Throne archons were the rulers of the cities of Mount Celestia and judges of the archons.[1][4][5] As far as the day-to-day matters of Celestia, they were the true rulers of the archons.[4] They were the epitome of virtue and perfection.[6]
Description[]
Thrones were the tallest of the archons,[2][1] towering between ten[2][1] and twelve[1] feet (three and three and a half meters) tall and often weighing 700 pounds (320 kilograms).[1] They were flawless in appearance[1] and had gold-colored skin,[1][4] fair hair,[4] and radiant blue eyes.[1] Looking into a throne archon's eyes, one felt warmth and love, yet at the same time, their faces were stoic, full of ageless wisdom.[1]
Throne archons were always garbed in a magical, golden suit of plate mail,[1] usually with helmets.[4] Their breastplates radiated light.[4] They carried enormous, rune-covered greatswords, for which they were famous in the Outer Planes. These vorpal weapons were considered almost a part of throne archon itself.[1]
Personality[]
Throne archons were full of wisdom and strong convictions. They were patient, attentive, and benevolent creatures, dedicated to judging rightly in all matters.[1]
Most throne archons hated being called to the Material Plane by magic, as it prevented them from fulfilling their important duties.[1] In this sense, they were not considered adventurous; they rarely left their assigned realms.[6] They also despised combat, perhaps more than even other archons, and preferred to allow their sword archons to fight for them.[1][4]
Abilities[]
Like all archons, thrones could speak and understand all spoken languages[2][7] and could telepathically communicate with any being.[2][7] They could teleport anywhere that they wanted without a chance of failure. They could also create a source of continual flame whenever they desired.[2] Throne archons and anyone close to them were magically protected from evil at all times.[2][7] Beyond this, they had a vast array of other powerful inherent magical abilities[1]—mimicking spells cast by both wizards and clerics[4]—including the power to resurrect the dead.[1]
Even though they did not have wings, throne archons could soar through the air effortlessly.[1]
Thrones were resistant to all but the most powerful magical spells,[2][7] immune to petrification and electricity,[7] resistant to poison,[7] and could not be affected by mundane weapons or even low-powered magical ones.[2][1] They could also see in darkness.[2][1] and in dim light.[1] Throne archons were even more intelligent than trumpet archons.[2]
A power unique to throne archons was their so-called "penitentiary gaze". Any non-lawful good creature gazed upon by a throne was powerfully effected by the sight of the archon's blue eyes. Such a creature was overwhelmed with a sense of remorse for her or his sins, whatever had moved her or him further from the ideals of goodness and order. The effects of such remorse varied, depending on the outlook of the one so affected. The guilt of evil creatures physically manifested as painful boils; even creatures neither prone to evil or good received such skin ailments, though not as severely. More chaotic creatures would see visions revealing the deviation from the path of law. Such visions were so realistic, that it physically tired the observer, resulting in total exhaustion to the most chaotic persons.[1]
Throne archons could also channel their power into mortal servants,[1] an experience similar to possession to the mortal, except that the mortal creature had to welcome the presence of the throne archon's spirit in his or her body. The mortal remained in full control of his or her body and could use all of the archon's supernatural powers and abilities during this time.[8]
Combat[]
If forced to fight, throne archons would gaze upon their victims to fill them with exhaustion and painful boils before decapitating them with their massive greatswords.[1] When engaged in battle, they also produced a menacing aura of righteousness that negatively affected their foes' ability to fight back, even if the victim did not catch the gaze of the throne archon.[2][1]
Society[]
Each throne archon was the ruler and judge of a city or town of the Seven Heavens.[1][4][5] In their role as judges, they occasionally had to administer justice to the wicked.[1] The thrones were technically subservient to the tome archons, being only just slightly below them in the heavenly ranking system.[4] The thrones never argued amongst themselves or got into political disputes. All discussions and meetings held by groups of throne archons were managed peacefully.[4]
Each of the Seven Heavens were divided into 196 provinces, and a throne archon was established as head of each province as well.[5][note 1]
Throne archons were assigned trumpet archons as their personal servants to the Prime, but they were able to command any of the archons residing on the their layer.[5]
Promotion[]
Throne archons were created by the promotion of willing trumpet archons who had obtained platinum accoutrements.[6] Alternatively, some sword archons were promoted to throne archons directly.[9]
Throne archons were promoted to tome archons,[9] but only upon the death of one of the seven. Whenever this occurred, one of the throne archons somewhere in Celestia instantly took on the form and power of the fallen tome archon, taking his or her position in the Celestial Hebdomad. Most scholars believed that such throne archons were personally chosen by Zaphkiel himself.[10]
Ecology[]
The only thing consumed by throne archons was a nectar made from the fruits growing in the Seven Heavens mystically combined with literal praises from the lower archons.[4]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The text of Planes of Law: Mount Celestia, p. 10, and Warriors of Heaven, p. 43, claim that a warden archon governs each of the 196 provinces of each of the Seven Heavens. This is assumed to be an error and should read "throne archon". It is well established in the Planes of Law boxed set (Mount Celestia, p. 10) that the layers are ruled collectively by the throne archons as the leaders of each town and city and that "they can command any other archon on the layer they rule," excepting the single tome archon on each layer. This arrangement is further confirmed and clarified on p. 8 of that boxed set's Monstrous Supplement, and on p. 42 of Warriors of Heaven. Within the strict hierarchy of Mount Celestia, it is highly unlikely that a warden archon would have authority over a throne archon, and warden archons already had different established roles, as laid out in both sourcebooks.
Appearances[]
Card Games
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 1.34 James Wyatt, Darrin Drader, Christopher Perkins (October 2003). Book of Exalted Deeds. (TSR, Inc), pp. 162–163. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Colin McComb, Dori Hein (February 1995). “Monstrous Supplement”. In Dori Hein ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 4. ISBN 0786900938.
- ↑ Richard Baker, James Wyatt (March 2004). Player's Guide to Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 159. ISBN 0-7869-3134-5.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Colin McComb, Dori Hein (February 1995). “Monstrous Supplement”. In Dori Hein ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0786900938.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Wolfgang Baur (February 1995). “Mount Celestia”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 10. ISBN 0-7869-0093-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Christopher Perkins (April 1999). Warriors of Heaven. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 50. ISBN 0-7869-1361-4.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 James Wyatt, Darrin Drader, Christopher Perkins (October 2003). Book of Exalted Deeds. (TSR, Inc), p. 159. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
- ↑ James Wyatt, Darrin Drader, Christopher Perkins (October 2003). Book of Exalted Deeds. (TSR, Inc), pp. 23–24. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "The Hierarchies of Mount Celestia" poster included in Colin McComb and Wolfgang Baur (February 1995). Planes of Law. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0093-8.
- ↑ James Wyatt, Darrin Drader, Christopher Perkins (October 2003). Book of Exalted Deeds. (TSR, Inc), pp. 124–125. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
Connections[]
Justice archon • Trumpet archon • Word archon