[DF] "But I'm a (half) angel!"

[PseudoFenton]

So I'm starting up a brand new DF campaign to replace the old Fantasy one, and one of my players has chosen to go a Celestial. They've commented that folk would give a Celestial character a free pass in many situations where blame is being assigned, what with them being angels (or at least descended from one) and always detecting as Good etc.

Now, whilst I'm happy to have peasantry with dirt between their ears see the nimbus and basically assume they can do no wrong - not everyone in the world is so gullible, and GURPS runs on a "you get what you pay for" policy. The Celestial template does give you a universal boost to reactions with their improved appearance, so they're likely to make better first impressions, but it lacks anything like the Honest Face perk, or a Reputation of being good (as opposed to just functioning as a Good entity when magic or the like checks that soul-variable). Even the Celestial Nimbus perk is basically just a light accessory perk in disguise.

So, how far can half-angels avoid suspicion and blame when not acting good, simply because of their race?

Note: Using Fast Talk to convince folk that you're only smiting evil wrong doers, and not just murdering merchants for their wares, does not count in this case, as that still requires you to make social influence rolls as usual. Although how large a bonus you get (if any) to said roll because you're a Celestial is still up for debate.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by PseudoFenton

So, how far can half-angels avoid suspicion and blame when not acting good, simply because of their race?

Absent relevant advantages, they have no special ability here. I suggest the Honest Face perk.

[simply Nathan]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Absent relevant advantages, they have no special ability here. I suggest the Honest Face perk.

They have a racial Feature that they always detect as "good" when it comes to supernatural effects like weapons which will only allow the morally good to wield them and pentagrams that blast good-aligned critters with hellfire when they step on them.

[Railstar]

As far as their Advantages allow - I would say if someone wanted to make this an important character element, take Social Regard or Reputation. Be generous with letting the player take these things if they want to spend points in that direction, but ultimately the player decides if they want them and they will not be freebees.

Ultimately, being put a pedestal is not always a positive. People might hold celestials to unreasonably high standards and react badly when those are not met.

People know celestials always detect as good - it could make people more suspicious, because you can't actually determine their moral outlook in the usual ways.

[Verjigorm]

Wasn't Lucifer an angel?

[SRoach]

Might you hold "falling" over them like a sword of Damocles?
Tell them their celestial appearance is contingent upon their continued "good" behavior?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by SRoach

Might you hold "falling" over them like a sword of Damocles?

The half-celestial presented in DF3 has no specific requirement to be good, they just detect as good. Given that Celestial and Infernal have the same point cost, you could probably give them a feature whereby they can actually change templates based on their behavior (this could result in some divine gifts becoming unusable), but it's not something built into the race as written.

[Verjigorm]

Originally Posted by SRoach

Might you hold "falling" over them like a sword of Damocles?
Tell them their celestial appearance is contingent upon their continued "good" behavior?

Lucifer was still capable of assuming a fair seeming appearance.

I would, generally speaking, have the unwashed hordes assume that as an "Angel", the character can do no wrong. But anyone with a point in relevant Theology would be able to remember how Lucifer was not only the fairest angel, but also the one closest to the Lord.

Of course, that's all dependent on if your setting has a psuedo christian theology for angels.

[Mathulhu]

There is a perk that lets you make an intimidate check without talking to someone, you could adapt that for Fast Talk (or what ever talky skill you feel is appropriate) and then simply discourage them from using it in other ways.

Another possibility is a sufficiently positive reputation that everyone just overlooks their actions.

[Kromm]

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy assumes a dirty, gritty kind of fantasy where even the "cute" halflings and leprechauns are, respectively, gangsters and foul-tempered little brutes. Everybody is looking out for #1, which is why the saintliest clerics still accept payment in gold procured through theft and murder. As the (brief) rules for social order in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons suggest, the authorities are harsh, unforgiving, and prone to dishing out corporal punishment. This is the context for celestials.

Turning to the racial write-up: "Some people believe that celestials exist for a Reason and are the Chosen. However, if divine servitors are forbidden to fraternize with mortals – as clerics claim – then it seems more likely that celestials descend from rebel angels, or that angels aren't divine servitors." Which is to say that the prevailing belief is that celestials are the offspring of fallen angels who can't keep their pants up. They get exactly the same amount of slack as anybody else with +1 to reactions thanks to Attractive, but not one iota more. Their racial feature of counting as Good has nothing to do with how they're perceived in mundane interactions; it's a technicality or loophole in cosmic law that hinders as often as it helps, and only matters in supernatural affairs. Only some fool who relies entirely on Detect Evil spells would let that influence him.

In short, ordinary people in the dog-eat-dog environment assumed in DF generally acknowledge that celestials are pretty. Beyond that, any awe they might feel is balanced by an apprehension that angels are dangerous, mercurial, and maybe a bit rapey. Thus, celestials don't get a free pass. And note that the author is well aware of the Honest Face perk, which he gave to gnomes and halflings so that they could live in polite society despite being known to be gifted thieves and kleptomaniacs, respectively. Celestials don't have this because they're at least as likely as anyone else to draw blame when things go wrong . . . maybe more so, when things go supernaturally wrong or someone experiences virgin birth.

If a player wants a "can do no wrong" celestial, then by all means let her buy Honest Face. Agents, assassins, bards, cutpurses, innkeepers, servants, and thieves all have it as a standard option, allowing sketchy people who are card-carrying members of the demimonde, lowborn classes, and underworld to hang out with holy warriors and get audiences with kings. Perhaps more pertinently, it's suggested for clerics of love, who also have holy ties with a decidedly carnal shadow.