Malakim and Vessels

[JCD]

We have been around this mulberry bush before, but I wanted clarification on exactly how the rest of you envision the logistics working.

Ray, friendly neighborhood Malakim, has a throw down with some demons. He differentially won (i.e. lost) and goes back to Heaven

(I will ignore the statement which clearly states that other Celestials take several hours to coalece around their Hearts. Apparently, Malakim have a Fed Ex account...)

He arrives at his Heart, raring to go...and?

Is his Superior right there ready to dole out another vessel? Are there bands of out of work Malakim waiting around appropriately garbed and armed for the fight? Is another minor Superior tasked with something like this? Does Ray have to race off an find Laurence to beg a new vessel?

This does not suggest a quick turn around time. How do you adjudicate it?

[ladyarcana55]

OMG! That totally didn't occur to me! And when another angel comes out of Trauma, do they go through the same process or are the processes different? Do they only get vessels from their Superiors or is there another spot where they can 'buy' them?

[Jason]

Seeing as how only Superiors can make vessels, I'd say the angel does have to petition the Archangel directly. Someone like Laurence would likely give a vessel immediately if he can be found and isn't busy, but he's also the kind to plan ahead and encourage his angels to go into battle with multiple vessels just in case he's in the middle of a strategy meeting or a vote at the Seraphim Council next time a Malakite dies.

Someone like Mark, meanwhile, is pretty much always hard to get ahold of, though (see Heaven and Hell for ridiculous wait times to see him without an appointment). A dead Malakite's best bet at that point is to find others to send as reinforcements.

[Rocket Man]

My take only:

1) Of all angels, I consider the Malakim the most likely to have a spare vessel. Lost your old human suit? Pull a new one out of the wardrobe and jump back in ... though this can create some incongruities. In a prior campaign, we had a Malakite in a burly male vessel who had been killed by a demon and immediately popped back in the form of a 9-year-old girl ......

2) Those that don't have an extra body waiting are going to have to go to the Superior. I envision that every Archangel budgets a certain amount of Essence for Malakim replacement as part of the "cost of doing business"; these are intended as high-risk combat troops and replacing the gear is part of the job. That said, the Superior has a lot on his/her plate; I could see either having a subordinate whose job is to meet incoming Virtues and process "vessel alerts" in a timely manner, or else having the Archangel slot the Malakim in between appointments. If that's the case, it probably won't be days before the vessel gets approved (that would defeat the purpose of "no Trauma") but I could see it being hours in the case of some Superiors. On the other hand, Michael, David and Laurence may have rows of vessels in cold storage, ready to be cracked out and used immediately -- though the specific form may not be quite what the warrior had in mind.

In game terms, I would have no problem with letting a slain Malakite PC immediately spend saved character points on a new Vessel; this is one that was kept in the locker, either by the Superior's middleman or by the angel himself.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

On the other hand, Michael, David and Laurence may have rows of vessels in cold storage, ready to be cracked out and used immediately -- though the specific form may not be quite what the warrior had in mind.

Thus giving birth to the urban legends about identical Men In Black when they're issued...

[JCD]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

My take only:

1) Of all angels, I consider the Malakim the most likely to have a spare vessel. Lost your old human suit? Pull a new one out of the wardrobe and jump back in ... though this can create some incongruities. In a prior campaign, we had a Malakite in a burly male vessel who had been killed by a demon and immediately popped back in the form of a 9-year-old girl ......

2) Those that don't have an extra body waiting are going to have to go to the Superior. I envision that every Archangel budgets a certain amount of Essence for Malakim replacement as part of the "cost of doing business"; these are intended as high-risk combat troops and replacing the gear is part of the job. That said, the Superior has a lot on his/her plate; I could see either having a subordinate whose job is to meet incoming Virtues and process "vessel alerts" in a timely manner, or else having the Archangel slot the Malakim in between appointments. If that's the case, it probably won't be days before the vessel gets approved (that would defeat the purpose of "no Trauma") but I could see it being hours in the case of some Superiors. On the other hand, Michael, David and Laurence may have rows of vessels in cold storage, ready to be cracked out and used immediately -- though the specific form may not be quite what the warrior had in mind.

In game terms, I would have no problem with letting a slain Malakite PC immediately spend saved character points on a new Vessel; this is one that was kept in the locker, either by the Superior's middleman or by the angel himself.

Hmm. This seems to split the difference quite nicely. On the one hand, I could not see the Superior being at their beck and call for vessels. They ARE busy.

I really like the immediate use of character points ("Sorry Phil. It's your choice. I know you were saving up for that kick butt flaming sword. You want another vessel, you need to break the bank or leave the others to die. It's your choice...")

This brings to mind a number of things: The Malakim 'Corral' where their Hearts are kept so they can be in one place for a) reinforcements, b) easy vessel storage, and c) to satisfy their arrogance (excuse me: honor)


Adventure Seed: Kobal, Baal, or Belial decides to do a suicide run, following a Malakim up after dead to set off a Celestial explosive, shattering any number of Malakim Hearts. Hilarity abounds...

Dirty GM Trick: Have a set of 3x5 cards made up with vessels. When Phil pops in, without character points and desperate to get back, he gets to pull from the random stack of vessels (Otherwise known as the 'Discard' bin) Somehow, all the dark handsome loners with pecs and washboard abs are gone...but there is a clearance on hausfraus...

And let us not forget 'Roz' the Celestial in charge of actually distributing these spare vessels. An Elohim, she is not particularly prone to the anxieties and issues of the LATEST Malakim emergency. See the character of the same name from Monsters Inc for inspiration.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by JCD

Dirty GM Trick: Have a set of 3x5 cards made up with vessels. When Phil pops in, without character points and desperate to get back, he gets to pull from the random stack of vessels (Otherwise known as the 'Discard' bin) Somehow, all the dark handsome loners with pecs and washboard abs are gone...but there is a clearance on hausfraus...

...or schoolgirls. Not ultra-competent anime-style schoolgirls, just the normal sort. Enjoy figuring out how to use your jump-rope as a weapon, if you aren't an Creationer Malakite. (Idea stolen from Liber Servitorum.)

[Azel]

Originally Posted by JCD

Dirty GM Trick: Have a set of 3x5 cards made up with vessels. When Phil pops in, without character points and desperate to get back, he gets to pull from the random stack of vessels (Otherwise known as the 'Discard' bin) Somehow, all the dark handsome loners with pecs and washboard abs are gone...but there is a clearance on hausfraus...

impersonating Bette Midler: "Did you ever know that you're my heeeeeeroooooo, / and everything Iiiiiii would like to beeeeeeee?"

Only the few, and the proud, know how to wield candy dishes and Precious Moment figurines to their fullest potential...

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by JCD

He arrives at his Heart, raring to go...and?

Is his Superior right there ready to dole out another vessel? Are there bands of out of work Malakim waiting around appropriately garbed and armed for the fight? Is another minor Superior tasked with something like this? Does Ray have to race off an find Laurence to beg a new vessel?

This does not suggest a quick turn around time. How do you adjudicate it?

Unless he has an extra Vessel available (you can purchase multiple Vessels), he gets to hang around until a Superior who can and will make a new one is available.