With the Four Horsemen behind us it’s time for Epic Monsters to wade into the realms celestial and we’re starting with the one you might think of as a baby: the four-headed cherub!
These direct servants of god guard the Garden of Eden (and therein the Tree of Life) and carry around celestial thrones. Cherubim are said to be the closest to god in Islam (dwelling in the sixth heaven around the Throne of God), they have the second-highest rank in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Jewish scholars placed them as either the ninth (second-lowest) rank of angels or in the Kabbalah the third rank. It’s in western Christianity (second-highest rank there) where this angel gets associated with Cupid and starts looking like a baby—cherubs—but otherwise it’s thought to be a winged angel with four heads: one eagle (birds), one human (humanity), one lion (wild animals), one ox (domesticated animals).
Design Notes: So we’ve got a four-headed angel that (some of) the lore says has brass legs and is surrounded by coals of fire and lightning. To round that out a little more it’s getting some improved sight options, a touch of healing, a fun defensive feature to blind foes, and some oomph for attacks. Let’s do the numbers! In a chilling sign from beyond, both the DMG and Blog of Holding are in perfect agreement at 9.833 so it’s getting a Challenge Rating of 9.
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 105 (14d8+42)
Speed 40 ft., fly 90 ft. (hover)
Skills Athletics +12, Perception +7, Religion +9
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning, radiant; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 22
Languages Celestial
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Angelic Weapons. The cherub’s weapon attacks are magical. When the cherub hits with any weapon, the weapon deals an extra 10 (3d6) radiant damage (included in the attack).
Brass-Legged. The cherub has advantage on saving throws made to resist being knocked prone.
Divine Coals. The cherub is surrounded by a halo of fiery sparking coals. At the start of each of the cherub’s turns, each creature within 5 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) fire damage and 7 (2d6) lightning damage, and flammable objects in the aura that aren’t being worn or carried ignite. A creature that touches the cherub or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) fire damage and 7 (2d6) lightning damage.
Flyby. The cherub doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Four Heads. The cherub has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, deafened, stunned, and knocked unconscious.
Innate Spellcasting. The cherub’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15). The cherub can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
Magic Resistance. The cherub has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The cherub attacks twice with its wings.
Wings. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) radiant damage.
REACTIONS
Solar Flare (Recharge 6). When the cherub takes damage from a melee attack, it can use its reaction to blast its attacker with divine light. The creature makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or it is blinded for 1d4 rounds.
These direct servants of god guard the Garden of Eden (and therein the Tree of Life) and carry around celestial thrones. Cherubim are said to be the closest to god in Islam (dwelling in the sixth heaven around the Throne of God), they have the second-highest rank in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Jewish scholars placed them as either the ninth (second-lowest) rank of angels or in the Kabbalah the third rank. It’s in western Christianity (second-highest rank there) where this angel gets associated with Cupid and starts looking like a baby—cherubs—but otherwise it’s thought to be a winged angel with four heads: one eagle (birds), one human (humanity), one lion (wild animals), one ox (domesticated animals).
Design Notes: So we’ve got a four-headed angel that (some of) the lore says has brass legs and is surrounded by coals of fire and lightning. To round that out a little more it’s getting some improved sight options, a touch of healing, a fun defensive feature to blind foes, and some oomph for attacks. Let’s do the numbers! In a chilling sign from beyond, both the DMG and Blog of Holding are in perfect agreement at 9.833 so it’s getting a Challenge Rating of 9.
Cherub
Medium celestial, lawful goodArmor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 105 (14d8+42)
Speed 40 ft., fly 90 ft. (hover)
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
18 (+4) | 17 (+3) | 16 (+3) | 13 (+1) | 17 (+3) | 16 (+3) |
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning, radiant; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 22
Languages Celestial
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Angelic Weapons. The cherub’s weapon attacks are magical. When the cherub hits with any weapon, the weapon deals an extra 10 (3d6) radiant damage (included in the attack).
Brass-Legged. The cherub has advantage on saving throws made to resist being knocked prone.
Divine Coals. The cherub is surrounded by a halo of fiery sparking coals. At the start of each of the cherub’s turns, each creature within 5 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) fire damage and 7 (2d6) lightning damage, and flammable objects in the aura that aren’t being worn or carried ignite. A creature that touches the cherub or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) fire damage and 7 (2d6) lightning damage.
Flyby. The cherub doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Four Heads. The cherub has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, deafened, stunned, and knocked unconscious.
Innate Spellcasting. The cherub’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15). The cherub can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect evil and good, see invisibility
3/day each: healing word (as a 4th-level spell; 4d4+3)
1/day each: dispel evil and good, flame strike
Magic Resistance. The cherub has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The cherub attacks twice with its wings.
Wings. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) radiant damage.
REACTIONS
Solar Flare (Recharge 6). When the cherub takes damage from a melee attack, it can use its reaction to blast its attacker with divine light. The creature makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or it is blinded for 1d4 rounds.
