After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no
one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, standing
before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white
robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out
in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."
— Revelation 7:9-10
This is an extra-canonical idea for running a Saint-heavy game. The College of Saints consists of all those human souls in Heaven who are not already officially in the employ of an Archangel. In a Christian-flavored game, the College was founded at Christ's Ascension. In other games, it has been there since human souls started entering Heaven. These Saints, when operating in concert in sufficient numbers, have many of the powers of an Archangel. And the numbers are more than sufficient. There are millions of them. There would be billions, but a lot ascend Jacob's Ladder to the Higher Heavens.
Saints can learn the Celestial and Ethereal Songs of Life, but nothing happens unless 72 Saints sing in chorus. Then, the chorus can create a reliever or a permanent Ethereal
It also takes a quorum of 72 Saints to endow or strip Forces, attune a new servitor to the service of the College, or to redeem a demon.
It takes 24 Saints to endow a vessel, a distinction, or a servitor attunement. It also takes 24 Saints to remove or inflict dissonance or discord.
The Servitors of the College are sent to Earth on a huge variety of missions, since the College is as widely various as humanity itself (or humanity at its best, anyway). They are also often in service to the Archangels. (And many of Eli's Servitors are now in service to the College.) Since the College is so large, it is fairly common for different members and groups, and their servitors, to work at cross purposes with each other.
Every Servitor of the Saints has a Director, a Saint who is its first contact with the College. This is typically the Saint who proposed the angel as a servitor. It is the Director who appears in response to a Summoning by the angel.
There are four grades of Saints within the College:
Minor Saint – This "ordinary" soul may have formidable gifts and powers, but does not happen to have a lot of social "pull" within the College. The vast majority of Saints are minors.Major Saint – This Saint can reliably gather a quorum of 24 fellow Saints willing to help them with vessels, distinctions, attunements, dissonance, or discord.
Great Saint – This Saint can reliably gather a quorum of 72 fellow Saints willing to help them with creating relievers or Ethereals, juggling Forces in celestials, attuning new servitors, or redeeming demons.
High Saints – This group is more ill-defined. These Saints are able to sway the policy of the whole College, so that their plans are unlikely to be deliberately and openly opposed from within the College.
Saints also form social groups. In a Christian-flavored game, these groups certainly include the Holy Family, the Apostles, and the Disciples. In a Judeo-Christian game, it would likely include the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and the Prophets. Almost all these folk are High Saints, and the rest are Great Saints.
(The College can be given a more ecumenical flavor by including folk like Siddharta, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and other eastern sages, not to mention the greats of Islam.)
One major grouping of Saints is the 144,000, described in Revelation as directly behind Christ as he charges into battle at the End. Armageddon will not come until all 144,000 have been collected from Earth. There are a couple of things the GM could do with this. The number could be nearly complete – say, 143,993, with only seven to go. Is Armageddon going to happen the day the last of them arrives in Heaven? OR: We've had a complete set for some time now. (Pick a time. Since World War II, for instance, or since the Reformation, or since the Council of Nicea.) The more recent the completion, the more tension, as people wait to see if This Is It.
Other features of the Saints that one can add to build a Saint-heavy campaign include:
None. But get enough of them (24+) mad at you all at once, and you'll get pinged.
All choirs serving the College get an attunement that acts like the Mercurian choir resonnance (read social relationships), except for Mercurians, who get an attunement that acts like the Elohite choir resonnance (read emotions).
Roll against Will to endow yourself or another person with the Odor of Sanctity for CD hours. Demons must make a Will roll to come within two meters of such a person, and make another Will roll to touch them. All the Saints in the quorum granting this attunement must themselves have Odor of Sanctity.
Roll against Will to heal someone, just as with the Songs of Healing, but with no disturbance or Essence cost. The form of healing matches the realm the celestial is in at the time, thus only Corporeal healing is possible while on Earth. All the Saints in the quorum granting this attunement must themselves have Song of Healing, be Stigmataphers, or have similar healing powers.
Roll against Perception to get a mental "dossier" on someone within sense shot. This includes names of the subject and immediate family, Ophanite-like directions to their home and place of work, a short list of their most pressing problems, and some other random but useful facts.
Can recognize a Saint on sight, even if in an unfamiliar vessel or reincarnated and unawakened.
Can summon any Saint they have met, not just their Director. As with any summoning of a Superior, a success means the Saint wants to come for some reason, not that they have been compelled, like a genie from a bottle.
Can summon a whole quorum of 24 Saints, consisting of Saints they have met.
The College is fairly popular in the Seraphim Council.
Allied: Novalis, Zadkiel, Yves, Christopher
Associated: Michael, Laurence, Eli
Hostile: Jordi
Return to In Nomine Introduction
Return to Wind Off the Hilltop
The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with In Nomine from Steve Jackson Games . This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.
In Nomine is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and the art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy.