[heretical] Gray Celestials expanded

[ISNorden]

My fellow players and I have been brainstorming on ways to expand my original concept of "Gray Celestials"--former angels or demons who decide to serve some power in the Marches, rather than an Archangel or Prince. Here are the changes we've made so far--

Celestials who Defect or "go Gray" don't automatically change into the same type, as I originally wrote. There are now seven Ensembles, each one corresponding to an angelic Choir or demonic Band:

Lorekeepers are former Seraphim or Balseraphs. Their resonance involves the "popular truths" of a culture's mythology; Lorekeepers can sense whether their ethereal master would approve of some belief or action, and whether mortals take such beliefs seriously. It is dissonant for Lorekeepers to ignore his chosen culture's traditions, or to let knowledge of those traditions go lost.

Sentinels are former Cherubim or Djinn. (I'm having trouble giving them a unique resonance, but it should involve attunement and loyalty in some way that serves the Marches; does anyone have a good suggestion here?)

Shapers (called Yotzerim in some Angelic texts) are former Ofanim or Calabim. Their resonance is for transformation of matter: given enough raw material and knowledge, Shapers can use their resonance to make almost anything instantly. (Turning a stand of trees into a crude shack, or a load of gold ore into refined ingots, is possible with the Shaper resonance.) Since their dominant trait is resourcefulness--using what they find valuable wherever they are--what might be an appropriate dissonance rule for this Ensemble?

Champions are former Elohim or Habbalah, who inspire others to act in the name of an ethereal power. They can sense and manipulate emotions just as the Habbalah do; but the range of emotions allowed with the second power depends on the ethereal master they serve. (A peaceful, benevolent deity isn't going to have Champions who inspire hatred or rage...) It is dissonant for Champions to place their own desires above the ideals of their ethereal patrons.

Riders are former Kyriotates or Shedim, who possess mortals whenever their patron needs to grant a human agent temporary power. Like a Shedite, a Rider can possess only one host at a time--usually human, though some ethereal gods might allow exceptions. And like a Kyriotate, a Rider sends the mind of its host to some neutral part of the Marches during possession.

Riders don't need to sway their hosts toward evil (or good, for that matter)...as long as their hosts survive possession and avoid situations that the Rider's patron considers intolerable. (A Rider serving a war god shouldn't have his host retreat when his side has a clear advantage, for instance.) Ignoring those two rules causes dissonance.


Companions are former Mercurians or Impudites. Like his demonic counterparts, a Companion can charm mortals and drain their Essence...but they can also give this drained Essence away to improve a third person's luck. It is dissonant for a Companon to cause humans unnecessary harm--"unnecessary" meaning more than their patron needs to defend his cause. (Killing someone who desecrates a vengeful war god's shrine is one thing; severely injuring an innocent bystander in the middle of a fight is another.)

Fugitives (called Na'aim in some Angelic texts) are former Grigori--the first group of celestials to "go Gray" after Dominic cast them out. Their powers and dissonance rules remain as originally described on my In Nomine pages.


No other Choir or Band is known to have a corresponding Ensemble in the Marches: Malakim can't Defect any more than they can Fall, and the so-called Gray Lilim usually serve nobody but themselves. Still, most Gray Celestials have chosen to serve "the Third Side" freely--they leave Heaven or Hell because some other power supports their true beliefs.

The few celestials who Defect by accident, do so because of an Ethereal Intervention (333 result) on dissonance rolls: when the GM thinks some spirit has enough local influence, that spirit will offer to "fix" a celestial's Discord in exchange for service. Of course, learning that they've "gone Gray" affects different characters differently... ;-)