Below is the content of a recent class I taught in the RP sim Erie Isle about rping as an angel.
Being Angelic:
This class will cover angels in their natural state, not fallen, but we will try to bring in some examples of fallen angels as much as we can. Given that I play the polar opposite of a fallen, a devoted servant to the Most High, fallens are out of my area of expertise. :)
The word angel in English is a fusion of the Old English word engel (with a hard g) and the Old French angele. Both derive from the Latin angelus, and thence the Koine Greek angellos ('messenger') used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew mal'akh (yehowah) "messenger (of Yahweh)."
The Bible uses the Hebrew terms "melakh Elohim; messenger of God", "melakh Adonai; messenger of the Lord", "'nai Elohim; sons of God" and "ha-qodeshim; the holy ones" to refer to angels.
Angels are essentially "Messengers of God, Yaweh" and there are debates about whether they serve God out of their own free will or if they are just an extension of God's will directly. These are some things you can think about as you develop your own character and background story.
The Bible doesn't give a hierarchy of angels except to refer to Archangels, also known as Seraphim [Seraph is singular], who are said to rank highest among the Heavenly Host and surround the throne of the Most High.
Angels have been known to be messengers, guardians, protectors, ministers, intermediaries on Earth. You will need to find out how your character best interacts with other players and what his/her goals are, which will guide your roleplay.
In the late fourth century, the Catholic Church outlined their view of the hierachy of angels [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm]:
After Adam's fall Paradise is guarded against our First Parents by cherubim who are clearly God's ministers, though nothing is said of their nature. Only once again do the cherubim figure in the Bible, viz., in Ezechiel's marvellous vision, where they are described at great length (Ezekiel 1), and are actually called cherub in Ezechiel 10. The Ark was guarded by two cherubim, but we are left to conjecture what they were like. It has been suggested with great probability that we have their counterpart in the winged bulls and lions guarding the Assyrian palaces, and also in the strange winged men with hawks' heads who are depicted on the walls of some of their buildings.
The seraphim appear in the vision of Isaias 6: "1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged"
The Catholic Church used thier view on Scripture and the texts of St. Gregory the Great to determine that there are nine orders of angels, viz., Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Throne, Cherubim and Seraphim. They say: "That there are Angels and Archangels nearly every page of the Bible tell us, and the books of the Prophets talk of Cherubim and Seraphim. St. Paul, too, writing to the Ephesians enumerates four orders when he says: 'above all Principality, and Power, and Virtue, and Domination'; and again, writing to the Colossians he says: 'whether Thrones, or Dominations, or Principalities, or Powers'. If we now join these two lists together we have five Orders, and adding Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, we find nine Orders of Angels."
It's up to you to decide if you want your character to be one of a specific hierachy of angelic creatures. If you do, research that particular type of angel to understand how he/she may be unique to other angels.
Angels are *created beings* and have been purposely made with certain characteristics. Angels are known to take on human form as well as their natural winged state. Characteristics and the appearance of angels is pretty consistent throughout all world religions and folktale and myth. It is *always* recommended for you to do some background research on your race [google is your friend] and it will help you bring flavor and depth to your character.
1) Characteristics
- Heat
- Light
- Fire
- Strength
- Wisdom
- Courage
2) Powers
- Healing
- Discernment
- Empathy
3) Language
- Angel language
Folklore claims Enochian as the language of angels. Enochian is a name often applied to an occult or angelic language recorded in the private journals of Dr. John Dee and his seer Edward Kelley in the late 16th century. The men claimed that it was revealed to them by angels, while some contemporary scholars of magick consider it a constructed language.
- Latin
Latin is traditionally the language associated with the Catholic Church and its rituals. Also known as a language of the learned.
- Greek or Hebrew
Original Biblical texts were in Hebrew [Old Testament] and Greek [New Testament], so these are known as Divine languages as well.
4) Tools
- Effects
Effects should be used sparingly or for special ocassions, one, because of the lag factor, and two, while angels *are* very powerful, you do not want to overplay their power and border on powergaming.
Some examples of effects:
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=772710https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=178461https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=873918- Poses & Animations
Some good poses and animations to use at key moments in rps keeps things interesting for all players. You may have one or two that become your signature moves.
Examples:
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=856971- Babblers
Babblers can be an interesting way to enhance your rp without having to use NCs to translate languages. You want to limit how much you use them, as if you are speaking in a way no one understands, it can get boring for other players, and you, as they cannot really interact with you if they don't know what you are saying. Usually, if I am using another language, I either translate ICly in local or OOCly in IM to whomever I am interacting with.
https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=214481- Online resources
You can decide on various rituals, purgings, exorcisms, blessings, incantations, ceremonies, sayings, etc., your character might have, then use online language dictionaries or translators to make up NCs you can copy/paste from in rp. Researching different rituals and blessings too can give you great ideas as to how to enhance rp. I have NCs for blessings, exorcisms, purgings, and bindings, as well as a long list of statements in Latin that I can use for various types of rp.
- Scripture
If you are modeling your character after Biblical angels, you may want to quote scripture from time to time. A great resource for that is
http://www.biblegateway.com/, where you can search for a specific keyword in verses. I used this when coming up with verses that were used as blessings during the angel rp of blessing doorways to take away the Dreadshift curse.
So, this should give you a good headstart or at least some ideas about where you might like to go with your own character. Do some research, ask around, watch other players - you can even get good ideas from watching opposite races, like demons - and enjoy!
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