Editing Guardinal (section)

==Pathfinder==
Because [[Pathfinder]] never met a D&D 3e element it couldn't try to rip off, it eventually created its own race of Neutral Good celestial furries, and called them Agathions. Credit where it's due, at least they look better than the Guardinals did.

Agathions inhabit the plane of Pure Good, [[Nirvana]], and are all the ascended souls of former Neutral Good mortals. They are aggressive and interventionist in the mortal world when it comes to dealing with evil, and their philosophical acceptance of both Order and Chaos whilst subordinate to Good means they often serve as go-betweens and diplomats for the more opinionated Lawful Good and Chaotic Good celestials, such as [[Archon]]s and [[Eladrin|Azatas]], soothing hot tempers and working toward mutual goals of vanquishing evil and protecting good.

All agathions have an animal-like aspect. Some are more humanoid in appearance, while others spend their entire existence in a form nearly identical to that of a true animal. Each type of agathion serves a particular role in Nirvana, and their duties on other planes echo these responsibilities. Agathions are proud of their feral aspects and don’t take kindly to the suggestion that they are cursed folk like lycanthropes or nothing more than magical talking beasts. Every agathion was once a mortal who aspired to goodness and was rewarded in the afterlife with a form suiting her talents and personality; suggesting that an agathion’s form is a kind of punishment is a terrible insult.

As with all Pathfinder outsiders, a massive array of guardinals exist; the ones below merely document the types that have been described so far. Other types exist beyond these, corresponding to other conventional animals (bears, dinosaurs, fish, wolves, and so on), with a few having shapes that resemble insects (particularly beetles, butterflies, and mantises); a handful resemble stranger creatures (such as basilisks and owlbears) or unique “animals” native to extreme environments on distant worlds. Certain animals, particularly those associated with scavenging activities (such as hyenas, buzzards, or jackals) or parasitism (like lampreys or ticks) specifically do not have agathions associated with them—these animals are not intrinsically evil, but their habits and ecological niches are far from the noble and proud traditions that most of the souls who seek enlightenment upon Nirvana would associate with themselves.

Individual agathions may be male or female, but they do not reproduce among their own kind—every agathion is a unique individual made from the soul of a good mortal. This does not prevent them from falling in love or having affairs with mortals, and a few [[aasimar]] and [[Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)|celestial sorcerer bloodlines]] derive from past contact with agathions, particularly among communities not averse to anthropomorphic humanoids. Indeed, many mythologies tie numerous races of this kind to the inevitable result of human tribes forming strong emotional attachments to visiting agathions.

Most of the agathion breeds were revealed in the Pathfinder Bestiary 2, with others creeping in with subsequent [[splatbook]]s.

The Bestiary 2 species can be considered the "Core" agathions, and consist of the following:
* '''Avorals''' are eagle-featured agathions that serve as the scouts, spies, and messengers of the agathions. They resemble humans with hand-bearing wings for arms, bird-like legs, a feathery cowl in lieu of hair, and human but "avian" facial features; a prominent nose reminiscent of a beak and piercing eyes.
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Avoral B2 PF.png
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* '''Cetaceals''' are orca-featured agathions charged with defending the seas and the aquatic races against evil aquatic creatures, such as [[sahuagin]] and [[aboleth]]s. They resemble huge [[merfolk]] with the lower bodies of orcas and the black & white skin-tone extending to their humanoid upper torsos.
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Cetaceal B2 PF.png
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* '''Draconals''' are amongst the rarest and most powerful of the agathions, serving as direct servitors of the Neutral Good deities and embodying mystical elements relating to energy, life, and the natural world. They resemble humanoid dragons, with wings, reptilian muzzles, tails, scaly skin and dragon-like hides. They come in five different colors, Black, Green, Red, White and Yellow, and each color is associated with a different mystical aspect. These colors are normally chromatic rather than metallic, and an ignorant person seeing a draconal’s colors may mistake her for an evil [[half-dragon]]. However, some draconals have metallic or gem-like coloration; for example, a yellow draconal may appear mustard yellow or metallic gold, while a white draconal may be chalk white, pearlescent white, or metallic silver. Draconals can change their coloration after a lengthy period of meditation, but normally only do this in response to some horrible evil that requires their direct intervention. This change affects the draconals’ personality, and may alter their physical shape or apparent gender. In a sense, draconals are based on [[Oriental Dragon]] lore, although they visually look more like the classic [[Chromatic Dragon]] or [[Metallic Dragon]].
** Black is a balance between male and female energy, and represents the sky, stars, immortality, and leadership. Black draconals are immune to fire damage, and their breath weapon is fire.
** Green is slightly skewed toward masculinity. It represents wood, plants, and flowers. Green draconals are immune to cold damage, and their breath weapon is cold.
** Red is a strongly masculine color, and most red draconals are male or have aggressive or gregarious personalities. Red represents fire, light, and warding against bad luck. Red draconals are immune to fire damage, and their breath weapon is fire.
** White is slightly skewed toward femininity, and most white draconals are female or have protective or serene personalities. White represents brightness, fulfillment, metal, mourning, and purity. White draconals are immune to cold damage, and their breath weapon is cold. 
** Like black, yellow is a balance between male and female energy. Yellow represents earth, oracles, stone, and luck. Yellow draconals are immune to acid, and their breath weapon is acid.
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Draconal B2 PF.png
P2e Agathion Draconal.png
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* '''Leonals''' are, as their name suggests, humanoid lions who vary between actively hunting down agents of evil and simply guarding areas against the depredation of evil. Both roles are equally respected.
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Leonal B2 PF.png
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* '''Silvanshees''' are the smallest and weakest of their ilk, taking on a form that resembles a somewhat [[fey]]-looking cat. They often serve as [[familiar]]s to goodly aligned [[mage]]s, which fits in well with their role; they are the spies of Nirvana, wandering the world in secret to act as its eyes and ears against evil influences.
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Agathion Silvanshee.png
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* '''Vulpinals''' are charming, charismatic humanoid foxes who serve as the [[bard]]s and sages of Nirvana, often working closely with [[lillend]]i. Ironically, they're Small-sized, meaning the charming fox Troubador is technically only the size of a [[gnome]] or a [[halfling]].
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Agathion, Vulpinal.jpg
Agathion Vulpinal2e.png
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'''Bishop Agathions'''' resemble a strange melding point of man and fish; a roughly piscine body shape, but with webbed limbs instead of fins and a weirdly human face. They serve as go-betweens for the angelic powers of the land and the sea, being amphibious enough that they can safely move between the two environments. Appearing in the adventure "Shards of Sin", they were most likely based on the Sea-Monk, a Renaissance-era mythical creature of Europe.

'''Cervaprals''' are humanoid antelopes who embody the essence of liberty and are passionately devoted to both the overthrow of tyranny and the abolition of slavery. They have no moral objection to the concepts of royalty or nobility but hold any group that is granted authority through inheritance or tradition to a very high standard, insisting that the rights of the ruled must be protected at least as strongly as the rights of the rulers. As you can probably tell from this, Cervaprals appeared in the [[splatbook]] dedicated to Andoran, the "America/Democracy, Fuck Yeah!" region of [[Golarion]].
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Cervaprals.png
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'''Cervinals''', not to be confused with Cervaprals, are a [[centaur]]-like agathion who consist of a humanoid upper body (with stag-like antlers growing from the head) sprouting from the neck & shoulders of a massive elk. They have sometimes termed the “knights” of the agathions, having gained a reputation for their battle prowess, noble natures, and admirable wisdom, as well as their fearlessness and willingness to lead from the front, serving as either general or elite warrior depending on the situation. Cervinals were first mentioned in the "Chronicle of the Righteous", and were reprinted in the Bestiary 5.
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Agathion, Cervinal.png
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'''Chelonidals''' are humanoid sea turtles who serve as Nivana's guardians and foot soldiers; when roused to war, they are powerful, well-armored troopers. Ironically, chelonidals assigned to guard places in the mortal world have a well-documented tendency to fall in love with mortals they interact with, leading to the birth of idyllkin [[aasimar]]; if this happens, the chelonidal's priorities change to safeguarding and looking after the child(ren), as whilst they are dutiful and protective by nature, family comes first. This agathion breed appeared in the adventure "The Lost Outpost".

'''Muldnals''' are humanoid moles who, having formed from the souls of farmers and miners, work to guard and maintain the underground regions of Nirvana and tend to the health of that plane's soil. On the material plane, they have been known to attend sites of magical power associated with agriculture and nature. Although small and inoffensive looking, Muldnals possess a paralytic bite and potent(ish) [[druid]]ic magic over the earth, the plants and small animals, which they use to defend themselves and their charges. Muldnals were first detailed in the adventure "Assault on Longshadow".

'''Procyals''' are humanoid raccoons who embody the positive aspects of civilization, and seek to guide cities to achieve that perfect state in which the city and its inhabitants symbiotically support and strengthen each other. They believe that individuals can be truly happy or free only within a society when they have access to luxury, commerce, and choice, and that society basically exists as a structure centered on the freedom of the individuals within. Procyals see some administrations as fundamentally better than others: democratic groups and wise councils are among their favorite forms of government, while dictatorships, monarchies, and military states must ultimately be replaced. They appeared in the adventure "Dance of the Damned".
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Agathion Procyal.png
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'''Reptials''' are curious and benevolent scholars of Nirvana. They spend their time collecting holy relics, no matter how minor, and can store some of their knowledge within a chosen relic. They keep most of these relics for themselves, but individual reptials have been known to distribute particularly useful pieces to good-aligned individuals and temples that are enduring difficult trials. These agathions, who resemble humanoid iguanas, appeared in the Bestiary 5.
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Agathion, Reptial.png
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Whilst the above represent the official Agathions, "Wayfinder", the Pathfinder fanzine, has also hosted some fan made additions; issue #8 houses the jellyfish-like '''Aequoreals''', dreamy sages of Nirvana's oceans, and #9 houses the '''Chiropteals''', halfling-sized humanoid bats who look after the goodly races of the Golarion [[Underdark]], namely [[svirfneblin]].