Ecology of the Deva

[Hawke]

Let's see, Battlestar Galactica had reincarnating Cylons, and the soundtrack included a lot of Indian influence. Sadly, I don't think a near-anorexic deva in a red dress would be quite as popular as Tricia Helfer.

That's one of my biggest issues with the deva art I'm seeing and some of that fluff. To me, the stoic, really basic markings, vacant look, immobile-looking Devas don't ring out "angelic beauty" the way I envision the race looking. If you look at beauty, I think there's an inherent motion involved and a certain amount of complexity (see peacock's tail!). Devas for the most part look very blah compared to the background.

Ideally, I think the feather wings look really cool (complex, difficult to do compared to the metal armor wings) and if anything I'd mimic the markings that say nightcrawler had in X2 - complex, lots of symmetrical curved lines, but more apparent than was in nightcrawler - an offset color rather than just indentations in the skin. I'd like to see more flowing/movement art rather than standing there looking like a statue.

 

[RefinedBean]

I think the Deva's "blah" appearance might be on purpose. They're evocative of the race they're modeled after, a very superficial "perfection," but there's no depth, no uniqueness. Perhaps when they first chose their form, they were still too distant to grasp the finer aspects of beauty and identity.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out why they don't have +2 Wis, +2 Cha.

 

[Klaus]

That's one of my biggest issues with the deva art I'm seeing and some of that fluff. To me, the stoic, really basic markings, vacant look, immobile-looking Devas don't ring out "angelic beauty" the way I envision the race looking. If you look at beauty, I think there's an inherent motion involved and a certain amount of complexity (see peacock's tail!). Devas for the most part look very blah compared to the background.

Ideally, I think the feather wings look really cool (complex, difficult to do compared to the metal armor wings) and if anything I'd mimic the markings that say nightcrawler had in X2 - complex, lots of symmetrical curved lines, but more apparent than was in nightcrawler - an offset color rather than just indentations in the skin. I'd like to see more flowing/movement art rather than standing there looking like a statue.

I agree 100%, which is why I did this alternate look for devas a while ago, keeping the appearance of Angels and of the Astral Sea in mind: http://www.enworld.org/forum/art-ga...res-painting/253244-alternate-look-devas.html

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Basically, I'm trying to figure out why they don't have +2 Wis, +2 Cha.

That's just what I was thinking too! That article highlights how charismatic they are more than how intelligent they are.

On a separate note, I think a great hook would be for a deva PC to receive a message from its previous life dictating that the PC picks up the quest where the previous life ended. (Or maybe the message was really forged by a devil or rakshasa who was trying to corrupt the PC…)

 

[Rechan]

I think a great hook would be for a deva PC to receive a message from its previous life dictating that the PC picks up the quest where the previous life ended. (Or maybe the message was really forged by a devil or rakshasa who was trying to corrupt the PC…)

I think that receiving the message is hard to swallow (How would the deva know where it would be reincarnated, the name, how to find it, etc). However, leaving a message would be good. For instance, carving it into the door of a dungeon in Supernal, and then the Deva's memories strongly pointing it in that direction (framed as the "nagging longing" of unfinished business).

 

[yesnomu]

That's just what I was thinking too! That article highlights how charismatic they are more than how intelligent they are.

On a separate note, I think a great hook would be for a deva PC to receive a message from its previous life dictating that the PC picks up the quest where the previous life ended. (Or maybe the message was really forged by a devil or rakshasa who was trying to corrupt the PC…)

Maybe carved into his back, read to him by a talking skull each time he reincarnates in a mortuary?

 

[Sonny]

Maybe carved into his back, read to him by a talking skull each time he reincarnates in a mortuary?

Gah! Carved into his back? That would be torment!

 

[doctorhook]

Gah! Carved into his back? That would be torment!

How would it be carved into his back? Would it be scraped into his flesh with a plane?

(Damn, I can hear it stretching! The joke, I mean... )

 

[mach1.9pants]

grrr I see one more alignment based thing, begone "Scourge of the Fallen" I say!

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I think that receiving the message is hard to swallow (How would the deva know where it would be reincarnated, the name, how to find it, etc).

Maybe it'd fall into the "hard to swallow" category but the openendedness of magic and rituals makes it easy to occur.

Or a message was left for the reincarnated deva at one of the focal reincarnation points where the deva reincarnated before.

The deva's former life could have tasked someone (a follower, friend, ally, etc.) or some thing (homonculous, golem, angel, etc.) to find the reincarnated deva and deliver a message to them.