Good & Evil. Life & Death. Rock & Roll. B)

Let me start by saying that I LOVE the roleplaying game In Nomine (c/o Steve Jackson Games). But, as with any roleplaying game, In Nomine does have those little things that make you go "Hmmm"...such as the relationship between the angelic Ofanim (the Wheels) and the demonic Calabim (the Destroyers).

So for those not in the know, there are seven races of angels (called "Choirs") and seven races of demons (called "Bands"). There used to be an eighth Choir--the Grigori--but the Grigori got themselves kicked out of Heaven for rampant hedonism and interbreeding with the humans, but their sins weren't bad enough to get them tossed all the way down to Hell. So the surviving Grigori are on Earth, in the parallel world called the Marches or otherwise stuck somewhere between Heaven and Hell. So they're neither here nor there.

Of the seven remaining Choirs of angels, six of them correspond with a respective Band of demons. Hence, if an Elohite Falls, it becomes a Habbalite. If an Impudite attains Redemption, she becomes a Mercurian. And so on.

But, aside from some changing details of the Celestial's celestial appearance, a shift in attitude regarding good versus evil and the swapping of Resonances and other supernatural powers, the border-jumping Celestial is pretty similar to what he/she/it was before Falling or being Redeemed. A Falling Elohite picks up a mess of scars and mutilations, as well as a newfound sense of sexuality (a subconscious act of spiritual rebellion against the Elohim's emotionally reserved and androgynous nature). A Cherub becomes more beastly and savage when becoming a Djinn. A Kyriotate's smished-together collection of random body parts darken and go from being frightfully alien to being frightfully vile and repulsive. Et cetera.

But damn it, I still fail to see the wherefores behind how an Ofanite--a living wheel of heavenly fire--transforms into the bat-winged and traditionally demonic form of a Calabite, or vice-versa.

But no worries. Despite the "WTF?" factor, the terribly destructive, inherently crippled and typically violent Calabim are still my favorite Band to play (even if the tortured, insane, emotion-manipulating Habbalah are growing on me and threatening to depose the Calabim from my #1 Band of Demons spot). I'm still doodling an up-to-date picture of my own Calabite of Dark Humor, Beltheris. She'll be posted to my DA account soon.