Angelic Creatures
Angels are a type of Celestial being of Lawful Good alignment. They are often seen as the champions of the heavenly forces. They are susceptible to powers that target Celestial beings, as well as powers that target creatures with the Good or Lawful keyword. They are also susceptible to Banishment when not on their home plane.
Angel Characteristics
Resembling large, muscular and exceptionally beautiful humanoids, quite often gifted with large feathered wings sprouting from their backs, these immortals serve as guardians, saviors, judges and agents of divine vengeance in the name of a higher power. Angels are beings of celestial origin, creatures that live in the heavens, most commonly in service to a goodly deity. They are divinely gifted humanoids who are, by their very nature, holy power incarnate. All angels are good, and cannot be evil, although they can run the gamut from chaotic to lawful, depending on their nature and who they choose to serve.
Most Angels prefer fine metal armor and weaponry infused with the energy of their home plane, their equipment serving as an extension of their bodies. Angels can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, choosing to imitate the forms of the races most devoted to their deities. However, they still tend to be somewhat larger and more attractive than their mortal counterparts, as well as sharing a variety of different skin colors that better reflect their individual quirks and personality traits. An Angel quick to judgement and fierce in his wrath might have a vibrant red hue to him, while a more calm and introspective Angel may have a deep blue or purple tint to his skin. These physical features and personality traits can largely be attributed to the holy energy living inside each one, altered slightly by the will of the god they serve.
History
Religion is an integral part of almost every civilization in existence. Since the mortal races first began to develop society, the desire and need for religion came shortly after to sustain it, and in this Gods and Angels found a foothold. Many believe that Angels are merely extensions of the gods, divine energy given physical form. Others believe that they are solitary creatures, immortal humanoids advanced far beyond the realms of man who choose to serve a power higher than themselves, shepherding the lesser races to a similar state of higher being. They have appeared in a variety of locations throughout the history of mortals, but their reasons for getting involved seem to vary greatly from Angel to Angel. Some have appeared during massive holy wars fought between two opposing religious factions, sometimes aiding one side of the fight to seal victory, other times to stop the fighting, demanding a different resolution. Others have been found aiding a single human of an extraordinary devout nature in a cause deemed worthy of the Angel’s interest.
When not protecting those that live on the surface, Angels have been known to spend much of their time combating the evil forces of the lower planes, the seemingly infinite number of demons and devils that constantly threaten to corrupt or extinguish mortal life. These wars seem to rage on without end, and most mortals only hear of their repercussions through clerics and powerful holy men, people who can see the celestial workings of their god. The effects of the constant struggle very rarely reach the mortal plane, as such an event could open the gates to a cataclysm that the world could never recover from.
Culture
Angels, despite being divinely inspired, joke, laugh, cry, fight, create art, compete, and challenge each other much as mortals do. Many angels are born to a specific task, and carry it out without question, the more powerful ones sometimes being given management over an aspect of their gods profile. Lesser angels have their regular duties they must carry out, such as answering minor prayers, guarding the secrets of the divine from curious mortals, and defeating evil forces that threaten them or their worshippers. Outside of this, some spend their time in the heavens, living amongst other Angels in vast cities of unimaginable beauty and splendor. While perhaps more fantastic in appearance and function than mortal realms, their day to day activities do not differ much from those of average people. The more powerful celestial beings tend to be devoted to their work and spend much less time in leisure, ready to carry out the commands of their God at a moment’s notice. Those created with less free will tend to be enormously powerful, acting more as a conduit for their god’s wrath than an autonomous agent for the divine.
Perhaps one of the most unrelatable traits from Angel to mortal is the fact that these divine creatures are not born in the traditional sense. They are created from divine essence, either by the will of a specific God or by simply willing themselves into being from a state of raw energy. Angels cannot reproduce, but they have been known to guide more than a few worthy departed souls into the eternal holy engine so that they might be reborn under a nobler banner.