A Word on the World:

[tptb-in-ltsh.livejournal.com]

It's been long in coming, hasn't it? But, here it finally is, a small compilation on bits and pieces of the world we play in.

Age of the World:

Good Omens says that the world was created in 4004 B.C.

Game-internally, we'll stick with evolution, deviating from that.

Why? Because we have at least one TimeLord whose canon can't be easily converted otherwise, and it will not hurt any other character canon to not have the world created 6k years ago.

Angels and Demons

 

Angels and Demons in the manor use human bodies, which, while stronger and more "durable" and enduring than the average human since they're "fuelled" by an angel/demon, are still human bodies and have needs like human bodies. They cannot go without sleep, food or water indeterminately, they need to rest, etc. Also, those human bodies can only sustain a certain amount of divine/demonic power; no really large miracles on either side possible without destroying the body. [Yes, this opens up the option of setting time-outs for players who violate not using excessive power until they get their new body]

The bodies are created for the angels and demons by heaven/hell, and they inhabit them in place of souls.  The bodies are essentially created sexless.

Both can also possess a human body, but in that case will be limited to working through that body at the body's options. No miracles that way.

What's where?

The world consists of several, for lack of a better word (feel free to suggest one) "planes"; one would be the one where Earth is located, and Atlan's and the Doctor's home worlds.

Christian Heaven and Hell would be located in another, Asgard yet another, etc. Angels/Demons/Gods/etc. (and, rarely, other supernaturals and humans) can cross between the one we play in and the one they are "aligned" with. While this may mean that an angel could maybe theoretically enter hell, I'd strongly advise them against it. I'm pretty sure they would hate the results of appearing at the demons' (and Lucifer's) doorstep. Entering hell will also severely weaken an angel to the point where it would be easy for even the lowliest demon to deal with him. Heaven has ways of keeping demons from entering in the first place. So has hell (for angels) but they prefer not to use them.

 

Who can go where?

 

Adam: Earth, (Hell if he believed in it)

Anathema: Earth

Anubis: Earth, Egyptian

Atlan: Earth

Aziraphale: Earth, Heaven, (Hell)

Belial: Earth, Hell, (Heaven)

Crowley: Earth, Hell, (Heaven)

Dr. Who: Earth

Duncan: Earth

Dustfinger: Earth, (Inkworld, if aided by Silvertongue)

Erik: Earth

Gabriel: Earth, Heaven, (Hell)

Jan: Earth

Jarod: Earth, (Heaven if he believed in it)

Joe: Earth

Kirby: Earth

Loki: Earth, Norse plane (Asgard, Helheim, Niflheim, etc.)

Methos: Earth

Michael: Earth, Heaven, (Hell)

Murdoc: Earth

Raphael: Earth, Heaven, (Hell)

Rose: Earth

Sphinx: Earth, Greek plane

Uriel: Earth, Heaven, (Hell)

War: Anywhere

 


Heaven

Heaven as it is now isn't precisely described in the Bible, so for the sake of the game, we assume that New Jerusalem is created after the image of the "old" Heaven, and take the description of New Jerusalem to apply for the current appearance of Heaven as well.

 

Revelation 21: 1 - 3

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

 

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 

11 – 21

Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

 

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

 

On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

 

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

 

And he that talked with me had a golden reed (a measure of 12 ½ foot long) to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

 

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as long as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs (1,500 mile square). The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

 

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits (300 feet at 25 inches per cubit), according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

 

And the building of the wall of it was like jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

 

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

 

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

 

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

 

The Heavenly Host seems to be flying attacks rather rarely. Instead, their bible quotes have them use Chariots. I'm sure they have foot (wing?) soldiers, too, but this is what the quotes say:

 

2 Kings 6:17

And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

 

2 Kings 2:11

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

 

Zechariah 6:1 - 3

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.

 

In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;

 

and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.

 

 

 

If any of our cast manage to initiate Armageddon after all (let's hope not), Heaven will be affected as well as Earth;

 

Bible-quotes for this:

Isaiah 34:4

And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and their host (stars and meteors) shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

 

Revelation 6:12 – 16

And beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

 

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

 

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

 

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

 

And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

 

The Layers

2 Enoch is only available in Slavonic.  However, it says that there are seven heavens, or seven layers of Heaven, each with seven palaces or halls; God lives in the Seventh Heaven in the Seventh Hall.

First Heaven, Wilon: Prince is Sidriel
Second Heaven, Raqia: Prince if Baraqiel
Third Heaven, Sehaqim: Prince is Baradiel
Fourth Heaven, Zebul: Prince is Sahaqiel – home to New Jerusalem
Fifth Heaven, Maon: Prince is Satqiel
Sixth Heaven, Makon: Prince is Gabriel
Seventh Heaven, Arabor: Prince is Michael

Manifestations of God

If at some point you need to have God make an appearance "in person", use fire as a symbol of his presence. Do not use God or Lucifer as a character. If they are needed, ask a mod to play them for you. Thank you.

 

Hebrew Expression: ‘esh (‘AYSH)

 

In the Old Testament, “fire” or ‘esh is often associated with the presence of God.

 

 

Exodus 3:2

And the Angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with *fire (Hebrew, ‘esh, the physical aspect of the “fire,” that is, the “flame”) and the bush was not consumed.

 

Leviticus 1:1 – 2

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered *strange (Hebrew, zuwr, to be foreign, strange, profane) fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.

 

And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.



Angelic Hierarchies

There are many different ways to order the angelic rank, but Pseudo-Dionysius is the most common.  He was a Biblical scholar and his lists are widely accepted by most Judeo-Christian groups.

 

Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

Closest to God                         Administer to Heaven               Administer to Earth

 

He got the rankings from the Bible; Seraphim and Cherubim are named in Genesis and Isaiah; St. Paul mentioned the rest in Colossians and Ephesians.

{Genesis 3:24} So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

{Isaiah 6:1} In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. {6:2} Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. {6:3} And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. {6:4}

{Colossians 1:16} For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: {1:17} And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

{Ephesians 3:10} To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly [places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, {3:11} According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: {3:12} In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. {3:13} Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

 

Also, Pseudo-Dionysius gives the title of Archangel to Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Chamuel (sometimes Haniel), Jophiel, and Zadkiel.



Hell

Hell is the home of the demons, as well as a place where sinners are punished. Quotes:

 

Matthew 5:22

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, *Raca (An Aramaic word of utmost contempt and scorn, a scoundrel or wicked rascal), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

 

Matthew 5:29 – 30

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

 

Matthew 10:28

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

 

Or angels, for that matter

2 Peter 2:4

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

 

Otherwise, Hell is a pretty fiery place, according to Good Omens smelling of sulphur. The bible doesn't mention the sulphur, but it does the fire:

 

Matthew 13:42

And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

Matthew 13:50

And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

Matthew 25:41

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

Matthew 8:12

But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

For the structure of hell, this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_%28Dante%29

is pretty nice, so let's stick with that.

 

A last word: Please keep in mind that we are not a strictly Biblical/whatever game. We're not even a Good Omens game. We're a Good-Omens-based free multiverse roleplaying game.

A word of thanks to everyone who helped with this compilation (in alphabetic order)

Brie & Jen, for initial research
Fox & Linda, for phrasings, discussions and general modly stuff
Rhaeii, for more research and translations from Hebrew
Sphinx, for checking things for me