Chapter Two: Angels
humanoid shape. Armor for angels of all types is available in Heaven with no customization needed, although the cost modifiers for size and nonhumanoid shapes still apply. Note that ophanim who wear hide, leather, or padded armor risk destroying it after extended use, as their burning self ability can sometimes overcome the hardness of these weaker armors. Metal armor is generally unaffected unless the ophanite’s burning self damage is somehow elevated. Metal armor for ophanim never includes the soft padding that comes with humanoid armor. Ophanim don’t need it, since their natural armor is enough to prevent most chafing, and because the padding tends to ignite.
Magic Items, Spells, and Strange Bodies Several kinds of angels are not anthropomorphic and lack apparent arms, legs, or a head. Lantern archons and ophanim pose the best examples, with seraphim and kalkydrim in a similar situation. Despite not having the apparent body parts necessary to use magic items such as gloves, rings, helms, armor, and so on, these angels still have the same magic item spaces as humanoids. An ophanite can “wear” two rings and a circlet while wading into combat with a greatsword. The rings would be suspended within the ophanite’s fiery body, the circlet would rest at the apex of her body, and the greatsword would extend from some part of the ring of fire. Because an angel is a spirit adopting a material form, she makes accommodations for her unusual shape. Angels are not penalized just because their forms are out of the ordinary. More mundane creatures with odd shapes who are not spirit incarnate, such as nagas, cannot use items that require hands or feet. Just as strangely shaped angels don’t need fingers to use magic rings, they do not need actual hands to cast spells with somatic, material, or focus components. They do need to be holding the required item and have a “hand” free in order to use the item or complete the somatic component. Finally, angels are still limited to two effective “hands,” so an ophanite wielding two weapons cannot also cast a spell with a somatic component without first dropping one of those weapons.
Level Adjustment Angels are more powerful than the typical player character races presented in d20 System products. Much real-world lore describes the perfection of angels, their superior wisdom and strength compared to humans, and how much they resented it when their creator held humans in higher esteem when they were “superior.” Compared to the masses of 1st-level commoners in the world, angels must be a cut above. The best a mortal champion might hope for is to wrestle one to a standstill. This situation is handled in the game rules with a level adjustment for angels. (For more on level adjustment, see the Core Rulebooks.) One thing a DM should always keep in mind is that level adjustments are determined for the optimal character of that race. For example, malakim are well suited for combat-oriented characters such as fighters, paladins, and rangers, as well as Charisma-based spellcasters such as bards and sorcerers; for these kinds of characters, a malakite’s +6 level adjustment is appropriate. However, a malakite rogue or wizard isn’t taking advantage of as many of her racial benefits, so a level adjustment of +5 might be more appropriate. But if the character ever took levels in one of the combat or spellcasting classes mentioned above, apply the normal level adjustment.
Angelic Races The 11 types of angels that follow are presented as player character races. They use the same format that humans, elves, and other standard PC races use. The classical angel races presented here are grouped under the category “heavenborn” for the purpose of defining their standard traits. See the table below for a summary of each of their ability adjustments, outsider Hit Dice, favored classes, and level adjustments. Look for a sample angel of each race starting on page 123 in Chapter 10: Creatures.
TABLE 1–2: HEAVENBORN RACIAL ABILITY ADJUSTMENTS Race Cherubim Dynamis Grigori Hashmalim Kalkydrim Malakim Memunim Ophanim Parasim Principalities Seraphim
Ability Adjustments +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence +4 Constitution, +2 Charisma +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma +4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom +4 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma
Outsider (d8) Hit Dice 4 2 2 3 3 2 1 4 2 2 4
Favored Class Cherub Dynama Grigori Hashmalite Kalkydrite Malakite Memunite Ophanite Para Principality Seraph
Level Adjustment 7 5 3 7 8 6 5 7 5 6 9
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