Where does Deva clothing/armor come from?

[Asmor]

I was looking at the art gallery from the latest Dragon and I noticed something...

Well, first, I saw a picture of a dwarf that I swore I'd seen before, and then I realized no, it was just that WotC clearly had a style guide for dwarves that said that dwarven heavy armor tends to look like this. It's not something I'd consciously thought of before.

And then I noticed something else. Devas have a similar style, where their clothing and armor tends to be flowing and in particular they frequently have some kind of mantle or pauldrons with large, golden wings framing their heads.

So from a style-guide point of view, this makes sense. Trying to give the Deva a certain look...

...but from a flavor point of view, I'm not really sure how that fits. First, I'll admit to not being positive about the background of Devas and being too lazy to actually look it up, but my understanding is that they're born on the mortal plane and relatively uncommon if not downright rare. Certainly, there are no Deva communities.

Further, their typical clothing/armor is very opulent and, crucially, very customized. So not only would the stuff be made of precious materials, but it's also got to be all custom work. It's not like Dwarven plate armor where there are generations of craftsmen making things in this particular style. It's entirely likely that any given craftsman who makes something for a Deva will only ever make that single set of clothes/armor, and never make another piece of Deva-styled stuff.

So there are two questions here.

1. Why is the style so consistent?

2. How can a Deva, just born into the world anew, without a penny to her name, afford to hire a master craftsman to create such regalia?

 

[Nymrohd]

Well it depends on campaign details really. We know that devas are reborn at specific points in the world. Perhaps those sites are attended or treated specially? For instance in my campaign, the deva of the Celestial Hebdomad are celebrated among the churches worshiping the angelic order they are descended from and have spend ample time and money in erecting shrines in those sites and fostering devas of that birthline as future leaders of the church.

 

[S'mon]

Maybe they're 'born' with clothes already on?

 

[Zinovia]

Those that aren't gifted their custom winged armor have to make their fake wings out of pipe cleaners.

 

[Klaus]

Well it depends on campaign details really. We know that devas are reborn at specific points in the world. Perhaps those sites are attended or treated specially? For instance in my campaign, the deva of the Celestial Hebdomad are celebrated among the churches worshiping the angelic order they are descended from and have spend ample time and money in erecting shrines in those sites and fostering devas of that birthline as future leaders of the church.

Those site are attended and protected by primal spirits, and often by the spirits' followers.

And there's no "newborn" deva. Each deva has lived in the world since the end of the Dawn War, so it's entirely possible that at some point they crafted armor in the deva style and stashed it within reach of the deva rebirth sites.

 

[Dykstrav]

1. The short answer is that because someone that gets to make these sorts of decisions decided that deva couture should be consistent and instantly recognizable. As far as within the logic of the setting... It's probably something that we should get creative about. I suppose that it's possible that deva could instinctively recall how to make these things through half-remembered visions of their past, and they make them themselves when they get the appropriate materials. After all, there isn't a Craft skill to hold them back in 4E. If you wanted to, you could tie it to the flavor of the setting and say that it's sort of a rite of passage, where they recall enough of their heroic destiny to fashion their wings in a ritual and take up an adventuring life.

2. I think that many players don't really care about how their characters got their clothing, regardless of their background. 4E seems very big on "it's just supposed to happen." I personally worry about consistency and logical explanations (including things like how entire tribes of humanoids and assorted beasts can live in barren ruins without a supply of food and water), but I am also aware that the vast majority of players just don't care about such things. I suppose that it's also possible that deva find their old set of wings from a previous incarnation or something, but the art style in various illustrations of deva definitely tie the look of the wings to the particular deva's wardrobe.

Honestly, I don't like the idea of a character walking around with huge chunks of finely worked metal hanging off of their back. It'd have to be either paper-thin leaf (and thus, extremely flimsy), or the weight would be burdensome. Even if the wings were made of lighter material, they would prove odd and cumbersome in many situations: putting on a backpack, helping an injured comrade to their feet, sitting down at a chair in your favorite tavern. I could perhaps see wearing fake wings on ceremonial occasions, but not for everyday life or adventuring.

 

[pawsplay]

I thought most devas just went shopping on Rodeo Drive.

 

[Dausuul]

Further, their typical clothing/armor is very opulent and, crucially, very customized. So not only would the stuff be made of precious materials, but it's also got to be all custom work.

It's a pre-industrial world. Everything is custom work. Presumably devas, in their long existences, learn how to direct their tailors to make clothes to their liking... or just make it themselves. As for money to afford it, if you're a) incredibly long-lived and b) smarter and wiser than the average bear, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding ways to make money.

 

[Piratecat]

I hadn't thought of this before, but I suspect that temples are eager to claim newly reborn devas as their own "patron angels," outfitting and feeding them until they're ready to go back out into the world.

In fact, there's a huge adventure hook in that. Interesting.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Well, since it's widely known that The Devil Wears Prada, I just assumed that devas' stuff came from Gucci, because clearly it's the opposite of Prada.