Esoteric Enterprises - Angels

Have you ever taken something that didn't belong to you? Have you eaten while someone else starved? Have you broken your word? Have you killed another person? The Angels know what you did. They’re going to hurt you as an example to other people.

Bayonetta by Platinum Games

In a world of occult criminals, Angels are the ultimate cops. Except they can’t be bought off, or convinced to let you off with a warning. The only way out is to pay what you owe. And everyone owes something.

CREATING AN ANGELIC HOST

An Angelic Host appears on Earth to punish people for transgressions. They do not serve any known God of the underworld pantheon, but instead exist to enforce their own procrustean moral code. They either seek out a specific being who has violated their moral laws, or they roam the underworld searching for sentients who have transgressed. They use Know Guilt to identify the perpetrators of such crimes.

D4 Crimes for an Angelic Host to Punish

1. Theft (anyone who has taken something that didn’t belong to them)
2. Cowardice (anyone who has done nothing while someone else suffered)
3. Dishonesty (anyone who has lied or broken their word)
4. Murder (anyone who has killed a sentient being)

A Host has one Highest Order Angel, D6 of the Middle Order, and 2D6 of the Lowest Order. These Angels are built by applying special properties to the following templates.

LOWEST ORDER ANGEL
4 Flesh (1 die), 4 Grit (1 die), AC 14, Saves 17+
Strike (+2 to hit, D8 damage)

MIDDLE ORDER ANGEL
8 Flesh (2 dice), 8 Grit (2 dice), AC 15, Saves 13+
Strike (+4 to hit, D10 damage)

HIGHEST ORDER ANGEL
12 Flesh (3 dice), 12 Grit (3 dice), AC 16, Saves 9+
Strike (+6 to hit, D12 damage)

All Angels share the following properties, regardless of rank.

• They can fly.
• Their attacks count as magical, holy, magical, silver and cold iron.
• They are immune to drowning, suffocation, poison and disease
• They can cast Know Guilt at will as a free action
• They are mindless, but not immune to illusions.
• Silence and Antimagic spells prevent them from using their Special Powers.

Lowest Rank Angels get a single roll on each of the following tables. Middle Order Angels get two rolls per table, and Highest Rank Angels get three. All Angels of the same order within a Host use the same results.

D6 Body Plans
All body plans have at least one pair of wings.

1. Wheel
2. Humanoid
3. Four Legged Animal (bull, ram, lion, etc)
4. Just a head/face
5. Bird
6. Shapeless

D10 Physical Details

1. A thousand eyes (5 in 6 Perception)
2. An extra head (Extra attack)
3. An extra pair of arms (Extra attack)
4. An extra pair of legs (Extra attack)
5. An extra mouth (Extra attack)
6. An extra pair of wings (5 in 6 Athletics)
7. Transparent (3 in 6 Stealth)
8. Gigantic (an extra die of Flesh)
9. Metallic (2 extra AC)
10. Crystalline (an extra die of Grit)

D20 Special Powers
In place of an attack, an Angel may use one of its special powers.

1. Flash with bright light, blinding for a turn on a failed Save vs Stunning or D6 rounds on a success
2. Toss a Fireball, dealing D6 damage for each of the Angel’s Grit dice.
3. Shout in a booming voice, casting Command
4. Burst into a shower of doves, locusts, swallows or butterflies. While in this form, an Angel cannot attack as normal, but can use its special powers. It takes minimum damage from weapon attacks, but normal damage from area attacks.
5. Create an arc of lightning, paralyzing the target for D6 rounds on a failed Save vs Stunning
6. Pulse with radiant energy, dealing an automatic D6 damage to anyone who comes within striking distance until its next turn.
7. Inspire terror in all who see it, casting Fear
8. Give off a fleshy hum, casting Sleep
9. Bless an ally with the spell Heroism
10. Whisper words of power that Silence the world around it
11. Teleport another Angel from the Host to its location (this cannot add new Angels to the underworld, only pull in existing ones)
12. Create a divine Shield around itself or an ally
13. Fill the minds of everyone in earshot with its song, deafening them each turn the Angel continues singing.
14. Change its appearance to anything it desires
15. Sacrifice up to 5 points of HP, to grant its next attack that same bonus to hit and damage.
16. Heal D6 points of its own Flesh, or that of an ally
17. Designate a single target to engage in single combat. While so-designated, the Angel and the target cannot be damaged by anyone else until the duel concludes.
18. Blast a horn that causes an Earthquake
19. Place a divine seal on a door with Hold Portal
20. Explode like a bomb, destroying itself dealing D6 damage per hit-die to everyone in line of sight, Save vs Hazards for half.

EXAMPLE HOSTS

Here are two example Hosts, built using the rules previously described.

THE THIEF TAKERS
The Thief Takers punish those who take what does not belong to them.

The Bull of Heaven
A massive, formless, crystalline bull with a bronze core.
16 Flesh (4 dice), 16 Grit (4 dice), AC 18, Saves 9+
Gore (+6 to hit, D12 damage)
In place of an attack, can cast Hold Portal, Earthquake, or turn into a swarm of locusts

The Living Creature
A two-mouthed steel lion shaped like a wheel
8 Flesh (2 dice), 8 Grit (2 dice), AC 17
Two Bite (+4 to hit, D10 damage)
In place of an attack, can cast Shield, or shoot a paralyzing arc of electricity

The Six Beautiful Ones
Winged, four armed humanoids who glow with sparks of divine light
4 Flesh (1 die), 4 Grit (1 die), AC 14, Saves 17+
Two Trishulas (+2 to hit, D8 damage)
In place of an attack, can throw Fireballs that deal D6 damage to everyone in the AOE

THE FIGHTING SPIRITS
For evil men to succeed, good men must do nothing. The Fighting Spirits punish those who do nothing. 

The Breaking Wheel 
A pair of nested crystal spheres which “blink” like eyeballs, spinning around a radiant woman encased within
12 Flesh (3 dice), 16 Grit (4 dice), AC 16, Saves 9+, 5 in 6 Perception
Two hammer-shaped limbs (+6 to hit, D12 damage)
In place of an attack, can deafen all listeners with song, deal D6 automatic damage to everyone in striking distance, or self destruct for 7D6 damage

The Five Silent Watchers
Birds with the heads of lambs, feathers of polished bronze, and eyes covering their bodies.
8 Flesh (2 dice), 8 Grit (2 dice), AC 17, Saves 13+, 5 in 6 Perception
Strike (+4 to hit, D10 damage)
In place of an attack, can transform into a swarm of bronze feathers, or cast Silence

The Four Shining Faces
Shining, expressionless faces, bristling with wings that flap in perfect harmony.
4 Flesh (1 die), 4 Grit (1 die), AC 14, Saves 17+, 5 in 6 Athletics
Strike (+2 to hit, D8 damage)
In place of an attack, can sacrifice up to 5 HP to grant themselves that same number to hit and damage on their next attack

ANGELIC PUNISHMENTS

Angelic punishment is gratuitous, cruel, and public. The purpose is a deterrent, both to the perpetrator from doing it again, and to anyone who witnesses it from attempting the same. Whether this actually works or not is irrelevant to them. It’s the law.

Before battle is joined, Angels list the “crimes” committed by the perpetrator, and offer them the choice to accept punishment without a fight. Angels do not kill transgressors in battle. Any Horrible Wound inflicted by an Angel that would kill the perpetrator incapacitates them instead. This applies ONLY to the person they want to punish. They’ll kill people besides the target who get in the way of justice.

D8 Angelic Punishments

1. Withering: The transgressor loses D6 points each from three randomly chosen ability scores
2. Flaying: Reroll the transgressor’s hit dice. If the new HP total is lower than their current total, it is reduced to that amount. If it is higher, they are killed
3. Draining: The transgressor’s experience point total is divided by ten. This can reduce their level.
4. Cutting: One of the transgressor’s limbs is severed. Roll a D4 for which.
5. Blinding: The transgressor’s eyes are burned out
6. Elinguation: The transgressor’s tongue is cut out
7. Branding: The transgressor is branded with hierograms. Every time they steal, lie, murder or allow anyone to come to harm through inaction, the runes deal 2D6 damage directly to Flesh.
8. Execution. Roll a D8 for the method

D8 Angelic Executions

1. Crucifixion
2. Breaking on Wheel
3. Pressing
4. Impalement
5. Burning Alive
6. Hanging
7. Beheading
8. Strangulation

Both punishments and executions are performed in a public place frequented by other underground figures, like a Black Market or Nightclub. Anyone executed via a method 4 or lower is left to die over several days. Anyone who attempts to aid the victim, remove them from the apparatus of punishment, or end their suffering will be attacked by the Angels.

ANGELIC ADVENTURES

Angels aren’t something to be dropped into a game lightly, or included haphazardly in random encounter tables. They’re difficult to escape from, impossible to negotiate with, and very dangerous in combat. If you’re not intentional about how you use them, they’re a violation of the OSR social contract.

There are magic rituals that summon Angels to the underworld. There are two types of people who use these spells: those who want revenge for a misdeed done to them, and those who, whether due to deeply disordered thoughts or sincere belief, want to punish and purify the sinful world.

Wise summoners find a way to make themselves undetectable to the Host before calling it down. Less crafty wizards find themselves immediately targeted for punishment by the newly summoned Angels. Nobody’s perfect. The first indicator that a mad mage has called Angels down is often the Angels themselves depositing the mutilated summoner in a public place.

Then they get to work. Maybe…

...A prominent underworld figure is nabbed by the Angels and condemned to die. He is crucified, still living, in a prominent location. A crossroads at the center of the underground, or a gathering place for occult criminals. The victim promises a fabulous reward to anyone who rescues him. To do so would call down the wrath of the Host.

...The Angels publicly declare their intent to punish the player characters for something they’ve done. There are no deals to be made. All they can do is run, hide, or prepare for a fight.

...The Angels mount an assault on the stronghold of a gang, cult, or other powerful faction. The defenders might hire the players as mercenaries to defend their home. Or they could wait for the screams to die down, and loot the place after the defenders are gibbeted.

...Word spreads through the underworld that a Host of Angels has taken up residence in one of the underground complexes beneath the city. They chased out, killed or punished the original inhabitants and reforged it as an altar to divine justice.

ANGELIC ABODES

When Angels take up residence in an Underworld complex, apply the following changes:

• All water features dry up
• Non sentient inhabitants are routed or killed
• Sentient inhabitants are routed or punished gruesomely
• Treasure is still there, but is now the property of the Angels, who will object to its removal

The die size of the room determines its new decor under Angelic occupation.

• D4: Filled with candles, braziers and lanterns, blazing with heat and light
• D6: Surfaces painted with eyes
• D8: Surfaces and objects melted and deformed, as if by great heat
• D10: Statues with their eyes burned out, groveling and rejoicing
• D12: Streams and fountains of molten metal
• D20: The room’s former contents transmuted to crystal and metal, shining bright enough to hurt
• Other: Chairs, statues, tapestries and eyes all pointed at a plinth, on which sits an Angelic Artifact

ANGELIC ARTIFACTS

Strange treasures can be found in Angelic Abodes. Nobody knows why the Angels hoard these things, considering they can’t use them.

PRIESTLY BREASTPLATEThis embroidered shawl is set with a grid of twelve large gems, in four rows of three. When worn, it increases encumbrance by one level, but adds 2 AC (on top of any other armor) and grants immunity to bleeding, electricity and poison.

SHOFAR
A ram’s horn, hollowed and varnished, with a hole at the narrow end as well as the wide end. Once every lunar month, it can be blown to cast the spell Earthquake, destroying terrain and possibly causing a cave-in if used underground.

SHAMIR
This minute green worm lives in a lead lined box, filled with wool and barley. If removed from the box, it dissolves stone and metal around it like a rust monster. By carefully opening the box and exposing only a part of the worm, the wielder can use it like a drill to bore through solid materials. After boring through 150 cubic feet of material (such as one 5’ by 5’ by 6’ volume), it must rest and be fed a honeycomb before it can dig again.

TRISHULA
The bladed prongs of this trident curve inward toward the central point, where a small black orb floats suspended. This orb is a microsingularity, with mass equal to one eighth of the sun. The trident can emit a beam of radiation that inflicts instant Radiation Sickness on anything within the cone of fire. The beaten zone is itself rendered radioactive through neutron activation.

LESSER KEY
The engraving on this signet ring is worn away, making it useless for sealing letters. Despite this, the ring still allows the wearer to Speak With Animals at will.

HIERODULES

Angels do not actively recruit cultists, or normally take any interest in people they aren’t punishing. That doesn’t stop people from worshipping them and trying to live by their rules.

Hierodules (the Greek for “Holy Slave”) do not lie, steal, or kill other sentient beings. They always render aid to anyone in trouble, no matter how dangerous it is to do so. They would rather die than violate these precepts. If you violate these precepts, they’ll hunt you down, incapacitate (but never kill) you, truss you up, and deliver you to the Angels to receive your just deserts.

An angel cult typically has 3D6 Hierodules, along with D6 Hierogrammates who scribe the cult’s nonlethal spell scrolls from ancient tablets and other mystical sources.

HIERODULE

4 Flesh (1 dice), 4 Grit (1 dice). AC 12 (membership jacket). Saves 17+
Translation 3 in 6
Stun Baton or Taser (+1, d6 damage, Save vs Stunning or lose next action)
Gas Mask and Tear Gas Grenades (Save vs Poison every round spent in cloud or lose action)
A single Scroll of Sleep

HIEROGRAMMATE
3 Flesh (1 dice), 6 Grit (2 dice). AC 12 (membership jacket). Saves 15+
Translation 5 in 6
Collapsable Baton (+1, d8 damage)
A single Scroll each of Sleep, Hold Person and Know Guilt

NEPHILIM

Angels do not normally mate with humans, or anyone else, lacking both the organs and inclination for sex. Nevertheless, half-breeds have existed throughout history. The Serpents experimented with hybridization, using super-science to cross protohumans with the wild Angels that scourged antediluvian earth. Medieval sorcerers rehearsed hymns that could “reprogram” the Heavenly Host to mix its essence with humanity. Even today, there’s always someone who will go to any length to fuck an Angel.

Nephilim are instinctively driven to fanaticism. Sometimes this manifests as religious devotion, to a mainstream religion or underworld God. Sometimes it’s ideological devotion, to facism, communism, anarchism or another demanding political creed. Some become police, devoted to the law. Some are “adopted” by the Men in Black, to become devotees of normalcy, the suppression of the supernatural. The thing they always demand is that something be demanded of them. Their souls are receptive only to that which is grand.

NEPHILIM
Flesh 8 (2 dice), Grit 8 (2 dice), AC 13 (natural speed and toughness) or as worn armor, Saves 13+
Minimum 13 in all Attributes
2 Meaty Fists (+4, D8) or attacks as weapon
A Nephilim’s unarmed attacks count as holy, magical, silver and cold iron
If part of a cult, Nephilim cast spells as a Fanatic level cultist

Angels instinctively attack any Nephilim they encounter, to the exclusion of all else. Not to punish them, but to kill them and utterly erase them from existence.