Revisionist History: Habbalah
This is a revisionist history of the Habbalah, written for my
(upcoming) online campaign, Truth and Reconciliation (the most
important thing for a campaign is that it have a catchy name). The
following is _very_ heretical, but it takes place starting from a
setting that's _almost_ canon In Nomine. The background has the
following differences from canon:
- The light of Heaven does not burn demons. The Fallen were
thrown out of Heaven by the loyal angels, not by divine fiat
making it impossible for them to stay.
- Lilim cannot Redeem; there are no true Bright Lilim. Ordinary
demons are either "broken" angels, or Celestials made on the
template of a broken angel. Fixing that break restores the
demon to its former (or appropriate) Choir. Lilim have no
such "break", and no angelic counterpart. There are, however,
"Bright" Lilim -- Free Lilim who are in service to an
Archangel, or Lilim who have willingly been bound permanently
to an Archangel's word (just as they would be bound to a Demon
Prince). "Bright" Lilim don't have wings, are still green,
and still have horns; their resonance and their Band
dissonance condition do not change. They can have angelic
Hearts. "Bright" Lilim are still _technically_ demons, but
their resonance is so useful that many Archangels actively
seek them out.
- In addition to those angels who became Malakim in reaction to
the Fall, a few angels of various choirs (mainly Seraphim and
Cherubim) have become Malakim over the millennia. Those
angels who became Malakim were always Dissonant before the
change, but were each transformed in the act of making a great
sacrifice in the service of God and their Superior, finding
themselves black-winged and washed pure of their Dissonance.
Only about a dozen Malakim have been created this way since
the first "generation" of Malakim rose up against the Horde.
No Elohite is ever known to have become a Malakite in this
way, even in the first generation.
Please notice that the net effect of these changes is to diminish
the distance between angels and demons. The "malakim can't
fall... off the floor" theory is much stronger in this setting
than in canon, for instance.
HABBALAH
The Punishers
(a revisionist history)
"Did you ever notice how, in the Bible, whenever God needed to
punish someone, or to make an example . . . or whenever God
needed a killing . . . He sent an angel? . . . Did you ever
wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole
existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing
dipped in blood . . . Would you ever really want to see an
angel?" -- Thomas Dagget, The Prophecy
The Habbalah are obsessed with punishing those whose weakness or
impurity taints the Symphony. Though many Habbalah now serve an
Archangel, most feel that they work directly for God. They see
themselves, along with the Malakim, as the only true Choir of
angels, serving where the weak, fallible Choirs cannot -- in the
abattoir.
Resonance
When the Rebellion first shook heaven, many angels, mostly
Seraphim and Cherubim, but others, too, raised their fists in
anger at the defilement the followers of Lucifer had wrought upon
Heaven. Most of these angels, notable among them the Seraph Uriel
and the Cherub David, became Malakim, black-winged defenders of
Heaven's honor. However, among the new Choir were to be found no
former Elohim. Those among the Elohim who threw aside their
objectivity in outrage at the Rebellion became Habbalah; the first
of these was Aballam, the Angel of Reason.
A Habbalite's resonance is for emotion. Like an Elohite, he can
tell what emotion a person is feeling. He can also tell what
emotion would cause that person the most harm, accent that feeling
in the local theme of the Symphony, and then let it loose. This
does incredible psychic damage to his victim. It is hypothesized
that this resonance was originally granted to the Habbalah to
inflict shame upon the rebel angels for their disobedience and
weakness.
Something went wrong, however, and for various reasons, the loyal
angels did not accept the Habbalah among their ranks. Perhaps it
was because the Habbalite resonance and demeanor was so foreign to
their former natures, or perhaps it was in part because of their
tortured Celestial appearance, the Habbalah were assumed to be
Fallen, and were cast out of Heaven by their brothers the Malakim.
Aballam, for his rage and his insistence that he still served God,
was granted the Word of Madness by Lucifer. For thousands of
years, all Habbalah served God as best they could in the service
of Demon Princes or as Renegades, pursued by the Game and the
Inquisition alike.
Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission declared the
Habbalah true angels, many Habbalah, including nearly all known
Renegades, have returned to the fold to serve Heaven in the
service of an Archangel. Many others, however, have been unable
or unwilling to leave their Princes; this "Band" is now known as
the Bal-Habbalah. A Bal-Habbalite will still insist that it is an
angel; the Habbalah who returned to Heaven are weak, and unable to
hold fast to God's hard command that they serve from Hell.
Dissonance
God has ordained that the Habbalite resonance is to be used
to punish those whose weakness leads them to sin. If a Habbalite
misjudges, and uses its resonance against one whose will is
strong, it is the Habbalite who must be punished, either through
Dissonance, or by being engulfed by madly-raging emotions, which
the angel must manifest, in submission to God's will.
Manner and Appearance
While most Habbalah are grateful for being returned to Heaven and
recognized as true angels, they consider themselves somewhat above
the other Choirs -- except for the Malakim. Habbalah are proud of
the fact that they cannot Fall, and though many bear a grudge
against the Malakim ( for the casting out of the Habbalah during
the Fall), they respect this trait in them as well. Surprisingly,
many Habbalah get along well with Elohim, and vice versa -- their
contrasting perspectives on the phenomenon of emotion give them
much to talk about. Most Habbalah _hate_ "Bright" Lilim, those
Free Lilim who have taken up permanent service with Archangels.
Habbalah know that they are angels -- and they know that Lilim
_aren't_.
As instruments, Habbalah often see themselves as synthesizers of
emotion, with punishing feedback loops.
In the corporeal realm, the Habbalah are very beautiful, very
sexual beings, dressing their vessels to maximize their emotional
impact, and often reveling in the flesh God and their Archangel
have granted them. Celestially, their forms show the sacrifices
they have made to purify the Symphony. Like the oath-chains and
ear-piercings of the Malakim, the scarification and tattooing of
the Habbalah serve to indicate their submission to God.
Game Mechanics
[As in the In Nomine core rules, pages 146 to 147. Substitute the
word "angel" for the word "demon" where it appears].
Habbalah cannot Fall. Dissonant Habbalah run the risk of
accumulating Discord, in the same way that Malakim do. However,
the Habbalah do not police their own ranks as strictly as the
Malakim -- since they _know_ they can't Fall, what's the point of
worrying about a little Dissonance or Discord now and then?
Habbalah can "Jump", becoming Bal-Habbalah, by following a demon
to Hell and entering the service of a Demon Prince. A "Jumped"
Bal-Habbalite will lose any attunements it has from its former
Archangel, as well as access to any rites, _once it accepts the
Bal-Habbalite Band attunement from its Prince_.
Back to the INC Mainpage.
Back to the Settings page.
EDG <edg@sjgames.com>
In Nomine Collection Curator