D&D 4E How would you re-envision Guardinals and Rilmani in 4e?

[Lorthanoth]

Why not merge them with the Guardians, a planar sect (minor faction) that emulated the Guardinals? Then you have a sect of shamanistic warriors who eventually (as Paragon Paths) come to embody their totems. Those who fulfill their Epic Destinies become akin to Cat Lord and other "animal based" demigods.

This is a nice idea, much like if eladrin nobles came to possess some of the powers of the old eladrin.

 

[Lackhand]

Have to agree the Gardinal name, and all the individual "type" names are pretty painful. The best I ever did was rename them Wardinals. I chose to make them associated more with nature and Druids. Wouldn't be upset to see them disappear in 4E.

Warlock/warlord warforged wardinal? Named Warwick?

 

[Steely Dan]

Was there not a C.S.I. episode that focused on guardinals…?

 

[Drkfathr1]

Why not merge them with the Guardians, a planar sect (minor faction) that emulated the Guardinals? Then you have a sect of shamanistic warriors who eventually (as Paragon Paths) come to embody their totems. Those who fulfill their Epic Destinies become akin to Cat Lord and other "animal based" demigods.

That's a pretty good idea. Although I never much focused on a lot of the Planescape stuff. It's easier to just trim things down to Angels, Demons, and Devils. And whatever Exarchs are going to be...

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Throwing in the Guardian sect as part of Guardinals is a good idea, though as a sect they were sort of out of place in Planescape as being sect devoted to good, while everyone else was about politics, law and chaos, and the other so-called 'good' sects really just being fascists.

Somehow I feel we could group the "Cherubim" type creatures like Lamassu, Shedu and Buraq into the Guardinals somewhere. Also as a way of killing 2 birds with one stone, how about making the Arrowhawk the animal form of the Avoral?


Anyways I feel that the Rilmani most certainly do need some re-envisioning in 4e since how often are you going to encounter the forces of Neutrality and Balance? That's why I thought of them as an alchemically-evolved/ascended form of human. They have their castes, which some are good others might need some changes:
Plumach (lead) - need to be something else other than the commoner/cannon fodder caste
Ferrumach (iron) - fine as is, as the soldiers
Abiorach (alloy) - needs a change, they have to do something other than monitor elemental planes/ The Tempest.
Cuprilach (copper) - fine as they are as the assassins
Agrenach (silver) - fine as they are as the advisors/manipulators/infiltrators.
Aurumach (gold) - fine as the leaders.

As a race that seeks to bring down or exceed or even regulate the Gods, the Primordials and other powerful beings, they now become something that PCs are more likely to encounter, while retaining some of their previous fluff as the forces of neutrality.

 

[senna]

Anyways I feel that the Rilmani most certainly do need some re-envisioning in 4e since how often are you going to encounter the forces of Neutrality and Balance? That's why I thought of them as an alchemically-evolved/ascended form of human. They have their castes, which some are good others might need some changes:
Plumach (lead) - need to be something else other than the commoner/cannon fodder caste
Ferrumach (iron) - fine as is, as the soldiers
Abiorach (alloy) - needs a change, they have to do something other than monitor elemental planes/ The Tempest.
Cuprilach (copper) - fine as they are as the assassins
Agrenach (silver) - fine as they are as the advisors/manipulators/infiltrators.
Aurumach (gold) - fine as the leaders.

As a race that seeks to bring down or exceed or even regulate the Gods, the Primordials and other powerful beings, they now become something that PCs are more likely to encounter, while retaining some of their previous fluff as the forces of neutrality.

I like your ideas, but i prefer to leave their origins a mistery, as much as they where in Planescape. One possibility is to cast them as survivors of the god/primordial that became bound to make certain no such large scale conflict would erupt again, it makes sure that no one have much power on its side. As such they could be blamed by incinting Lolth to start a war against the other elven gods, or other similar schisms to maintain everyone power in check.

Without trying to threadjack, but the yugoloths are at a much worse position, because their main thing, being corrupters, was taken from them and given to the devils. But their racial look as incectoids is stong, and i recall a passage saying that ice devils were yugoloths that turned into devils because of a contract.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Guardinals I'd see as the physical manifestation of totems. As such, they are benevolent, but if wronged they can be savage and relentless in their wrath. As such, I'd make them more shamanistic in their attire and society.

Maybe the original lycanthropes could have been guardinal spirits that were punished for some transgression by being encased in human flesh.

You know, I *adore* this idea if the 'guardinals' become the benevolent druid sponsor divine creature thingies. Lycanthropes as the 'evil' druid sponsor divine creature thingies makes a whole lot of sense, and the themes of the moon and silver fit in with a motif the druids are already rocking. Lycanthropy is a disease, nature gone rampant and vengeful, destroying humanity and reducing it to pure hunger and fear. 'Guardinals' are noble, animals possessed of iconic power and wisdom, becoming more human-like.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Without trying to threadjack, but the yugoloths are at a much worse position, because their main thing, being corrupters, was taken from them and given to the devils. But their racial look as incectoids is stong, and i recall a passage saying that ice devils were yugoloths that turned into devils because of a contract.

If Tharizdun is back as mentioned in the article either about Demons and Devils, or the one describing the Elemental Chaos, I think it was suggested that Yugoloths had something to do with Tharizdun.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

One of the questions would be where do spirits come from? They haven't exactly implemented the Spirit World in this new set-up of the cosmology, even though it's easy to put in.