Nobilis

Considering all the love the Nobilis page gets, I figure there must be more fans of the game. So it's high time there was a thread for us.

This is the place to talk about your games, gush over Lord Entropy (we won't tell), WMG over the upcoming 3rd Edition or discuss who's the Power of what.

WOOF!

I haven't played it, but I've just read the page and it sounds awesome. Please, wise ones, speak to me of this game.

I haven't played this, but I looked at the tropes page and the concept sounds like it would be fun.

"You have more than enough potential. So tell me what is the one wish that would make your soul gem shine." -Mitt Romney, probably

Inspired by a line [[Blessed with Suck/Literature here]] (Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians), I'm now curious if you could use power over Delay. I mean, you delay people from dodging until you've already hit them, you delay their attacks until you've run away, you delay your own death...am I aiming too low?

and

Well, you're in luck. The Nobilis 3rd Edition will be on sale on 04/03/2011, so there's no need to murder competing bidders on Ebay for a $200 2nd. Edition Nobilis book anymore!

The premise of 3e is the same as 2e: this world is only one of many suspended on the branches of a gargantuan ash tree, everything has a spirit and humanity is deluded into thinking all of that is wrong. The greatest of spirits are Imperators, the Angels/Devils/Gods/Humongous Serpents that embody everything in this world. They're fighting the Excrucians, beings from Outside that want to annihilate everything. To protect their bodies while they war in the Spirit World, they thrust fragments of their souls into humans (or stranger things) to create Powers. These Powers are the NPC's.

So, basically you start off as a god of anything and your own nakama of Powers serving the same Imperator. What can you do? ANYTHING! Fight in the war against the Excrucians, find out why the Lord of the Earth thinks Love should be illegal, make out with every red-head in history, become an Imperator yourself, brew the most delicious espresso Creation has ever tasted!

Yes, the game is very roleplay-centric, but that's like saying playing video games requires a lot of hand-eye coordination. There's something for everyone, from the Real Man to the Loonie. You're a god, and so is your best friend and your worst enemy. Sure, beating them on the head with the Orient Express might seem crude, but if you're smart about tactics, yeah, you can bring them down. Likewise with turning them into sparkly unicorns. If your Estate allows it and you're smart about how to apply the force, go for it!

Especially in 3E, Nobilis can handle the whole spectrum of style. Yes, you CAN all be different aspects of Kant's definition of Beauty and wage subtle wars against the Excrucians that will ultimately convert them to the side of Creation in a game of Viewers Are Geniuses. But you can also be the totally awesome Powers of Guns, Sharpness and Overkill to blow up your foes' plans LITERALLY in their faces in a game of Rule of Cool. Hell, the way it's turning out, I'm positive I'll be D Ming a Nobilis game soon where the Powers are Carmen Sandiego (The Power of Games) and the Italian Spiderman (The Power of Heroic Sociopathy). It's not just possible, it's encouraged!

Yes, you CAN make miracles of that kind. Basically, you make your miracle and see if it can be countered. Only a miracle of equal level (if defending) or higher can counteract it. So if your enemy is the Power of Thought and can move as quick as an idea, with a strong enough application of Delay, yes, you can.

But don't just think physical. You can use your Estate of Delay to trap your foes in a never-ending bureaucracy or to remove a bit of delay so that your pizza is delivered one nanosecond after you ordered it. Heck, with a powerful-enough miracle (and provided you don't piss anyone TOO powerful off), you could betray someone and delay your damnation for as long as you want!

WOOF!

Oh gods, the mental images your post gave me. "Thank you for ordering, and we assure you that if your pizza isn't delivered in half an hour it's free."

[45 minutes later]

"I guess I'm late, so it's free. But why is it still warm?"

"Oh, I delayed it cooling down, just like I delayed the traffic on 54th Street."

(From behind the door) "Son of a bitch - that was you?! You bastard!"

"Excuse me for a minute. I have to go have a nice long talk with the Power of Deadlines."

On another note, I'm curious what the mechanics are like.

On another another note: just read Jenna Moran statting up the Doctor. I'm impressed by the use of "Technical Pacifist" and the Gurren Lagann reference. One Of Us?

Actually...Canidaemon, are you secretly Jenna Moran?

edited 8th Mar '11 1:42:24 PM by CountDorku

Mechanicswise, and I'm using 3e rules, your Power has 4 Attributes: Aspect, which is your mental and physical ability. Domain, your ruling over your Estate. Persona, your ability to influence with your Estate. Treasure, cool gadgets and servants and such.

Each Attribute is rated from 0 to 5. You can effortlessly do a miracle of the appropriate level. For example, with Aspect 3 you can punch through a steel wall or defeat a supercomputer at chess. With Persona 4 as the Power of Dogs you can make someone eternally loyal to you. Furthermore, you have 5 Miracle Points for each Attribute. You can spend these to do more powerful miracles. If I have Aspect 3 and spend 4 M Ps on it, I can punch a hole through an entire mountain in the shape of a perfect circle or beat EVERY supercomputer at chess at the same time.

That's the most basic of mechanics. You regain M Ps by defeating foes/rivals, getting into trouble and/or getting out of it.

Oh yeah, Dr. Moran is One Of Us, indeed. And no, I'm not her, not even secretly.

edited 8th Mar '11 2:02:49 PM by Canidaemon

WOOF!

How do you determine these stats? Point buy?

Yup. You can spend points on Attributes, more M Ps or even Gifts.

WOOF!

Woot. I've always preferred point buy systems over random roll ones. I think it stemmed from the time I found the '80s Marvel Super Heroes RPG online while I was in high school. Naturally, when I tried to do a test run, my sister rolled up a Physical God and I had a barely mobile bucket of rust that was probably on the robot equivalent of a dialysis machine.

Then this is the game for you!

WOOF!

Cool. I'm definitely going to have to get this on drivethrurpg if I can crowbar a credit card off someone. This does not happen often, but it'll happen eventually.

Impulse purchase: Nobilis 3e Special Edition.

How broad should a Power's Estate be? Are we talking the Power of Stress, or the Power of the Week 5 Blues (that special period in our university term when everyone's got slightly more work to do than they think they have time for...), or somewhere in between?

The Estate can be about anything. 3e Estate comes with Properties. You get 7 points to distribute in a list to create your Estate. This means you can have a max of 7 starting definitions of your Estate. You can give more than one point to a Property to show its importance to the Estate as a whole (also, Properties with more points will give you back more MP when they're being threatened or you use them in awesome ways).

Let's go with the Power of Stress and do two lists of Properties.

You can see that, as a whole, the Estate of Stress is defined as a deforming, irresistible force that gradually wears things down and leads to failure. It can be a physical force or an emotional force, but all in all, Stress bad!

Here you still have Stress as something negative, but ultimately it's a thing that tests others and judges them worthy or unworthy.

Which one would you choose? Will you be an unstoppable force that deforms or a judge of merit?

edited 9th Mar '11 8:07:05 AM by Canidaemon

WOOF!

Ooooooooooooh.

Shiny.

(I shall have to actually hit that Download link I got from ordering the limited edition at some point...)

Do it. Do it. DO EEEET!

The book is a great read.

WOOF!

Download link hit. Now if it wasn't for all these Dynamics problems I have to do...

Anybody else got any more questions?

WOOF!

Not yet, but I should say this:

I've been reading the book.

It is quite possibly my favourite thing.

Tch! The first new edition of Nobilis in almost ten years and some people on the mailing list are bitching about the art. I just don't understand people sometimes.

This edition has a more cheerful tone, which I like, but some of the concepts are a bit difficult to wrap my head around. Then again, the effort of expanding my mind is part of fun.

I don't want to bother with thw whole downloading thi, so it may take awhile for me to find a physical copy. Once I do so, I shall begin crafting the Duke of Heavy Metal.

"You have more than enough potential. So tell me what is the one wish that would make your soul gem shine." -Mitt Romney, probably

They're saying sometime from the end of March to beginning of May for the physical copies to start appearing.

Most of the art complaints are that everything's "too anime!".

Personally, I like the new style. Much easier to read than the GWB's Purple Prose and the comedy bits that are stashed here and there are gold.

Now all I need is to find people who actually want to PLAY this darn thing!

WOOF!

Question. What Miracle level would it take to put a persistent curse on someone that didn't need sustaining?

I imagine it's a Creation for an Estate of Cursing, but what about more general domains? How much Domain does the Power of Misfortune need to curse you with bad luck? How about the Power of Mathematical Probability cursing you to the n+1th generation, inductively?

The way I see it, when you use a Persona Miracle to curse someone, you're taking something away or adding it. The action is done and said mortal (or Power) now has to deal with the consequences of having been noticed by you.

It's the same with using an Aspect Miracle to punch someone. You don't have to sustain the miracle to keep his jaw broken.

Sustained miracles are things that need to continuously be applied to something. Punching someone doesn't, but holding up a mountain DOES need a sustained Aspect miracle, for example. Sustained Persona Miracles are when you imbue yourself with a temporary Affliction.

Hope that helps.

WOOF!