Supernatural Agents of Law

There are many creatures that actively follow the cosmic force of Chaos. Ranging from miserable kobolds  and corrupt humans to demons and Chaos Princes, the agents of Chaos are both diverse and widespread, found in every realm of Mystara. 

But what about the agents of Law? The most common ones are humans and demihumans. Human and dwarf clerics and halfling defenders are foremost among the agents of Law. By way of divination and communing, lawful clerics may receive guidance from their lawful patron immortals or saints. Whether they act on this or can persuade others to do so is another matter. Other civilized folk will also act as champions of Law and when Chaos gathers its forces, it is usually humans, dwarves and elves who must confront these ravening hordes to protect their peaceful realms. Although a lot of the time this is about just protecting their nations and lands from invaders, sometimes the folks involved are aware they are taking part in the great conflict of Law against Chaos. As well as massed armies there are agents who will try to find and root out the agents of Chaos within society. The city watch, investigators, witch-hunters and adventurers are all often involved as agents of Law in a smaller scale of conflict. Whether they are doing this as part of the cosmic struggle or simply protecting their community from malevolent cultists can vary.  

The non-human agents of Law are far fewer than their chaotic counterparts, at least on the Material Plane. Here I should distinguish between non-human creatures that happen to be lawful and creatures that actively champion the cause of Law. Gold dragons, storm giants, rocs and werebears are generally lawful, as are pegasi, blink dogs and a few other creatures. But most of them are not involved in the cosmic conflict of Law against Chaos, and simply behave in a lawful manner. 

Gold dragons (from the D&D Basic set) are among the most powerful and long-lived lawful monsters and they will sometimes get involved, talking to adventurers (usually while polymorphed into a less threatening form). They also consider it their duty to counter the predations and destruction of chaotic dragons, particularly when such dragons threaten major cities or the balance of power. Although rare even by dragon standards, gold dragons are comfortable in any habitat and as such might be found anywhere One gold dragon is known to occasionally visit the Reclusium of Serenity in Karameikos while polymorphed into a dwarf with a golden beard, while another is believed to live in the hills to the north of Cinsa-Men-Noo in northern Ylaruam. A small colony lives in the Icereach mountain range in Norwold, to the west of the Great Bay, where they compete with the more numerous dragons of other species. . 

Art by Sayrin70, source

Hsiao (from the Rules Cyclopedia and Masters Rules Set), the philosopher owls are rare and like unicorns they tend to avoid civilization for the most part, living in deep forests.  Like unicorns they often have contact with  other sylvan creatures. But they are always observant, both with their owl-like senses and clerical divination, for the machinations of Chaos. And when they do spot a threat that needs to be dealt with they may deal with it themselves or they may ask certain trusted clerics, druids or elves. Hsiao may well have regular contact with humans and demihumans they trust, usually those who are lawful themselves, or neutral with an interest in preserving nature and the status quo.   

Unicorns (from the Expert Rules set) differ from their equine cousins the pegasi in that the pegasi may be gentle and benevolent, but they tend not to view the wider picture - a pegasus is only slightly smarter than a good-natured horse. Unicorns are wise enough to be aware of the cosmic conflict and the increasing threat of Chaos in Mystara. However, they are still very skittish around humans and prefer to be around sylvan creatures such as dryads, centaurs and pixies. They tend to be the ambassadors for Law within the fey community, and when they do talk to civilized folk it tends to be with elves and halflings who both have a better connection to nature than humans or dwarves. The fact that they are sometimes hunted for their magical horns makes them all the more wary of mortals. There are a few unicorns found in Alfheim, and one is thought to roam in the woods of the Callarii Elvies in Karameikos.     

Helion (from the Companion Rules Set): These beings from the Plane of Fire tend not to venture onto the Material Plane except in unusual or urgent situations - they are preoccupied with keeping the forces of Chaos on the Plane of Fire contained by combatting the Efreet and their allies.  

Art by Jeff Easley from D&D Masters Rules Set

Archon (from the Rules Cyclopedia and Masters Rules Set): These extra-planar servants of Law are the most dedicated opponents of Chaos. Some serve Law itself, while others are the lieutenants, messengers and servants of lawful immortals. I'm actually going to change the females from their description in both the Masters Rules set and also the Rules Cyclopedia. In this campaign the archon females no longer have the bull heads that breathe fire and are simply the female equivalent of the male (possibly with robes over the torso for modesty). Archons are generally visitors not residents of the Material Plane and only stay here when dealing with a long-term problem or else trapped by powerful magics. 

Borrowed From 1st edition AD&D

Shedu are the keepers of ancient lore and wisdom. If you have the AD&D stats for shedu from the AD&D Monster Manual, I would suggest dropping the psionic abilities and replacing them with the spells of a 9th level magic user (the shedu only need verbal components). Shedu are rare and are found in abandoned shrines and temples of Law as well as libraries and archives that hold the knowledge the shedu are tasked with curating. While archons, as messengers of immortals, may visit mortals, shedu tend to stay where they are and let the mortals find them if the knowledge they hold is important enough.  At least three are known to dwell around Ylaruam, particularly near Nithian ruins, warding treasure hunters away from ancient evil that should stay buried. Another has been encountered in the Great Waste to the west of Sind, though nobody knows what it is guarding, and the shedu is not revealing anything.  

Lammasu are thought to be related to sphinxes. Some sages have postulated that the sphinxes have diverged over their incredibly long history (sphinxes as a race are believed to be as old as dragons). The consistently lawful ones have become lammasu while the most chaotic ones have degenerated into manticores. The lammasu have become the healers and protectors of Law. Rather than combatting Chaos and evil directly the lammasu help and support those that do, including mortal adventurers. If a band of lawful adventurers is in desperate need of help in the face of overwhelming chaotic enemies, it is possible that the cosmic force of Law may send a lammasu to aid the mortals. Of course, no adventurer should ever rely on this  - lammasu only appear very rarely and only to those who most deserve their aid.  

Ki-Rin: Sometimes known as dragon horses, ki-rin have a strong affinity for the air and although they are usually resident on the Planes of Law, when visiting the Material Plane they tend to rest on cloud islands among the rocs, cloud giants and storm giants. They are fierce combatants as well as powerful spellcasters, and are more likely to confront chaotic monsters directly. 

Couatl: These feathered serpents are found in warmer climates, usually south of Brun such as the Serpent Peninsula and the jungles of Davania. If you have the AD&D stats for couatls from the AD&D Monster Manual I would suggest dropping the psionic abilities and instead replacing them with the ability to become invisible 3/day and cast silence 15ft radius 3/day. In Mystara couatls have become the scouts and spies for the forces of Law, investigating possible chaotic threats.  

Devas, Planetars and Solars (from AD&D Monster Manual II): These angelic beings are mostly replaced by Archons (see above). However, when they are found they are not races unto themselves but the manifestation of the edicts of Law. They are the will of the forces of Law made physical. As such they do not seem to have much personality and although polite to mortals they can seem almost robotic. 

Hollyphants (from AD&D Monster Manual II): These weird little creatures tend to be a lot more cheerful and talkative than some of the other creatures here, and although they have significant combat abilities (including shooting sun-sparkles from their trunks) their main role is to bring hope to those in despair. The war against Chaos has been waged for a long time and mortals may feel despondent, overwhelmed or insignificant. What is the point of defeating one evil coven of chaos cultists when another one will spring up elsewhere? Hollyphants can encourage lawful creatures to fight the good fight, that every effort will contribute, and to enjoy the small victories - a village saved, a plague cured or a rampaging monster stopped in its tracks is worth celebrating. Chaotic creatures find hollyphants incredibly annoying, trite and corny. 

With all of these creatures from BECMI and AD&D I would suggest that they can advance in hit dice in a way similar to PCs advancing in class levels. Their size and damage is unaltered but their spell casting improves with increased hit dice. This is of course entirely at the DM's discretion. And although my current list of clerical spells is a bit longer than the official rules, the DM is certainly welcome to bring in new spells from other sources when it seems a suitable choice for one of these agents of Law. 

The DM is at liberty to use or ignore these creatures as they wish. They could be used as patrons for lawful adventurers, as advisors, or in a pinch, a divine intervention as an alternative to a Total Party Kill (though only if the PCs deserve to be rescued - if the PCs got themselves into a stupidly deadly situation the forces of Law feel less obliged to intervene). I personally don’t think these should be used in place of PCs being pro-active and problem solving - they are not there to do the PCs work and thinking for them. Perhaps one of these creatures has been captured by the forces of Chaos, or is being hunted by powerful chaotic creatures and needs the PCs’ help. They could even be used as opponents if the PCs are neutral or chaotic in alignment, particularly if there is ignorance and misunderstanding. If the PCs are investigating ancient ruins and come across a Shedu guarding the shrine of knowledge they might not recognise it as such. And even if they do, the Shedu would not take kindly to thuggish humans plundering its abode.