44
Anger of Angels
perception that he was perfect and his creator was not, which led to the War in Heaven and the expulsion of one-third of the angels. It is from these events that the term “pride comes before a fall” originated. Angels are great and powerful beings, but they spend much time aiding and serving even greater entities. Those angels who hold themselves in too high esteem compared to lesser creatures have lost perspective. They have forgotten that every creature is part of the divine plan and has a purpose, and in fulfilling that purpose it is Adventure Seed: False Identification perfect. When an angel The player characters acquire a powerful but starts to feel contempt nonevil magic item from a slain demon. Long in the past, a wizard created this item to thwart a toward beings of lesser shapechanging fiend. It is cursed so that when physical, mental, or spiritual it is worn (after a few days of acclimatizing to its new owner), any angel that sees it immedistature, or speaks excessively ately “recognizes” the wearer as a disguised about the greatness of his demon, even if the wearer is not a demon and despite whatever mundane or magical disguisown abilities, he is at risk. es are used to conceal this “fact.” (Treat this as Sloth: Laziness is a rare an 8th-level ability; mind blank is one of the few things that can foil it.) sin among angels. They The player characters eventually encounter an were created to serve, and angel who recognizes one of them as a demon, because they are immortal despite any protests and proof the other adventurers supply. In a campaign where the player or at least have very long characters are angels themselves, the other lives, they do not have the members of the group may suspect that the wearer has fallen and is trying to conceal it common mortal excuse from them. that they have a limited amount of time in the world and don’t want to waste it on work. In truth, a reticent or lazy angel is more likely to abandon service to his creator (often by hiding among mortals) or be outright destroyed by a superior for refusal to obey a command. Heaven’s deities take rebellion very seriously and don’t tolerate it in the slightest. Free angels, who don’t have a superior for much of their existence, are more likely to succumb to the sin of sloth than bound angels, since they don’t have a system of immediate negative feedback about their dereliction of duty. Wrath: Many angels experience righteous anger upon witnessing evil deeds or in the presence of fiends, but these visceral emotions are not the sin of wrath. Wrath, for an angel, is the glorification of violence or anger above the amount necessary to protect and promote good, or acts of anger when nonviolence is a more appropriate response. For example, a para using celestial rage is not guilty of the sin of wrath, but a principality that tortures a demon to get information on a soul-stealing magic item or (even worse) tortures a demon for the sake of punishing something evil is wrathful. An angel that uses violence when a nonviolent solution is faster and easier, or one who deliberately causes pain or mutilation when such an act isn’t necessary, is at risk. Note that most combat (which has its share of pain and mutilation) is not a doorway to wrath, and angels given the duty of punishing evil souls (such as angels of destruction) receive special dispensation for that purpose.
Angels and Mortals Why do angels care about mortals? After all, mortals are inferior beings that live far from the light of Heaven and are busy killing each other and succumbing to the temptations of sin and the wiles of fiends. Yet angels watch over mortals, fight to protect them, and even sacrifice their own immortal lives to preserve them. How can these facts be reconciled? There are several answers. Angels care about mortals because the gods created mortals. As such, they are worthy of interest, care, and protection. Angels who subscribe to this belief often care for mortals not because they want to, but because they feel they have to, much like how an older, more responsible sibling looks after the youngest and most foolhardy child in the family. Their attitude is one of petulant frustration. Other angels watch over mortals to prevent fiends from using them. To these angels, mortals are pawns in the Great War between Heaven and Hell, and every victory for Hell, no matter how slight, is a terrible loss for Heaven. As such, mortals are incredibly valuable resources that must be protected, like rare animals in danger of extinction. To these angels, mortals deserve protection not for their own sake, but for the sake of the cosmos. Their attitude is detached and clinical. Some angels care about mortals because they are so vulnerable. These angels see mortals as mortals see children or small animals: fragile things with great potential who are at great risk if left to their own devices. Angels with this view often behave condescendingly toward mortals or even treat them like intelligent pets. For the most part, however, angels care about mortals because it is in their nature. Angels are spiritual beings of love, and their first instinct toward any creature is love and affection. This instinctive nurturing response or motivation founded on brotherly love is particularly prevalent among the dynamis, grigori, memunim, and principalities—angels whose intended purpose is to guide, teach, or protect mortal beings. To these angels, loving mortals is as natural as breathing. It is something they don’t question, any more than a mother questions her love for her own children. An angel might hold all four viewpoints to a lesser or greater extent, and her views might change over time or due to interactions with mortals. Understanding an angel’s motivation for looking after mortals can be helpful in determining the angel’s attitude and overall personality.
Calling and Summoning: The Choice Many mortals share the mistaken belief that angels are compelled to answer summon monster spells, and some have the audacity to believe that angels sit around at all hours of the day and night waiting to be summoned. This is hardly the case. Angels have their own lives, tasks, and agendas and most would rather not interrupt those plans to help some mortal defeat a gang of orcs. However, many look forward to serving in this manner, and the more military-minded angels in particular see this as a noble duty. Willingness to respond to a summoning or calling is a mental state that any angel (or outsider, for that matter) can enter or leave at will (without requiring an
