Let’s talk about angels in Dungeons & Dragons.
Those celestial beings from the upper planes.
Some chaotic, some lawful, and I suppose some neutral cause that’s how the planes work.
We’ll talk about the different kinds of angels, their locations, and habits.
Let’s dive in.
Celestials are created from the spirits of petitioners, and petitioners are Good-Aligned
mortals that have died and gone to the Upper Planes.
They generally go to whichever plane matches their alignment.
Arcadia, Mount Celestia, Bytopia, Elysium, The Beastlands, Arborea, and Ysgard.
See my playlist of the planes for more information on those upper planes.
These spirits if faithful enough they are selected and transformed into a warrior known
as an agathinon.
After a period of faithful service they may ascend transforming into an angel of higher
station.
This is not unlike devils, who can be promoted to a higher form a devil if they collect enough
souls, or Asmodeus promotes them himself.
That was planescape, and if we look at the fifth edition monster manual angels are said
to be formed from the astral essence of benevolent gods.
The gods seem to have a part to play in creating angels, whether from divine essence, petitional
spirits, or a combination of both.
Lawful angels have a hierarchy not unlike the hierarchy of devils, they just want to
do good and lawful things instead.
These angels can continue their advancement through good deeds until they become planetars
or even solars.
Which are the angels you’ll find in the 5th edition Monster Manual.
These angels become direct heralds, messengers, and warriors of the gods they serve in the
Upper Planes.
Angels have immense power but it is balanced with their kindness and compassion.
However if an angel encounters an evil creature there is an overwhelming instinct to destroy
it.
With fury and power the angel will snuff out evil wherever it finds it.
They hate lying and cheating, and it’s against the nature of angels to steal.
Angels will consider violence a last option, but their vengeance is swift, and they feel
no remorse when destroying an evil creature.
An angels appearance on the prime material plane often signals doom.
Although these creatures can be seen as hope for the faithful they rarely come to the prime
material plane without the intention to snuff out evil.
Angels have a sense of superiority, an arrogance that accompanies them.
Angels sent to help mortals are not sent to serve but to command, and are only sent in
the most dire circumstances.
Planetars act as the weapons of the gods they serve.
They are a physical manifestation of the might of that deity.
Because of their aggressive nature they are particularly fond of battling fiends from
the Lower Planes.
It would not be complete talking about angels if we didn’t talk about fallen angels.
Angels who have lost their way.
The road to good and righteousness has been diverted and these angels are no longer welcome
in the sight of their deity.
This can happen through temptation, but most often it’s through a pursuit of a goal that
challenges morals and ethics.
Focusing on the greater good an angel might do something inherently evil knowing that,
potentially, in the long run the planes will be better off.
This is what happened with Zariel who currently rules the first layer of the Nine Hells Avernus.
She wanted to destroy the demons of the Abyss once and for all.
The greater good would be to eliminate all the devils and demons of the planes.
But she disobeyed orders, and her lust for fighting caused her to become a fallen angel.
Living in the lower planes, miserable, eternally fighting.
An angel that neglects their duties, fail to serve as an inspiring example of goodness,
or commits an evil act immediately comes to the attention of their superiors and/or their
deity.
Most often the angel can repent and atone for their mistake.
But if the offence continues, and the angel pursues a path of villainy they are excommunicated
from heaven.
Leaving the Upper Planes forever.
Many times just not being allowed back to their home is punishment enough for the fallen
angel.
There is even a Celestial Tribunal where the fallen angel can be brought for judgement.
Based on the Tribunal’s decision their powers and abilities can be stripped from them.
Most celestials serve the general cause of good, not necessarily a specific god.
Celestials are known as the children of the Upper Planes.
They perform inspiring good deeds, and spread righteousness throughout, combating evil when
necessary.
The warlock celestial patron could be for you.
Instead of a fiendish pact one could gain power from an angel.
This could be a unicorn, ki-rin or other celestial entity.
Allowing your warlock character to bring that angelic vengeance to your adventures.
Angels are permitted to travel freely through the Upper Planes.
Occasionally they’ll appear in the Astral or Material Planes too.
Angels are defenders, protectors of the Upper Planes, dealing with threats but almost never
taking the fight to the enemy.
Rarely they would get orders to travel to the lower planes, perhaps assisting in the
blood war to ensure the balance of power was always equal.
Probably the most famous fallen angel was Asmodeus.
Who tricked the creatures and deities of the Upper Planes into giving him Baator to rule.
From there he sciphoned souls from mortals to increase his power.
Although a fallen angel, Asmodeus has ascended to godhood and is now nearly impossible to
remove from the Nine Hells.
Thanks for watching, special thanks to my patrons on patreon that keep these videos
going.
Angelic messengers could be an interesting surprise for your players, or perhaps you
can create some lower CR angels that could be summoned with Summon Celestial.
Thanks again everyone and I’ll see you next week with another episode of Forgotten Realms
Explained.