How would you do an undead villain with an angelic motif?
>>48232052
A fucked up valkyrie. A Chooser of the Slain building an army of undead champions for the End Times. Except instead of waiting for valiant warriors to die in combat she finds those with skill she admires and kills them herself. Maybe she actually is doing it for the greater good, preparing for something worse than herself. Or maybe she's just lost it.
An motherly doting healer that you befriend in the beginning but was pulling many of the strings the whole time. Eventually they show their true colors and attack the party, your prior interactions determine if you have a shot at convincing them to unironically act pleasant again.
They believe they've been brought back for a reason. Maybe that there goal before they died was in the right, that they were chosen or that the gods really need a person like them on Earth for their grand schemes.
>>48232052
anal
>>48232052
>>48232052
...like the Chosen Undead?
>>48232052
Angel of Death, god wants this world gone and you must stop him/prove this world is worth keeping.
>>48232052
Religious order has a Lawful Good or Neutral religious head Lich. Liches are not Always Evil, benevolent gods of undeath like Evening Glory let them become undead without the evil acts like sacrifice.
They are a "villain" because your nations are at war. No crusade, no morals, just a struggle for succession and the church backs the other side.
>>48233169
I've been trying to come up with a nation in my setting that is a blend of European Spain mixed in with Roman imagery and mesoamerican belief.
Basically they worship a male and female god of death who are Man and Woman but they originate as more aztec style gods that required sacrifices intially so now you have a modern religion which is more like Sante Muerte now transposed on a Catholic style church set up and various cults who pass themselves off as worshiping the Man and Woman in the old ways leading to ideological clashes and schims as one is more popular with more affluent people and the other can often by found practiced by poorer people and the criminal element of society.
>>48232052
A necromancer screwed up the ritual to become a lich and revives a long dead member of a forgotten race of birdpeople. With no memory of his previous life, the birdman wanders, radiant with the glow of magic, until encountering a group who label him as an angel. He believes them to be correct and sets out to use his great power to fulfil his heavenly duty, but with his morals twisted by the taint of undeath.
>>48233240
People were getting up to all sorts of crazy shit during the Black Death out of desperation, including a man openly selling human corpses for meat in the middle of Paris in broad daylight from a stall. Imagine how mad the world would have to be in order to have a street vendor butchering a dead kid and pricing their cuts for the poorest of the poor to eat.
Not to mention the Voodoo folks and La Muerta being depicted alongside Jesus in Catholic Churches. It pisses off the Vatican, butvthey shrug it off as "so long as you aren't hurting anyone and are otherwise a good Catholic, go ahead".
Human sacrifice popping back up as an oldworld heresy in slums is about right.
>>48232052
World of Warcraft had some as upper tier minions in Wrath of the Lich King
A villain that wants to prevent anyone and everyone from death, but does it in a way similar to Soma's WAU, where the line between living, surviving, and dead is very blurred for them, and doesn't care about consent of the 'patients' or what state they're in, as long as they're "alive".
>>48232052
She isn't murdering people
she's just bringing them one step closer to god (involuntarily)
>>48233644
So Dark Souls meets Franken Fran?
>>48233844
Never played Dark Souls or read Franken Fran, but sure!44
>>48233885
Dark Souls is a bleak crumbling world, full of grandeur but sad in how empty and uncared for it is, where death is like being old forever.
Franken Fran is about a plucky mad scientist flesh golem that epitomizes body horror. "Life, at any cost" is her motto.
>>48233386
That's a good way to go about it. You have competing ideas on the idea of "sacrifice" in good times that could mean leaving some food or money at a shrine or whatever but during times of desperation and bad shit like you said you could have people thinking that money isn't enough (especially when you don't have enough to give anyways) so maybe a little blood would be better so some village that's rocked pretty hard with a bad harvest or whatever might not be to turned off by the idea of making a literal sacrifice if it means god will cut them some slack.
>>48232052
An unhinged, naturally occurring undead. They were very religious in life, some horrifying aspect of the death caused them to return as a form of undead, and they have been going mad ever since.
They have become totally obsessed with the true afterlife which they have been denied, and they have convinced themselves that the reason they are still bound to the mortal plane is because their god has chosen them to perform his works as a Chosen Angel.
No necromancer, no lich. Probably better if no corporeal form. Just a very religious ghost, taking on the role of a divine spirit. Have them haunt a cathedral and appear above the alter in a nimbus of light, the very stones of the church obeying her will.
>>48234118
Sounds about right then.
>>48233131
There is literally nothing angelic about the Chosen Undead. No angel wings. No halo. No divine aura.
The best you can get is a knight or cleric wielding miracles, and there's nothing angelic about that.
>>48232052
It's funny how dead Sephiroth was for much of FF7.
>>48234574
I was thinking something like that, or Kefka's penultimate form (I think anyway, been a while)...
Sephiroth is probably a better choice, as Kefka was later on just a mockery of Daniels Inferno (or a tribute)
>>48234663
I think you mean Dante's Divine Comedy.
>>48234682
I do. Never fails that /tg/ is better-read than I am, or, at least remembers literature better
>>48234663
>Daniels Inferno
>>48232052
Angel of death. Black robes, scythe, hourglass, black feathery wings, halo, the works. Sent by god with the mission of killing as many as possible. His is not to question why, but only to elk out the judgment of God. And as he is literally doing God's work, he is oblivious and deaf to any line of rationality to do otherwise.
Although he HAS gotten more sophisticated than in his youth when he just ran around from village to village reaping people. The little buggers breed so damn fast. Starving the peasants worked a little. He got some locust to help. But it didn't make enough impact. Plagues seemed to hold so much promise initially, and he was working on a big push but then penecillian betrayed him and he gave it all up. But war, war never changes. And recent development of nuclear bombs piqued his interest quite a bit, but he has utterly failed to instigate conflict. To his utter dismay, the threat of full scale nuclear war has even gotten the big power players to stop going at each others throats.
So maybe simple is best and he'll just cook all the fuckers out. Heaven knows the SUN won't betray him....
>>48234727
>And as I gazed upon Satan's horrific visage, one of half-eaten chinese takeout and joint roaches he said "Dude, why are you in my fucking basement?"
>>48234766
>Angel
Stopped reading right there
>>48234792
>with an angelic motif?
>Angel...
>Stopped reading
>>48234912
Well if it is a motif then it isn't "literally an thing" it's something drawing inspiration or the likeness of.
>>48234775
>>48232052
by fleshing them out more
>>48234912
angles are special snowflakes, so try harder
>>48235041
Well boo fucking hoo, sorry for for tiptoeing in what is apparently taboo territory.
>>48235246
You seem pretty upset right now. You should go cool off.
>>48232052
Try incorporeal undead, like a ghost. I'm on my phone or I'd link a Patrick swayze pic from the movie Ghost where he looks transparent and luminous and shit. It's a shitty movie but the visual works for what you are aiming for.
So go transparent ghost, luminous and maybe wearing white robes and a nimbus of light.
In gurps this is cake, but it should work even in d&D. Start with an incorporeal undead creature or template. Add emancipated undead. Then load up on class levels and ghosttouch gear.
People keep assuming angelic has to mean a bodybuilder half nekkid with wings and a sword. But angelic can cover a very wide range of aesthetics. "Spirit of light" fits even better, and the overlap with ghosts should be obvious.
>>48232052
How about a spirit haunting a gravestone? Or better yet, a bunch of spirits?
Some hedge wizard or novice necromancer tried to bind spirits in a graveyard, but they fucked up and the souls were dragged screaming from their afterlives and bound into the marble angel statue in the cemetery. It starts out clumsy and disjoint, pulled in a million different directions by the many consciousnesses fighting for control, but gains purpose as the souls begin to act in tandem - perhaps under the direction of the most powerful of their number, like an old priest or inquisitor who believes he has been reborn as an angel of death.
Go full Old Testament with it. Cracked stone with too many eyes peeking from underneath, visible veins of unnatural flesh, auras of insanity and fear - the whole nine yards.
>>48232052
You could do something like a Living Saint from the point of view of someone opposed to their religion.
>>48232052
Give him a mask like this and a gentle and kindly disposition. Don't make them an actual angel, but have them dress and act the part to hide the literal and figurative rot underneath. Hardly a scrap of his actual flesh should ever show underneath all of the adornments. Put it all together in a way that exudes serenity and wisdom, at least at the surface level. There should be some kind of twisted benevolence to it, though it could be a bit patronizing, and its wrath should be expressed more with disappointment than with rage.
>>48232052
Satan. Still angelic in nature, but with Micheal's Spear sticking out of his chest.
>>48232135
That's a regular valkyrie, though. Bitch sees you being badass in battle and then trips you or redirects an arrow so you die and she can claim your soul.
Valkyries dont wait for you to die of old age or hope you fuck up and get killed. They make that shit happen.
>>48237709
Valkyries are Choosers of the Slain, not Makers of the Slain. They take those who died in glorious battle. Being proactive about it and manipulating events to kill people would defeat their purpose.
The Norns would be pretty pissed since they go to the trouble of measuring out people's lives only to have fate dicked with. Albeit in some versions the Norn Skuld is also a Valkyrie.
>>48232052
How about a zombie angel?
>>48237941
Choosers Of The Slain - they decide who dies.
They choose who is slain in battle.
There isn't really much room for debate here.
Arguably they fulfill a supplementary role to that of the Norns; who deal with fate in generalities; the Valkyries are empowered by Odin to be the arbitrators of death in battle - for Death in battle is the reward of the brave and the fearsome.
Valkyries are not your waifu.
>>48234727
>phoneposting
>>48241087
Now I'm gonna waifu them even harder just to spite you
>>48241087
Well shit. Now i'm gonna waifu them si hard i'll have a harem AND immortality.
No ones gonna question a guy who just got off a flying chariot driven by BDSM angels.
>>48232052
pic related
>>48232052
Someone who has developed a Godcomlpex after returning from the dead. If they are a lich then have them believe they're building an empire greater than any other and use those "good necromancy wat do?" thread ideas but put sinister twists on it.
Have their empire run on extremely draconian laws with high execution rates. Those executed are raised from the dead to serve those who they believe deserve life.
>>48241087
Choosers of the Slain means they pick those worthy AMONG the slain.
Seriouisly, dude, this isn't even difficult. They choose those worthy to sit at Odin's table in Asgard quaffing mead and fighting, their wounds magically restored after every battle in Odin's hall. These are the Einherjar, those slain in glorious combat, who shall fight by the gods side during Ragnarok.
Odin wants, nay, NEEDS the brave and the bold. Everyone else who dies gets sent down to Hel, and since she's the daughter of Loki she sides with him during the Twilight of the Gods. Odin needs men who have faced a true test of character and given their all in glorious combat, even their lives. This doesn't exactly work very well when it's run as a dating service for lonely ladies on horses who think Erikk Stoutloins is really cute with the little braids in his red beard. They're basically just Norse Uber providing taxi service to the feasts after death.
I'm not sure which Edda you thought you read but ganking people on a whim was never a part of their religious function.
>>48243498
Nah Valkyries try to kill people they like so they can go to Valhalla
>>48234663
Daniels inferno, in which average Dan burns down a Wendy's
>>48246246
Figures Wendy's would be the official fast food chain of Hell. I would have thought possibly Arbys but they're just too small time.
>>48246192
>not riding to valhalla on a throne made of the squirming masses of writhing valkyrie bodies
>not cock slapping the loser who had to die to get there
>not banging all the mead hall maidens with your physical tangible cock
>>48246298
Norse ghosts, anon. They get physical bodies again in Valhalla, mostly so they can fight and die again and again with their wounds always healing preparing for the Norse end of days.
Their undead are admittedly kind of wiggy. Norse Draugr aren't the muttering zombies of Skyrim but can appear as rotted corpses or shapeshift into whatever they want, and even appear in people's dreams. They also know the future.
>>48246298
>not doing all that but also taking out the mead hall maidens on a nice date first
>>48232903
Underbasted roast.
>>48246404
>being this degenerate
>>48232052
Zombie Jesus.
>>48232052
A Lich who likes angelic motifs?
>>48237521
Demand the kiss of peace.
>>48250098
Baldwin was the best King.
>>48250201
>>48250098
>Demands kiss of peace
>receives kiss of Peace
>Proceeds to mercilessly beat him with a staff
best part of the movie
>>48234538
>Thinking the darksign isn't a halo
>>48234574
You mean basically ALL of FF7, right?
Sephiroth is only alive during the flashback sequences. Cloud actually kills him.
Every time you see him in the present it's either an illusion or Cloud's delusion created by Jenova, including the final boss battle(s).
>>48232052
grim reaper
>>48234663
>Kefka
Halo is a noose
>>48232052
>ctrl+f
>planescape:torment
What are you, twelve?
>>48235082
>mfw i think his '''''''daughter''''''' is an absolute bitch
>mfw everything X-2 should be rendered Non-canon except Sin coming back
>>48250305
>black circle on your skin on a random part of your body
>a halo
this is some hidamari-tier stretching, anon
>>48232052
>undead villian
>angelic motif
Whoo boy another half-demon/half-angel catgirl mary sue shit edgelord?
Have them be nice, polite and helpful most of the time but capable of going Old Testament when the going gets rough.
Good ol' Pontiff Sulyvahn
Is everyone forgetting about Malthael from Diablo 3? Angel of Wisdom turned Angel of Death...
>>48246176
Nope.
Getting killed in battle is the only entry requirement to being carted off by a Valkyrie.
And if you die in battle it's because it was your time, and Odin has sent one of his handmaidens to call for you.
What, you thought people died in battle because of such silly things as swords through heads and severed limbs?
I mean honestly, it's like you don't understand the point of "Death in battle = free ticket to Valhalla"
A lich who for some reason or another has seen angelic visions, and has interpreted them as a sign that they must bring about an afterlife on earth. As such, they have taken on the look of an undead angel, and see raising the dead as bringing people into their paradise.
>>48271792
Weird part of the thread to resurrect but most of that shit comes from Snorri Sturluson. Sure he compiled a lot of Norse mythology from older sources but colored the fuck out of them with his Christian ideals after he converted.
The gods don't get to choose who dies and when. Just ask poor Baldr. Nobody saw that coming, least of all Hodr. Ragnarok would have been a lot less messy, too, if they had control over that shit.
The Norns portion out the allotted time for both gods and mortals alike. They control destiny itself.
>>48271895
>Because everyone in a thread is participating in the same sub-debate at all times
Don't know much about Snorri Sturluson - and yeah, I often conflate later stuff a little, hell, sometimes I'm even guilty of letting Wagnerian motifs colour my view of Norse myth, however; Mythology is not an entirely logical field, and overlapping portfolios are common in real world polytheistic religions; especially those with any degree of identifiable syncreticism from earlier component beliefs.
Besides that; the entire point of the Valkyrie and Valhalla shtick is to engender your menfolk with the willingness to fight to the death in conquest or defense, by assuring them of the superior worth of the soul of a warrior - and of course you prove that you have the soul of a warrior by dying in battle.
"Guaranteed Salvation" as a consequence for a "worthy death" isn't a uniquely Christian thing on any level.
>>48272067
If you want the good stuff try the Codex Regius, or the Poetic Edda that draws from it. The Prose Edda was Snorri's work but it introduces a lot of material that isn't found elsewhere and interjects a lot of Christian beliefs.
Those who died in battle weren't looking for guaranteed salvation. They were going to sit at Odin's table and quaff mead, sure, but they were also training for the final battle of Ragnarok.
Basically their version of warrior heaven was fighting all day, drinking all night with their wounds magically healed, and then getting to fight beside their gods at the end of days.
>>48272119
Sounds like guaranteed salvation to me; life after death in a cosy biker bar in the sky >>> dying with a javelin through your bowels at the bottom of a rampart.
>>48272144
Is it salvation if you spend your days killing and being killed over and over again? If you're a warrior then apparently it's fun as long as you get healed. But Ragnarok doesn't have a happy ending for 99% of it's participants. Even the gods die. A paltry handful survive.
So basically the only thing you're guaranteed is an afterlife filled with pain that's destined to eventually kill you completely, but at least you get to go out in the biggest fight of them all.
It's already been done by Blizzard, and it was lame as fuck.
I would go for something simpler. A dead angel who was ressurected by a lich. Basically a human skeleton with bird skeleton wings. Has more free will than regular minions and serves as a mid-level manager.
>litterally all overwaifu discussion just got bawleeted
Mod-kun, prease
>>48277416
>waaaah my literal /v/-posting got nuked
get dunked little baby anon
Mods confirmed for chubby-chasers
>>48278539
>somehow the FF and darksouls posts are still up
>>48280253
You mean the posts that are actually discussing the topic and not just waifuposting?
>>48280332
I'm just saying why take 1 /v/ post type away when you leave the 2 worst /v/ post types behind?
>>48280852
>why take away offtopic posts and leave on-topic posts
Is this autism?
desustorage isn't working, where else can I find all the images the chubbychasing janitor deleted?
>>48232052
Feels like this is a very easy topic that was already sussed out early on, so the thread naturally digressed into pointless jabber.
As people pointed out there is a real world concept of the Angel of Death. You can extrapolate this as a solo creature or part of some Angelic Order that play a necessary roll "under the hood" of the universe performing, let's call it "soul migration" from the body to the designated afterlife. More like the Valkyrie thing, playing a natural part of the mechanism of existence. And it can be as "just doing our job" or "gone rogue and need to be put down" as you want. Either can be a "villain" in a campaign, even the former in a "Stop taking this personally" sort of way. Sort of like Ahab where instead of caucasian whales he hunted down angelic soul accountants. Probably for taking his waifu from him.
Then of course you can do the whole dead angels thing where even they can die, but owing to their otherwordly nature they aren't truly mortal and so persist after death. Angelic graveyards filled with the vanquished during the fall of Lucifer sort of deal. Doesn't even have to be strictly Christian. Just crib it. Fallen angelic beings became daemonic sort of thing and kill each other and their dead don't rest easy. Or undead angels are another for of daemonic corruption.
Kind of interesting, in a way. If you have a being created as a servitor to the kingdoms of heaven kind of deal they probably weren't meant to die, but when it turns out they can kill each other during a rebellion, what happens? What if there is nothing in the Creator's Plan that accounts for dead angels? Their souls don't have an afterlife so they stick around. Angelic revenants.
>>48281642
Desustorage is desuarchive now. There's a link to their front page where you can find out why it changed, if you care. Still .org.
>>48281662
Thanks, bro
I appreciate the help
>>48281642
Literally just google overwatch porn.
>>48282105
worst girl
tomoko was way better
