Angel

From PathfinderWiki
Angel
Sunlord Thalachos, a unique angel.
(Creature)

Angels are a group of altruistic celestials native to all three Upper Planes: Nirvana, Heaven, and Elysium. They represent all the multiple interpretations of goodness, and can be anything from lawful to chaotic. They include such noble beings as planetars, solars, and astral devas, and the majority serve one of the benign deities of the Great Beyond.12

Appearance

Angels are broadly beautiful beings who resemble winged androgynous humanoids. The most powerful angels have two or four sets of feathered wings.3 Some, such as cassisians, are shapeshifters,4 while others can turn invisible at will.3

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.1

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,5 such as the following types:

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.117

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.1819

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 the movanic, monadic and astral devas. They frequently cooperate with fellow celestials and good-aligned deities to promote goodness across the Great Beyond.1

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.20

In Nirvana, angels prefer to spend their time contemplating, meditating, or conversing with other natives.21

References

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

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Amber E. Scott. “Celestialkind” in Chronicle of the Righteous, 35. Paizo Inc., 2013
  2. Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 16–19. Paizo Inc., 2019
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 19. Paizo Inc., 2019
  4. 4.0 4.1 Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 16. Paizo Inc., 2019
  5. In Pathfinder First Edition, creatures having the angel subtype; in Second Edition, beings with the angel trait.
  6. Paris Crenshaw, et al. “Bestiary” in The Hellfire Compact, 82–83. Paizo Inc., 2016
  7. Amber E. Scott. “The Celestial Hosts” in Chronicle of the Righteous, 60. Paizo Inc., 2013
  8. Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 16–17. Paizo Inc., 2019
  9. Thurston Hillman, et al. “Bestiary” in Wrath of Thrune, 84–85. Paizo Inc., 2016
  10. Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 293. Paizo Inc., 2014
  11. Amber E. Scott. “The Celestial Hosts” in Chronicle of the Righteous, 59. Paizo Inc., 2013
  12. Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 18. Paizo Inc., 2019
  13. Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary 2, 14. Paizo Inc., 2020
  14. Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary 2, 15. Paizo Inc., 2020
  15. Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 18–19. Paizo Inc., 2019
  16. Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 15–16. Paizo Inc., 2019
  17. Amber Stewart. “The Outer Sphere” in The Great Beyond, A Guide to the Multiverse, 46. Paizo Inc., 2009
  18. James Jacobs, et al. The Inner Sea World Guide, 245. Paizo Inc., 2011
  19. Robert Brookes, et al. “Chapter 3: The Great Beyond” in Planar Adventures, 167. Paizo Inc., 2018
  20. Robert Brookes, et al. “Chapter 3: The Great Beyond” in Planar Adventures, 155. Paizo Inc., 2018
  21. Robert Brookes, et al. “Chapter 3: The Great Beyond” in Planar Adventures, 161. Paizo Inc., 2018