PC Concept: The Angel of Death

Overview

I'm not really the type to make incredibly dark characters. I've created characters with dark backstories but none that are particularly edgy themselves. I had this idea the other day and at first I thought, "No, that's a bit much." But then I realized that it might not be necessarily and it really depends on how you play this particular character.

Today, I want to make a literal angel of death. I want people (specifically enemies or perhaps uneducated NPCs) to look at this character and think that death is coming for them. The character is a living and breathing bad omen, creepy-looking, and a bit misunderstood.

Race, Class, Stats, and Background

Race, for me anyway, is the most obvious choice. I'm going with aasimar (Volo's Guide to Monsters) because aasimar are essentially part celestial. They're probably the closest thing we can get to an angel by using a playable, not-homebrew race. If you find a better homebrew that you think you might want to use, always remember to clear it with your DM first. Aasimar also get to choose between three subraces but honestly, whatever you choose for that doesn't really matter. Each of them - Protector, Scourge, and Fallen - have their own merits for this build.

- Protector Aasimar get wings that are actually able to fly, which is useful in general. They also get a +1 to Wisdom, which will help us with one of the classes I'm going to propose.

- Scourge Aasimars' "Radiant Consumption" feature is really intimidating and a +1 to Constitution is always useful.

- Fallen Aasimar is what I would personally pick because of the aesthetic. I asked for an angel of death. I get an ability called "Necrotic Shroud" which makes skeletal wings sprout from my back and causes others to fear me. +1 to Strength isn't necessarily great for us, but depending on which class you go with, it can definitely be useful.

Aasimar also typically have a god or some kind of celestial being that they are "related to" or "in service of." Make this being some kind of death god, or a reaper of souls, or what have you.

Background can vary depending on how exactly you want this character played. The biggest question for me is family, because I like to have people other than my party to care about in D&D. Having an aasimar child, I think, would widely be considered to be a blessing. But what about an aasimar child of a god of death? I think that could be considered a particularly bad omen. So, do the parents keep the child? Do they bring them to the closest temple to that god or graveyard or something just so they no longer have to be associated with this creature of death? D&D is a game that typically takes place in a medieval fantasy setting. People would likely be very superstitious so I doubt anyone would really want to keep a child like that around for long. Outlander and Hermit (Player's Handbook) could be good options if this character was picked up by someone who didn't necessarily associate with society. My favorite background, Far Traveler, (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) could also work for you here. Acolyte (Player's Handbook) is an option if the character was actually left in a temple of their god or if their parents were part of that religion and they grew up there. You could go a much darker route and have the character escape from a certain sect of the religion because they were more cult-like and they were twisting the doctrine. You could even go with something akin to Guild Artisan (Player's Handbook) if you work with your DM. Maybe your family were gravediggers, or morticians. Maybe that's why they kept you around. There are a ton of possibilities here.

There's also a fair bit to consider in terms of class options. I want a class that has something to do with death. I want to hammer home this idea that people look at this character as a personification of some kind of reaper - for better or worse. I have a few ideas:

- Cleric - either Death (Player's Handbook) or Grave (Xanathar's Guide) Domain. Wisdom would need to be your highest stat for this and you could follow that with either Strength or Constitution. I think that the choice between the two domains is honestly yours, and it depends on the god you want this character to follow too.

- Necromancy Wizard (Player's Handbook) and Undying Patron Warlock (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) are also options, for those who prefer not to be a religious caster. If you want a happy medium between arcane and divine casting, Celestial Patron Warlocks (Xanathar's Guide) are available too. The Charisma casters do work well for this build, given that aasimar get a +2 to Charisma.

-  For those who prefer weapon-fighting characters and non-casters, this build still works very well. Way of the Long Death Monk (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) has a great aesthetic that fits this idea very well. Phantom Rogues (Tasha's Cauldron) also bridge the gap between the living and the dead.

What really matters (in my opinion) is the aesthetic for this build - the idea of the Angel of Death. How any individual player goes about realizing that aesthetic is honestly up to them.

Roleplay Potential

Like I said before, most people wouldn't particularly like this character just based on what they are. Sure, if you're playing in a setting that has a great respect for death as a natural process, then I think the perception may be different. However, I'm operating under the assumption that this is a setting where death is feared and undeath is repulsive, if not illegal. This is the type of character that could go from hero to villain way too quickly in that kind of setting. I think that's where much of their character growth will come from.

Say you're playing this character in a typical D&D game where the party are the heroes, saving the world from some catastrophic event. In that case, the character would have to have some kind of moral compass pointing them in the direction of Good or Neutral (speaking in terms of D&D 5e alignment.) You could have them go on a whole arc about how they are who they want to be, not how people necessarily perceive them. There's also a philosophical lesson to be learned here: death isn't necessarily frightening. It's just... the end. Endings can be happy, can't they? Even in death?

On the other hand, this kind of PC would work great in an evil campaign too, if those are the kinds of games you're into. In that case, you're really an angel of death, bringing death and destruction wherever you go. DMs may note that this PC could also make for a great BBEG for your campaign, if you want. Fighting a literal angel of death? Could be really intimidating for your party, especially if you play it up the right way.

If you go with the cult backstory that I mentioned above, where that was the family you had, I think there's more to unpack there. Your questions become: "Am I indebted to them? Am I required to be part of their evil plot, just because I'm part of their religion, because their god gave me power? Do I want this? If I don't, then what do I want?"

This is a character that will struggle a lot with their self-image. This is a character that will look absolutely terrifying, but in reality, they can either choose to be exactly how people see them, or exactly how they want to be seen. The best part? Those two things could be exactly the same.