Clarifications for non-PNP players...

[Satoshi]

Inspired by the Drow thread, I've decided to refer to my awesome compilation of 3.5 D&D books (available at request over MSN and AIM) and give some basic Forgotten Realms specific answers to players in need. I'll start off with Aasimar, since it didn't seem appropriate to take it off topic any further and muddle the original point of the thread.

FR - Races of Faerun, page 112 under Aasimar (First Print: March 2003, not updated in FR - Players Guide to Faerun March 2004)

"Regions: Mulhorand, Unther, Chessenta

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 celestrial 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, or course.) While elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings with outsider ancestry are reputed to exist, those crossbreeds are not true aasimar.

Aasimar look human except for one distinguishing feature related to their ancestor. Some examples of these features (and the ancestors that cause them) are:
golden eyes
silver hair
emerald skin (planetar)
feathers at the shoulders (astral deva, avoral celestrial, planetar, solar, trumpet archon)
feathers in hair (avoral celestrial)
pearly opalescent eyes (ghaele celestial)
powerful ringing voice (lillend, trumpet archon)
brilliant topaz eyes (solar)
silvery or golden skin (solar)
iridescent scales in small patches (couatl or lillend)

Aasimar understand 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 assimar 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 Faerun are derived from the deities of Mulhorand. When the mortal incarnations of the Mulhorandi pantheon defeated the Imaskari (see the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, page 185), 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 marraiges to pureblooded 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 neighbors. 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 eny and respect. The lucky ones recieve occasional guidance and advice from their celestial ancestor, and these assimar are more likely to exemplify the stereotypical celestial virtues.

Because an aasimar's favored class is paladin, a majority of them follow that path, at least for a time. The philosophy of the paladin class resonates in the assimars' hearts, and they are innately suited for a career championing law and good. Some aasimar, particularly those descended from a nonlawful outsider, instead become clerics, since they are naturally wiser and more charismatic than most humans. Even aasimar who don't become divine spellcasters gravitate towards 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 assimar blackguard or sorceror 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.

Aasimar Characters

Because most of them feel the pull of deific power so keenly, aasimar are often clerics or paladins. Some aasimar bring their otherwordly sensibilities to the art of music, becoming accomplished bards. Rarer still are aasimar who fall in love with Faerun's deep wilderness, becoming druids and rangers.
Favored Class: Paladin. Aasimar's very blood compels them to seek out and oppose evil, wherever it may lurk."
Prestige Classes: Divine champions, divine disciples (not in NWN2), and heirophants (not in NWN2) are the most common prestige classes for aasimar."

Feel free to ask away, ye who have questions. And it doesn't have to be -just- Forgotten Realms.

[undeadsteak]

What exactly are Astral Devas and avoral Celestials? Im not too familiar with angely junk in FR lore.. Yay devils n demons .

[Dragoncleric]

Oh I'm a PnP player.
Except now with the official annoucnement for 4th ediion coming out next year...welI'm not bothering bying new books yet. (Had to dump my old ones during a move, keeping my Warhammer ones)

You may want to extend the descriptions for some of the other plane touched and ECL races (especially the Gensai when they come out in the expansion) Just so they get the hint about us.

[WinterLegacy]

I wouldn't hold my breath for 4th edition, Dragoncleric. Word is, they're returning to the 1st edition class system - in other words, unless you're human, your race is your class, and vice-versa.
Of course, this is just a rumour from the gaming stores in my area; their biggest complaint is that 4th ed. is confirmed to have a strictly limited OGL, and only available for a select few companies (the ones with the highest profits, of course). Elitism ftl.

[GodBeastX]

What exactly are Astral Devas and avoral Celestials? Im not too familiar with angely junk in FR lore.. Yay devils n demons .

ALRIGHT, let me see if I can handle this one, satoshi.

Astral Devas are a type of "Celestial". They come from the "Upper" planes or the place where the good guys hang out. You can call them heavens I guess.

Anyway, like Demons (But not as diverse) they come in flavors and power levels. I'll try to mix this into my reference.

Agathinon - These are like, the minion/warrior angels that pop in and do stuff.
Deva - Higher up and come in a few styles. Astral being one of them.
Planetar - These are the generals and badasses you usually see in D&D. They are noted for that green skin and the wings, you guys know em when you see em. They will beat the shit out of demons/devils.

Solar - These are the ones when Vegeta sees them he goes "It's OVER 9000!". They are the ones who are close to good gods or super good guys in heaven and crap. They're mighty.

Like, to give you an example, they have 15/dr to anything except super evil weapons. Huge regen, huge Spell Rsist, immunity to cold and acid. Resistance to electricity and fire. Has 20th level cleric spells, all sorts of feats like Great Cleave. Shape change into whatever form they pretty much wants. Spell-like abilities including shit like Powerword Kill, Wish, prismatic spray, and crap. Detect Evil on a whim and True Seeing. See invis, discern lies, etc etc. Oh, and 22 hit dice of hp. With stats like Str 28, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 23, Wis 25, Cha 25.

Yeah, find me a balor to fight my Solar please.

HOPE THAT CLEARS THINGS UP!

[GodBeastX]

Oh, and there's more than those guys too. There's things like Archons (You might remember the hound archon from NWN1).

[undeadsteak]

Ooh, was the sleeepnig man a Planetar? ANd im really confused.. What exactly do the heavens and hells and abyss do in the FR lore? I thought when somone dies they go to their Deity's Place or whatever, and the faithless go into Kelmevors Walls. Is it simply a place for celestials, devils, n demons to call home?

[Satoshi]

Yes, the 'Sleeping Man' from NWN: Hordes of the Underdark was a planetar.

As for your secondary question, that one takes a bit of explaination. Unlike in the planar handbook, the manual of planes, or the player's handbook - Forgotten Reams does not follow 'The Great Wheel' cosmology. It has it's own, 'seperate yet connected' cosmology. It is described as the 'tree of life', in that the Material Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow are all intertwined in a sort of trunk, with branches leading to most of the various planes. The Astral Plane, as always, surrounds everything and is within and without, providing the entire structure. The Plane of Shadow has several portals that lead to all 'alternate material' planes, including but not limited to the Greyhawk world of Oerth. This is where the reason spells bearing the name of famous Greyhawk mages (Otiluke's, Otto's, Mordenkaiden's, Tenser's, Bigby's, Rary's, etc.) exist in Faerun as well.

Then, the branches expand outwards:

As a note: The World Tree is a landmark that spans all of the celestial realms from it's roots in Arvandor and Dwarfhome, to it's peak at the very Gate of the Moon. Likewise, the River of Blood runs stagnantly through all of the fiendish planes, save for the Supreme Throne, and the Demonweb Pits.

Plane of Shadow - The link to all other material planes, and home of the gods Mask and Shar.

Inner Planes
Elemental Plane of Air
Elemental Plane of Earth
Elemental Plane of Fire
Elemental Plane of Water
Positive Energy Plane
Negative Energy Plane

Celestial Planes
Arvandor - Home of the Elven Pantheon, where Eilistraee is allowed to reside with her cousins.
Brightwater - Home of Lliira, Sharess, Sune, Tymora, and Waukeen.
Dwarfhome - Unlike most of the other planes, there are no known portals from Dwarfhome to the other planes(Astral aside). Home of the entire non-evil Dwarven Pentheon ( and the evil dwarf god Abbathor resides here, not exiled to Hammergrim).
Dweomerheart - The equivalent of a plane of magic, if such a thing existed, this is the home plane of Mystra, Azuth, Savras, and Velsharoon.
The Gates of the Moon - A night-land of everpresent moonlight where lycanthropes can change shape freely. Home of Selune, Finder Wyvernspur, and Shaundakul.
Golden Hills - Seven rolling hills, and home to the Gnomish Pantheon.
Green Fields - The fields of the halfling deities.
The House of Knowledge - Home of Oghma, Milil, Deneir, and Gond, whom with their little plane hold every spell, magic item, song, and fact in about the entire universe.
The House of the Triad - Realm of the Archons and Archon Paragons - Celestia - exists here, and is also home to Helm, Torm, Tyr, Siamorphe, and Ilmatar.

Neutral Planes
Dragon Eyrie - An enormous mountaintop where a portion of the draconian pantheon resides. Home of Hlal, Null, Task, and Tiamat.
Heliopolis - This is the ancient home of the Mulhorandi pantheon. It is strikingly similar to the Egyptian pantheon, considering it is, in fact, almost completely unchanged.
The House of Nature - Home of Chauntea, Eldath, Gwaeron, Lathander, Lurue, Mielikki, Nobanion, Shiallia, Silvanus, and Ubtao. It is also the home of a great number of guardinal paragons who have near-deific status as patrons of specific kinds of animals.
Jotunheim - The land of Giants, where the gods Annam, Grolantor, Hiatea, Ialannis, Memnor, Skoraeus Stonebones, Surtr, Thyrm, Stronmaus, and Vaprak the Destroyer all reside.
Warrior's Rest - Like Clangor and Nishrek, the inhabitants of this realm are constantly at war in a most chaotic fashion: they have no constant loyalty, no single affiliation. A warrior who falls and rises again joins the team that brought hime down. Red Knight, the only lawful presence, is at a social disadvantage. Garagos, Tempus, Uthgar, and Valkur also wage war eternally here.

Fiendish Planes
The Abyss - The endless layers of demons.
The Barrens of Doom and Despair - Self Explainatory. Home of Beshaba, Hoar, Loviatar, and Talona.
Blood Rift - An endless battlefield, and home of the vast majority of Yugoloth.
Clangor - An abysmal battlefield, though unlike the Blood Rift, the wars here are of native races. Home of Hruggek, Kurtulmak, and Maglubiyet.
Deep Caverns - Home of The Great Mother of the Beholders, Ilsensine of the Illithids, and the troglodyte god Laogzed.
The Demonweb Pits - Home of the Drow Pantheon, where Lolth, Seveltarm, Kairansalee, Vhaerun, and the Ooze god Ghaunadar reside.
Fated Depths - Home of the aquetic gods Sekolah of the Sahuagin and Blibdoolpoolp of the Kuo-toa.
Fury's Heart - Similar to the Barrens in that it is desolate and lifeless, this plane is rather a constant barrage of howling storms. This plane contains the realms of Auril, Malar, Talos, and Umberlee.
Hammergrim - Home of the remaining evil dwarf gods Deep Deurra and Laduguer, as well as Urdlen (the evil gnome god), who digs through the realm with little concern to anything - even his followers.
The Nine Hells - The Nine Layers ruled by the Archfiends, led by Asmodeus. The only way to enter Baator is through Avernus, unless some portal links them to a specific layer. Avernus also touches the Blood Rift, and is therefore the staging point of the Blood War army.
Nishrek - Home of the Orc pantheon: Gruumsh, Bahgtru, Ilneval, Luthic, Shargaas, and Yurtrus.
The Supreme Throne - The utterly mad, and almost as evil rrealm of Cyric, which he plans to rule the planes from. He's obviously an idiot.

Unconnected
The Fugue Plane - All mortal souls are drawn here for retrieval from various agents. While the Fugue Plane exists outside of the normal cosmology, divineservants can travel here. A portal also exists to the Nine Hells, as part of an agreement the Baatazu have with Kelemvor, and an occassional demon lord opens portals to raid for souls from the Wall. It is otherwise impossible to travel to or from the Fugue Plane, and souls cannot leave of their own volition (unless they are doing it by signing themselves to the Hells). Jergal and Kelemvor reside here.
Cynisure - A neutral meeting grounds for all of the deities of the Forgotten Realms. Magic does not function here, divine or otherwise. It is a true safehouse, and cannot be entered by mortals.


Hope that helps!

[undeadsteak]

All right, thanks. That srs. helps

[GodBeastX]

YEah, Gods make their "Places" inside alot of these planes. Good gods in the upper planes, evil whereever. Like Lolth was in the Abyss for awhile with Demons before she moved her crib to her own plane.

[Tlantl]

I wouldn't hold my breath for 4th edition, Dragoncleric. Word is, they're returning to the 1st edition class system - in other words, unless you're human, your race is your class, and vice-versa.
Of course, this is just a rumour from the gaming stores in my area; their biggest complaint is that 4th ed. is confirmed to have a strictly limited OGL, and only available for a select few companies (the ones with the highest profits, of course). Elitism ftl.

Not quite:

http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=4e

this is what wwe know so far.

I would like to know who gets the video game.

I've read the whole page (it's long) and I like most of the things they are talking about. The class race and level model still holds sway, they are just changing how they work.

[WinterLegacy]

Not quite:

http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=4e

this is what wwe know so far.

I would like to know who gets the video game.

I've read the whole page (it's long) and I like most of the things they are talking about. The class race and level model still holds sway, they are just changing how they work.

Ahh, so it has separate classes, and race "advancement" works through racial feats. That doesn't sound so bad. In fact, I think WoW d20 does that already.

Glad to know my worst fears were unfounded. Maybe it'll be good, then.

[GodBeastX]

Ahh, so it has separate classes, and race "advancement" works through racial feats. That doesn't sound so bad. In fact, I think WoW d20 does that already.

Glad to know my worst fears were unfounded. Maybe it'll be good, then.

The whole design of DnD4 seems VERY WoW-esque. Same classes with specialization trees. Etc. Very Blizzard-style. probably helps for balance too, because instead of new classes, you implement new trees.