The Angels and The Nephilim

Angels are creatures of divine radiation and nuclear fire. In their true forms, they are but clouds of atomic matter or blobs of alien energy, but they take physical forms to venture down to the planet’s surface. They follow unknown laws which they consider the rules and strictures of the cosmos, and they travel to planetary surfaces to punish those who do not follow their laws. They carry swords of radioactive light and shields of otherworldly glass, with bodies of gold and fire and steel, and innumerable eyes of many sorts. Some wizards and warriors enjoy the killing of angels, stealing their atomic fire for their own uses and leaving the strange shells behind, to be scavenged by raiders and monstrous beasts.

The Nephilim are strange creatures born of some combination of angel and mortal. Some of them were produced from the unlikely union of a divine and a person, whereas some others are wizards, scholars, or their servants who consumed the radiant power of an angel. They are gigantic, with skin made of some inorganic material such as stone, gold, or ivory, and radioactive fire within. They are incredibly powerful, and angels sometimes use them as mortal agents, which are named Saviours or Prophets.

The Nephilim

Hit Dice: d10

Features:

• Being a nephilim costs 1 Adventure Point.
• The die used to roll damage goes up by 1 die size, due to size and strength.
• You roll saving throws to resist radiation twice, taking the better result.
• Goes into a meditative state rather than sleeping, where questions that need to be answered are answered by the universe itself. The nephilim is aware of their surroundings while in this state.
• Does not eat or drink, and rather consumes holy oils and incense.
• You are able to speak with angels in their language, Enochian.
• You are able to receive gifts from the divines in exchange for following their esoteric laws, thus making you a Saviour or Prophet.
• You have -2 to-hit small creatures, and they receive a +2 to-hit you.

The Divine Laws

If you are a follower of these laws, and even if you are not, angels will descend from the heavens to punish you. Their strength will vary with the impact of the crime, with small ishim appearing for miniscule breaches, and great arch-angels descending to punish those who commit great crimes. If you go along with the punishment dealt by these angels, they will either incur some special penalty on you (if you are not a Prophet or Saviour), or remove your access to one of your powers (if you are a Prophet or Saviour). If you do not go along with the punishment, then they will attempt to kill you. As long as you are really good at killing angels, you can break these laws all you want.

There are way too many angelic laws to detail them all, but as a general guideline, just make them very strict and esoteric, with lots of restrictions and complex rituals.

The Angelic Order

All angels are equals in the infinite void of colorful space. However, they take on ranks when they take on physical forms. The ranks of angels are as follows (in order of weakest to strongest).

1. Ishim
2. Cherubim
3. Bene Elohim
4. Elohim
5. Malakim
6. Seraphim
7. Hashmallim
8. Erelim
9. Ophanim
10. Chayot Ha Kodesh

Statistics for each angel will be forthcoming, but you could just use whatever angel stats you want (just so long as Chayot Ha Kodesh are stronger than Ishim)

As a general rule of thumb, angels become more and more metaphysical and immaterial the higher up they go in rank. Ishim are uncanny humanoids, whereas Elohim are gaseous and Chayot Ha Kodesh might be no more than a spoken word or thought idea. However, once their task is done or if they are killed, they must leave behind something (a shell). In the lower orders, this is simply their body. But in the higher orders (such as the Chayot Ha Kodesh), the shell must be remembered by the killer for it to remain in the world, or it must be held within a container.

Adventure Points and Some Characters

So I read this post over on rememberdismove about doing away with classes entirely, and I felt that it would fit very well with the system I created for Colorpocalypse, rather than having races and classes. So I will be creating things for this instead of classes. I want to include this with Mutants and Machines of the Baffling Badlands, but I am having difficulties reconciling random mutations and this system. Now, instead of selecting whether you want to be an engineer or a drug fairy or a person with a tv head, you mix and match features that you wish (many races have minor augmentations, and powerful races cost AP).

Also, here's some Colorpocalypse characters that use AP for character creation:

From Kill Six Billion Demons

Jung Cho the Rifle Witch

• Has rifle-shoes that allow her to jump great distances (1 AP)
• Proficiency in guns of all sorts (1 AP)
• Is able to sense changes in the weather and communicate telepathically (1 AP)
• Is incredibly agile and trained in ancient martial arts (1 AP)

CNN the Televisor

• Has replaced face with television screen that shows shows and signals found in the ether. Can use powers derived from these signals, but has 1/2 charisma in social situations (2 AP)
• Is able to see in darkness (1 AP)
• Has device that they can tune to take control of creatures of signal and static (1 AP)

From Kill Six Billion Demons

Balaam the Saviour of Us All

• Is a nephilim (powers and abilities will be detailed in a later post) (1 AP)
• Has major control over fire and radiation (1 AP)
• Is able to see in all directions (1 AP)
• Can smite physical creatures (WIS save or be greatly harmed by subatomic might) (1 AP)

No-Skin the Birdcatcher

• Is invisible, unless wearing clothing or having some substance on skin (such as paint or dust) (2 AP)
• Is proficient in skills relating to the catching of birds, such as trap-setting and stalking (1 AP)
• Can walk on rough terrain and sloping terrain with just as much ease as on flat ground (1 AP)

What I'm Doing With Synthexia

I am not just going to make things for the Synthexia hexcrawl. I am making my own setting, heavily inspired by it (among other things), that I have called Colorpocalypse. It uses an augmented version of the ruleset I created for Mutants and Machines of the Baffling Badlands, but with a class system and a few other augmentations.

Here are some of the original ideas that I came up with to inspire this setting:

GLITTERING HARPIES FEED ON THE EFFERVESCENT FLUIDS OF THE BLASTED HEATH-SCAPE

NEON CLOUDS FLUCTUATE AND HOVER ABOVE THE GLASS AND PLASTIC ALCOVES OF ULTRAVIOLET WIZARDS

TOWERS OF BONES, BLEACHED RAINBOW SHADES BY PUNGENT OILS, REACH TO THE STRANGE STARS UP ABOVE

ANCIENT GODS OF TELEVISION AND RADIO SLUMBER IN THE POLLUTED OCEANS, SHIMMERING WITH LIQUID SMOG

DIAMOND STRUCTURES PICK UP THE MYSTERIOUS WAVES FROM BEYOND, AND TRANSMIT THEM TO THE TELEVISION SCREENS, TO BE WATCHED BY THE MUTANT MASSES

DEMONS OF MELTED GLASS AND IRON SMOKE CRAWL FROM THE METAL FOUNDRIES AND SMITHING PITS

SHOWERS OF INFRARED TEA FLAVOR THE DIRT, MAKING THE WORMS INTO MASTERS OF EMPERORS OF THE GROUND

THE WOLVES HOWL SECRETS TO THE MOON NAMED MEDUSA

TOOTHY MAWS GAPE AT THE CACOPHONY OF COLORS IN THE SKY, SWALLOWING CREATURES CLUMSY ENOUGH TO FALL IN

A CITY OF SLUMS IS BUILT ON THE ALIEN CORPSE OF A LONG DEAD GOD, WHOSE BLOOD IS MADE OF HUMMINGBIRDS AND WHOSE SKIN IS MADE OF MARBLE

ALGEBRAIC SPHINXES HIDE IN THE HILLS, GOBBLING UP ANYBODY WHO CANNOT SOLVE THEIR EQUATIONS

THE MOON NAMED EURYALE WAS A GREAT BATTLEFIELD, BUT IS NOW BUT A BROKEN AND RUINED SHELL, CARVED BY LASER SWORD AND DEATH RAY

A SECTION OF FOREST WATCHES EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS. THE TREES ARE VERY VIOLENT AND ANGRY

BEARS WITH FURRY SKIN BUT FLESH OF METAL AND VEINS OF WIRES HUNT IN THE WILDERNESS, COVERED WITH RADIOACTIVE DUST LIKE SNOW

SOME OF THIS IS BUT A DREAM CONJURED BY STRANGE MACHINERY AND AWESOME DEVICES. OR IS NONE OF IT A DREAM?

THE WITCHES OF THE CITY RUINS STEAL THE MUTANTS’ CHILDREN FOR STEWS AND SPELLS, AND FOR SACRIFICES TO THEIR URBAN SPIRITS

INFO-MONKS HOARD WEBSITES AND PDFS THAT TELL OF TIME IMMEMORIAL, AND THEY SELL THEM TO THE MOST SPIRITUAL BIDDER

IRIDESCENT FLAMES BURN FOREVER IN THE LONG LOST MINES. PEOPLES’ HUSBANDS AND WIVES LIE CHARRED IN THERE

STRANGE ANGELS DESCEND FROM THE STARS AND PUNISH THOSE WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THEIR ESOTERIC LAWS

CYCLONES OF INK STAIN THE LAND, THE SKY, AND THE SEA DURING RAINY SEASONS

PARASITIC FLATWORMS HAVE BRED SERVITORS THAT THEY PUPPET LIKE BEASTS

MOLEMEN AND MORLOCKS HIDE IN THE VILE SEWERS AND SUBWAYS, FILLED WITH SHINY WRAPPERS AND BAGS, AND VENTURE OUT AT NIGHT TO FEED AND WATCH

TURBO-GHOULS, WITH LOWER BODIES OF WHEELS, WANDER THROUGH THE STINKING PIT STOPS

LASER TOWERS STAND, WITH BRICKS OF RAINBOW CLAY, DISINTEGRATING ANY WHO DRAW NEAR

ALIEN COLORS AND RADIATIONS MUTATE AND ANIMATE THE DEAD AND THE LIVING

PLATINUM CHAINS HOLD BACK A REBELLIOUS TITAN WHO GAVE FIRE TO THE FIRST OF MEN. HE IS FED UPON MY GIANT BEETLES, MAGGOTS, HYENA-MEN AND VULTURE-FOLK. THEY HAVE ERECTED A bRIGHT VILLAGE WHERE THEY SELL HIS POWERFUL ORGANS AND FLESH

TENTACLED BEINGS HAVE MADE LIBRARIES OF HOLOGRAPHIC BOOKS, LEFT TO ROT FOREVER UNDER THE BLACK SANDS