Michael, Archangel of War
Belonging to the House of Prudence
Vignette
Philosophy
The world is conflict, raging across reality. The Word of War is one of
War and Healing, conflict designed to bring about an eventual resolution.
Fighters and negotiators, Michael's angels are the best and the brightest
from the celestial battlefield. The servants of Michael fight vigorously
so that one day the War will end.
Dissonance
Michael's servants may never retreat from a conflict if not ordered to.
An agent of Michael must be beaten into unconsciousness and dragged bodily
from the field of battle.
Attunements
Seraphim
The attacks of Michael's Seraphim tend to strike true. A target may Dodge
(see p. 00), but at a negative Difficulty equal to the Seraph's Celestial
Forces.
Cherubim
If, barring the intervention of Celestial Forces, someone will die in the
next 24 hours to whom a Cherub of Michael's is attuned to, that angel will
feel it in the pit of his stomach.
Ofanim
The speedy and unpredictable Ofanim who work for the Archangel of War invariably
get the drop on everyone else, even when mortally wounded! In combat, Michael's
Ofanim always go first.
Elohim
Cold-hearted and without true feeling, these Elohim can look into a people's
eyes and tell just how serious they are, how much they're willing to risk
in a situation. If someone is resigned to killing, or dying, these angels
will know it.
Malakim
Malakim of War can hear the sound of danger sweeping through the Symphony,
beginning as many minutes ahead of time as they have Celestial Forces, growing
louder until the moment of conflict.
Kyriotates
Michael's Kyriotates, like other Choirs of angels, can generate their own
vessels. They don't need to rely on the hospitality of a host to manifest
on the corporeal plane. Like others of their kind, they may inhabit as many
Corporeal Forces-worth of host vessels as the total amount of their Forces,
and they do acquire dissonant tones when one of their vessels are destroyed.
See p. 00 for a chart of vessel costs.
Mercurians
Michael's Mercurians are the ultimate diplomats. They know what it will
take to resolve a conflict between two people they've seen before -- they
know the price of peace.
Manner and Appearance
Michael is one of the Seraphim. His Word, the angelic glyph meaning "War
and Healing" is different subtly different from Demon Prince Baal's
Word of "War and Treaties," in which conflict is ended in such
a way so as to promote later escalation back into open fighting. World War
I was Baal's conflict; World War II was Michael's.
Both Michael and his followers are regarded most highly, the best of the
best. Now if they can only live up to Heaven's expectations. As the most
powerful angel, both of mind and body, Michael bested Lucifer in combat
shortly before the rebels were cast out of the heavens. His followers are
proud, powerful and won't back down from a fight. They're also very understanding
of the human condition, unlike their master, and try not miss out on an
opportunity to relieve a human of his pain, if nothing else than just by
listening.
Michael prefers not to manifest in anything resembling a human vessel. He
would rather appear inherently divine, or in any case inscrutibly alien,
than to have anyone attribute a sense of humanity to him. "If they
[meaning humans] think you are human," he says, "they will think
they can know you."
Relations
Michael, as the long-time maker of the angels' plans for battling the demons,
is in a sticky position. He must keep the peace among the Archangels, not
threatening anyone's power or position, while at the same time remaining
steadfastedly solid and not budging an inch to threats or hints of danger.
His servants never have a spare minute; they always have at least one assignment
to keep them going, and while everyone expects to have to drop whatever
they're doing to help Michael's servants -- at the same time the angels
of War feel like other angels are too quick to beg for help, which they
all too frequently feel obliged to give, instead of solving their own problems.
But right now, he can't afford to upset anyone by refusing to help -- least
of all Khalid, who keeps making noises like he's getting ready to swoop
in and take over the reins of the War from Michael.
Missions
Serve. Michael orders you to acquire a human servant within the next
week. He doesn't care who it is but he'll be sending you, and any other
angels you can convince to come with you, to take out a chemical factory
making flammable aerosal spray cheese for one of Baal's Central American
conflicts. The human servant is supposed to take the fall for the explosion,
unless someone else wants the blame . . .
Boom. In the middle of one adventure, Michael comes to you and says
you have five minutes to clear a hospital before a bomb goes off. The bomb
must destroy the hospital, he says, but there are three people who must
survive the explosion -- one is a doctor, currently emmersed in open-heart
surgery, one is a child in the leukemia therapy unit, the last is a nurse
in the emergency room. Go to it.
Rites
- Spend four hours meditating in a library, practicing swordplay, or working
in a hospital.
- Kill a demon with at least the same number of Forces as yourself.
Chance of Invocation: 1
Invocation Modifiers
The material here is © 1995, 1996 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All
rights reserved.
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