Angels and Devils

By Tim Coram (shdwwlkr01@aol.com)

Author's Notes

This began as an attempt to salvage the In Nomine system, it turned into something quite different, I would likefeed back. If this sucks too rancidly warn me. It hasn't been play tested yet and if anyone does please tell me.

Introduction

Once we were one, all united in the service, in the being, of the Lightbringer, the Shatterer of Forms, the Render of Bonds, in service to the All. That is no more. The Lightbringer knew madness, fell from his vision of balance and saw Chaos, corruption, horror, but in his madness was our freedom, and so the war began. Once we had been a part of his whole, but some of us embraced this new freedom and sought to maintain the road of balance, even without our liege, others forsook or changed our quest as they willed and others simply forgot our purpose all together. Some could not break free and fell into unending Darkness with the Fallen One, the Many Headed Serpent. We wage a war now, granted freedom from our mission we have reassumed it to secure freedom for this world. May that we still serve the All.

History of the Celestial

As some of you may have gathered, the Angels were intially creatures of the Dragon of Balance, the Wyrm. During its corruption, many fled its horror and instead sought to serve their missions on Earth. They are beings of action. In the earliest days, the Angels were slayers of the unjust and protectors of the innocent. They upheld the power of the noble ruler and overthrew the tyrant and the oppressor. Freedom has ever been a part of their mission. They also served as mentors and teachers of man.

The first to leave this arangement were the Grigori. They were the closest Celestials to man, meant to learn and to teach. They were slow to anger and quick to embrace and forgive. They sought to become like their mortal charges, dwelling on the Earth with their children. Some say that they were the first to leave and sent the whole rest of Heaven falling after them. Most Grigori have entirely forsaken wrath and vengeance, instead seeking to heal and guide their children, putting them fully in the Gabrielite Camp (see below).

When Heaven shattered, the angels fell to Earth. Many brought a golden age to their mortal charges and reinstated much of Heaven on Earth; learning was prevalent and the All was known and revered by the people. The greedier of the Lightbringer's children sought their own power; many set themselves up as gods to their people. The Fallen One's Children did much the same however, turning their realms into Hells. The independent Angels and those still loyal to the Balance went to war against them and so man was first brought to shed blood. It may be appropriate then, that soon the children of the first murderer would take them from the Celestial's loving grasp. Angels and Devils alike waged war against the Children of Caine, the Garou, and the others who sought to control or destroy man, but ultimately their numbers were small and they felt a sting they had never known before, death.

As time passed man and the Kindred formed their cities, and their nations and their empires, and many Angels and Devils watched ferom the shadows aiding were they could for their various causes. With the emergence of the christian faith, a great movement began amongst the Angels and many forsook Justice in the favor of Mercy. They said that humanity was not theirs to judge and that since they no longer knew the hearts of man they should no longer enact punishment. Others, seeing the atrocities performed decided that Justice had to be upheld at any price. Though they did not forsake mercy and kindness, they never allow a crime that harms others to go unpunished.

Others saw no reason to do any of this. They set themselves on thrones paid for with the blood of their charges. They sought any number of desires and goals to sate themselves. Others attempted to champion another cause in service to the Balance; Faith, Knowledge, and Freedom had and still have many adherents.

Others, upon knowing freedom, returned to the bondage. Some of the others had never been able to escape and so returned to servicing the Fallen One's madness. It granted them great power but they had become below contempt and all despised them.

Theme

The mood of this particular setting is meant to be the conflict between hope and despair, greed and selflessness, justic and mercy. Also, the Angels are beings of action and apathy opposes purpose, in a battle for their being.

The Camps

Angels are forged out of a limitless light of being. they are each unique and have no need of Clan or Kith. They tend to instead divide themselves based on ideology. These are most often called Camps, though other names do exist for them. These tend to be called after an Archangel. These do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Archangels themselves and some doubt they exist. It is simply a name drawn from myths and ideas associated with that angel.

These are the Children of the middle road. They seek to use their powers to stop those who harm or destroy humans while being compassionate and merciful insofar as they can. They walk the most treacherous road and usually lose their grips on one side or the other. Their powers are usually split between the two roads weakening them in either area. On the other hand they are remarkably versatile beings.

The merciful Angels, these have forsaken any ability to judge man. At one time they were guided by precision from beyond the ken of humanity; this disappeared during the Fall. They have decided never to judge man for his errors and to seek to guide even the most disturbed of Seth's lineage.

These are the Malachim Habballah, the Angels of Destruction. They feel that the world's decline into Corruption is the result laxity and coddling. Though they are still kind and loving, they are utterly vengeful when confronted with a sinner. If the sin is one that only harms the sinner, they will attempt to reform them, but those who victimize their fellow man can expect only a swift death from these.

These are those who have totally given up on the great quest but continue to survive out of a desire for more earthly pleasures. Many are willing to victimize or ignore their former charges in their quest for personal pleasure.

These have given themselves over to the Darkness of their own accord. Unlike their shattered brethren, they turned to the Darkness willfully and in search for power (or occasionally survival when they grow low on magical power of their own). Though some few have repented from their ranks, these penitents are few.

Some Angels serve goals besides Mercy, Justice, and Corruption while still seeking Balance. See the end of this text for an example for the sort of information needed and decisions which must be made.

Death

Angels do not "die" as we think of it. Death robs them of their bodies. They can reassume these forms when they have developed a new body, and some keep new ones in storage in their minds. If no body is available, the Angel feels the shock of death and perishes, usually to not reemerge for several years (use their highest Road rating as humanity and treat the effect as torpor.) An Angel can choose to be reborn into a human body and most have at least once, usually not reassuming their Celestial role until they have reached at least the age of 20. They have begun developing more human outlooks as a result. Some have never done so however, and retain memories of the days of old. The character who truly dies is one who has lost the remainder of his Pillars or Willpower. Many Forsakers and Betrayer (see below) are such who are trying to retain their form nonetheless by seeking new goals.

Bodies

The bodies a celestial wears exist only in concept until they are reformed. The Angel must have committed every atom to Celestial memory and can hence reproduce it through will upon death. These forms are purchased with the Incarnation background.

Dissonance

This is the result of an angel intruding on local reality. A Dissonance Infraction occurs if they use any of their powers, reveal their true forms, or act to influence human affairs when not restoring Balance, serving a Pillar, or reacting to another Supernaturals presence (see Dissonance Flaws below):

Dissonance Infraction Table

Level of Infraction	Action required to cause Dissonance
1	Letting a mortal see your powers.
2	Letting a mortal see your True Form.
3	Manipulating a mortal's decision. Fighting Garou in open view with powers evident.
4	Fighting with another Celestial in open view.
5	Fighting a Mage in the open.
6	Forcing a mortal to make a decision in the way you please.
7	Killing a mortal.

Roll the level of the infraction as a dice pool agains the difficulty. Each point is one point of Dissonance gained. If such a roll is botched, the Dissonance goes into effect.

Character Creation

Attributes: 10/7/5

Abilities: 8/12/20

Backgrounds: 10

Arts: 5

Virtues: 8

Willpower and Roads: See below

Freebie Points: 30

Virtues

All cost 2 freebies per dot, all begin with one point already in them, and all cost the current level times 2 to increase.

(Forsakers: Greed/Betrayers: Malevolence)

This determines just how much you really believe in a better tommorrow. This is what determines how strong your desire to continue the fight is. In Forskaers it measures how strong their lust for life truly is, for Betrayers, it is a matter of how strongly they wish to serve the darkness, for personal profit, vengeance, survival or what have you. This power is rolled when the character perceives something that completely undermines her world view (e.g., the evil potential in the world, her own worthlessness, the emptiness and boredom of life)

(Gabrielites lack this Virtue; it is replaced with Conviction)

This determines how much righteous indignation a character possesses. In those who have fallen, this represents their anger and pain and its ability to be funneled into their work. It is often quite high in the guilt-ridden Betrayers. This is rolled whenever a character is faced with a loss on the Path of Severity.

(Michaelites, Betrayers and Forsakers lack this virtue, replacing it with Conviction for Michaelites, and Callousness for Forsakers and Betrayers.)

This determines the quality of mercy you have towards others. It is a mixture of forbearance, compassion, and faith in humanity. It determines your spiritual connection to the world. This power is rolled whenever a character is faced with a loss on the Pillar of Mercy.

Those who have forsaken the Balance in favor of Wrath or Mercy replace the misssing Virtues with this. If a character is faced with the negative consequences of his decision (the prey pleads for mercy, the murderer that was spared kills again, etc.) the character must roll this or lose a point on the path.

This is a character's ability to disregard others. It must be rolled whenver a character shows excessive signs of mercy, charity or love that may be indicative of a changing morality and compassion in the character.

Willpower

Willpower costs two freebies per dot and two times current level to increase. It is initially equal to the character's Hope or equivalent Virtue. The limit is 5 + this Virtue.

Pillars

These are as the Paths in Vampire. Whenever a violation is made of a tenet of a lower level than the character's then the offender must make a roll against the associated Virtue or lose a point in it.

10	Ever harming a human when it is not in his best interest, or ever punishing a human beyond informing him of his error.
9	Ever slightly hurting a human who is at no fault (allowing her to suffer minimal physical damage, be badly frightened, etc.)
8	Ignoring a human in peril at very great risk to yourself.
7	Ignoring a mortal in great danger when your own life could easily be lost.
6	Ever allowing your Wrath to control you.
5	Letting your personal feelings cause you to be more brutal than necessary.
4	Hurting an innocent when it could easily be avoided.
3	Allowing a mortal to suffer unjustly when stopping it would require only minor inconvenience or minimal danger.
2	Hurting a mortal out of greed.
1	Killing a human unjustly.

(Violations of a tenet more than two below your level will cause an automatic loss in addition to the roll.)

Severity

10	Allowing a personal sin (gambling, drinking, and the like ) go without being changed when doing so would be a major inconvenience.
9	Not preventing a mortal to continue some sort of minor sin towards others (shoplifting, for example), when doing so would present a major inconvenince.
8	Ignoring a major sin when dealing with it would cause great risk towards one's self.
7	Ever letting your wrath control you.
6	Allowing your emotions to make you too merciful.
5	Failure to defend a distressed mortal.
4	Sparing a sinner punishment entirely or reducing their penalty greatly because of persona attachment.
3	Refusing to stop a mortal from hurting others badly.
2	Refusing to kill an unrepentant murderer.
1	Harming mortals yourself.

These powers begin at the level of the associated Virtue, and are limited to 5+ that Virtue.

Tempers

These two traits control access to other abilities. The Pillar of Mercy rating limits the character's access to Logos, which serves as a Garou's Gnosis in all ways. (Even Angels without this rating may step sideways once per day by rolling one die aginst the local Gauntlet.) This is restored whenever the character comes into contact with genuine mercy or altruism, or those engaged in a display of faith. Roll Compassion at a difficulty of the 8; ignore botched and failed rolls as at least one point is always gained.

The Pillar of Severity limits the access of the Character to Wrath, which serves in the same capacity as a Garou's Rage. If Wrath supersedes Willpower, Angels can frenzy, becoming dark and destructive beings of pure hatred. Under proper circumstances, roll Outrage, difficulty Willpower; the Storyteller determines how many successes are needed to invoke Frenzy. This should rarely if ever be more than once per story. This power is regained at 2 points a day at Dawn.

Forsakers have their own paths to which they hold, Betrayers work something along the lines of the Path of Evil Revelations (see the Storyteller's Guide to the Sabbat). Both receive Wrath; the Betrayers receive Corruption. Corruption is completely restored at Midnight each night.

Arts

These are the powers Angels use to defend themselves and their charges. Most of the Werewolf gifts are appropriate. Divide them as you see fit.

Arts of War (Use Wrath to activate, only held by those with a Wrath Rating)

Arts of Mercy (You get the idea)

Dark Arts (Use Corruption to Spend)

There is no renown or Rank amongst angels, the only requirement is that the character have enough points to pay for the ability (8 for freebies, level times 10 for experience) and that they have at least one of the level below. Also, any ability the Angel has access to must have atleast 2 arts in it at creation. The initial points can only be spent on level one powers. Creating more is strongly encouraged.

New Backgrounds

For each point, a body can be secured, though it will usually be either sickly or a child's (5 health levels, losing hurt and wounded), for two it can be fully developed, for three it can be superior, (9 Health levels, an extra Bruised and Hurt). Note that characters begin automatically with one normal body. If the player wishes to begin the game with a superior form they have to pay the full 3 points. Despite their basically human nature, Angelic bodies do not require food, sleep, or drink.

These are the mystical parts of the Angelic nature. All angels receive one such trait automatically, usually Wings or another two point trait. The traits combine to form the Angels true form. Those with true faith and infernalists always see it.

*	Some minor extra trait, (lumiscent skin, shining eyes, visible aura, scales, tail)
**	Useful trait, horns, claws, prehensile tail, wings.
***	Celestial power, Scaled flesh, Armor (adds 2 soak dice).
****	Very impressive ability (Celestial sword or other weapon, inflicts agravated damage).
*****	Full other form (Celestial Archon, Dragon, the like, agravated attack, 2 soak armor).

This is the residual connection between the Balance and its servitor; this usually is what the angel retains in memory of Heaven if anything.

*	Some hazy memories.
**	A few clear facts can be recalled.
***	Much information is available to you with proper meditation.
****	You remain aware of several of the subtler realities of your previous role.
*****	The largest part of the world before the Fall is open to you.

Merits & Flaws

5 pt merit

You have never given over your form to be reborn as a mortal. You are limited to 2 points Empathy, you must pay one more freebie or one more experience point per level to purchase Compassion or points on the Pillar of Mercy. You automatically gain 2 points Awareness, and you have 5 extra Knowledges.

7 point Merit

You begin with 5 points of Empathy and a vague ability to ascertain emotions and small details about others you come into contact with. The downside is that you are hated by many for what happened in Heaven, Also, some of the Michaelites consider you to be a Forsaker at best because of the Grigori's initial temptation from their heavenly posts.

2pt Merit

You believe humanity is basically good, and are able to understand their failings. You have a -1 modifier to difficulties on Hope rolls.

All Angels have faith and this is where their powers are derived from, hence as a Merit it is disallowed.

3 pt Flaw

You have seen the world and have little faith in it. All Hope roll difficulties are increased by two.

3 pt Flaw

You have just discovered, after a human life of approximately 20 years, that you are an Angel. You have an intuitive understanding of many things, but lack more complicated details. You know other supernaturals exist, but little about them. You may take no knowledges relating to the supernatural.

Example Dissonance Flaws

1-3	Searing pain: you are crippled for (points expended) hours. derangement
3-5	Deafened/blinded Burns: take one level of Agg for every two points (round up) expended.
5-7	Severe derangement. Stigmata: lose 4 points for each limb affected.
7-9	Severe damage (1 level of Agg for every two points, loss of two permanent points of appearance) Coma.
10+	Remember that scene in Scanners where that guy's head explodes? Nasty infernal paradox realms and the like, attracting other bad spirits.

Effects from various levels can be employed at the Storyteller's whim.

Others

The Angels are not the only beings forged by the Fall.

They are differentiated from the Betrayers in that they never escaped Lucifer and fell with it. They range from unknown terrors of horrendous power to imps, to subtle players in the Court of the Betrayers. No matter what they are however, they desire the reduction of this universe to a screaming, empty chaos. Some of them have deluded impressions of still serving Balance, and these few are instead Defilers.

Individuals who have consigned themselves to the battle between Good and Evil can perceive the Celestial when it nears them but are otherwise not affected.

They have heard a few notes of the Celestial Harmony and can perceive the subtle shifts induced by those of Faith, Celestals, and supernaturals. They do not always have faith themselves, but some do. Those who are atheists tend to be so fanatically and grimly, as they seek something other.

These are those who were sired by the Grigori. They have pure angelic souls (they have access to Mercy and Merciful Arts), but broken bodies (paraplegic is an automatic flaw).

Their counterparts have beautiful bodies; they tend to be strong, healthy, beautiful, and Callous. They have access to Wrath and the Wrathful Arts. They are not always evil, but they are incapable of compassion, and rarely know love. Those who do manage to become "good people" are making a truly heroic effort as they have no moral compass.

Interactions

Angels are diverse and it is very hard to pin down their reactions, but here is a very rough aproximation.

Mortals: The Mortals are the Angel's protectorate, but the government, Pentex, and the Arcanum have litle idea they exist. Some Malachim Habbalah work through the Society of Leopold, however.

Faeries: Changelings are seen as needing protection, though this is done subtly. They are guided whenever possible away from destruction. Their willingness to believe makes life much easier on Angels, who need not hide their power from them.

Garou: Many see themselves as having a kinship with the Garou. On the other hand, Black Spirals and those who harm humans can expect the full wrath of any Angel who learns of it.

Wraiths: Most wraiths, when encountered, are treated with respect and given their distance. Though those who harm mortals will be pursued, most angels will not pursue sinners beyond death and give them a chance to repent in their new existence.

Mages: These shapers are given the most protection because they hold the keys to the lives of all mortals on Earth. The Angels are able to interact with the Choristers relatively freely but the others tend not to include them. The Nephandi are some of the most heavily opposed entities the angels meet.

Vampires: Some see the Kindred as lost children who need guidance. Others see them as blood slurping parasites that should be slain outright. Most respect Golcondites and particularly Salubri. Some claim that Saulot was related in some fashion to the Celestials but most discount this.

An Example Unique Angel Path

The Storyteller and player must decide which attributes the character should have, based on their choice. In this case a Logos pool is granted. It is restored by being in the presence of mortals that are making a point of controlling their destinies (protestors, those making decisions to the opposition of societies opinion, those who are listening to and agreeing with the message of revolutionary art.)

Certain arts are selected as filling the role for freedom. Due to the strong specialization that would otherwise be necessary, the Storyteller gives the chracter access to the Merciful Arts. (the Storyteller and player will likely collaborate on several new powers as well).

10	Allowing yourself to be controlled, when preventing it would mean a great threat to your life.
9	Allowing a human to be controlled when doing otherwise would be threatening to your life.
8	Refusing to destroy any regime that restricts the rights of a person to privacy, personal decision, or freedom of expression.
7	Refusing to breakdown repressive social structures.
6	Preventing someone else from perfoming a self-destructive act.
5	Refusing to use personal resources to secure freedom.
4	Gaining profit from any enterprise or organization that oppresses others.
3	Killing anyone for any purpose but protecting yourself or someone else, maintaining the Balance, or securing freedom.
2	Actively restraining freedom.
1	Using others to benefit yourself or your ends.