Ethereal adventures

[Twilite]

Hi folks! :)

I am about to start an In Nomine campaign with a group of Ethereals, but find it almost impossible to find any decent websites on campaigns set in the Marches, particularly good adventure ideas set in the Marches. Does anyone have any good information or links to help me out?

Thanks! :)
Twilite

[William]

I ran an entire Marches-based campaign for several years, for which the logs are here. The game is from the angels' point of view, but perhaps some of the ideas will be adaptable.

Some of the plotlines:

*) Heaven wishes to establish a diplomatic outpost in the Far Marches. What Domain would take them? Perhaps one having some trouble that some angels could help clear out.

*) One of the old gods offers a great prize in a big contest: a new Domain without a master. What's the catch? The Domain entraps any passersby. Can you solve the problem and collect a Domain to rule?

*) Quest for Repose of Midnight -- the Ethereal fourth pole, to match Dawn's Tower, Sunset's Tower, and the Mount of Noon (Blandine's, Beleth's, and Gabriel's Marches Tethers).

*) Tsayadite trouble.

*) A Vapulan lab in the Far Marches goes haywire -- pick your cause.

*) An ancient stronghold of Mariel, long abandoned and forgotten, with relics and records that have survived due to their security measures. Lost Songs of Forgetting or Oblivion might be found here.

We had difficulty with celestial combat and had to rejigger some rules, but ethereals will presumably not have so much trouble with that, especially if you're playing in standard IN.

One thing to remember is that humans are important, and sometimes it's hard to get humans involved in a Marches-centered game. If the players can access a Tether on occasion, it may help keep things lively; otherwise, lucid-dreaming Sorcerers or Ethereal Soldiers might make good NPCs.

[Jason]

I some notes for an all-ethereals adventure I planned to run for a new group before it fell through. Maybe they'll be useful to you. The premise: A bunch of kids' toys/imaginary friends leave the Marches to save one of the kids that dreamt them up. (EDIT: Whoops, just noticed you specifically meant for campaigns IN the Marches. Well, this still works with one direction I had in mind, with a human in a coma trapped in the Marches...)

The story:

Spoiler:  

The PCs are all ethereal spirits based on the toys and imaginary friends of a particular group of children. When one of the spirits in this close-knit group goes missing, the others follow all the way to the corporeal realm (and possibly back again).

Possible directions:

1. One of the kids is in trouble, and the missing spirit went to the Corporeal realm to help. For a light adventure, the PCs may end up protecting kids from ethereal boogeymen.

2. Same scenario, but the kids have long ago grown up. The spirits are actually going to Earth to deal with something much more adult, from other ethereals, celestials, or even humans, that pose a real threat to adults.

3. The whole situation was a setup: One of the ethereals based on a named character (like Fuzzo or Carr) was lured out of the Marches by threatening his/her "patron" child as part of a plot to engage in Assumption combat.

(Mostly unfinished notes for) characters:

Spoiler:  

Blankie, Primal Spirit of Security
Blankie is the primal spirit of a child's security blanket. In the Marches, s/he looks like a shabby, blue blanket with a faded plaid pattern. When s/he forms a human vessel, s/he will be wearing a shabby flannel shirt, in the same faded plaid pattern. Blankie will want to go on an adventure for moral support, just to make sure any loved ones will feel secure, human and ethereal alike.

Cor 2 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 2 Will Per

Elements:
Security (Emotion)

Affinities:
Artifice (Moderate)
Emotions/Security (Primal)

Dreads:
Making someone insecure / failing to inspire a sense of safety

Vessels:
Lvl 1 Human male
Lvl 1 blanket

Songs:
Harmony (Cor)
Solace (Eth)

Skills:
Emote
Knowledge (Psychology)


Lucky, Autonomous Spirit
Lucky is a happy-go-lucky trickster based on a stuffed rabbit toy. In the Marches, s/he is a yellow rabbit with a great, big grin. Lucky will go on any adventure —*especially one that includes time on Earth —*just for a change of pace and a bit of fun.

Cor 1 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 3 Will Per

Elements:
Imagination (Information), The Moon (Astronomical)

Affinities:
Artifice (Moderate)
Deception (Moderate)
Luck (Strong)
Obscurement (Moderate)

Dreads:
Bad luck —*i.e., failing a roll (Strong)
Being outsmarted (Moderate)

Vessels:
Lvl 1 Human, yellow-haired, buck-toothed
Lvl 1 stuffed rabbit

Songs:
Form (Eth)
Form (Cel)
Possession (Cel)
Silence (Cor)

Skills:
Fast Talk (?)
Lying
Move Silently



Carr, Autonomous Spirit
Carr was formed based on playing with the Gobot action figure Tail Pipe, which transforms between a yellow robot and a Nissan Skyline with the word "GO" printed on the roof in red. The kid who played with it had no idea what the character's actual name is, and most people don't remember Gobots anyway, so Carr exists in a class all his/her own. Carr will go on an adventure because s/he's all about journeys and travel.

Cor 2 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 2 Will Per

Elements:
Vehicles (Tech), Wind (Classical Element), The Stars (Astronomical)

Affinities:
Artifice (Moderate)
Speed (Moderate)
Lightning (Moderate)

Dreads:
Being seen in robot form by unknown human authorities.
Flying in car form.

Vessels:
Lvl 1 robot
Lvl 1 Nissan Skyline

Songs:
Motion (Cor)

Skills:


Leo (or Leah), Autonomous Spirit
Leo is a lion (or lioness, Leah), defined by a mighty roar, a regal bearing, and a great sense of pride. S/he will go on any adventure as an opportunity to demonstrate courage and provide leadership.

Cor 2 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 2 Will Per

Elements:
Beasts (Life), Sun (Astronomical), Pride (Emotion)

Affinities:
Animals (Strong)
Emotions (Moderate)
Hunger (Moderate)

Dreads:
Embarrassment

Vessels:
Lvl 1 Human
Lvl 1 Cat
Lvl 1 Lion

Songs:
Thunder (Cor)
Nemesis (Cel)
Numinous Corpus Claws (Cor)
Numinous Corpus Fangs (Cor)
Sight (Cor)

Skills:
Move Silently
Running
Survival
Tracking


"Holmes," Autonomous Spirit
This spirit is the embodiment of a little girl's dollhouse, the home base for the other toys between the children's adventures. "Holmes" (so nicknamed by the other toys' spirits) represents nurturing, togetherness, and family. If everyone else is going on an adventure, Holmes will need to go just so they'll all be together.

Cor 2 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 2 Will Per

Elements:
Family (Society), Homes (Structure)

Affinities:
Motherhood (Strong)
Glamour (Moderate)

Dreads:
Seeing loved ones come to harm

Vessels:
Lvl 1 Human male (based on dollhouse figurine)
Lvl 1 Human female (based on dollhouse figurine)

Songs:
Harmony (Eth)
Seals (Cor)
Solace (Cor)

Skills:
Detect Lies
Emote
Knowledge (Home Economics)


Fuzzo, Autonomous Spirit
Born from a fuzzy puppet character from an educational TV show for kids, Fuzzo always has lessons to teach in a zany way. Fuzzo will go on any adventure as a learning experience, always seeking to gain and impart knowledge.

Cor 2 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 2 Will Per

Elements:
Knowledge (Information), Light (Sense)

Affinities:
Books (Strong)

Dreads:
Failing to uncover a truth.

Vessels:
Lvl 1 Human

Songs:
Fire (Eth)
Memory (Eth)
Projection (Eth)
Tongues (Cor)

Skills:
Detect Lies
Knowledge (Science)
Knowledge (Math)


Cracker, Autonomous Spirit
Cracker is based on a plush parrot toy. S/he's showy and colorful, and fond of flying around and mimicking the sounds made by others. S/he'll go on any adventure that provides an opportunity to show off and look good.

Cor 2 Str Agl Body Hits ??
Eth 3 Int Pre Mind Hits ??
Cel 2 Will Per

Elements:
Color (Senses), Wind (Classic Element)

Affinities:
Air (Moderate)
Entrancement (Moderate)
Glamour (Moderate)

Dreads:
Social invisibility

Vessels:
Lvl 1 Human
Lvl 1 Parrot

Songs:
Cacophony (Cor)
Cacophony (Cel)
Sight (Eth)

Skills:
Emote
Singing

[Archangel Beth]

My SSO (Superior Soap Opera) had a long arc in the Marches...
http://www.prismnet.com/~arcangel/Ga...ories/SSO.html -- scroll down to "SWP+1," Small Favors, and go from there till they get back...

(SSO is a "third side" alternate universe. Short explanation: Jean psychoanalyzes Lilith into defecting, based on premise (apparently accurate...) that she is the Third Avatar of the Sympthony (Yves and Kronos are the other two), who embodies the Choice Between [Fate and Destiny]. Jean, Eli, the Grigori (including the non-canon Grigori Archangel of Knowledge, who inherited the Word from her Force-parent, Raphael), and a bunch of Renegades (mostly Lilim) join up. Janus does not, but is having the time of his life.)

Edit because I hit post too soon... As adventure ideas, it's a bit unfocused (i.e., it's what I was doing, rather than "what any GM might do") -- however, you might get some ideas from some of the locations the PCs visit.

[Acolyte]

This thread has some excellent ideas (my favorite is the faerie bazaar that Jason created).

For me personally, the Marches can become very interesting because the idea of A Correct Story is more powerful than the concepts of Destiny/Fate, resonance/dissonance, etc, that rule a traditional IN game. Even a demon of Lust will put his pants back on in order to stay alive, but the Ethereal of a helpless little animal might willingly let a powerful predatory Ethereal eat it, because that's what happens (and, weirdly, that might not kill the helpless one, which might soon be rebirthed with more Essence for fulfilling its nature). An Ethereal of a bottle of whiskey wants and needs to get someone drunk, or at the very least get smashed in a bar fight.

You know how in dreams everything just sort of naturally makes sense? Someone is there and she's your mother, but she doesn't act or behave at all like your mother, nor does she look like your mother, but in the dream you know she's your mother and that's that? (Often I never notice how odd situations are until I try to explain the dream to someone else--the sense that everything is the way it is and that's normal in the dream extends even into waking times.) Ethereals live that way all the time. Making that surreality come alive is one an exciting opportunity a Marches campaign offers you.

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by Acolyte

For me personally, the Marches can become very interesting because the idea of A Correct Story [...]

That's a good point.

Seanan McGuire (http://seananmcguire.com/) has a number of filk songs (aside from her very nice books, and BTW, An Artificial Night is also very Marches-themed) about "Babylon Wood." Short form? Babylon Wood is where story characters go when they jump the tracks.

Earthquake Weather (lyrics, mp3 sample) is one of that series and... Honestly, one could do worse than steeping oneself in anything at http://seananmcguire.com/songbook.php that says "Babylon Wood" or "Rose Owl," when trying to come up with Marches feel. (Her Seasonal Monarchs -- summer kings and winter queens, or sometimes vice versa -- are also very Ethereal-like, with the patterns that they must walk because of their very natures.)

Warning, warning, her work may suck you in.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by Archangel Beth

That's a good point.

Seanan McGuire (http://seananmcguire.com/) has a number of filk songs (aside from her very nice books, and BTW, An Artificial Night is also very Marches-themed) about "Babylon Wood." Short form? Babylon Wood is where story characters go when they jump the tracks.

Earthquake Weather (lyrics, mp3 sample) is one of that series and... Honestly, one could do worse than steeping oneself in anything at http://seananmcguire.com/songbook.php that says "Babylon Wood" or "Rose Owl," when trying to come up with Marches feel. (Her Seasonal Monarchs -- summer kings and winter queens, or sometimes vice versa -- are also very Ethereal-like, with the patterns that they must walk because of their very natures.)

Warning, warning, her work may suck you in.

Not directly related, but I found this song looking up Seanean McGuire and related material, and it sounds like a perfect soundtrack for an Ethereal Remnant. The Girl That's Never Been. Escape Key's's performance is excellent.

[Archangel Beth]

Originally Posted by DAlillama

Not directly related, but I found this song looking up Seanean McGuire and related material, and it sounds like a perfect soundtrack for an Ethereal Remnant.

There's a reason that won Best Filk Song for 2006... *shiver* Yes. Or even an ethereal non-Remnant, if they were dream-born too quickly to realize themselves.

(Ah, there's the ever-fun plot: a lucid dreamer (who is/is partnered with a sorcerer), summoning well-crafted ethereals for fun and profit. Have they discovered how to drain energy and Essence from established ethereals, and they're creating bait? Is it a demonic plot? Is it an ethereal plot? And what can the PCs do when Dorothy asks them the way to the Emerald City, and Alice beats her head against the looking glasses, trying to get back...

Edit: Bonus points for taking the players' childhood memories and twisting the knife.)

Edit2: That song is on the Shadowbeast Album which is/was available on iTunes. *goes to download that and Thirteen to the iPhingie*