ANGEL/DEMON The Rapture (Part 2) | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | By Christopher Blankley First Revision by Damien Hunt and Justin Killam Second Revision by Darcy Martin Chapter Four: Traits In this chapter we will discuss the two points where Angels/Demons differ from the normal Storyteller systems. If something is not covered here refer to the other sourcebooks for answers. Choirs Though there are many others that we will not discuss, this game covers the following five choirs: the Cherubim, the Belial, the Uriel, the Fallen, and the Sundered. The Cherubim The Cherubim are the most common angels, and will be the most common characters. They are sent to Eden to battle the corrupting forces of Lucifer. The Cherubim are given free will to work within the realm of mankind; they are restricted by only one rule: Do not let the fate of a mortal change because of your presence there. This rule is rather loose and has been a great source of debate. Only one implication of it seems to be clear. Don't end the life of any mortal, no matter what the reason. This rule is followed by all the Cherubim to the letter; violation of it brings swift retribution. Realm: Luna Realm Powers: Entrance, Departure, Purse of Heaven The Belial The Belial are the eternal enemies of the Angels, and of all humanity. Their only purpose is to corrupt, twist and defile the souls of humanity and then send them down to Hell. They have no rules or guidelines, and find happiness in chaos. Realm: Purgatory Realm Powers: Possession, Release, Purse of Hell The Uriel The Uriel are an elite choir of angels; they follow the same rules as angels, but there purpose in Eden is different. They are coming to Eden not to battle the Demons, but to battle the rest of the Supernatural menace that continues to hunt, kill, and corrupt the mortal population. Most recently, the Uriel have found out about the Shadowlands, and are trying to find ways to enter it, and save the souls of those lost within. Realm: Luna Realm Powers: Entrance, Departure, Purse of Heaven The Fallen The Fallen is a pseudo-choir; it is a general name given to those angels that have killed a mortal and fallen from the grace of Heaven. These angels have killed only by accident (those that murder fall to Hell, where they become demons). The Fallen find themselves stranded in "the between". A pseudo-sphere that falls into place between Heaven and Hell. This is the realm that the Demons and Angels use to go between the Spheres and to Eden. The Fallen have lost the favor of Heaven yet they haven't yet plunged into Hell. Most Fallen are dark and sorrowful, immersed in depression by the guilt of their deeds. Although they try to gain Forgiveness, most succumb to their urges and fall completely into Hell. Realm: The Deep Umbra Realm Powers: Entrance*, Departure*, Home *These may be substituted for the sphere powers of the demons if they can find a demon to teach them. This will only quicken the Fallen Angel's descent to the nether regions, however. The Sundered The Sundered are Demons that have escaped from the realms of Hell. These demons may want to become forgiven, or just don't like being influenced by the generals of the infernal. Either way they now reside within The Between. Their demeanor is varied, being demons, as is their reasons for being sundered. If they go back to Hell (or they are captured by demons) they become pathetic slave souls of the generals of Hell. If they ever gain forgiveness for their crimes (unlikely) then they gain entrance to Heaven where they become Angels. Note: These characters are a possiblity like no other, the Demons trying to redeem themselves for eons of corruption. The role-playing possibilities are almost limitless. Realm: The Deep Umbra Realm Powers: Possession*, Release, Home* *These powers may be substituted for the sphere powers of the angels, if they can find an angel to teach them. Willpower Willpower is used in Angel/Demon not only for the standard purposes detailed in the normal storytelling systems but also as the source of the Angel's powers. Angels do not channel and use Quintessence as mages do; they are of a realm outside the Tellurian and their patterns are not formed from it. The Cherubim and the Belial manifest their powers through sheer force of will. They are not mages or technomancers, and use none of their knowledges or skills. Angels can use their Willpower to produce the powers detailed below. An angel gains back his Willpower at a much accelerated rate compared to mortals: one dot for every hour of rest/sleep. They also gain back all their Willpower every time they return to their realms. Their Willpower will never be raised above their base value by either method. Anytime an Angel drops to zero Willpower he no longer has enough power to maintain his link to his host. He will exit immediately, returning to his realm until he totally recuperates. This is considered an automatic Departure (see below) and there is no chance of botching. Realm Powers The Power of Entrance This, with the Power of Departure, is the most used of all the powers of the Cherubim. It is the power of Angels to enter into a body of a mortal, and join minds with the person living there. This is not a power that should be used lightly by a Cherub, for failure can leave possible hosts injured, or even worse. When a player wishes to enter into a body at a particular location, he must find a suitable host. The restrictions on a Cherub are listed below by realm. Realm Difficulty Entrance Requirements Luna 4 Entrance can only be to a mortal of honor and virtue (Humanity 8). Venus 5 Entrance to mortals not of evil intent (Humanity 6). Mercury 6 Entrance to mortals not truly evil (Humanity 4). Sol 7 Entrance can be to any mortal. Mars 8 May enter Eden without a mortal host for 1d10 hours, but is ghost like and ethereal. Jupiter 9 May enter Eden without a mortal host at will, solid in form. Saturn 10 May enter Eden without a mortal host at will, completely alive. Note: If a character of a high realm enters a host that fits the description of a lower sphere he does not get to roll against the lower difficulty. Entrance becomes harder as you raise through the realms. The Storyteller will inform the player how many hosts there are at that particular location that he may enter. The player then chooses the one he wishes to enter, rolls a number of dice equal to his present Willpower against the difficulty listed above. After determining the number of successes refer to the chart below. Successes Result Willpower Lost Botch Attempt has resulted in a mortal fusion and 5 target suffers damage from the experience, equal to the number of botches scored None Attempt has failed, target feels that he has 4 had a bad dream 1-2 Attempt successful but the target's 2 personality is totally suppressed 3-4 Attempt successful, minor integration of 2 personality. You will recognize family. 5-6 Attempt successful, integration of most 1 important memories and major skills 7 Attempt successful, complete intergration of 1 all memories and skills. Host is partially aware and responsive. The angel will have accesses to any abilities that the host has at two dots or higher 8+ Attempt successful, target is fully aware. No 0 Willpower lost. The Angel will have access to all skills the host has that the angel does not. (e.g., the host has empathy 1, but the angel does not, while in this host the angel will have access and be able to use empathy 1 as long as they are in this host. Also, if the host has any special abilities, the angel may attempt to learn them with this level of intergration If the attempt has failed the character may not retry to enter that individual for at least a day, if at all. If the attempt was successful, contact has been made. The Storyteller will determine what the Strength, Stamina, Dexterity, and Appearance is for this particular host. He will also tell the player what abilities and advantages intergrated (if any, must have gotten 7 plus successes to intergrate abilities) What is it like for two personalities to merge? That's a tough question to answer, and I'm sure every Storyteller will have his own interpretation on this. The major advantage to the character is that he will have the memories of the host, and he will not have to frantically scramble around trying to find out who and what he is. You should keep in mind, however, that the Angel is still in control of the situation. The Storyteller should not pull such dirty tricks as: "Well, the host doesn't want to go do that." or "Just at the critical moment, your host decides to pull the trigger." The host is simply along for the ride. Power of Departure You will see that the Power of Departure is just as important as the power of Entrance. It is just as hard to break the link forged between a Cherub and his host as it is to make one. When a character decides that he wishes to leave his present host he must roll a number of dice equal to his present Willpower, difficulty is the same as the difficulty of Entrance. After determining the number of successes refer to the chart below. Successes Result Willpower Lost Botch The attempt failed; the angel is sent back to All* its realm along with much of host's personality. The character gains the Demeanor of the mortal for a number of days equal to the number of botches scored None The attempt is successful but the host is 2 left feeling dizzy and sick and has no memory of the incident 1-2 The attempt is successful and the host has 2 some fragmented memories of the whole incident 3-4 The attempt is successful and the host has 2 some memory of the encounter 5-6 The attempt is successful and the host has 1 some concept of what was going on 7 The attempt was successful and the host feels 1 that he has had a spiritual experience 8+ The attempt is successful and the host is so 0 profoundly affected by the experience that he feels he must tell the world *Must also spend a number of days equal to half the character's Willpower recovering. Once the Cherub is detached he is free to enter into another host or return to his realm as he wishes. If the Cherub is lowered to zero Willpower he must return to his realm. Again, he must be careful. The Departure power should not be used lightly; failure can be very dangerous to the mortal. Power of Possession For game purposes, this power is almost identical to the Cherubim power of Entrance. To the host though, the differences are like night and day. While the Cherubim Entrance is a melding of minds and a spiritual uplifting, the Belial Possession is an all out assault and rape. It tears free the mortal's mind from his body and insert its own. If the mortal is lucky, the Belial isn't powerful enough to torture him, and must suppress him completely. If the mortal is unlucky, his mind will meld with that of the Belial, and he will be forced to watch helplessly as the Belial goes about his bitter business. Refer to the Entrance chart for the Cherubim power of Entrance to determine the result of the number of successes rolled. Refer to the chart below to see how the power increases through the realms. Realm Difficulty Entrance Requirements Purgatory 4 Entrance to mortals who are evil and corrupted (Humanity 4) Styx 5 Entrance to mortals not of good intent (Humanity 6) Erebus 6 Entrance to any mortal not of Honor and Virtue (Humanity 8) Tartarus 7 Entrance to any mortal Hades 8 Enter Eden without a host for 1d10 hours, but is ghostlike and ethereal Sheol 9 Enter Eden without a host at will, solid in form In all other respects the power is exactly the same as the Cherubim power of Entrance. Power of Release In all respects this power is the same as the Cherubim power of Departure. The exit chart must be modified a little to reflect the evil effect of the Belial. Successes Result Willpower Lost Botch The attempt has failed and the Belial is sent All* to his realm with a large portion of the host's personality. The character gains the Demeanor of the mortal for a number of days equal to the number of botches scored None The attempt is successful, but the host is 3 left feeling dizzy and sick, having no memory of the experience 1-2 The attempt is successful and the host is 2 left in a hazy daze, with fragmented memories of the incident 3-4 The attempt is successful, and the host is 2 left with some memory of the encounter 5-6 The attempt is successful. The host has some 1 concept of what was going on and will be tortured by the experience for the rest of his life 7 The attempt is successful. The host is left 1 with full recognition of the encounter and is a drooling madman 8+ The attempt is successful and the host is so 0 remorseful he commits suicide *Must also spend a number of days equal to half the character's Willpower recoverying. Power of Home This power allowe the pusedo-choirs to create a pocket realm within the Deep Umbra. To do this a number of Fallen or Sundered must combine their powers. It requires a total of one hundred Willpower points to create a pocket realm. Purse of Heaven This power is the Cherubim's only real weapon in their fight against the Belial. It is neither offensive or defensive, but a weapon all the same. The Belial have the power of Purse of Hell, it is best to describe the Purse of Heaven in reference to that. With the power of Purse of Hell the Belial can "buy" the soul of a mortal. This is to say, at the day of Judgement Satan would get first refusal on this particular soul (and it is widely known that Lucifer refuses no one). The Purse of Heaven is pretty much the same power for the Cherubim. The major difference is that a soul "bought" with the Purse of Heaven is not guaranteed entrance; it simply gives God first refusal. Of course, all of this is unimportant in the actual workings of the game. The major effect the Purse of Heaven will have on actual play is that once a mortal has taken a coin from one of the sides, the other side can never get his soul. The effect of this power is permanent and can never be rescinded. With the expenditure of a Willpower point the Cherubim can create a Coin of Heaven. This materializes into reality in the shape of a real coin. Once it is taken by a mortal it disappears in a flash of light. A Coin of Heaven must be taken willingly by a mortal; it cannot be forced apon her. A word of warning. Passing these coins out like candy is a bad idea. Even though there are no restrictions on who can be given a coin, the act of giving a mortal a coin means the Cherubim will be a "character witness" for the mortal creating a lot of trouble for yourself later. This power does not change as a Cherub raises through the realms. Purse of Hell This is the power that the Belial use to "buy" the souls of mortals. Refer to the Cherubim power of Purse of Heaven for the discussion of how this power works. In the past the Belial have been known to develop very intricate plans and schemes to trick mortals into taking their coins. Virtually anything goes in this effect; the only rule is that the mortal must take the coin willingly. The coin loses its effectiveness if it is forced upon its intended reciever. Most Belial fall back on to the most tried and true method for distributing these coins. The classic "Sell your soul to the Devil" ploy. In return for fulfilling some wish the mortal has, the mortal agrees to sell his soul to the devil. The Belial almost always fulfill their half of the bargain, but almost always make sure that the mortal takes the coin first. Remember, once the coin has been taken the deal cannot be broken, not by anyone in Heaven or earth. If the mortal has taken a Coin of Heaven before his encounter with the Belial, then the coin given by the demon will be completely useless. A smart mortal maybe able to use this fact to his advantage, but that would be bad form. This power does not change as the Belial raises through the realms. The Choir Powers The Angel/Demon will get four dots to spend on Choir Powers; these may be increased using freebie points if the character wishes. The Power maximum rating is limited by realm. Consult the chart below: Angel Realm Demon Realm Choir Power Limit Luna Purgatory 5 Venus Styx 5 Mercury Erebus 5 Sol Tartarus 6 Mars Hades 6 Jupiter Sheol 6 Saturn 7 Curse of the Damned This power is used to affect the body of a mortal. Curse of the Damned is restricted to one use per individual per day. And requires a True Faith roll vs a difficulty equal to the targets Willpower. To activate this power requires the expenditure of Willpower equal to the level of power activated (one for level one, three for level three, etc). The duration is for one scene unless otherwise noted. Characters cursed with permanent attribute loss can only be affected once, thus if the demon causes a mortal to lose one dot permanently she cannot lose any more, as the scourge of Lucifer can only take once apon a victim. Level Points Lost * One point from an attribute ** Two points from an attribute *** Three total points from attributes (e.g., 2 from Str, 1 from Dex) for one scene **** Four total points from attributes or one attribute lowered to one ***** Five total points from attributes as above or lose one point in an attribute permanently ****** Six total points from attributes as above or has one attribute reduced to one permanently Bless of the Heavenly Father This power is used to affect the body of a mortal. Cherubim may use this power to strengthen a mortal's body, not limited to the host body. These powers can affect one person once per day, the same as Curse of the Damned. The Angel must roll dice equal to his faith rating with a difficulty of the target's Willpower. To activate the power, the angel must spend a number of Willpower equal to the level of power being used (one for level one, three for level three, etc). The duration is one scene. Level Points Gained * One dot in one attribute ** Two dots in one attribute *** Three dots in one attribute **** Four dots in one attribute ***** Four dots to split among multiple attributes (e.g., 1 in Strength, 2 in Dexterity, and 1 in Stamina) ****** Five dots to split among multiple attributes ******* Six dots to split among multiple attributes Eyes of the Prophet This power allows the Angel to glean the truth from a mortal, even if he wishes to lie. To activate the power the angel must spend one Willpower and make a roll with dice equal to her True Faith rating, versus a difficulty equal to the target's Willpower. * The angel can recognize any falsehoods uttered by the mortal. ** The angel can cause the mortal to speak the truth for one time. *** The angel can cause the mortal to speak the truth for up to five times. **** The angel can cause the mortal to speak the truth for up to ten times. ***** The angel can cause the mortal to speak the truth for the scene. ****** The angel can read the surface thoughts of the target mortal. ******* The angel can tell the Mortal's real intentions without the mortal speaking. The power only works for the caster. A target may not be able to lie to the Angel, but he could still lie to anyone else who asks him a question. Giving of Pain With this power the Belial can inflict pain upon a target. With the expenditure of a Willpower point and a successful attack, the Demon can inflict penalties as shown below on the chart. Level Penalty * -1 ** -2 *** -3 **** -4 ***** -5 ****** * *The target fall unconscious from pain. Halo This power envelopes the angel's host with an aura of holy might. This aura will protect the host from attacks by absorbing the damage. The angel spends one Willpower point per activation; the duration is one scene. Level Soak Die Soak Die (Normal) (Aggravated) * 1 0 ** 2 0 *** 3 0 **** 3 1 ***** 4 2 ****** 4 3 ******* 5 4 Hellfire This creates a blast of hellfire. Although it will cause pain, it doesn't do any damage. Its purpose is to drain the Humanity from mummies and vampires, the Sanity from immortals, the Rage from werewolves and the Willpower from Mages, Sorcerers and Mortals. The flame is thrown by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, difficulty of 7. Level Points Drained Dice Penalty Area of Effect * 1 0 Target only ** 2 1 Target only *** 3 2 Target only **** 3 2 10' diameter ***** 3 3 20' diameter ****** 4 3 30' diameter Laying of Hands This is the power to heal the injured, pure and simple. The characters will get a lot of use out of this power if they get a little over zealous in their mission. With the expenditure of Willpower, the angel may heal health levels in any mortal, including her present host. Level Levels Healed Levels Healed (Normal) (Aggravated) * 1 0 ** 2 0 *** 3 1 **** 4 2 ***** 5 3 ****** 6 4 ******* 7 5 Multiple Willpower may be spent for multiple healings. Rumors persist about the healing powers of angels able to cure the curse of Caine, but yet, they still are rumors. Manifest the Spirit This is the ability of angels and demons to manifest their true form on Eden. This grants attribute bonuses, but carries with it very real disadvantages, chief among them is the inability to interact with mortal society. Treat this as the Delirium effect that werewolves suffer from while in Crinos form. Those Awakened or supernatural creatures immune to the Delirium are immune to the awe of the manifested form as well. To activate the Manifest form, an angel or demon must spend three Willpower and roll a number of dice equal to his Faith score, vs a difficulty of 7. The change takes six minus successes in turns. If an angel or demon spends six Willpower, he will change without a roll, and it will take only one turn, but this will tend to leave him with very little Willpower to work with afterward. While this power is in effect, the character's Appearance will drop to zero. *Cumulative This power will last for one scene per activation. Enslave With this power, a demon is able to enslave a mortal to his bidding. The Demon must roll his Faith score in dice vs the mortal's Willpower as a difficulty. The Demon must roll at least a number of successes equal to the power level being used in order to be successful. Level Willpower Required Effect * 1 Force compliance to one command per success. ** 1 Take control of a mortal for a scene. *** 1 Take control of a mortal for a day. **** 3 For one scene control one mortal per success rolled. ***** 3 For one day, control one mortal per success rolled. ****** 3 For one month, control one mortal per success rolled. Sword of Michael This power creates a flaming sword of holy energy. Although it will cause pain, it doesn't cause any damage. It's purpose is to drain the Willpower from Demons, Mortals, Mages, and Sorcerers, Rage from Werewolves, and Humanity from Vampires and Mummies. The sword lasts for one scene per Willpower point invested. Attacks are made using Dexterity + Melee (difficulty of seven). Level Traits Lost Dice Penalties (Pain) * 1 0 ** 2 1 *** Str +1 2 **** Str +2 3 ***** Str +3 4 ****** Str +4 5 ******* Str +5 5 Trumpet of Gabriel With this power, an Angel is able to command a mortal for a short period of time. To activate this power, the angel must spend one Willpower and make a roll of dice equal to her True Faith score vs a difficulty equal to the mortal's Willpower. Level Effect * Make a mortal do one action. ** Make a mortal do a few simple actions. *** Make a mortal take a series of actions. **** Make a mortal take a series of actions requiring imagination or interpretation. The character may implant a post hypnotic suggestion instead if she desires. ***** Make a mortal engage in virtually any action no matter how complex. ****** Make up to 10 mortals take a series of actions. ******* Give up to 10 mortals a post hypnotic suggestion. Wings of the Holy With this power, the angel is able to make his host body fly. To activate the power, the angel must roll a True Faith roll vs a difficulty of 7, and spend one Willpower. The duration is ten game minutes per success rolled. Level Speed (mph) Speeds (yards/turn) * 20 30 ** 40 60 *** 60 90 **** 80 120 ***** 100 150 ****** 120 180 ******* 140 210 | Part One | Part Two | Part Three |