Angel

Angel

(Creature)

2E1E

Common

Angel

Celestial

Level

Varies

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Angelic

Images of angels

Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 16–19

Type

Outsider
(angel, extraplanar, good)

CR

Varies

Environment

Upper Planes

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Angelic

Images of angels

Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 9

Angels are altruistic celestials native to all three Upper Planes: Nirvana, Heaven, and Elysium. They represent all interpretations of goodness and can be anything from lawful to chaotic. They include such noble beings as planetars, solars, and tabellias, and the majority serve one of the benign deities of the Great Beyond.

Appearance

Angels are broadly beautiful beings who resemble winged androgynous humanoids. The most powerful angels have two or four sets of feathered wings. Some, such as cassisians, are shapeshifters, while others can turn invisible at will.

Ecology

The eldest angels were one of the first creations of the primordial deities of good, making them one of the oldest races in the Great Beyond, and were trained as celestial guardians and servants from birth; most serve their creators to this day. Most angels in modern times come from ascended good shades rather than direct divine creation; sometimes these souls even retain aspects of their mortal forms.

Types of angel

The term "angel" is sometimes used as a catch-all term for any sort of good outsider, especially azatas, archons, or agathions, but for the purpose of this article the term refers only to true angels, such as the following types:

• Cassisian: The least of the angels, these simple beings serve as messengers for other angels, or serve as moral guides to good mortals on Golarion.
• Kuribu: These small, statue-like angels protect holy and sacred places.
• Choral: Singers of unsurpassed talent, these angels serve as heralds of great events.
• Erelim: These angels are the mounted cavalry of the celestial armies.
• Iophanite: These messengers and divine servitors of the goddess Iomedae also serve her in battle.
• Balisse: These angels help mortals make good moral decisions.
• Movanic deva: The infantry of good deities and stewards of goodly people during their mortal lives, these devas patrol Creation's Forge and the Void, and guide beings of the Universe.
• Monadic deva: These are the guardians of good on the Ethereal Plane and the River of Souls.
• Tabellia: The deities' messengers, who also help protect good planar travelers.
• Planetar: These beings are commanders of celestial armies and destroy irredeemable evils.
• Solar: The most powerful of the angelic hosts and legendary trackers, solars are outranked by empyreal lords and few others among the non-divine servants of good.

Habitat

Most lawful angels come from Heaven, neutral angels from Nirvana, and chaotic angels from Elysium, however this pattern is not set in stone and individual angels can deviate from their home plane's alignment. Compared to other celestials, such as agathions and archons, which tend to stay on their home planes, angels are less tied to their home planes and have no trouble traveling wherever they feel they are needed. Many can be found watching over the River of Souls, or assaulting the forces of the Outer Rifts whenever a portal to that fiendish realm opens. Angels frequently build holdings in other planes that often serve their purpose of spreading goodness, notably the Ideal Threshold in the Ethereal Plane or the Movanic Postern in Creation's Forge.

Among the Upper Planes, Nirvana has the largest angel population due to its neutrality in respect to law and chaos. Elysium has the smallest since the deities there have little need for intermediaries and prefer to handle their own affairs.

Society

Angels conform to a stringent hierarchy consisting of three choirs: the first consisting of the solars who command lesser angels; the second consisting of planetars; and the third composed of movanic devas, monadic devas, and tabellias. They frequently cooperate with fellow celestials and good-aligned deities to promote goodness across the Great Beyond.

In Heaven, angels usually operate independently from archons. Due to their more flexible attitude toward order, they often help prevent the ossification that comes with overly rigid authority, and ensure that Heaven's society constantly improves.

In Nirvana, angels prefer to spend their time contemplating, meditating, or conversing with other natives.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.