I personally think the angels as written in the Monster Manual... kinda sucks, since they're given very little lore outside "They live in the Upper Planes and they maybe/kinda/sorta serve the gods... Sometimes". In my new setting, I took some time to properly world build the angels that inhabit the world, and I thought I'd share:
Angels in the Border Realms are divided into three races; Khaverim, Aasimon and Archons, each representing a different kind of angel. I've also included some notes on how to customize them and what stat blocks to use, but I generally just use whatever stat block feels most appropriate for the level and situation;
Khaverim are the "Angels as protectors of humans". Khaverim, also known as Astral angels, or Astralis Angeli in Celestial, are created very rarely when the hopes, dreams, thoughts and, most of all, belief of mortals coalesce in the Astral Sea. Khaverim are "born" with free will, and are not dependent on alignment or higher wills, but generally feel drawn to the Prime Material. In the Prime Material they live normal lives among mortals, either in disguise or openly, becoming anything from farmers to wizards to priests to warlords. Khaverim are generally locked in the shape of mortals, with normal mortal skin colors, size, hair, etc., but do not have a defined sex (they do usually have preferences, aka gender identities, but some just take whatever shape is most convenient).
I generally use the stats of weaker angels, like Battleforce Angel, Deva or Firemane Angel for Khaverim, with the reasoning that they're weaker outside the Astral Plane. Khaverim encountered in the Astral Plane can be far stronger. Khaverim can be modified with abilities they've earned through their lifetime in the Prime Material, such as arcane or divine spell casting, other weapons and tool proficiencies, or even player class levels.
Aasimon are the "Angels as denizens of the Upper Planes". Aasimon, also known as Heavenly angels, or Celestis Angeli, originate in and live in the Upper Planes. They do not reproduce like mortals, but are created from amalgamations of the souls of good mortals who have spent a looong time in the Upper Planes. The ascension causes an Aasimon to lose any remaining connection to their mortal lives. Aasimon look like anything, really, often as a mortal humanoid, but with features that look like they were carved from marble, and different skin color depending on rank; Shades of grey (including black and white) for Deva, earthly colors like brown, green and deep blue for Planetar, and heavenly colors like purple, red and sky blue for Solar.
I use the unmodified Monster manual angel stat blocks for Aasimon; Deva, Planetar and Solar
Archons are the "Angels as servants of gods". Archons, also called Gods' angels, or Deorum Angeli, are only created when a god promotes one of their mortal worshippers, usually after their death. The gods generally do this because they need a servant to fulfill a specific task, so Archons are the rarest, albeit most powerful kind of angel. The process of promotion severs any tie the mortal had to their previous lives, and makes them completely loyal and subservient to their god. Any god can make an Archon as long as they have worshippers, but they have to invest some power into it, and it is irreversible. Archons look like whatever pleases their god, and is almost always clad in armor (in the Border Realms, all gods have war as their domain, due to backstory reasons).
Archons use the more powerful sorts of angels, such as Planetar, Solar or even Aurelia. A Deathpact Angel could make an excellent servant of a god of death. You could modify Archons by giving them abilities that fit their respective deities. For some examples, look at the Angelic Flights abilities in Plane Shift: Innistrad
Tell me what you think, and if you plan to use this in your games. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that someone liked my ideas.
How are the Kaverim protectors of humanity? They live their mortal lives with free will, but what defines them as protectors? Do they wander and do good deeds? Are they, "born" into a community with some vague knowledge that there will come a time for them to reveal themselves and act? Do they always know that they are divine? Could they just be divine sleeper agents? Would some celestial agent hand out missions? A Khaverim is assigned to watch the seventh son of a seventh son and will guide him to something or protect them from something. How are they born specifically? Something like a Beholder?
What do the Aasimon do? Hang out on clouds playing harps? Are they created by something? A god that cobbles together pieces of souls into something new?
Archons sever ties to their mortal lives, how? Their dead already, do they lose identity? Would this soul have to accept this promotion and willingly sacrifice it's own self? What kind of tasks? Are they defending the prime material plane from incursions made by outer beings? Do they help shepherd the souls of the dead? Given how powerful they would be it would be hard to think they do something banal like protect the king's daughter from demons.
Most if not all mythologies have angels be servants of order, but that isn't coming through in what you've came up with.
How are the Kaverim protectors of humanity? They live their mortal lives with free will, but what defines them as protectors? Do they wander and do good deeds? Are they, "born" into a community with some vague knowledge that there will come a time for them to reveal themselves and act? Do they always know that they are divine? Could they just be divine sleeper agents? Would some celestial agent hand out missions? A Khaverim is assigned to watch the seventh son of a seventh son and will guide him to something or protect them from something. How are they born specifically? Something like a Beholder?
Khaverim feel a need to protect mortals (they are created by mortals, however unintentional), but, being creatures with free will, they can ignore this, though most don't. Of course, protection can take many forms. A Khaverim can become a kind healer, a great ruler, a gruesome conqueror, or even an adventurer. The only Khaverim NPC in my campaign so far is an archmage at a local magic school. Khaverim have no celestial superiors, and aren't "assigned" to anything, unless they get work with someone in the Prime Material. When a Khaverim is born, it simply rises out of the Astral Sea, and are born Tabula Rasa, blank slates, so a Khaverim will generally not know what it is until it encounters someone who explains it to them. It's not unlikely that some Khaverim live for centuries without even realizing that they're angels, just assuming they're humans with wings. If you want to do an angel incognito story, the angel could have lost or hidden its wings somehow before or immediately after coming to the Prime Material (which is physically linked to the Astral Sea in my world), and never realized what it was, since everyone it met simply assumed it was an elf or something.
What do the Aasimon do? Hang out on clouds playing harps? Are they created by something? A god that cobbles together pieces of souls into something new?
I dunno, angel stuff? They have a society up there, but I only thought a bit about that. They have rulers, a council of archangels for each Upper Lawful Plane, with leadership in the chaotic good realms ranging from a more benevolent Might Makes Right (Ysgard) to just anarchy. There are very few of them in the Beastlands, since the beastlands is mostly unspoiled wilderness. I was mostly going for the idea that they are created by the Planes themselves, some "natural" process that creates them from dead souls, but it could very well be some hidden power that's responsible. Other than that, it depends on the plane. Aasimon in Ysgard would have a warrior society, the few that live in the beastlands would be akin to hunter-gatherers, Mount Celestia would have a very organized Celestial Hosts-type society, etc. Since Arcadia is traditionally the dwarven afterlife, but I'm moving away from the whole "god of races" and "afterlife for races" in favor of "the gods and afterlives are not bound to specific races", Arcadia could be for angels that enjoy crafting.
Archons sever ties to their mortal lives, how? Their dead already, do they lose identity? Would this soul have to accept this promotion and willingly sacrifice it's own self? What kind of tasks? Are they defending the prime material plane from incursions made by outer beings? Do they help shepherd the souls of the dead? Given how powerful they would be it would be hard to think they do something banal like protect the king's daughter from demons.
Most if not all mythologies have angels be servants of order, but that isn't coming through in what you've came up with.
Dead souls only vaguely recall their mortal life, like remembering why they care about people, but not the people themselves. Becoming an archon involves losing that entirely, and losing all individuality as well, becoming nothing more than a tool for the god. I didn't mention it, but archons have names like "Purpose", "Wrath", "Protector" and "Healer", reflecting the fact that their insistence is only to serve their god. They are therefore created only from the most fanatic followers, who are willing to give up everything for their god. Good gods might ask for permission first, while evil ones might not. They're gods, they do whatever the hell they want. They do anything their god sends them to do. It's generally duties beyond mortal kin, but yeah, a god of death could dispatch an Archon to collect dead souls or to fend of abyssal incursions. It really depends on how much you want your gods to meddle in your world.
I think it's kinda boring to have all angels be Lawful Good, so I did away with that in my setting. Aasimon are aligned according to their plane, Archons are aligned according to their god, and Khaverim's alignment is not dependent on anything, other than maybe what kind of mortals they met when they first entered the Prime Material.
Of course, these are just my ideas. If you want to do something different, it's your world, you go ahead.
I personally think the angels as written in the Monster Manual... kinda sucks, since they're given very little lore outside "They live in the Upper Planes and they maybe/kinda/sorta serve the gods... Sometimes". In my new setting, I took some time to properly world build the angels that inhabit the world, and I thought I'd share:
Angels in the Border Realms are divided into three races; Khaverim, Aasimon and Archons, each representing a different kind of angel. I've also included some notes on how to customize them and what stat blocks to use, but I generally just use whatever stat block feels most appropriate for the level and situation;
Khaverim are the "Angels as protectors of humans". Khaverim, also known as Astral angels, or Astralis Angeli in Celestial, are created very rarely when the hopes, dreams, thoughts and, most of all, belief of mortals coalesce in the Astral Sea. Khaverim are "born" with free will, and are not dependent on alignment or higher wills, but generally feel drawn to the Prime Material. In the Prime Material they live normal lives among mortals, either in disguise or openly, becoming anything from farmers to wizards to priests to warlords. Khaverim are generally locked in the shape of mortals, with normal mortal skin colors, size, hair, etc., but do not have a defined sex (they do usually have preferences, aka gender identities, but some just take whatever shape is most convenient).
I generally use the stats of weaker angels, like Battleforce Angel, Deva or Firemane Angel for Khaverim, with the reasoning that they're weaker outside the Astral Plane. Khaverim encountered in the Astral Plane can be far stronger. Khaverim can be modified with abilities they've earned through their lifetime in the Prime Material, such as arcane or divine spell casting, other weapons and tool proficiencies, or even player class levels.
Aasimon are the "Angels as denizens of the Upper Planes". Aasimon, also known as Heavenly angels, or Celestis Angeli, originate in and live in the Upper Planes. They do not reproduce like mortals, but are created from amalgamations of the souls of good mortals who have spent a looong time in the Upper Planes. The ascension causes an Aasimon to lose any remaining connection to their mortal lives. Aasimon look like anything, really, often as a mortal humanoid, but with features that look like they were carved from marble, and different skin color depending on rank; Shades of grey (including black and white) for Deva, earthly colors like brown, green and deep blue for Planetar, and heavenly colors like purple, red and sky blue for Solar.
I use the unmodified Monster manual angel stat blocks for Aasimon; Deva, Planetar and Solar
Archons are the "Angels as servants of gods". Archons, also called Gods' angels, or Deorum Angeli, are only created when a god promotes one of their mortal worshippers, usually after their death. The gods generally do this because they need a servant to fulfill a specific task, so Archons are the rarest, albeit most powerful kind of angel. The process of promotion severs any tie the mortal had to their previous lives, and makes them completely loyal and subservient to their god. Any god can make an Archon as long as they have worshippers, but they have to invest some power into it, and it is irreversible. Archons look like whatever pleases their god, and is almost always clad in armor (in the Border Realms, all gods have war as their domain, due to backstory reasons).
Archons use the more powerful sorts of angels, such as Planetar, Solar or even Aurelia. A Deathpact Angel could make an excellent servant of a god of death. You could modify Archons by giving them abilities that fit their respective deities. For some examples, look at the Angelic Flights abilities in Plane Shift: Innistrad
Tell me what you think, and if you plan to use this in your games. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that someone liked my ideas.
I think you could go deeper.
How are the Kaverim protectors of humanity? They live their mortal lives with free will, but what defines them as protectors? Do they wander and do good deeds? Are they, "born" into a community with some vague knowledge that there will come a time for them to reveal themselves and act? Do they always know that they are divine? Could they just be divine sleeper agents? Would some celestial agent hand out missions? A Khaverim is assigned to watch the seventh son of a seventh son and will guide him to something or protect them from something. How are they born specifically? Something like a Beholder?
What do the Aasimon do? Hang out on clouds playing harps? Are they created by something? A god that cobbles together pieces of souls into something new?
Archons sever ties to their mortal lives, how? Their dead already, do they lose identity? Would this soul have to accept this promotion and willingly sacrifice it's own self? What kind of tasks? Are they defending the prime material plane from incursions made by outer beings? Do they help shepherd the souls of the dead? Given how powerful they would be it would be hard to think they do something banal like protect the king's daughter from demons.
Most if not all mythologies have angels be servants of order, but that isn't coming through in what you've came up with.
Khaverim feel a need to protect mortals (they are created by mortals, however unintentional), but, being creatures with free will, they can ignore this, though most don't. Of course, protection can take many forms. A Khaverim can become a kind healer, a great ruler, a gruesome conqueror, or even an adventurer. The only Khaverim NPC in my campaign so far is an archmage at a local magic school. Khaverim have no celestial superiors, and aren't "assigned" to anything, unless they get work with someone in the Prime Material. When a Khaverim is born, it simply rises out of the Astral Sea, and are born Tabula Rasa, blank slates, so a Khaverim will generally not know what it is until it encounters someone who explains it to them. It's not unlikely that some Khaverim live for centuries without even realizing that they're angels, just assuming they're humans with wings. If you want to do an angel incognito story, the angel could have lost or hidden its wings somehow before or immediately after coming to the Prime Material (which is physically linked to the Astral Sea in my world), and never realized what it was, since everyone it met simply assumed it was an elf or something.
I dunno, angel stuff? They have a society up there, but I only thought a bit about that. They have rulers, a council of archangels for each Upper Lawful Plane, with leadership in the chaotic good realms ranging from a more benevolent Might Makes Right (Ysgard) to just anarchy. There are very few of them in the Beastlands, since the beastlands is mostly unspoiled wilderness. I was mostly going for the idea that they are created by the Planes themselves, some "natural" process that creates them from dead souls, but it could very well be some hidden power that's responsible. Other than that, it depends on the plane. Aasimon in Ysgard would have a warrior society, the few that live in the beastlands would be akin to hunter-gatherers, Mount Celestia would have a very organized Celestial Hosts-type society, etc. Since Arcadia is traditionally the dwarven afterlife, but I'm moving away from the whole "god of races" and "afterlife for races" in favor of "the gods and afterlives are not bound to specific races", Arcadia could be for angels that enjoy crafting.
Dead souls only vaguely recall their mortal life, like remembering why they care about people, but not the people themselves. Becoming an archon involves losing that entirely, and losing all individuality as well, becoming nothing more than a tool for the god. I didn't mention it, but archons have names like "Purpose", "Wrath", "Protector" and "Healer", reflecting the fact that their insistence is only to serve their god. They are therefore created only from the most fanatic followers, who are willing to give up everything for their god. Good gods might ask for permission first, while evil ones might not. They're gods, they do whatever the hell they want. They do anything their god sends them to do. It's generally duties beyond mortal kin, but yeah, a god of death could dispatch an Archon to collect dead souls or to fend of abyssal incursions. It really depends on how much you want your gods to meddle in your world.
I think it's kinda boring to have all angels be Lawful Good, so I did away with that in my setting. Aasimon are aligned according to their plane, Archons are aligned according to their god, and Khaverim's alignment is not dependent on anything, other than maybe what kind of mortals they met when they first entered the Prime Material.
Of course, these are just my ideas. If you want to do something different, it's your world, you go ahead.