One Winged Angel / Tabletop Games

---

• Anima: Beyond Fantasy:
  • Omega has two different forms: one (the first) that is an Expy of the seven headed-dragon that appears in The Bible's Book of Revelation and other that is an Ersatz of Final Fantasy VI's Kefka Palazzo. The game has also Lazarus — justified as he's an Expy of Sephiroth — as well as Fallen Angel Dinah, who has decided to seal most of her power.
  • Surpass Death from the Necromancy path of magic is sorta this. It's only usable when the target is just about to die, and it turns them into an undead entity while giving them a fairly sizable chunk of extra points to spend on monster powers and the like. As such, it's kind of like a One Winged Angel that necromancers can do to other people as well as themselves. Of course, there's not really any way to revert back, but it's still a step up from dying. That aside, there's a monster power that allows for having multiple forms, and yes, it can be keyed to having taken a certain amount of damage (in fact it's the cheaper way to do it!), and no, the forms do not innately share damage taken (unless they took the penalty that says otherwise for a cost break).
• CthulhuTech:
  • Dhohanoids are Half Human Hybrids that can change between a human form and a monstrous one.
  • Tagers are able to do this, too... but in keeping with the fact that they're good guys, their One-Winged Angel is a bit more streamlined than that of Dhohanoids.
  • Nyarlathotep tends to do this in mythos RPGs. Destroying his human form often causes him to manifest as some kinds of sanity-blasting monstrosity.
• Dungeons & Dragons:
  • Ragnorra, the obligatory Body Horror entry from Elder Evils, transforms from a bloated blob of wormlike flesh into a curiously human face made out of strands — her True Mother form. While spawning utterly abhorrent monstrosities that simply should not be.
  • Averted with Asmodeus: While his true form is apparently a giant primordial serpent of some sort, the rules given for fighting him — as unlikely a situation it would be to fight the super-intelligent, scheming ruler of all Hell — only describe fighting him in his humanoid devil form (Presumably because, against a being to whom the word "god" would be an insult, your party wouldn't stand a chance).
  • Played straight with Lolth, the evil goddess of the drow, whose infamous One-Winged Angel form — that of a half-drow-half-spider — has been well-known since the First Edition. Most recently, in the Fourth Edition's Monster Manual 3 (where she received updated stats and appeared on the cover), far greater detail was given on how she transformed. (If reduced to zero hit points in her drow form, she turns into her One-Winged Angel form automatically, where she's stronger and much, much more dangerous than before.)
  • Player characters can perform similar feats with certain spells and magic items — and some classes (usually prestige classes) have it as an innate feature, usually gained at very high levels.
  • Mythic Odysseys of Theros in the Fifth Edition introduces Mythic Monsters, which have a second phase to the fight after knocking them down to 0 HP the first time (often radically changing their mechanics). The sourcebook itself gives three: Arasta, Hythonia and Tromokratis, which are powerful boss monsters.
    • Fizban's Treasury of Dragons introduces Mythic versions of dragons called Greatwyrms, which are immortal 1,200+ year old Ancient Dragons that consumed/fused with parallel versions of themselves across multiple Material Planes, and Aspects, which are Mythic versions of Tiamat and Bahamut. Also included are Ancient Dragon Turtles which, unlike its Ancient Dragon cousins, are Mythic. While the Gem Greatwyrms do not have any Mythic labeling or actions, they do have a second phase like a Mythic creature.
    • Adding in the Dragon Spellcasting rules from Monster Manual gives Gem Greatwyrms 7 8th level spell slots, Chromatics 8 9th level slots, and Metallics 10 9th level slots. They can only cast each spell once a day, but odds are you won't survive after it casts Invulnerability, Power Word Heal, or WISH on itself. Worse still is having the dragon casting Clone before the fight, giving it over 2400 HP if it uses Clone, Power Word Heal, and Wish all in the same fight.
  • Icewind Dale Rime Of The Frostmaiden takes this a step further with Auril, who has three different forms, each fought one after another. Unlike the Mythic Monsters described above, Auril plays the trope straight.
• Exalted just loves this trope.
  • Lunar Deadly Beastman Transformation, or Warform, allows them to transform into a nine-feet tall monstrous merge of their animal and human forms. It comes with increase to physical parameters, host of mutations to represent the alterations and ability to instantly activate a wide array of complementary Charms to buff themselves up higher. And even if you can deal with all that and beat it down to a point when every other Exalt would lie on the ground and helplessly bleed out to death? The Lunar does not bleed. The Lunar regenerates and will get up for a round two if you turn your back on the body.
  • Several Lunar Knacks serve to enhance their forms further, letting them grow their animal form or warform to Kaiju comparable sizes and go a-stomping.
  • Infernals have Shintai charms which let them change into a monstrous form based on the Yozi the power is derived from. The most minor ones for physical changes turn you into a version of you crafted from red mist (Scarlet Rapture) or sand (Soul-Sand Devil), can split off a mortal clone of you (Splintered Gale), or allow you to copy someone else (Black Mirror). More extreme ones give you a constellation of crystalline orbs (Heuristic Logos). The most one-winged of them are Tenebrous Apotheosis (which ramps you up to become the Ebon Dragon), All-Devouring Depths (which turns you into a shoggoth), Demon Emperor (which turns you into a walking Ground Zero), Greater Shintai of the Endless Desert (which turns you into a living geographical feature) and Devil-Tyrant Avatar (which allows you to string together mutations to build your own form). Of these, only Soul-Sand Devil and Splintered Gale can't be used as a rude surprise in combat, and that's only because one is permanently in effect and the other is used to create mortals, although one odd Splintered Gale build theoretically allows you to mass-produce cloned suicide bombers.
    • Since Devil-Tigers each get their own Charm trees, they end up gaining at least one Shintai charm that reflects their nature, they each have their own unique one-winged angel form.
    • In the upcoming third edition of the game, the system gets revamped to allow you mix and match the pieces (which you get by buying other Charms) to create your own Shintai.
  • The Shintai Charms are augmented by the Charm Driven Beyond Death. When an Infernal hits the Incapacitated Health Level, they make like they're downed (like, say, going down on one knee). Then their anima banner erupts, and they have one turn where they're completely untouchable but can only activate a Shintai Charm. At that point, they reenter battle with their Essence pool somewhat refreshed... and at the end of the battle, they have to roll not to keel over regardless.
  • Even Sidereals get into this: they turn their Familiars or mortal acquaintances into massive Elemental Dragons which they can ride. Unfortunately, this destroys the personality of the pet and reduces them to a vegetative state when it's over unless the Sidereal sacrifices a dot of permanent Willpower to let them live on in their Dragon form.
  • The errata document for 2e includes an upgrade to the stats of the Unconquered Sun as he appears in the Glories of the Most High supplement that gives him an enhanced form called Magnanimous Unbound Sun that gives him an extra couple hundred health levels, an extra 28 arms, constant regeneration, and the inability to be killed unless this enhanced form can be dealt with.
  • There are Sorcery spells available to all Exalt types: Incomparable Body Arsenal turns the caster into a mechanical creature, sprouting weapons out of anywhere, while Invulnerable Skin of Bronze can complement that with increased defences.
  • On the high end, there is a powerful necromantic spell, Birth of Sanity's Sorrow. It activates at the moment of the necromancer's death, and transforms their dying corpse into a titanic monstrosity of grotesque design, inspired by the necromancer's delusions and nightmares of dead principles. Fortunately, BoSS is usually only accessible to very high level Abyssals and their Deathlord masters.
  • On the Martial Arts front, the capstone Charm of Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style turns you into a kind of gazelle/carp hybrid abomination made out of dreams (or nightmares). This transformation can last indefinitely, but is addictive and hard to turn off, while abuse may lead to you getting dissolved into the world of dreams.
  • On the Blossom of Perfected Lotus, the Sidereal Martial Arts (it is noted that the previous entry is touching on that level), a couple of Styles are worthy of note here. From Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Style, Four Magical Materials Form turns you into a living Artifact with huge boosts all around^note And it's theoretically possible to create a Charm that allows to to integrate a fifth magical material. (and even more if you use the Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Form capstone to combine it with other MA forms). Meanwhile, Beauty in the Eye, from Border of Kaleidoscopic Logic Style, has you vanish for a turn and return with an explosion, transformed into a titanic figure modeled after the deity that granted your Exaltation and shaped from elemental substance most prevalent in the region.
  • Shards of the Exalted Dream has Burn Legend, which reimagines Exalted as a kind of Tekken kung fu brawl setting. The Overdrive for Yamajin, known as Demon Emperor Shintai but bearing no similarities with the one described above, causes you to take on a monstrous form and get +3 to all your stats until you lose a health stock. Generally speaking, if a Yamajin gets up to Demon Emperor Shintai, the rest of the fight will not go well for the other player unless they get incredibly lucky or can predict what attack the big guy is about to use.
• GURPS allows a player to build their own version with the alternate form advantage.
• In Nomine: Angels, demons, and spirits of the Marches cannot manifest in their true forms on Earth without creating a lot of very obvious spiritual noise, and instead use corporeal bodies, referred to as "vessels", to go about quietly. These usually resemble humans or animals to avoid standing out. Baal also has a number of "combat vessels" that he keeps in reserve, which are monstrous war forms that he can take when he needs to personally enter a battle.
• Mutant Chronicles: Erwin Stahler starts out as a human-sized model on the battlefield, but once he's down, he goes One-Winged Angel and turns into a bigger, armored mutant with big honking claws.
• Mythender: Characters grow increasingly inhuman-looking as they draw on more and more Mythic power. A Mythender who has assumed his full, surreal Godlike Form is likely to be very powerful, and also likely to be very close to losing his humanity entirely.
• NeoQuest II, a Neo Pets' web-based RPG parody/thingy, has the final boss "defeated", then returning with a few additional immunities, double the HP, and a double-sized graphic. And additional limbs, wings, spikes, and menace.
• Pathfinder: This happens occasionally; you usually don't fight both forms back-to-back, though:
  • Barzillai Thrune, the Big Bad of the Hell's Rebels adventure path, is fought and slain at the end of the fourth adventure (out of six) and appears to be defeated at that point. In the final adventure, though, the PCs discover that he had performed a ritual that threatens to bring him back as a Genius Loci inhabiting the entire region. To prevent this, they have to travel to Hell and confront Barzillai again, this time in the body of a powerful devil.
  • The mastermind behind much of the Carrion Crown adventure path, Adivion Adrissant, is never fought in his human form. As the PCs approach him he desperately drinks the eponymous elixir, which transforms him into a powerful undead known as a forsaken lich.
  • Likewise, the PCs spend much of the Strange Aeons adventure path pursuing the mad scholar Haserton Lowls. When they finally catch up with him at the end of the path, he's fused with the Great Old One Xhamen-Dor to form an Eldritch Abomination that is one of the final bosses of the campaign.
• Rocket Age: The adventure "The Mind Dunes of the Moon" ends with a character revealing their true nature by turning into... something alien and other.
• Warhammer:
  • Warhammer 40,000: In older editions, Greater Daemons aligned with Chaos Space Marines do not appear with the rest of the army, but must be summoned into combat. This involves the sacrifice of a champion. This actually allows you to initiate a One-Winged Angel transformation mid-game, as the Daemon will always be considerably more powerful than whatever hapless shlep it used to be.
  • Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Morathi, the High Oracle of Khaine, starts her battles in aelven form and can change into her monstrous snake-like Shadow Queen form during her turn or be forced to change if she suffers wounds.
  • Warhammer Fantasy: Warriors of Chaos can be blessed or cursed with "gifts" from their patron Gods, turning them steadily more inhuman. Eventually, at a certain point, the weak-willed become mindless Chaos Spawn, while those with Villainous Willpower ascend into Daemon Princes who retain their sentience and control over their vast powers. In either case the warrior now becomes a full Daemon extra vulnerable to anti-Daemon abilities and armament.
• The World of Darkness:
  • Beast: The Primordial: The titular Beasts (or Begotten) are people whose souls are replaced with "Horrors", basically living nightmares in the shape of a mythological monsters. By default, a Beast has an entirely human body, with her Horror residing inside her Lair and granting her a portion of her abilities when needed. When in the right condition, however, a Beast can summon her Lair in her immediate environment, which has the effect of merging her with her Horror and temporarily assume the shape (and powers) of the monster.
  • Demon: The Descent: The Unchained can change into their true demonic forms, which tend towards bio-mechanical horror, befitting their status as former servants of the God-Machine. It's also possible for a demon in dire circumstances to "go loud", assuming their demonic form at full power with a healthy store of Aether; however, it irrevocably rips their mortal identity apart, meaning they're now a big glowing beacon for all their divine enemies.
  • Demon: The Fallen: The Fallen have "apocalyptic forms", echoes of their glory from when they served Heaven. Each form is based off of a primal incarnation of the Lores the angel knows; therefore, a Devil in the mold of Lucifer could have an apocalyptic form that's either a pillar of fire or a glorious, shining light, and a Devourer could have an apocalyptic form that's either a man with the head of a lion or the perfection of human flesh made manifest. But if the demon's weighed down by Torment, well... expect the apocalyptic form to look honked up.
  • Leviathan: The Tempest: The titular Leviathans have seven levels of monstrosity they can assume, known as Depths. Each successive Depth makes the Leviathan more physically powerful and allows them to draw more power from their Channels, but also makes them more clearly monstrous and inhuman. There's also a Merit known as "One Winged Angel" which lets a Leviathan on the verge of death instantly drop down to Apotheosis (the seventh, most powerful and inhuman Depth) and full-heal in the process.
  • Princess: The Hopeful: This is the signature power of the Cataphracts, incarnate spirits of Darkness which can be created when a sapient being commits suicide or otherwise gives up on life. Normally, a Cataphract wears a copy of the body of the one whose despair gave them form, but in emergencies they can shed this façade and assume a much more powerful and clearly inhuman form. However, embracing their inhuman nature in this way erodes the pretense of humanity by which they define themselves: Each use of this ability reduces their Willpower score by 1, and they can only regain these lost Willpower dots by going a full month without using their monstrous form. If this reduces their Willpower score to zero, they lose their ability to mimic a human body and mind, and become nothing more than a particularly powerful Darkspawn.
  • Vampire: The Masquerade: Vampires have access to some nasty disciplines that let them do this, such as Zulo Form of Vicissitude, the armor of living shadow of Obtenebration, the War Form of Protean and Serpentis.
  • The aforementioned Shintai charms first appeared in Kindred of the East, as Supernatural Martial Arts that Kuei-Jin can learn. All of them turn their user into a horrid, no-nonsense monstrosity when activated. And yes, it had a Demon Emperor Shintai, which is your Superpowered Evil Side made manifest.
  • Werewolf: The Apocalypse: All werecreatures have access to a huge hybrid warform, mostly a huge anthropomorphic animal creature like a three-metre tall wolf-man, which is extremely powerful but comes at the cost of causing instinctive terror in humans and being gripped by furious bloodlust. The Mokole, the lizard keepers of Gaia's memory, are a notable case. What's the warform of a race of crocodiles, gila monsters and assorted reptiles? Why, your very own dragon/dinosaur/kaiju-lookalike, individualized for every character by a list of traits including "razor claws", "poison sacs", "huge size" or "wings". They dream up their form from ages past — and some of those dreams can be pretty weird indeed.
  • Werewolf: The Forsaken: In addition to a human and a wolf form, werewolves have access to a huge, monstrous hybrid warform.

---