Celestial (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
, celestials are a class of creatures and monsters known as outsiders
who are of wholly good alignment
.
In the context of the Dungeons and Dragons games they represent forces of armed justice, and include iconic “good” creatures from history and myth, such as angels, who seek out and destroy evil.
All celestials hail from the Upper Planes
.
There are four published types of celestial: Aasimon (or devas or angels), Archons, Eladrins, and Guardinals, each with varying “good” outlooks and motivations. The celestials are led by celestial paragon
s, unique creatures presented in Dungeons and Dragons lore as polar opposites of the demon princes
and archdevils.
released information on official creatures before their release in the upcoming "Monster Manual II" (1983).
Archons were introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Manual of the Planes
(1987). Eladrin and guardinals debuted as several cards in the Blood Wars Card Game
in 1995, and then first appeared in a D&D product in the Planescape
Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995).
can be of any good alignment, and can live any of the Upper Planes instead of being limited to just one. Many subspecies of angels exist, including Astral Deva, Solar, and Planetar.
Astral Deva
These angels watch over lesser beings from the heavens and, in turn, are symbols of sentry and looked upon as messengers from Gods. Although avoiding combat whenever possible, it loves to strike down evil with a passion, preferring blunt weapons such as maces over blades and staves.
Planetar
Planetar angels are legendary warriors and guardians, serving as captains and commanding legions of celestials to war with anything that would threaten the destruction of the cosmos. Like all other celestials, they will attack fiends and demons before anything else, and prefer to mix their vast array of heavenly magic with their mighty greatswords and massive charges.
Solar
When the mightiest of the demons, the most hell-bent destructor fiends and the evil deities themselves crawl from the pits of Baator to challenge good, the Solar angels will always be among the defenders. Solar angels are the elite fighting force of justice in the planes, and when not fighting evil, they are in the direct service of the good deities. Solar also featured as the only published epic stat figurine for the lawful good faction in the Blood War set. The Solar's stat card featured extremely high attack power and speed, along with his trademark "slaying arrow" which is able to immediately destroy any creature with 100 health points or less. He was only rivaled by the Pit Fiend in that set.
are lawful good and found on the plane of Mount Celestia
. They consider fiends their sworn enemies and devote their existence to protecting all the free peoples against the tyranny of evil.
s are chaotic good and found on the plane of Arborea. They are the free knights of everything extraplanar, and search endlessly throughout the planes for good men and women to lend a swordarm and to help champion the Eladrin cause.
s are neutral good and found on the plane of Elysium. In their home plane, they are perhaps the most peace-loving and carefree of all Celestials, but once separated from Elysium, they become fierce crusaders and preemptive attackers who live to destroy injustice until once again brought home.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, celestials are a class of creatures and monsters known as outsiders
Outsider (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, an outsider is a type of creature, or "creature type". Outsiders are at least partially composed of the essence of a plane other than the Prime Material Plane....
who are of wholly good alignment
Alignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
.
In the context of the Dungeons and Dragons games they represent forces of armed justice, and include iconic “good” creatures from history and myth, such as angels, who seek out and destroy evil.
All celestials hail from the Upper Planes
Outer Plane
In the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, an Outer Plane is one of a number of general types of planes of existence. They can also be referred to as godly planes, spiritual planes or divine planes. The Outer Planes are home to beings such as deities and otherworldly creatures such as...
.
There are four published types of celestial: Aasimon (or devas or angels), Archons, Eladrins, and Guardinals, each with varying “good” outlooks and motivations. The celestials are led by celestial paragon
Celestial paragon
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, celestial paragons are powerful unique outsiders of the Upper Planes. They are to the celestials as the archdevils are to the devils and the demon lords are to demons....
s, unique creatures presented in Dungeons and Dragons lore as polar opposites of the demon princes
Demon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
and archdevils.
Publication history
Angels (then called Devas) first appeared in Dragon issue #63 (July 1982). Astral, Movanic and Monadic Devas appeared in issue #63 in the article "Featured Creatures." Planetar and Solars made their first appearance in issue #64's (August 1982) "Featured Creatures" article. "Featured Creatures" was an ongoing series of articles where Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
released information on official creatures before their release in the upcoming "Monster Manual II" (1983).
Archons were introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Manual of the Planes
Manual of the Planes
The Manual of the Planes is a manual for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. This text addresses the planar cosmology of the game universe....
(1987). Eladrin and guardinals debuted as several cards in the Blood Wars Card Game
Blood Wars Card Game
Blood Wars is a collectible card game produced by TSR, Inc., based on the Planescape campaign setting from Dungeons & Dragons. The game was released in 1995 as part of TSR's 20th anniversary. Players use cards representing Warlords and Legions for combat to claim Battlefield cards.Blood Wars was...
in 1995, and then first appeared in a D&D product in the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995).
Angels
AngelsAngel (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, angels are a type of celestial of any good alignment and hail from any of the Upper Planes. Angels are also known as aasimon...
can be of any good alignment, and can live any of the Upper Planes instead of being limited to just one. Many subspecies of angels exist, including Astral Deva, Solar, and Planetar.
Astral Deva
These angels watch over lesser beings from the heavens and, in turn, are symbols of sentry and looked upon as messengers from Gods. Although avoiding combat whenever possible, it loves to strike down evil with a passion, preferring blunt weapons such as maces over blades and staves.
Planetar
Planetar angels are legendary warriors and guardians, serving as captains and commanding legions of celestials to war with anything that would threaten the destruction of the cosmos. Like all other celestials, they will attack fiends and demons before anything else, and prefer to mix their vast array of heavenly magic with their mighty greatswords and massive charges.
Solar
When the mightiest of the demons, the most hell-bent destructor fiends and the evil deities themselves crawl from the pits of Baator to challenge good, the Solar angels will always be among the defenders. Solar angels are the elite fighting force of justice in the planes, and when not fighting evil, they are in the direct service of the good deities. Solar also featured as the only published epic stat figurine for the lawful good faction in the Blood War set. The Solar's stat card featured extremely high attack power and speed, along with his trademark "slaying arrow" which is able to immediately destroy any creature with 100 health points or less. He was only rivaled by the Pit Fiend in that set.
Archons
ArchonsArchon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, archons are a type of creature from the Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. In 1st and 2nd edition, they are powerful lawful good creatures from the upper planes, and in 3rd edition they are celestials. These creatures are sent by higher powers...
are lawful good and found on the plane of Mount Celestia
Mount Celestia
In Dungeons & Dragons, the fantasy role-playing game, Mount Celestia or more fully, the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia, or even the Seven Heavens is a lawful good-aligned plane of existence...
. They consider fiends their sworn enemies and devote their existence to protecting all the free peoples against the tyranny of evil.
Eladrin
EladrinEladrin
The Eladrin are a fictional race of creatures appearing in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Introduced in the Planescape setting of AD&D 2nd edition and D&D 3rd edition, Eladrin were described as a type of celestial of chaotic good alignment and hailed from the plane of Arborea...
s are chaotic good and found on the plane of Arborea. They are the free knights of everything extraplanar, and search endlessly throughout the planes for good men and women to lend a swordarm and to help champion the Eladrin cause.
Guardinals
GuardinalGuardinal
Guardinals are a type of celestial from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game.-Publication history:Guardinals debuted as several cards in the Blood Wars Card Game in 1995, including the Avoral, Cervidal, Equinal, Leonal, Lupinal, Ursinal, Duchess Callisto, Duke Lucan, Duke Windheir, Lord...
s are neutral good and found on the plane of Elysium. In their home plane, they are perhaps the most peace-loving and carefree of all Celestials, but once separated from Elysium, they become fierce crusaders and preemptive attackers who live to destroy injustice until once again brought home.
See also
- List of species in fantasy fiction
- Major planar racesMajor planar racesIn the standard cosmology of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and the 3rd and 3.5 editions of Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, there are seventeen Outer Planes of existence...
- List of theological angels