of people in that area, but he'd still have to be very unlucky. He was, of course. Mind you, the prior flares were all much smaller in range.


The car is hit and I'm sure it made a large disturbance. Since Nicole drives it away afterward, it's probably only taken 12 points. So that's a Disturbance of 3. Now does it add to the Essence flares? One would think so...otherwise Tariel is making little three yard flares which you would need to be on top of to hear. Maybe they were hoping on echos following them. (Did I mention how stupid it was to bring Patricia with him?)

Let's go to The Plan, as I laughingly call it. They have a painting that traps Celestials. You need an artist to paint him in. Further, they have a victim already selected. Who? Do they need to tie him down while they paint him in? But the artist is dead from a drug overdose under suspicious circumstances. One would think leaving heroin cut with rat poison would create a diabolic disturbance, but that's me. (And Nicole has a really quality set of friends here. A mugger, a klepto, and a drug using artist who sleeps with anything...though a Lilim isn't 'anything'. Oh yes, and an ex boyfriend demon. How do the demons know about this painting? Sigh!)

Fight fight fight. Marcus puts up a Celestial Shields AFTER they crash into the car. Since the Celestials won't make any noise as they pound on each other, this is sort of curious. But a few songs are sung, and BB is beaten up, so okay. I'll buy it.

Dead demon, dead Tariel. BB gets smacked around a bit, the demon Marcus steals painting*, and Nicole returns Celestially. To go Celestial takes 2 Essence. She admitted to having one. The only handwave possible is that Gabriel gifted it to her. More on that later.

But Nicole Celestially only travels a mile in around 3.5 minutes, or 17 mph. Much faster then walking, but nowhere near what a motorcycle can do. Now granted, she can go as the crow flies but considering she was trying to get some distance from whatever, one wonders at the geography. Furthermore, she can only remain Celestial 11 minutes with a CD of 6. That means she's within 3 miles of the action.

Pack away BB, drive off, leaving Patricia at a multiple murder scene.

Exit

* Demon steals painting?!? Are you %$#@*& kidding me? He brought the PAINTING TOO? Tariel has an overweening, and unwarranted sense of his toughness.

[JCD]

Interlude

Nicole is on her motorcycle which somehow appeared within a short distance of a dance club selected by BB. She drives to some woods which seem to be inside the city, so this answers some, but not all of the questions of distance. If she wanted it to be so secret, why not farther from the city?

It seems that not only do Servants make Archangels mad, but so do clothes. One strip tease later, playing with her Zippo, and Gabriel appears (I guess she swings that way...)

Gabby grabs the blood for a late night snack, asks about the Dissonance, refuses the request for Malakim and then comments that the Essence that Nicole just got was not the proper flavor, being from her Novalis dance rite. So...where did the Essence to go Celestially come from if Nicole used it all for summoning Gabriel? If it came from Gabby, she is singularly chintzy, giving the bare minimum for a Servitor going into a possible demonic fight. But as indicated, she isn't happy with Nicole. (And now that she's lost the painting, probably a lot less happy)

Nicole grovels, gets forgiven, gets her gun and is sent Celestially to the scene of the crime. Gabriel masks her movements.

Not much to criticize here. I liked the politics added, and the crazy that sparked off of Gabby. It seems Nicole is a nonsmoker...

[JCD]

The Escape and House

So Nicole takes her bleeding Servant down the highway heading home. He is missing his thumb and in shock. She says she'll fix it soon. Bet you are regretting that career change now, pal. (Note, the character write up DOES have Corporeal Healing, so she can fix up BB)

She says Tariel is in Heaven and is probably awake, and will get some essence gathered together so he can get another vessel and pop downstairs so he can do his bondage and domination relationship with Patricia some more. This obviously ignores Trauma and puts the acquisition of vessels in the hands of the Angels, not their bosses. I wonder if that was also poetic license, an earlier version of the game, or simply Mercurian BS.

Once again, Nicole is out of essence. She says that she specifically did not ask for more essence, making how she went Celestial more of an issue. She is hoping that Marcus has the politeness to attack after sunrise so she can toast him with her bit of essence. How she plans on doing that is VERY unclear.

They arrive at her house where demon detection is brought up. Nope, no can do...but that's okay, because Nicole left Marcus the demon ex boyfriend a key last time she saw him. Say what?!? Mind you, as we'll see in 'Dark Dream' she is also the one who revealed the existance of the painting to Marcus in the first place, so obviously she isn't the brightest spark from Gabriel's fire.

As they enter, we find that Nicole is very free with her keys, giving them out to laundry services etc. Sigh! It's a nice scene, but a bit contrived.

Marcus shows up, waves knife, gets shot. Nicole wants to engage in some recreational gutting later since he really torqued her off by killing the friend she sent out to attract him in the first place, stole the painting she left with the friend who was supposed to attract demons, and dared to almost bleed on her carpet when she shot him. In short, it's a normal relationship. Always the guy's fault.

She barks orders to BB who decides to take a powder for now.

End story.

Overall I liked it. I know some people don't like the fact that it's low contrast, however I believe it was a conscious decision to show that just because you are playing an angel, you were not necessarily playing a Paladin with all the baggage that entails.

There were some plot holes and serious inconsistencies in the story with the rules, but it was a good introduction.

I hope you enjoyed this.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by JCD

Interlude



It seems that not only do Servants make Archangels mad, but so do clothes. One strip tease later, playing with her Zippo, and Gabriel appears (I guess she swings that way...)

Well, given that Gabriel's appearance can sometimes lead to incineration of random objects, I can see why Nicole might want to get a favorite outfit out of the ... ahem ... line of fire.

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by Jason

Is it less strict for Mercurians? (Don't have books handy right now.)

Yes. O:>

Originally Posted by JCD

<A Mercurian can't DO violence. If you read the scene, when she tossed the Ex into the wall, she falls to one knee and looks like she got gut punched. This is her Dissonance showing.

That was also added to the PDF version. It's not in the original.

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

Page 63 of the IPG says an Impudite can't let someone kill a human, unless he has no control over the situation. What's curious is that that's the only place that particular restriction is mentioned. In both the core rules, and the summary chart at the end of IPG, the dissonance condition is simply that the Taker can't kill a human himself.

I think the IPG was an alteration, either to fit a prior FAQ ruling or because Impudites needed to be forced to be a little "nicer" so there'd be more contrast/benefit to being a Samingan Impudite.

The APG and IPG both did stuff like that.

Originally Posted by JCD

Back to Tariel. [...] I see that Michael is going cheap on the ethereal forces...

It is kind of notable that, in a subsequent vignette, Tariel Falls -- he's not a healthy Cherub.

Then again, Nicole's ex-boyfriend is also Fallen... Maybe Nicole's hard on her friends. >_>

Originally Posted by JCD

Gabby [...] asks about the Dissonance,

That was also added for the PDF; I basically asked Scott to fix some of the more egregious violations of canon-as-published. (It was pretty obviously written for a prior version of the rules.)

Originally Posted by JCD

This obviously ignores Trauma and puts the acquisition of vessels in the hands of the Angels, not their bosses.

Earlier version of the game; Essence used to be character points. Characters used Essence to create vessels. (Not sure about the Trauma.) I think that using Essence to power Songs and some attunements was after it'd been decoupled from character points.

This nearly-there draft of Gabriel may be of interest.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by Archangel Beth

It is kind of notable that, in a subsequent vignette, Tariel Falls -- he's not a healthy Cherub.

Then again, Nicole's ex-boyfriend is also Fallen... Maybe Nicole's hard on her friends. >_>

Or maybe she's a Balseraph of Fate with the Mercurian resonance/dissonance package. It would explain much...

[Rocket Man]

In retrospect, I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to make her an Elohite. So many of her actions (from having her ex-Servant literally bled dry, to arranging to gun down an ex-boyfriend as a setup) could be construed as cold-blooded choices "for the greater good."

Originally Posted by robkelk

Or maybe she's a Balseraph of Fate with the Mercurian resonance/dissonance package. It would explain much...

Though I'm entertained by this theory, too. :) On the other hand, if she can fool Gabriel herself, that's one powerful Fate attunement.

So when do we break down the Dark Dream?

[Jason]

Originally Posted by JCD

So we meet Tariel. I must say I like the subtle touch of the incredibly ugly purple car. An angel wouldn't care, except for a Mercurian. Then they ruin that by having Tariel have incredible insight into how children deal with trouble far beyond what I would think Celestials would know. Sigh.

Some celestials have been on Earth multiple human lifetimes. I'd say that enough for a Cherub to get a sense of how his charges think, even if he never bothers to pick up (or stubbornly refuses to care about) human tastes.

Back to Tariel. His plan to keep the demons guessing is to wander around the streets of Austin(?) setting off little Essence flares carrying his charge, Patricia with him. Let me say this again: Tariel, a Cherub is going out, looking to attract demons, with his charge. A tied up, helpless charge. Not in a closet. Not in a bedroom on a nice four poster bed. In an ugly obvious car, at night trying to attract demons! Never mind that one cop who sees a girl with duct tape over her mouth could ruin their whole day. Checking his character write up, I see that Michael is going cheap on the ethereal forces...

Glad someone else mentioned that he Falls in a later vignette. Also worth noting that the APG mentions that he probably has the Overzealous Discord.

The most he can set off is 10 points, but as we see, he is only spending a maximum of 8. So his range for the last Essence flare is 8 (the accumulated disturbance for all his flares.) 8 times 3 is 24. Automatic detection range is 50 yards, basic perception range is 192 yards. Doing some geometry, that's about .03 square miles. You can pack a lot of people in that area, but he'd still have to be very unlucky. He was, of course. Mind you, the prior flares were all much smaller in range.

Maybe he knows a good place to make noise that's likely to get heard?

Fight fight fight. Marcus puts up a Celestial Shields AFTER they crash into the car. Since the Celestials won't make any noise as they pound on each other, this is sort of curious. But a few songs are sung, and BB is beaten up, so okay. I'll buy it.

Does Celestial Shields cut off subsequent echoes from the disturbance of the car crash? I actually just assumed he put it up because it actually creates a visual shield from smoke as well, but prepping before biting off a human's finger is a good reason too.

[Azel]

Originally Posted by JCD

Scene One: The Alley

We meet our nameless protagonist, BB (Birthday Boy), who meets Nicole and a punk in an alley. BB describes hearing a sound which wasn't a sound, which seems to indicate Disturbance. Or not.

Nicole is just standing in plain sight in the alley when her soon to be former servant decides to knife and assault BB. She uses Ethereal Motion to throw her almost former Servant into a wall. Well, a man weighs from 120-300+ lbs. That Song supposedly only lifts E Forces times Essence. And it's resisted by strength. Exactly how much Essence did Nicole put into this?

Basically, the song had to have been nerfed.

First, as you mentioned she couldn't have manipulated that many pounds. At best (this is a WW Changeling trick) she could Eth Motion the guy's clothes straight into the wall with him in it, thus causing a concussion. I'd be tempted as a GM to allow that. But however tempted, that just opens craziness like throwing a car by manipulating its bumper, or some madness.

Also, the target range is Song skill in yards, (Nicole has Motion 0/4/0). BB mentions how Nicole couldn't have thrown him from "twenty feet away." 4 skill x 3 yd = 12 ft which is smaller than 20 ft. However, who really is good with exact distances when just attacked, adrenalin all pumping?

Originally Posted by JCD

Scene One: The Alley
Now, she just caused a human to go unconscious, so that's probably 8 damage: 2 Disturbance. Add that to 2 Essence for Singing the Song, and the CD for a successful cast and we are talking 10 D. BB probably can't hear this, but it causes a disturbance which can be heard for 300 yards.

Huh, this made me check errata: "Every 4 hits of physical damage done to a corporeal object (or being!) sends out a small ripple in the Symphony." OK, whatever, I was fine with the old one, but this is cleaner. Anyway, it doesn't have to be 8 points of damage, it could just be ruled as cinematic fiat that the character received a concussion. Besides, most humans average at 8 HP and less, so there's a strong chance that it could be just 1 point.

Originally Posted by JCD

Scene One: The Alley
She further excaberates this by going Celestial for another 12! That is 22 Disturbance, which can be heard a long LONG way away (around 1200 yards). BB must be a significant investment! BB murders the guy and drains his blood.

Hmm, my old book isn't errata-ed on this one: "When several Symphony-changing actions take place together, or nearly together, in space and time, treat each one as a new event that includes all the preceding ones." (IN core, 1st ed. p.55) That's rather nebulous and thus left to GM discretion, I think. Considering after Nicole flings her traitorous ex-servant across an alley, she and BB have a relatively sizable discussion about the nature of celestials and the Symphony and things. Since unconsciousness had no specified time, and the conversation was about 2 columns long, I can excuse this. I'd imagine going celestial would be distant enough in time from the "Song of Flinging Servants" so as not to compound. But that's just how I see it.

By the way, I do think Ethereal Song of Motion is decent, if a bit reserved in power. But telekinesis is a hard ability to rein in once unleashed, so I can understand why it may have been toned down. However, Song of Servant Flinging does have a delightful charm all its own. I might draft my own Songs of Servitude; flinging your servant around could be the corporeal level...

[JCD]

Originally Posted by Azel

Huh, this made me check errata: "Every 4 hits of physical damage done to a corporeal object (or being!) sends out a small ripple in the Symphony." OK, whatever, I was fine with the old one, but this is cleaner. Anyway, it doesn't have to be 8 points of damage, it could just be ruled as cinematic fiat that the character received a concussion. Besides, most humans average at 8 HP and less, so there's a strong chance that it could be just 1 point.

If you look at the rules for unconsciousness (BLECH!), essentially a vessel or body needs to be reduced to 0 body before they go night night. Now, I'm all about fixing the rules, but as stated, she had to ding him rather hard. And from what I understand, knocking someone unconcsious is rather more harder then a Karate chop to the neck...

Hmm, my old book isn't errata-ed on this one: "When several Symphony-changing actions take place together, or nearly together, in space and time, treat each one as a new event that includes all the preceding ones." (IN core, 1st ed. p.55) That's rather nebulous and thus left to GM discretion, I think. Considering after Nicole flings her traitorous ex-servant across an alley, she and BB have a relatively sizable discussion about the nature of celestials and the Symphony and things. Since unconsciousness had no specified time, and the conversation was about 2 columns long, I can excuse this. I'd imagine going celestial would be distant enough in time from the "Song of Flinging Servants" so as not to compound. But that's just how I see it.

Yes but. GM rulings always supercede the rules. However, Disturbance has echos. I would rule that additional Disturbance which occurs within the Echo time limit of the original Disturbance would add to add the original Disturbance as a rule of thumb. If I strum a guitar string, it vibrates for quite a bit afterward, which are the echos. Doing another riff on the already unstable 'strings' of the Symphony should be additive.

But YMMV.