Angels
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__ Statistics
Average Height. .
Male. . Variable.
Female. . Variable.
Average Weight. .
Male. . Variable.
Female. . Variable.
Skin *OR* Fur Color(s). .
Variable.
Eye Color Range. .
Variable.
Age of Physical Maturity. .
Male. . N/A
Female. . N/A
Racial Language. .
Celestial.
Standard Alignment Disposition Range. .
Originally all lawful good, however they may "fall" as a result of sin and follow any moral code that exists.
Standard Religion/Deities. .
They are creations of a Being or deity they simply refer to as "Adonai" or "God".
Physical Appearance. .
Angels are innately spiritual beings, and as such their physical appearance in the mortal world is entirely under their control and can assume any shape. However no matter what body they assume, they are subject to the same physical laws as all living creatures; their bodies are flesh and blood, and as such must be sustained as any other body would.
Racial Innate Abilities. .
Being spirits, angels are immortal and will not die of age. And even though their bodies in this world are made of flesh and blood that must be sustained with nutrients, they will not age with time and their spirit persists after the body has been destroyed--though their spirits themselves can be destroyed as well. Additionally, angels are each born with certain gifts; depending on the angel's role and rank, those gifts can vary and manifest themselves in numerous ways in the physical world.
Ultimately, their wings are the source of their power, and losing both wings is fatal to them. Physically, they are stronger and faster (comparative to the Fae) than the average person of equal physical size and stature, and more resilient as well; wounds that would be fatal to others may be survived by an angel.
__ Abilities
Vision. . Angels have a higher visual acuity than humans, and can see a ways into the ultraviolet spectrum. This allows them to see in the dark better than some creatures (due to their ability to things visible only in the ultraviolet spectrum; similar to the illumination of certain objects under a black light). This is also a form of identification amongst angels, because they all have unique patterns on their wings that are only visible in the ultraviolet spectrum.
Astral Light. . (at least) 1 Prep - All angels have the ability to channel the light of heaven through their bodies, which can manifest itself as simple light or as a burning force capable of destruction. The heat of this force is generated in a fashion similar to the heat generated by ultraviolet radiation, and is not affected by fire resistance. Astral light is literally the light of heaven, which the angels can focus and concentrate using their body as a mirror in a sense.
It is much stronger than normal light, but operates on a fundamentally similar level. It is also the basic form of energy utilized by non-fallen angels (separate from magic), and all spells created by them utilize it as their power source. The equivalent in Devils would be Hell's Fire. Note: angels have no inherent resistance to magic, and their power--while fundamentally different--functions similarly to magic. As in, anti-magic fields affect it, etc.
Tay-al-Ard. . (at least) 2 Prep - All angels also have the ability to travel instantaneously from one place to another, including from the mortal world back to heaven.
Flight. . All angels have wings, necessarily. Seraphim and cherubim are capable of only showing two wings at a time, however they must ALWAYS have at least one wing showing during combat or when using their powers. The reason for this is that their wings are their crux, and can't simply be hidden without penalty. So, for example, if a cherubim is hiding two of its wings, and loses both of them, at least one of the other two MUST become visible; and if it's removed, then the last one MUST become visible. All angels can hide all of their wings, but they MUST present at least two of them during combat (unless they have only one) and while hiding their wings they will lose their astral powers. Sorry, but their greatest weakness can't simply be hidden and inaccessible in a fight.
Additionally, it's worth addressing the physics and physiology of their wings. In the real world, flight would require them to have chest muscles that put the Hulk to shame, and a keel as well. As such, they have an innate supernatural force that allows their wings to function despite the apparent conflict with physics. This power does NOT allow them to fly without their wings, it only makes their wings work even though logic would dictate otherwise. It is not affected by anti-magic fields, and confers no bonus in combat aside from the obvious benefit of flight.
Finally, their wings are typically somewhere between 1.5 and 2x the height of their body. So a 6' tall angel's wings would be between 9' and 12' long each.
Racial Lore. .
None.
Racial Society. .
Angels are "born" in heaven from the fruit of the Tree of Life (Arbor Vitae) and mature rapidly. Time is difficult to measure in heaven, and as such it's difficult to translate the time it takes them to reach maturity into mortal years. They have spiritual bodies, however the essence that makes up these bodies is not the same as the tissues that makes up physical bodies. Angels born on the same branch of the Tree of Life are siblings of the same Order, whereas those few angels who are born from the same fruit on the Tree of Life are considered twins.
All angels are born with a certain amount of innate knowledge, what education they receive is specific to their Order and the Order's charge.
__ The Orders are:
First Sphere. .
Seraphim, the "burning ones" who are the caretakers of God's throne. They are distinguished by their six wings, though all six are not always visible at once.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
Because they stand closest to God, they must shield themselves with their wings from his burning light. Similarly, their wings protect them from other fire or light-based attacks.
Cherubim, guard the Tree of Life and are responsible for the creation of new angels. They have four wings.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
All cherubim have a burning sword which cuts more surely than normal blades.
Ophanim, the angels who drive the chariots of heaven and also serve as the judges of the heavenly courts.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
As the chariots of heaven, the ophanim are insanely fast; much faster than the other angels.
Second Sphere. .
Dominions (Dominationes), regulate the lower angels (Malakhim) and preside over the day to day operations in heaven.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
Divine Command: This ability allows the Dominions to order another angel or any other creature who is not mentally protected to follow a single command, that cannot include the commission of suicide or which takes longer than seven days to complete. The number of preps is reflective of how intricate and powerful the command (i.e. telling someone to do a simple command that does not resist their own will requires fewer preps than commanding them to do something complicated that they are strongly opposed to doing).
Virtues, supervise the movement of heavenly bodies and work to keep the cosmos in order.
Order-Specific Abilities: Gravitational Force: This ability allows the Virtues to manipulate gravity within a certain area for a limited amount of time.
Powers (Potestates), are warrior angels and collaborate with the Principalities and the caretakers of the libraries of heaven.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
Inherent Strength: These angels are much stronger physically than the average angel, reflecting their warrior status.
Thid Sphere. .
Principalities (Principatus), who take their orders from the Powers and bestow blessings upon the mortal world. They are also "inspiring spirits".
Order-Specific Abilities. .
Divine Inspiration: Principalities can "inspire" others to rally to their cause, and impart their strength upon their allies; allowing them to fight longer and harder and to resist the pain and fatigue of battle and injury.
Archangels (Rav-Malakhim), the guardians of certain regions, countries, and are concerned with matters of politics and military affairs.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
The same as Angels (Malakhim).
Angels (Malakhim), the messengers and the lowest Order. These angels are most concerned with the affairs of mortals and serve as messengers to mankind.
Order-Specific Abilities. .
Charge-Specific: These angels are the most diverse, and therefore so are their powers.
Healer: These angels have the power to heal wounds, and though their talents are more oriented towards angels, they can also cure illness and injury in non-angels. They also have a great knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology (herbalism) and can create their own medicinals.
Warrior: These angels make up the standing army of heaven, under the "officers" which are the Powers. Like the Powers, they are much stronger than the average angel and geared toward battle.
Seers: These angels have powers of prophecy. They are rarely seen, and almost never venture outside of heaven. (This class should be considered non-playable and story-specific only).
Messengers: The messengers are the ones in charge of delivering God's messages to the world, and as the class that interacts most with the mortal world, they are elementalists of sorts. Their power is manifested based on their affinity to a particular element.
__ Racial Weaknesses
Wings. .
An angel's power derives from their wings. Injuries to them are extremely painful, and losing one is crippling; losing both, however, is fatal. They can regrow a wing as long as they other remains, but it is a month-long process during which they are extremely vulnerable to infection and very weak as well. This crux is a closely guarded secret among angels, something no angel would likely ever disclose to a non-angel.
Polarity. .
While a fallen angel may hold a moral stance of any range, from lawful good to unlawful evil, an angel's power is polar in nature; it has only one of two sources: heaven or hell. As such, the more neutral an angel becomes, the less power they can derive from their source. In order to utilize the full force of holy power, that angel must be purely holy; and in order to utilize the full force of unholy power, that angel must be entirely unholy.
Entering a grey area weakens the angel, because the amount of power they can call upon is directly related to their allegiance to the source. An entirely neutral angel would be unable to call upon any supernatural power. Similarly, they are strongest in their native environments; a holy angel is strengthened in a holy environment, and a demonic angel is strengthened by a malevolent environment.
Spirituality. .
Being primarily spiritual beings, they are particularly susceptible to spiritual assaults; more so than physical ones. A very powerful magician or priest can force them to appear before him or her and do their bidding--at least for a time. These deals always require a sacrifice on the magician's part, but tend to be more beneficial for them than for the angel. Similarly, any sort of magics which drain their spiritual force or which "consume" spirits is particularly devastating for angels.
Order. .
Along the same lines as their inherent polarity, angels must follow the strict charges of their Order or allegiance in order to continue to draw power from that source. A holy angel who never commits benevolent acts will find themselves growing weaker as their power is withdrawn, and the same is true for those angels aligned with hell. Simply remaining neutral is NOT an option in the war between heaven and hell. A neutral angel receives no "compensation" from either side.
__ Relationship between Angels and God
All angels naturally feel a powerful and almost controlling love for God that borders on obsession. They are consumed with thoughts of him and making him proud. Ever had that one parent that you can never seem to impress? You know, the one that really just never seems pleased with anything that you do? It's kind of like that. Even Devils feel motivated to impress their maker, though these feelings have often been overcome in that ilk.
Regardless, the hope of receiving so much as one look, one word, one fraction of a second of recognition from him drives most angels to unwavering loyalty. This is taken to almost irrational lengths in most angels, and because of it, few non-fallen angels can so much as speak an ill word of him. Unfortunately for the angels, Adonai's relationship with them is not so strong.
He regards the angels as his servants, and does NOT view them as equal to mortal men and women. His true love lies for the mortal world, which is why he created heaven not for the angels, but for man; and why he created the angels to serve man, and not the other way around.
__ Relationship between Angels and the Mortal World
Angels are by and large unconcerned with the affairs of the mortal world. Even those whose charges necessitate them coming to this world are not about to habitually involve themselves in the affairs of this world's inhabitants. Angels, unless they are "of" this world (that is, fallen) will NOT step in to save drowning men, stop bank robbers, or depose cruel kings. It is only those angels who are fallen or who have been given special leave to involve themselves in the affairs of mortals (few and far between, this group should be considered plot-specific only and only be available with Rah discretion) that will become engrossed in these things.
For the most part, unfallen angels who come to the mortal world are here for only a brief time, to accomplish a single deed (usually involving maintaining the balance of demonic influence in this world or blessing a particularly righteous man) before they return to heaven. Sorry to all you would be angels of heaven here to right the wrongs of this world, that's really not the role of angels. They handle the big things involving the war between heaven in hell, not Queen Mary's obsession with bathing in blood. Mortals were made to solve their own problems and secure their own place in heaven through righteous acts, not to get a deus ex machina save courtesy of the messengers of God.
__ Angels and Non-Angels
Angels typically don't interact with mortals or non-angels, but when they do (as in the case of the fallen), they tend to be elusive about their nature and of the nature of heaven. For example, when asked if they're an angel, they'll often reply with something like "something like that" or when questioned about the nature of heaven, they might say, "I suppose it's all right". Above all, angels do NOT under normal circumstances disclose that their wings are their weakness to non-angels. Even Devils would be hard pressed to reveal that to an ally for the common goal of killing an angel.
In normal, day to day interactions, angels tend to be quiet and humble, but reserved at the same time. Note, this doesn't apply to all angels; and those who have been in the mortal world for either a short time or a very long time may either yet be unaccustomed to dealing with non-angels or very comfortable dealing with them.
__ Falling from Grace
Angels are born sinless, however unlike mortals, if an angel sins, they are cast out of heaven and become fallen with no chance of redemption or forgiveness. Those fallen angels can be malevolent demons whose physical appearance comes to resemble the darkness in their hearts, or benevolent spirits who continue to believe in and adore their God but who simply faltered in their duties.
An angel who falls but who does not hold malice for God and who continues to serve him will retain their holy power, but will be unable to return to heaven without risking its ire; however an angel who betrays their Lord will no longer be able to harness this pure force, and be forced to derive their power from darker sources and face "true" isolation from God; never again being capable of conjuring up holy power. -
