The Gates of Heaven: Giving Celestia the Dicefreaks Treatment

[unosarta]

Originally Posted by PairO'Dice Lost

I do hope, my good sir, that you are not insinuating that the archons are employing deception, however inadvertent it may be. You wouldn't be saying anything of the sort, would you?

Of course not good sir! That is tantamount to saying that the Nine Hells are not ambiguously evil, or that the wars between the Abyss and the Hells has been artificially created! Never would I say such a thing, good sir.

[Amiel]

Interesting project, all :)
Mind if I join?


Death-of-Chains

It is often expressed through parables that the long march of eons cannot soothe the wronged heart; that the impermanence of justice hardens the soul against benevolence and places it toward a path of pure vengeance, of slights repaid and violence appropriated. These parables go on to express regret and firm resolve in equal measure, that the only answer to sin is conflict. The entity Death-of-Chains is the embodiment and antithesis of this.

With name and origins lost to antiquity, those scholars interested in eschatology have pieced together some common truths. Originally believed to be a solar predating the compact that limited celestial incursion into the mortail coil and the Fall, and whose sphere of concern encompassed beatific suffering and justice, it is speculated that Death-of-Chains descended into the Depths Below to personally engage with fiends.

Possessed of a righteous fury, he laid waste to demons and devils in equal measure, bringing avenging light to those who would taint the multiverse with their despicable evil. Originally dedicated to a merciful death, even against fiends, through the long millennia this devolved into violent humiliation. Increasingly, his actions drew the attention of his superiors, who while finding it repugnant also appreciated its clarity.

Death-of-Chains was found innocent of innocence and sentenced to recanting upon the mortal coil. Equally talented as healer as he was a warrior, Death-of-Chains brought the healing light of on high to the mortals he carefully tended to, wholly committed to his renouncement.

Ironically, it was upon the mortal coil that his own light dimmed. Disillusioned with the lying and pettiness of mortals, and disappointed in the celestial agenda, Death-of-Chains once more descended into the Lower Spheres, this time to commit suicide.

Broken and writhing in suffering upon the apathetic grey ash of the Wastes, Lament found him and reshaped him, affixing great chains into his body and soul.

It is unknown how long Death-of-Chains remained the avenging dark angel of Lament, but mustering his courage, Death-of-Chains broke free of Lament and ended upon Perdition.

This was a calculated move on the part of Death-of-Chains - scholars theorise that Lament let him go a free agent, having already fulfilled his own enigmatic design and needing him no further.

Death-of-Chains learned torture through experience and sight, and when filled to the brim with this perverse knowledge, escaped to craft his vengeance. He would bring torture and prosecuted renewed violence against fiends, and discovered tyranny and oppression proved to be a very special affront to him, taking on the appellation, Death-of-Chains.
Despite his proven violence, Death-of-Chains will never harm innocents (always aware of who they are) or animals.

Death-of-Chains appears as a handsome solar, 7 feet tall, with midnight black hair and eyes, and a perpetually disapproving frown. Upon his back are the stumps of wings, whose charred pits arise the form of grasping spiked chains.

Death-of-Chains can force the emergence of spiked chains from his torso with no pain.

Death-of-Chains, CG (CN tendencies) pariah solar 25 HD Magus 12

[Eldan]

The problem with that Solar, however, is twofold: one, it's a Solar and not an archon, two it's not lawful good... so it would rather belong into a later Ysgard or Arborea project.

[Amiel]

Unlike the demons and devils, I don't think angels are especially prejudiced against those of a different good alignment; I think conflicting alignments will manufacture discourse at worst. There is certainly no reason why NG or even CG angels can't exist on Celestia.
Also, I'm pretty sure solars, planetars and their ilk inhabit Celestia.

"Stat up any minor Powers mentioned in the lore and/or create new ones to fit."

Anyway, think of it as a resume.

[Eldan]

Well... Solars live on any upper plane, but I'd guess mostly between Celestia and Arborea. And given the nature of belief and the laws of shape-able reality, I'd assume they would find planes of opposite alignment very uncomfortable.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

I apologize for not posting here in a while or contributing any material as of yet, but I've been fairly busy with schoolwork. I should be finished with my work in the next few days and would be able to start on the alternate archons, but it seems this project has lost most of its steam. Are people still interested in this, or should we let sleeping threads lie?

[Iamyourking]

I'm still willing to keep working; but I have yet to receive any commentary on the Principality and I don't want to sink another 8+ hours into making the Authority only to find out that there was some crucial flaw I missed. Plus I've been working on my entry to the Monster Competition, that doesn't really help matters.

[The Tygre]

I think we need to start focusing on a plan for the fluff. Personally, I say we start filling out the Celestial ranks. Have we all agreed on a hierarchy?

[Eldan]

I've mainly started reading up on all the fluff for the different layers, and i have a few ideas for the Silver sea.

[The Tygre]

What have you got? I've found a surprising amount of creatures tailored for the Silver Sea. I mean was expecting... none, so even a few is good.

[Eldan]

Creatures not much, really.

But I was mostly thinking about what kind of fortresses one would find. One point I thought was important was that the Silver sea is a perfect neutral ground for trade between Arcadia and Bytopia: Bytopia produces crafts, among them absolutely amazing weapons, Arcadia needs them. So I wanted to do at least a trade city or two.

The other thing I can remember right now was that Celestia really needs a powerful navy. None of the other planes (except maybe Ysgard) has a large sea on it's first layer. On celestia, the entire layer is one, and one can barely travel there without falling in. Therefore, other than flying troops (of which it has plenty), Celestia's first line of defence should be a naval force.

I had more, but I need to find my notes first.

[Zaydos]

Also remember the Silver Sea is one of the two headwaters of the River Oceanus (the other being Arborea's third layer), so it would also provide trade with Elysium, the Beastlands, and Arborea quite easily.

[Eldan]

True, but most of the trade going through it would be destined for or coming from Arcadia.

[The Tygre]

I always like the connection that the silver sea had with whales, supposedly. If I'm not mistaken, isn't the Silver Sea essentially heaven for whales too?

[Zeta Kai]

Is there an index of posts that have content in progress? I'd like to see what you guys have here, but there's already a lot of posts to slog through.

[Eldan]

Originally Posted by The Tygre

I always like the connection that the silver sea had with whales, supposedly. If I'm not mistaken, isn't the Silver Sea essentially heaven for whales too?

The whole Oceanus is, really. But the Silver sea would potentially work better than a river anyway. And there's some nice varieties of planar whales out there.

Also, I really love the octopus-folk from Planes of law, even though i can never remember the name.

[Iamyourking]

Originally Posted by Zeta Kai

Is there an index of posts that have content in progress? I'd like to see what you guys have here, but there's already a lot of posts to slog through.

So far the only crunch is the Principalities, which you can find here, and Sandalphon, who is avaliable right here:

Spoiler

Sandalphon, the Hand of God
Colossal Outsider (angel, extraplanar, good, lawful)
Hit Dice: 56d8+1229 (1652 hp)
Initiative: +17 (+9 dex, +8 Superior Initiative)
Speed: 160 ft. (32 squares), Fly 480 ft. (Good)
Armor Class: 57 (-8 size, +10 armor, +21 natural armor, +14 Wis, +9 Dex, +1 dodge), touch 26, flatfooted 47
Base Attack/Grapple: 56/137
Attack: Unarmed strike +92 melee (10d8+43+3d6 (holy)+2d6 (axiomatic) 19-20/+9d6 (holy) +1d6 and 3 negative levels)
Full Attack: Flurry of Blows +92/92/92/87/82/77 (10d8+43+3d6 (holy)+2d6 (axiomatic) 19-20/+9d6 (holy) +1d6 and 3 negative levels)
Space/Reach: 40 ft./40 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, spell-like abilities, Wrath of God
Special Qualities: Blindsight to 200 ft, damage reduction 35/epic, anarchic, and evil, darkvision to 60 ft, Godly Aura, Hands of God, immunity to ability damage, ability drain, acid, cold, instant death, mind-affecting, polymorph, and sonic, low-light vision, outsider traits, regeneration 20, resistance to fire and electricity 20, spell resistance 69, telepathy 1000, tongues
Saves: Fort +55, Ref +39, Will +44
Abilities: Str 96 (+43), Dex 29 (+9), Con 60 (+25), Int 24 (+7), Wis 38 (+14), Cha 20 (+5)
Skills: Appraise +7, Balance +70, Bluff +5, Climb +102, Concentration +25, Diplomacy +5, Disguise +5, Escape Artist +68, Forgery +7, Gather Information +5, Heal +73, Hide -7, Intimidate +64, Jump +156, Knowledge (Religion) +66, Knowledge (the planes) +66, Listen +73, Move Silently +9, Ride +9, Search +66, Sense Motive +14, Spot +73, Survival +73 (+75 on the Planes or to follow tracks), Swim +102, Tumble +70, Use Rope +9 (+11 for bindings).
Feats: Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Brute¹, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (Unarmed Strike), Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
Epic Feats: Dire Charge, Infinite Deflection, Legendary Wrestler, Overwhelming Critical (Unarmed strike), Reflect Arrows, Spellcasting Harrier², Superior Initiative
Environment: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia
Organization: Solitary (Unique) or with Metatron)
Challenge Rating: 42
Treasure: See possessions
Alignment: Lawful Good
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: -

Standing before you is a massive figure of heroic proportions. A brilliant light radiates from his skin of polished bronze, which shines in the corona. Four gleaming silver wings arch from his broad back, each covered in feathers that look to be as sharp as razors and as strong as iron. His body is draped in a loose tunic of white cloth, and a kilt of the same material reaches down to just above his knees. Even for his great size, his power is obvious; with great muscles that bring to mind a god of strength bulging from his mighty arms. Despite his bulk he moves with great grace; his feet barely seeming to touch the ground as he moves. His handsome face shows grim determination as he surveys you; as if determining your fate. For a second you can see the piercing gaze of an eagle, the strength of an ox, and the nobility of a lion in his features before he turns away.

The heavens are a place of war. Certainly this war is done in just cause; to defend beings all across the cosmos from the ravening hordes of the Tanar’ri, the traitorous and malevolent forces of the Yuguloths, and above all else the fearsome legions of the Baatezu; but the hosts of the upper planes are always at war nonetheless. This has lead to a great deal of angels who are great warriors and fierce fighters, seasoned in a thousand battles, but there is one who even Michael, the King of Heaven, will acknowledge as his superior in combat. This is Sandalphon.
Sandalphon is the mightiest angel in Celestia and the personal champion of the mysterious entity who rules the holy peak. He is known as the Hand of God in this role, quite a literal title due to his mighty fists and unparalled unarmed fighting ability. It is he who has slain more fiends than any other, who broke the spine of the Dark Titan Paelogios, who cast down Baalzebul, Belial, Appolyon, Eblis, and countless other mighty angels who had fallen from grace.
He is among the oldest of angels, created at the same time as his brother Metatron; minutes before Michael, Gabriel, Zadkiel, Uriel, Chamuel, Raphael, and Jophiel; and many years before the common angels and archons. His great age makes his exact origins unknown, but it is said that he and Metatron are two halves of the being they serve. Unlike Primus and Asmodeus, who are avatars of incomprehensibly powerful beings of pure law, Sandalphon and Metatron are the embodiments of their virtuous brother’s body and mind. As such, they are tied together closer than any two beings; each feeling everything that the other does and sees.
It is rare for Sandalphon to deal with mortals, since even the blackest of villains are far beneath his notice. On occasion he is beseeched by mortal champions for strength and courage, and usually grants it through his Miracle spell-like ability. Otherwise though, he is mostly consumed with battling fiends and traveling the outer planes to keep the peace; he knows that it is likely that he would inadvertently cause much destruction were he to go to the Material Plane due to his huge size. This is why he is rarely summoned into the Material Plane, since few casters possess the resources to summon him into a structure that he would actually fit in and a ritual of the complexity needed to summon such a powerful creature could not be practically done outside.
He is on good terms with the majority of the Celestial Nobility, having repulsed fiendish attacks from their planes on multiple locations. In particular he is close allies with Uriel, since both of them take great pleasure in righteous battle. He is more distant towards most non-Lawful Good angels, but will not hesitate to help them if they call; Oberon and Titania are both particularly inscrutable to him. Neutral outsiders are dealt with much more rarely and his opinion of them is often dependant of their position on the ethical axis. Since they are not enemies or allies he rarely has any reason to interact with them; although Metatron occasionally heads diplomatic missions to Primus. He hates all fiends, in particular demons; but is experienced enough to know that the real threat lies with the devils. Their sense of purpose and organization means that they are the primary attractors of fallen angels, and Sandalphon never misses a chance to punish the Fallen. His hatred of demons means that he will kill them if he gets the chance, but the petty scope of their evil makes them uncommon targets and ensures that he has no real personal hatred of any Demon Lords. He has a sort of grudging respect for Alastor, who he has fought to a draw on multiple occasions, and seeks above all to destroy Beelzebub, who led the rebellion that produced so many of the Fallen.
Sandalphon appears as a massively muscled giant with bronze skin. Unlike the gross musculature of his rivals in strength though, he is perfectly proportioned and resembles a classical statue rather than a hulking monster. Like all of the great angels, he has four wings at ninety degree angles allowing him to fly with great speed and maneuverability for such a large creature. He does not carry any weapons, trusting in his mighty strength to be enough to crush his foes, and wears only a white surplice that always remains clean despite any limbs snapped and bodies pulverized around it. Sandalphon is 98 feet tall and weighs more than a thousand tons due to his extreme muscle density.

Combat:
Sandalphon greatly enjoys combat with fiends and will not hesitate to enter the fight, pummeling and smashing everything in his way. He casts Spell Immunity, Haste, and Mind Blank on himself before the fight and then charges into combat; opening with Holy Word and Greater Dispel Magic. Anything stunned by Holy Word is easy prey for him to attack with his Flurry of Blows, those outright killed by it were in no danger of hurting him. If surrounded, he uses Awesome Blow and his flight to disengage; obvious spellcasters are grappled and crushed as soon as possible.
If reduced to less than half health, he teleports out and uses Heal to restore himself back to full. He then summons Solars to assist him and goes back into the fight with Greater Invisibility and Kinetic Control going. If truly pressed, he summons Metatron and uses his Wrath of God ability on the most dangerous opponent. If the two of them are unable to win, they retreat back to Celestia to recover and plan a second assault; nobody has ever lasted long enough to warrant this.

Call Angels (SU): As a standard action Sandalphon can call angels. He may attempt to call up to three times a day, 3 solars, 7 planetars, or 14 of any lesser angel or archon. Since they are called rather than summoned they may summon other angels or archons as they wish. Once per day, he can call his brother Metatron or any of the Seraphim.

Godly Aura (Su): Like all Angels, Sandalphon possesses a protective aura that shields himself and others from harm. As befits an entity of his stature though, the aura is much more powerful. It provides a +8 deflection bonus to his AC and a +8 resistance bonus to his saves along with the effects of a Globe of Invulnerability to a radius of 40 ft at caster level 49. The bonuses provided by the Aura are not factored into his statblock.

Hands of God (Ex): Sandalphon’s legendary unarmed ability reflects his title of the Hand of God. All of his natural weapons are incorporated into a fighting style similar to a mortal monk’s but far more deadly. Instead of natural weapons, he has the unarmed strike ability of a 20th level monk of Colossal size. In addition, like a monk, he adds his Wisdom modifier to his Armor Class. His fists are treated as if they have the Holy Power, Axiomatic, and Ghost Touch abilities and as if they were made of adamantine and cold iron. This is an Extraordinary ability and as such functions even in anti-magic zones. Finally, he can crush the life from those that he grapples. Once he has established a pin, he deals an additional 14d10+61 damage per round that he maintains the grapple.

Regeneration (Ex): Sandalphon takes damage from epic evil weapons, and from spells or effects with the evil descriptor.

Smite Evil (Su): 7/day Sandalphon can Smite Evil. This works like the Paladin ability of the same name, adding 5 to his attack role and 56 to his damage.

Spell-like Abilities: At will-detect evil, detect magic, dimensional anchor, dispel evil, greater dispel magic, greater teleport (Self plus 500 pounds), haste, heal, holy word, improved invisibility, mind blank, plane shift, spell immunity; 3/day-miracle, power word kill, storm of vengeance; 1/day-kinetic control, intensified crushing hand. Caster Level 49th. Saves are 24+spell level. The save DCs are Wisdom-based.

Wrath of God (Su): 1/week Sandalphon can fully unleash his divine power with a blow. This hit deals an extra 77d10 points of divine damage that cannot be resisted or stopped in any way. Once he has carried out the blow, his fists lose their enchantments and he is exhausted for the next day.

Possessions: Sandalphon wears the Bracers of Heavenly Power, which combine the effects of Bracers of Relentless Might and Bracers of Armor +10. The size bonuses they provide are not capped at size Colossal.

Lore:
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Religion) or Knowledge (The Planes) may know of Sandalphon. When the character makes a skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC	Lore
66	Sandalphon is the strongest being in the Heavens, if not all the planes, and is the personal champion of a mysterious entity who reigns at the top of Celestia
71	Sandalphon spends much of his time doing battle with creatures from the lower planes and claims to be the twin brother of another giant angel named Metatron
76	Sandalphon is one of the oldest living beings in the universe, having been present at the creation of Mount Celestia, and predates the entirety of the Heavenly Choir
81	Sandalphon and Metatron are two halves of their master, who was sundered during the creation of the Upper Planes. Sandalphon is their master’s strength and courage.

Plot Hooks:
One of the party members has somehow earned the ire of Sandalphon, they must evade him while the rest of the group seeks an audience with Metatron to protest his brother’s aggression

Sandalphon has chased a fallen angel down to Baator but became the prisoner of Asmodeus. The King of Hell is willing to strike a deal for his release, but who knows what he will ask in return.

¹ From Complete Warrior
² From the Draconomicon

Both of which are by me. As for lore, most of this thread consists of it to varying degrees but there isn't too much we've decided on for sure other than there will be absolutely no Seraphim.

[Ferreon]

Originally Posted by Eldan

Fair enough. Pyramid, then:

Zaphkiel
-Thrones?
Sealtiel
-Wardens?
Raziel
-Swords?
Phistis Sophia
-Is there some kind of monk or sage archon somewhere in the splatbooks?
Earathol
-Hounds (how are hounds connected to seers?)
Domiel
-Trumpets
Barachiel
-Lanterns

I noticed this post from a few days ago. Am I incorrect in thinking that there is such a thing as a Word Archon in Tome of Magic? I realise this means we're bringing the spectre of Truenaming in, but surely in terms of sages, Word Archons would fit the bill?

[Eldan]

Hmm. The Word Archon is not amongst the original seven, but it fits better than most, I guess. If we include variants of common archons, one might also just be a general caster archon.

[Iamyourking]

Just out of curiosity, is the project dead? I've started on the Authority but I'd like to know if I'm wasting my time first.

[Eikonos]

Death-of-Chains, CG (CN tendencies) pariah solar 25 HD Magus 12

What is a pariah ? Is it a template ? Where can I find it ?

[blackjack217]

It is not dead my celestial warlock base class is almost done. It is a 1 for 1 power sub so it should be just as balanced as the Wotc variant. Also I should be done with the Cr 20 throne archon this week.
edit: my google fu says this about pariah:
1. an outcast.
2. any person or animal that is generally despised or avoided.

[The Tygre]

I think what would help the project would be some definite goals. A checklist of stuff that needs to be taken care of. Maybe even deadlines on material?

[blackjack217]

I agree. Also does anyone have a better name than celestial warlock?

[Iamyourking]

Seems fair to me, I'll see if I can come up with a tentative proposal for what needs doing.

1. We have 7 volunteers but only 4 people who actually have a set project. I would suggest that hamishspence, DythTheKobold, and Eldan decide on something they should do; with the primary things that need doing being the Hebdomad and how Celestia interacts with the material. I can see that blackjack217 is making a throne archon and a celestial-powered warlock, so we should probably assign him either lesser archons or Celestia and the Material.
2. More volunteers would obviously help, as that would take the pressure from the current workers. Even if it's just proofreading finished entries or making mechanical suggestions, the more help the better.
3. We need to decide what exactly we are doing with the concept and get some synergy between the components.
4. We need commentary and support for what we've got so far and any future entries. The Principality has been languishing in obscurity for weeks because nobody has any suggestions for how it could be improved.
5. This is probably the most important part; we need organization. Somebody is going to have to take charge and get everyone moving in the same direction along with serving as a means of breaking deadlocks. Deadlines would probably help, although I would suggest being relatively lenient with them. Now, the question is, who should take charge? PairO'Dice Lost would be a good choice, although he seems reticent to take up the position, as would Tygre. I'll take the position if nobody else wants to, although I'd rather follow than lead in this case.

[Eldan]

I've started going into fluff for the layers, I think I can continue with that. Start with one layer, probably starting down low, and get fluff ideas together on each one.

[Iamyourking]

Good plan, although I would suggest just going with your own ideas first as something like that could be easily bogged down by competing thoughts as to what it should be.

[The Tygre]

I'd be willing to step forward on the spearhead. I'm not much with crunch material, and there's only so much I can do with fluff that others aren't already covering. It's the least I could do. Any objections?

[Iamyourking]

You have my support in this cause. If you can keep everyone on track and serve as both an arbiter and the last word for what we are going to do, we may just be able to do this.

[blackjack217]

The celestial warlock is ready for posting, kinda, hear is the list of things still to do:
invocations need replacements for:
lesser:
Charm
Curse of Despair
The Dead Walk (what do you think about a spell that summons archons?)
Hungry Darkness
Walk Unseen (not sure of he should get invis, thoughts?
Wall of Gloom

greater:
Chilling Tentacles
Enervating Shadow
Tenacious Plague
Warlock’s Call

Dark: all
I also need least and greater essences.

Should I post or keep working?