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In the spirit of full disclosure I was provided a review copy of this supplement for a full and honest review.
This supplement is filled with passion and awesome ideas, in the form of four subclasses and a new system for converting the Enochian language of the angels into glyphs that can buff characters and items. 10 pages of divinity with great layout and fantastic art for $3.95, less than a dollar a class, which should be a sin. Please see my in-depth review below.
The first thing you see is the arresting cover illustration by Ruben Cardenas (www.instagram.com/cardenas_ruben) depicting a Goristro Demon bearing down on a Half-Orc Path of the Solar Paladin that is bringing about their divinely-charged blade, their angel-gifted pinions reaching to the heavens about them, on the edge of a fiery expanse in some hellish Realm.
Credits
Full credits with writing and editing by Daylight Publications (@daylightpub1066), wonderful looking layout by Bryan Holmes (@FallenWyvern), beautifully realised interior Characters by Ruben Cardenas, all playtesters and other art sources list. (More on the art and design later).
The credits also contain a heartfelt Special Thanks, “To my great grandmother, Regina Stanhope, the kindest and hardiest soul I ever knew”, which really gave me a little emotional hit that stayed with me as I went through the supplement.
Through the Skyring Pool
The introduction discusses the inspirations for this supplement, both in Day’s “love of history and theology” and “[their] interest in mysticism and magick”. The special ‘k’ coming from the academic study of historical magic/k such as Dr. John Dee, a fascinating chap, loyal servant of Elizabeth I and possible Wizard...who, if believed, was one of the first people on record casting Scrying! Because of the history and academia, it was Skrying, probably bekause of tke spekial k. But in all serious, he claimed to have made contact with an Angel that taught him the Celestial tongue, Enochian. You might be aware of Enochian from its use in the TV show, Supernatural, to write, bind and protect things using this angelic language and sigils. Dee is genuinely a fascinating figure and his Enochian has “stumped scholars and thrilled mystics for centuries” and it ties in wonderfully with Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus, inspiring Day to “throw Dee’s strange formula and alphabet into the fray in the form of new subclass options.”
Inspiration
Taking this fascinating premise, Day pulled directing from Enochian Magic: A Practical Guide by Gerald and Betty Schueler, trying to “pull as much for the mechanics of the Enochian system...as well as the history behind the pseudo-language.” Day also drew inspiration from the lore and visuals of Warhammer Fantasy and World of Warcraft “because giant armour and lots of holy radiance is always a good thing.” I couldn’t agree more, and that lambent, fantastical, angelic light and might shine throughout this supplement. Thinking to Descent Into Avernus, Day adds they “wanted to offer some kickass divine class options before diving into the eternal infernal battleground”
What Is Contained Within
Four new angelic/ celestial class options for the Barbarian, Paladin, Sorcerer and Warlock. Also contained in this supplement is a system for using the Enochian glyphs as buffs for yourself and your party members.
Barbarian – Path of the Demigod
Despite the hoards of fury-filled berserkers, “there are those few Barbarians who hold within their veins the blood of deities”. These warriors filled with righteous fury are sequestered and trained to focus their rage into divine fury.
Glorious Wrath
At 3rd level when you rage “burns with righteous light” that is so bright it effects enemies within a large area and this light deals additional divine damage from your weapons, which increases as you level up.
This is a gloriously bright ability that is just spectacular to imagine on the field or the blasted plains of Avernus and some bonus Radiant damage never hurt anyone...you liked, anyway. The concern I have with this ability is that the save for the righteous light is not quantified. Looking through the Player’s Handbook (PHB) and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGTE), the closest comparison I could find was the Storm Herald’s Storm Aura. Quoting XGTE, “the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.” I believe that this would be the case, though I cannot be certain and I believe this is simply a minor oversight that would almost certainly be rectified in an updated version.
Divine Hand
At 6th level you can summon weapons made of light! These weapons hit for a modest amount of Radiant damage that increases when you are raging.
First of all summoning weapons made of light is one of the coolest things ever, and the damage, while not as much as you might be used to dealing with Heavy weapons, has that light and fair trade off for the Radiant damage (not to mention the bonus from Divine Hand). This is a very cool, somewhat situational ability that just looks awesome, right up until the moment when you really need it. In those moments this is going to be quite literally a godsend.
Celestial Presence
At 10th level “the overwhelming power of your godly parent permeates the air around you as you rage.” Anyone trying to get pretty close to you gets burnt by the spirit of deity daddy, almighty mummy or whatever form your parent takes forcing a save that takes damage either way and can be overbearingly bright.
Again, a glorious image of a holy Barbarian with the air around becoming viscous and heavy with intense divine light emanating all around them, instantly comes to mind and I love it! This save is quantified and could possibly be applied to the first one where one is omitted, though the parameters of the save are different, so I wouldn’t be so sure. This is a bloody brilliant feature, which I would happily allow at my table, but comparing this to the PHB and XGTE 10th level features it seems to be in the higher end of power and ability.
Demihuman Fortitude
At 14th level your blood is that of a god and you gain an ability that enables you a couple of chances to gain a nice chunk of health back when your health is low. This increases at a higher level.
This is a really cool and flavourful ability that gives the Barbarian greater survivability, reflecting their Demihuman nature. I’m a big fan of finding alternate uses for the Character feature this ability makes use of and like this a lot.
The Barbarian, Path of the Demigod, is an awesome subclass filled with flavour, righteous fury and the blinding and healing light of you godly sire. Once the Glorious Wrath save has been addressed, I could very much see this being the first Barbarian I play. I’m thinking an Aasimar daughter of Freya or Tyr, leaning on the Norse side of things with standard blue tattoos, runes and warpaint that glow with radiant light when she rages!
Cardenas’ character art is phenomenal and the depiction of the Demigod Barbarian with their celestial sire standing ephemerally behind them truly captures the subclass’ godly essence.
Paladin – Oath of the Solar
These “true champions of divine justice” are the “mortal instruments of the most powerful angels” and have the righteous authority, strength and unwavering devotion to prove it. Divine justiceliness is next to Celestialiness.
Tenants of the Solar
These are described wonderfully, but break down to being the light, sword and justice of the divine, including judge, jury and executioner when called for.
Channel Divinity
At 3rd level Path of the Solar grants two more options for Channel Divinity:
Purge the Wicked: The Paladin can mark a target with Purging Sigil, granting benefits against them in combat and making sure the slain stay dead. This second aspect increases at higher levels.
Bear the Light: The Paladin can create a sun that hovers above them like a spherical halo of dazzling radiance as a reaction!
As a Paladin Path quite literally holier or at least divinier than thou it makes sense for them to get a little extra kick in the Channel Divinity department and these two abilities are epically flavourful and powerful, but balanced by each one being used against a single target. This truly is where flavour, mental image and mechanics come together, and I already want to build one of these Paladins without even checking out their other abilities...but I’m definitely going to that now.
Oath Spells
It’s a pretty awesome set of holy light and righteous fiery fury.
Aura of Radiance
At 7th level “the light of justice pours from your body” that allows them to let out a blaze of divine light as a reaction forcing Constitution Saves to all enemies nearby. The area of enemies effected increases at a higher level.
This is another flashy, visually and mechanically appealing ability that creates such great mental images, but as with the previous subclass, it suffers from not having the Constitution Save quantified. It was simpler for me to look up and make my assumption that this would be the same as the default Paladin Spell Save DC from the PHB, “8 + Proficiency + Charisma Modifier”. This is only my estimation and it would definitely be preferable for this to be addressed in an update.
In the Arms of the Angel
At 15th level you “grow colossal wings made out of white-gold feathers” that grant you flight and make you look so fly that certain creature types find you all the more charismatic.
As far as descriptions of features go, you have to go pretty darn far to best these perfect pinions and that they actually have a mechanical factor in how freaking cool you look! Did I mention, “colossal wings”!
Chosen of the Solar
At 20th level your truly are divinier than thou, with “waves of powerful light rolling from your body”. Once every few days you can literally embody your patron solar, or rather they mebody you, bringing there Celestial hardiness with them.
This is a stonking ability that truly makes the Paladin of the Solar the apotheosis of a tank! Another flavourful and epic features that allows for some interesting roleplaying options and enough health to headbutt a terrasque and laugh it off.
You had me at purge the wicked! I am all about this Paladin subclass that kicks arse and takes names for the angels! The art for this is awesome and I thoroughly enjoy a Minotaur was chosen to depict this class as the divine Minotaur with angels wings and Enochian runes on their shoulder guards just looks epic!
Sorcerer – Angelic Bloodline
With this bloodline you’ve always known you were special, perhaps because your blood is gold! Although if that wasn’t clue enough, the Angels sign your forehead as an 18th birthday present.
Angels Gift
At 1st level you choose which type of angel was your progenitor:
Deva: Grants a bonus to readied actions
Solar: Grants bonus radiant damage to your first attack
Planatar: Grants a bonus to an attribute’s check
There’s a resistance, but also you can summon an angelic fox! This is not a drill. ANGEL FOX FAMILIAR! With some very handy abilities.
So the ancestry bonuses are interesting and nice situational bonuses. The Solar bonus being to an attack with a weapon, rather than spell is an interesting one, but a crossbow bolt with a radiant blaze to it is still pretty damn cool. But who cares!?FRICKING FLYING ANGEL FOX FAMILIAR WITH AWESOME ABILITIES INCLUDING +1000 ADORABLENESS! AnGeL fOx!
Rain of Fire
At 6th Level you can summon “Celestial comets from the sky” in a decent sized radius rolling an almost blasphemous amount damage that increases at higher levels.
Holy comets Batman! This is such a freaking cool ability with another great visual, but I can’t help think it’s pretty overpowered compared to a lot of the other Sorcerers in the PHB and XGTE, essentially being a lesser Fireball once a day that doesn’t cost sorcery points. I’m not sure how I would feel about this at my table, but it’s so cool I would allow it with some changes, perhaps at a cost of 3 Sorcerer Points or lowering the amount of dice, possibly by half.
Wings of the Ancestors
At 14th level “you grow a titanic set of glowing feathered wings” that are super speedy and strong.
So what’s bigger colossal or titanic? I have seen spirited debate in my research, which seem to either have them as interchangeable synonyms or with titanic edging in front, so I suppose they will have to measure them against the Solar Paladin. At least the Angelic Sorcerer will always have the fact they get them a whole level sooner and, while they might not necessarily look as cool, they do actually work a heaven of a lot better.
The Doorway Opens
At 18th level you become so Celestial that you can call on your parent to come fight your battles for you, or at the least make a few actions and leave.
This is another ability that sounds and looks really cool, which just needs to quantifying to actually make sense. Looking at the Angels in question, they have actions, including Multiattacks, Spells, the Solar’s Legendary Actions, to name a few. The idea of calling an Angel and them having a few immediate actions is awesome, but with so many variables between the various Angels I can see this raising some questions on both sides of the screen, which is a shame as the concept is there, but it just needs more specificity.
I feel like I’ve been a bit harsh to the Angelic Bloodline Sorcerer, but it’s tough love because I do love it and know that it could truly be something special when some of the kinks have been worked out. Do I want to play one? Definitely! I would just have a very open conversation with my DM or my player’s about how we would handle the aspects seem overpowered of vague to me. Also, I really needs me one of those angelic flying fox Familiars! So cute and effective! Would love to see a statblock for it in a future update so it could have the potential to be an animal Sidekick for any pious PC. Also, the option and rules for a small Hollyphant familiar would be phenomenal, but that’s just my greedy, sinful wishes.
The art is just spectacular and that angelic fox is almost too adorable with its glowing eyes and little wings...the Sorcerer looks radiant too, but ANGELIC FOXXXXX!
Warlock – Patron: The Archangel
These Patrons are more often than not, Solars who seek our Warlocks who have lost their patrons and / or those searching for meaning and atonement.
The spells gained at the various levels are an interesting mix of many more utility and restorative spells than Warlocks normally get their hands on, though no actual healing, and some offensive spells drawing from the more pious and natural spell lists.
Archangel’s Oath
At 1st level you get to understand and talk to the angels with skill, as well as emanating a golden light from your body and “tattoos of golden chains encircle your forearms and torso.”
It makes sense to be able to make nice with those angelic beings giving you a second chance, but I absolutely adore the golden chain tattoos! Definitely a wondrous image, evoking Kratos’ chains and marks from the God of War video games, and the binding and servitude to the Celestial patron. I think the light is merely cosmetic, but it sounds cool and could be used to help and hinder depending on how you and your DM choose to interpret it together.
Redemptive Step
At 6fh level you gain the ability to take a hit for someone else and make the attacker feel bad for what they’ve done...with pain!
This is a really cool feature that finds that sweet spot between flavour and mechanics. The image of stepping up and taking the blow for someone else and the enemy getting a taste of their own medicine is great. I see the Warlock walking into the blow with arms raised of open, welcoming the attack and perhaps grabbing them or merely placing a hand on the attacker’s weapon, sending retributive damage back at the aggressor.
Strike of Judgement
At 10th level you gain extra damage on top of your crits, which increases at higher levels.
So far every feature has had flavour and its own cinematography in my head, but this kinda falls flat. Crits are awesome and bonus radiant damage is great, but I’ve come to expect more drama from this supplement.
Celestial Deliverance
At 14th level you gain the ability to create a magical circle that grants you great restorative powers without spending Spellslots. While in the Inscribed circle there is healing, but you can also cast the granted spell outside of the circle.
Okay, so I ended up describing that quite poorly to try avoid giving all the secrets away, but the feature itself is brimming with flavour. The description of walking out of the circle “with Celestial sigils radiating from your body and appearing wherever you step” is fantastic and the ability works mechanically and with the lore of the subclass, which is awesome.
For me, this isn’t one of those instantly wanting to build a character right, stat, now! But there is such potential for creating a rich backstory or having a conversion over the course of campaign! I can definitely see myself using this class for NPCs, possibly even enemies that my players let live or had to run from, having a come to Angel moment leading to an awkward reunion and necessary team up in a battle against evil. Now that’s some inspirational subclass, even if I’m not chomping at the bit to play one.
The divine Tiefling Hellboy with lambent horn tips, golden chains hanging from their wrists and reading a hovering tome might not be my favourite of the supplement, but it really is an evocative piece of an the Internally tainted turning themselves over to the divine. I also love the additional horns and facial features in this image.
Enochian Inscribing
“Enochian is a confusing pseudo-language as it has no true translation”, which is a whole lot of what the Avernus? This strange pseudo-language uses its own and English letters, referencing values of tarot cards, and I am absolutely fascinated and incredibly confused. Luckily Day lays out a complete table with the Enochian letter, It’s English equivalent, the tarot card associated with it and the ability the glyph grants in a nice clear manner.
“The Enochian language was used to create wards and magical locks”, which Day has converted to allow for them to be “inked, painted, etched, carved or tattooed” onto yourself, a team mate or an item.
This systems uses a new set of tools and materials, including a ritual dagger, athame, and one of the baby Jesus’ first Christmas presents, myrrh, which includes images of the real thing, and I have to say that myrrh looks darn tasty. It looks like a cross between popcorn chicken and honeycomb! These items are retroactively added to Priest’s Packs.
The three separate methods, drawn or painted, etched/ carved or sewn and tattooed or branded, are detailed along with the cost, materials and time needed to perform these activities/ rituals. Sensible limits are placed on the number of glyphs and how they are maintained or lost.
The list of glyphs and there abilities is long and varied with some obvious bonuses, as well as some really interesting and bizarre abilities, such as one that grants three “clues” that can be used to make someone give a full and complete answer to a question, and another that creates the illusion of “something or someone the effected desires to hold, such as a long lost loved one, or departed friend.” The former has some great utility, while the layer is absolutely creepy cool and reminds of the goo clones the ship creates to keep Summer safe in Rick and Morty.
This optional system is well thought out and researched. It’s clear that this and the entire supplement are a passion project and I am very intrigued to dabble with some Enochian in my games to prepare myself for my eventual Descent Into Avernus game.
Layout and Design
This really is something! Holmes’ use of an aged paper effect with stylised medieval lettering are enough to give this supplement the feeling of being an old, sacred pamphlet without making it too difficult to read. With the addition of Caradenas’ wonderful character art and thematic stock images, the layout and design of the supplement is stylish and professional. However, I would suggest that providing a non-stylised accessible PDF should be the standard, if not a requirement for DMs Guild/ Drivethru RPG for more accessibility. Also, unfortunately due to the formatting, it does not seem to be possible to select or copy text, which is not a huge factor, but in this age of using more devices for character sheets and D&D Beyond (as well as humble reviewing), it is a great benefit to be able to copy and paste text.
When looking at subclasses and other player options the most important factor for me is whether or not I feel that instant excitement and urge to start building a character right there and then, and I have to say that three of the four gave me that rush of excitement, while the fourth made gave me great inspiration for NPCs and ideas for my games, which are also great.
I had the sudden thought that with all the lights and pyrotechnics, getting these folx together in a dark room or cave with some funky Bards and you could create a rave worthy of the Archangels! This is the visualisation and excitement I have had poring over this supplement; there are so many fantastic ideas, imagery, flavour and fantastic abilities that had me hooked from the word go. This has an incredible excitement factor and will definitely bring a lot of joy and mayhem to your table, being especially fun and suited for Descent Into Avernus!
On the other hand the lack of quantifying the saves that abilities call for and the odd ability being somewhat overpowered or missing the pazzaz of the others (in my humble opinion) is a bit of a shame in such a quality supplement. Luckily these are things that can easily be remedied in, but it was confusing to see and had me poring over my PHB and XGTE to come up with suggestions.
I have thought long and hard about how to rate this title. It truly has the potential to be five star quality and it is ludicrous to think of rating this three stars, so for now I am giving this a very high four, which I could easily see becoming a five with later additions. I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this supplement and definitely recommend it, especially if you are playing DIA. There are such rich ideas and cool mechanics that brought me such joy. I look forward to keeping up to date with this to see if my recommendations and/ or the necessary elements for saves are added in the future.
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