David, Archangel of Stone
Belonging to the House of Fortitude
Philosophy
The world is strong and hard. Be harder, be stronger.
Dissonance
Stone is immovable, incorruptible. Angels of stone will never start a fight,
but they'll always finish it. Being provoked into attacking first generates
dissonance. Also, David's angels don't sully their hands with weapons which
strike over a distance, they prefer hand to hand combat.
Attunements
The servants of David are attuned to the earth. They each have a peculiar
sensitivity to the presence of stone, metals, gems, sand -- even in alternate
forms, like glass and asphalt. Grassy dirt, composed of organic material,
and artificial substances like plastic are effective barriers to their senses.
Seraphim
David's Seraphim are heavenly miners, charged with teaching people how to
live off the earth, literally. They can detect the presence and quality
of all minerals with 1 yard of their vessel for every Corporeal Force they're
composed from.
Cherubim
David's Cherubim are attuned to forces of attraction. They can create a
pseudo-magnetic field which can pull into their hands any object made mostly
from minerals, as long as it's within a yard away for every Corporeal Force
the angel has. They enjoy hard labor, like working in a factory or, as more
often used to be the case, being a blacksmith.
Ofanim
Ofanim serving David will find their mobility greatly increased; the earth
will part for them, allowing the Ofanite to move through the ground (even
solid stone!). It takes 1 second to pass through every point of Strength
the rock holds. See p. 00 for a chart of materials and their relative Strengths.
Unfortunately, light doesn't penetrate very far through solid rock. The
angel will be blind when his head is immersed, but his deep and abiding
connection to the earth allows him to retain his sense of up and down.
Elohim
David's Elohim are very reclusive, preferring to live near the Earth's rocky
places where humanity has difficulty surviving. They're attuned to the planet
as a whole more powerfully than the other Choirs; Elohim serving David have
a sense of absolute direction, and always know exactly where they are.
These celestial hermits do accept students, humans and angels alike whom
they train in the ways of stone.
Malakim
Once a day, a Malakite serving David can plant his feet on solid ground
and become immovable and indestructible. The angel can take no actions while
he becomes such an incarnation of stone, except to revert back to his previous
state when he chooses. David's Malakim are charged with training humans
in the arts of self-defense.
Kyriotates
Undetectable and ever-vigilant guardians, Kyriotates serving David may possess
and control empty vessels of stone. These divine gargoyles may still have
other vessels, but are still limited to a number of Forces worth of vessels
equal to their total number of Forces. They receive no dissonance when a
stone vessel is damaged or destroyed.
Mercurians
David's Mercurians are charged with making living areas safe places for
humans to be. Originally used to scout out caves for early proto-humans,
these angels have a sense for the layout of buildings constructed from mineral
resources, a sense which grows stronger as they move through them. This
sense manifest like a blueprint map in their head, omitting non-mineral
elements like furniture and people but enlightening them to the presence
of secret doors and hidden compartments.
Manner and Appearance
David is one of the Malakim. He and his angels created the first human shelters,
and his disciples taught the arts of pottery, metal-working, and building
construction to their ancestors. In addition, he helped find new and interesting
ways for people to beat one another to bloody smears.
Since David and his followers helped mold early humanity in so many ways,
he feels something of a responsibility towards finishing up the job. His
angels serve to strengthen people by forcing them to endure terrible labors.
David says this is neccesary for them to survive the rough times ahead.
Some angels think the servants of David to be too brutal; they themselves
wonder if they're brutal enough. David's followers are blindly loyal, and
will not ever put up with anyone questioning their leader's decisions or
opinions.
Existing outside the realm of question does allow his mind to wander a bit,
and sometimes he hits a really strange idea and sticks with it. For example,
David hates the idea of clothing, and believes men were made to walk around
naked as rocks. "Textiles," he says, "are the work of Diabolicals."
Nevermind the fact that humans can't keep their hands off one another as
it is. (Strangely, he doesn't mind his servants wearing clothes.)
David holds a commanding presence in his human vessel, a strong face with
steel gray eyes. He has one other physical vessel, a mound of stones he
uses to manifest more subtlely. David can make the rocks form a roughly
humanoid shape and speak to his audience through the grinding and scraping
of the stones.
Relations
Recently, David and Michael have had some disagreements in regards to angelic
roles in modern society. Rumor has it that David has begun sowing the seeds
of dissent among other Archangels: he wants to be in charge. But David is
ultimately loyal to Michael and his faction, and has instructed his servants
to be as helpful as possible with his servants. Otherwise, the Archangel
of Stone has instructed his servants to avoid spending their enegies to
further another angel's plots, unless they're going to get something for
it. (And especially if David will get something for it.)
But of all the Archangels, it's suspected he holds something against Khalid
and encourages his rough servants to balk the Archangel of Faith's at every
turn.
Missions
In My Blue World. The topaz center of David's headquarters, buried
deep within the catacombs beneath Washington D.C., is where he holds court
on Earth. A gang of skinheads flank his Corporeal vessel (as though he needed
protection), twitchily prepared for an invasion they feel is inevitable.
Your team has been asked to stage a mock attack on his fortress with all
your celestial might; any Essence lost or damage taken will be restored
afterwards. But a skinhead with a dangerous addiction sells the date and
location of the attack to an agent of Nisroch, the demon of Drugs, who gathers
up a small gang of Calabim Freaks to jump into the carnage . . .
Rites
- Spend four hours resting in a mine or a cave.
- Spend one hour praying undisturbed in a church made from stone.
Chance of Invocation: 4
Invocation Modifiers
The material here is © 1995, 1996 Steve Jackson Games, Incorporated. All
rights reserved.
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