VIRTUES! Potent champions of order and light for your DCC games

There is a flash of blue and gold shine fading in the green afterglow of translocation and a great and celestial being has appeared before you.   Behold Amethystianhfel the Hammer, Throne of Exterre Ashtereth, Queen of Heaven and Commander in Her Celestial Legions.

A great strange higher planar being, one of the Higher Virtues or Angels.   Their material form seems to combine the features of many birds and other things besides.   The mighty being pulsates with an inner sapphire light, giving her blue skin a purplish hue when she engages in any celestial activity.  (Indeed, She seems transparent to most mortals who are pure of heart.) 

The majority of her body combines the features of a finch, a peacock, and a night preying bird, such a larger species of owl.   She is also quite large and sports a double set of blue and gold wings. In the higher Sub-ether or other planes these wings can spread to a span of 90’ to facilitate rapid trans planar flight.

She is at least somewhat made of light and so understands and can impart wisdom on photonics and other physics esoterica to the right scientist.

She bears a gold rod that is her badge of station as a high servant of Exterre; in some worlds it acts fully as a rod of rulership and can be loaned to (especially deserving) mortals as such in a pinch. In most worlds however, she will not part with it, as to do so would be to call into question her loyalty.  Likely much of her essence is presently bound up within it as befitting a high Servant of Exterre.

In times of active celestial warfare, she can call upon 200 lesser virtues and easily 5d12 least Thrones into an active fighting force within “three days and nights.

Further, as a high Throne in the service of Exterre, she bears three keys, part of the number of Her thrones that serve as binding agents for the ifrit and djinn that have been bound into her service, which presently number into the thousands. ”

In combat against the forces of evil or, especially, the forces of the Unmaker,  Amethystianhfel has been known to appear in the following form.

Amethystianhfel the Hammer (1): Init +10; Atk weapon +14 melee (1d16); AC 28; HD 14d12; hp 98; MV 90; Act 1d26; SP many; SV Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +9; AL Lawful.
Hammering force of the Star Queen’s Herald In an atmosphere, Amethystianhfel has been known to wield a tremendous, but invisible, beam of pure force, used like a sword or mace.  It can strike any opponent in 70 feet  Each strike inflicts 98 points of damage on Chaotic, evil, or any other designated opponents. Anything slain by it is immediately reduced to  puddle of inky green and black smoke which then visibly evaporates with a scream.   Anything of Chaos slain by this use of force will not return.

Hammering snap - On arrival or with a snap of it’s dozen fingers everything aligned with Chaos and Evil must beat a DC 28 Ref save or be thrown prone by a wave of instant concussive force radiating out from the Virtue.  Any servitors of chaos or evil will be deafened for 1d5 rounds thereafter; any objects or materials dedicated to or tainted by chaos or evil will shatter or, if appropriate, smoulder and burn in the aftermath of this effect. This extends to non-magical and low tech mundane apparatus used by the forces of chaos; ex.  the chaos champion is on his ass and deafened yes, but all of his non-magical gear just shattered to powder;  Any undead or spectral entities in the area of effects are returned to the grave or banished into the near Sub-ether, as appropriate, no saving throw.   This extends to a full radius of up to 28 yards from the Virtue.

LESSER VIRTUES

The 4 Lesser Virtues (there may be 3 other, Greater Virtues:  Hope, Light, and Charity, though a higher rune is required to call upon them)

Justice

Knowledge

Motion

War

Those in the service of the forces of Law, including it is assumed all clerics of the Imperial Church in Galaxy Black, are trained in the runes and spirit pathways by which these agents of order may be invoked or called to the mortal plane….and the means by which they may be embodied into material objects to serve in the fight against chaos. (Calling a lesser virtue requires a second or third level spell, much as invoking one of the Great Virtues requires fourth or even fifth level clerical magic.)

Justice virtues may be embodied into books, rods, or any demonstrable implement of justice or civilization.   If you can swear an oath on it, it’s appropriate for embodiment.  Many Justice virtues exist in the service of Leviathan.

Knowledge virtues may be embodied into media of almost any variety, holograms, headware or brain implants.  Knowledge virtues are known for exacting pact conditions to accept embodiment – often the embodiment being a short term or limited duration during such a time as the Virtue will pass on what it knows though it could involve the virtue being bound as a book and left on a lower tech planet where those who could benefit could find it or something similar.

War virtues of course may be embodied into weapons or armor.  

Most war virtues are it is said in the service of Exterre Ashtereth

Weapons and armor so embodied do not chip, wear or break.  They are functionally immune to the rigors of entropy.   Weapons always inflict maximum possible damage. There is no variation (and no possibility for critical hits either).  Envirtued armor have been known to survive their wearer’s destruction. 

Virtues of motion do not like to be embodied, it is contrary to both their nature and their purpose.   They would much rather simply take that which has called them to their destination and back than ever be held in one place like that.  

Virtue of Justice  (1, on higher planes 1 or 3): Init +7; Atk weapon +11 melee (11 + 11d3); AC 26; HD 11d8; hp 77 each; MV 90’; Act 1d24; SP Wheels of Justice, celestial traits; SV Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +7; AL Lawful.

Wheels of Justice Turning Swiftly – attempted deception in the virtue’s presence requires a DC 17 Will save, failure indicates the speaker is now on fire, taking 1d4 hp/round until they recant their untruth.

Those in the service of Law who have abused their authority in the Virtue’s presence must immediately succeed at a DC 26 Fort save or take 44 points of damage a round until they fall before the Virtue and recant. Many are the wicked who find themselves functionally struck dead by the arrival of such a being.

The virtue knows what you have done, whatever you have done, immediately on entering their presence. Act accordingly.

At its discretion, the Virtue may bring those who died from grave misjustice back to life.  It has been known to abduct war criminals and mass murderers when summoned into such a being’s presence.  Be careful in summoning Justice, for the virtue’s commitment is total.

Celestial traits - Virtues of Justice appear in their own form as something like a series of spheres or discs spinning together, generating friction and fire when they come into contact.   To mortal eyes they commonly chose any number of obvious Justice symbols from the noosphere as appropriate.

Virtue of Knowledge  (1, on higher planes 1-2): Init +7; Atk weapon +11 melee (11 + 11d3); AC 26; HD 11d8; hp 55 each; MV 180’; Act 1d24; SP Cosmic awareness, command of knowledge, celestial traits; SV Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +7; AL Lawful.

Cosmic Awareness – the virtue of knowledge can call upon information from the Noosphere at will.  It is tied to the knowledge base and experience pool of both its patron Deity and all those who have died in Her service.

Command of Knowledge – the Virtue can order Noosphere creatures in vicinity into its service with a reasonable chance of success.   The Virtue can understand, control, and manipulate data within storage media at will.  You cannot lie to a Virtue of Knowledge.

Celestial traits - Appearing in some of their native planes as a ‘walking lantern’ – a sort of gas light mount waking on eight artificial limbs each of a differing progress level and material.

Virtue of War  (1, on higher planes 1-3): Init +7; Atk weapon +11 melee (11 + 11d3); AC 26; HD 11d8; hp 66 each; MV 600; Act 4d26; SP celestial traits; SV Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +7; AL Lawful.

Call for War – At will, the Virtue of War may utter a metacelestial call to battle, sounding like a warbling bugle call that vibrates all reflective surfaces;  either  (Lesser call) 1d12, (Great Call) 5d12, or (Revelatory Call) 1d100 celestial beings will arrive responding to the call within 1d3 rounds. 

Engine of Virtuous Destruction – when engaging in battle a War virtue will elicit a thundering word of purpose.  In a cone shape (1x3x9) that can extend as much as 9 kilometers about 5 and a half miles) along it’s longest axis. ANY structure that shelters evil or chaotic beings in that area of effect is reduced to rubble.  Any structure that shelters the innocent, the virtuous or those caught in the crossfire is immune to this effect and in fact will find that all doors and portals sealed, so as to prevent the destruction of innocent life in conflict.  (Mortals seeking entry into such a place will likely find the doors open but one day, only to allow them ingress.)

Engine of Visceral Destruction – Up to three times a day on the mortal plane, a Virtue of War may unleash it’s primary war power;  a blast up to 700 yards long and 70 wide that inflicts 24d10 on all structures, devices, items, relics, and servitors of chaos and evil. When used for any purpose short of true conflict with a major demon, devil, or the like, the Virtue may find themselves later held accountable in the Courts of Law.   Summoned or conjured creatures of chaos and evil may be driven off the material plane if they survive (DC 26 Fort save to resist).

Celestial traits – in it’s native form as a complicated set of horns and cones arising out of a common single point, accompanied by the beat of powerful wings, equal in strength to a heavy helicopter taking off.    To mortals or on the mortal planes takes on all manner of appearances; almost all involve four wings, a central horn or trumpet, and many mouths or jets which spew sound and light as waste products.

When in conflict with the proper forces of chaos and evil, be they demons, great devils, primordial terrors, or outsider things of uncreation, their weapons always hit, and they may choose the amount of damage inflicted from what is available.   They may always critical on such a critical at will, thought the result must be determined as usual.

Virtue of Motion  (1, on higher planes 1-3): Init +7; Atk weapon +11 melee (11 + 11d3); AC 26; HD 11d8; hp 55 each; MV 180,000; Act 1d24; SP Cosmic understanding of physics, caress of total motion, celestial traits; SV Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +7; AL Lawful.
Cosmic Understanding of Physics – the Virtues of Motion often were responsible for the creation, articulation, or maintenance of the celestial deeps of various prime material planes in the ages of old and in some rare universes today this is still so. Nonetheless they understand these things in the way that a programmer would …and know how to get around them.  

Functionally this is a sort of pure motion or speed based force that allows for suspension or ignorance of physics and natural law, but which does not violate that law’s integrity.  When they have agreed to take someone somewhere that mortal is briefly endowed with a variation of this ability – they can run in mid-air, stand on the ceiling, and other sense defying impossibilities so long as they understand and believe that they can do so.  Their max. speed int his instance is limited by their INT where not superseded by the Virtue’s own rate of motion.  

The Momentary Caress of Total Motion - The Virtue’s primary attack form when confronted with hostility (and it doesn’t just leave which is its most likely response) is to impart the tiniest fraction of the universe’s total fraction of motion and energy onto the target for fractions of a microsecond. Damage is imparted immediately on the slightest of touch contacts.  Damage has been known to resemble injuries sustained in system ship crashes

Celestial traits - Virtues of Motion appear as a token of respect, still, for one round on arrival. Thereafter they are best described as a high energy blur of motion at all times.

All have common Celestial traits –

Immune to disease and the ravages of aging or time.  Functionally immune to effects of entropy.   They are immune to the effects and special attacks of undeath and the dead. 

None of them can be compelled to act against their nature

Attempts by mortals to banish them from the material plane must beat their AC as a spell check DC (26).

They understand all mortal material languages instantly.

All may appear as basically anything to mortal eyes.  Unintelligent & non-sapient sensors cannot record their motions or detect them without exotic apparatus.

Also, remember their age. They have, almost certainly, really have, seen it all before.  All of it. Even that.

“This article is reproduced in Apocrypha Obscura – Transmissions from the Dreaming Gynoid, available  (drive thru link)  

  and (itch.io link)