Divine Encounters

I am currently running a Homebrew game and my players are about to meet divine being. I am curious how others would handle such a situation. It is a Good aligned being but not a Deity and I've been trying to figure out how something like that would address people. I've spoken to a few religious people and reviewed some chapters in the Bible for inspiration but those all have such beings telling mortals to "Praise God" rather than...well anything else.

Things to take into account that may shape tings not in any particular order:
1. Who/what does the Celestial represent?
2. What is the context.
3. What is the known moral bend and history of party.
4. What are the goals of the Celestial?
5. Is there any past history with the Celestial or anyone the Celestial knows?
6. Is it a secret meeting or an open one?
7. What is the personality of the Celestial?
8. Does the Celestial itself represent something?
9. What type of celestial is it as research this type will provide ideas.
10. Personality, ideals, bonds and flaws.
11. Gender, physical description, bearing and equipment.
12. From which Plane
13. Who are the enemies of the Celestial?
14. Who are the allies of the Celestial?

The only celestial encounter I've used in 5E was after the party had just completed a major mission for a deity (they didn't know they were working for him, it was just an adventure for them). While in a church of that god, meeting the bishop who asked them to investigate, an astral deva burst through the stained glass window high above bathed in a bright light, but the shards of glass disappeared before hitting the ground (or the party). The deva had a powerful holy aura that gave a sense of peace to the party, even the evil PC, and when he spoke it was not heard by the ears or the mind, but by the soul. He gave tidings of thanks from his master, and blessed them with a holy gift (+2 Con) that they shall need for the dark times ahead (foreshadowing the next segment of the campaign). The deva then vanished in a flash of light, revealing the stained glass window whole once more.

The players were impressed, and felt the sense of awe I was hoping for... until one of them said "wait... what dark times?!?"

With my murderhobos, the celestial is as likely to say "Die Vile Fiends" as "Blessing be upon you." One nice trick that I picked up from a comic book is to have the celestial say something specific to each PC, praising a virtue they have displayed and maybe warning them of any tendencies that may lead them to evil. The next time they display that virtue, give them an inspiration point.

WorstRollEver said:

I am currently running a Homebrew game and my players are about to meet divine being. I am curious how others would handle such a situation. It is a Good aligned being but not a Deity and I've been trying to figure out how something like that would address people. I've spoken to a few religious people and reviewed some chapters in the Bible for inspiration but those all have such beings telling mortals to "Praise God" rather than...well anything else.

Click to expand...

I have used the gods of Hercules/Xena as my model for quite some time. More recently I added Thor and Loki to the mix along with the other Marvel Asgardians.

Since you're not dealing with a god specifically, you could model the interaction on one of Thor's chums, or that robot daughter of Thanos, since they are more like divine agents.

Thank you very much for the ideas. You guys gave me a lot to go on.