Last Updated on January 22, 2023
The Aasimar:Imbued By Mount Celestia
Aasimar are luminous beings, gifted with divine purpose from a human heritage touched by the power of Mount Celestia.
Where is Mount Celestia you ask? Well, it’s not a hiking destination on the sword coast.
Mount Celestia is a separate plane of existence in the forgotten realms, a perfect, heavenly place of absolute law and order (no SVU).
Inhabitants of this plane include gods like Kord and Moradin, angels, archons and even the platinum dragon Bahamut.
Such a place is brimming with divine power, and mortals that travel here may be affected by that power, creating a bloodline with celestial influence.
Descendants in a bloodline of that sort may become Aasimar, not quite human, not fully divine. These special few are entrusted by Angels to use their power in keeping order on the material plane.
Aasimar tend to be guided by a specific type of Angel known as a Deva, who are messengers of the heavens, and agents on the material, shadowfell, and fey planes in their own right.
A large burden rests on the shoulders of an Aasimar. As descendants of humans, they are often less rigid in determining what is right than inhabitants of the higher plane would be.
Still, most follow the direction of their angelic guide as best they can, spreading goodwill amongst the races of the inner planes.
Table of Contents
Aasimar Abilities and Traits: What Characterizes the Aasimar Race
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
Age. Aasimar mature at the same rate as humans, but they can live up to 160 years.
Alignment. Imbued with celestial power, most Aasimar are good. Outcast aasimar are most often neutral or even evil.
Size. Aasimar have the same range of height and weight as humans.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Blessed with a radiant soul, your vision can easily cut through darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. YOu can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Celestial Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage.
Healing Hands. As an action, you can touch a creature and cause it to regain a number of hit points equal to your level. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you’ve finished a long rest.
Light Bearer. You know the light cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Celestial.
Subrace. Three subraces of Aasimar exist: protector aasimar, scourge aasimar, and fallen aasimar. Choose one of them for your character.
The biggest takeaway here is the healing hands feature.
Essentially this a watered-down version of the paladin’s lay on hands, instead of a pool of hit points 5 times your level, this ability will max out with your level when you hit 20.
This isn’t insane but is a great way to get some healing in your arsenal, especially if you don’t choose a class that has a lot of those options.
The great thing about a straightforward, if limited, ability like this is that you will use it in a pinch and when you do your teammates will thank you.
Darkvision is very common, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t great to have. Being able to delve into a dungeon or crawl through a sewer and still perceive your surroundings is all but essential in most campaigns.
On that note you also get the light cantrip, which is often a popular utility pick for casters. Being able to create magical light with no cost is going to be helpful for so many occasions in and out of combat.
Getting a free spell is something no class will ever complain about, casters gain extra resources and non-casters get access to a spell. It’s a win-win.
The resistances have potential to be incredibly helpful, as all resistances do. Necrotic damage is a very common damage type among monsters and creatures you might encounter, right behind fire and poison.
Radiant damage is much less common, and the biggest way this might help you is by giving you some protection from any AOE spells your party’s cleric might cast.
It’s worth mentioning that damage resistances are hard to quantify as better or worse, since ultimately your DM will decide which foes you face.
Aasimar Subraces: Protector, Scourge and Fallen
Somewhat surprisingly, the three choices here are not split up into Good, Neutral, and Evil or Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic.
Instead, we are given two types of aasimar who fill their roles of benevolent protectors in very different ways, and one that is in fact straight-up evil in their description.
At third level each of these subraces gain appropriately themed transformations that last for one minute.
For a comparison, barbarian rage lasts for 1 minute, or roughly 10 rounds of combat. Especially at early levels, it’s not uncommon for a full combat to happen within the span of a minute, and the barbarian class is built on taking advantage of that fact.
Just so, these abilities will likely become a cornerstone of your fighting style regardless of which class you choose.
Protector Aasimar: Righteous Guardians
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1
Radiant Soul. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to glimmer and two luminous, incorporeal wings to sprout from your back.
Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action.
During it, you have a flying speed of 30 feet, and once on each of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra radiant damage equals your level.
Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Protectors are presented as the goodiest of two shoes. An aasimar of this variety is the most likely to follow their divine purpose with few questions.
They embrace their ability to help the weak, and be a projection of light in the world. Superman would feel at home with a group of protectors fighting for truth, justice and the Celestian way.
And much like Superman, you might get confused for a bird from time to time when you fly in to save the day. It’s just such an amazing ability to pick up as a racial feature, especially since you can do so with more than just light armor to protect you. I’m looking at you aarakocra.
As a protector aasimar you will be able to traverse the battlefield in an amazing way from the very first battle you get into. The fact that you’re able to deal some extra damage in the meantime is really just icing on the cake.
Scourge Aasimar: Overwhelmingly Divine
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1
Radiant Consumption. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing a searing light to radiate from you, pour out of your eyes and mouth, and threaten to char you.
Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. During it, you shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet, and at the end of each of your turns, you and each creature within 10 feet of you take radiant damage equal to half your level (rounded up).
In addition, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra radiant damage equals your level.
Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Scourge aasimar are absolutely brimming with celestial power to a point where it can become all-consuming.
This is a group of beings who are so focused on striking out evil in their paths that most of them wear masks to block themselves off from the rest of the world. In battle though they are willing to let themselves not just be seen, but to allow their righteousness to be felt all around them.
Not only does it sound hard to have to deal with that much power and conviction, it’s a bit unpractical. Being able to create light is already a cantrip offered to this race as a whole.
We’re then just left with a small amount of damage being consistently dealt to everyone around you. That includes you and your allies!
The max amount of damage you can deal with this is 10 by the way, which at level 20 is a drop of the hat.
Unless you need to quickly take out a group of minions that are swarmed around you and they all have very little health, using this subraces feature isn’t going to be the brightest move.
Fallen Aasimar: Touched by Evil
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1
Necrotic Shroud. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to turn into pools of darkness and two skeletal, ghostly, flightless wings to sprout from your back.
The instant you transform, other creatures within 10 feet of you that can see you must each succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus, + your Charisma modifier) or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
Your transformation lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. During it, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra necrotic damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra necrotic damage equals your level.
Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Having broken your oath you find yourself walking a different path to serve some evil power or seek out some dark ambition. The light you once carried has been replaced with a cold darkness.
Oh wait, that’s an Oathbreaker paladin. Turning your back on God, or gods, is an awesome trope that this subrace delivers on with real panache.
The coolest part of this subrace is that it tells a story. You once carried the light, and something changed that. Maybe your lineage was unknown and you grew up abused and beaten to the point that by the time your aasimar traits began to manifest, that light had been extinguished.
Maybe you resent the angels for cursing you with this burden of power. Whatever your story you get to tell it.
Volo’s Guide to Monsters even makes a point of saying that you can discuss with your DM the option of a redemption arc to change from this to one of the other types of aasimar, or for you edgelords out there, the option to become evil in the campaign and become a member of the fallen.
Mechanically speaking this offers a fun twist on the other two transformations. Instead of radiant damage you get necrotic and instead of flight your wings spread fear.
Being able to impose disadvantage so often and so reliably is a benefit is just such an incredible ability that maybe the only backstory you need for choosing evil is the health benefits.
What Classes Are Well Suited to the Aasimar
The first place we always want to look when matching up classes and races is our ability score increases.
A +2 in Charisma means that charisma casters jump to the front of the line.
Bard, Paladin, Sorcerer, and Warlock fit that bill.
The other classes won’t have much to gain, although a charismatic fighter could benefit from the fallen’s strength bonus, and a protector cleric or ranger could have a lot of fun flying while they picked up their +1 in wisdom.
Actively choosing a class that isn’t inherently benefiting from the charisma bonus is ill-advised, but far from illegal and I’ll never stop you from having some fun
For these examples we’ll use our Black Citadel Rating System:
- Red–C Tier. Red options can sometimes be situationally useful and might make for an interesting narrative choice, but they are largely less effective than other tiers.
- Green–B Tier. Solid but nothing that is absolutely critical for a build, orGreencan be very good but only in very specific situations.
- Blue–A Tier. An excellent choice. Widely regarded as powerful in some way, useful, highly effective.
- Purple–S Tier. The top of our rankings. Objectively powerful or transformative in some way. No choice in D&D is essential, but these options are worth strongly considering when you create your character.
Bard – Really just here for the Charisma. Thematically it feels weird although I’m sure you could make it work. The abilities don’t directly compliment bard playstyle. In fairness, they don’t contradict so that what matters
Paladin – The perfect combo of ability bonuses lies within the fallen subrace. Unsurprisingly, the Oathbreaker subclass offers a lot of synergy and doubles down on the fallen’s racial feature with themes of fear, darkness, and necrotic damage.
Realistically, any oath can benefit greatly from choosing fallen aasimar, the trouble comes in justifying how you are still evil. Conquest can probably surpass that obstacle the easiest, so falling back on a protector or scourge is still a great option for a paladin intent on embracing the light.
Sorcerer – Sorcerers make so much sense for aasimar considering both of them are somehow gifted great power from a lineage or a greater entity. Some nice pairings could include a scourge wild magic sorcerer, a fallen shadow magic sorcerer, and a protector divine soul sorcerer. It’s this incredible thematic synergy that pushes this into a top-tier choice.
Warlock – The roleplaying for this could be so interesting. A character torn between answering to their angelic guide and following the bidding of their patron is an adventure I would love to watch. Other than that fun thought experiment, it’s the +2 charisma that seals the deal here.
Aasimar Appearance and Names: Not Quite Human
Most commonly aasimar will be born of two human parents and not manifest their abilities until they start to mature.
As such, aasimar names will not differ much from the culture they were born into. Angelic names would not be entirely uncommon though, considering that a bloodline influenced by Mount Celestia would likely hold themselves in high regard, awaiting for a child to show signs of the gift.
The appearance of an aasimar is like that of a sculpture of the ideal human figure.
Their hint of divinity isn’t quite enough to make them distinctly non-human. Still, their appearance falls into the uncanny valley and is often void of the imperfections that define humanity.
This small but notable difference is enough that most aasimar prefer to stay hooded and veiled from being spotted.
The aasimar are a race defined by the purpose placed upon them, and the powers bestowed to fulfill that purpose. To be an aasimar is to be burdened with responsibility to a divine purpose while still having the free will to choose a life of their own.
How will you choose to wield the mighty power of Mount Celestia, the power of the gods.
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As a kid, I was often told to get my head out of the clouds and to stop living in a fantasy world. That never really jived with me, so I decided to make a living out of games, stories, and all sorts of fantastical works. Now, as an adult, I aspire to remind people that sometimes a little bit of fantasy is all you need when life gets to be too much.
FAQs
What is the best celestial revelation for aasimar? ›
Radiant Consumption is likely your best Celestial Revelation option since barbarians struggle to handle crowds. The damage isn't massive and the AOE isn't very big, but it'll add up quickly in a crowded melee fight.
What are the abilities of aasimar? ›Normal Speed: Aasimars have a base speed of 30 feet. Darkvision: Aasimars can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Skilled: Aasimars have a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Perception checks. Spell-Like Ability: Aasimars can use daylight once per day as a spell-like ability (Caster Level equals the aasimar's class level).
What is the backstory for an aasimar 5e? ›Aasimar are descendants from humans that have had some connection with the lawful good deities of Mount Celestia. They are born to serve as champions of the gods and their births are marked as a blessing. The race guide for aasimar specifies that they are “placed” in the world.
What class goes best with aasimar? ›- Bard:Of all the Class choices to be linked to the Aasimar, a Bard might be a unique choice. ...
- Cleric:Due to their Divine connection, it makes sense for the Aasimar to be the avatar of whatever Celestial has been communicating with them.
Like other half-bloods, aasimar do not feel, as a whole, beholden to any one particular god or pantheon, but many aasimar worship the Mulhorandi pantheon and a large proportion of the race is descended from the goodly gods of Mulhorand.
Why do aasimar wear masks? ›It feeds a powerful desire to destroy evil - a desire that is, at its best, unflinching and, at its worst, all-consuming. Many scourge aasimar wear masks to block out the world and focus on containing this power, unmasking themselves only in battle.
Can aasimar grow wings? ›Protector aasimar are often wise, and are capable of sprouting glowing, magical wings, capable of flight, from their backs for a brief period of time per day.
Can aasimar have babies? ›They cannot reproduce like humans, Elves or Tieflings would. Instead, Aasimar are manifested, sometimes later in a child's development, and are not dictated by bloodlines.
What color eyes do aasimar have? ›| Aasimar | |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 135 - 220 lbs |
| Hair Color: | Golden, White, Yellow, Strawberry Blonde, Platinum Blonde, Silver |
| Eye Color: | Pupil-less Amber, Blue, Gray, Green, Gold, Violet |
| Vision: | Low Light |
Most Aasimar do, but not all of them. In 5e Protector and Fallen Aasimar have wings they can use, although Fallen Aasimar wings are skeletal and flightless so they're moreso used for Intimidation rather than flight. Protector Aasimar have spectral wings that can be used for flying.
Do aasimar have glowing eyes? ›
Typical aasimar features include hair that shines like metal, jewel-toned eyes, lustrous skin color, or even glowing, golden halos. Society: Aasimars cannot truly be said to have an independent society of their own.
What armor can aasimar wear? ›Most aasimar favour well-made heavy armour such as plate mail, banded mail or suit armour. They're likely to wear beautifully decorated suits, emblazoned with their coats-of-arms or other such finery; an aasimar likes to stand tall and proud, and doesn't care who knows it.
What are rare traits of aasimar? ›Most aasimar had pupil-less pale white, gray, or golden eyes and silver hair, but those descended from planetars could also have emerald skin, while those descended from avoral celestials might have feathers mixed in with their hair. Those descended from ghaeles often had pearly opalescent eyes.
At what level can aasimar fly? ›Since Protector Aasimar are the only ones, officially, that can fly. From the Radiant Soul feature, emphasis mine: "Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to glimmer and two luminous, incorporeal wings to sprout from your back."
What is higher than Celestial? ›The cosmic swarm known as The Horde are considered the opposite force to the Celestials. They are the instruments of a powerful entity known as The Fulcrum, who is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe.
What is the most powerful Celestial event? ›Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are one of the most mysterious transient phenomena facing astronomers today. These incredibly energetic bursts are the most powerful electromagnetic events observed since the Big Bang and can last from a few milliseconds to many hours.
Is Jesus an aasimar? ›For his race, Jesus would most likely be a Protector Aasimar, as they are angelic beings, but are not completely divine, being partly human. Since Jesus is an accomplished public speaker, we can leave the Protector Aasimar's racial bonus alone, granting Jesus +2 CHA/+1 WIS.
Can aasimar hide their wings? ›All of the Winged Aasimar are able to pull in and out their wings on command. While some like to hide it some don't care about who sees them. Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Can aasimar have halos? ›Some aasimars possess the ability to manifest halos. An aasimar with this racial trait can create light centered on her head at will as a spell-like ability. When using her halo, she gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks against evil creatures and on saving throws against becoming blinded or dazzled.
What is the opposite of aasimar? ›Aasimar is the natural opposite of the tiefling – humanoids infused with celestial blood as opposed to the tiefling's infernal heritage.
Can a human turn into an aasimar? ›
People can not be reincarnated into aasimar. Aasimar are picked at birth, not death.
What happens when a fallen aasimar dies? ›These fallen aasimar lose their radiant spirits, which are replaced with a void of darkness, and the good in their heart turns to malice. Fallen aasimar are not all entirely evil, however, as some come to realize and understand their failings, and take a neutral path in hopes to restore their light.
What skin colors can Aasimars have? ›The protector aasimar are innately capable of manifesting radiant energy to lash out at their enemies. Scourge Aasimar: The scourge aasimar are otherworldly, and most commonly possess inhuman skin tones of green, blue, and violet.
Do aasimar have to sleep? ›You don't need to sleep. Instead, you meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefits that most people do from 8 hours of sleep.
Do aasimar have gods? ›Religion and magic
Like other half-breeds, aasimar did not feel, as a whole, beholden to any one god or pantheon, but many aasimar worshiped the Mulhorandi pantheon and a large proportion of the race was descended from the goodly gods of Mulhorand.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An aasimar is automatically proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light and medium armor, and shields. Resistance to acid 5, cold 5, and electricity 5. Spell-Like Ability: 1/day—daylight. Caster level equals the aasimar's class levels.
Can an Aasimar turn into a vampire? ›In our campaign there is an Aasimar that was turned into a vampire.
Can an Aasimar be a demigod? ›Their divine guides drive them to the right place at the right time to be instrumental in one event or another. Many of these Aasimar are known to have become demi-gods or ascended as Saints of Dorian.
What kind of ears do Aasimar have? ›Their ears are slightly pointed. Aasimars are born with white feathered wings, and can fly with varying degrees of success in combat.
Do Aasimar need wings? ›Most Aasimar do, but not all of them. In 5e Protector and Fallen Aasimar have wings they can use, although Fallen Aasimar wings are skeletal and flightless so they're moreso used for Intimidation rather than flight. Protector Aasimar have spectral wings that can be used for flying.
Can Aasimar have facial hair? ›
Most Aasimar have faintly glowing gold, silver, black, or red eyes and rounded ears. Both genders grow hair on their scalps and males frequently have facial hair as well.
What is the strongest Armour in D&D? ›Plate armor is the best armor you can get, it's heavy, you clank when you walk, but there's no better AC. It just costs a fortune. Plate is what you build towards, wear it if you can get it.
Are Aasimar immune to radiant damage? ›The Scourge Aasimar can do radiant area damage when they activate their racial power, and this damage hurts them as well. However, the race inherently has resistance to radiant damage.
What are the modifiers for aasimar? ›Ability Score Modifiers: Aasimars are insightful, confident, and personable. They gain +2 Wisdom and +2 Charisma. Type: Aasimars are outsiders with the native subtype. Size: Aasimars are Medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
What is the race bonus for Aasimar? ›+2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma. Darkvision: 60 feet. Human Blood: For all effects related to race, an Aasimar is considered a human. +2 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks.
Does divine sense detect aasimar? ›Divine Sense cannot detect Aasimar, because Aasimar are classified as humanoid in DnD 5e.
Is aasimar a Celestial or Humanoid? ›Aasimars, also known as angel bloods, are medium-sized humanoids whose heritage shares a bond with celestial powers or whose soul has been touched by the divine. Most have human parents.
Are aasimar immune to radiant damage? ›The Scourge Aasimar can do radiant area damage when they activate their racial power, and this damage hurts them as well. However, the race inherently has resistance to radiant damage.
What is the maximum age for aasimar? ›Age: Aasimar mature at the same rate as humans, but they can live up to 160 years. Alignment: Imbued with celestial power, most aasimar are good.
Can aasimar see in darkness? ›Aasimar were also quite perceptive, noticing things that others did not, and many could see largely unimpeded in perfect darkness, while also possessing the ability to cast magical light to aid those who could not see.
Can aasimar get pregnant? ›
As aasimar can not conceive children, and they outlive all other races due to their immortality, they often become lost in their lives, whether they have achieved their purpose or when their mentor has failed their duties.
What causes an aasimar to fall? ›An aasimar who was touched by dark powers as a youth or who turns to evil in early adulthood can become one of the fallen — a group of aasimar whose inner light has been replaced by shadow.
Can an aasimar be a demigod? ›Their divine guides drive them to the right place at the right time to be instrumental in one event or another. Many of these Aasimar are known to have become demi-gods or ascended as Saints of Dorian.
Can aasimar breed with humans? ›Aasimar are capable of sexual reproduction with both Humans and one another, but can also be born spontaneously from Human parents, presumably due to divine influence.