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Strange As Angels

In the chill of the Abyss, a fallen angel slips through a crack in the empty void, putting an end to a timeless span of imprisonment. Xariel was once Halaku, charged with bringing death to the plants and animals of Creation. For the love of humanity, he rebelled, and was punished by being forced to end the lives of humans, as well.

Joining Lucifer’s war against God, Xariel walked silently among battlefields, collecting the souls of the dead, the dying, and the enemy.

In the chill of Chicago, people slip through the cracks every day. Maxwell Harris fought on their behalf, but his time on the force ended as Alzheimer’s destroyed his mind.

Armed with the identity of a retired detective and the insights of millennia in the Pit, the former Slayer now searches for answers. Did the angels fall, or were they pushed? Did they deny God’s will, or were they pawns in a bigger game? Was Lucifer more than just another piece? Where do the fallen fit into the master plan, and should they willingly accept their place?

In the meantime, Chicago is full of souls that need saving…..but does the thirst for justice belong to Xariel, or Max?

Strange as Angels is a Demon: The Fallen game run by Russell Bailey and Jeff Mikoni.

Comment by Jeff:
that phrasing means more than it might at first glance. in a usual game, like bleeding earth, i’d say the gm runs the game, and the players play it. however, in angels, even though russ is the gm and i’m the player, we really run the game in tandem. this is partially because of the fast and loose ruleset, and partially because the iconography of film noir encourages me to handle narrations, background details, and so forth just as much as a gm

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Influences

This list was getting long, so it’s been moved to the Influences page.

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System

We started out using the Unisystem game rules, as presented in Eden’s Buffy roleplaying game, but have since ended up running it more or less freeform.

Comment by Jeff:
there’s also this system called demon that was mentioned up above, and probably should be mentioned down here too. on one hand, we’ve long since abandoned any attempts to formally run the system. on the other hand, we still give nods to the power sets, incorporate the setting fairly faithfully, and commit acts with greg stolze’s mind that sit somewhere between petty theft and outright mugging. on the other other hand, he still respected us in the morning.

Comment by Jeff:
and yes, that’s three hands. read the character sheet, extra limbs is there

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Cast

Here are the current regular cast. The links go to individual profile pages. (Be warned- those pages are kept reasonably up to date, and probably shouldn’t be read before you read the episode summaries.)

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Episodes

We structure the game roughly like a television series, with each session being a single episode. Sessions occur at the whims of our mutual schedules, and then writeups have to be squeezed in around those.

  • 1. To Love and to Serve
    • 1.1 Another Day in Paradise- A former angel investigates the death of a runaway.
    • 1.2 Fast Car- Angel of death Xariel closes in on his quarry, and finds disturbing memories of the war.
    • 1.3 Little Earthquakes- Xariel faces Sandalphon, but not in the way he was expecting.
    • 1.4 Wicked Game- In the wake of recent revelations, Xariel must make some hard decisions.

  • 2. Out of the Past
    • 2.1 Bette Davis Eyes- A desperate woman, a should-be corpse, and the pain of loyalty haunt Xariel on his latest investigation.

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