Celestial Overview

Where the lower planes teem with monsters as vile as their homes, the upper planes are served by beings of light known simply as celestials. They are dangerous, but tempered by mercy and kindness. Though they live far from mortal affairs, their masters often send them to champion good among mortals.

Every celestial can use augury, aid, comprehend languages, change self, detect magic, detect evil, read magic, know alignment and teleport without error, plus cure serious wounds three times a day. They move freely through the upper planes, can visit the Astral and Prime Material Planes at a greater power's request, and may briefly enter the Lower Planes on specific missions. (Each type also has its own damage table by attack form; any type immune to nonmagical weapons takes no damage from them.)

Their detect evil far exceeds the spell. Any strong source of evil within 100 feet, such as a strongly aligned person or a potent evil item, is automatically sensed by direction, strength and general nature, and meeting an evil creature's eyes reveals its name, nature and history. This always works.

Celestial reverence works only in a celestial's true form. A blinding flash catches the eye of every mortal in sight, and each must save vs. paralyzation. Good beings who fail are filled with protective love for the celestial; neutral or evil ones who fail are too afraid to attack it, and evil creatures under 8 Hit Dice flee outright. Celestials rarely use it, since goodness forbids manipulating others.

They cannot gate in their own kind, but can send a distress call felt by nearby good beings such as unicorns, ki-rin and metallic dragons, who hurry to help. The call only alerts; it does not create or summon anyone. Devout, powerful good worshipers in dire straits on the upper planes have a 20% chance to draw a celestial's aid, adjusted if they are on a mission for their church.

Celestials never lie, cheat, steal or attack without need, and are scrupulously honorable, which can make them predictable and open to manipulation. Of the seven kinds, the vanguard celestials are warriors and the other six (astral, monadic and movanic devas, lights, planetars and solars) are the celestial stewards.

The vanguard celestials guard the borders of the upper planes and also fight one another in endless holy wars, when one pantheon whips a vast host into zeal and slaughters thousands or even millions in the name of its own idea of good. Good as they are, celestials hold grudges, and some pantheons still resent holy wars fought millennia ago.

The stewards, the most powerful and righteous celestials, serve the powers directly, each kind with its own role: messengers, helpers of mortal followers, scouts and more.