It's full color.
It's angels and devils.
It's two years late.
Was it worth the wait?

Hell yes.

In Nomine is Steve Jackson Game's long overdue role-playing game of angels and devils in the modern world, invoking celestial and infernal powers to carry out the will of the Creator and the Corrupter. It's one of the oldest stories in the world with a healthy dose of attitude.

As soon as I opened the book, I was overwhelmed by the full-color pages. All the illustrations are done by Dan Smith, and while I'm not a big fan of his style, having a single illustrator provides the book with a consistency that's missing from other works. The layout is beautiful and easy to read. Reading the rules was kind of confusing, but this had nothing to do with organization. The rules are simple, but there are so many connotations that the reader may find himself scratching his head. The author and editors did their best to make all the references easy to find. The full index in the back is a godsend. You'll be skipping around the book a lot when you read it for the first time, but everything is explained in clear, precise language, which makes up for it.

Players choose the roles of angels, devils, minor servants, and humans. I have no clue why anyone would not want to be an angel or devil. This is a Power Gamer's game. Put some haloes and horns on your favorite RIFTS character and you'll know what I'm talking about. However, there's a whole lot of side-bar material about character concept that whets the imagination. Also, characters must be designed to fit into the ranks and files of Heaven and Hell. Since they are (or were) angels, characters must act within accordance to their duty, which adds harmony to the "Symphony" or celestial chorus of Heaven. By acting against his nature, the angel or devil's soul sings "out of tune." By doing so, you draw the attention of others who are in accordance with the Symphony. Trust me, drawing the attention of either Heaven or Hell can mean a whole lot of trouble.

The game system itself uses a unique die: a d666. Essentially, a d666 is three 6-siders rolled under the trait of the character. Two of the dice are one color and the third die is a different color. The two dice are added together with the hope they will roll under your appropriate trait while the third die measures your degree of success or failure. Also, if you roll "1,1,1" a miracle occurs, which can be good or bad, depending on which side you're on. If you roll a "6,6,6" something diabolical occurs, which can also be advantageous or disastrous, depending on your alignment.

As with all Steve Jackson products, the background material is incredibly well-researched. The handling of Lilith (Adam's first wife) is marvelously unique, which makes me look forward to see how they handle other "Christian occult" characters and artifacts (such as the Wandering Jew and the Spear of Destiny).

For fans of occult role-playing, I cannot recommend In Nomine more. It is a "power game," but it encourages role-playing over combat, character development over carnage. There are even suggestions on how to play "silly In Nomine." It will take a second reading to fully grasp the implications of the rules, but it's such a fun read, I really didn't mind. Also, it looks like SJG is supporting In Nomine with two almost immediate releases. Considering the source, I'm not holding my breath, but I hope they are true to their schedule.

The wait is over. If you're wondering whether it was worth two years, go out and get In Nomine right now. You won't be disappointed.

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