It's canon that some erinyes are fallen angels, or descended from same. The Habbalah take that a step further. They're erinyes who believe that they are still, in fact, angels. They're still fighting for Law, and -- they think -- they're still fighting for Good. They're just doing it with the gloves off. Heaven's other servants have fatally crippled the war effort with foolish, liberal notions of "mercy", "tolerance", "kindness" and "redemption". The Habbalah know that there can be no mercy in the endless war: no slacking, no questioning, no hesitation, no pity. Others may think they have "fallen", but the Habbalah know the truth: that they are actually Heaven's purest and most dedicated servants. And they're carrying the battle forward from the most dangerous advanced position of all... Hell itself.
This is, of course, completely nuts. And the Habbalah are all, every last one of them, insane. The typical Habbalah is a psychopathically fanatic paranoid narcissist, utterly convinced of her own goodness and righteousness as she carves a path of death, torture and terror through the planes of creation. A typical Habbalah will focus on a single sin or type of wickedness -- lust, say, or greed. Then she'll set herself to destroying the sin by destroying, torturing, or damning the sinners. And in the eyes of the Habbalah, pretty much everyone is a sinner. Committed the sin? Guilty. Thought about committing the sin? Guilty. Failed to actively seek out those who commit the sin? Guilty. Been a victim? Accessory before the fact -- you must have invited it -- Guilty. Weakness is a vice that must be punished and purged without remorse. If you're not joining the struggle against evil, you are objectively pro-evil. We are the sword and the arm of righteousness. You're either wholeheartedly with us, right now, or you're against us.
The Habbalah live in Hell and serve Asmodeus. Of course, in their minds, that doesn't mean they're damned! No. The very suggestion is grossly offensive. Working for the Lord of Lies is just a temporary expedient, an extended tactical maneuver in the long struggle. Sure, he's an enemy, but this is how they can get the freedom of action they need. Think of a cop who goes undercover as a drug dealer so that he can gun down rival drug dealers. Even if he's dealing drugs and obeying a drug kingpin's orders, it's a net positive, right? The ends justify the means. One day Heaven will understand.
And what does Hell think of all this? Well, Asmodeus thinks it's great. The Habbalah are among the few servants of darkness that can consistently bring a smile -- a dark, terrible smile -- to his face. He is downright fond of the Habbalah, and there are several in his court.
As for other devils? They recognize that the Habbalah are mad, of course. But this is Hell. The measurement of success is not sanity, but efficiency. And the Habbalah, fanatics all, tend to be very, very good at their jobs. Also, they're incredibly tenacious at holding grudges, even by the standards of Hell. Telling a Habbalah that it's actually a fallen angel is a vile, unforgivable insult that will earn the creature's undying and relentless enmity. It's generally not worth the trouble.
The Habbalah love disguising themselves as angels. (Because, of course, to them it's not a disguise.) If challenged, they are fiendishly good at coming up with excuses for discrepancies. This aura of evil? I'm still contaminated by my long sojourn in the flaming Pit. The paladin I killed? Was about to fall -- looking into his heart, I saw the worm at work, and struck before he could be transformed into a champion of evil. Asmodeus enjoys turning them loose on the material plane, where they build and encourage organizations that do evil in the name of good. If a kingdom is launching a "pre-emptive" war against a neighbor, or a church is torturing and executing heretics "to protect the souls of the innocent"... could be there's a Habbalah at work.
Note that the Habbalah are insane, not stupid. Attempts to fool or trick them into recognizing their true status are unlikely to succeed. It would require the equivalent of a Wish or Miracle -- and even then, it's not clear what would happen.
In game terms, you can quickly turn an ordinary erinyes into a Habbalah simply by giving it the Madness SQ (use Charisma instead of Wisdom for saves) and using the Advanced template. However, most Habbalah have class levels -- the nature of their madness is such that they've undergone rigorous Darwinian selection.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
