Guardinals
Made with Hero Forge
(from Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II - 1995 - [credits])
The guardinals are the people of Elysium, just as the eladrins are the folk of Arhorea or the tanar’ri are natives of the Abyss. Most resemble beautiful, muscular humans with noticeable animal traits - a thick, lionlike mane for hair, a flat muzzlelike nose and mouth, or pawlike hands. The degree of animalistic features vanes between individuals, hut guardinals frequenting the Beastlands appear most heastlike (and least human) of all.
The guardinals aren’t a numerous race, even compared to the eladrins or the archons. In Elysium they live in small groups, watching the upper layers for any signs of trouble, or roaming the magnificent landscapes in nomadic hands. Guardinals are quick to laugh and slow to anger on Elysium; they’re living embodiments of the peacefulness of the plane, and don’t lightly disturb it.
While guardinals’re peaceful enough in their home, they show a different face away from Elysium. They’ve got no tolerance for evil of any type and often journey into the Great Ring or the Outlands to seek out evil and confront it. Guardinals’ve even been known to mount lightning raids into the first layers of the Gray Waste, Carceri, or Gehenna just to strike hack at the evil fiends living there. Unlike the eladrins, who respect mortals’ freedom of choice as much as their right to live untroubled hy evil, guardinals make no secret of who or what they are and take whatever steps’re necessary to defeat evil wherever they find it.
Guardinals are basically unorganized; in Elysium there’s little need for laws or orderly societies. A cutter traveling across Elysium won’t find guardinal cities or fortresses scattered across the landscape. Instead, he’ll find guardinals living wherever they feel comfortable - some can be found in the peaceful towns of Amoria, others prefer the solitude and beauty of Eronia or Belierin. Guardinals of any type tend to be solitary, introspective creatures who like being left to their own devices when the land‘s at peace. On the other hand, they’re also capable of handing together with military discipline when evil threatens.
Although the guardinals don’t have any real hierarchy or structure, they’re led by the mighty leonals. These noble creatures are the most vigilant and powerful of the guardinals and act as gathering points for guardinal causes. A typical cause might he the defeat of a powerful evil empire on the Prime Material Plane, the recovery of a good artifact stolen from its rightful place by fiends, or the monitoring of a powerful organization that might begin to lean toward evil activities. The guardinals associated with a cause rarely abandon it, although they might temporarily turn aside to attend to a more immediate issue.
Guardinals are creatures of exceptional honor and integrity, and do not lie, cheat, or attack needlessly unless the cause at hand is in the direst jeopardy.
Talisid and the Five Companions: The mightiest guardinal is the leonal prince Talisid, a wise and ancient being who has survived uncounted confrontations with evil. He is accompanied by his Five Companions - the strongest and wisest of the avorals, the equinals, the lupinals, the cervidals, and the ursinals. Talisid’s abilities and intelligence are on par with some quasi or demipowers, and the pantheons native to Elysium hold him in the highest regard. His companions have powers far beyond those typical of their tvDe. and many sones are sune ahout their deeds in battle or their wisdom in peacetime.
Combat: All guardinals boast the spell-like powers of detect illusion, detect invisibility, detect evil with a 100’range. dimension door, dispel magic, infravision, and protection from evil in a 10-foot radius. Much like paladins, all guardinals can also lay on hands, healing a number of hit points equal to their own total every day. (This healing can be divided among several individuals as the guardinal sees fit.) Guardinals are affected hy attack forms as noted below:
Acid = Full
Cold = Half
Electricity = None
Fire (magical) = Full
Fire (nonmagical) = Full
Gas (poisonous) = Half
Iron Weapon = None*
Magic Missile = Half
Poison = Half
Silver weapon = Full**
*Iron weapons inflict damage only if the guardinal can be hit by normal weapons. Otherwise they have no unusual effect.
**Silver weapons can hit a guardinal regardless of whether or not an enchanted weapon is required.
Guardinals have a special form of telepathy that allows them to communicate with intelligent, nonmonstrous creatures or natural creatures of any kind. A beholder or catohlepas wouldn’t fall into these categories, hut a human, dog, or giant eagle would. In addition, normal, nonmagical animals or giant animals will never attack a guardinal, even under magical compulsion.
Guardinals’re unrestricted in planar travel. They can leave Elysium by an innate ability resembling probability travel, which allows them to enter the Astral Plane with their physical bodies. They can also make use of any gate, portal, or conduit they find. In addition, guardinals can travel directly to the first layer of Bytopia, the Beastlands, or the Outlands from any point in Elysium.
(From D&D 3.5e Monster Manual I - 2003 - [credits])
Guardinals are a celestial race native to the plane of Elysium. When at home, they are among the most peaceful of creatures, quick to laugh and slow to anger. They show a very different face when away from Elysium, however—they have no tolerance for evil and often rove the cosmos looking for evil to confront.
Guardinals speak Celestial, Infernal, and Draconic, but can speak with almost any creature, thanks to their tongues ability. Guardinal Traits: A guardinal possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry). —Darkvision out to 60 feet and low-light vision. —Immunity to electricity and petrification. —Resistance to cold 10 and sonic 10. —Lay on Hands (Su): As the paladin class feature, except that each day, a guardinal can heal an amount of damage equal to its full normal hit points. — +4 racial bonus on saves against poison. —Speak with Animals (Su): This ability works like speak with animals (caster level 8th) but is a free action and does not require sound.
(From the Book of Exalted Deeds - 2003 - [credits])
Guardinals are the native outsiders of Elysium, the living embodiment of goodness. Guardinals are one of seven varieties: the avoral and leonal described in the Monster Manual, the cervidal and lupinal detailed in the Monster Manual II, and the varieties described here: the lowly musteval, the equinal, and the mighty ursinal.
The guardinals are staunch opponents of evil wherever it is found. Left untroubled on their home plane, guardinals are as peaceful as Elysium itself, roaming its magnificent landscapes in small bands of companions. When evil threatens their home, however, the guardinals are as fierce as any archon, and numerous guardinals leave Elysium on righteous crusades to fight evil on the Material Plane or other realms.
Guardinals combine the features of handsome, noble humans and equally noble animals. Individuals vary in the degree to which the animal features dominate—some cervidals, for example, look like satyrs, while others seem almost human except for the curling horns on their heads. Guardinals who dwell on the Beastlands are the most animalistic, often moving about on all fours (which most other guardinals consider undignified).
Combat: Guardinals vary widely in their combat ability, from the small and weak mustevals to the mighty leonals. Ursinals are the real spellcasters of the guardinals, while lupinals value stealth and ambush. All guardinals prefer to subdue and incapacitate if necessary, but they readily kill evil outsiders, and other evil creatures if necessary.
Energy Resistance (Ex): Guardinals have resistance to acid 10 and cold 10.
Immunities: Guardinals are immune to electricity and petrification. They have a +4 racial bonus on saves against poison.
Speak with Animals (Sp): Guardinals can mentally communicate with animals as a free action. This works exactly like speak with animals as cast by an 8th-level druid but does not require sound.
Tongues (Su): Guardinals can speak with any creature that has a language, as though using a tongues spell cast by a 14th-level cleric. This ability is always active.