MAKING AN ANGELIC CHARACTER "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that is was good: and God divided the light from the darkness". [Genesis. 1.3-4]. Angels are a diverse bunch. Almost nothing that can be said is true of each one of them. However, if there is any absolute rule, it is that the form an Angel takes is determined by that Angel's psychological make-up. Everything from their True Appearance to their Celestial or Infernal powers is determined by the Angel's own mind. This doesn't mean that the Angel has control over what powers or weaknesses they have. Powers and weaknesses spring unbidden from the Angel's passionate subconscious, and are frequently positively unwelcome to their possessor. It is important to keep in mind that although the player gets to choose the supernatural abilities their character possesses, the character itself is a helpless victim of its own internal workings. A Celestial Fury might wish to appear as glowing with blinding white light, but find that he actually appears surrounded by angry flames. Similarly, a Celestial Lamenter who feels weighed down by responsibilities that she is unwilling to abandon may yearn for wings to fly with and taste freedom. However, she might find instead that she has ST 20 to symbolize the way in which she bares her burden. Worst of all, a Celestial Justicar might sincerely regard any hostile emotions as being innately sinful, yet be tormented by the fact that her Hate is written all over her body in savage spines and viscous claws. Angels usually start out with the Angelic Package. The package is: All Statistics at +2 (80). The Angel Doesn't Breath (20), Eat or Drink (10), or Sleep (20), and is Unaging (15). The Angel has Dark Vision (25), Nictating Membrane (10), Polarized Eyes (5), and Immunity to E.S.P. (75). They also all have the Fanaticism disadvantage (-15). The cost to take the Angelic Package is 245 points. However, some Angels, particularly Fallen Angels, may lose Advantages from their Angelic package. Fallen Angels may even lose their Fanaticism, although this is rare. So how many points should Angels have? Point values can vary dramatically. More importantly, they vary for no discernible reason. An Angel's passions will determine the ratio of points that they possess in different advantages and disadvantages, but not the number of points. Status among Angels does not generally depend on the number of points they have - wisdom and virtue are much more important than power to the majority of Angels. So how many points should the P.C.s have? The P.C.s are probably average Angels - not abandoned by their powers, but not minor deities either. The default for P.C.s is 500 points, from which they must pay for their Angelic Package and any advantages required by their Choir. A P.C. Angel should have a maximum of 100 points of disadvantages, including their Angelic Fanaticism and any disadvantages required by their Choir. Non player character Angels might have any number of disadvantages. APPEARANCE APPEARANCE: Angels all have a mortal and a True Appearance. Their mortal appearance how they appear to mortals, and appropriately, the appearance itself is a mortal one. They may look like strange mortals, but nothing supernatural will manifest. Their true appearance is their appearance to other Angels. This appearance will be an expression of their personality. An angry angel may have glowing red eyes. A depressed Lamenter may have a torn chest where their heart has been ripped out. And so on. If Angels become invisible, shape-change, or otherwise alter their appearance, both their moral and true appearances will be altered. HISTORY AND ORIGINS Like their memories of God, Angels memories of their own past are patchy, vague and frequently contradictory. Some claim to have been around for millennia and have exotic skills to back up their claims. Others simply don't remember what they were doing last year. Most have no memory of their beginnings, and those who do have memories of creation tell mutually incompatible stories. Naturally, such memory lapses are a source of endless frustration. ANGELIC POWERS Angels are creatures of passion, and it is this passion which is the well-spring of their powers. This means that the powers an Angel has stem from their personality. It would be the compassion in an Angel that allows it to heal another, while it would be the hate in an Angel that allows it to grow claws that rend flesh. To keep track of this, every point spent on a power must carry a note as to what emotion spawns that power. This has no game-mechanic effect, but should serve as a guide to ensure that the character is being played properly. Angels do not choose their powers, although the player may certainly choose the powers that their character possesses. LIST OF EMOTIONS AND EXAMPLES OF POWERS THAT THEY MIGHT SPAWN This list is not meant to be written in stone. There may be very good reasons why a personality types may have a certain power not noted under the appropriate personality trait here, or why they might not have a power that is. The G.M. should be flexible enough to be creative but as strict as possible so that these divisions really mean something. In particular, one must be very wary of allowing offensive powers that are not fueled by HATE. ALL OFFENSIVE CAPACITY IS BORNE OF HATE (in this world)! This requirement for offensive powers also applies to offensive skills - every point of skill that a character has in combat abilities is a point of HATE to be counted up. If an Angel can't HATE, then that Angel simply can't learn to fight! Beware, too, of letting players convince you that a given power could be achieved through CONFIDENCE. There is often a good reason why it is better placed under something else. I may even try to replace CONFIDENCE with sub-categories later as I wouldn't want too many characters who's personality is just CONFIDENT. Also keep in mind that many advantages and disadvantages just aren't covered here - this is just a list of samples. The G.M. should assign almost all advantages and disadvantages an emotional source, even those which are not overtly supernatural. If an Angel has Toughness, then it is because of something in her personality. As a rule of thumb, only Social advantages, such as Status or Wealth do not need to have an associated emotion or personality trait. A special note on magic: sometimes it is easiest to represent an Angels powers by assigning them levels of magery and magic spells. This need not represent the learning of magical formulae but can instead stand for innate abilities. It is simply easier to fall back on GURPS Magic and Grimoire than to write up an original list of "Angelic Powers". ANGELIC / DEMONIC ADVANTAGES AND ASSOCIATED PERSONALITY TRAITS AFRAID: Darkness Spells. Gate Spells. Illusion Spells. Movement Spells. Warning Spells. Teleport Psionic Power. Body of Air. Clinging. Flexibility. Flight. Hyperflight. Increased Speed. Insubstantiability. Invisibility. Multiple Forms. Passive Defense. Shadow Form. Silence. Super Flight. Super Jump. Super Running. Super Swimming. Vacuum Support. ALIENATION: Animal Spells. Plant Spells. Technology Spells. Anti-Psi Psionic Power. Amphibious. Body of Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Ice, Metal or Stone. Clinging. Darkvision. Discriminatory Smell. Ice Skates. Independently Focusable Eyes. Insubstantiability. Move through Ice. Multiple Forms. Perfect Balance. Pressure Support. Shadow Form. Silence. Speak with Animals. Speak with Fish. Speak with Plants. Super Climbing. Super Jump. Super Swimming. Temperature Tolerance. Tunnel. Vacuum Support. Animate Plant. Confuse. Create Darkness. Icy Surface. Ice Wall. Neutralize Sound. Plant Growth. Shape Ice. ANGER THAT MAY NOT BE HATE: High ST. Body of Fire. Breaking Spells. Fire Spells. Electricity Spells. Electrokinesis Psionic Power. Enhanced ST. Disintegrate. Sonic Blast. BELIEF THAT YOU ARE CORRUPT AND DISGUSTING (Whether this thought pleases you or not): Necromancy spells. Clinging. Darkvision. Discriminatory Smell. Flexibility. Immunity to Poison. Independently Focusable Eyes. Shadow Form. Super Climbing. Temperature Tolerance. Confuse. Create Darkness. Smoke. Venom. BELIEF THAT YOU ARE EVIL: Darkness Spells. Breaking Spells. Dark Vision. Shadow Form. Animate Shadow. Create Darkness. BELIEF THAT YOU ARE GOOD: Light Spells. Walk on Liquid. Illuminate. BELIEF THAT YOU BELONG WHERE YOU ARE (Even if that's "on the move"): High Intelligence. Alertness. Knowledge and Information Spells. 360 degree vision. Dark Vision. Discriminatory Smell. Infravision. Microscopic Vision. Parabolic Hearing. Penetrating Vision. See Invisible. Sensitive Touch. Spectrum Vision. Telescopic Vision. Ultra-hearing. Analyze. BELIEF THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE HONORED: Growth. Increased Density. BELIEF THAT YOU OUGHT TO BE HAVING FUN: Charisma. Voice. BELIEF THAT YOU SHOULD BE ISSUING ORDERS: High ST. Creation Spells. Elemental Spells including Weather spells. Mind Control Spells. Necromantic Spells (if your character would think it appropriate). Alter. Animate. Animate Object. Bind. Control Animal. Control Animated Object. Control Fire. Control Fish. Control Liquid. Control Plant. Control Temperature. Control Weather. Control Winds. Create Air. Create Darkness. Increase Gravity. Mold Earth. Mold Stone. Shape Ice. Wave of Earth. BELIEF THAT YOU USE AND EXPLOIT PEOPLE (whether you are happy about this fact or not): High IQ. Mind Control Spells. Psychic Vampirism Psionic Power. Absorption. Absorb Attribute. Drain Skill. COMPASSION: Communication and Empathy Spells. Food Spells. Healing Spells for others. Protection and Warning Spells for others. ESP Psionic Power. Telepathy Psionic Power. Healing. Mental Speech. CONFIDENCE: Animal-Empathy. Charisma. Luckyness. Positive Appearance. Voice. Anti-Psi Psionic Power. ESP Psionic Power. Aspect Power under Telepathy Psionic Power. Super-Fearlessness. Speak with Animals. CONFIDENCE IN SELF: Any power save attack capacities to a maximum of 10% of one's point value. Each point spent on Elemental spells counts half against this limit. Any Confidence Capacity. High Stats. Alertness. Toughness. Body Control Spells. Enchantment Spells. Light Spells. Making Spells. Meta Spells. Sound Spells. Electrokinesis. Psychokinesis. Amphibious. Body of Earth. Catfall. Damage Resistance. Dark Vision. Extra Fatigue. Extra Hit Points. Extra Stun. Flexibility. Flight. Full Co-ordination. Hard to Kill. Hyperflight. Immortality. Immunity to Poison. Invulnerability. Perfect Balance. Pressure Support. Super Flight. Temperature Tolerance. Vacuum Support. Eidetic Memory. CURIOSITY: Anything in "Believe you Belong Where you Are". DECEPTIVENESS AND / OR SELF-DECEPTIVENESS: Any Appearance. Darkness Spells. Gate Spells. Illusion Spells. Sound Spells. Astral- Projection Psionic Power. Amphibious. Chameleon. Invisibility. Multiple Forms. Illusion. Mimicry. Morph. DESPAIR: Darkness Spells. Sound Spells. Body of Water (Tears). Shadow Form. EMOTIONAL DEADNESS: High HT. Eidetic Memory. Lightning Calculator. Ice Spells. Plant Spells. Necromantic Spells. Anti-Psi Psionic Power. Super-Invulnerability. Unfazeable. Body of Ice, Earth, Metal or Stone. Damage Resistance. Darkvision. Invulnerability. Emotional Deadness. Shadow Form. Animate Plant. Icy Surface. Neutralize Fire. Neutralize Sound. GUILT: Body of Fire. Darkvision. Shadow Form. Shape Ice. GUILT OVER YOUR PRIVILEGED POSITION: Mind Control. Necromancy. HATE: High ST. Any spell or skill that does damage or creates something intended to do damage. Fire and Electrical Spells in general. Breaking Spells. Psychokinesis Psionic Power. Body of Fire. JUSTICE: SEE HATE LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN OWN CAPACITIES: Psychic Vampirism. Body of Air. Insubstantiability. Invisibility. Shrinking. Silence. SADISM (Cold Hate - premeditated, thoughtful hate): Telepathy Psionic Power. TORMENTED BY WHAT YOU CAN WITNESS: All advantages under "Believe You Belong Where You Are". UNWILLINGNESS TO GIVE UP: High Pain Threshold. Strong Will. Hard to Kill. Immortality. Recovery. Regeneration. Regrowth. Resurrection. ANGELIC / DEMONIC DISADVANTAGES AND ASSOCIATED PERSONALITY TRAITS AFRAID: Low ST or HT. Cowardice. ALIENATION: Negative Appearance. Blindness. Deafness. Mute. BELIEF THAT YOU ARE CORRUPT AND DISGUSTING: Physical Disadvantages. Negative Appearance. Hemophilia. Odious Personal Habit. Delusions of how corrupt and disgusting you are. Phobia: Rotshcreck. Unhealing. BELIEF THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE HONORED: Trademark. BELIEF THAT YOU OUGHT TO BE ISSUING ORDERS: Megalomania. BELIEF THAT YOU OUGHT TO BE HAVING FUN: Addiction. Alcoholism. Compulsive Carousing. On the Edge. COMPASSION: Pacifism. Flashback. CONFIDENCE IN SELF: Over-Confidence. Fanatical. Obsession. Consider Manic-Depression. DECEPTIVENESS, INCLUDING SELF-DECEPTIVENESS: Addiction. Alcoholism. Amnesia. Compulsive Carousing. Delusions. Flashback. DESPAIR: Low Stats. Consider Manic-Depression. Hemophilia. EMOTIONAL DEADNESS: Low DX. Blindness. Deafness. Hemophilia. Mute. On the Edge. Terminally Ill. GUILT: Low HT. Negative Appearance. Unluckiness. Curse. Flashback. On the Edge. Terminally Ill. If Confident or holding Belief that you Ought to be Having Fun, consider Manic-Depression. HATE: Berserk. Jinxed (particularly if you blame others for the way things have turned out). LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN OWN CAPACITIES: Loss of Angelic Advantages - you may find that you need food, or are starting to age, or whatever. Low Stats. Physical Disadvantages. Absent Mindedness. Hemophilia. Lazy. Consider Manic Depression. Terminally Ill. Dependency. Vulnerability. Weakness. Weak Will. WHO ELSE IS IN THE WORLD? "From ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us". [Traditional Scottish prayer]. Who else is in the world besides mortals and Angels? Are their vampires sneaking around pursuing their own wars and mages vying for control of reality? The answer is that there are non-Angelic supernatural powers, but all supernatural power has a divine or infernal origin. Any vampires that might be around are around as a part of some Infernal Angel's plan, either willingly or not. Similarly, a mage might be a divinely gifted miracle-worker or one who has sold their soul to infernal powers for the secrets of magick. In short, if the G.M. can tie a non-Angelic supernatural being into the war between the Angels, then such a being can exist. However, the backdrop of the Angelic war must always have a powerful presence if the game is to retain any unique atmosphere. That doesn't mean that all supernatural creatures intend to play a part in the war, but they will have their origins in it, and will find keeping out of it very difficult indeed. Not all supernatural creatures need even know that they have their origin in the holy war, and even a pawn of the Infernals could be perfectly well-intentioned. WHAT THE GAME IS ABOUT AND WHY IT IS LIKE IT IS This is not simply a game of fighting a moral war. It is a game about moral choice. It is not enough for the P.C.s to wish to do the right thing. First, the P.C.s must decide what is the right thing to do. If the choices become too easy, the game risks turning into an episode of Superfriends. The reason that God has been left out of the game, despite His obvious importance to Angels, is that an absolute moral authority obviates the need to make moral choices. If every time that the P.C.s face a moral dilemma, they can ask the Almighty, or an immediate superior who is His representative, then the moral dilemma vanishes. Similarly, if clear memory of God's views remained, then moral questions would be similarly easy to dispel - so clear memory of God had to go too. Angels are, of course, free to consult holy books to decide what God wished them to do before His disappearance, but this still leads them to widely differing views. "The difference between our two Choirs is that we understand that you cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs" - Maria Blake, Celestial Justicar. "No - the difference between our two Choirs is that you are trying to make omelets and we are trying to raise chickens" - Andrew Walker, Celestial Child of the Crucible. SAMPLE CHARACTERS Dr. JUSTIN O'ROAKE CELESTIAL LAMENTER ST: 11 DX: 15 IQ: 16 (Will = 21) HT: 13 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ANGELIC ANGELIC PACKAGE: All Statistics at +2, Doesn't Breathe, Doesn't Eat or Drink, Doesn't Sleep, Unaging, Dark Vision, Nictating Membrane, Polarized Eyes, Immunity to E.S.P., Fanaticism. [245 points]. CHOIR REQUIRED CHOIR ADVANTAGES: Alertness +2, High Pain Threshold, Strong Will +5. REQUIRED CHOIR DISADVANTAGES: Full Pacifism. POWERS GUILT (50) Body of Air COMPASSION (40) Healing Magery 3 Spells: Lend Strength -17, Recover Strength -17, Lend Health -17, Share Strength -17, Stop Bleeding -17, Share Health -17, Minor Healing -17, Relieve Sickness -17, Major Healing -17, Stop Paralysis -17, Cure Disease -20, Relieve Paralysis -17, Resist Disease -17, Neutralize Poison -17, Instant Neutralize Poison -17, Relieve Addiction -17, Cure Addiction -17. FEELING LIKE A HELPLESS WITNESS OF HORRORS (38) 7 levels of Microscopic Vision Sensitive Touch PERSONAL DISADVANTAGES GUILT (10) Appearance: Ugly. HELPLESSNESS (20) One Arm - (Left Arm has become paralyzed). SKILLS Area Knowledge (City) -16, Bard -15, Biology -15, Chemistry -14, Computer Operation -16, Diagnosis-14, Drive (Car)-13, First Aid -17, Language (English) -Native, Language (Spanish) -15, Law -13, Mathematics -14, Pharmacy -15, Physician -17, Running -12, Streetwise -16, Surgery - 14, Theology -15, Veterinary -14, Zoology -14. QUIRKS 1. Prefers to be on a first name basis with everyone. Particularly hates to be called "Doctor". 2. Rubs his eyes whenever he hears bad news. 3. Likes to listen to very loud, very tuneless music. 4. Has a tendency to play matchmaker. 5. Disapproves of smoking but is a heavy smoker all the same. Justin's memories stretch back no further than 1980, when he arrived at *** City Hospital as a surgeon. He badly wished to use his supernatural powers to cure as many people as possible, but knew that such an open display would lead to swift assassination from belligerent Infernals. Instead he has applied his mundane medical skills with all possible diligence, sneaking in a "miracle" cure whenever he can, and otherwise just lending emotional support. His feelings of horror at the suffering he has seen have led his eyes to become infected and painful in his Angelic form. More importantly, his feelings of helplessness caused his left arm to become paralyzed in Angelic and mortal forms alike. This spelled the end of his career as a surgeon, and now he hangs on as a normal doctor as best he can. Justin is popular with staff and patients alike and is well known for his compassion and dedication. Whenever possible, he wears dark glasses to hide his facial affliction from Angelic eyes. His manner is gentle and unassuming although callousness, especially from medical practitioners, can prompt him to rages. Even in these cases though, he tends to rage at the wickedness of a callous act or comment rather than at the wickedness of the person who originated it. After all, he believes that all humans are good by nature, even though many end up succumbing to the temptations of evil. Moreover, he honestly believes than anyone can reform - it is never too late. PETER BLAKE INFERNAL CHILD OF THE CRUCIBLE ST: 15 DX: 13 IQ: 15 HT: 12 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ANGELIC ANGELIC PACKAGE: All Statistics at +2, Doesn't Breathe, Doesn't Eat or Drink, Doesn't Sleep, Unaging, Dark Vision, Nictating Membrane, Polarized Eyes, Immunity to E.S.P., Fanaticism. CHOIR REQUIRED ADVANTAGES: E.S.P. Power 10. REQUIRED DISADVANTAGES: Most difficult of all Angelic jobs. POWERS BELIEF THAT HE CONSTANTLY DECEIVES PEOPLE (40) Morph BELIEF THAT HE CONSTANTLY MANIPULATES PEOPLE (50) Charisma +2 Mind Control Magery 3 Spells: Recover Strength -16, Foolishness -16, Fear -16, Weaken Will - 16, Forgetfulness -16, Terror -16, Panic -16, Fascinate -16, Command - 16, Madness -16, Loyalty -16, Berserker -16, False Memory -16, Lesser Geas -15, Permanent Madness -15, Charm -16, Emotion Control -16, Permanent Forgetfulness -15, Great Geas -15, Avoid -16, Suggestion -16, Enslave -15, Lure -16, Will Lock -16, Ecstasy -15, Glib Tongue -16, Mass Suggestion -16. Psionic Skills: Clairvoyance -14, Clairaudience -15, Psychometry -15, Seekersense -15. HATE (30) Small Fangs with 2 levels of Poisonous Venom (35). PERSONAL DISADVANTAGES HATE (10) Bloodlust SKILLS Area Knowledge (City) -15, Bard -15, Brawling -13 (HATE 1), Carousing - 15, Dancing -13, Erotic Art -14, Fast Draw (Knife) -13 (HATE 1), Fast Talk -15, Guns (M.Ptl) -13+2 =15 (HATE 1), Intimidation- 14, Knife -13 (HATE 1), Language (English) -14, Language (French) -Native, Language (Latin) -14, Law -12, Philosophy (Western, specializing in Nietzsche) - 14, Stealth -12, Streetwise -15, Theology -14. QUIRKS 1. Adores his H&K MP5 machine pistol. Takes it with him wherever he goes, even if not on his person. If he gets to use it, he loves to spray widely in an attempt to hit as many innocent bystanders as possible. 2. Vain about his appearance. 3. As much as he loves being violent, he tries never to be violent without having a human being violent by his side - he needs to make it clear that he is a Child of the Crucible and not some senseless Fury. 4. Loves to publicly deny that there is any such thing as "right" or "wrong", even though he privately believes in both very passionately. 5. In whatever form he Morphs into, he likes to wear a red tie as a badge of his demonic nature. Peter's memories go back to the Assyria of the eighth century B.C., in which he lent his powers as a sorcerer to petty nobles in order to gain a position in their court from which he could inspire them to cruelty. The entire period from the 6th century B.C. to the middle of the 1960s is a blur to him, a fact which causes him huge irritation. Such is often the way with the memory of Angels. It was clear that he had been around however, as he had the skills he needed to deal with the modern world, and that, he decided was the most important thing. Peter has set himself up as a "friend" and "advisor" to small-time racketeers, making ample use of his powers without necessarily revealing to his protgs that he has supernatural abilities. He prefers small-time gangsters over more successful ones. The big ones are usually too concerned with lesser evils like greed for money to be cultivated into a master of a really good sin like violent cruelty. And Peter Blake likes violent cruelty. Peter has gone through quite a few "boss"s in his time, honing them to a supreme state of depravity before deciding that his job has been done and betraying them to an horrific death at the hands of their enemies. At present he is working on Gordon "Redsnake" Eddison, a drug- dealer, a pimp, and the leader of the gang known as "The Kop Killaz". He has just about finished inspiring Redsnake to be about as sadistic as he can be. He is only putting of killing him in the hope that he can convince Redsnake's much-battered girlfriend, Judy, to kill both her partner and her two year old daughter. Peter changes his name, race and general appearance frequently. For some reason, however, he does like to wear a red tie no matter what his appearance. He doesn't have to wear it, but if there is no important reason for him not to, then he will. In general, he favors a mousy and non-intrusive appearance - the star of the show must be human sin after all.