# Angels as a race in my world?



## Terra Arkay (Nov 28, 2011)

So I've been in doubts as to whether I should include angels as a race in my world, they wouldn't be called angels or serve the same purpose as angels... so we'll water them down to winged-like beings, my world is a bit like Final Fantasy XII's only that it isn't completely, I did say it was only a bit like Final Fantasy XII's... Anyways, back to the question, *do you think Angels or should I say winged-like beings would fit into my story?* I'm really trying to stray far from your generic fantasy stories with magic guilds... and fireball throwing and what not even though this will be featured and I'm really trying to stay away from unfair, magical advantages like _healing and teleportation_. Whenever I picture these beings in my world I just don't think they'd fit in because they can fly... and everybody else can't or I can't imagine them in the military, they'd just be hovering over everyone shooting arrows or bullets down on everyone else...


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## Steerpike (Nov 28, 2011)

It seems to me that you could certainly make them fit into the world. If they seem to stand apart and somehow not fit into what you've developed, it is probably because you haven't thought through how the existence of these winged beings would affect the development of the world. By just adding them in without thinking of the ramifications over history, they appear to be out of place.

For example, when it comes to the military uses, consider that the opponents of these winged beings are not stupid and are not going to simply throw up their hands and say "well, they're shooting at us again." Over the course of history, counter-measures will have been developed, weaknesses exploited, and the like. 

Also, the winged creatures will likely have an impact on trade and communications, particularly if they are active participants in the world.

My recommendation, if you want to use them, is look at each of the things that you find inconsistent in terms of the place of these beings in the world, and then give some thought to how those characteristics would have played out over time. How would non-winged races have adapted to this, or attempted to compensate? What tactics might enemies (or even friends) use to attempt to mitigate the advantages of the winged creatures? What weaknesses might they have that others can turn to their advantage? If you consider these points and then tweak your setting in a logical manner, to reflect the reactions of the other races to having this winged race among them, you may find that they fit a lot more nicely into the world you have planned.


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## Reaver (Nov 28, 2011)

I absolutely think they would fit into your story. I used them in many of my stories and like you I avoid calling them angels. I use the term "Celestials"...I feel that this word provides a much more otherworldly description.  As far as the unfair advantages go, I agree with you.  I tend to use Celestials as messengers of major deities or impartial observers of the mortal beings who inhabit my worlds.  In fact, many of my Celestials don't fly and the only innate qualities they possess are immortality, the ability to read, write, speak, understand all languages and travel untold distances at the speed of thought. When it comes down to it, though, you must remember that you are the creator of your world, therefore you make all the rules. You can make anything you want happen.


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## demented-tiger (Nov 28, 2011)

I've never played Final Fantasy XII, so I don't really know what you're talking about as far as what sort of world you're constructing. However, as to what to call your "angels", the easiest thing to do is just make up a name for them. You can't call them winged-like beings, but something like "Hawk-men", "Bird-men", or even some angelic sounding name like "Angelicans" or "Seraphs" might do. Of course, if angels are included in your world's religious traditions, you could have other races refer to your winged-like beings as "angels" for lack of knowing what to call them.


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## Devor (Nov 28, 2011)

Terra Arkay said:


> So I've been in doubts as to whether I should include angels as a race in my world, they wouldn't be called angels or serve the same purpose as angels... so we'll water them down to winged-like beings, my world is a bit like Final Fantasy XII's only that it isn't completely, I did say it was only a bit like Final Fantasy XII's... Anyways, back to the question, *do you think Angels or should I say winged-like beings would fit into my story?* I'm really trying to stray far from your generic fantasy stories with magic guilds... and fireball throwing and what not even though this will be featured and I'm really trying to stay away from unfair, magical advantages like _healing and teleportation_. Whenever I picture these beings in my world I just don't think they'd fit in because they can fly... and everybody else can't or I can't imagine them in the military, they'd just be hovering over everyone shooting arrows or bullets down on everyone else...



Flight by itself isn't that big of an advantage, but it does depend on what weapons they use or who you're up against, or exactly how they fly.  To get close enough to shoot someone, even in the sky, you're still a target for archers.  If your winged ones use anything but arrows, they have to get close enough to cut down most of the flight advantage.  Their only defense would be speed and for the most part that's going to leave them very vulnerable.  Fighting-and-Flying would be so awkward that, in most situations, I would still say that a cavalry charge or mounted archers could do far more damage.  If they fly through and drop boulders, they won't have the power of a catapult.  Other things equal, I would say their only advantage in a fight is the ability to reach behind enemy lines to attack and disappear afterwards.  It depends a lot, though, on what you do with them and how creative you are in equipping them.


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## demented-tiger (Nov 30, 2011)

You should watch the battle scene from the 1980s movie Flash Gordon, where Flash and an army of Hawkmen attack an airship in a wild mid-air battle with swords and laser guns. I hope this helps, though I still don't know what you mean by a world like Final Fantasy XII's.


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 30, 2011)

@demented-tiger: It's similar but at the same time, quite the opposite. Final Fantasy is a series of fantasy video games each set in a different world, mine is a bit like the one in Final Fantasy X and XII.

Oh thanks for the video.


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## The Grey Sage (Nov 30, 2011)

Terra, I think that if you're have large doubts on how they would fit plotwise then take them out. However if all of your setbacks are in the simple lagistics of having a being with wings in an otherwise unwinged populace then I would say not much is standing in your way. 
As far as having winged creatures in a battle, some of the greatest battle sequences happen airborne. Perhaps you can tweak the creatures, whether called Angels or Celestials or whatever, they can always have other limitations that prevent large advantages. As with any species that comes into battle, certain weapons should nullify advantages; perhaps a ballista that is specially made to hit 'angels'. I dunno just some advice.


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## Stranger (Nov 30, 2011)

Other, non-winged species, could have:

-Cities protected with not only walls but also dome-like ceilings
-Or perhaps some sort of crazy barrier with thorns and spikes - if any angel-type creature tries to get through, they'd get shredded
-As other people said, weapons specifically designed to take out targets in the air
-Non-winged races could have mechanical wings or aircraft
-There could be magical ways to prevent their wings from working, or putting them to sleep, etc.

Just throwing ideas at you!


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## Devor (Nov 30, 2011)

Stranger said:


> Other, non-winged species, could have:
> 
> -Cities protected with not only walls but also dome-like ceilings
> -Or perhaps some sort of crazy barrier with thorns and spikes - if any angel-type creature tries to get through, they'd get shredded
> ...



To add to this list, in the online strategy games I've played, the solution is usually to have archers and towers and artillery and the like within the city itself.

Shooting down a flying creature isn't too hard, hunters do it all the time.  You follow the target in your sights to get an idea of how fast it's moving and then move ahead to "lead" the target.  With archery you may have to adjust the bow upwards as well as forwards to account for the trajectory of the arrow.  But there's essentially no reaction time so a good shooter will usually hit its mark.

They may need to be in a relatively tall tower, but the defense is there.


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## Erica (Nov 30, 2011)

Flying is a common human fantasy, so beings that can fly (whether humanoid or not) are popular in fantasy. Angel like beings might work, but if you don't want people to assume that you're writing a story with 'theological' angels (aka Biblical), you'll want to make it abundantly clear in some way.

I assume that winged beings could be fought the same way dragons, gryphons etc. are in some fantasy stories. Missile weapons, ballistas etc.


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## Terra Arkay (Dec 1, 2011)

I really like these ideas guys. These winged-beings or should I say the Seraph race shall play a major role in my story. I will really take into consideration on the ideas you have all suggested, now to work on their typical characteristics.


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## Ravana (Dec 2, 2011)

One thing I've actually seen done in a story to protect a city from fliers (I didn't do it, so you're free to "steal" it  ) is in one of Glen Cook's _Black Company_ novels: the defenders put up about a thousand kites. On wire, I think, though even without that, wrapping wire barbs every few feet would achieve a similar effect. Didn't stop the attackers from making attack runs; it _did_ require them returning to camp after each one and spending hours getting extricated from the tangle. (Anybody still wonder why I love that man's books?) Throw in, oh… a few fragile oil lamps suspended far enough from the kite bodies that they won't light them off, and you could have a truly nasty defense against anything moving quickly or with limited maneuverability–and, of course, slowing down and driving carefully made them much easier targets for archers. Gluing glass shards to the strings could be fun, too.

Great for anybody lacking the materials technology to produce barrage balloons–which is, in function if not form, exactly what these are. Less great if you don't have good, steady winds… but you can't have everything, eh?


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## lawrence (Dec 2, 2011)

Some cool and helpful replies here. Perhaps an Order of warriors that are adept at dealing with the Seraphs could be employed. Elite archers trained from an early age to be able to take down swift flying beings.


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## iskavele (Dec 9, 2011)

how about they cant stay airborne for long periods?


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## iskavele (Dec 9, 2011)

"of time" or maybe you have a race that is highly technologically advanced, or a race that fights as a horde(as in, there is so many soldiers/fighters that no matter how many you kill there is more to take their place?)


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## Lapis Nebula (Dec 11, 2011)

Have you read the third book in Phillip Pullmans _His Dark Materials?_  "Golden Compass" is the first book, but the third one ("Amber Spyglass") uses Angels as a race very nicely. Granted there are some pretty massive Judeo-Christian overtones to the book, but it's a nice example of Angels themselves being written as a race and as individual characters.


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## JamesTFHS (Dec 14, 2011)

I am also using angels in my story and have gone to great lengths into making them fit in a way that works. First off you should figure out what purpose do they have in the world. Are they the servants of gods? Are they considered the gods? what sort of edge (beyond flying) do they possess? After you figure that out think about how the other beings of your world feel about them? do they hate the "angels"? do they worship them? answering these questions will allowing you to figure out how well they fit and can create some interesting conflicts in your world. Hope this helps


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## Wormtongue (Dec 15, 2011)

I have flying intelligent beings in my WIP.  They are more bat-like than bird-like.  Their arms are their wings, but their feet are dextrous so they do have tool use.  They are frightening but their advantage of flight is offset by the fact that they are awkward on the ground.   They also can't carry very much so no armor, and no heavy weapons.  Their main effect in battle is psychological.  Their normal attack is to swoop in and rake with their clawed feet, but that is disastrous if they are facing archers or pikemen.


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