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I decided to write up a minor Band and Choir for In Nomine. These are the things I do instead of working on the things I should be doing.
Minor Band: Kaldellim
The Cacophonous
Once upon a time, Kronos and Gebbeleth worked together to create a minor Band. They designed the Kaldellim to be everything that stands against the sort of destiny that is reached by seeing what lies ahead, and how best to deal with it. The Kaldellim are demons even Factions knows better than to trust.
No, this doesn't make any sense; everyone knows Gebbeleth disappeared long before Kronos appeared. And yet that's the story people know about the Band and how it came to be. Interesting, isn't it?
Resonance
The resonance of the Kaldellim is for confusion; the world they inhabit is mad, and they see no reason why anyone else should view it clearly. (They see no reason, period.) When they impose their will on the Symphony, the static of the universe obscures the sound of what is real.
The simplest version of their resonance requires a standard Will roll, and lasts for a number of hours equal to the CD of a successful roll. During this time, anyone within CelForce yards of the Kaldellite will have a penalty to the CD of their Perception rolls, successful or not, equal to the Kaldellite's CD. (This cannot reduce the CD below 1.) Moving out of the Kaldellite's vicinity will allow a person to make new Perception rolls as normal, but not change their understanding of the earlier affected results.
A Kaldellite may also target something with its resonance. Rather than targeting a person or object, they must choose an existing form of communication--a book, a conversation between other people, a street sign--to render confusing. For a number of minutes equal to the CD of their successful roll, anyone attempting to interpret what is being communicated must make a Will roll to understand that communication clearly. Otherwise, they will misinterpret it, to a degree equal to the CD of the resonance use. On a 1, a few details may be lost or the meaning slightly changed. ("Were we supposed to meet up at 1:15 or 1:30?") On a 6, the intended communication is completely obscured or reversed; stop signs appear as green lights, declarations of love sound like sarcastic personal attacks, and actual satire will be read as whole-hearted endorsement of what it's trying to mock.
Dissonance
It is dissonant for a Kaldellite to be entirely sincere in any form of communication. One may pass on a message honestly, or answer questions accurately, but a clear statement of actual personal belief is anathema to them, and will render them dissonant. Most Kaldellim prefer sarcasm as their primary form of friendly communication.
Manner and Appearance
From a distance, a Kaldellite could be mistaken for a Balseraph. Sinuous and twisting, they have something of a snake to them... Or something of a crescent moon, warped out of shape. Their celestial bodies are surrounded by an ever-shifting dark aura that suggests features without displaying any. On the corporeal, they take vessels that look entirely ordinary for their assigned work locations. They're exactly the sort of people no one looks at twice as they pass by, humming some tune no one can place.
The vast majority of the very small number of existing Kaldellim live in the Archives. They sort information, and edit it. They interview the damned, and record what has been said. They go to the corporeal rarely, and usually on short-term assignments. Angels don't like this Band of demons, and they tend to do very poorly in encounters with the Heavenly Host.
#
Minor Choir: Phaniah
The Clear
Very few Kaldellim have ever made it to Heaven, but those who did have become the tiniest Choir of all, the Phaniah. They're an asterisk in the story of the divine battle against Hell, but that asterisk points towards a fascinating footnote...
Resonance
Where a Seraph looks for the absolute truth of the Symphony, a Phanion seeks a more personal kind of truth: intent. The resonance of the Phaniah is for meaning in all its possible forms.
With a successful resonance roll, a Phanion may, for a number of minutes equal to the CD of the roll, understand what someone intends to communicate. (This is quite often not the same as the truth.) Whether they're reading a poorly composed student essay, interpreting frantic hand gestures from three blocks away, or listening to someone speak to them in a language they haven't learned, they will perfectly understand what someone intended to communicate.
Dissonance
Phaniah like telling lies little more than Seraphim do, but they're certainly capable of it. What they cannot do, while still being in tune with their own nature, is confuse anyone else's communication. Mis-delivering messages, defacing text, or providing a politer translation of some phrase to avoid upset would all be equally dissonant for a Phanion.
Manner and Appearance
In their true forms, the Phaniah are bright stars. Each one is a point of colorful light, swarmed with rings of glittering motes. (Some of them call these "asterisks", especially when working for Destiny.) When they take a corporeal form, they are bright-eyed and garrulous, often in sharp-nosed little vessels that can dart from one interesting point to the next.
Most of the Phaniah work for Revelation; the rest serve Destiny. They all share the habit of explaining helpfully to people what other people really meant, sometimes to the detriment of cautious diplomacy or unruffled feelings. Phaniah get along quite well with Seraphim, and are known to be the best line-editors in Heaven.
Minor Band: Kaldellim
The Cacophonous
Once upon a time, Kronos and Gebbeleth worked together to create a minor Band. They designed the Kaldellim to be everything that stands against the sort of destiny that is reached by seeing what lies ahead, and how best to deal with it. The Kaldellim are demons even Factions knows better than to trust.
No, this doesn't make any sense; everyone knows Gebbeleth disappeared long before Kronos appeared. And yet that's the story people know about the Band and how it came to be. Interesting, isn't it?
Resonance
The resonance of the Kaldellim is for confusion; the world they inhabit is mad, and they see no reason why anyone else should view it clearly. (They see no reason, period.) When they impose their will on the Symphony, the static of the universe obscures the sound of what is real.
The simplest version of their resonance requires a standard Will roll, and lasts for a number of hours equal to the CD of a successful roll. During this time, anyone within CelForce yards of the Kaldellite will have a penalty to the CD of their Perception rolls, successful or not, equal to the Kaldellite's CD. (This cannot reduce the CD below 1.) Moving out of the Kaldellite's vicinity will allow a person to make new Perception rolls as normal, but not change their understanding of the earlier affected results.
A Kaldellite may also target something with its resonance. Rather than targeting a person or object, they must choose an existing form of communication--a book, a conversation between other people, a street sign--to render confusing. For a number of minutes equal to the CD of their successful roll, anyone attempting to interpret what is being communicated must make a Will roll to understand that communication clearly. Otherwise, they will misinterpret it, to a degree equal to the CD of the resonance use. On a 1, a few details may be lost or the meaning slightly changed. ("Were we supposed to meet up at 1:15 or 1:30?") On a 6, the intended communication is completely obscured or reversed; stop signs appear as green lights, declarations of love sound like sarcastic personal attacks, and actual satire will be read as whole-hearted endorsement of what it's trying to mock.
Dissonance
It is dissonant for a Kaldellite to be entirely sincere in any form of communication. One may pass on a message honestly, or answer questions accurately, but a clear statement of actual personal belief is anathema to them, and will render them dissonant. Most Kaldellim prefer sarcasm as their primary form of friendly communication.
Manner and Appearance
From a distance, a Kaldellite could be mistaken for a Balseraph. Sinuous and twisting, they have something of a snake to them... Or something of a crescent moon, warped out of shape. Their celestial bodies are surrounded by an ever-shifting dark aura that suggests features without displaying any. On the corporeal, they take vessels that look entirely ordinary for their assigned work locations. They're exactly the sort of people no one looks at twice as they pass by, humming some tune no one can place.
The vast majority of the very small number of existing Kaldellim live in the Archives. They sort information, and edit it. They interview the damned, and record what has been said. They go to the corporeal rarely, and usually on short-term assignments. Angels don't like this Band of demons, and they tend to do very poorly in encounters with the Heavenly Host.
#
Minor Choir: Phaniah
The Clear
Very few Kaldellim have ever made it to Heaven, but those who did have become the tiniest Choir of all, the Phaniah. They're an asterisk in the story of the divine battle against Hell, but that asterisk points towards a fascinating footnote...
Resonance
Where a Seraph looks for the absolute truth of the Symphony, a Phanion seeks a more personal kind of truth: intent. The resonance of the Phaniah is for meaning in all its possible forms.
With a successful resonance roll, a Phanion may, for a number of minutes equal to the CD of the roll, understand what someone intends to communicate. (This is quite often not the same as the truth.) Whether they're reading a poorly composed student essay, interpreting frantic hand gestures from three blocks away, or listening to someone speak to them in a language they haven't learned, they will perfectly understand what someone intended to communicate.
Dissonance
Phaniah like telling lies little more than Seraphim do, but they're certainly capable of it. What they cannot do, while still being in tune with their own nature, is confuse anyone else's communication. Mis-delivering messages, defacing text, or providing a politer translation of some phrase to avoid upset would all be equally dissonant for a Phanion.
Manner and Appearance
In their true forms, the Phaniah are bright stars. Each one is a point of colorful light, swarmed with rings of glittering motes. (Some of them call these "asterisks", especially when working for Destiny.) When they take a corporeal form, they are bright-eyed and garrulous, often in sharp-nosed little vessels that can dart from one interesting point to the next.
Most of the Phaniah work for Revelation; the rest serve Destiny. They all share the habit of explaining helpfully to people what other people really meant, sometimes to the detriment of cautious diplomacy or unruffled feelings. Phaniah get along quite well with Seraphim, and are known to be the best line-editors in Heaven.