Yeah... the high-context setting does not make it easy to get into.

Quote from: RPGPunditYet another thing I hate about Nobilis...

That isn't the old complaint about "renaming common terms", by any chance? Because none of those things have any counterpart in the real world, and so you need to come up with at least some name for them. Would you prefer "Parma Magica" instead of "Auctoritas"?

Yeah. Imperator... you could use the word God, I suppose, except that gods are a specific subset of stuff in the game, and really is a misleading term. 'Imperator' is sufficiently transparent to me (original word of emperor, suggesting strongly 'imperative, commands that must be obeyed,' which strongly relates what they are).

Cammora is the name of a group. (I'm not sure of the derivation, but it's similar to the camorra, which is an ENGLISH WORD for 'group of people united for dishonest ends')

Excrucians, another group name with a suggestive name.

Auctoritas is the only odd-ball, and any simpler term you could use would also be misleading. Like 'shield' or 'authority.'

I'll point out that I DO think Nobilis is very hard for players to get up to speed in, and that it can be a big obstacle to play. In my opinion, if the players are seeing the strangeness as road blocks to having fun, they aren't the right folks to play this. You want a group where the weirdness is tantalizing and pulls them into the game.

I don't know why, but the word Excrucians makes me think of Clive Barker puppets.

Quote from: WillImperator... you could use the word God, I suppose, except that gods are a specific subset of stuff in the game, and really is a misleading term. 'Imperator' is sufficiently transparent to me (original word of emperor, suggesting strongly 'imperative, commands that must be obeyed,' which strongly relates what they are).

Well, these beings are called "Emperors" as well, and during the War they literally are imperators in the Roman sense of the word. And yes, "god" doesn't really suffice unless you are willing to argue that the same term can without any confusion cover both Archangel Michael and Cthulhu, and quite a few stranger creatures besides (incarnations of self-preservation and self-destruction, emissaries of primal chaos, serpents the size of worlds, all the devils in Hell...).

QuoteCammora is the name of a group. (I'm not sure of the derivation, but it's similar to the camorra, which is an ENGLISH WORD for 'group of people united for dishonest ends')

That's appropriate too, I'd say: after all, they are pretty much like the Mafia would be if the mobsters knew that their employers are true gods, and still had the chutzpah to demand payment in miracles.

QuoteExcrucians, another group name with a suggestive name.

And something like "Outsiders" might not be enough in all cases, since that would apply equally to all the other beings from Beyond, which would probably be a nasty surprise to anyone experimenting with High Summoning.

QuoteAuctoritas is the only odd-ball, and any simpler term you could use would also be misleading. Like 'shield' or 'authority.'

True, considering that it's more like a form of diplomatic immunity rather than an energy barrier or some such thing.

Quote from: GrimGentNobilis 101? Linking to that document is one of the first things I usually do whenever someone starts asking about the system. For a really short version of the basic rules you only have to look at page 48 of the book, though.

Looks interesting. The document ends saying there's another document about developing the players' chancel and imperator. Do you happen to have a link for that as well?

Quote from: James McMurrayThe document ends saying there's another document about developing the players' chancel and imperator. Do you happen to have a link for that as well?

I'm not even sure if that rumoured "Nobilis 102" was actually finished in the end. Amadan's Nobilis page has information on the various Imperator and Chancel properties, though.

Gracias!

Quote from: James McMurrayGracias!

The thing to remember is that the combined Realm scores of the PCs form the point pool which can then be used to purchase various perks for the Chancel. For the Imperator properties, you receive no such benefits: any advantages that you might want must be balanced with disadvantages.

(Googling for the properties by name turned up this post...)