The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"The War," in In Nomine, is of course the long-fought battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. Most of the attention in the basic In Nomine rulebook is given to angels and demons, also known as Celestials. There's nothing wrong with this - after all, those are the forces who are really fighting the war. The Corporeal Player's Guide makes no bones about the fact that humans (and ex-humans, whom I will explain in a minute) generally cannot stand up to full-fledged Celestials. There are very few advantaged to playing a human. If you're going to do it, then you're going to do it for roleplaying reasons, not because there's some super-special-secret ability that will let you house all the Celestials and send them packing.

Perhaps the nicest thing I saw in this book was the constant reminder that humans are why The War is being fought in the first place. The War isn't just angels vs. demons in a grudge match to see who can kill the rest of them. It's a war for the souls of humanity. Beating up Joe Random Demon probably doesn't mean a damn thing in the scheme of the War, unless Joe was sending more humans to meet their Fate (the demonic equivalent to a heavenly Destiny). To paraphrase the book, the fate and souls of Humanity are what make In Nomine more than just a story about super-powered aliens fighting a secret war on Earth.

Character Types

The Corporeal Player's Guide goes into detail about Humans (5+ forces, just normal people), Soldiers (6+ forces, aware of what's really going on), Ghosts (1-4 forces, shadowy remnants of strong-willed humans who died), Sorcerers (6+ forces, demon-summoners and spirit-talkers), Saints (7+ forces, souls who want to continue the good fight back on Earth), and Undead (4-6 forces, Zombis and Vampires and Mummies oh my). Most of these have been introduced before, in the main book and in Night Music (another In Nomine supplement). Some of these are mortal (humans, Soldiers, Sorcerers), some are not (Saints, Undead, Ghosts). There's also a short section on Dream-Shades and Dream Soldiers - those who have been recruited or cultivated by various Ethereal Spirits (read: pagan gods).

Simply put, there is a lot of info in this book. Not all of it is put into game terms, but most of it is. There's also a lot about how different Demon Princes and Archangels react to the various beings described in the book. A good index and excellent Table of Contents make the information easy to find. For those who bought Night Music, there is some repetition about Soldiers and Sorcerers, but enough new material to avoid a drop in the Substance rating.

There are some great plot hooks dangling around here. For instance, the fact that Lilith is human, and yet she is Word-bound. For those not familiar with In Nomine, that means that has a particular concept associated with her, much like Michael the Archangel of War. Also the fact that some rare (only a half-dozen in all history) humans can rise to having 15 forces. There's a bit about celestial crossbreeds (part angel, part human), prophets, and a bunch of Human organizations dedicated to one side or another of The War. These, for me, are what really make a supplement shine - things that can make your brain start coming up with adventures just by reading them.

Obligatory Bits

Naturally, there is a chapter at the back of the book about guns, drugs, and gizmos. Most of this is a much-needed update from Night Music. There will always be discussions about exactly how much damage a certain weapon should do, but my advice is this: In Nomine is a cinematic game. Go with the flow. If a stick of dynamite lands across the room in an action movie, the hero gets blown around a bit but not really damaged. It's like that. A more realistic campaign will need to be seasoned to taste.

There's also a certain difficulty with In Nomine's skill system when it applies to humans. Target=skill+stat is the rule, but it's tailored to Celestial stat levels, which are much higher than human levels. The CPG does give some ideas for evening the odds for humans, but the GM must be very careful to remember that these rules apply only to humans, and not Celestials. The rationale is that humans have been doing things like driving cars, walking around town, and doing their job for years, and most Celestials haven't. It's an acceptable kludge.

Lastly, layout. For those who don't know, the original In Nomine book won Best Graphical Presentation of an RPG. I believe it was at Origins (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This book, while not in full color, is still very well laid-out. The headers look like headers, nothing word-wraps in strange places, the sidebars are big enough, and in some places the book even avoids the usual SJ Games problem of the graphics having nothing to do with the text. Nice professional presentation in general. I would like to encourage SJ Games, with their huge stock of stock art, to try to match up images with text more often.

Yeah, but how does it work?

As advertised.

The Corporeal Player's Guide works in playtest just about the way that it's supposed to. Humans have the slim advantage of being able to hide out more easily from the big bad Celestials, but the aforementioned Celestials win hands-down in a fight. Which, now that you think about it, about the way things should go. David, the Archangel of Stone, will rarely have to listen to one of his warrior-angels say, "Yeah, I went down there and the humans have all these big guns now and they kicked my ass!" It could happen, but it would have to be a major ambush. Celestials are far more durable than humans, even Saints. That doesn't mean, though, that a party of various Soldiers and Saints would be outclassed by a single Demon - after all, the humans can still use Songs (magic powers) and guns and such. A one-on-one encounter, though, would be disastrous.

Final advice

I recommend this book to anyone looking to incorporate more humanity into their In Nomine game. With Hunter coming out soon, it may also be another alternative if you're a White Wolf hater, or would rather be in a world where the supernatural doesn't control everything. In Nomine in general is not good for someone who isn't comfortable with battle between Heaven and Hell not being between Good and Evil, but rather between Selflessness and Selfishness. The Corporeal Player's Guide is damn near essential for those who want to run a humans-only game, which can be very entertaining, or for those who wish to adapt the In Nomine system to other styles of gaming. Good book.

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

Corporeal Player's Guide
Author: David Edelstein Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: In Nomine Cost: 19.95 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-55634-389-2 Playtest Review by Colin Fredericks on 10/21/99. Genre tags: Modern_day	"The War," in In Nomine, is of course the long-fought battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. Most of the attention in the basic In Nomine rulebook is given to angels and demons, also known as Celestials. There's nothing wrong with this - after all, those are the forces who are really fighting the war. The Corporeal Player's Guide makes no bones about the fact that humans (and ex-humans, whom I will explain in a minute) generally cannot stand up to full-fledged Celestials. There are very few advantaged to playing a human. If you're going to do it, then you're going to do it for roleplaying reasons, not because there's some super-special-secret ability that will let you house all the Celestials and send them packing. Perhaps the nicest thing I saw in this book was the constant reminder that humans are why The War is being fought in the first place. The War isn't just angels vs. demons in a grudge match to see who can kill the rest of them. It's a war for the souls of humanity. Beating up Joe Random Demon probably doesn't mean a damn thing in the scheme of the War, unless Joe was sending more humans to meet their Fate (the demonic equivalent to a heavenly Destiny). To paraphrase the book, the fate and souls of Humanity are what make In Nomine more than just a story about super-powered aliens fighting a secret war on Earth. Character Types The Corporeal Player's Guide goes into detail about Humans (5+ forces, just normal people), Soldiers (6+ forces, aware of what's really going on), Ghosts (1-4 forces, shadowy remnants of strong-willed humans who died), Sorcerers (6+ forces, demon-summoners and spirit-talkers), Saints (7+ forces, souls who want to continue the good fight back on Earth), and Undead (4-6 forces, Zombis and Vampires and Mummies oh my). Most of these have been introduced before, in the main book and in Night Music (another In Nomine supplement). Some of these are mortal (humans, Soldiers, Sorcerers), some are not (Saints, Undead, Ghosts). There's also a short section on Dream-Shades and Dream Soldiers - those who have been recruited or cultivated by various Ethereal Spirits (read: pagan gods). Simply put, there is a lot of info in this book. Not all of it is put into game terms, but most of it is. There's also a lot about how different Demon Princes and Archangels react to the various beings described in the book. A good index and excellent Table of Contents make the information easy to find. For those who bought Night Music, there is some repetition about Soldiers and Sorcerers, but enough new material to avoid a drop in the Substance rating. There are some great plot hooks dangling around here. For instance, the fact that Lilith is human, and yet she is Word-bound. For those not familiar with In Nomine, that means that has a particular concept associated with her, much like Michael the Archangel of War. Also the fact that some rare (only a half-dozen in all history) humans can rise to having 15 forces. There's a bit about celestial crossbreeds (part angel, part human), prophets, and a bunch of Human organizations dedicated to one side or another of The War. These, for me, are what really make a supplement shine - things that can make your brain start coming up with adventures just by reading them. Obligatory Bits Naturally, there is a chapter at the back of the book about guns, drugs, and gizmos. Most of this is a much-needed update from Night Music. There will always be discussions about exactly how much damage a certain weapon should do, but my advice is this: In Nomine is a cinematic game. Go with the flow. If a stick of dynamite lands across the room in an action movie, the hero gets blown around a bit but not really damaged. It's like that. A more realistic campaign will need to be seasoned to taste. There's also a certain difficulty with In Nomine's skill system when it applies to humans. Target=skill+stat is the rule, but it's tailored to Celestial stat levels, which are much higher than human levels. The CPG does give some ideas for evening the odds for humans, but the GM must be very careful to remember that these rules apply only to humans, and not Celestials. The rationale is that humans have been doing things like driving cars, walking around town, and doing their job for years, and most Celestials haven't. It's an acceptable kludge. Lastly, layout. For those who don't know, the original In Nomine book won Best Graphical Presentation of an RPG. I believe it was at Origins (someone correct me if I'm wrong). This book, while not in full color, is still very well laid-out. The headers look like headers, nothing word-wraps in strange places, the sidebars are big enough, and in some places the book even avoids the usual SJ Games problem of the graphics having nothing to do with the text. Nice professional presentation in general. I would like to encourage SJ Games, with their huge stock of stock art, to try to match up images with text more often. Yeah, but how does it work? As advertised. The Corporeal Player's Guide works in playtest just about the way that it's supposed to. Humans have the slim advantage of being able to hide out more easily from the big bad Celestials, but the aforementioned Celestials win hands-down in a fight. Which, now that you think about it, about the way things should go. David, the Archangel of Stone, will rarely have to listen to one of his warrior-angels say, "Yeah, I went down there and the humans have all these big guns now and they kicked my ass!" It could happen, but it would have to be a major ambush. Celestials are far more durable than humans, even Saints. That doesn't mean, though, that a party of various Soldiers and Saints would be outclassed by a single Demon - after all, the humans can still use Songs (magic powers) and guns and such. A one-on-one encounter, though, would be disastrous. Final advice I recommend this book to anyone looking to incorporate more humanity into their In Nomine game. With Hunter coming out soon, it may also be another alternative if you're a White Wolf hater, or would rather be in a world where the supernatural doesn't control everything. In Nomine in general is not good for someone who isn't comfortable with battle between Heaven and Hell not being between Good and Evil, but rather between Selflessness and Selfishness. The Corporeal Player's Guide is damn near *essential* for those who want to run a humans-only game, which can be very entertaining, or for those who wish to adapt the In Nomine system to other styles of gaming. Good book. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)