Aasimar

Aasimar are mortals born with a connection to the Upper Planes. Their births are rare and are sometimes accompanied by unusual dreams, visions, or other celestial phenomena that families and communities may interpret as omens.

An Aasimar may be born into a family with no known celestial ancestry. Their connection can arise through the influence of Celestia, Elysium, or Arborea without requiring the direct intervention of a deity or celestial being.

The circumstances surrounding an Aasimar's birth can attract considerable attention. Some families and religious communities regard them as signs of divine favor or attach particular expectations to their celestial heritage. Elsewhere, especially where celestial magic is poorly understood, an Aasimar may inspire uncertainty as readily as reverence.

These expectations can influence an Aasimar's upbringing, particularly when others believe their gifts should shape the course of their life. Their connection to the Upper Planes grants them unusual abilities, but the culture in which they are raised remains their own.

Celestial Lineages

Aasimar connections most commonly trace to Celestia, Elysium, or Arborea. The plane influences the appearance and expression of an Aasimar's celestial magic.

Aasimar of the same lineage can still come from very different families, cultures, and religious traditions.

Celestian Aasimar

Celestian Aasimar draw their celestial power from Celestia, a plane closely associated with justice, mercy, responsibility, and the proper use of authority.

Their skin may have the smooth appearance of polished stone, sometimes crossed by patterns resembling gold, silver, or platinum. Bright, pupil-less eyes are common. When their celestial wings manifest, they often appear structured and angular, formed from radiant light.

Communities familiar with Celestian Aasimar sometimes expect them to accept positions of responsibility. Families, temples, or civic institutions may encourage them toward lives in which their judgment or protection is relied upon by others.

Traditions influenced by Celestia commonly place importance on honest conduct, restraint, and responsibility toward those under one's care. These teachings shape the expectations surrounding some Celestian Aasimar, though the lives they choose remain as varied as those of anyone else.

Elysian Aasimar

Elysian Aasimar are connected to Elysium, a plane associated with compassion, refuge, restoration, and aid given freely to those in need.

Their skin often has a pearlescent or opalescent quality. Their eyes may appear in unusually bright shades of blue, violet, silver, or similar colors. Their manifested wings commonly appear softer than those of Celestian Aasimar, taking the form of luminous or gently shifting celestial light.

Where their lineage is recognized, Elysian Aasimar are often expected to use their gifts in the service of others. Healing, mediation, religious service, and the care of vulnerable people are common paths encouraged by families or communities that attach particular meaning to Elysium.

For some Aasimar, these expectations begin early in life. The ability to heal or protect others can bring responsibilities that extend well beyond the use of their celestial gifts, especially in communities that regard their birth as a blessing.

Arborean Aasimar

Arborean Aasimar are connected to Arborea, a plane associated with freedom, vitality, personal conviction, and lives shaped by one's own choices.

Their skin commonly carries warm bronze, copper, rose-gold, or similarly vivid tones. Their eyes are often unusually bright or richly colored. When their celestial wings appear, they are usually feathered and may carry iridescent or varied coloration.

Cultures familiar with Arborean Aasimar often associate their lineage with independence and open self-expression. In communities influenced by Arborean traditions, personal choice can carry considerable importance when deciding one's calling, relationships, beliefs, or place within society.

These associations have given Arborean Aasimar a reputation for following paths chosen through personal conviction. The particular form that life takes depends on the individual and the culture in which they were raised.

Celestial Gifts

An Aasimar's celestial abilities often develop gradually. Some show signs of their heritage during childhood, while others reach adolescence or adulthood before anything clearly supernatural appears.

Their gifts may first emerge during moments of danger, intense stress, or other significant events. Healing magic and radiant power are common expressions of their heritage, while celestial wings generally appear as their connection to the Upper Planes develops further.

Some Aasimar experience dreams, visions, recurring symbols, or apparent contact with beings associated with the Upper Planes. These experiences differ greatly between individuals. Some receive guidance they understand clearly, while others encounter fragments whose source or meaning remains uncertain.

Such experiences are not necessarily messages from a deity. Aasimar may interpret them through their religion, family traditions, personal beliefs, or their own understanding of the Upper Planes.

Aasimar Across Eldareth

Aasimar existed long before the Upheaval, though their births became noticeably more common in the decades that followed.

As the boundaries between Eldareth and the surrounding planes became less stable, Upper Planar influence reached mortal lives more frequently. Traits that had remained dormant within some families also began to surface more readily.

Tieflings, Genasi, and others with pronounced planar connections became more common during the same period. By the early Reckoning Years, these peoples were increasingly referred to collectively as the Planetouched.

Aasimar are encountered most often in Vel'Nathar, Ostheria, and among the monasteries of Shen-Su, though one can be born almost anywhere in Eldareth. Their appearance may be entirely unexpected even in families with no known history of celestial influence.

Some religious communities keep records of Aasimar births, particularly when unusual celestial phenomena accompany them. Scholars may also take an interest in the circumstances surrounding their appearance. For the families involved, this attention can bring expectations they had never anticipated.

Aasimar Traits

Ability Score Increase. When determining your character's ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.

Size. You are Small or Medium. You choose the size when you select this species.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in Dim Light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were Bright Light and in Darkness within that range as if it were Dim Light. You discern colors in that Darkness only as shades of gray.

Radiant Resistance. You have Resistance to Radiant damage.

Healing Hands. As a Magic action, you can touch a creature and roll a number of d4s equal to your Proficiency Bonus. The creature regains a number of Hit Points equal to the total rolled.

Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a Long Rest.

Celestial Legacy. Your connection to the Upper Planes grants you magical abilities. Choose one of the following celestial legacies when you select this species: Celestian, Elysian, or Arborean. Your chosen legacy can't be changed.

Choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma when you select your celestial legacy. Your chosen ability is your spellcasting ability for the spells granted by this trait. Your choice can't be changed.

You know the cantrip associated with your chosen legacy, as shown on the Celestial Legacies table.

Starting at character level 3, you can cast the level 3 spell associated with your chosen legacy with this trait.

Starting at character level 5, you can cast the level 5 spell associated with your chosen legacy with this trait.

You can cast each leveled spell granted by this trait once without expending a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast that spell in this way when you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast these spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.

When you cast a spell through this trait, the spell requires no Material components unless a Material component has a specified cost or is consumed by the spell. You must provide any such component as normal.

Celestial Legacies

Radiant Soul. Starting at character level 5, as a Bonus Action, you can manifest a pair of celestial wings whose appearance you determine. The transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a Bonus Action. The wings disappear when the transformation ends.

For the duration, you have a Fly Speed equal to your Speed.

In addition, once on each of your turns when you deal damage to a target with an attack or a spell, you can deal extra Radiant damage to that target equal to your Proficiency Bonus.

Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a Long Rest.

Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and two other Standard Languages that you and your DM agree are appropriate for the character. The Player's Handbook offers a list of Standard Languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.