Guardinal

• Avoral {MM}
• Cervidal {MM2}
• Leonal {MM}
• Lupinal {MM2}

The Outer Planes that celestials call home foster a variety of good creatures. The goodness of celestials is of a quality and intensity that makes many a paladin feel diminished and inadequate.

Evil creatures in general and fiends in particular are anathema to celestials. They may not spend all their waking hours rooting out tanar’ri and baatezu from every corner of the multiverse, but when confronted by fiends of any sort, they seldom back down. Celestials are often involved in prolonged wars against fiends of various types, and armies of celestials occasionally take the battle to their enemies. Though celestials are generally peaceloving creatures, they are also terrible foes.

All celestials have comely looks, though their actual appearances vary widely. Guardinals, the type presented here, tend to have both humanoid and animal characteristics.

Celestials speak Celestial, Infernal, and Draconic.

Combat

Most celestials are armed with a variety of nonlethal attacks and special abilities, which they reserve primarily for those rare occasions when they must fight or subdue good beings. Against creatures of evil or beings who have somehow aroused their wrath, celestials are willing to unleash the full measure of their lethal, otherworldly powers. Most celestials have excellent skills in melee as well, and they do not hesitate to take on their foes hand-tohand. For creatures that dislike killing, they are exceptionally good at it. Guardinals are no exception.

Guardinals

The guardinals are the people of Elysium, just as demons (tanar’ri) are the people of the Abyss. Most guardinals resemble beautiful, muscular humans with noticeable animallike traits.

Guardinals aren’t numerous. In Elysium, they tend to live in small groups, watching their home plane for any sign of trouble while roaming its breathtaking landscape in nomadic bands. They live simply, taking only what they require from the land.

Guardinals have no tolerance for evil or injustice. Most of those that leave Elysium do so to seek out and address such wrongs. Thus, it is rare to find a guardinal roaming the planes for pleasure.

The statistics block below contains details for more than one shape, size, or type of this creature. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.

Cervidal • Lupinal

Cervidal ⬆️

The most common of the guardinals of Elysium are the satyrlike cervidals. Their home, Amoria, is the uppermost layer of that plane. Cervidals take their guardianship of Amoria serioiusly and are rarely found elsewhere except in times of great need.

A cervidal’s body is slim, muscular, and covered with short, dark red fur. Aside from its regal bearing, the creature’s most striking feature is the pair of long, curved horns atop its head. A cervidal has hooves instead of feet, but its hands are like a human’s, except that the backs are protected by hard plates of horn. This allows it to use its hands as punching weapons to deliver effective slam attacks.

Cervidals are peaceful and slow to anger, but in times of need they form the bulk of any guardinal army. One on one, a cervidal is a match for any comparable baatezu or tanar’ri, but cervidals seldom have the luxury of fighting an equal number of opponents.

Combat

A cervidal’s horns are its favored weapon. It usually begins a fight by charging. Thereafter, it uses its slam and butt attacks to advantage in melee.

Charge (Ex): A cervidal can lower its head and charge an opponent, striking with its deadly horns. In addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge, this tactic allows the cervidal to make a single butt attack that deals 1d8+6 points of damage.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will⁠—​bless, command, detect poison, light; 1/day⁠—​hold person, magic missile, suggestion. Caster level 9th; save DC 13 + spell level.

Horn Powers (Su): A cervidal can deliver any of several effects by a touch of its horns. The horns can negate any poison or disease (as the spells neutralize poison and remove disease) in the creature touched, dispel an illusion (as a targeted dispel magic spell, except that it affects only spells of the Illusion school and is automatically successful), or dismiss (as a dismissal spell) a summoned, conjured, or extraplanar creature. Each of these horn powers can be used at will as a standard action. Except as noted, all these abilities function as the corresponding spells. Caster level 20th; save DC 13 + spell level.

Skills: Because of its powerful legs, a cervidal gains a +8 racial bonus on Jump checks.

Lupinal ⬆️

As the name implies, lupinals are half-human, half-wolf creatures. They are constantly on the prowl for evil intrusions into their territory, be it Elysium or a piece of the Material Plane that they have made their own. Lupinals are more likely than cervidals to make their homes outside Elysium and assist other beings in repelling evil incursions.

Perhaps because of their pack-based society, lupinals are more lawful than other natives of Elysium. In group activities, they operate in close cooperation and perfect harmony. Even solitary lupinals are rarely more than an hour away from allies (or even closer, via ethereal jaunt).

At first glance, a lupinal might be mistaken for a werewolf, with its long muzzle, fur, and backward-bending canine legs. But where lycanthropes are savage and animallike, lupinals are intelligent, regal, and poised—though they are quick to anger and ferocious when aroused.

Combat

Lupinals are exceptionally skilled in combat. They use pack tactics (such as surrounding opponents, chasing down enemies, and the aid another action) with great skill. Their approach often involves ambush, deception, and misdirection as well.

Fear Aura (Ex): When a lupinal howls, every creature within 600 feet (except other celestials) who can hear it must make a Will saving throw (DC 16). On a failure, a creature with 7 or fewer Hit Dice becomes panicked for 4d6 rounds; one with 8 or more Hit Dice becomes shaken for 4d6 rounds. Success leaves the creature unaffected. Once a creature has either been affected by this ability or made a successful save, it cannot be affected by that lupinal’s howl again for 24 hours.

Improved Grab (Ex): If a lupinal hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with a bite attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. The creature has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its jaws to hold the opponent (⁠—​20 penalty on grapple check, but the lupinal is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals bite damage.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will⁠—​alter self, blink, blur, darkness, ethereal jaunt; 3/day⁠—​cone of cold, cure light wounds, fly, magic missile. Caster level 8th; save DC 12 + spell level.

Trip (Ex): A lupinal that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the lupinal.

Dodge Missiles (Ex): This ability operates like the Deflect Arrows feat, except that the lupinal can dodge any missile and it need not have its hands free. (The creature is dodging, not deflecting.) This ability is usable three times per round.

Wild Empathy (Ex): This power works exactly like the druid’s wild empathy class feature.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 42. These creatures’ statistics blocks have been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II. Changed change self to alter self in the lupinal’s spell-like abilities.