Today’s apocalypse is still on the horizon but it makes up for it by being the literal John-of-Patmos-huffing-cave-vapors Apocalypse. Next on the shelf is The Seventh Seal, 2002, from Creative Illusions. The PCs in this game are all Sentinels, humans chosen by Archangels to receive a small measure of divine power to use in the battle against the rising forces of Satan & the Antichrist. Turns out five of the seventh seals have already been broken & the Bible fudged a bit on the details of the whole process. The last battle isn’t one event, it’s a series of ongoing skirmishes between the forces of Good & Evil. If the Legions of Hell score too many victories – whether by drawing people over to the dark side or more directly destroying the good – the evilometer will register high enough to blow the last two relays. God will consider the world corrupted beyond saving & consequently obliterate everything & everyone, everywhere.

No pressure.

All this angel talk immediately suggests a basic concept: a new age angel communicator psychic type who discovers to their horror just what real angels are like in person, & what the Benevolent Universe actually has in mind for all of humanity. Samsara Hawke has experienced a very rude awakening, but she’s doing her best to contribute to the fight to keep God from hitting ctrl-alt-delete on the whole universe.

Step one is to assign attribute scores. There are twelve attributes, four apiece grouped under Body, Mind, & Spirit. All stats get one dot … er, a value of 1, plus points you get to distribute. How many points each group gets depends on which is primary, secondary, & tertiary. Samsara has a strong spirit & she’s in pretty good physical shape what with the healthy eating & yoga, but her serious book learning got short shrift along the way. A value of 1 is terrible, 5 is extraordinary.

Body
Agility 2
Attractiveness 2
Might 2
Vigor 2

Mind
Logic 2
Reason 1
Senses 2
Willpower 2

Spirit
Aura 3
Faith 3
Inspiration 4
Soul 2

Your background grants some proficiencies, among which you divide another 14 points, plus some starting equipment. What do you know, “new age mystic” is one of the stock backgrounds.

Proficiencies: Art 3, Fast Talk 2, Human Perception 3, Occult 4 (Chaldean arcana specialization), Performance 3
Resources: Rider-Waite deck, angel guidebook, magic paraphernalia

PCs also get Logic + Willpower points to spend on any proficiency they like, to reflect personal interests outside the job. Four points isn’t much but it’s better than a poke in the eye with a joss stick.

Meditation 2, Religion 1, Sciences 1

Each PC is a member of one of four clan … er, Celestial Orders. Each is under the guidance of an archangel: Michael the leader, Gabriel the warrior, Raphael the healer, or Uriel the instructor. Samsara definitely sounds like an Urielite, since asking The Angels for guidance has been her bread & butter up to now. Each Order provides a +1 to one stat, a Blessing, & a Celestial Divinity (divine superpowers).

Every Sentinel also gets the Blessing “Prophetic Revelation”, a meta-method for the GM to hand the PCs a map of the tracks by giving them visions of what problem they need to tackle next.

Along with Celestial Divinities, which are Order-specific, there are Heavenly Divinities that any Sentinel can take. Starting PCs have two points for their divinities, but they have to put at least one into their Celestial Divinity. Samsara decides to diversify a bit.

Blessings: Prophetic Revelation, Cry of Martyrs
Celestial Divinity: Arcana 1
Heavenly Divinity: Hallow 1

Divinities’ levels are called echelons. The Arcana divinity allows Samsara to use Theurgy (Heaven-approved magic, in contrast to diabolical Sorcery); she knows a number of rites equal to her Occult rating. The first echelon of Arcana is the basic level necessary to cast spells – er, incant rites.

Rites: Gall (temporarily remove penalties caused by injury), Illumination (continual light), Tongues (be understood in any language, despite what you’re speaking), Urlel’s Heart (protection against Sorcery)

The first echelon of Hallow is Enochian Prayer (aka clerical bless).

Each PC also has an Insight & a Grace score. Insight equals Vigor + Willpower + Soul & is used to power divinities & rites. Grace is initially equal to your Faith. It’s your Light Side points; lose them all & you’ve fallen out of favor with God & become Tainted.

Insight 3, Grace 3

At this point you could be finished. As was traditional for the era there are Benefits & Detriments (merits & flaws), but they don’t net you any more points or cost you to buy. You just have to balance the point totals in each; no benefits without some detriment. Samsara has a 1-point Contact benefit (a B-list celebrity who was one of her “angel reading” clients) & a 1-point Faint Sphragis detriment (Sentinels all manifest the symbol of their Order – the Sphragis – on the palm of their dominant hand; that’s usually how they recognize one another, but Samsara’s is so faint it’s sometimes impossible to see.)

These most definitely weren’t the angels Samsara was expecting to be touched by, but she’s ready to give it her best shot.

Samsara Hawke

Celestial Order: Uriel
Background: New Age Mystic
Age: 30
Height: 5’8
Weight: 140lbs
Sex: F

Body: Agility 2, Attractiveness 2, Might 2, Vigor 2
Mind: Logic 2, Reason 1, Senses 2, Willpower 2
Spirit: Aura 3, Faith 3, Inspiration 4, Soul 2

Proficiencies: Art 3, Fast Talk 2, Human Perception 3, Meditation 2, Occult 4 (Chaldean arcana specialization), Performance 3, Religion 1, Sciences 1

Divinities:
Celestial: Arcana 1
Divine: Hallow 1

Blessings: Prophetic Revelations, Cry of Martyrs

Echelons & Rites: Enochian Prayer, Gall, Illumination, Tongues, Urlel’s Heart

Insight 3, Grace 3

Combat:
Initiative 4, Defense 2, Melee 2, Missile 2, HtH 2

Benefits & Detriments: Minor Contact +1, Faint Sphragis -1

Resources: Rider-Waite deck, angel guidebook, magic paraphernalia