The aasimar bear the legacy of a celestial being or even a deity in their ancestry, and have incredible potential to do good in the world. At the same time, their heritage marks them as different and often leads to persecution, ridicule or exile from superstitious or backward communities. It is not unknown for an aasimar to give in to bitterness in the face of adversity and turn to evil.
Aasimar are the descendants of humans and some good outsider, such as a true celestial, a celestial creature, couatl, lillend or even a servant or avatar of a good deity. (Some of these creatures must use magic to assume a form that is compatible with a human mate, of course.) While elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings with good outsider ancestry are reputed to exist, those crossbreeds are not true aasimar.
Aasimar look human except for one distinguishing feature related to their unusual ancestor. Some examples of these features (and the ancestors that cause them) are:
Aasimar understand that they are special, even if they do not understand their true heritage. Many aasimar from a latent bloodline don’t even know what creature engendered the line in the first place. Two aasimar from the same bloodline often have the same distinguishing feature.
Aasimar have the same life expectancy and age categories as a human.
History: Most aasimar in Faerûn are derived from the deities of Mulhorand. When the mortal incarnations of the Mulhorandi pantheon defeated the Imaskari, they settled and took mortals as lovers and spouses. The half-celestial offspring of these unions became nobles of that country, and dilution of the divine essence through marriages to pure-blooded humans created aasimar. Many of these aasimar left the country in search of a destiny not tied to their grandparents, and so the lands around Mulhorand have more aasimar than any other area.
Outlook: Most aasimar are wary of their human neighbours. Even those raised by parents who understand their heritage cannot escape the stares of other children and adults, for humans fear that which is different. Aasimar usually experience a great deal of prejudice, which is all the more painful to the good-inclined aasimar who truly wants to help others survive in a hostile world. Aasimar are often seen as aloof, when in many cases this is a protective measure born of years of misunderstandings. Aasimar often look upon true celestials and other good outsiders with a mixed envy and respect. The lucky ones receive occasional guidance and advice from their celestial ancestor, and these aasimar are more likely to exemplify the stereotypical celestial virtues.
Because an aasimar’s favoured class is paladin, a majority of them follow that path, at least for a time. The philosophy of the paladin class resonates in the aasimars’ hearts, and they are innately suited for a career championing law and good. Some aasimar, particularly those descended from a non-lawful outsider, instead become clerics, since they are naturally wiser and more charismatic than most humans. Even aasimar who don’t become divine spellcasters gravitate toward divine-related classes such as the divine champion, for the call of the light is very strong.
Not all aasimar live up to their potential. An aasimar blackguard or sorcerer of evil is a terrible opponent, and deities such as Shar and Set love to corrupt an aasimar, turning her into a bitter, angry creature nursing old grudges from unjust persecution.
Characters: Because they feel the pull of deific power so keenly, aasimar are often clerics or paladins. Some aasimar bring their otherworldly sensibilities to the art of music, becoming accomplished bards. Rarer still are aasimar who fall in love with Faerûn’s deep wilderness, becoming druids and rangers.
Favoured Class: Paladin. Aasimars’ very blood compels them to seek out and oppose evil wherever it may lurk.
Prestige Classes: Divine champions, divine disciples and hierophants are the most common prestige classes for aasimar.
Society: Aasimar rarely have siblings who are other aasimar, for the heredity of the supernatural is a chancy thing. Because of this, few aasimar get to know another of their kind. On the rare times they encounter another aasimar, there is a sort of unspoken understanding between them, and an aasimar is likely to take another aasimar’s side in an argument, regardless of other affiliations, just for a taste of kinship.
Aasimar, being more rare than even half-elves, have no true society of their own. Few have the opportunity to meet other aasimar or celestial beings, so they attempt to blend into the culture of their parents. If they had such a thing, aasimar would have a lawful good or neutral good society, focusing on charitable works, helping the needy, and campaigning to eradicate evil. In a few rare places, aasimar can find true acceptance and search for news of other aasimar born in other lands, hoping to make arrangements to have the child brought to the sanctuary and raised in an environment where he or she is cherished, not considered strange.
Language: Aasimar have no cultural language, although those that realize their heritage usually learn Celestial. An aasimar usually learns the language of her parents and may pick up other languages appropriate to her region.
All aasimar are literate, except for barbarians.
Magic: Aasimar have no spells unique to their race, but favour divine spells that enhance their innate powers or allow them to blast evil. Some are lucky enough to learn secret magic from a true celestial, and guard that knowledge carefully to show that the celestial’s faith in them is not unfounded.
Magic Items: Aasimar have no particular racial magic items, but some find ways to acquire weapons common to true celestials, such as magic greatswords (used by ghaeles, archons, planetars and solars) or maces of disruption (used by astral devas).
Religion: Aasimar have no common racial deity but often worship whatever deity their supernatural ancestor serves (or that being itself, if the ancestor is a deity). Because most aasimar in Faerûn are descended from Mulhorandi powers, a large number of them serve those gods. An aasimar born outside the Old Empires, or whose travels have taken her far from those lands, might take a like-minded patron appropriate to her new country.
Because several Mulhorandi deities are portrayed with animal heads or have strong ties to certain animals, aasimar descended from these deities or their supernatural agents often have an affinity for that sort of animal, and sometimes have a faint resemblance to a creature of that type.
Relations: Although aasimar are mostly human, they rarely feel like they fit in among human society. Instead, they get along best with other halfbreeds — namely, half-elves and half-orcs — because they and aasimar usually share the same sort of semi-outcast background.
Dwarves, elves, gnomes and halflings are neither embraced nor shunned by aasimar, for while these races have no history of persecuting the planetouched, they don’t have a reputation for sheltering them either. Genasi of all types are too alien compared to an aasimar to elicit sympathy or a sense of kinship. Tieflings are the one race that garners the most suspicion from an aasimar, for those touched by the holy understand its calling and therefore can guess what sort of temptation those with unholy blood must hear.
Equipment: Aasimar have no unusual racial equipment, although in their armaments they favour weapons with the holy or evil outsider bane special abilities.
Animals and Pets: Because of their lack of a true society, aasimar as a whole don’t raise any particular creature as a pet more often than any other kind. Because of their celestial bloodlines, however, they are more likely to gain the trust and acceptance of a celestial animal than a true human might. Also, aasimar of Mulhorandi descent have an affinity with the animal associated with their divine ancestor.
Regions: Mulhorand, Chessenta, Unther
Note: An Outsider is considered to be proficient in simple and martial weapons, as well as shields if already proficient in armour - Monster Manual, Page 313. This has led to the discussion that an Aasimar has the same proficiency regrardless of the Class proficiencies. This was ruled as invalid in a Paizo forum with the following explanation.
“They do not automatically gain proficiency with all martial weapons; as 0 HD outsiders, their weapon proficiencies are determined solely by their class levels. This works the same as 0 HD humanoids or with 0 HD creatures of ANY monster type (so far, there’s only 0 HD humanoids and outsiders, but that could change some day).”
Source: Races of Faerûn (Page 112), Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Page 18)
Your character can be either male or female.
Every player character starts as an adult. You can choose or randomly generate your character’s age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character’s race and class (see Table: Starting Ages). Your character’s minimum starting age is the adulthood age of his or her race plus the number of dice indicated in the entry corresponding to the character’s race and class on Table: Starting Ages.
Alternatively, refer to Table: Starting Ages and roll dice to determine how old your character is.
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | +1d6 (16—21) years | +1d8 (16—23) years | +2d8 (17—31) years |
1 This category includes barbarians, rogues and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, fighters, paladins and rangers.
3 This category includes clerics, druids, monks and wizards.
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
| Middle Age1 | Old Age2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 years | 68 years | 90 years | +3d20 years |
1 -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
2 -2 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
3 -3 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
When a character reaches venerable age, the DM secretly rolls his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year, as determined by the DM.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections or violence before getting to venerable age.
Choose your character’s height and weight from the ranges mentioned in the appropriate race description or from the ranges found on Table: Height and Weight. Think about what your character’s abilities might say about his or her height and weight. A weak but agile character may be thin. A strong and tough character may be tall or just heavy.
Alternatively, roll randomly for your character’s height and weight on Table: Height and Weight. The dice roll given in the Height Modifier column determines the character’s extra height beyond the base height. That same number multiplied by the dice roll or quantity given in the Weight Modifier column determines the character’s extra weight beyond the base weight.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 4’ 10" | +2d10 (5’ 0"—6’ 6") | 120 lbs. | ×2d4 (124—280 lbs.) |
| Female | 4’ 5" | +2d10 (4’ 7"—6’ 1") | 85 lbs. | ×2d4 (89—245 lbs.) |
Source: Player’s Handbook (Page 109), Races of Faerûn (Page 112)