Dungeons & Dragons Why Your Next Character Should Be an Aasimar

Dungeons & Dragons: Why Your Next Character Should Be an Aasimar

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As celestial-touched humanoids, Aasimar player characters allow for some incredible storytelling opportunities in Dungeons & Dragons.

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Dungeons & Dragons Why Your Next Character Should Be an Aasimar

The worlds of Dungeons & Dragons are often molded and shaped by powerful divine beings, and the presence of these deities can have a lasting impact on the mere mortals who come in contact with them. Aasimar are descended primarily from humans who have been touched by this celestial power, and the influence of the heavens is immediately apparent in the visage of these individuals.

An Aasimar player character brings a lot to the table, both narratively and mechanically. Much like a Warlock, Aasimar have an important NPC built into their backstory, which opens up a treasure trove of quests and plot hooks. Watched over by a divine guide, this guardian angel instantly provides a wide array of story-telling opportunities — whether as a vague figure they’ve sensed in their dreams their whole lives, or a being they know personally and periodically engage with. Mechanically, Aasimar have a wide array of features, from the practical and mundane to entirely unique abilities that grant them powers befitting their backstories.

What Are Aasimar in Dungeons & Dragons?

Dungeons & Dragons Why Your Next Character Should Be an Aasimar

Volo’s Guide to Monsters describes Aasimar as “descended from humans with a touch of power from Mount Celestia,” adding “Aasimar are born to serve as champions of the gods, their births hailed as blessed events.” As such, an Aasimar’s interests tend to transcend any particular nation or culture, and they often begin adventuring in the hopes of discovering their purpose. They tend to become wandering champions of justice, though some can become twisted and turned to evil during their trials and travels.

The life of an Aasimar is one of finding peace between the earthly and divine natures within them, struggling with the expectations of gods while possessing the free will and fallibility of a mortal. This in and of itself would be a rewarding character arc for a player to embark on, but the Aasimar also comes with a built-in NPC who is vital to their story.

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Volo’s Guide to Monsters has several tables devoted to the naming and nature of an Aasimar’s divine guide, an entity which watches over and nudges an Aasimar as they seek their own truth and meaning in the world. The nebulous nature of the communication between celestial and Aasimar provides ample opportunity for vague, prophetic visions or warnings, and the celestial’s unflinching devotion to law and justice can put them at odds with an Aasimar who believes that sometimes doing the right thing means breaking rules. This can create an exciting and memorable tension between the character and their guide.

Aasimar Abilities

Dungeons & Dragons Why Your Next Character Should Be an Aasimar

Aasimar have a number of useful features which thematically fit with their divinely-touched origins. To start with, they typically gain +2 to Charisma and +1 to either Strength, Wisdom or Constitution, depending on the subrace chosen, though if a campaign is using Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything’s new rules surrounding race and origins, these scores may be distributed differently. Additionally, due to their radiant nature Aasimar have Darkvision out to 60 feet, they’re resistant to Radiant and Necrotic damage, and they can cast the cantrip Light as will. They can also intuitively understand the Celestial language.

Aasimar also have a few unique abilities that help them stand out from other playable races. One of these is Healing Hands, which functions very similarly to a Paladin’s Lay on Hands, albeit a much weaker version. Still, the ability to restore a number of hit points equal to the aasimar’s level can be absolutely crucial in staving off defeat or buying their companions another round of combat.

Additionally, each subrace of Aasimar has a variant of an ability to channel the particular nature of their divine existence which they gain at third level. For Fallen Aasimar, this is called Necrotic Shroud and can cause enemies to be frightened for one minute while adding additional necrotic damage to the Aasimar’s attacks. Protector Aasimar have Radiant Soul, which grants them a flight speed of 30 feet for one minute and additional radiant damage to their attacks. Finally, Scourge Aasimar can shine so brightly they light up the space around them, dealing radiant damage to all — including themselves — within this illuminated space.

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Aasimar Names

Dungeons & Dragons Why Your Next Character Should Be an Aasimar

Aasimar don’t have specific naming conventions of their own. Instead, they typically are named by the culture and people they were born to. As such, their names can vary wildly, reflecting more the lands and nations they grew up in rather than some celestial principles. Since Aasimar tend to be born to human parents, their names can be as simplistic or complex as the family they’re a part of.

Why You Should Play an Aasimar

Aasimar provide so many interesting opportunities for a player looking to get the most from their tabletop role-playing experience. The story and character evolution available to an Aasimar and their connection to the divine is rivaled only by that of a Celestial Warlock, giving the player a relationship to one of the most foundational aspects of any fantasy world. The self-exploratory nature of an Aasimar’s heritage means a player can role-play walking a fine line between divine avenger and sympathetic hero, struggling to explain to unflinching gods the moral intricacies and nuances of the mortal world.

The Aasimar also has such an interesting and varied set of mechanics which make them deeply enjoyable to play, allowing players to shift whole encounters to their favor with a few well-timed abilities. Overall, an Aasimar provides a truly unique gaming experience for any player looking for one in Dungeons & Dragons.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/dnd-5e-aasimar-race-abilities-names/

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