Council of Wings

destroy all angel-descended offspring.When they banish an angel (by using banishment or similar spells) or slay angelic offspring,they are sure to mark the site ofthe deed with their symbol or make some announcement so word oftheir deeds and purpose can spread. Because angelic offspring are almost always born ofmortal women (rather than angels in female form),the Brotherhood places much ofthe blame for the corruption ofangels at the feet ofmortal women.Women are not Adventure Seed:Brotherhood Revelation allowed to join the In a large temple of a lawful church well known Brotherhood,and quite for its stance against the mixing of mortal and angelic bloodlines, the high priest is revealed to often the mothers ofangelbe a member of the Brotherhood of Pure Spirit, ic crossbreeds are slain with nearly half the congregation being members of the cell under him. along with their progeny. Senior officials of the faith have not reprimand- Because their activities ed him for his stance. Will this tear the temple are on the evil side ofneuapart? Will the high priest form a public splinter cult of his faith? Is an evil church responsible for trality,divine spellcasters of the priest’s position? Or is a more infernal the Brotherhood who worsource to blame? ship good deities lose their spellcasting abilities when they make the transition to evil—a loss they usually blame on fiendish influence.Other members of the faith easily spot this condition,leading to the quick discovery of a cultist’s secret opinions.Because ofthis problem,the most fervent members ofthis cult (those who embrace the ideal ofslaying the “tainted” crossbreeds) can more easily hide in neutral (nongood) churches,since neutral deities may have evil worshippers and therefore not necessarily lose their spellcasting ability.

Recruiting

Leaders recruit within their own churches,trusting only people they know well enough with their secret agenda.Potential recruits must show devotion to the faith and the willingness to kill the beautiful offspring ofangels for “the greater good.” Rarely does a cell grow above a dozen members unless its parent temple has 200 or more constituents because secrecy matters more than numbers.Only in religions where angelic crossbreeds are forbidden can members of the Brotherhood operate with the full support oftheir church.

Allies

Because ofits extreme views,the Brotherhood has few allies except its own kind.It gains tangential support from churches that persecute crossbreeds but rarely any open support.Evil churches have been known to fund Brotherhood cells secretly,furthering the cause ofevil by removing the agents ofgood.

Enemies

Obviously angels who have part-mortal families oppose the Brotherhood,as do religions that condone relations between angels and mortals.Even those angels without offspring object to the banishment ofangels and the wholesale slaughter ofangelic offspring.

Council of Wings

The Council ofWings is an alliance ofangels and fiends who have grown weary ofthe War between Heaven and Hell,but love the mortal realm and its inhabitants too much to simply stand by and let them be destroyed by their more zealous angelic and fiendish brethren.Agents ofthe Council intervene to protect mortal populations from harm and secretly confound the more warlike agents ofHeaven and Hell.

Brief History

The Great War has raged for thousands ofyears,and even immortals can get sick oftoo much ofthe same thing.Angels grow weary ofwatching their friends destroyed by enemy swords or corrupted into evil forms.When Zozoriel,Angel ofBaptism†, watched her comrade Malchibiel,Angel ofFriendship†,succumb to an evil magic item and fall from grace,she realized the Great War was futile and only caused mortal suffering.In the centuries that passed,she tracked down her friend,now called Malchiboth, and arranged a peaceful meeting.The two discussed the War, their broken friendship,and the future ofthe world.From these talks came the idea ofa council ofangels and demons who secretly opposed the War.

The Organization

The Council has no permanent base ofoperations,as fiends cannot normally enter Heaven and angels attract too much attention in Hell.Instead they pick meeting places on the Material Plane such as the site ofa great battle or an agreed-upon barren place where they can gather unobserved.By necessity,they make their meetings infrequent and small.Each member knows only a handful ofothers to prevent the exposure ofall the members ifone cell is betrayed.Council members leave messages for each other in code and contact each other through the use of sending spells and the Spiritual Contact† feat.

Members: Approximately 100

Hierarchy: Cell-based

Leader: None

Religion: Any

Alignment: Any (though most tend to be at least partly neutral)

Secrecy: Highly secret.(Members know only a few other members)

Symbol: Four wings (two angelic,two demonic) arranged in a cross formation

Hierarchy

Though its founders are still part ofthe Council,they do not consider themselves superior to any other member.(Out ofrespect, the other members do look to them for advice.) All members of the Council are considered equal within it and have equal voting rights,even though some are low demons and one is an archangel.

Zozoriel, Angel ofBaptism† (NG seraph Clr4/Drd5) serves a goddess ofhealing,protection,and light.Though worn down by millennia ofbattle against the forces ofevil,she always retained hope in her heart that the Great War might end and peace could reign in the mortal realm.That hope was nearly crushed when her closest friend fell,but she rekindled it along with the friendship.Now understanding that the War is as good as endless (and ifit does end,it will cause great destruction on the Material Plane),she devotes all ofher energy to thwarting it,protecting mortals from it,and recruiting others who love mortals more than they believe in the Great War.

Malchiboth (N rebellious grigori Exp5/Sor4) was once a sad-faced angel who excelled in making friends and teaching mortals how to craft things with their hands.Tricked by a demon prince into accepting a magical tool,he succumbed to the poison the item whispered into his mind and became a demon.Through the efforts of Zozoriel,he has abandoned evil.Malchiboth is repentant,but like many fiends on the Council,he has chosen to stay in Hell so that he can reach others like himself.He now has the rebellious angel template instead ofthe fallen angel template.

Motivation and Goals

Ideally,the Council wants to end the Great War.Knowing that this goal is all but impossible without the concerted effort ofthe most powerful beings on one side or the other,its members work to minimize the damage it causes,both in terms oflost lives (supernatural or mortal) and actual destruction on the Material Plane.Members ofthe Council feed information to each other about surprise attacks,large offensive measures,and new magical research.By communicating in this fashion,they can fortify or relocate ambush targets before they are attacked,redirect armies so that their efforts fail or result in fewer casualties,and ruin dire spells before they come to fruition.Lacking the numbers to take direct action,the angels on the Council sabotage Heaven’s plans and devices when they can,and the fiends do the same.

Recruiting

The Council does almost no recruiting among the ranks ofthe supernatural,knowing that Hell has spies everywhere and Heaven wouldn’t tolerate peaceful association with fiends.Council members do make use ofmortals,though most mortals who serve the Council have no idea ofits existence.In some cases,the mortals don’t even know their contact is a supernatural being. Even bound angels can be members ofthe Council. However,they can only join ifthe deity in question is not a devoted supporter ofthe Great War. In other words,the angel has to have some leeway in its deity’s or faith’s dogma that would allow opposition to the Great War or at least not prohibit supporting it.For example,a good deity whose primary interest was destroying evil could not have angels on the Council, but a different good martial deity whose primary focus is protecting innocents rather than striking out at the heart ofevil could.

Allies

Because ofits extremely polarized membership,the Council has a hard time finding potential allies who wouldn’t want to eliminate halfofthe organization.By circumstance,it usually finds itselfforced to act alone,though individual members make use oftheir personal allies to carry out the Council’s plans.

Enemies

The Council is an

enemy to any group that supports the War. Evil groups hate the angelic members,and good groups hate the fiendish ones,leaving the Council opposed to just about everyone. Even the neutral groups are easily annoyed by the side effects ofyet more intrigue surrounding the constant supernatural war.Fortunately the Council’s existence is secret,so none ofits potential enemies know ofor pursue it.

Adventure Seed:Seeking Shelter

A devil, tired of the Great War and endless infernal politics, has been contacted by an agent of the Council of Wings. Unfortunately, an angel not associated with the Council but allied with the player characters has gotten wind of the devil and the agent’s planned meeting and wants to ambush them. The Council believes this devil has access to valuable information and wants to make sure the meeting happens without interruption. Its members may arrange (without revealing their allegiance or purpose) for the player characters to distract the meddling angel with another task. Do the player characters get involved? Does the ally angel know of the Council’s existence? Or does he just think this is some evil plot? What does the devil know that is so important?