DEUTERONOMY 11:18 (Angelology, Amulets)

 For Glaugust: Magic Amulets.

Alfred Kubin

In his writings, Hierophant Linus delineated two orders of Angels: the Celestial and the Terrestrial. Celestial Angels are powers second only to God, being of the First and Last, emanations of that highest power which ordain and are themselves natural laws. Gravity is one, as are Friction, Magnetism, and a vast number of other forces. To contact and command them is to put your hand on the sun and meet its gaze. The Hierophant himself didn't dare record what he learned from those he called the Sons of God.

Below them, innumerable and often unseen, are the Terrestrial Angels. Celestials create the laws; Terrestrials enforce them. When an apple drops from a tree, it is because an Angel has pulled it down. When objects touch, it is Angels which keep them from simply passing through one another. Some scholars have even said that Priests are themselves a form of Angel, likewise the Saints, in function if not in form; if not, their power derives from an authority to command lesser Angels. Naturally, in the study of this mechanism, Linus sought to recreate it artificially, and so the art of Angelology was born. Summoning Terrestrial Angels is a matter of language, or more specifically, writing; Angels answer to their individual names, sigils of incredible complexity written in gold, and as mindless divine automatons, they are bound to act as commanded. Such a sigil, if properly made and stored in a consecrated vessel, makes a Phylactery. 

Let's get into game terms. Phylacteries are like spell scrolls, in that they contain a "spell", the Angel bound to it, and MD to cast with. Unlike spell scrolls, the caster cannot add their own MD to the casting roll, cannot learn the "spell" attacked to the Phylactery, and the Phylactery's own MD replenish at dawn. Most Phylacteries have 1 MD; those with more are extraordinary treasures, indeed. Most come in the form of a necklace, of a set of boxes with leather bands like tefillin. They cannot be used while concealed; the open wearing and brandishment of the Phylactery is what makes it work. While usually invisible, Angels summoned by a Phylactery are visible to the naked eye, although they remain intangible and unable to cause harm or be harmed unless stated otherwise.

Creating a Phylactery takes time and work, but it's not an NPC-only thing. Anybody who knows the true name of an Angel--something typically hidden in tomes and other special volumes--can attempt it. This takes a season, 100 SP per MD of the bound Angel, and a SAVE roll with the following modifiers:
  • +4 for having a Skill of Angelology.
  • +2 for having a Skill applicable to crafting the vessel itself.
  • +1 per MD the crafter has.
  • +4 for each MD the crafter permanently sacrifices.
  • +1 for each rare material incorporated into the vessel. Gold and silver do not count.
Roll higher than a 20 for a 1 MD Angel, 25 for 2 MD, 30 for 3 MD, and 40 for 4 MD. On a success, congratulations; you have played God and won, and now have a working Phylactery. On a fail, you get nothing, and must work for another season to try again. On the bright side, you only have to pay the initial crafting cost once, all crafting bonuses are permanent for that Phylactery, and on all subsequent crafting attempts, you reroll the SAVE if the result is lower than the highest previous attempt.

I stole these rules from Loch, who might have gotten them from someone else. Probably Phlox.

1d8 Terrestrial Angel Types 
  1. Aureole. A swirling disk of luminous fog, expanding and contracting at a steady rhythm. When summoned, a Glory emits a [dice]×20' radius of bright light around the caster for [sum] hours. This also adds a +[dice] bonus to the morale of allies that can see you.
  2. Elektron. Two concentric wheels of amber spinning against each other, with a sphere of lightning buzzing within. The caster designates a [dice]×5' sphere within 100' of them. The Elektron releases a static charge, striking the area with an arc flash for [sum] damage, SAVE or catch on fire. Targets wearing metal get no SAVE.
  3. Destroyer. An inverted pyramid, black like a bottomless pit, which no light may escape. For [highest] rounds, the caster's touch does [sum]+[dice] damage to anything with HP, ignoring all resistance or reduction. This requires a roll to hit against AC 10. Anything killed by this is reduced to an undifferentiated slurry of the elements that compose it.
  4. Friction. A flaming tree with leaves of gold, pouring forth thick streams of amber from its trunk. For [sum] rounds, all movement in a [dice]×10' radius around the caster is halved; in addition, all physical rolls have a -[dice] penalty and all ranged weapons have their ranges halved. The caster is exempt from this.
  5. Guardian. A vaguely-human form composed of seven silver wings, with one curled up to form a shield and the other elongated to form a blade. When summoned, the Guardian Angel protects the caster from all attackers for [sum] minutes. It has AC 12, [dice]×6 HP, [dice] DR, +[dice] to hit, and does 1d8+[dice] damage on a hit. If the caster would take damage, the Guardian Angel can interpose itself to take the damage instead. Only one Guardian Angel may be summoned at a time.
  6. Gravity. A fat drop of molten lead hanging pendulously in the air, trailing off long, strand-like tentacles. For up to [highest]+[dice] minutes, the caster may choose the direction gravity pulls them and their held items as the Gravity--the actual Angel--grabs them and pulls them around. One change of direction may be made per round. Trying to fly by doing this is a bad idea the same way it's a bad idea to attempt flight by jumping off of things.
  7. Living Creature. A six-legged toad with an eyeless face and a pair of many-eyed wings. The caster can command the Living Creature to vomit out [dice] HD of wild animals in a 20' radius around them. The animals have no compulsion to obey the caster, and will behave as they normally would. 
  8. Tekton. A shifting hypercube of delicate glass rods, extending infinitely into itself. Within a [dice]×20' square centered around the caster, they may command the Tekton to create [highest]+[dice] 5' cubes of loosely-packed soil. The Tekton will not place soil on a creature's exact location, but it is entirely able to drop soil on top of them or surround them with pillars of it. Cubes of soil placed in a space they will not fit in will be compressed and displaced until they do.
The Met Museum


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