Thursday 4 February 2016

Clerics as Summoners of Angels

One of the main characteristics of There is Therefore a Strange Land is that it is set in a sort of pseudo-real world. If you are a cleric, you worship God. (Rules for Satan worshippers can wait for another day.) This means that you can't use magic, which would be blasphemous. That's something you need an angel for.

The angel will demand one of the following actions is performed in return for  a period of service of 3d6 days. During the period of service the angel obeys any command, except to kill itself.

Dice
Demand
1
Perform an unasked-for act of compassion during the course of the period of service
2
Give away at least 10% of personal wealth during the course of the period of service
3
Take a vow of silence for the duration of the period of service
4
Abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours for the duration of the period of service (-2 to all rolls during daylight)
5
Smite an evildoer for no personal gain during the course of the period of service
6
Ask for forgiveness from somebody previously wronged at the end of the period of service (determined by the DM)

In addition, during the course of the period of service, the cleric may not disobey any of the Ten Commandments or order the angel to. If he or she does so, the angel will rebel and must be persuaded its continued service is for the Greater Good. The cleric's PC must come up with a plausible reason, and then roll on the following table, adding the reaction adjustment for the cleric.

Dice
Reaction
2-3
Angel rebels and attacks
4-6
Angel returns to heaven
7-9
Angel is indecisive (roll again in one round)
10-11
Angel remains in service but makes another demand
12+
Angel remains in service

A summoned angel has the following abilities, based on the level of the cleric.

1st level
1 HD, AC 6, #ATT 1, DMG By Weapon +1, 1st level cleric spell list (1d3 per day)
2nd level
2 HD, AC 6, #ATT 1, DMG By Weapon +2, 1st level cleric spell list (1d6 per day)
3rd level
3 HD, AC 5, #ATT 1, DMG By Weapon +3, 1st level cleric spell list (1d6 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (1d3 per day, randomly determined)
4th level
4 HD, AC 5, ATT 2, DMG By Weapon +2, 1st level cleric spell list (1d6+3 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (1d6 per day, randomly determined)
5th level
5 HD, AC 4, #ATT 2, DMG By Weapon +2, 1st level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (1d6+3 per day), 3rd level cleric spell list (1d3 per day)
6th level
6 HD, AC 4, #ATT 2, DMG By Weapon +3, 1st level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (1d6+3 per day), 3rd level cleric spell list (1d6 per day)
7th level
7 HD, AC 3, #ATT 2, DMG By Weapon +3, 1st level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 3rd level cleric spell list (2d6 per day)
8th level
8 HD, AC 3, #ATT 2, DMG By Weapon +4, 1st level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 3rd level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 4th level cleric spell list (1d3 per day)
9th level+
9 HD, AC 2, #ATT 3, DMG By Weapon +2, 1st level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 2nd level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 3rd level cleric spell list (2d6 per day), 4th level cleric spell list (1d6 per day)
*Angels can also levitate, see invisible, and polymorph self to pass for a normal human, all once per day at 1st level, three times per day at 4th level, and at will at 9th level+.

Angels have the following characteristics.

Dice
Appearance 1
Appearance 2
Weapon
1
Young boy
Shimmering and radiant
Mace
2
Young girl
Almost preternaturally nondescript
Spear
3
Adolescent boy
Very thin and delicate
Hammer
4
Adolescent girl
Very small
Sword
5
Adult male
Very tall
Trident
6
Adult female
Blue skinned
Short bow
7
Old man
Green skinned
Darts
8
Old woman
Very ugly
Mancatcher
9
Eagle headed
Fat and well-fed
Staff
10
Lion headed
Ever-smiling
Battle axe
11
Dog headed
Never-smiling
Two-handed sword
12
Cherubic
Very long-haired
Halberd

[Main thoughts: could be overpowered. Also, the characteristics table needs to be a d20 or d30 one.]

17 comments:

  1. Use of outright magic might well be blasphemous, but surely miracles and examples of faith in action would be allowed?

    So... most of the clerical spells would still be allowed then. You can not call lightning out of your hands, but you can cure light wounds, or turn undead, or perform most of the lower level clerical spells.

    Also, seems like the ritual for angel summoning should be expensive/difficult, and further that the number of angels summoned at once should be limited by level.

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    Replies
    1. You can only have one angel at once - I should have added that.

      Miracles don't happen - this is the early 19th century. Or at least they only happen extremely rarely. I did think about just allowing a cleric to be able to cast the lower level clerical spells, but if clerics were routinely doing that it simply wouldn't be plausible in a real world setting. (Then again I guess you could say that about summoning angels...)

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    2. "plausible" is always in the eye of the beholder... something I liked about the old Mage RPG. Anyway, what is accepted by people of faith in small towns in the early 19th century is going to be substantially different than what would be by those cynics in the Smoke.

      Maybe the Angel is either invisible, or uses that polymorph appears as a human 90% of the time? So you either get a guy talking to himself, or the angel is the one working miracles.

      Delete
  2. "In addition, during the course of the period of service, the cleric may not disobey any of the Ten Commandments or order the angel to."

    "Thou shalt not kill" is in there as well... how'll that work, what with adventurers typically being all about the killing and such? (And the angels apparently as well, looking at those stats.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adventures in There is.... are not all about killing and such. The emphasis is different. But that's what will make things interesting. For instance, could an angel be persuaded that killing a 'demon' is not really killing, because it has no soul?

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    2. It is, "Thou shalt not commit murder". There is a big difference, we live in a brutal world where one must kill to survive, even vegans kill plants to eat. Arch Angels are warriors, most angels are; killing is their business. How an angel kills is much different than how a demon kills; one does it with mercy while the other prolongs it as long as possible. Technically, they are both the same creatures with different views of mankind, but we are delving pretty deep into religious dogma. It is a very interesting system Noisms!

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  3. A bit of a tangent maybe but can I suggest that you drop "There Is" from "There Is Therefore A Strange Land"? The double There trips me up every time and I like the ambiguity of simply "Therefore a Strange Land"

    Other than that I do like the above. I *totally* want to play an angel summoning cleric.

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    Replies
    1. You're not the first person to suggest it but I will stubbornly stick to my guns. There is a reason for it. Although I do quite like "Therefore a Strange Land".

      Delete
    2. "Therefore a Strange Land" would also sit nicely with "Yoon-Suin The Purple Land".

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  4. Consider taking a page out of St. Dionysios the Areopagite:

    1st-level clerics summon angels.
    2nd-level clerics summon archangels.
    3rd-level clerics summon principalities.
    4th-level clerics summon powers.
    5th-level clerics summon virtues.
    6th-level clerics summon dominions.
    7th-level clerics summon thrones.
    8th-level clerics summon cherubim.
    9th and higher level clerics summon seraphim.

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    Replies
    1. Geoffrey you forgot,

      10th lvl - clerics summon an insane nambi pambi

      Delete
  5. If you want to have 'historical' magic, magic-users could compel demons (or summon demons, and summon an angel at the same time to bind them).

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    Replies
    1. Yes, that is what the Satan worshipper will do, I think. Haven't quite figured that one out yet.

      Delete
  6. Love the ambiguity in clerics trying to boss around their celestial betters.

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  7. Neat...though a green-skinned crone with a mancatcher hardly seems angelic (at least *I* don't remember that particular Christian icon).
    ; )

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