Justice archons were zealous archons devoted to the upholding of justice above all else and seeking out righteous vengeance against the wicked.[1]
Description
Glorious and angelic, these beautiful, radiant creatures typically appeared as gold-skinned, gold-eyed, gold-haired, and gold-winged humans or elves. Most weighed about 190 pounds (86 kilograms) and stood about six feet (180 centimeters) tall.[1]
Justice archons were usually armored in full plate. They favored greatswords or occasionally glaives or greataxes.[1]
Like many celestials, justice archons did not actually possess a true sex, but they often appeared as males or females. They required no food, drink, or sleep to live.[1]
Personality
Justice archons prioritized justice above other virtues. Unfortunately, they considered themselves the purest champions of justice, and many were quick to make judgments and leaned heavily toward self-righteousness, so it was not uncommon for justice archons to become fallen archons, seeking out justice in the absence of mercy and being exiled—either voluntarily or by order of higher powers—from Celestia. They considered the throne archons, the official judges of the Seven Heavens, too distant, not willing to leave their judgment seats to take needed action.[1]
Justice archons particularly despised yugoloths and would fight them at any chance. This disdain was because the daemons placed evil above all other philosophies. They further despised the inhabitants of the Barrens of Doom and Despair.[1]
These archons avoided taking any actions that would upset the natural balance of any environment that they visited.[1]
Justice archons enjoyed wearing golden jewelry, such as necklaces, circlets, or torcs, and also decorating their clothing and armor with such finery.[1]
Abilities
Like most archons, justice archons could fly well—even when heavily armored—and could also teleport themselves.[1] They could see in darkness and dim light.[1][2]
Justice archons were always protected by a magical barrier against evil and were immune to paralyzation and electricity.[1][2] They were resistant to poisons and magic and could not be affected by mundane weapons or even low-powered magical ones.[1]
Justice archons could detect the presence of evil at will, call upon divine aid, and create a source of continual flame whenever they desired.[1][2]
A unique power to justice archons was their ability to cause their weapons to deal damage in the same manner as their opponents. For example, if struck by a magical flaming sword, a justice archon could magically enchant its own weapon with that same power.[1]
Like all archons, justice archons could speak and understand any language that they desired.[1][2]
Combat
While they technically would not enter combat without being provoked, it was easy to offend a justice archon's sense of justice. Using their power to detect evildoers by sight, they would charge into battle, calling for vengeance against any perceived wrongdoing against the innocent. They would seek to learn the nature of their enemies' attacks and then use their ability to return the same attack on their foes. They would often call on divine aid and favor before a battle, and if things grew overwhelming, they would teleport to safety and plan a counterattack.[1]
When engaged in battle, justice archons produced a menacing aura of righteousness that negatively affected their foes' ability to fight back.[1][2] This fury was especially great in justice archons, and an aroused justice archon might accidentally destroy innocent bystanders while enacting vengeance on a guilty party.[1]
Society
Justice archons were native to the city of Empyrea in Mertion, the fifth layer of Mount Celestia.[1]
Justice archons were sent at the head of warparties to hunt down fiends, and they were sometimes summoned to the Material Plane by mortal clerics seeking for retribution against some great crime. If called by a planar ally spell, a justice archon would serve for half the usual payment if asked to fight fiends and for free if asked to fight yugoloths. Because justice archons were more prone to righteous anger than other archons, their superiors often sent them on missions to the Lower Planes, where there was no risk of innocents being accidentally punished.[1]
While most justice archons acted alone, some became champions among their kind, serving in roles similar to those of mortal paladins and leading squads of other justice archons, hound archons, or sword archons or providing aerial support to hounds. Celestial giant eagles and celestial giant owls often fought side-by-side with justice archons as well.[1]
It was unknown to scholars what position justice archons held in the hierarchy of the Seven Heavens, but they were generally between hound archons[4] and warden archons[5] in innate power.[1]
Appendix
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel (July 2006). Monster Manual IV. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 80–82. ISBN 0-7869-3920-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 16. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 159. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 17. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ James Wyatt, Darrin Drader, Christopher Perkins (October 2003). Book of Exalted Deeds. (TSR, Inc), p. 163. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
Connections
Justice archon • Trumpet archon • Word archon