What would be in a Celestial Host?

[Kobold Avenger]

Armageddon is near and the Upper Planes send their forces in. Given that this is D&D with the Great Wheel/Planescape cosmology in mind, and that Celelstials come in many different forms, what would this Host of Heaven look like? What would be out there in this army that would make just about every fiend who saw it quake in fear as it descended upon them?

There are 4 major races with Angels, Archons, Guardinals and Eladrins, and a bunch of notable minor races like Asuras, Lillendi, Quesars, and more.

So given that, what would be the generals, the leaders of brigades, the scouts, the skirmishers, the heavy infantry, shock troops, air support, cavalry and so on? What would be in greater numbers among these forces?

 

[domino]

The Generals would be the Solars, bar none.

 

[LoneWolf23]

The Archons would form the backbone of the Host's actual armies, while the Eladrins would mostly fight as Irregulars, cooperating with the majority of the Host, but keeping to their own strategies, while the Guardinals would be somewhere in between, and Angels would coordinate everyone.

 

[Shemeska]

There would be at least three different Hosts. You think the Celestials are united? Heck no, they're just as fractured along the lines of Law and Chaos as the fiends are, they just won't turn to genocide to solve their differences.

But for a moment let's forget about that issue, and assume that for whatever reason they're ignoring half of their being and just going by the Good/Evil alignment axis.

I can't see the Aasimon (Angels) being leaders of any armies, just forming armies of their own within and probably independant in a coalition with the overall race whose alignment matches that of their divine patron. Aasimon serve specific deities while Archons/Guardinals/Eladrin/etc embody and serve specific abstract alignments. You'll have the armies of Celestia under the members of the Celestial Hebdomad along with multiple armies of aasimon (each aasimon army serving a specific LG deity). You'll have the Companions of Elysium leading the forces of that plane along with multiple armies of NG aasimon (each serving a specific NG deity). And you'll have Queen Morwel and her Tulani generals leading the forces of Arborea alongside multiple armies of CG aasimon (each serving a specific CG deity).

Toss in some LG/LN formians from Arcadia, some Asuras if they can get over their bitterness at the Archons, etc and serve to the fiends on a silver platter. Preferrably seasoned with bile, arsenic, and a sprinkling of Styx water.

 

[LoneWolf23]

There would be at least three different Hosts. You think the Celestials are united? Heck no, they're just as fractured along the lines of Law and Chaos as the fiends are, they just won't turn to genocide to solve their differences.

This I disagree with. The whole point of being Good is getting along with others, in spite of differences. The whole Law vs Chaos axis is, for the Celestials, nothing more then a debating point. If nothing else, the Archons and Eladrins would merely agree to stay out of each other's way while taking on the Fiends.

 

[Aus_Snow]

This I disagree with. The whole point of being Good is getting along with others, in spite of differences. The whole Law vs Chaos axis is, for the Celestials, nothing more then a debating point. If nothing else, the Archons and Eladrins would merely agree to stay out of each other's way while taking on the Fiends.

Ah, this brings back fond memories.

It depends partly on whether one believes the Lawful Good alignment to be say, 50% Good + 50% Lawful (=100%), or 100% Good *and* 100% Lawful (=100%).

That is only one example, of course.

 

[Kwitchit]

General: Solar, with bodyguard of Planetars. Astral Devas serve as liaison with rest of army.

Celestia Contingent (LG)
Commander: Throne Archon, with bodyguard of Sword Archons. Squad of Owl Archons serve him as messengers.
Subcommanders: Trumpet Archons, with bodyguard of Warden Archons.
Rank-and-file are Lantern Archons, in squads of 14 commanded by Hound Archons. They stay back and shoot.
Hound Archons, in squads led by Hound Archon Heroes, are the line troops.
Warden Archons are elite shock troops.
Owl Archons are scouts.

Elysium Contingent (NG)
This is the smallest, as guardinals are less likely to fight than archons or eladrin.
Commander: Advanced Leonal, with bodyguard of leonals. Avorals serve as messengers.
Subcommanders: Ursinals with bodyguard of Equinals
Rank-and-file troops are Cervidals, commanded by Equinals.
Lupinals are the elite troops.
Mustevals infiltrate behind enemy lines.
Avorals are the aerial scouts.

Arborea Contingent (CG)
Commander: Tulani, with bodyguard of Ghaele
Subcommanders: Shiradi with bodyguard of Firre
Rank-and-file are Bralani, with Firre "sergeants" mixed in here and there.
All-Firre units, commanded by Ghaele, are the elite.
Clouds of Coure surround the eladrin army, and are used as messengers and scouts (though Shiradi will take to the air themselves to view events or keep vrocks off the army).

This is the Celestial part of the army, and its core. It also contains units of other good outsiders (such as Lillend and Couatl) and Celestial humanoids.

 

[domino]

Not that it's relevant to the makeup of the army, but I'd expect the Armies of Good to have an advantage in that they can trust their other comrades, wheras the Forces of Evil must worry, not only about the enemy, but also the possibility of their fellow soldiers trying something in a play for power.

 

[Stormborn]

Also consider the possibility that there will be mortals in the fray, particularly high level paladins and clerics. In fact it might be intersting to have the foot soldiers on both sides be the dead who were aligned to the respective sides - they would be waging one level of war while the natives of the planes waged another. Probablly the planar beigns would think the mortal shades jsut a distration, a minor part of the strategy, but what if they are wrong and the mortals are the turning point in the war?

 

[Shemeska]

This I disagree with. The whole point of being Good is getting along with others, in spite of differences. The whole Law vs Chaos axis is, for the Celestials, nothing more then a debating point. If nothing else, the Archons and Eladrins would merely agree to stay out of each other's way while taking on the Fiends.

They aren't just Good though, except perhaps the Guardinals. The Good fraction of an Archon or Eladrin's alignment isn't in any way more important than the Law or Chaos that comprises their being and defines them. There is no big G and little l or little c. It's LG and CG, not lG and cG.

Archons may in some ways view Law and Good as the exact same thing, or two aspects of a unified and glorified whole. An Eladrin in their eyes is imperfect in that respect, misguided equally in the same way that Modrons or Formians are.

To an Eladrin they look at Archons in much the same way, misguided in their conception of and approach to what it means to be Good. Eladrin see Good and Chaos as complementary concepts, both of exact equal merit.

You think these guys will forget one half of what they exemplify to hold hands and fight fiends that in some cases might vary by no more than the same amount those two celestials differ in alignment?

The upper planes are rather cool towards one another at the best of times. It's not a monolithic Good, despite the wishes of the Guardinals, but a trio of seperate alignments who mutually view each other as benevolent but ultimately flawed from the true path of perfection. Then on top of it you've got Aasimon/Angels who could care less about abstract alignments and exist as servants of their divine patrons' whims and portfolio concerns.