Brain Storm

Alright guys,

While watching Constantine for the nth time today, I realized I want to run a game based on the eternal struggle between heaven and hell (perhaps in a purely catholic sense, or not. Something about the ritual and rules of catholicism appeal to the gamer in me). Two questions: would anyone be interested in playing it when I write it, and does anyone have a better suggestion of a system under which to run it other than the white wolf system?

It may not be what you're going for, but there *is* a game about this - In Nomine. I think it may be out of physical print, but IIRC Steve Jackson games has the rules available in PDF form, and you can probably find it on Ebay or similar. I love the game - ran a bunch of it back in University.

In Nomine is good but can get sort of goofy if one isn't careful. Hm; if I were doing this right now I'd consider using Greg Stolze's One Roll Engine. You can get the rules here -- go to the Downloads section, then the Nemesis section. I believe you have to register to download.

More light rules: I remain fond of The Window even after all these years.

Spite is a very splatterpunk version of angel/demon horror roleplaying. The author's about to stop selling it (sadly), but you can still check out the free player's section here; that'll be enough to tell you if you want it. It's not what you'd call a contemplative game.

Yeah, In Nomine has the potential for zany. But in Uni I ran a very serious game (OK, serious except for the Angel of Klezmer showing up at one point). It is a bit more "religious action heroes" than the OP might want. But didn't the movie Constantine have a crucifix shotgun at one point? IN will totally do that. I wouldn't use it to run Hellblazer, though.

If you're looking at generics, you might also want to look at FATE - http://www.faterpg.com/

It'd be a lot easier to hack than something like Storyteller. Look at the Spirit of the Century SRD for the latest version, and just drop the pulp. Especially if you handle Stunts the way Diaspora does (basically, any stunt just gives you a cool thing, lets you sub skills, or makes a skill "military grade" and hence a bit enhanced), and make the mechanics generic, you could do angels and demons without having to make up huge lists of powers, etc. E.g., you could emulate unearthly beauty by having a stunt that lets you substitute Charm for Intimidation, etc.