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4th Edition Archons

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 06:37
by Jim Goings
Tags: D&D 4th Edition News

Todays excerpt is about Archons. The article is brief but basically sums up archons and single-minded baddies without a culture of their own. This means that archons could be in the employ of anybody and not have any particular allegiance to another of their own kind. Sadly, the article provides zero crunch.

The battle between the primordials and the deities is over—at least for the time being. But the archons remain in the service of great powers that reside within the Elemental Chaos: Efreeti pashas, primordial nagas, salamander lords, and not a few demon princes. They’re also used as guardians at larger githzerai monasteries.

So much for separating campaign fluff from the core rules (yes, I was hoping that would happen).

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Black Plauge

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 07:23 AM

The lack of crunch is disappointing, but we’ve already had an article about them that included 3.5 stats (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dreo/20071221a).

As for the new flavor for archons, it’s okay. I’m not thrilled by it, but I’m even less thrilled by the implication that elementals are no longer tied to a single element.

Kyle Watt

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 07:52 AM

Lack of crunch? Wasn’t there a download in the article with Archon monster manual stats for 4e?

Kameron M. Franklin

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 08:01 AM

Yes there was. Link at the bottom of the article, just like there was for the Legion Devil minions.

Black Plauge

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 08:05 AM

Hmm… Missed that. Will have to take a look.

Cameron

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 09:33 AM

Bah! More crap like with the angels. Don’t like this at all. Not even a tiny bit.

Kyle Watt

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 10:14 AM

Hmm, I actually like a lot of their fluff. The only thing I didn’t like is the evil gods having angels. They should have some other divine servant for the evil gods. I think angels should serve good gods only.

SuperJosh

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 11:08 AM

I am not a big fan of the this fluff for either the angels or the elementals. I agree 100% that angels should serve good gods and some other hellish servants the evil gods. I do not know why devils or demons could not serve that roll, but I imagine it is more bc of my lack of knowledge on that front.

As far as elements no longer being ties to a single element I think that they are going to have something like desert elements that are fire and earth, or sea elements that are water and air or dessert elements that are pie and ice cream, you know, good stuff. I just hope that they still have the vanilla elementals as well.

Kameron M. Franklin

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 12:40 PM

I liked the shift in angels to being non-alignment specific “messengers” that serve deities. In the new cosmology, devils and demons stand apart from deities. The primordials now directly oppose deities, and the archons serve them in the same role as angels.

SuperJosh

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 03:25 PM

Is there some place I can read this new cosmology?

steve_the_wizard

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 04:58 PM

yeah its in the online version of dragon magazine, just search cosmology 4e on the wizards website, but you’ll need to be a member.

Alberand

Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 08:45 AM

I actually like what we have seen about the new cosmology quite a bit. Then again, I was reluctant to venture into the planes and use angels, archons, and such in previous editions, so I do not have much of a basis for comparison. It seems to me like the changes should make those places and creatures much more accessible and easy to use in a campaign without going to such lengths to tailor things toward them.

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