Chan
Chan, Princess of Good Air Creatures and Good Elemental Air, is one of the four Princes of Elemental Good, a band of benevolent Archomentals introduced in Dungeons & Dragons to counter the machinations of the older, more iconic Princes of Elemental Evil: Cryonax, Imix, Ogremoch, Olhydra and Yan-C-Bin.
Unfortunately, the Princes of Elemental Good have never really had the traction of their more malevolent counterparts, in one part because DMs rarely have as much use for goodly monsters as they do for malign ones (evil parties are, after all, the rarity in D&D) and in another part because they really exemplify the complaints many D&D fans make of Planescape relying a little too heavily on grid-filling. Then again, that's a pretty dumb reason, since 1) it has never stopped the metallic dragons from always turning up alongside the chromatics, 2) dragons and archomentals both make for decent quest givers anyway, and 3) complaining about grid-filling in D&D doesn't make much sense when grid-filling is build into the very lore and metaphysical structure of the Great Wheel.
2nd Edition[edit]
An invisible entity of softly churning air, Chan is the master of calm breezes and gentle sounds, although she can also rage like a harsh wind or even a violent tornado. A quiet and thoughtful sort, Chan's stronghold is a floating castle made entirely of glass in the Plane of Air, known as the Palace of Unseen Contemplation.
Chan spends most of her time locked in a cold war with her arch-enemy Yan-C-Bin, with the two constantly using their inherent invisibility to spy on each other and intimidate one another into keeping their actions on the down low. Ironically, Chan's bitterest rivalry is probably not with Yan-C-Bin, but with the Good Archomental of Water, Ben-Hadar; she thinks he's a dick.
The Neutral Good Chan featured alongside her fellow Archomentals in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix 3.
3rd Edition[edit]
A calm breeze of softly churning air seems to suggest a benign presence. Quiet gusts of wind swirl about to form a cloud, from which shines a serenely smiling face.
Aside from losing her enmity with Ben-Hadar, the Chan of 3rd edition is mostly an expansion upon the lore we were presented with in 2nd edition.
As in 2e, the Chan of 3e dwells within the Palace of Unseen Contemplation upon the Plane of Air; a floating castle built entirely from the purest glass, which was fashioned for her as a gift by Sunnis from the finest sand of the Plane of Earth. Numerous observations of the multiverse are etched on various glass panels in Auran and Vaati, though the most important secrets are locked away where only Chan knows how to get them. A gracious hostess, Chan welcomes all who have a sincere desire to meditate into her home.
In form, Chan is an amorphous mass; See Invisibility will reveal only a translucent cloud, whilst True Sight will reveal a shifting cloud ringed by powerful air currents and with darker patches of vapor forming vague but feminine and serene facial features. Personality-wise, Chan is someone who enjoys mental tests and puzzles, and much of her free time is spent looking for ways to test her wits. Whilst somewhat aloof, she is ultimately well-meaning and benevolent. She believes in waiting to strike at just the right moment.
Though she struggles eternally against the machinations of Yan-C-Bin, Chan's war with him is a cold war, based on silent threats and eternal secret gathering. Each watches the other as they roam the multiverse, relying on bluff and misdirection to counter the other.
Whilst she doesn't seek to forge an army, Chan's following is very large. She is served by elementals, djinn, sylphs, fey of various types, and all manner of flying creatures, such as arrowhawks, air mephits, air weirds, invisible stalkers and spirits of the air. Her close allies include Talisid's Five Companions (particulrly Sathia and Kharash), Koriel (God of Ki-Rin), Syranita (God of Aarakocra) and Aerdrie Faenya (God of Avariel) - as such, it should be no surprise that she is also popular with their mortal servants. Other creatures known to serve or venerate Chan include hollyphants, shedu, shenmurvs, cloud giants, giant eagles, pegasi and any other flying creature.
Perhaps Chan's closest ally is Ty-h'kadi, Prince of Thunder & Lightning, the ruler of the storm elementals. They regularly work together, and Chan considers it her responsibility to stop it when he flies into one of his destructive rages. When even her presence isn't enough to calm him, she will battle him to a stand-still.
She's also been known to barter intelligence with Ehkahk the Smoldering Duke, although his overwhelming concern for his own self-preservation makes for a wavering alliance at best.
Aside from Yan-C-Bin, Chan's greatest enemy is a Demon Princess named Lissa'aere the Noxious, a sapient mass of poisonous mist that often works with Yan-C-Bin.
In 3rd edition, Chan is unique amongst the goodly Archomentals in that she took no part of the great War of Law and Chaos; when she saw that the vaati were willing to make common ground with creatures of Lawful Evil, instead of making the side of Law also the side of Good as she had originally believed, she turned her back on both.
Chan's titles include The Silent One and Glorious Zephyr, whilst her symbol is an eye within a silver circle. She appeared alongside her fellows in issue #353 of Dragon Magazine
4th Edition[edit]
Like all of the iconic Archomentals, Chan is mentioned in 4e's Heroes of the Elemental Chaos. She travels the Elemental Chaos incessantly with a legion of aerie elementals, mostly working to subtly thwart the machinations of her arch-enemy, Yan-C-Bin. She is also a dedicated opponent of defeating the cults of the Elder Elemental Eye, and this leads to her feeling a great disdain for Ben-Hadar, whose reluctance to join the fight incenses her. She is comprised of gently swirling breezes, but sometimes condenses moisture to form an undulating cloud in order to make it easier to communicate with others.
| The Archomentals of Dungeons & Dragons | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elements | Air | Water | Earth | Fire | Ice |
| Good Archomentals | Chan | Ben-Hadar | Sunnis | Zaaman Rul | |
| Evil Archomentals | Yan-C-Bin | Olhydra | Ogremoch | Imix | Cryonax |