In Nomine

[Zogg]

I'm about to join a game (as a demon) and was wondering what others who have played games in this setting thought about their experiences. I personally find the setting to be very cool and am enjoying the opportunity to play an evil character because it allows me to explore the dark side of gaming. I'd appreciate hearing any reviews or game descriptions.....thanks!

 

[Teflon Billy]

I'm about to join a game (as a demon) and was wondering what others who have played games in this setting thought about their experiences. I personally find the setting to be very cool and am enjoying the opportunity to play an evil character because it allows me to explore the dark side of gaming. I'd appreciate hearing any reviews or game descriptions.....thanks!

I loved In Nomine the few times I played it, and loved just reading it even more. It's a very interesting background.

If you have a good GM you are set, becasue it's a very difficult game to GM properly or well.

You might want to step back a bit from the idea that playing a Demon in In Nomine necessitates exploring the "dark side" of gaming...it's just not so.

You can think of the Angels and Demons of In Nomine as "Secret Agents" who have "Gone Native" as they tend to have a lot mroe in common with the people of Earth than you might expect.

Calabim of Bhall might be quite destructive and suchlike, just as Malakim of Michael can be judgemental militay types...but the options are so diverse that I can think of many, many situations where I would rather have a demon on my side than an Angel.

Anyway, the game can rock...I hope it does for you

 

[tarchon]

I played once for about 20 minutes (in an 8 hour session, but that's another story) and it became clear that a party of balseraphim functions as a well as a bag full of wet cats.
"I brought you demons of discord together to..."
It's a fun game though.

 

[tarchon]

I played once for about 20 minutes (in an 8 hour session, but that's another story) and it became clear that a party of balseraphim functions a well as a bag full of wet cats.
"I brought you demons of discord together to..."
It's a fun game though.

 

[Corinthi]

I always wanted to play In Nomine. I'd read about the game, flipped through the books, and had heard good reviews. Finally I got my chance at MidSouthCon in Memphis one year.

It was one of the worst gaming experiences of my life.

Now, to be fair, the GM was the sole reason that game was so terrible.

1. It's a convention game and he didn't bother to bring Pregenerated Characters.

2. As the four players who were new to the game tried to create characters, the GM sat and idly chatted with his two friends, ignoring all questions including, 'So How Do We Do This?'

3. I stole his /only/ rulebook, speed read the chargen chapter, and explained chargen to the other players, he told his friends that it would be 'easier' if they used thier experienced characters while we used our quickly made newbie characters.

4. The adventure was just something he made up off the top of his head involving the PCs searching a High School for the Sacred Cup of something or another. When we found it after 2 hours of semi lucid misery, it was an Athletic Supporter. Seems the Sacred Cup was a practical joke by the power of Dark Humor.

The entire experience was so bad that my friends and I still use In Nomine as an adjective to describe things that are painfully bad.

'I can't believe I spent 6 bucks and 2 hours of my life on that godawful D&D movie.'
'At least it wasn't In Nomine.'

I still stand by the assertation that In Nomine is a good game and a great setting, but that trauma was enough that I'm unwilling to reopen old wounds.

 

[Hawklord]

I've never played In Nomine,but I've DM'd it many times and then abandoned it

Its a fascinating game to read, the background is awesome and I loved the mechanic ( the d666 system) but as Teflon Billy said it is a very difficult game to DM effectively or well and it can be to play.

You can play it as Billy said as "secret agents gone native" with angels/demons being pretty close to human, but I think if you play it straight as the game is written, celestials are much more primal beings than humans they are much closer bound to the fabric of creation and have much less free will.

An angel continually walks a tightrope between being true to his Resonance ( nature) and acquiring Dissonance and ultimately Falling ( unless of course you're a Malakim).

Demons also, are by their very nature quintessentially evil, they have few if any redeeming features - if they did they'd be on the slippery slope to Redemption.

It can be difficult to roleplay unrelenting evil, its much more than exploring the "dark side of gaming", and even more difficult to DM. The borders are much less blurred than they are by the alignment system in D&D. Celestials must pretty much act according to their nature or pay the price.

Still, enjoy the game, most of my players really enjoyed it( and still occasionally badger me to run it), I just ultimately found it a pain to DM.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

In Nomine is one of those fun reads, but something is just...missing...with the system IMHO. Can't quite put my finger on it.

I did get the phrase "nuke the baby Jesus" from my one In Nomine game that I ran.

 

[FunkBGR]

In Nomine - how I love you.

This is the game that I cut my teeth on GMing - and despite what some others have said, I had no problems with it. Basically, I sat down, and decided with the players what kind of game it would be - dark and dreary, humorous, etc. And we went from there to have one of the best games I've ever played.

My players still talk about all the cool stuff that happened during our game - they reference it in every game we've played since.

So, I guess it definitely all depends on your group. I remember having to come up with a lot of stuff on the fly for the game - but that may have been due to not being prepared.

 

[Macbeth]

I've never played In Nomine, but here's my expereinces:

Reding the Books: I've got the GURPS In Nomine core book, and a couple of In Nomine books that I use for background, and occasionally convert to GURPS. These books are an AWESOME read. As a Christian, I find the presentation interesting, well thought out, and, while the game dosen't agree with my own personal religious views, it is still a great read.

Second Hand Info: I often hear stories from the In Nomine game run by a friend of mine who I immensly respect as a DM. He is essentially running a group of angels through history. ALL of history. He runs a few advetures in a given time period, skips forward a few years, then runs another set of adventures based on the effects of the last set. The game can be run, and run well, but it is a hard game to DM. If, however, your DM is willing to put in the effort to make the most of the setting, you are in for a great game.

Coincidentally, I am considering running In Nomine for my campus gaming club, possibly using the first adventure of the Revelations series (the one where a Demon is trying to become a prince by manipulating Satan). Any more specific advice on what makes a good In Nomine game would be appreciated.

 

[Zogg]

Thanks for everyone's responses - the setting does have points of criticism (primarily based on the way the book is structured), but it seems very interesting. Like most games, a great DM can really make the setting - just as a bad one can ruin it. I hope my session goes well!

For Teflon Billy: I think most people would agree that having a demon on your side would be more advantageous than an angel. Problem is, demons only have one side: their own!