The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Summary

Liber Servitorum is primarily a book of sample characters. It also includes a few pages on Roles, several pages on Servants, and a paragraph each listing possible Destinies, Fates, Good Deeds, Bad Deeds, and Needs.

Sample Characters

The vast majority of the book lists sample characters, which range from very good to superb. The section is divided into Angels, Demons, other Celestials, Ethereals, and Humans. Each section has a table of contents at the beginning. Each character has an illustration, a short section of introductory text, game statistics, and several paragraphs of description.

Angels

There are two or three angels for every superior, three or more (usually more) angels for each standard Choir, one Bright Lilim, and one Reliever. The characters are ordered by Superior, but the index in front lists them by Choir, so it's easy to find a character either way.

Most angels range from 9 to 11 Forces and are undistincted, but there are a handful of Vassals, one Friend, and one Master. They all have personalities, which are sometimes angelic with enough of a twist not to be stereotypical and sometimes interestingly flawed without becoming unangelic. I like the mixture; the angels are angelic without being perfect.

Demons

There are two or three demons per Superior, four or more demons per Band, and three demonlings described together in one section. The characters are ordered by Superior, but the index in front lists them by Band, so it's easy to find a character either way.

Most demons are undistincted and range from 7 to 10 Forces, but there are a few with more Forces, a couple of Knights, and a couple of Captains. The demons have personalities ranging from the extremely selfish to the bluntly sadistic. On the whole, I'm glad that the demons are as nasty as they are: it brings the War into sharper contrast, especially given the flawed angels. But I would have liked to see a couple of clearcut Redemption candidates, and while there's one demon who might well be Redeemable, that aspect is never developed.

Other Celestials: Outcasts, Renegades, and Remnants

This section includes one Outcasts, one Renegade, and two Remnants, one from each side. All four are interesting characters.

Ethereal Spirits

This section lists thirteen Ethereal Spirits. Most are individuals. Two (or maybe three) are an Ethereal type of which there are more than one Ethereal. Some Ethereals are ancient types, others have taken shape around modern dreams.

Humans

This section includes two unaware humans, four Soldiers of God, two Sorcerers, three Soldiers of Hell, and two Undead. They feel like real humans would in the In Nomine world.

Roles

The few pages which Liber Servitorum devotes to Roles provide a welcome clarification of the subject. This explains what a Role does, how one is created, what's needed to maintain a Role, and how one can be destroyed. I particularly appreciated the explanation of when a Role does, and doesn't, mask Disturbance.

Servants

The book packs an incredible amount of information about Servants into the eleven pages that it devotes to it. Major sections include how a servant can be acquired in play, how one determines a servant's abilities, more information on the various classes of servants (qualities or types of servants) are, clarification of levels and resisting commands, improvement of servants in play, practical uses of servants in the campaign, relations with servants, and an explanation of the difference between servants, Servitors, and minions.

Appendix

This section has a paragraph each listing possible Destinies, Fates, Good Deeds, Bad Deeds, and Needs. All five are listed in order from least to most important or significant.

Overall

This is a very good book, though the information in it is of questionable utility to some players. I recommend the book to all In Nomine gamemasters; the characters are excellent and the information on Roles and Servants alone is worth the purchase price. I also recommend the book to anyone just trying to get all the good In Nomine books, and to players who heavily use Servants or Roles.

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

Liber Servoritorum: The Book of Servants
Author: R. Sean Borgstrom, James Cambias, Genevieve R. Cogman, Emily Dresner, David Edelstein, John Karakash, Elizabeth McCoy, and Bob Schroeck Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: In Nomine Cost: 19.95 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-55634-369-8 SKU: 3314 Capsule Review by Elizabeth Bartley on 07/18/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day	Summary Liber Servitorum is primarily a book of sample characters. It also includes a few pages on Roles, several pages on Servants, and a paragraph each listing possible Destinies, Fates, Good Deeds, Bad Deeds, and Needs. Sample Characters The vast majority of the book lists sample characters, which range from very good to superb. The section is divided into Angels, Demons, other Celestials, Ethereals, and Humans. Each section has a table of contents at the beginning. Each character has an illustration, a short section of introductory text, game statistics, and several paragraphs of description. Angels There are two or three angels for every superior, three or more (usually more) angels for each standard Choir, one Bright Lilim, and one Reliever. The characters are ordered by Superior, but the index in front lists them by Choir, so it's easy to find a character either way. Most angels range from 9 to 11 Forces and are undistincted, but there are a handful of Vassals, one Friend, and one Master. They all have personalities, which are sometimes angelic with enough of a twist not to be stereotypical and sometimes interestingly flawed without becoming unangelic. I like the mixture; the angels are angelic without being perfect. Demons There are two or three demons per Superior, four or more demons per Band, and three demonlings described together in one section. The characters are ordered by Superior, but the index in front lists them by Band, so it's easy to find a character either way. Most demons are undistincted and range from 7 to 10 Forces, but there are a few with more Forces, a couple of Knights, and a couple of Captains. The demons have personalities ranging from the extremely selfish to the bluntly sadistic. On the whole, I'm glad that the demons are as nasty as they are: it brings the War into sharper contrast, especially given the flawed angels. But I would have liked to see a couple of clearcut Redemption candidates, and while there's one demon who might well be Redeemable, that aspect is never developed. Other Celestials: Outcasts, Renegades, and Remnants This section includes one Outcasts, one Renegade, and two Remnants, one from each side. All four are interesting characters. Ethereal Spirits This section lists thirteen Ethereal Spirits. Most are individuals. Two (or maybe three) are an Ethereal type of which there are more than one Ethereal. Some Ethereals are ancient types, others have taken shape around modern dreams. Humans This section includes two unaware humans, four Soldiers of God, two Sorcerers, three Soldiers of Hell, and two Undead. They feel like real humans would in the In Nomine world. Roles The few pages which Liber Servitorum devotes to Roles provide a welcome clarification of the subject. This explains what a Role does, how one is created, what's needed to maintain a Role, and how one can be destroyed. I particularly appreciated the explanation of when a Role does, and doesn't, mask Disturbance. Servants The book packs an incredible amount of information about Servants into the eleven pages that it devotes to it. Major sections include how a servant can be acquired in play, how one determines a servant's abilities, more information on the various classes of servants (qualities or types of servants) are, clarification of levels and resisting commands, improvement of servants in play, practical uses of servants in the campaign, relations with servants, and an explanation of the difference between servants, Servitors, and minions. Appendix This section has a paragraph each listing possible Destinies, Fates, Good Deeds, Bad Deeds, and Needs. All five are listed in order from least to most important or significant. Overall This is a very good book, though the information in it is of questionable utility to some players. I recommend the book to all In Nomine gamemasters; the characters are excellent and the information on Roles and Servants alone is worth the purchase price. I also recommend the book to anyone just trying to get all the good In Nomine books, and to players who heavily use Servants or Roles. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Liber Servoritorum: The Book of Servants