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Liber Reliquarum in general

Liber Reliquarum includes everything you need to know about In Nomine and describes lots of interesting artifacts. The book is written well in general and the artifacts it describes have a wonderfully high coolness factor.

I think the most natural divisions of Liber Reliquarum are into general information about artifacts, game mechanics, corporeal artifacts, ethereal artifacts, celestial artifacts, powerful and unusual artifacts, and adventures.

General Information about Artifacts

This section explains the nature of corporeal, ethereal, and celestial artifacts, and where each form can exist; provides pointers for keeping artifacts under control; and gives information on identifying artifacts.

This section is short, to-the-point, and comprehensible.

Game Mechanics

There are two types of game mechanics in Liber Reliquarum: artifact creation and new character Resources (skills, songs, and discords.)

The artifact creation rules are good: they work, they make sense, and include pointers for maintaining game balance. The rules get a little complex, but there's a handy checklist so you don't forget anything, and the PCs shouldn't be creating artifact very often anyway. I'm especially fond of the special artifact features section.

The new character Resources vary. In general, they're good, and they include a skill and a couple of songs which are important for artifacts. Unfortunately, they also include several songs and discords which really have little to do with the subject matter; fortunately, this only takes a few pages and so can be cheerfully ignored.

Corporeal Artifacts

Corporeal artifacts have two useful features: the character can always find his corporeal artifact, and the artifacts have a place in the symphony that masks disturbances made by them, much as a Celestial's Role does. This section has a handful of sample corporeal artifacts and lists of typical objects made into corporeal artifacts by Superior.

The section is short without excluding anything, generally well-written, and interesting. The sample artifacts are not only good illustrations of the use of corporeal artifacts but are interesting in their own right.

Ethereal Artifacts: Talismans

There are two types of talismans: objects which grant their owner a skill at a specific level and objects which grant a skill at a specific level. This section lists a number of talismans and gives sample talismans by Superior.

There are more example Ethereal Artifacts than Corporeal ones, which is good; there are more possibilies for Ethereal Artifacts. Otherwise, this section is much like the Corporeal Artifacts section: short, to the point, and well-done.

Celestial Artifacts

There are two types of Celestial Artifacts: relics and eliquaries. Relics can be used to perform a song, reliquaries contain Essence, and one object can be both. This section just includes a list of celestial artifacts.

I miss the 'typical artifacts by Superior' section, but the listed artifacts are wonderful. One caveat: some of them do things which cannon be mimiced with songs.

Special Artifacts

Technically, most of these are in the Celestial Artifacts section, but I thought they deserved special mention. Liber Reliquarum describes a number of powerful, sometimes unique, artifacts. Some of these are classic artifacts, such as the Excaliber and the Holy Grail. Some are related to In Nomine Superiors, others to pagan gods, and others are simply interesting.

I include among 'special artifacts' a new type of artifact: living artifacts: artifacts with their own Forces, personality, and goals.

I really liked the special artifacts. They fit the In Nomine world, with backgrounds appropriate to it, without being limited to the In Nomine world.

Adventures

I include in this section a short adventure, the Nybbas computer; a background with adventure seeds, the Collector; and four artifact-related characters that could be used in artifact-related adventures.

In the Nybbas Computer adventure, a joint Nybbas/Vapula project had supposedly created a computer which could be produced on Earth with tons of features the Princes wanted. The researcher and his three prototypes have vanished. The Nybbas Computer adventure is okay, but it's only two pages long; the GM would have to do a lot of fleshing out.

The Collector is mostly background: a Saint of Yves, the last librarian in the Library of Alexandria, a living artifact in her own right, has a collection of artwork and artifacts she maintains somewhere on Earth (not even she knows where) for him. Most artifacts are catalogued and returned, but the collection is still probably the largest warehouse of artifacts in the world.

I liked the background, especially the nine Soldiers who fill the roles of nine Muses (dozens of Soldiers filling the role of one Muse, one at a time.) I did rather think Dominic might object to glorifying pagan gods in this way.

There are a couple of plot hooks and an adventure seeds at the end of this section. The plot hooks are okay, but the adventure seed was ridiculous: in a page and a half description of an adventure, Michael is behind a plot that could and should get him put on trial again and convicted this time. I do not find the premise credible; it's beyond the level of the rivalries in Heaven, and it's dumb because he's too likely to get caught. Furthermore, I think it is absurd to toss out the possibility of an Archangel on trial in such a short space; the political implications are staggering and should be treated as such.

There were four artifact-related characters: a demon of Technical, an angel of Lightning, an angel of Creation, and an angel of Creation in service to Protection. They're all okay if you want a quick character of that sort.

Conclusion

I really liked this book. It had problems, but the problems were in sections peripheral to the meat of the book and can be dealt with by simply ignoring ten pages or so.

I recommend this book for any In Nomine players and GMs who can afford it. I also recommend it for anyone looking for unusual artifacts to toss into a modern-day fantasy game.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Liber Reliquarum: The Book of Relics
Author: Laura Davidson, David Edelstein, Matthew Grau, John Karakash, Steven Long, Elizabeth McCoy, Walter Milliken, Derek Pearcy, Bob Schroeck and John Tynes Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Cost: $19.95 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-55634-345-0 Capsule Review by Elizabeth Bartley on 03/13/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day	Liber Reliquarum in general Liber Reliquarum includes everything you need to know about In Nomine and describes lots of interesting artifacts. The book is written well in general and the artifacts it describes have a wonderfully high coolness factor. I think the most natural divisions of Liber Reliquarum are into general information about artifacts, game mechanics, corporeal artifacts, ethereal artifacts, celestial artifacts, powerful and unusual artifacts, and adventures. General Information about Artifacts This section explains the nature of corporeal, ethereal, and celestial artifacts, and where each form can exist; provides pointers for keeping artifacts under control; and gives information on identifying artifacts. This section is short, to-the-point, and comprehensible. Game Mechanics There are two types of game mechanics in Liber Reliquarum: artifact creation and new character Resources (skills, songs, and discords.) The artifact creation rules are good: they work, they make sense, and include pointers for maintaining game balance. The rules get a little complex, but there's a handy checklist so you don't forget anything, and the PCs shouldn't be creating artifact very often anyway. I'm especially fond of the special artifact features section. The new character Resources vary. In general, they're good, and they include a skill and a couple of songs which are important for artifacts. Unfortunately, they also include several songs and discords which really have little to do with the subject matter; fortunately, this only takes a few pages and so can be cheerfully ignored. Corporeal Artifacts Corporeal artifacts have two useful features: the character can always find his corporeal artifact, and the artifacts have a place in the symphony that masks disturbances made by them, much as a Celestial's Role does. This section has a handful of sample corporeal artifacts and lists of typical objects made into corporeal artifacts by Superior. The section is short without excluding anything, generally well-written, and interesting. The sample artifacts are not only good illustrations of the use of corporeal artifacts but are interesting in their own right. Ethereal Artifacts: Talismans There are two types of talismans: objects which grant their owner a skill at a specific level and objects which grant a skill at a specific level. This section lists a number of talismans and gives sample talismans by Superior. There are more example Ethereal Artifacts than Corporeal ones, which is good; there are more possibilies for Ethereal Artifacts. Otherwise, this section is much like the Corporeal Artifacts section: short, to the point, and well-done. Celestial Artifacts There are two types of Celestial Artifacts: relics and eliquaries. Relics can be used to perform a song, reliquaries contain Essence, and one object can be both. This section just includes a list of celestial artifacts. I miss the 'typical artifacts by Superior' section, but the listed artifacts are wonderful. One caveat: some of them do things which cannon be mimiced with songs. Special Artifacts Technically, most of these are in the Celestial Artifacts section, but I thought they deserved special mention. Liber Reliquarum describes a number of powerful, sometimes unique, artifacts. Some of these are classic artifacts, such as the Excaliber and the Holy Grail. Some are related to In Nomine Superiors, others to pagan gods, and others are simply interesting. I include among 'special artifacts' a new type of artifact: living artifacts: artifacts with their own Forces, personality, and goals. I really liked the special artifacts. They fit the In Nomine world, with backgrounds appropriate to it, without being limited to the In Nomine world. Adventures I include in this section a short adventure, the Nybbas computer; a background with adventure seeds, the Collector; and four artifact-related characters that could be used in artifact-related adventures. In the Nybbas Computer adventure, a joint Nybbas/Vapula project had supposedly created a computer which could be produced on Earth with tons of features the Princes wanted. The researcher and his three prototypes have vanished. The Nybbas Computer adventure is okay, but it's only two pages long; the GM would have to do a lot of fleshing out. The Collector is mostly background: a Saint of Yves, the last librarian in the Library of Alexandria, a living artifact in her own right, has a collection of artwork and artifacts she maintains somewhere on Earth (not even she knows where) for him. Most artifacts are catalogued and returned, but the collection is still probably the largest warehouse of artifacts in the world. I liked the background, especially the nine Soldiers who fill the roles of nine Muses (dozens of Soldiers filling the role of one Muse, one at a time.) I did rather think Dominic might object to glorifying pagan gods in this way. There are a couple of plot hooks and an adventure seeds at the end of this section. The plot hooks are okay, but the adventure seed was ridiculous: in a page and a half description of an adventure, Michael is behind a plot that could and should get him put on trial again and convicted this time. I do not find the premise credible; it's beyond the level of the rivalries in Heaven, and it's dumb because he's too likely to get caught. Furthermore, I think it is absurd to toss out the possibility of an Archangel on trial in such a short space; the political implications are staggering and should be treated as such. There were four artifact-related characters: a demon of Technical, an angel of Lightning, an angel of Creation, and an angel of Creation in service to Protection. They're all okay if you want a quick character of that sort. Conclusion I really liked this book. It had problems, but the problems were in sections peripheral to the meat of the book and can be dealt with by simply ignoring ten pages or so. I recommend this book for any In Nomine players and GMs who can afford it. I also recommend it for anyone looking for unusual artifacts to toss into a modern-day fantasy game. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Liber Reliquarum: The Book of Relics