Angel archetype character...ideas?

[Burnout]

Re: Re: A bushel of Angels

 

Originally posted by BNakagawa

I wonder if that power should work on a PC who did not have a soul.

 

Well just because you are an atheist doesn't mean you don't have a soul. It just depends on how you look at it.

[Supreme]

Re: Re: Re: A bushel of Angels

 

Originally posted by Burnout

Well just because you are an atheist doesn't mean you don't have a soul. It just depends on how you look at it.

I don't think he was referring to an atheist character. There are other "soulless" options. What about androids? vampires? werewolves?

[Rage]

Originally posted by Supreme

That's because it isn't there. It's in the volumes and volumes of essays and discourses written by people examining the bible. A lot of these things are decided in the various councils of the pre-schism Catholic Church. That's where they decide things like that.

"Do Christians have to be Jews?"

"What is the nature of divinity?"

"Was Jesus present at the creation of the universe?"

"Was Jesus half-God and half-human, or was he all one or the other?"

And if I remember correctly, the angel was not mentioned as "Satan" by name in the book of Job. Many sects have an official interpretation that it was Satan, and may have printed devotional translations that reflect that interpretation. But, the book itself does not give the angel a name.

 

Ahhh Dogma....

 

and it was Satan

Job: 1:6-12 NIV

6 One day the angels [1] came to present themselves before the LORD , and Satan [2] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD , "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD .

 

Job 1:6-12 KJV

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

[paul_runstedler]

Wow! Some really awesome ideas out there.

 

A whopping great presence has been taken to heart. I think he has 25 to start, plus he gets his +20 (from his AOA aid - since he doesn't have a personal immunity - though its only vs pres attacks)

 

Then he has his holy might, which adds another 15 on there. This is the point where he turns from the dustry traveller into the white winged angel of heaven. (total pres 60 vs all pres attacks, 40 to make pres attacks with)

 

The game has started, and I decided that this character only has memory of his life for the last 2 weeks (the amount of time he's been on earth). He doesn't really know what he is yet (though he has his suspicions). He has no knowledge of most earthly things except the basics. He has an immense amount of knowledge about God, his ways, Jesus' teachings, etc. So he travels as a priest. He knows he has some strange abilities, but they haven't all shown themselves.

 

We're playing in a kind of post-holocaust world (very similary the world in SK's gunslinger books). Anyway, another character in the party has created a character that is essentially a vampire (albeit one that is trying to reform - ala Loius from Anne Rice's 'Interview with the Vampire').

 

As you can imagine, our meeting hasn't been the smoothest. It didnt help that we accompanied a vampire hunter into the town to hunt down this player's character

 

Some interesting disadvantages for him is his inability to lie, and his sense of honor etc.

 

Paul

[st barbara]

Given that my "other" champions character "Zianor" is er "blessed" by an angel I guess I should say something here. If you are looking for names and perhaps basic ideas try getting hold of a copy of "A Dictionary Of Angels" by Gustav Davidson. Although the descriptions are often brief, it may give you some ideas for names of some lesser known angels and even suggestions for their powers. "Zianor" for example is described as "An angel invoked in the conjurartion of inks and colours". My character "Zianor" is an illusionist (images) with flight, desolid and a visible T K hand !(he also has universal translator, but only for written languages, and i've just added some healing as well). But I started with the above quoted 10 word description !

[Smoot]

Highly recommend taking a look at In Nomine . The game weaves together lots of kinds of angelic lore into a modern setting, and also has some neat concepts you could use: Words, for example- basically, what the angel is the Angel of (Mercy, Justice, Comfort For the Grieving, etc) The "other side" has them, too (Wrath, Gluttony, Taking Credit for Other People's Work, etc).

 

Before sending you to City of Angels, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the German movies that it 'came from'- Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire and So Far Away, So Close!. The angels in them have a really wonderful sort of telepathy. (They are subtitled, though, I should say.)

 

Neil Gaiman's done some nice stuff about "The Silver City", too- his short story "Murder Mysteries" is about the first murder- before Humans, before even the Earth.

 

The two, taken together, are pretty clear influences on DC's character "Zauriel". Interestingly, he couldn't truly be killed unless his name was erased from The Book.

 

Oh, and I just read a book suggesting that Kevin Smith's, um, bouncy and unorthodox take on theology in Dogma came from looking at it like a fanboy- he dives into concepts like Plenary Indulgence with the same glee as he would, say, the continuity of the Crisis on Infinite Earths or the fate of contractors on the second Death Star.

 

The tricky thing about an angelic character is that you can 'fit' almost anything onto the idea- Angels, as instruments of divine will, would be given (or 'lent') enough oomph to Get The Job Done, no matter what the assignment. The idea of an angel, say, losing, is a bit unusual.

 

The IN game resolves this, a bit, with the concept of The Symphony- a metaphor for the Plan, as it were. "Celestials" in that game don't just come in, with city-levelling power, because it would disrupt things to an unacceptable degree. (The Other Side doesn't, because it'd attract unwanted attention.)

 

Your character could maybe be on Earth on assignment (protect this, prevent that, ensure the other thing). Probably not an Archangel (overkill for anything not actually ending the universe), but perhaps from the lower echelons.

 

From there, who knows? Aloof and judging; protective and subtle; curious and almost jealous of Humans; bold but basically following orders, all have precedent in one place or another...

 

How's it going so far? Character coming along OK?

 

PS: Maybe angels can't 'sin' per se, because the concept of Sin is intended to determine where Humans go in the afterlife? (As an Angel can't 'die', it can't really have an afterlife as such)

[McCoy]

Originally posted by Supreme

It's a commonly accepted rule of theology that divine beings, such as angels, are incapable of sinning, or tempting others to sin. You should write in some physical limitations to this effect.

 

It is?

 

I thought it was more commonly accepted that Angels have Free Will, that they CAN sin, but they choose not to.

 

So instead of a physical limitation, I would have given the character a high Ego, or levels to bring up the Ego roll to at least 17.

[paul_runstedler]

Originally posted by Smoot

How's it going so far? Character coming along OK?

 

PS: Maybe angels can't 'sin' per se, because the concept of Sin is intended to determine where Humans go in the afterlife? (As an Angel can't 'die', it can't really have an afterlife as such) [/b]

 

Thanks for all the info. I'll examine when I get a few free minutes. Things are going well so far. In the game I'm playing, the angel doesn't really know what he is. He is very pious, and humble. He treats his devotion to God as a very important thing (obviously). Currently, we're in a church, speaking with a cardinal. A band of 'evil-doers' (for lack of a better term) has broken in to ensure we don't cut in on their evil-doing. This is the first time that rage has boiled up within Liam (that's his name). He finds it quite foreign, but is having trouble controling it. One of the villians has already taken a hostage (a middle-aged woman who was praying in a pew at the time). Its a challenge to play since Liam doesn't like to hurt anyone, but the desecration of a place of worship added together with a threat to end innocent lives has enraged him to an almost uncontrollable point.

 

Paul

[Supreme]

Originally posted by McCoy

It is?

 

I thought it was more commonly accepted that Angels have Free Will, that they CAN sin, but they choose not to.

 

So instead of a physical limitation, I would have given the character a high Ego, or levels to bring up the Ego roll to at least 17.

Well, maybe I'm misremembering my theology from college (religious studies major at UC Davis). However, I do remember that divine beings, such as Christ, are unable to sin or tempt others to sin (which is sort of redundant because that's a sin in and of itself). I was assuming that angels are inherently divine beings. I realize that this is contradictory with the rebellion of the Morning Star (aka Lucifer) and the rebellion of Heaven, but that wouldn't be the first time would it?