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.
