This pdf clocks in at 11 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page editorial, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let’s take a look!
This is not the aasimar race from the DMG, just fyi – it’s its own take on the concept.
We begin this pdf with a pretty close reproduction of how races are depicted in the 5e Phb, i.e. with flavorful notes on playing the race and flavorful leitmotifs – from wanderlust to being trusting, but also verifying the statements and nomenclature. In a nice twist, elves, halflings and tieflings get their say and impressions of the aasimar race in a sidebar. Race trait-wise, aasimar increase Wisdom and Charisma by 1, 30 feet movement, darkvision 60 feet, resistance to radiance damage and a rather powerful trick: When being capable of healing via spells, you add your proficiency modifier to the amount healed; when you do not have access to those, you instead add it to the hit points you receive when you are healed. I like the intention of this, but the rules-language could be clearer: What constitutes, for example, an “healing attempt” – use of the skill? Personally, I think this should simply be a choice left up to the players. This is a nitpick, though.
The pdf provides three subraces of aasimar: Children of the deva increase Dexterity by 1 and get alter self at 3rd level as well as partial resistance to bludgeoning. Wait…what’s that? Well, partial resistance is a concept introduced here and I *REALLY* dislike it. In short: It works like damage reduction. You reduce that damage type by an amount equal to the level of the character. This renders partial resistance more powerful than regular resistance in certain contexts. E.g. at 10th level, a character is hit by 6 attacks, all of which deal 7 points of damage. Characters with resistance take a bunch of damage; less than other creatures, but still damage. Partial resistance eliminates the damage completely. The 5e-system is not made for this ability with an at least optional assumption of average damage and the somewhat more down to earth approach of 5e does not mix well with being invincible to certain attacks.
Children of Planetars increase Constitution by 1 and gain invisibility (self only) at 3rd level and partial piercing resistance. Children of Solars increase their Strength score by 1 and gain spiritual weapon at 3rd level. One note pertaining the innate spellcasting gained – the pdf fails to specify which spellcasting ability is used for these spells.
https://iadrhtn.weebly.com/blog/download-maverick-for-mac. Daylight: An aasimar can use daylight once per day as a 1 st-level caster or a caster of his class levels, whichever is higher. Skills: An aasimar has a +2 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks. The aasimar warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.
While I really hate partial resistance in 5e, the pdf does feature a second rule-idea I like – celestial lineages that allow you to modify the aasimar. A total of 3 such lineages are provided. These provide usually bonus abilities at certain levels (1st, 5th and 9th), but you do lose one of the usual abilities in exchange, namely powerful ones like radiant flux. Eternal Radiance nets you light-themed innate spells; bane of liars makes you a living lie detector and wings of angels provides slowly access to flight. I have no complaints regarding them.
Angelic Wings. Prerequisite: Aasimar (DMG) You gain the ability to manifest a pair of angelic wings, which grant you a flying speed of 20 feet. Your armor must accomodate these wings, and cloth will be ripped if not properly made to account for their growth. Prerequisite: Aasimar (DMG) Your celestial nature burns with holy fire, shining forth from your form. You gain the following benefits: You learn either the sacred flame or the word of radiance cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting modifier for either of these spells. You learn either the searing smite or the guiding bolt spell. You may cast this spell once per long rest without expending a spell slot.
The pdf does provide a new potion, celestial elixir, which allows the aasimar to use their powers an additional time before taking a rest; when used more than once, it causes Constitution damage, though…and it can be used as a quasi-super holy water that deals “6d6 damage” – for a price of only 100 gp. Underpriced in my book. Also…what kind of damage?? The pdf also features a new spell, radiant shield, which provides light, resistance to necrotic damage and reflexive radiant damage when attacked in melee. Ad&d 2e dmg pdf. The spell is powerful at 3rd level mainly due to not requiring concentration and having a 10 minute duration. Angel’s Bows require paladins or aasimar to be used and grants advantage on attack rolls and deal +1d6 radiant damage….which is imho a bit strong. Universal advantage? OUCH. Also: +1 is usually, when compare with items like berserker’s axes, not noted in the header of the item. Oh, and the bow requires no attunement. (Fyi: My direct frame of reference here is the oath bow, which nets more power versus a single creature, but no bonus, requires attunement and works only against one foe per day. – in comparison, the angel’s bow is a bit too good.)
The ring of heavenly light, the second item, doubles darkvision range and nets daylight once per long rest.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting generally are pretty good – the pdf does not feature significant glitches. Purists may be slightly annoyed that the racial subheaders aren’t italicized, only bolded, but the pdf gets the full-stop versus colon-formatting convention right. Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.
Editing and formatting generally are pretty good – the pdf does not feature significant glitches. Purists may be slightly annoyed that the racial subheaders aren’t italicized, only bolded, but the pdf gets the full-stop versus colon-formatting convention right. Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.
Troy E. Daniels delivers generally a cool race here; while I am not sold on the balancing of bow and elixir and annoyed that the latter has no proper damage type, the aasimar race generally is cool…with one issue. Partial Resistance. This ability, while understandable in its intent, opens up a significant can of worms regarding rules-aesthetics and how the system works. To me, 5e is more rock-paper-scissors, than PFRPG and still allows you to do something if you don’t have the right tools. High-level aasimar with these rules can stand in a mob of lesser creatures armed in a specific way and take no damage…which opens up all manner of awkward questions – for example why non-aasimar angels can’t do the same. Basically, this introduces a rules component that is not tangential to a system – it’s an integral part. To maintain internal consistency, the introduction of the ability requires the GM to modify other creatures similarly, which changes the game pretty hard. On the plus-side, that makes direct PFRPG-conversion easier…but on the minus-side, it feels awkward and alien to 5e to me. Personally, I really dislike it and would discourage its use.
And that is a damn pity, for, overall, when disregarding this unfortunately pretty central component of the racial design, the aasimar as depicted herein is pretty solid; not perfect, yes, but also not inherently flawed or problematic. Still, partial resistance’s issues, in conjunction with the minor other hiccups do drag this down a bit. My final verdict will hence clock in at 3.5 stars, though I have to round down.
You can get this inexpensive racial supplement here on OBS!
Endzeitgeist out.
Endzeitgeist out.
More articles you may enjoy:
Facebook Comments
comments
In a new party that we started playing my one son is playing an aasimar sorcerer. The version of the aasimar that we are using is a mixture of write ups from two sources, which I took bits and pieces of each and put them together in a way I liked.None of the content below is my original work, but taken from
and used by me in my game. I'm just posting this version since I will be referencing it in future play reports.
Aasimar
Aasimars are humans with a significant amount of celestial or other good outsider blood in their ancestry. While not always benevolent, aasimars are more inclined toward acts of kindness rather than evil, and they gravitate toward faiths or organizations associated with celestials. Aasimar heritage can lie dormant for generations, only to appear suddenly in the child of two apparently human parents. Most societies interpret aasimar births as good omens, though it must be acknowledged that some aasimars take advantage of the reputation of their kind, brutally subverting the expectations of others with acts of terrifying cruelty or abject venality. “It's always the one you least suspect” is the axiom these evil aasimars live by, and they often lead double lives as upstanding citizens or false heroes, keeping their corruption well hidden. Thankfully, these few are the exception and not the rule.
Aasimars look mostly human except for some minor physical trait that reveals their unusual heritage. Typical aasimar features include hair that shines like metal, jewel-toned eyes, lustrous skin color, or even glowing, golden halos.
Aasimars cannot truly be said to have an independent society of their own. As an offshoot of humanity, they adopt the societal norms around them, though most find themselves drawn to those elements of society that work for the redress of injustice and the assuagement of suffering. This sometimes puts them on the wrong side of the law in more tyrannical societies, but aasimars can be careful and cunning when necessary, able to put on a dissembling guise to divert the attention of oppressors elsewhere. While corrupt aasimars may be loners or may establish secret societies to conceal their involvement in crime, righteous aasimars are often found congregating in numbers as part of good-aligned organizations, especially (though not always) churches and religious orders.
Aasimars are most common and most comfortable in human communities. This is especially true of those whose lineage is more distant and who bear only faint marks of their heavenly ancestry. It is unclear why the touch of the celestial is felt so much more strongly in humanity than other races, though it may be that humanity's inherent adaptability and affinity for change is responsible for the evolution of aasimars as a distinct race. Perhaps the endemic racial traits of other races are too deeply bred, too strongly present, and too resistant to change. Whatever dalliances other races may have had with the denizens of the upper planes, the progeny of such couplings are vanishingly rare and have never bred true. However, even if they generally tend toward human societies, aasimars can become comfortable in virtually any environment. They have an easy social grace and are disarmingly personable. They get on well with half-elves, who share a similar not-quite-human marginal status, though their relations are often less cordial with half-orcs, who have no patience for aasimars' overly pretty words and faces. Elven courtiers sometimes dismiss aasimars as unsophisticated, and criticize them for relying on natural charm to overcome faux pas. Perhaps of all the known races, gnomes find aasimars most fascinating, and have an intense appreciation for their varied appearances as well as the mystique surrounding their celestial heritage.
Aasimars are most often of good alignment, though this isn't necessarily universal, and aasimars that have turned their back on righteousness may fall into an unfathomable abyss of depravity. For the most part, however, aasimars favor deities of honor, valor, protection, healing, and refuge, or simple and prosaic faiths of home, community, and family. Some also follow the paths of art, music, and lore, finding truth and wisdom in beauty and learning.
Female Names: Adonia, Amethyst, Arabella, Arken, Arsinoe, Ayako, Bretheda, Calanthe, Castrovei, Davina, Delphinia, Drinma, Dulcida, Feyla, Imesah, Iomedae, Isabis, Liavara, Li Mei, Masozi, Maysamma, Mirei, Moonstone, Nijena, Niramour, Ondrea, Rhialla, Sabiha, Sunetra, Valtyra, Zinnia.
Aasimar Dnd 5e Stats
Male Names: Aballon, Akemi, Aritian, Aurelio, Bellarmine, Beltin, Carnelian, Cayden, Cernan, Clarion, Cronwier, Desiderio, Eanril, Eran, Eremurus, Gwyn, Ilamin, Kinjiro, Kyan, Malachite, Maudril, Okrin, Parant, Shenir, Sterling, Talyessin, Triaxus,Tural, Wyran, Zaigan.
Ability Score increase : Wis+2, Cha+1 or Wis+1, Cha+2, Player choice.
Age. Aasimar age similarly to humans, though many stay looking young for much longer than other humans.
Alignment: Tending to Lawful Good but not restricted to.
Size. Medium. Their size and build is roughly the same as a human's.
Dnd 5e Fallen Aasimar
Darkvision. Your planar heritage manifests itself as the ability to see in dim like for 60 feet as if it were bright light, and to see in darkness like it was dim light. In darkness, you do lose the ability to distinguish color, seeing the world only in shades of gray.
Celestial Resistance: Aasimar are resistant to cold and electricity damage.
Skilled: Aasimar PCs gain proficiency in persuasion or perception.
Celestial Legacy: Aasimar know the light cantrip. At level 5 you can cast the aid spell once per day. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages: You can speak, read and write common and Celestial.
Roll 1d10, twice, to determine your random traits.
Trait |
When light shines on you at a certain angle, you produce a small, rainbow corona. |
Your skin is pearlescent |
You have small, vestigial wings with white feathers. |
You smell of incense. |
Your eyes flash gold when you concentrate intensely. |
Your voice contains a slight reverberation. |
People listen when you talk, though they don't know why. |
Your feet are covered in downy, soft feathers. |
A candle-like radiance is shed by your skin in darkness. |
Your hair is like soft, short fur. |
Labels: races