Guardinal

Guardinals were animalistic celestials native to the House of Nature. When at home, they were among the most peaceful beings in all the planes, but outside their home plane, they hunted down evil to stop it.

Avoral guardinals were in service to Aerdrie Faenya. Guardinals of all varieties served Mystra, the goddess of magic in her home plane of Dweomerheart.

Description
Like other celestials, the appearances of guardinals varied&mdash;both among varieties and individuals &mdash;but most looked like attractive and fit humanoids with distinct animal traits. Some guardinals appeared more animal-like, while others appeared more human-like.

Abilities
All guardinals could see in the dark and were immune to harm from electricity. They were resistant to the acid, cold, poisons,  and intense sounds and could not be turned to stone by magical means. No animal could ever be compelled to attack a guardinal.

Guardinals had a wide range of spell-like abilities, which varied among their kinds, but all guardinals could heal themselves or others by touch, much like a paladin's divine ability.

Guardinals were naturally fluent in the Celestial language and the language of devils. Most also spoke Darconic. However, they could communicate with almost any sentient creature using their innate magic, so in some sense, they could speak all languages. Moreover, they could telepathically communicate with any animals.

Types
There were at least seven varieties of guardinal, listed here from weakest to most powerful.
 * Mustevals : Mouse-like guardinals, which had little influence in the Realms.
 * Cervidals : Goat-like guardinals.
 * Lupinals : Wolf-like guardinals.
 * Equinals : Horse-like guardinals.
 * Avorals : Bird-like guardinals.
 * Ursinals : Bear-like guardinals.
 * Leonals : Lion-like guardinals.

Personality
Guardinals were quick to laugh and slow to get angry. They were the epitome of moral integrity and honor. They did not lie or cheat. Guardinals had zero tolerance for evil or injustice of any kind, and would travel out of their way to confront it. If evil came to their home plane, they became as ferocious as any archon.

Combat
The style of combat favored by a guardinal depended on its type and its power. Among all varieties, they preferred to incapacitate, unless the enemy were irredeemably evil, in which case, they did not hesitate to use deadly force.

Society
Native to the House of Nature, in earlier cosmologies, guardinals were considered residents of Elysium. In either case, they lived simple lives, either alone or in small groups, often traveling through their beautiful, natural environment like nomads. They only ever took what was absolutely required from the land.

While not under a strict hierarchy like the archons, the guardinals were led by a band of guardinal paragons known as Talisid and the Five Companions. There were many more guardinal paragons than these six; in fact, there was a paragon serving as a near deity for each of the many groupings of animals.

History
The guardinals kept no recorded history of their origins. For as long as any knew, they had always been protectors of their home plane, led by the most powerful leonal and five companions.

The goddess Mystryl used to employ guardinals in her service.