Solar
Large Celestial · · CR 21
- Celestial
- Large
- Tier 4
Solar at CR 21 is logged as a large celestial; alignment lawful good. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 21
- Type
- Celestial
- Size
- Large
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- —
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Solars do not inhabit the prime material plane; they are visitors, emissaries, or judges sent by the gods of the upper planes. Their natural habitat is the celestial mountain, the sun-temple, the cosmic battlefield where law and chaos negotiate through angels and devils. When they appear on the prime, it is a planet-shaking event, often heralded by months of prophetic dreams in mortal seers and the sudden conversion of cathedrals to silence. Around them, evil flees; even the air feels thinner of malice. They do not hunt, they do not feed, they do not rest. They are pure mission given form.
Behaviour
Solars are serene, deeply principled, and emotionally complete in a way that disturbs mortals. They feel sorrow without despair, anger without cruelty, love without need. They speak only when necessary, often elliptically, leaving mortals to interpret. They obey divine command without hesitation but interpret command thoughtfully, often saving mortals from themselves through preemptive intervention. They are not friendly, exactly, but they are kind. They can also be terrible: a solar dispatched to enact divine judgment will not be turned aside by tears, by reason, or by mortal moral arguments. They are the cosmic law made will.
Origin
Solars are the highest order of angel beneath the deities themselves, raised through eons of service from lesser celestial ranks: lantern archon to hound archon to deva to planetar to solar, a slow ascent of millennia. Some are appointed directly by gods at moments of great need; these are rare and tend to be unique, bearing names recorded in scripture. The very oldest solars predate the current pantheon and serve cosmic balance rather than any deity, ronin angels of the highest order. To kill a solar is, in many cosmologies, to indebt the killer to the entity that solar served.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Solar
- What is the challenge rating of Solar?
- Solar is rated CR 21. The rating matches the highest-tier encounter math.
- What type of creature is Solar?
- By creature type, Solar is a celestial, large size.