Solars: What Do?

[ThinkMinty]

I know...nothing about Solars. They're Angels, they're big and fighty, and you can Gate them into situations.

Besides that, what are they like?

[FocusWolf413]

Solars are more than just angels. They're the right hands of the gods themselves. They're like the President's cabinet, but also incredibly powerful warriors. They cast as a 20th level cleric, can cast imprisonment at will, and will generally give you a hard time if you directly cross their god. They're the generals of the armies of heaven, the direct advisors of their deities, and the ones generally trusted to run things.

People think Solars are just angels. They're the ones really running the celestial planes.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I know...nothing about Solars. They're Angels, they're big and fighty, and you can Gate them into situations.

Besides that, what are they like?

They are an ultimate embodiment of good. So good, in fact, that the very notion of doing evil is alien to them and moral pragmatism is a really weird idea.

As a person, a solar angel would be utterly selfless and merciful to any non-evil entity that asks for quarter without exception and even to some evil mortals as long as they aren't dedicated to evil as a cause. They would also be utterly implacable foes to those who are dedicated servants of evil and would dispatch such beings as efficiently and ruthlessly as a machine without so much as a hint of an inkling of regret.

As an outsider, they have no need for food, water, air or even shelter for the most part. There's no bribing an angel to get what you want from him, you have nothing it wants. Instead you have to convince it your cause is just in either punishing or forestalling evil.

As an immortal, it is a creature of extraordinary patience (except in regards to pending evil) that can afford to take the long game in whatever endeavors it undertakes. It has seen empires rise and fall, generations of families come and go, the terrain of the mortal world shift with geological forces, etc and so on. You're nothing he hasn't seen a thousand-thousand times.

As a warrior and a cleric, he has seen battle time and again since before the mortal world was populated by the mortal races and is more familiar with his magic than any mortal ever could be. He can even call on the forces of the heavens themselves to manifest the effects of wish once each day, garnering virtually any effect it needs (DM limitations on greater wish effects and magic item creation not withstanding). His bow is righteous punishment incarnate, his sword justice itself. Read; do not mess with this guy.


Does this help at all?

[NeverSleeps]

If you're not a well equipped party near 20th level, a Solar may well be closer to a god than you. They probably are. They're sort've billed as Archangels, but that's not... quite enough. It doesn't give you an idea of what they do, so I can see where you'd be unsure.

Have you ever read Good Omens? Aziraphale? Not as powerful as a Solar, maybe pretty close though.

Diablo series? Tyrael? Not quite a Solar either. But again, close. Solars aren't afraid of death because death itself is not a thing for them. Unless you're very high level, very prepared, and utterly dedicated to finishing it, a Solar can walk all over you, but they probably won't unless they think you're truly evil. They are beings of great mercy and love. That will slice a demon in half while they feed the poor. They run the celestial planes while the gods bicker and don't really worry about trifles like worlds appearing and ending, because they've seen a hundred worlds like yours. They are beyond the mortal limits in several ways. Think of them as small gods each.

Despite the fact that they've seen, as the person above said, a thousand thousand worlds like you, if you're alive and suffering, they love you. If you're hurt and it doesn't immediately need to prevent a greater amount of suffering, it will heal you. Not because you necessarily deserve it, although they like it when you do, but because you're alive and a living being and in pain, and they want to ease that pain. So yes, if you're about to sacrifice one hundred children and for some odd reason, they can't make it to you in time they'll regret it.

They might bring your soul back with them and speak to you about your life to humble them, or at least have a Lyrakien guide you. But I can't think of why they'd come down themselves like that when they could come down with an entire army of Angels. They don't do this though, because they're all veterans of the great wars between gods and don't want to kick the training wheels off.

This brings it all to their ultimate job, they're the guys who take the long view in Heaven. Most of the stuff they do, they planned a long, long time ago before your family and probably your nation existed. Stuff like Sauron? They prevent or destroy stuff like that all the time. It's not even special for them, they don't want credit or glory, they want to see living things experience joy and peace. That's what makes them happy.

Hope this made a bit of sense and helped a bit.