What to call heavenly beings

[stewstew5]

Generally, you could fit all creatures of hell into the blanket term "fiend". What, that is not clestial or angel, could you use to similarly describe the creatures of heaven?

[EccentricCircle]

"Sir" is I believe the preferred appellation.
More seriously I think its "Celestial" usually .

[Khedrac]

Generally, you could fit all creatures of hell into the blanket term "fiend". What, that is not clestial or angel, could you use to similarly describe the creatures of heaven?

Fiend might acutally be a bit broad a term for creatures of extraplanar evil - demon/devil/daemon are probably better terms.

However, that is not what you are asking, you want terms for creatures of extraplanar good. My first thought is "go and find a thesuarus and look up 'angel' or 'celestial', but failing that:

• deva
• holy
• seraph
• exarch

[Frozen_Feet]

Easy, you call them heavenly beings.

Or, wait, is there a singular word for that?

Yes, there is! It is "celestial", which comes from Latin "caelestis", meaning "heavenly", which in turn comes from "caelum", meaning sky or heaven.

Why are you reinventing the wheel again?

[DrKerosene]

My initial thought is also “Celestial”.

If you’re speaking to one, perhaps “Your Brightness”, or “Your Resplendance” or something like that.

[Millstone85]

For a honorific, I think "your Grace" would be most appropriate.

[Spore]

Easy, you call them heavenly beings.

Or, wait, is there a singular word for that?

Yes, there is! It is "celestial", which comes from Latin "caelestis", meaning "heavenly", which in turn comes from "caelum", meaning sky or heaven.

Why are you reinventing the wheel again?

Exactly this. In cultures where benevolent guardian creatures are not "up" but "around" us they are generally attributed to the aether around you, some kind of proto-scientific understanding of what air is.

But using "ethereal" as a rules word makes D&D wording needlessly unexact unless your fantasy cosmology works exactly like that.

[Anublet90]

You know, while I agree that "celestial" is the most obvious response, I don't think there's a more appropriate situation to use "your highness" than when speaking to an authority figure that literally descended from the heavens.

[Tectorman]

What about referring to them as "Ascendants" or "Ascended"? Though I do, along with other posters above, wonder why "Celestial" wouldn't work?

[Faily]

I second (third? fourth? fifth...?) that Celestial is an acceptable term for any heavenly being.

Depending on the setting, there could be other names too that could fit. In a game I'm currently playing (tribal Rokugan at the dawn of the Empire, when the Kami are still new to the land), they're called names such as Sun Children (being children of Sun and Moon), Great Spirits, Divine Ones, Sky People, Star People, etc... a setting's culture and experience with celestial beings could greatly matter to what they call them and relate to them. Do they only appear to bring news, messages, or commands? Then they could be called Heralds. Are they guides to humankind? Maybe they're then called Shepards or Guides.

[stewstew5]

What about referring to them as "Ascendants" or "Ascended"? Though I do, along with other posters above, wonder why "Celestial" wouldn't work?

because WotC have lawyers and a lot of money and I do not and that frightens me

[RedWarlock]

Three things:

A. WotC didn't coin the term "celestial", nor do they hold a copyright on it. You can use it without fear of retribution.
B. D&D didn't invent the terms, but the idea of having whole disparate groups of demons distinct from devils vs other "fiendish" creatures, and the same with angels vs archons vs other "celestial" critters, IS something they invented.
C. Your initial context feels very D&D-derived (see B), what are you trying to do exactly? Clarifying your use would help us understand your goal in terminology.

[Spore]

because WotC have lawyers and a lot of money and I do not and that frightens me

According to this the word is referenced the earliest in late 14th century, and you can BET a big amount of Christian texts reference that word in the timespan between then and now. So no, you cannot be sued for that.

If you aim for something commercially done and the center piece of your work is divine beings, I can see inventing a new word, even if just to appear on page on of google searches (a friend of mine's whole job was do ensure her company is on page 1 of google for certain search terms, so it is kind of important).

[Frozen_Feet]

because WotC have lawyers and a lot of money and I do not and that frightens me

"Celestial" is a common-use word and cannot be copyrighted. Same goes for "fiend", "demon", "devil", "angel" etc.. Furthermore, ruleswise all of these are available under Open Gaming Licence via d20 System Reference Document.

[Cicciograna]

If you want to avoid the word "celestials", call them "empyreans", or maybe "enlighteneds", or even "olympians", even though there's no Olympus.

[jintoya]

Generally, you could fit all creatures of hell into the blanket term "fiend". What, that is not clestial or angel, could you use to similarly describe the creatures of heaven?

"Nice wingy people" stands out to me as a good pick, "godlets"?

What is the plane they live on?
If it's heaven: angels
If it's Celestia: celestials
If it's custom: anything you want

[Spore]

If it's custom: anything you want

I wanted to make a custodians joke but Custodes works fine. It means guardians but you have a LOT of Warhammer 40k lore barreling down your throat.

[Malphegor]

Godbothered, is what I call them, as opposed to mortal worshippers, who are Godbotherers. One bothers the God or Gods with stuff, the other gets bothered BY God or Gods to do stuff.

But then I'm pretty dismissive and/or jokey of any religious experience or faith-related entity in any setting with most characters I play.

Other terms for various heavenly beings:
Halo Fans
The Lightbringer Parade
Lightknights
Virtuosos
Holy Birdmen: Agents at Lawful Good
The Barechested Goody Two Shoes
ARGH! CAN YOU TURN DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS LEVELS

[jintoya]

Godbothered, is what I call them, as opposed to mortal worshippers, who are Godbotherers. One bothers the God or Gods with stuff, the other gets bothered BY God or Gods to do stuff.

But then I'm pretty dismissive and/or jokey of any religious experience or faith-related entity in any setting with most characters I play.

Other terms for various heavenly beings:
Halo Fans
The Lightbringer Parade
Lightknights
Virtuosos
Holy Birdmen: Agents at Lawful Good
The Barechested Goody Two Shoes
ARGH! CAN YOU TURN DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS LEVELS

Halo Fans just promoted a loud "HA!" That got the attention of my boss.

But that aside, they do tend to be very "I'm the best" and "things I say are always right!"
Both in and out of the biblical understanding of Devine beings, something they share with fans of the game Halo, so it fits. (Not all, just most obviously)

[Kami2awa]

Celestial is also used by Steve Jackson games in In Nomine as a synonym for angel (and covers a few lesser beings that aren't technically angels but are similar). There really is no legal ownership of the word.

Copyright is far less protective than you'd think. There is actually little protection of fictional ideas. Copyright typically protects a specific work of fiction and excerpts taken directly from it, but not the actual plot or the artist's ideas. Patents protect ideas, but not generally fictional ones (an invention must be scientifically plausible, so no teleporters or time machines), and the inventor must register the patent with a government. Trademarks protect particular symbols and names, but again not ideas, and must again be specifically registered. It is usually not possible to trademark common dictionary words, so "celestial" would be hard to protect.

For example, google "Timothy Hunter"... he pre-dates a certain other boy wizard by many years.

[Willie the Duck]

"Sir" is I believe the preferred appellation.
More seriously I think its "Celestial" usually .

I usually call heavenly beings, "honey," and that's how I stay married ().

[Clistenes]

I usually call heavenly beings, "honey," and that's how I stay married ().

"Heavenly beings..." in plural...? How many wives do you have?

[gkathellar]

Planescape used "deva" roughly in parallel to "fiend." Make of that what you will.

[PastorofMuppets]

Call them something like My Tallest, The Bright Lords, The Shiney Ones, the Gloweys or something similar

[Max_Killjoy]

Meddler, interloper, busy-body...

[stewstew5]

Meddler, interloper, busy-body...

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