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Sword Archon

( Book of Exalted Deeds, p. 160)

Large Outsider (Archon , Extraplanar , Good , Lawful)

Hit dice: 11d8+22 (71 hp)

Initiative: +7

Speed: 40 ft. , Fly 90 ft. (Good)

Armor class: 26 (–1 size, +3 Dex, +14 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 23

Base Attack/Grapple: +11/+22

Attack: Armblade +20 melee (1d8+9/19–20 plus 2d6 holy plus 1d6 fire)

Full Attack: 2 armblades +20 melee (1d8+9/19–20 plus 2d6 holy plus 1d6 fire)

Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.

Special Attacks: Armblades, discorporating dive, spell-like abilities

Special Qualities: Aura of menace, damage reduction 10/evil, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and petrification, low-light vision, magic circle against evil, outsider traits, spell resistance 26, teleport, tongues

Saves: Fort +9 (+13 against poison) Ref +10 Will +9

Abilities: Str 25, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 17

Skills: Balance +14, Concentration +13, Decipher Script +12, Diplomacy +17, Disguise +14, Gather Information +15, Hide +12, Knowledge (religion) +12, Knowledge (the planes) +12, Search +12, Sense Motive +14, Survival +2

Feats: Cleave, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Environment: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia

Organization: Solitary, pair, or squad (3–5)

Challenge Rating: 11

Treasure: No coins; double goods; standard items

Alignment: Always lawful good

Advancement: 12–21 HD (Large); 22–33 HD (Huge)

Level adjustment: +9


This creature resembles a ruggedly handsome, oversized human with glorious, feathered wings. Before entering battle, it transforms its forearms into sharp, fiery blades that ripple the air around them.

Combat

Unless the situation requires a specific weapon, sword archons generally prefer to use their armblades in combat. While most sword archons revel in battle, they understand the heavy burden of the magic abilities available to them. Accordingly, sword archons use their powerful discorporating dive only against those enemies they know to have transgressed the laws of Mount Celestia or against the sworn enemies of lawful good deities. A sword archon's natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as having the good and lawful alignments for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Armblades (Ex): As a free action, a sword archon can mold the flesh of its forearms, hardening and sharpening organic matter into the form of powerful magic blades. The archon wields the blades like longswords, and they gain the properties of +2 holy flaming longswords.

Sword archons can shift back to their "normal" hands as a free action. The armblades cannot be disarmed or sundered, and they automatically assume limb form upon the archon's death.

Discorporating Dive (Su): Three times per day, a sword archon can attempt to destroy a living enemy with a powerful dive attack, literally flying through its opponent armblades-first, tearing apart its body and sending its soul to imprisonment in the Seven Heavens.

Resolve a flying charge as normal. If the archon fails to damage its opponent, the discorporating dive attack is wasted. If damaged, however, the target must make a DC 17 Fortitude save. Those who succeed on the Fortitude save suffer no further effect beyond the damage of the attack.

If the save fails, the attack utterly annihilates the victim's body, killing it instantly. Further, the victim's soul is bound to a great prison in the Seven Heavens of Celestia, where it remains until the archons that manage the celestial donjon see fit to release it.

Release generally involves bartering with a throne archon (see Chapter 7: Celestial Paragons), with some quest for the cause of law and goodness being the most common price. Such agents of Heaven never release the soul of an unredeemed evil creature.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—aid, continual flame, divination, locate creature, locate object, message; 3/day—commune, dispel chaos (DC 18), mark of justice, wages of sin*(DC 19); 1/day—touch of adamantine*(DC 19). Caster level 11th. The save DCs are Charismabased. *New spell described in Chapter 6 of this book.

Aura of Menace (Su): Will save DC 20.

Skills: A sword archon's innate understanding of law, detection, and the taint of sin grants it a +8 racial bonus on Gather Information and Sense Motive checks.

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