Some of the most powerful monsters in the manual are ostensibly on the side of good. Naturally, making them evil makes for an epic fight.
If you’ve ever played Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus, then you may well know first-hand how scary a fallen angel can be in D&D. And there’s something that feels very high fantasy about confronting a celestial being that has somehow been turned from its path of righteousness into an evil road.
It can be satisfying narratively, and as longtime fans of JRPGs know, sometimes you gotta attack and dethrone the church because they’re secretly evil somehow, despite being outwardly good. Whatever the reason, here are five great monsters for when you want the party to fight something “good” whether it’s on its way to evil or already basking in the infernal glow of the nine hells.
Guardian Naga
Guardian Nagas are an amazing monster to use as a guardian NPC that players have to either impress or learn from somehow. They’re celestial serpents who are immortal scholars tasked with preserving knowledge, collecting lore, and ensuring that the civilizations that come after can be gifted the knowledge of those who have come before. Good stuff all around.
But make one evil? Or have one challenge a party to a fight (not necessarily to the death) and suddenly you’re facing a surprisingly powerful foe. Because Guardian Nagas are immune to many things – they can’t be Charmed, Paralyzed, Poisoned, or Restrained, they have good saves in everything but Strength. And in combat, they bring a poison spittle that can blind creatures, make venomous bite attacks, and can cast spells like a level 6 Cure Wounds or a level 6 Flame Strike to keep themselves fighting and bring down their foes.
Planetar
Okay but if you want to go full on JRPG and have the party fight an angel, a Planetar is not a bad place to start. These “righteously wrathful angelic warriors” are the instruments of the gods. They’re used to deliver the punishment that deities deem worthy and are gifted with the power to discern truth from lies innately. Can’t imagine how that might ever be twisted around somehow.
If they are visiting divine punishment (or at least what they believe to be divine punishment) on a party, they are an especially potent CR 16. With a whopping 120 ft. fly speed, Truesight out to 120 ft., and an innate magical resistance that gives it advantage on saving throws, a Planetar is tough. It’s also deadly because it swings a radiant dsword, and can hurl bursts of radiant damage at enemies, while still having plenty of spellcasting to spare.
Solar
Solars, on the other hand, are among the most powerful of the celestials in the Monster Manual. They are the last line of defense between unspeakable evils and the overall order of the multiverse. These ageless forces of good lead angelic hosts and wield holy weapons and can even raise the dead – what an absolute shame if one should turn evil.
Because a Solar is a CR 21 creature that in addition to a 150 ft. fly speed, has telepathy, superhuman strength, and a sword that can attack close up or at a distance of up to 120 feet. Every Solar also carries a bow that can instantly kill a creature that has 100 or fewer Hit Points (and even if it doesn’t, it still does an average of 60 damage), and it’s got legendary actions that let it move around the battlefield and blind its opponents. Terrifying stuff, really.
Empyrean
Empyreans are one of my favorite monsters in the manual. These are scions of the gods themselves. They are embodiments of the sacred and the profane because these titanic beings are given to both good and evil. You don’t even have to have a fallen one – you could just think you’re working for a good Empyrean and it turns out it was a fiend (that looked beatifically pretty) all this time. Classic JRPG stuff.
Especially since these beings are absolute units in a fight. These are designed to challenge a higher level party, weighing in at CR 23 (so a bunch of level 12 heroes might have a hard time taking one down). They can swing a sacred weapon that either does a little bit of damage and stuns you, or you can choose not to be stunned, and take extra damage from the attack. Plus they have spells and legendary actions that leave them suited to fighting multiple opponents.
Unicorn
But you know what? All those are higher level fallen celestials. What if you want something for a lower level party? Two words: Evil Unicorn. What could turn such a majestic beast into something the party has to fight? Is there a way to free it from its curse (if that’s what it is)? These are the questions you get to answer while also basking in the look of your friends around the table, when they realize you’ve pit them against an evil unicorn.
They’re no slouch in combat, either. A Unicorn is a menace to lower level parties, with its Legendary Resistance, Magic Resistance, and the ability to make two attacks that all deal Radiant Damage. Plus it can cast Dispel Evil and Good and Entangle, which can set up all sorts of interesting effects on an unsuspecting party.
What monsters that are typically ‘good’ do you like to use as enemies when you want to shake things up?
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