Where do baby aasimars come from? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Where do baby aasimars come from? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
sorreahdarkhart
06-18-07, 11:46 PM If it's any clear, I'm about to start up the Savage Tide campaign in Eberron, and I've got a player who wants to be an aasimar. Is there any general ideas that I can give him when coming up with his backstory? I'm not asking "where do aasmiars come from", but what thoughts would you guys have about the aasimar in Eberron?
Twiggly the Gnome
06-19-07, 12:30 AM I'm not sure if there's an official answer, but my take has been that the majority are descended from coatls, from when their numbers were more numerous. Likewise most tieflings have a little bit of rashaka blood.

:twocents:
sorreahdarkhart
06-19-07, 12:39 AM What about where aasimars might be likely to live or appear? I feel a good guess at a start would be Sharn, or the Lhaazar Principalities. Any ideas?
Rerecros
06-19-07, 12:42 AM This question is even easier to answer than in other campaign settings. Outsiders don't even need portals to get to the prime, they can just walk over if they are in just the right place at just the right time. Personally I love the idea of an angel vigilante in Sharn, sorta like vash the stampede and just as easy :P

Edit: Like changelings, aasimar lack a unified culture, each would be defined by his particular homeland and outsider ancestry.
sorreahdarkhart
06-19-07, 12:51 AM True that. Vash rocks so hard, it's crazy! Sharn sounds like a logical place to suggest, as I think would Thrane as well. Thrane's Silver Flame theology includes coualts (I think), and I'm sure a wandering aasimar would probably find some way to Thrane. Nifty! A good start, for sure.
AkumaDaimyo
06-19-07, 01:03 AM All I know is for Tiefling's the Demon Waste's, Drooam and any place Shavrath has a manifest zone could work. I asked Keith Baker himself about that. Also, ALL planetouched are protected under the code of Galifar, unless he's from Drooam or the Shadowmarches.
Rerecros
06-19-07, 01:33 AM True that. Vash rocks so hard, it's crazy! Sharn sounds like a logical place to suggest, as I think would Thrane as well. Thrane's Silver Flame theology includes coualts (I think), and I'm sure a wandering aasimar would probably find some way to Thrane. Nifty! A good start, for sure.

I think this might help
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20040920a
There is yuan ti in monsters of faerun called a tainted one, which is a watered down verion of the race which may prove useful.
Arcane Guyver
06-19-07, 02:52 AM I don't have the book with me, but I do seem to recall aasimars being mentioned in the Player's Guide to Eberron. Wasn't there a winged aasimar Lhaazar captain in there?
AkumaDaimyo
06-19-07, 03:00 AM Is he Assimar or Half-Clestial? They are different things. Assimars are desendents of Half-Clestials, Half-Clestials are the direct offspring of a Celestial and a non-celestial, usually human it would seem.
dfarnsworth
06-19-07, 11:50 AM Don't forget the idea of being born/conceived in a manifest zone resulting in planetouched.
Kid SixXx
06-19-07, 12:54 PM Don't forget the idea of being born/conceived in a manifest zone resulting in planetouched.

What he said. The Daelkyr Halfblood doesn't necessarily result from direct bloodline to a Daelkyr, so there is nothing that says that an Aasimar has to have a celestial parent.
kentonblack
06-19-07, 04:04 PM Is he Assimar or Half-Clestial? They are different things. Assimars are desendents of Half-Clestials, Half-Clestials are the direct offspring of a Celestial and a non-celestial, usually human it would seem.
hes a half celestial. on e of the nicer pieces of art in that book too. the artist did the Zern and voor in MMIV as well. gotta find that artit's site*wink wink*

Don't forget the idea of being born/conceived in a manifest zone resulting in planetouched.

aha! very nice

Just a note: the players guide to ebberon clears this up.on page 123, under manifest zones-races of the planes, it says:
Aasimar(RD): these descendants of human and celestial bloodlines live among human communities. The term 'celestial' has a somewhat looser definition in ebberon than it does in settings that have clearly identified celestial planes. IN ebberon, creatures identified as celestials in D&D rules come from such widely varying planes as fernia(fire eladrins), Irani(lantern archons), Lammania(guardinals), Shavarath(most archons), syriana(angels), and thelanis(eladrins). As such, aasimar often have traits and personalities that differ widely from one another, based on the particulars of their celestial heritage.
Vharuck
06-19-07, 04:16 PM hes a half celestial. on e of the nicer pieces of art in that book too. the artist did the Zern and voor in MMIV as well. gotta find that artit's site*wink wink*

Actually, he's an aasimar. I remember because the presence of wings bugged me.
Kinger
06-19-07, 06:52 PM What, a guy can't get Wings of Flying, now? :)
AkumaDaimyo
06-19-07, 07:22 PM Assimar's CAN get wings, it just requires feats to do so most of the time. Usually depends on the setting too if such feats or abilities are available. Assimars and Tieflings can both get wings eventually in FR if they follow a certain feat tree. I'd use racial feats from FR for assimar and tiefling in Eberron with no problems as Assimar and Tiefling and other certain types of plane touched are far more prevalent in FR anyway so Eberron isn't going to have planetouched specific feats.
OctaviusIII
06-19-07, 08:04 PM I believe it's also mentioned (somewhere, probably Savage Species, Races of the Planes or Races of Destiny) that aasimar are eligible for the half-celestial racial class.
mhacdebhandia
06-19-07, 10:42 PM In Planescape sources, where aasimar first appeared, it was fairly clear that aasimar are simply the children of half-celestials, as well as the next couple of generations' worth of descendants until the celestial heritage was too distant to manifest.

This might also apply to those aasimar whose heritage derives from having been conceived or born in a manifest zone - their own children might still be aasimar, and their children, et cetera for a few generations.

Generally speaking, it seems to be the case that aasimar, tieflings, genasi, and other planetouched races' planar heritage comes through even after a couple of generations' worth of interbreeding with human partners. After that, I think you're in the realm of humans who qualify for various kinds of heritage feats.

Planetouched races should really be a template, because it's not very interesting that we can't distinguish between aasimar with human heritage and aasimar with elf heritage and aasimar with dwarven heritage, even though theoretically they're all possible. Further muddling the issue is the existence of other planetouched races in, for instance, the Forgotten Realms - the existence of which seems to assume that aasimar, tieflings, and the like are human hybrids, which isn't technically the case.
AkumaDaimyo
06-19-07, 11:17 PM Half-ANYTHING should be a template, not a race. In one of the FR books there is a Half-Orc/Drow. He even has tusks. Though I know supposedly some race combinations do not yeild half-breeds at all. So unless there is proof that other races can yeild teifling or assimar maybe it's a strictly human thing?
mhacdebhandia
06-19-07, 11:56 PM Oh, aasimar and tieflings are supposed to be human-celestial or human-fiend hybrids, for sure.

It's just, well, for instance: Races of Faerun has fey'ri (elf-demon hybrids) and tanarukk (orc-demon hybrids). Fiend Folio has maeluth (dwarf-devil hybrids) and wisplings (halfling-demon hybrids). There are other examples - but I'm not convinced that we need dozens of different races representing each possible combination of humanoid and outsider, when we could just have templates - just as we do for half-fiends and half-celestials.

Now, one thing that I would do is provide a method for customising half-celestial, half-fiend, aasimar, or tiefling templates according to the parent outsider, because the variety that would afford is worth having.

(The Savage Tide Adventure Path in Dungeon magazine includes about the only instance I can think of in which a variant of the half-fiend template has been published in official material - the lemorian template is an adjusted version to represent the unique half-fiends in Demogorgon's service.)
yrogerg
06-20-07, 12:29 AM Just a note: the players guide to ebberon clears this up.on page 123, under manifest zones-races of the planes, it says:

I remember that! It peeved me greatly, because it managed to ignore the idea that the direct influence of manifest zones could create planetouched. It was an excellent opportunity to verify boards fannon on planetouched, and to suggest a cool alternate route for the creation of planetouched, besides an Outsider boinking mommy, and they really squandered it.
sorreahdarkhart
06-20-07, 01:18 AM So when my player creates his character, should he pick a celestial that he inherits his looks from? Like, for instance, if he were to pick a planetar angel, would his aasimar character have emerald skin like the planetar does? I'd assume it's simply a cosmetic choice, right?
AkumaDaimyo
06-20-07, 01:41 AM Yeah it's a cosmetic choice. There are feats out there he can take though I belive. There may even be some he needs to take at 1st level to get other feats. But as far as looks all of them are cosmetic.

Tiefling's looks are as well. Even one with a tail can't do anything with it. Unless one made a feat or took a feat for a prehensile tail.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
sorreahdarkhart 06-18-07, 11:46 PM	If it's any clear, I'm about to start up the Savage Tide campaign in Eberron, and I've got a player who wants to be an aasimar. Is there any general ideas that I can give him when coming up with his backstory? I'm not asking "where do aasmiars come from", but what thoughts would you guys have about the aasimar in Eberron?
Twiggly the Gnome 06-19-07, 12:30 AM	I'm not sure if there's an official answer, but my take has been that the majority are descended from coatls, from when their numbers were more numerous. Likewise most tieflings have a little bit of rashaka blood. :twocents:
sorreahdarkhart 06-19-07, 12:39 AM	What about where aasimars might be likely to live or appear? I feel a good guess at a start would be Sharn, or the Lhaazar Principalities. Any ideas?
Rerecros 06-19-07, 12:42 AM	This question is even easier to answer than in other campaign settings. Outsiders don't even need portals to get to the prime, they can just walk over if they are in just the right place at just the right time. Personally I love the idea of an angel vigilante in Sharn, sorta like vash the stampede and just as easy :P Edit: Like changelings, aasimar lack a unified culture, each would be defined by his particular homeland and outsider ancestry.
sorreahdarkhart 06-19-07, 12:51 AM	True that. Vash rocks so hard, it's crazy! Sharn sounds like a logical place to suggest, as I think would Thrane as well. Thrane's Silver Flame theology includes coualts (I think), and I'm sure a wandering aasimar would probably find some way to Thrane. Nifty! A good start, for sure.
AkumaDaimyo 06-19-07, 01:03 AM	All I know is for Tiefling's the Demon Waste's, Drooam and any place Shavrath has a manifest zone could work. I asked Keith Baker himself about that. Also, ALL planetouched are protected under the code of Galifar, unless he's from Drooam or the Shadowmarches.
Rerecros 06-19-07, 01:33 AM	True that. Vash rocks so hard, it's crazy! Sharn sounds like a logical place to suggest, as I think would Thrane as well. Thrane's Silver Flame theology includes coualts (I think), and I'm sure a wandering aasimar would probably find some way to Thrane. Nifty! A good start, for sure. I think this might help http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20040920a There is yuan ti in monsters of faerun called a tainted one, which is a watered down verion of the race which may prove useful.
Arcane Guyver 06-19-07, 02:52 AM	I don't have the book with me, but I do seem to recall aasimars being mentioned in the Player's Guide to Eberron. Wasn't there a winged aasimar Lhaazar captain in there?
AkumaDaimyo 06-19-07, 03:00 AM	Is he Assimar or Half-Clestial? They are different things. Assimars are desendents of Half-Clestials, Half-Clestials are the direct offspring of a Celestial and a non-celestial, usually human it would seem.
dfarnsworth 06-19-07, 11:50 AM	Don't forget the idea of being born/conceived in a manifest zone resulting in planetouched.
Kid SixXx 06-19-07, 12:54 PM	Don't forget the idea of being born/conceived in a manifest zone resulting in planetouched. What he said. The Daelkyr Halfblood doesn't necessarily result from direct bloodline to a Daelkyr, so there is nothing that says that an Aasimar has to have a celestial parent.
kentonblack 06-19-07, 04:04 PM	Is he Assimar or Half-Clestial? They are different things. Assimars are desendents of Half-Clestials, Half-Clestials are the direct offspring of a Celestial and a non-celestial, usually human it would seem. hes a half celestial. on e of the nicer pieces of art in that book too. the artist did the Zern and voor in MMIV as well. gotta find that artit's sitewink wink Don't forget the idea of being born/conceived in a manifest zone resulting in planetouched. aha! very nice Just a note: the players guide to ebberon clears this up.on page 123, under manifest zones-races of the planes, it says: Aasimar(RD): these descendants of human and celestial bloodlines live among human communities. The term 'celestial' has a somewhat looser definition in ebberon than it does in settings that have clearly identified celestial planes. IN ebberon, creatures identified as celestials in D&D rules come from such widely varying planes as fernia(fire eladrins), Irani(lantern archons), Lammania(guardinals), Shavarath(most archons), syriana(angels), and thelanis(eladrins). As such, aasimar often have traits and personalities that differ widely from one another, based on the particulars of their celestial heritage.
Vharuck 06-19-07, 04:16 PM	hes a half celestial. on e of the nicer pieces of art in that book too. the artist did the Zern and voor in MMIV as well. gotta find that artit's sitewink wink Actually, he's an aasimar. I remember because the presence of wings bugged me.
Kinger 06-19-07, 06:52 PM	What, a guy can't get Wings of Flying, now? :)
AkumaDaimyo 06-19-07, 07:22 PM	Assimar's CAN get wings, it just requires feats to do so most of the time. Usually depends on the setting too if such feats or abilities are available. Assimars and Tieflings can both get wings eventually in FR if they follow a certain feat tree. I'd use racial feats from FR for assimar and tiefling in Eberron with no problems as Assimar and Tiefling and other certain types of plane touched are far more prevalent in FR anyway so Eberron isn't going to have planetouched specific feats.
OctaviusIII 06-19-07, 08:04 PM	I believe it's also mentioned (somewhere, probably Savage Species, Races of the Planes or Races of Destiny) that aasimar are eligible for the half-celestial racial class.
mhacdebhandia 06-19-07, 10:42 PM	In Planescape sources, where aasimar first appeared, it was fairly clear that aasimar are simply the children of half-celestials, as well as the next couple of generations' worth of descendants until the celestial heritage was too distant to manifest. This might also apply to those aasimar whose heritage derives from having been conceived or born in a manifest zone - their own children might still be aasimar, and their children, et cetera for a few generations. Generally speaking, it seems to be the case that aasimar, tieflings, genasi, and other planetouched races' planar heritage comes through even after a couple of generations' worth of interbreeding with human partners. After that, I think you're in the realm of humans who qualify for various kinds of heritage feats. Planetouched races should really be a template, because it's not very interesting that we can't distinguish between aasimar with human heritage and aasimar with elf heritage and aasimar with dwarven heritage, even though theoretically they're all possible. Further muddling the issue is the existence of other planetouched races in, for instance, the Forgotten Realms - the existence of which seems to assume that aasimar, tieflings, and the like are human hybrids, which isn't technically the case.
AkumaDaimyo 06-19-07, 11:17 PM	Half-ANYTHING should be a template, not a race. In one of the FR books there is a Half-Orc/Drow. He even has tusks. Though I know supposedly some race combinations do not yeild half-breeds at all. So unless there is proof that other races can yeild teifling or assimar maybe it's a strictly human thing?
mhacdebhandia 06-19-07, 11:56 PM	Oh, aasimar and tieflings are supposed to be human-celestial or human-fiend hybrids, for sure. It's just, well, for instance: Races of Faerun has fey'ri (elf-demon hybrids) and tanarukk (orc-demon hybrids). Fiend Folio has maeluth (dwarf-devil hybrids) and wisplings (halfling-demon hybrids). There are other examples - but I'm not convinced that we need dozens of different races representing each possible combination of humanoid and outsider, when we could just have templates - just as we do for half-fiends and half-celestials. Now, one thing that I would do is provide a method for customising half-celestial, half-fiend, aasimar, or tiefling templates according to the parent outsider, because the variety that would afford is worth having. (The Savage Tide Adventure Path in Dungeon magazine includes about the only instance I can think of in which a variant of the half-fiend template has been published in official material - the lemorian template is an adjusted version to represent the unique half-fiends in Demogorgon's service.)
yrogerg 06-20-07, 12:29 AM	Just a note: the players guide to ebberon clears this up.on page 123, under manifest zones-races of the planes, it says: I remember that! It peeved me greatly, because it managed to ignore the idea that the direct influence of manifest zones could create planetouched. It was an excellent opportunity to verify boards fannon on planetouched, and to suggest a cool alternate route for the creation of planetouched, besides an Outsider boinking mommy, and they really squandered it.
sorreahdarkhart 06-20-07, 01:18 AM	So when my player creates his character, should he pick a celestial that he inherits his looks from? Like, for instance, if he were to pick a planetar angel, would his aasimar character have emerald skin like the planetar does? I'd assume it's simply a cosmetic choice, right?
AkumaDaimyo 06-20-07, 01:41 AM	Yeah it's a cosmetic choice. There are feats out there he can take though I belive. There may even be some he needs to take at 1st level to get other feats. But as far as looks all of them are cosmetic. Tiefling's looks are as well. Even one with a tail can't do anything with it. Unless one made a feat or took a feat for a prehensile tail.