Angels are the most powerful agents in the service of the gods, and the angelic seals and wards discussed in this book provide a means to harnessing their power through knowing the angels' names. Whether or not you subscribe to the Judeo-Christian view of angels - the fellows with wings wearing long gowns on Christmas cards - they apparently only serve good deities, and whilst they are not harmed by someone tapping into their power, they do notice and will object if it's done for evil ends.

Some definitions. A seal is the angel's very name inscribed in such a way as to draw on its power which flows through it into the individual who makes (or has) the inscription, or into a ward. We also have some angelic spells, variations of the seals that function like conventional spells, but which cross the boundaries between divine and arcane magic. It's a rare and specialised area of magic and short of training by someone who knows about them or chancing on a spellbook that explains the processes in enough detail, spell casters will not be able to figure them out on their own.

The best way to get into this form of magic use is to follow the Angelic Scribe arcane tradition, which is described here. There are also two feats which give more limited access. Following the tradition enables the individual to learn the actual seals - the angel's name written in Celestial in a specified format - and there's a list of them to choose from (you start off knowing just two of them). It takes ten minutes to draw one, or eight hours if you prefer to carve a more permanent version in stone. Only one seal can be activated at a time, though. The example seals are complex but beautiful (cruel DMs might make players draw them!) and each provides a different effect - choose wisely which ones you learn.

The new angelic spells presented are few - just one per level and a cantrip - and may be learned by clerics, paladins, warlocks and wizards who are lucky enough to find a written version (or be taught them). There is a mix of protective and offensive spells in the list.

This is an interesting and novel concept, bringing the traditional power of angels as a force for good into game terms elegantly and sympathetically. There's no indication of what an angel would regard as misuse of its power, nor what it would do about it - perhaps that's best left to the DM to determine in the light of divine power structures in their campaign world's cosmology. If the forces of good and evil feature large in your campaign, this is worth a look.

Return to Deep Magic #6: Angelic Seals page.

Reviewed: 20 October 2016