Celestial

Celestials were good outsiders from one of the Celestial Planes, also called the Upper Planes in some cosmological models, and the cosmological counterparts and antithesis to fiends. While the term "angel" properly referred to a subset of celestials, those on the Material Plane helped by any celestial being might claim to have been "visited by an angel". All celestials, regardless of species, station or creed, were united in one thing: good will. Celestials were commonly thought of not just as "good beings" but embodiments of "all that is good"; the very essence of it suffused every bit of their being, body and soul.
Celestials performed many roles across the multiverse. They were divine heralds who brought the messages of the Upper-planar gods to those who needed to hear them and agents of good who acted outside the divine mandate. They were the punishers of the wicked and ministers to the needy, protectors of the innocent and liberators of the enslaved. They were both wanderers who roamed the planes to find the good in all things and guides who led champions in their quests against evil. They were the embodiments of the multiverse's purity and the pinnacles of benevolence and valor. They were all these things, but as a group, they were champions of the betterment of the cosmos who encouraged the spread of harmony and freedom, both for individuals and for societies. They always acted for the utmost benefit of others, to inspire charity, mercy, and helpfulness in turn, and bent their tremendous cosmic influence to the support of good and thwarting of evil.
==Description==
Celestials were beings of magnificent, empyreal aspect, but that aspect varied widely in appearance. Whether it was stately or wild however, virtually all were comely and beautiful to behold in their own unique ways. Even those known to have strange or frightening appearances never seemed evil.
==Personality==
Celestials were beings of stark contrasts. They were at once beings of gentle nature and merciful beneficence towards the repentant and figures of majestic power and ruthless opposition against the irredeemable. And yet, despite this punishing side, true malice, or even just hatred, were alien to the celestials. They were not perfect beings, and even the highest among them knew it, yet they still strived to be. So intense was their goodness that even many paladins felt inadequate by comparison.
Given their nature as creatures of incarnate good, one might expect all celestials, or at least those of a specific type, to all think alike, but this was not the case. Even the archons, creatures actively held to a standard of lawful good, were only mostly of the same alignment, and even then they did not all follow the same strictures or share a disposition. Celestials, like all advanced beings, were diverse in outlook, and each possessed of their own unique and distinct personality, tendencies, ideology, quirks and flaws.
Furthermore, celestials did not spend their every waking moment seeking out good deeds to perform or make lists of noble acts to commit. Though they held a firm commitment to furthering the cause of good, benevolence was not something they specially premeditated, but rather a natural predisposition. Most took special delight in the simple things, and found no shortage of distractions when no dire issues presented themselves. Indeed, celestials could derive immense personal satisfaction from such activities as farming, brewing smithing, carving, cartography, storytelling, performance, and animal training; some of their interests were even gained from time amongst mortals. Crafting in particular gave celestials peace of mind and the satisfaction of constructive activity.
==Abilities==
Celestials derived their powers from gods and drew their strength and sustenance from the Upper Planes. Without divine support they would be bereft of power, and too long spent away from their holy homelands would see them weaken and wither away. Only through regaining godly backing and/or spending proportional time in the Upper Planes could they recover.
Celestials had a diverse set of abilities, although there were several commonalities. They were supernaturally under the effects of the tongues spell at all times, allowing them to communicate beyond language barriers. The heavenly beings were unaffected by lightning, could not be petrified and resisted poisons. They also had keen vision that allowed them to see in the dark.
==Combat==
Celestials, befitting their nature, were not violent unless given good reason. Something as simple as an argument on the gray areas of morality and sacrifice was never allowed to degrade into violence, but disputes did, on rare occasion, result in physical altercations. Generally however, violence required either a direct assault against themselves or the threat of such against a defenseless victim. Even then, they would not comply if attempts at diplomacy seemed like a ruse, and might even reject honest attempts at parley if the opponent was sufficiently suspicious.
Should their hand be forced, celestials took the luxury of mercy wherever possible, using lethal attacks only if needed to win and avoiding bystanders. They were privy to a variety of methods to non-lethally incapacitate, which were ironically reserved most of the time, for rare was the occasion that they needed to subdue other creatures of good. However, it would be folly to assume celestials were push-overs or incapable of violence. Indeed, for creatures that disliked killing, celestials were exceptionally good at it, and once provoked the generally peace-loving beings proved themselves terrible foes.
When faced with evil creatures or those that somehow enraged them to the point of violence, celestials were willing to unleash the full extent of their otherworldly, and lethal, abilities. Their mobility and magical powers made them cautious opponents for whom direct melee was warranted only in the most dire circumstances, and they took the time to carefully plan out their attacks but most were excellent melee combatants as well and would not hesitate to go hand-to-hand.
In the phenomenal circumstances where a confrontation with a celestial was inevitable, it was generally advised to bring means of non-lethal subdual and perhaps appeal to the creature's superiors. Failing that, it was best to bring powerful magic, and be prepared to counter magic in turn.
When confronted by fiends of any sort, celestials seldom backed down. They were vastly outnumbered by their wicked rivals, but had some advantages against them. Their purity and unfailing virtue serving the celestials well against them, and even even some of the highest ranking could underestimate them, such as by assuming celestials lacked the ability to deceive.
Furthermore, an interesting psychological advantage they benefitted from was the fact that few fiends had the conviction to look them in the eyes without exhibiting some sign of fear. Even creatures on the level of pit fiends could not fully quash the sense of trepidation and anxiety that emerged when facing celestials, not even when their opponents were lesser beings they could rationally tell were weaker than them. Weaker fiends were known to instinctively fear celestials and attack them only from the safety of range if they could help it.
===War===
Celestials were often involved in prolonged wars against fiends. They were known to keep vigil over both their own borders, where armies patrolled to ensure no fiendish plotters harassed the petitioners, and those of the Outlands (particularly those areas bordering the Upper Planes), often to prevent fiendish incursions into the Concordant Opposition. On occasion, celestial armies even took the fight to them for reasons both morally pragmatic and purely principled.
Celestials, while careful not to attract undue attention on the Material Plane, also closely watched any of its worlds where evil had gained a foothold. Should such a world seem to be in imminent danger of falling to the fiends they were ready to stand against, the first step of which was establishing their on foothold: an Empyreal Citadel.
To build an Empyreal Citadel, celestials first located (or is possible created) a portal to connect the threaten world to the Upper Planes. Building sites needed to be in places where the natives would least expect to find them. The middle of deserts or the depths of the sea were viable locations for construction if the world was overpopulated, but should no sufficiently remote location exist on the world itself they were willing to build even on a nearby moon. Next, in total secrecy and under a veil of invisibility, they built a fortress around the gate using materials imported from the Upper Planes. Over the next few years, through great works of magic and engineering alike, the structure was expanded upwards and outwards until completion.
The end result of this labor was a massive, marvelous complex to which no Material Plane structure compared in terms of sheer architectural beauty, a fortress-metropolis of interconnecting towers, majestic cathedrals, and buttressed armories that extended upwards for miles. Its magnificence was a reminder, a declaration to the fiends that the celestials were willing to defend the world with their lives. From its walls they could safely plan battles, hold thousands of celestials and their allies, transport several thousand more through the other side of the gateway, and launch attacks whenever needed. Such a use of force could prove disastrous however, for the cataclysms caused by wars between the servants of good and minions of darkness have destroyed entire worlds.
Empyreal Citadels existed on many worlds, most of which had never been seen by mortals, and some suspected that the ruination of Hellgate Keep had prompted angels to secretly build one under the Great Glacier of North Faerûn.
==Society==
The celestial lifestyle demonstrated a remarkable dichotomy, appearing rustic one moment and majestic the next. There was an economy of sorts among the celestials, in that a celestial who enjoyed certain kinds of objects could obtain them from a celestial who enjoyed creating them, but celestials rarely felt the need to profit from their endeavors, for the satisfaction of a job well done was its own reward.
Unlike that of the fiends, celestial civilization was not constantly beset by self-destructive conspiracies. Some celestials maintained strict hierarchies, but other celestials placed no innate value on social organization, and would form and abandon social orders when it seemed called for; not even well-defined celestial societies necessarily imposed exacting moral guidelines on its members. To the extent that bureaucracy, plots and manipulation existed amongst the major celestial peoples, it existed in service to the greater good. Station was not a vehicle of subjugation but motivation, intrigues were gentle and enjoyable, and politics preserved the purity of the lands. Most disputes were addressed through moderated debates, although failing that there were known forms of ritualistic, non-lethal combat.
Even power itself, however, was not much of an influencing factor in the societies of the celestials, at least in comparison to their fiendish counterparts. They did not measure their own or each other's worth in terms of power, since most of them could already harness incredible power, both magical and mundane. More to the point, all celestials, regardless of personal power, enjoyed what many lower-ranking fiends and even some of the most powerful could never hope to know: free will. Even those in service to the gods of goods or under a strict social hierarchy had the capacity for free thought, were permitted to make their own choices in their daily lives, and had control over their own destinies, with the obvious boundary of acting in accordance with good.
===The Celestial Concordance===
Given their stance on conflict and general natures, it was little surprise that the celestials had no equivalent of the Blood War, no grand cosmic battle between different versions of good. In place of vows of eternal war, the celestials had a promise of peace in the Celestial Concordance, a pact of collective defense. Put simply, the Celestial Concordance dictated that an attack against any of the Upper Planes was an attack against all of it, and that its inhabitants would come to each others' aid should any external force seriously threaten them. Thus could the celestials present a single, harmonious front against the multiverse's evils, one they were careful to maintain given the ever-presence of the Blood War.
Periodically the representatives of the various celestial races would call an assemblage known as the Parliament of Concordance, or simply the Parliament. During this convent the various ambassadors would plan defenses against threatened invasion, give status reports on their planes, and debate the best way to implement the alliance and what role their people should play. Such assemblages were not dull meets, but monumental and awe-inspiring beyond mortal imagination, and never noted through written records. The chairman and coordinator of any given Concordance was the Arch-Penitar, a figure elected by the other representatives every three centuries or so; the last known of these figures was Zora Sebiarti, the solar proxy of Ra.
Through Concordance, the celestials presented a force that was more than the sum of its parts, its constituent races able to draw from the ranks of their allies. Lantern archons could be called on by any celestial to act as squires and servants, and were often summoned by more powerful celestials as companions and light sources for excursions into the Lower Planes. Non-guardinals looked to leonals for spiritual guidance and sought their aid in turning others to their own causes, and many kinds of celestials could be found working under a ghaele eladrin commander. And the very presence of a planetar could cause celestials to amass into armies to do battle against Evil.
A famous example of the power of this unity was when the demon lord Pale Night stole away a generation of eladrin children, resulting in a rapid invasion by a myriad of celestial beings (including kirins, foo creatures, hollyphants, and moon dogs). The conflict persisted even eons later, and the Mother of Demon's retained only a fraction of influence over her Abyssal home for the trouble. Every child lost only deepened the determination of their celestial defenders.
==The Ethics of Good==
Celestials differed in how they defined the concept of good. Where one's understanding was shaped by adherence to principles and rules, another's perspective was equally shaped by a less restrained life. Even those celestials who upheld pure good, untainted by law or chaos, were faced with arguments that their commitment to neutrality was itself a bias that undermined their goodness. Differences regarding these fundamental positions were a source of particular conflict among the celestials, many of whom were fond of arguing the issues with each other and anyone else who cared to, but the idea of a "holy war" meant to suppress one interpretation of good through the violent slaughter of its proponents was unthinkable to any celestial not fallen to evil themselves.
That in mind, though scheming was rather irrelevant amongst each other, celestials had their own visions of what was best, and were not above plotting and planning on a more cosmic scale to achieve them. Most shunned even questionable methods, but all celestials looked upon evil as a plague, and any actions they took in its preventions were ones they strongly believed were necessary. These beliefs became most relevant when the subject of the Blood War reared its head, and especially flared during Parliamentary meetings.
===Combating Evil===
The most persistent celestial argument was how best to deal with evil. The "Scourge of Evil" philosophy posited that good beings existed to combat evil, and that inaction in its face was tantamount to committing it yourself. Many celestials shared this stance, believing it to be their duty to stamp out all evils, and even those that considered them somewhat overzealous believed that passion was evidence of good intention. Some sought nothing less than evil's total annihilation, to cleanse it's filth from the multiverse entirely.
Standing in direct contrast to this was the "Pacifism" philosophy, which put forth that the only viable response to harmful actions was loving ones, with the logic that this cheek-turning approach will show the wrong-doer the error of their ways. Such a stance was rare among celestials given their long history with great evils, but there were those celestials who found the the very idea of destroying even a fiend unpalatable, and when the rare celestial chose to champion the philosophy they often attracted hordes of followers.
The "Omnibenevolence" philosophy held that even the most corrupt of creatures deserved a chance of redemption. It did not go so far as to refuse to fight evil, but if there was even the fraction of a chance, mercy was to be shown to the wicked. No matter how many betrayals celestials of this outlook suffered, they were always willing to give the benefit of the doubt to any promising reform.
===The Greater Good===
The fact that moral compromises and sacrifices were sometimes needed for the greater good was a fact that occasionally led a celestial to question their priorities, and even if it didn't, debates over which sacrifices were too great had caused many schisms in the Upper Planes.
 Hence the infamous stance that "The Ends Justify the Means", which had several degrees. Under this philosophy, lying and treachery for example were acceptable if those smaller evils brought about greater goods. Most celestials wouldn't get in trouble for telling an obviously fictional tale or even a "little white lie", although even the most chaotic celestials were at least truthful to themselves, if not always anyone else. This philosophy, however, could also lead a celestial to feel that victory was more important than the cost, and most other celestials frowned upon this outlook due to the trouble it could cause.
However, potentially equally problematic was the inverse philosophy, "The Means Justify the End". By this outlook, good intentions mattered more than actual results. While perhaps noble in concept, there was a particular flavor of this attitude with rather self-serving implications. It could be argued that so long as one always acted in service to good, actions which ended up benefitting themselves more than others would ultimately loop back around to everyone else. This version was surprisingly common among the more powerful celestials, particularly those like planetars and solars; such high-ranking angels were often lacking in humility and considered their goals more important than those of others.
Under "The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number" system, the best course of action was considered the one that did the least harm to as many people as possible. The wants and needs of the many outweighed those of the few, and good was defined by security. Many celestials shared this point of view, but it was rare among the more chaotic-aligned celestials given their emphasis on personal freedom. Even they, however, could recognize the utility behind it and acknowledged the logic of mitigating harm when presented with only negative outcomes, even if they struggled to accept it. Despite having their personal leanings regarding the nature of necessary sacrifices however, celestials generally trusted each other to make the right choice when it came to that.
===The Balance===
The idea of The Balance, a philosophical concept regarding the equilibrium of good, evil, law and chaos, was something the celestials seemed to recognize. Just as the fiends tried to tilt the balance in their favor, they attempted to tip it back in theirs. However, what exactly this meant and their conclusions regarding it could vary drastically. For example, for all their devotion to law, archons could countenance the eladrin version of chaos, at least much more than they could the evils of the devils. By contrast, most celestials believed that the Blood War could not end with peace between the lawful baatezu and chaotic tanar'ri, only in the victory of one or mutual destruction.
However, this was not to say that the Balance did not hamstring the efforts of good either. Sometimes the fiends of the Lower Planes seemed weak, a ripe opportunity for the celestials to strike back. But during these times more than others, the celestials devolved into arguments on which armies to strike. The more lawful advocated for total demonic eradication in favor of the foe they could understand, but their own chaotic counterparts could not themselves imagine a cosmos of diabolic victory. Unwilling to turn the conflict into a matter of pure strategy or leave it entirely to the whims of fate, the celestials would miss their opportunity, and with each untaken action the fiends became less likely to destroy each other.
An enigmatic thesis paper known as the "Vital Pact" also touched on the matter of the Balance in regards to fiends. Seemingly, if not certainly, of celestial origin and written in Celestial, the book spoke of the limited ranks and resources of the extraplanar forces of good compared to those of evil, called for vague new allies from unclear realms, and posited that, for good to survive, evil had to be 'made' to fight itself. On the last page was the true name of a fiend, setting the many conjurers the book mysteriously appeared before on the path of the malconvoker, summoners who called on evil creatures to turn them against each other.
Regardless of the true author of that writing, the sentiment it espoused was echoed by some celestials. From a few of the more independent ones to the higher-ranking ones (if not necessarily publically), there were those celestials who encouraged or even worked to prolonged the Blood War out of the belief it was for the greater good. Some even saw the convenient inner turmoil amongst the fiends and suspected the celestials of masterminding the entire Blood War, though in truth their involvement was limited. The conflict was an expression of evil's self-destructive nature, and one particularly radical celestial faction advocated leaving them to it.
Still, some celestials saw in the Concordance a way to end the stalemate through a military offensive against the Lower Planes, and the most fervent encouraged their peers to crusade upon the festering ground of wickedness and end evil. Detractors of this position countered that anything that put an end to the fighting, let alone an invasion, could bring the fiends together either temporarily or permanently, creating a united, unstoppable alliance of evil poised to bring disaster to uncorrupted realms and even destroy the Upper Planes. This fear had historical precedent, but even if the fiends did not unite, some celestials feared the sheer magnitude of such a conflict would tear the very planes apart. The most heated debate of all regarding the celestials was the "Ethical Paradox", the existential belief that without evil, good could not exist, and that even if the celestials could truly destroy it, such an act would take them and the multiverse with it.
All celestials saw the inherent hazards of a premature end to the war, and could see how even the innocents lost to it ultimately served the greater good. Thus, the Concordance remained a powerful force of defense, not offense. Most celestials simply strived, and struggled, to keep the Blood War confined to the Lower Planes, and for some that was enough. Celestials could at least agree that evil had to be held at bay, if not destroyed.
However, this did not mean that they took no action in fighting the fiends. Many celestials went on rescue missions, although the lawful were less diligent about it, believing it impossible to save everyone and the focus better spent on containing the war. On occasion celestial forces even openly struck back at the fiends, missions with a low survival rate, but which served the important purpose of reminding them that preying on the innocent might come at a cost. Yet not all were welcome on such missions, for the capacity for hatred that might bring a celestial to seek out battle on the Lower Planes could leave them vulnerable to the temptations of evil.
==Justice==
Even in places such as the Upper Planes there were codes of conduct and rules of engagement, rules that even the chaotic celestials were bound to follow lest they face ostracization or worse. However, these restrictions were balanced out by the potential rewards on the table for exemplary service. 
===Celestial Oaths===
Any celestial could make a promise, and some might even choose to break them, but all, regardless of alignment, could be held to something far more binding: an Oath. Celestial Oaths were similar to infernal contracts in concept, and most simply described as vows to commit a specific deed or follow a broader course of action. Once spoken, Oaths had to be fulfilled, for they had become part of the celestial and a personal source of power, and failing to do so would cost them dearly. Oath breaking would lose a celestial all of their special abilities and immunities and permanently harm their sense of self, a condition only undoable with a long period of atonement and the restorative powers of a god.
As for why a celestial would solemnly swear anything given such high stakes, there were several reasons. Sometimes it was required by their deity before they were appointed important tasks, or demanded from an adversary seeking insurance against retribution. Celestials also voluntarily swore Oaths, such as to protect someone or something for a certain period of time or to defeat a certain foe for a heinous crime, but such a decision was never made lightly. Though they could be made under duress, it was ultimately a celestial's own choice whether or not to take an Oath, and there were advantages to doing so. Besides gaining the trust of the other party, celestials received power from taking Oaths, or rather, from fulfilling them. In the case of difficult oaths, following through could net a celestial a great boost of personal power in the end, a reason if further reason was needed to hold up their end in any bargain.
===Rising to Greatness===
Besides advancement gained through the training and practice of skills, celestials gained new powers, higher station and greater influence in their respective societies through a process called "ascendance", where the gods themselves would gift them boons which then manifested immediately. Celestials naturally ascending over time, but the process was accelerated when a celestial performed deeds and completed tasks of inspiration, valor, charity, and other actions deemed worthy of reward.
Rescuing a paladin, uncovering a fiendish plot, or motivating a ne'er do well to reform were all excellent examples, but even minor deeds like helping a group of pilgrims, comforting a child, or just healing an animal was deserving of a bit of extra recognition. However, no single deed warranted anything more than a single jump in power; an archon, for example, would not be entitled to skip forms in their hierarchy for one good action, no matter how grand and noble.
===Falling from Grace===
The road to the Lower Planes was paved with good intentions, and sometimes celestials made too many sacrifices or a wrong choice. Even those with only the best of wishes might be led to commit deeds that were morally or just ethically questionable. The less intelligent were known to stubbornly cling to their decisions, while dogmatism could prove a blinding force for celestials of all rank as they ignored their own sense of morality in favor of that of a higher power. Those attempting to act in service of a greater good could overlook the immediate harm they were doing, and treaded a fine line between heroism and villainy.
In most cases these questionable celestials took a step back either on their own or with outside guidance, such as from their superiors, but not all saw the error of their ways. This only became a real problem when celestials truly lost their way. So long had they ignored their consciences and worked within moral gray areas that they could no longer distinguish between the greater good and their own self interest, and taken to behavior either lacking in mercy or consistency. When this led them to neglect their duties, fail to inspire good, or commit evil acts, both their superiors and the gods took notice, but but did not necessarily intervene, immediately. Generally they hoped the transgressors would realize and repent on their own, but this leeway eventually ended, and they would judge the celestial unworthy of either their power or station. This was a descendance, a colloquial "fall from grace".
The form of a fall from grace could take many forms, including a demotion in terms of station, strength and shape, confinement to the Upper Planes, more esoteric punishments, or all of the above. Any gift a god bestowed upon a celestial could be retaken at their discretion, and the nature of the offense and the track record of the celestial in question was factored into the decision. More grievous offenses or routine negligence was met with worse responses, and just as godly boons manifested instantly, judgement in these cases was swift, and often brutal.
In contrast to the predatory societies of the fiends however, a celestial's peers would neither scorn or ridicule their fallen fellows, but instead rally around them and help then win back the favor of their god. Making amends and convincing a god to restore powers was a simple matter of re-ascension, commiting good deeds and completing special missions until they were deemed worthy of what they had lost.
===Celestial Tribunals===
Not even demotion was enough to turn every celestial to atonement. Some spurned the goodwill of their fellows, continued to defy the gods, and refused to mend their ways. These unrepentant transgressors were no longer contributing to the cause of good, and would eventually be stripped of their powers altogether. In these rare cases, a celestial's offenses warranted the calling of a Tribunal, an assembly of their peers charged with determining the fate of a fellow agent of good. It was a matter treated with utmost seriousness, as for most offenders it was their last chance for reinstatement, and their final opportunity to convince those around them that they were not beyond redemption.
Typically located in a sanctified place within the dominion of the transgressor's deity and presided over by a proxy of the god, Tribunals followed a general format. The proxy spoke as the god's emissary and weighed the evidence presented. Meanwhile an advocate - usually a celestial unacquainted with the accused - detailed the wrongdoings leading up the trial and recommended that they repent and petition the Tribunal for redemption. Sincere requests were usually granted given that Tribunal proxies were invariably merciful, but still came with reductions in power and planar confinement according to the celestial race and their cultural customs, although races without a specific home plane might be locked to one of the Tribunal's choice. Only pure celestials were entitled to a Tribunal; those with mortal parentage, such as aasimar, were simply banished from the Upper Planes under the conditions that would call for one.
===The Truly Fallen===
For all their mercy, the Tribunal ultimately deemed some celestials unfit for existence in the Upper Planes, for they sought neither to repent nor achieve salvation for an egregious error or offense. Thus were they made to face the worst imaginable punishment: exile from the community of their people and their celestial home, the fallen being now left to wander the multiverse without the powers or allies they were accustomed to. A few offenders attempted to flee the Upper Planes to escape judgement, but this was little different from the Tribunal's exile, and still left them without their powers. Even so, sometimes their peers tracked them down and requested they put themselves at the Tribunal's mercy regardless, a purely voluntary request.
But not even these celestials, fallen as they were, could be considered the true fallen. Though they may be apart from their kin, some continued to act in the name of good as rogue celestials. Rather, that ignoble label was reserved for a specific brand of celestial. A celestial's whose actions were categorically deplorable were immediately halted by the greater forces of the celestials, and those who performed acts of wanton malevolence received no opportunity to ask for a second chance with the Tribunal. There were also offenders who presented themselves to the Tribunal and showed no sincere desire to repent of their evil ways or outward sign of guilt were forever stripped of their powers and cast into the Lower Planes. These were the Fallen, whose names were spoken nevermore.
Left to the mercy of fiends, celestials who suffered this horrid fate quickly perished. Most often the fiends sensed what the former celestials were and utterly devoured them, or otherwise they twisted their spirits into soul larva, manes, or nupperibos depending on their own natures. But rarely, fallen celestials, whether cast directly into the Lower Planes or having fallen further since their initial banishment due to lacking support and company of their peers, not only survived the descent, but thrived despite it. They rose to positions of prominence among their new species, and in some legendary cases, became archfiends. 
==Magic==
The celestials had their own magical developments, and guarded their magic closely, barely sharing their secrets with other celestial species, let alone anyone else. Their realms were also home countless distinctive magic items, which they might, on extremely rare occasions, bestow to mortals with need of them.
==Religion==
In contrast to the fiends, celestials derived their innate abilities from specific gods, and it was this deity that a celestial ultimately served. Without a patron god a celestial would be totally bereft of their innate powers, and should a celestial seek to switch patrons (such as if the previous one died) they would need to win over the new god, usually by performing some task or other to prove their worth, which was not necessarily easy. Moreover, celestials for whatever reason bound to certain planes had to choose from deities of that plane. In a sense, celestials were living extensions of divine influence, and the gods kept a much closer eye on them than their terrestrial agents. This relationship might seem more inherently restrictive, and perhaps even oppressive than the one between the fiends and divine beings, but there was much more it than the initial impression would imply.
For one, "service" towards the gods of the upper planes was performed through inspiring good deeds, spreading righteous ideas, and combating evil, things celestials were wont to do regardless of any divine favor. Furthermore, a celestial's patron was simply the deity from which they got their abilities, and they were not required to show them special devotion, hold them above any other god, or even pledge allegiance to any deity at all. In some cases, the servitude stipulation was nullified altogether; the eladrin of Arvandor did not serve the Seldarine, but did respect and cooperate with them in matters minor and major. The archons of Mount Celestia served deities happily, but the central mountain was devoid of gods and Tyr treated it with a great deal or respect.
At best, a celestial's own alignment needed to be similar to their primary patron, but even with this caveat any good-aligned god would empower any morally upstanding celestial. Even non-good gods could be served, honored, and provide a celestial power, but never evil gods. Closer divine attention and proximity also carried with it the benefit of downright common intervention on their behalf; rewards were in order for valor and obedience, and the celestials always did their best.
In any case, celestials ultimately served the general cause of good rather than one specific god, at least as a rule. In direct parallel to the daemons, the fiends of purest evil, the celestials saw themselves as agents of not just good, but Good, the cosmic force, specifically as the vessels through which it did its work. The gods of good, by contrast, were akin to godparents to the children of the Upper Planes, moral compasses who represented purity of thought and deed they were yet to achieve, role models to righteousness thusly deserving of devotion. It was through this devotion that celestials gained strength and through their faith that they kept themselves grounded.
===Proxyhood===
There were those celestials — exceptions to the rule — that sought to serve a particular deity to exclusion. One possible reason for such dedication was the aspiration to become that god's proxy, an elevated being invested with their power who served as their direct representatives. Nearly any celestial could become a proxy, regardless of race or rank, but only on rare occasions did those of lower station gain a deity's special favor or accomplish something impressive enough to garner their attention, and generally on the mightier ones were deemed worthy of personally standing in a divine presence and directly speaking to their god.
To become a proxy, a celestial first had to to prove themselves worthy of consideration. Celestials who served their gods by choice but were not vessels of divine power or consciousness were known as "emissaries". These were still free agents, but to become a proxy was to see that freedom end. It was to be totally subservient to a god and devoted to their agenda, and completely cast aside one's personal desires to remain loyal to their ideals. Obedience was to be absolute, and all commands had to be followed through, even those demanding self-sacrifice, without twisting of words or refusal to comply.
However, proxyhood did not demand complete sublimation of identity. Celestials never questioned the will of the powers they served, but a select few who strived to be proxies did not necessarily match even their deity's alignment, and a few managed to show their deities new ways of thinking, thus earning proxyhood despite differences. Rather, celestials proved themselves in this regard by advancing the cause of their chosen gods and espousing the right ideals. Some tested their proxies when they least expected it, or used tasks that may seem utterly mundane to test their methodology. Those who expected proxyhood to be one noble deed after another were poor candidates for the role. Yet even seemingly perfect applicants might be denied, for gods worked in mysterious ways. On the other hand, a deity might try to persuade a servant into proxyhood, but they are not strictly required to accept the offer.
Should an emissary prove themselves capable, generally after prosecution at least one mission, they were made into "temporary proxies". By performing tasks well, proving themselves time and time again, and generally showing talent for their duties, these often gained enough status and responsibility to become "lesser proxies". These were the more important of a god's servants, generally distinguished from the greatest not by utility or faithfulness but lacking aptitude. The "greater proxies" were those the gods trusted to watch over their realms, and with tasks that absolutely could not be allowed to fail.
Regardless of status, all proxies were extremely powerful individuals who, upon attaining their status, were bestowed one or more "divine gifts". These special powers bestowed by the gods were reflective of their own portfolios, and they could be added, removed or altered at will. These remarkable new abilities, usable with but a thought, came from the infusion of the god's strength into their proxy. Proxies were also readily identifiable as such. Usually this was because of their "godmark, which was sometimes a physical mark on the face, forehead, or palm, and at others simply a visibly divine aura. In others it was because the god saw fit to transform them into another kind of being entirely, but usually proxies were allowed to keep their original forms.
To be a proxy was the greatest honor a deity could bestow, for it was nothing less than the right to speak the divine word and enact the divine will. Proxies exerted divine influence where gods could not or would not go, like other divine realms and certain planes of existence. But some proxies eventually tired of this strain, while others broke under the pressure or suffered an identity crisis. Most good deities reacted with forgiveness and mercy in these cases, even when their agents quit during an important mission, and many even tried to find the fallen servants comfortable places in the celestial hierarchy better suited them. Others however, were not so tolerating of mistakes or quick to let things slide, and a particularly disastrous disappointment could face severe repercussions. This was to say nothing of those who deliberately turned traitor or abandoned their duties, which would at least call for a Celestial Tribunal if not divine wrath, with all the consequences a hearing entailed and sometimes worse. 
Proxies carried a portion of divine essence within themselves, and the death of their deity was disastrous for the devoted. In addition to the usual consequences of a celestial's god dying, all divine gifts were lost, and they were likely to be severely crippled, both mentally and physically. This was if they did not die themselves, as a proxy particularly close to their god was known to perish along with them, often in a spectacular burst of energy.
===Becoming Divine===
The general celestial impression of the divine interacted in interesting ways with the existence of celestial paragons, the highest of the celestials and powers in their own right, just short of godhood and able to function independently of them. Indeed, it was fully possible for regular members of celestial races to work their way into their esteemed ranks, to become supreme embodiments of good themselves, and from there entire religions could form around them. Yet, in contrast to the archfiends of the Lower Planes and their many schemes to claim divinity, the celestial governors of the Upper Planes desired no worship.
The celestial paragons protested that their purpose was to encourage goodness and point mortals towards good deities, (who, to the ignorance of most mortals and unlike the celestials themselves, needed worship to survive and thrive). They carefully reminded any followers they did accrue that they were not gods, and even reiterated this to themselves in an active effort to curtail their own pride. Even if celestial paragons were to become gods they would still insist otherwise and continue to point mortals towards "real gods".
Yet while they tolerated no cults in their name, paragons would sponsor organizations to carry their ideals and unite those of common values and skillsets across disparate faiths, and while they had no ability to grant spells, might petition proper deities to do so on their behalf. Through these methods, the works of the celestial leadership transcended the boundaries of specific religions, creating alliances and unions infeasible from a position of personal divinity.
==Mortal Relations==
The world of mortals has long been a battlefield between the forces of good and evil. Though they spent most of their time on the Upper Planes, celestials had vested interests in events of the Material Plane. Many of the Prime's countless worlds were occupied by devout followers of upper-planar gods, and the deities frequently called upon their celestial servants to guide and protect the faithful. The gods' desire to ensure the safety and happiness of their worshipers was not based entirely in charitable concern, but partially on the little-known fact that worship empowered the gods, the very gods who empowered the celestials. So it was that celestials constantly strove to protect the Material Plane from evil influence and incursion.
﻿However, certain rules bound celestial emissaries and proxies when they were sent to act on the Material Plane, limits that forbid most forms of direct intervention and mandated a low profile. Even ordinary celestials were not permitted to interfere, at least in ways that drew attention to themselves or the Upper Planes in general. Specifically, free interaction on the Material Plane was allowed on the conditions that a given celestial keep their true natures hidden (although exceptions could be argued where this would be useful in the short, if not long-term); use their powers only discreetly and when in dire need; and only provide absolutely necessary assistance or information, especially when it applied to the Upper Planes and its gods.
Celestials who violated the rules felt a strong compulsion to report their infractions, and those who ignored the urge were eventually recalled by their superiors. Punishment in this case usually did not call for a Celestial Tribunal, but an offender might still have to appear before a superior, proxy, or even the deity themselves for this action. Violators would need to persuade that circumstance warranted their behavior or else be confined to their home planes until they earned back the confidence of their superiors. Notably, aasimar were not bound by these rules, but were encouraged to abide by them nonetheless. Those that strutted about lording their abilities over others might earn the scorn of celestials who saw them as dangerous and/or irresponsible.
The purposes of these restrictions were manifold. For one, evil gods were as vigilant as good ones, and bold action brooked retaliation. A serious crisis in a worshiper's faith might warrant the arrival of an emissary, proxy, or even an avatar to address it, but to discreet action was needed to conceal good's hand. For another, an increased understanding of the celestials or the Upper Planes might be abused by the unscrupulous, and furthermore diminished the sense of awe, majesty and reverence an appearance from them invoked, which the gods could not abide. Thus, prime-material mortals were rarely allowed to witness celestial actions or fully understand their motives. The rules existed to help the celestials in addition to the gods and mortals, protecting them from possible capture as much as preventing the well-meaning among them from meddling too much in mortal affairs.
Yet even in those areas largely untouched by the celestials, they worked tirelessly to reveal evil's hand and avert calamity, and had saved worlds such as Toril from falling to evil's grasp with their quick responses. Were it not for their tireless efforts in spreading peace and harmony, fiends dark gods and other agents of the Lower Planes may well have enslaved or corrupted most mortal worlds (or else have taken the Blood War to every corner of existence and brought the multiverse to ruin) eons ago.
===Inspiring Goodness===
Part of the reason that celestials were largely forbidden from direct intervention was because mortal beings could not be allowed to grow reliant on them. The celestials were neither numerous nor powerful enough to protect all the Material Plane from its many diverse threats. Its worlds would be vulnerable so long as evil existed, and the fiends and wicked gods alike seduced many mortals with their dark power in exchange for obedience. Thus, the primary goal of any celestial on the Material Plane had to be to inspire goodness in others rather than try to do everything themselves.The select natives of imperilled worlds they inspired to righteousness would in turn inspired others, which subtly empowered the mortals to retake realms seized by evil.
Targets for these projects were chosen very carefully, and celestials often traveled incognito to seek out those seemingly destined for greatness. Heroes and leaders were obvious choices, but they also maintained close contact with individuals who displayed a certain "inner fire", such as martyrs, artists, and others with conviction and drive that might lead them to greatness. Some celestials took it upon themselves to befriend evil-doers in the hopes of leading them to redemption, for though it was incredibly risky, there was no greater triumph a celestial could know than appealing to the conscience of the corrupt to turn them away from evil.
However, the aforementioned restrictions regarding mortal interaction still applied to those on a quest to inspire. While being unable to reveal their true identities made the task harder, it ultimately made it more rewarding, for the celestial would know their success was genuine and not an insincere attempt to appeal to a divine agent. Thus, celestials remained out of the spotlight wherever possible, allowing it to shine on their chosen to better serve the cause of mortals inspiring mortals. Some visitations lasted moments, while others took months or years, with the celestial often adopting a disguise or persona. Oftentimes shapers of history could count one or more disguised celestials among their circle of good friends, close confidantes, stalwart companions, trusted mentors, wise seers, or even able henchmen.
===Mortal Coupling===
When the time came to move on, celestials frequently left behind gifts or parting words to those they interacted with before fading away unobtrusively, though the more dramatic might go so far as to fake their deaths to inspire their colleagues toward even nobler goals. However, not even this is necessarily the end of their involvement, for though it was their duties that brought them to spend so much time in the mortal realms, their kind and devoted natures occasionally led celestials to fall in love with mortals.
The objects of a celestial's affection ranged from humanoids to creatures like unicorns, but they were always intelligent, non-evil, and reciprocated their paramour's love. When such coupling resulted in children, the mortal partner was willing to conceive and usually cared for the offspring due to the celestial's other duties. Yet though they were apart, upper-planar parents (and other ancestors) were not generally absent, and often played an active, if subtle role in the lives of their children. Many of their sires grew up to become great heroes.
===Celestial Warlocks===
The oft-dangerous and sinister powers and reputations of warlocks might suggest to some that the very notion of one serving the forces of good was unworthy of consideration. But while some celestials, like archons, were preoccupied with avoiding even the appearance of evil, such was not true of all celestials, such as the eladrin. They and celestials who shared their particularly wild and chaotic ways shared more in common with fey than archons, or even angels. It was not inconceivable that the eladrin Court of Stars would see fit to share a fragment of their power with charismatic mortals, and ancient entities including unicorns, ki-rin, solars and empyreans were known to be willing to make pacts with mortals.
A pact struck between a mortal and celestial allowed the former to experience the barest connection to the holy light that illuminated the universe, which could alter behavior and beliefs. This could manifest in drives to protect the innocent, destroy undead or thwart fiends. It might also cause a yearning to go to the patron's realm for the rest of the mortal's life, but such pacts demanded the beneficiary bring light to the dark places of the world, and so they could not leave the mortal realm just yet. Though such warlocks were most likely to be chaotic good, such power could corrupt even the most well-meaning soul.
==Language==
Celestials had a language of their own simply called Celestial, which used its own script known as the Celestial alphabet. It was described as beautiful, yet alien in nature in a way similar to the Infernal and Draconic languages (which interestingly celestials spoke all three of) as a result of being developed by beings with thought patterns very unlike those of humanity.
The Celestial tongue was also believed to have a precursor in a lost language, with surviving remnants in the so-called Words of Creation. Very few celestials remembered these words of power so great that mortal minds could not comprehend more than a few. Most found it difficult to communicate entirely using the Words since that lexicon had no words for ideas such as hate, despair or betrayal. Furthermore, this version had no written form, and all meaning (and power) was lost in transliteration.
==Ecology==
The ways in which the celestials races were born and died paralleled the fiends in peculiar ways. Some were born from petitioners, a dichotomy reflected in both the lawful archons and baatezu devils. Others, like the guardinals and yugoloths, were instead born from older members of their respective species. Notably the eladrin and tanar'ri did not share a common origin, the eldarin being born to parents like the guardinals and the tanar'ri from petitioners like the baatezu. However, eladrin seemingly predated tanar'ri, or at least their time of dominion, having ruled Arborea since the days of the obyrith demons, and some tanar'ri did in fact give birth the more conventional way. Regardless, petitioners to the Upper Planes could become non-celestial planar lifeforms depending on the specifics.
Furthermore, the concept of rising through the ranks and achieving new forms that was practically universal among the fiends was relatively absent among the celestial races, seen only in the archons and angels. Not even the asuras, also born from ascended mortal spirits, followed that system. Archons and angels were also the only celestials who were, by nature, immortal, again in contrast to the aging-immune fiends.
However, the celestial system also had certain exceptions and potential work-arounds. Eladrins were not 'technically' immortal, but grew up in the twilight demiplane courts of the tulani where time did not pass and age was not accrued, effectively granting them control over the aging process, and Selune was known to turn select petitioners into eladrins, as well as lillends. Meanwhile, the guardinals may vehemently deny the idea that they arose from animal spirits, there seemed to be at least some connection between them and the Beast Lords, and it was theorized that the purpose of Elysium's deepest layer Thalasia, was to turn worthy petitioners into guardinals.
===Homelands===
It was said that a celestial could spend a lifetime wandering the Upper Planes and never see the same place twice, such were the countless sites worthy of exploration to be found. It was this vast expanse of the multiverse they claimed as their home, from the resident harmony of Arcadia to the unending battle of Ysgard and all the planes in between, and they maintained the sanctity of their lands with vigorous and unwavering determination against all evils that would threaten them. As part of their minding of the border between the Upper Planes and the Outlands, they tried to align the plane closer to their own philosophies.
===Reproduction===
A celestial’s magical nature allowed it to breed with virtually any creature. The offspring of the resulting unions were either half-celestials or aasimar, the latter of which might also result from the descendants of the former.
==Types of Celestials==
Just as fiends, celestials came from many different origins. The following were the main, known types of celestials:
;Angels :
: Angels, also called aasimon, were arguably the most iconic of the celestials, agents of good empowered by the gods they served.
;Archons :
: Archons, not to be confused with the similarly named elemental archons, were personifications of lawful goodness native to the Seven Heavens.
;Guardinals :
: Guardinals were manifestations of neutral good native to Elysium and the House of Nature.
;Eladrin :
: Eladrin, not to be confused with the similarly named fey eladrin, were chaotic good beings from Arborea, Arvandor, and the Gates of the Moon. 
; Celestial paragons :
: Celestial paragons were the counterparts of archfiends, exemplars and leaders of their kind who operated separately from deities.
Other races of celestials included asuras, bariaurs, couatls, einheriar, ki-rin, lillends, hollyphants, moon dogs pegasi, and unicorns.
==History==
In their journey across the planes in the early stages of their dominions, the baatezu devils and tanar'ri demons made repeated intrusions into the Upper Planes, prompting the celestials to marshal a force against those who dared invade their sanctity. An army of millions of archons and angels was assembled, their spirits afire with the desire to stop evil and take vengeance. They took the fiends unaware, slaying them regardless of creed or type for over a year until the fiendish races decided on a truce, at least until they could rout the celestial interlopers. The fiends turned as one against them, and within a week only about three-thousand celestials survived.
It was from this battle that the celestials learned to be more cautious when dealing with fiends, and that if they chose to renew their active war against them, they would have to focus on destroying only one party. Unable to agree on which were worse, the schism and stalemate between celestials would persist for eons into the future.
===Rumors and Legends===
Corrupt leaders of good-aligned churches sometimes made reference to "wars in heaven", primarily to justify "holy wars" against other good faiths, but the celestials and good gods alike recognized these tales as nothing more than a manifestation of evil's corruption in their followers, for such things were entirely fiction. This was not to say that rela wars in the Upper Planes never occurred, but rather that when they did, they were between celestials and their fallen brethren, who eventually abandoned their homes for the Lower Planes. Even so, occasional rumors of holy wars on the Upper Planes were a cause for worry.
There was once speculation within Sigil that the entire Blood War was just a ruse to make the celestial complacent, and that the forces of evil were ready to strike at their strongholds at any moment. Distracted by their own internal squabbles, the celestials were allegedly scrambling to build up their defenses, having let themselves grow weak while the fiends became stronger than ever.
==Appendix==
===Trivia===
5 edition Dungeons and Dragons classifies rilmani as celestials, but this seems inaccurate by the system's own definitions, which describes celestials as creatures of good, as opposed to the pure neutrality of the rilmani.
===Gallery===
File:Angels - Jeremy Jarvis.jpg|A deva, a planetar, and a solar standing proud.
File:Celestials3e.png|A lantern archon, a hound archon, and a planetar.
File:Guardinals.jpg|A leonal, and an avoral
File:Celestial Eladrin.jpg|A ghaele and bralani
File:Two Celestials.jpg|A firre and a leonal.
===References===
FR:Céleste
===Connections===
Category:Creatures of lawful good alignment
Category:Creatures of neutral good alignment
Category:Creatures of chaotic good alignment
Category:Good article nominees