I wish I had an angel

[Dr. Cliché]

I have a villain who wants to capture an angel for use in one of his schemes.

Here's my question - how might someone go about luring an angel to them? Preferably without using something like Wish (despite the title).

Any ideas?

[hymer]

Well, if you want Superman to come out and play, you could go after Lois Lane. Or threaten to drop a large bomb on Metropolis.
Are you looking for RAW ways to force the angel to do what you want, too? Or is it just seeing one? Because you could go to where angels live and be reasonably sure to find one, and it won't automatically be angry at you, as with the Superman suggestions. Once you start enslaving them, though...

[Dr. Cliché]

Well, if you want Superman to come out and play, you could go after Lois Lane. Or threaten to drop a large bomb on Metropolis.

Who would be Lois Lane to an angel in D&D?

In terms of threatening to destroy a city, how would he make sure an angel know about it, if you see what I mean?


Are you looking for RAW ways to force the angel to do what you want, too?

No, he just needs a way to lure one to him. He'll have . . . other preparations to take care of the rest. :smallwink:

Incidentally, he's not planning to make it obey him, but instead to basically sacrifice it.

[hymer]

Who would be Lois Lane to an angel in D&D?

In terms of threatening to destroy a city, how would he make sure an angel know about it, if you see what I mean?

Since you're the DM, it should be possible to establish some angels that have friends on the prime material plane, or places they habitually help protect. An old adventurer ally, an aasimar offspring, the greatest writer of hymns of the age, e.g. And holy places (remote monasteries, forgotten shrines, tombs of holy people) I expect could be the sort of thing an angel could decide to protect, and so keep tabs on. Some holy places have people working in them, who might contact the angel. Then you need to convince them that they can't handle the threat alone, but that the angel can.
I guess the trick is knowing that these things stand under angelic protection, but research should be sufficient there.

[Gurston]

Some famous prophet/oracle/seer could have a guardian angle and he could go after one there by attacking them. (could have side effect on the seer if the angle is caputred too)

[kaoskonfety]

Well you supervillan has some options... depending on your world... and how much you want the big bads plan to further shape the world

- Threaten a gods Favoured Souls, High priests or similar saintly folk, heaven may respond directly or the victims may call on angels themselves (via spells or prayer) to defend them that can then be nabbed (bonus points for managing to get the players to do it "Good, GOOD! You have summoned the servants of the weak and mewing Gods you bow to, now they Will Serve ME!!!)
- Desecrate stuff - pick several larger institutions, burn them down and "Evil hallow" them, maybe a nice sacrifice alter or 3
- Unleash the hells, some controlled but "too large for mortals to handle" demon invasion, Heaven responds with reasonable forse and you bag one in the chaos
- Trick some allied or tricked Goody goodies to summon and bind one for you and then betray them suddenly, yet inevitably
- Man up, go to heaven, and jump one with your posse

Go with the more "project" and "in their faces" angled ones if you want the players to be finding clues on the way to the big bads plan, plane shifting with a dimentionally locked burlap sack for the 11th hour surprize.

[Wilko]

Depends - if you want to go low key, you would grab someone innocent, preferably important to the religion involved, (You know the child, prophesied great spiritual leader leader type) and either torture them or threaten to kill them until the Great Gazoo or whoever intervenes. This would probably work better with a Planetar as they are the "Sent down as God's wrath" types.

If you want a Deva, it could be as simple as a research task, the MM states that these guys spend time on the mortal plane helping good people, so your BBEG hears about a place when the crops are growing after years of famine, people are being miraculously healed, etc does the math and picks out the one causing it.

As to a Solar, you are probably gonna have to threaten somthing end of the world big to get one of these guys into the trap.

Remember the MM actually states that all Angels has a built in weakness; Pride, they think they can do no wrong and cannot be beaten, so as long as the bait is good enough it doesn't matter if it is obviously a trap, he's going to walk into it anyway...

[RumoCrytuf]

No, he just needs a way to lure one to him. He'll have . . . other preparations to take care of the rest. :smallwink:

Incidentally, he's not planning to make it obey him, but instead to basically sacrifice it.

Sacrificing Angels? Where do I sign up?

[Rysto]

Planar Ally is a sixth-level cleric spell that allows the caster to call upon the aid of a celestial. But you'd have to find a 11th level cleric who's on good enough terms with a god that they'd send the angel, and that cleric would have to be willing (or forced) to cast the spell.

[Democratus]

Idea #1

Involve the PCs as patsys.

Set up a situation where the party Cleric/Paladin (hopefully there is one) must earnestly pray to their god. I'd have the villain arrange the situation so that the PC was in a tight ecclesiastic spot and would know that their prayers would be particularly earnest.

When an angel appears to the PC to reward them for their piety - BAM - the villain springs their trap.

Idea #2

How do you know where an angel will appear in the future? Find people who can tell the future!

The villain begins kidnapping seers, fortune tellers, and diviners from all over. Eventually one of them will predict where an angel will appear.

Then he is there waiting for the prophesy to be fulfilled.

[Daishain]

Get a bunch of foolish clerics to summon one for you.

Find a relatively isolated monastery devoted to a good aligned deity (must not have truly experienced leadership), and send a massive horde of whatever against it. Disguise yourself and minions as clerics of an allied deity, and then your group helps lead a bunch of innocents inside the monastery walls to "protect them from the evil ones".

Make darn sure that the situation is hopeless, and a lot of lives are on the line, but that an emissary from the gods could save them all. Claim knowledge of such rituals, and help them get things set up, but make sure it is one of them that actually calls for the angel to ensure the call is answered.

Angel steps through the gate, the binding you snuck into the ritual markings takes effect, and your hosts suddenly receive the gift of death.

[krugaan]

can't you just magic circle / gate? Add some roleplay ritual to make sure you gate in what you want.