The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Endless delays, missing editors and the Revelations Cycle aside, In Nomine has always been a beautiful game. And Superiors 2 just proves it again. The cover is excellent and the interior art well done. Note in particular the full-page art for each of the four Demon Princes covered in this volume.

Graphically, this book has got it together.

Now, a statement like that would normally lead into a full-out attack on the book's content, denouncing it before God and Senate, taking it apart piece by piece and exposing its horrible flaws to the world. And then, stylistically, I could end with a statement like:

At least it's pretty.

And feel pretty good about myself.

But I won't. My reason: this actually is an excellent book. It's not a flawless end-all of roleplaying supplements, but it's pretty darn good. It goes over its subjects (the Demon Princes of Lust, Gluttony, Dark Humor and the Media) in painstaking detail, mapping out their modus operandis, their motivations, their servitors and their home-bases. The writing is alternately entertaining and engrossing (Steve Jackson Games has always been pretty good at hiring good writers).

The book also reprints and revises information on the Shal-Mari princes from the main book, which is very nice, both because there are occaisional broken rules in the first book, and because it saves on complicated cross-references.

Of particular note as well are the history sections for each of the Superiors. In Nomine has always been light on historical cosmology (something which will hopefully be rectified in coming supplements, as well as little by little in the Superiors books) and it's nice to see some well-written history making its way into canon.

The book isn't perfect. Not quite. There are a few minor design peccadilloes (like unnecessary sidebars: nothing you would notice if you weren't scrabbling for something to complain about in a review of the product) and the adventure seeds are of only middling quality, and take up more space than is really necessary (ten pages, which could've been used for all sorts of stuff: expanded relations, attunements for unfallen Servitors of Love or Laughter...).

All told, though, this is quite simply an excellent book, and one that is absolutely invaluable for GMs who plan on using any of these four Princes prominently in a campaign, or for any player who plans to play one of their servitors. After a lengthy lack of editor, In Nomine is back, and its doing pretty damn good.

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

Superiors 2: Pleasures of the Flesh
Author: Mark Allen, Genevieve R. Cogman, and Alain Dawson Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: In Nomine Cost: $20.95 Page count: 144 ISBN: 1-55634-422-8 SKU: 3321 Capsule Review by Ryan Elias on 05/03/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Gothic Superhero	Endless delays, missing editors and the Revelations Cycle aside, In Nomine has always been a beautiful game. And Superiors 2 just proves it again. The cover is excellent and the interior art well done. Note in particular the full-page art for each of the four Demon Princes covered in this volume. Graphically, this book has got it together. Now, a statement like that would normally lead into a full-out attack on the book's content, denouncing it before God and Senate, taking it apart piece by piece and exposing its horrible flaws to the world. And then, stylistically, I could end with a statement like: At least it's pretty. And feel pretty good about myself. But I won't. My reason: this actually is an excellent book. It's not a flawless end-all of roleplaying supplements, but it's pretty darn good. It goes over its subjects (the Demon Princes of Lust, Gluttony, Dark Humor and the Media) in painstaking detail, mapping out their modus operandis, their motivations, their servitors and their home-bases. The writing is alternately entertaining and engrossing (Steve Jackson Games has always been pretty good at hiring good writers). The book also reprints and revises information on the Shal-Mari princes from the main book, which is very nice, both because there are occaisional broken rules in the first book, and because it saves on complicated cross-references. Of particular note as well are the history sections for each of the Superiors. In Nomine has always been light on historical cosmology (something which will hopefully be rectified in coming supplements, as well as little by little in the Superiors books) and it's nice to see some well-written history making its way into canon. The book isn't perfect. Not quite. There are a few minor design peccadilloes (like unnecessary sidebars: nothing you would notice if you weren't scrabbling for something to complain about in a review of the product) and the adventure seeds are of only middling quality, and take up more space than is really necessary (ten pages, which could've been used for all sorts of stuff: expanded relations, attunements for unfallen Servitors of Love or Laughter...). All told, though, this is quite simply an excellent book, and one that is absolutely invaluable for GMs who plan on using any of these four Princes prominently in a campaign, or for any player who plans to play one of their servitors. After a lengthy lack of editor, In Nomine is back, and its doing pretty damn good. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Superiors 2: Pleasures of the Flesh