DCC Bestiary - Star-Chons

So, my next campaign calls for a struggle between the forces of Law and Chaos... And Chaos has demons of varied and sundry types.  What do I use for the forces of Law?  My campaign world is the shattered remnants of that great battle, what forces gathered to fend off the hopping, crawling, burbling hordes of Chaos?

Michael Moorcock's extensive works of the struggle of Law vs Chaos are pretty thin on the subject of the servants of Law ... And I knew I didn't want to use the D&D trope-laden angels, they aren't otherworldly in the way I want them to be.  So I started looking at Archons and Gnosticism, which had some interesting ideas like a celestial being that's just a pillar of fire, but it leaned into beast headed creatures, which feels too D&D 3.5 for my liking.

The Dungeon Denizens book had some weird angels for the forces of Law (like a burning ring of wings), and again, not quite agnostic or Moorcockian enough to serve such powers as Marklyn the Arbiter or Aubrec the Keen Gray Blade, but I did appreciate it laid out angels in Type I, Type II style degrees of power like demons, which I did want to use.  So I started making my own Archon style creatures... But they felt a bit bland and my rough notes have been sitting in my Google Doc folder for a couple months now, uninspired and unfinished.

And then, my Backerkit pledge for the Book of Funnels gave me an advanced PDF proof copy, and in it was Julian Bernick's 'Challenge of the Star-Chons', describing those same-named lordly beings as 'void-born lords of Order, usually manifesting as vaguely humanoid beings full of stars, [that] monitor events across time and space, occasionally using mortal agents to tamp down eruptions of Chaos' ... Perfect!  

Changing the name for my lawful agents from Archons to Star-Chons fired my imagination for otherworldly and alien beings.  It was a very small change, but it refocused me from beast-headed creatures or beings made of the void itself ... I went back and read Julian's previous adventure, 'Geas of the Star-Chons' in DCC #107 and it had an actual Star-Chron to battle... This had the right level of weird but still could be used to fit my idea of servants of Law... And then all my bland Archons were rewritten and came to life!

There's a hint of Moorcock, a hint of Gnosticism, a hint of Bernick, and a hint of Dungeon Denizens in here, but the following summary of Star-Chons and four example servants feels right for my campaign and my table, and I wanted to share it... Enjoy!

STAR-CHON

A star-chon is a being of the void, the space between worlds, that serves the purposes of Law, and maintains order in all of the Ghost Worlds.  Star-chons appear on the material world when summoned, or when they are sent on important matters.  Star-chons are immortal, and require no sustenance, rest, or personal enjoyment, and see the view fleeting and mercurial mortal lives often with indifference, but understand that mortals can alter the Great Balance.

The star-chons are most likely a multitude of different distinct life forms, all allied for a great cause under the Lords of Law, but only a handful are known to wizards and sages, and they are grouped into various types to describe their known abilities and their magnitude of powers.

All star-chons are immune to cold, speak Iorian, and roll on crit table IV.

 

Star-Chon	Communication	Abilities	Immunities	Projection
Type I	Speech (iorian), ESP	Infravision 120’, Cantrip (+4 check)	Resist non-magical weapon damage, Magic Resistance (-2 to any arcane spell check targeting the star-chon)	Cannot travel planes of own voliition
Type II	Speech (Iorian, Common), ESP	Infravision 120’, Cantrip (+8 check)	Immune to non-magical weapons or natural attacks from creatures of 3 HD or less; half damage from fire and electricity, Magic Resistance (-4 to any arcane spell check targeting the star-chon).	Can teleport back to native plane if not bound or summoned.
Type III	Speech (Iorian, Common), ESP	Infravision 120’, Cantrip (+12 check)	Immune to weapons of less than +2 enchantment or natural attacks from creatures of 5 HD or less; immune to fire and electricity, resistant to gas, Magic Resistance (-6 to any arcane spell check targeting the star-chon).	Can teleport back to native plane or any point on same plane, as long as not bound or otherwise summoned
Type IV	Speech (iorian, Common), ESP	Infravision 120’, Cantrip (+16 check)	Immune to weapons of less than +3 enchantment or natural attacks from creatures of 7 HD or less; immune to fire, cold, electricity, gas, Magic Resistance (-8 to any arcane spell check targeting the star-chon).	Can teleport back to native plane or any point on same plane, as long as not bound or otherwise summoned; can project astrally and ethereally

 

      Aeragenite (Type I Star-Chon): Init +1; Atk fist +3 melee (1d6+2); Crit IV/d4; AC 18; HD 2d14 (15 hp); MV 25’; Act 1d20; SP ESP, (read minds and converse), infravision 120’, spells cantrip (+8 check), immune to cold, lay on hands (as 2^nd level cleric, +4 check), resistant to magic (-2 to all casting checks on arcane spells targeting the star-chon); SV Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +4; AL L
     Aeragenites are otherworldly silver and marble humanoid golems standing 8’ tall, often used as eternal guardians. 

 

      Void Herald (Type I Star-Chon): Init +3; Atk void spear +5 melee (1d8 plus freezing touch); Crit IV/d4; AC 16; HD 2d14 (15 hp); MV 50’; Act 1d20; SP ESP (read minds and converse), infravision 120’,  spells cantrip +4, immune to cold, resistant to magic (-2 to all casting checks on arcane spells targeting the Star-Chron); SV Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +6; AL L.
     The void herald's body is a humanoid shape composed of void-matter wielding a spear made of the same starry stuff. Each foe struck by the void herald must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or be rimed with ice taking an extra 1d6 cold damage, with all actions at -1d until healed.  If reduced to 0 hp, the foe and all their possessions shatter into hundreds of ice fragments.

 

     Basaeliand (Type II Star-Chon): Init +2; Atk horns +4 melee (1d6+1); Crit IV/d4; AC 14; HD 4d14 (30 hp); MV 30’; Act 2d20; SP ESP (read minds and converse), infravision 120’, speak any language, spells cantrip, consult spirit (+8 check), resistant to magic (-4 to all casting checks on arcane spells targeting the star-chon); SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +8; AL L.
     The Basaeliands are the sages of the cosmos, able to communicate with the great powers and offer advise or counsel.  They stand 7 feet tall, are goat-headed humanoids, and can speak any language.,

 

     Saerethite (Type III Star-Chon): Init +6; Atk burning sword +6 melee (1d8 plus 1d6 fire); Crit IV/d8; AC 16; HD 8d14 (60 hp); MV 40’; Act 2d20; SP ESP (read minds and converse), immune to fire, infravision 120’, spells cantrip, flaming hands (+12 check), resistant to magic (-6 to all casting checks on arcane spells targeting the star-chon); SV Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +8; AL L
     The Saerethites are burning pillars of golden flame, and within their burning aura pieces of golden armor and swords can be seen.  They are the armed forces of Law that set fires to the western fields of Aquerria, now called the Broken Lands, that still smolder from their passage.

 

     Miggean (Type IV Star-Chon): Init +6; Atk holy spear +10 melee (1d8+4, plus 1d12 damage against Chaotic foes); Crit IV/d10; AC 18; HD 12d14 (90 hp); MV 40’, Fly 60’; Act 2d20; SP ESP (read minds and converse), infravision 120’, spells cantrip, bolt from the blue, protection from evil (+16 check), resistant to magic (-8 to all casting checks on arcane spells targeting the star-chon); SV Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +8; AL L
     A Miggean is a glowing maiden composed of white light with wings, wielding a spear.  She is the arbiter of the Great Lords of Law, who deals justice and advises the Champions of Law on their great tasks.