"Raphael was an astonishingly handsome man, with strong, regular features, longish golden hair, broad shoulders and a well-developed body. Behind him, hooked over a chair specially built to accommodate them, his gold-tinged wings rose to the height of a man, then gracefully trailed to the floor. He was smiling, and everyone seated near him seemed to gaze at him with rapture and adoration."

- Archangel, by Sharon Shinn

The History of the Monteverde
The Monteverde Angels are beautiful beings, seemingly the hand of the gods upon the mortal plane. They are not to be confused with the Spirits of Light (Cherubim, Seraph, Ariel, and Tharsis), although they may be related. In fact, upon close study of the Monteverde's background, both historical and genetic, it turns out that they were genetically engineered. The Monteverde are a cross between normal humans and an yet unknown supernatural creature, possibly an Ariel. Until recently, no one knew who created the Monteverde. It turns out that they did it to themselves!

Upon a distant planet believed to be their homeworld, scholars have found temples housing statues of angelic beings. Their history has become known once more. The truth is that the humans of Monteverde wished to be like the beings they worshipped and re-engineered their entire race to reflect this. They went from being normal humans to incredibly resilient demi-gods. Their wings spread across the sky and their shadows darkened the ground. Their race entered a golden age of science and peace. They spread across the Megaverse, bringing their light wherever they went. And then the Jel-Kenor struck.

When the True Atlanteans' dimensional experiment went awry, it had reprecussions throughout the Megaverse. Upon the world of Monteverde, dimensional doorways thought long closed opened once more, releasing a horde of mutated demons who rampaged across the world. Nearly the entire race of Monteverde returned to their homeworld to fight these creatures, but even with their incredible science they weren't able to stop them. The Jel-Kenor destroyed everything that lived upon Monteverde and it was finally up to an armada of star ships to scorch the planet from orbit, destroying all but the most fortified sections of the planet.

The surviving Monteverde Angels scattered across the Megaverse, becoming nomads. They had lost their science and their home. Many became simple people on primitive worlds. The Monteverde have always been a peaceful people, but in the violent Megaverse many have become champions of justice. In the world of RIFTS, many have become Cyber-Knights, while on Nightbane Earth a small group have joined the Lightbringers. On the world of Palladium a group fights alongside Rurga against the Wolfen tribes. There are very few Fallen Angels; most are hunted down by the Monteverde or imprisoned so that they cannot harm the innocent.

Since their scattering, Angels have turned to music for consolement. Their already spectacular voices are honed from birth until they are some of the most magnificant vocalists in the Megaverse. They often raise villagers' hopes by leading them in song. Although the Monteverde Angels have beautiful voices, some have learned to play instruments. Instruments are usually limited to simple recorders or flutes because of the purity of the sound. A few have learned to play stringed instruments so that they may also sing, but the sound isn't as good.

Note that the Monteverde are not creatures of magic. They are mortal creatures of flesh and blood, albeit long lived and extraordinarily resilient due to their supernatural heritige.

One mundane but important facet of life for the Angels (or any winged humanoid) is chairs. With large wings sprouting from their backs, they must have specially designed chair backs to accomodate their wings. They generally take the form of a very thin chair back which projects upwards between their wings. Another is the aspect of clothing and armor. Most Angels do not like to wear billowing clothes like dresses and cloaks (their wings interfere in the case of cloaks). Instead they often wear tight fitting leathers for flying. Most armor is too encumbering to wear while flying, so unless it is magic lightweight armor the heaviest they wear is studded leather. As for weapons, most Angels prefer swords and spears over chain weapons or axes. In modern worlds laser weapons are preferred due to their light weight. Some Angels like Ion weapons because of their similarity with lightning, something all Angels respect.

The Monteverde Angels

Alignment: 70% good, 25% selfish, 5% evil

Attributes: IQ: 3D6, ME: 3D6, MA: 4D6, PS: 3D6+4, PP: 4D6, PE: 3D6+4, PB: 5D6, SPD: 3D6 running or 2D4x10+40 mph flying

Hit Points: PE+1D6 per level

SDC: Varies depending on the magic level of the world. See the Conversion notes.

Natural Armor Rating: Generally none, but see Conversion notes.

Awe Factor: The Angel's awe factor is equal to 1/2 their PB + 4

PPE: 1D6x10

Natural Abilities: Fly for a number of hours equal to their PE, eagle-like vision (can read a sign 2 miles away), heal at a rate of 4D6 HP/SDC per day. Resistent to cold due to superheated blood (takes 1/2 damage from cold based attacks) which allows them to survive in temperatures down to -25 degrees Farenheit (their average body temperature is 125 degrees Farenheit). Nightvision slightly better than humans', 20' range. Impervious to mundane disease (non-magical). In addition, cybernetics are automatically rejected by their bodies, often leading to a painful death!

Magic Abilities: None unless a magic OCC is chosen. Add the OCC's PPE to the Angel's base to reflect their higher potential.

Psionic Abilities: Standard, about the same as humans.

Combat: Two attacks per melee plus those gained from hand to hand training (the same as normal humans).

Bonuses: +4 to save vs. horror factor, +2 to save vs. possession & mind control. +4 to dodge while in flight. All are in addition to attribute bonuses.

Average Life Span: Angels live for an AVERAGE of 5000 years. Some have been known to live to be 10,000 years old! It is possible that they can become immortal because of their supernatural genetic structure, althouth this is simply a myth. Maybe.

OCCs: Any OCC or PCC is available to the Angel, as long as it makes sense. For example, an Angel CANNOT be in the Coalition Military, nor can they be a Nightspawn Sorcerer.

Skills of Note: All Monteverde have the voices of, well, angels. Consequently, they automatically gain the skill of Sing with a bonus of +30%. Most are well educated and literate.

Habitat: Can be found anywhere in the Megaverse, although a great number have made their way to RIFTS and Nightbane Earth as well as the world of Palladium.

Enemies: The Nightlords, minions of the Old Ones, Supernatural Intelligences, and other evil creatures.

Allies: The Spirits of Light, priests, warriors of the light, etc.

Physical Appearance: Their coloring, hair and other variables are like that of humans, but they have enormous wings sprouting from their shoulder blades with wing spans up to 20 feet across (although 15-17 feet is closer to the average). The feathers are often in shades of white, tan, or golden colors. The Angels are an extremely beautiful people.

Height: Standard human, although they tend to be tall and slim (5'8" average for females, 6'0" for males).

Weight: Varies, from 110-220lbs depending on size and gender.

 

Conversion Notes:

RIFTS®: In RIFTS Earth the Monteverde Angels find their abilities heightened quite a bit due to the large amount of magic energy and their quasi-supernatural nature. Angels have an amount of SDC equal to 1D4x100+150 in addition to and physical skills or OCC bonuses. In addition, they gain a natural AR of 14 (not applicable against mega-damage weaponry). Any armor they wear must be specially modified to accommodate their wings. Their wings must be kept uncovered if they want to fly, so the only way to protect them is by magic or a forcefield. In addition, the armor must weigh less than 30lbs (any heavier and it is too bulky to fly in).

Nightbane™: Due to the heightned magic levels, Angels have 2D6x10+30 SDC in Post-Dark Day Earth. They are actively persecuted by the Nightlords, and strangely enough, some Guardians. Why? No one knows. Or at least no one has said.

Palladium Fantasy RPG™: Because of the relatively low level of magic on the world of Palladium (and for game balance), Angels only have 4D6+30 SDC plus that gained from physical skills or OCC bonuses.

Heroes Unlimited™: Because of the relatively low level of magic in the HU universe, Angels only have 4D6+10 SDC plus that gained from physical skills or OCC bonuses. Angels are able to have super powers, however they are EXTREMELY rare because of the engineered genetic structure. Any powers should be manifested because of accidents or experiments.