Introduction
Aasimars are the go-to option for players who want to play a character withclear celestial influence. They have been through several major design changesover the years (see Aasimar Versions, below), but the celestial theme and someof their traits have remained a constant.
The version of the Aasimar published in Volo’s Guide to Monsters gets threesubraces to choose from. While it’s never explicitly stated, it’s implied thatthe Protector and Scourge are intended to be good-aligned, while the fallen isintended to be evil-aligned. From a more mechanical perspective, the threesubraces provide a different ability score increase and transformation, makingeach viable in different sets of builds and classes. Of course, with thecustom origin rules in place, the difference between the three comes down totheir transformation.
The transformations all apply a damage boost which applies to damage you dealon your turn with an attack or a spell. Since the transformation only worksfor one minute per long rest, you want to get as much mileage as possible. Ifpossible, use multi-target effects like AOE damage spells, or make numerousattacks in the same turn. Keep in mind that the damage is reduced byresistances, targets passing saving throws, etc. so if you rely on AOE damagespells you’ll likely want to apply the bonus damage to a target that fails itssave.
The updated version of the Aasimar published in Monsters of the Multiverse shares similar transformation effects to the version in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, but with a Bonus Action activation and severely reduced damage. The core concepts of the transformations are the same, but Radiant Consumption no longer hurts you, so all three options are at least worth considering for any class.
The DMG version of the Aasimar, often overlooked by most groups, is still aperfectly functional race. It shares the original Protector Aasimar’s abilityscore increases, and their Darkvision and damage resistances, but instead ofHealing Hands, Light, and Transformation, the variant Aasimar just gets someinnate spellcasting.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Disclaimer
- Aasimar Versions
- Aasimar Classes
- Aasimar Classes (Customizable Origins, DMG Variant and VGtM)
- Classes (Classic Rules, DMG Variant and VGtM)
Disclaimer
RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.
- Red: Bad, useless options, or options whichare extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
- Orange: OK options, or useful optionsthat only apply in rare circ*mstances. Useful sometimes.
- Green: Good options. Useful often.
- Blue: Fantastic options, often essentialto the function of your character. Useful very frequently.
We will not include 3rd-party content, including content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content because we can’t assume that your game will allow 3rd-party content or homebrew. We also won’t cover Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t guarantee that it will be available to you in your games.
The advice offered below is based on the current State of the Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically changes as new source materials are released, and the article will be updated accordingly as time allows.
Aasimar Versions
The Aasimar has the most complicated version history of any race except theEladrin. There are effectively 5 versions of the Aasimar, and no one can faultyou for getting them mixed up.
The first version of the Aasimar was published in the Dungeon Master’s Guide as an example how to create your own homebrew race. This version is typically referred to as the “Variant Aasimar”, which is confusing because it’s not a variant of anything. This version of Aasimar was somewhat flashier than many of the core races, so in 5e’s early years most people didn’t consider it usable. But wasn’t any more powerful than the races in the Player’s Handbook, and as 5e’s race options have proliferated, the Variant Aasimar has become more accepted as newer races options prove that similar races aren’t going to break your game.
The second verison of the Aasimar was a complete rewrite, and while there areclear thematic similarities and some overlapping traits, the official Aasimaris technically a different race (at least mechanically). This versionintroduced three Aasimar subraces with their now-signature transformationtrait.
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything gave us two more versions when the customorigin rules were introduced, affecting both pre-existing versions of theAasimar.
Most recently, Monsters of the Multiverse gave us the 5th version of theAasimar, reprinting it to match updates to race design concepts. Like otherraces, the updated Aasimar uses the new ability score increase mechanics(+2/+1 or three +1s) and has a few other big changes. Healing Hands now uses apool of d4’s, so the amount healed starts higher at low levels but has a loweraverage than the original progression.
More notably, the Aasimar’s transformation trait was totally rewritten.Subraces were removed, the transformation was delayed to 3rd level, and nowrather than a subrace you select one of the three transformation optionsavailable to the original subraces. The activation action was reduced to aBonus Action and the damage was reduced to your Proficiency Bonus, so whileit’s much easier to fit into a turn, it’s also much less impactful. RadiantConsumption also no longer hurts you.
Aasimar Classes
This section assumes that you’re using the option “Customizing Your Origin” rules presented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. If you’re not using those rules, scroll down to the next section.
Artificer
Healing Hands can take some pressure off of you to select healing spells, andCelestial Resistance provides damage resistances that the Artificer can’tprovide on their own. Radiant Consumption is good for melee builds, andRadiant Soul provides temporary flight if you’re not high enough level toinfuse Winged Boots.
Barbarian
Two damage resistances, a minor healing option, and Darkvision provide a lotof things that barbarians can’t provide on their own. The Aasimar’stransformation is easy to fit into a turn since many barbarians don’t usetheir Bonus Action on every turn. Radiant Consumption is likely your bestCelestial Revelation option since barbarians struggle to handle crowds. Thedamage isn’t massive and the AOE isn’t very big, but it’ll add up quickly in acrowded melee fight.
Bard
Healing Hands reduces the need for you to learn healing spells, but I wouldstill learn Healing Word because it’s such a good spell. Celestial Revelationoffers some helpful utility options, but the damage boost is often difficultbecause so many of the Bard’s best options don’t deal damage. Necrotic Shroudcan be helpful for melee bards, especially if combat is getting too intensefor you, but any bard can make good use of Radiant Spirit’s temporaryflight.
Cleric
Healing Hands will save you a spell slot, and Celestial Resistance willprotect you from damage types which many clerics need to worry about fromother clerics and from undead. Necrotic Shroud is good for clerics built formelee, and works very well alongside things like Word of Radiance and SpiritGuardians. For less durable clerics, Radiant Soul’s flight provides a greatflight option which clerics often can’t match.
Druid
The Aasimar works for the Druid for the same reasons that it works for the Cleric. Radiant Consumption is really only useful for Circle of Spores, but Radiant Soul is still the best for the majority of druids.
I’m not certain which of the Aasimar’s traits work while using Wild Shape, and the answer to that determines whether or not this is useful for Circle of the Moon. Whatever the answer is, I think Celestial Resistance and Celestial Revelation would follow the same rule. I love the idea of a bear suddenly glowing and growing angelic wings, but I have no idea if it’s allowed. As a DM I would allow it, but talk to your own DM before you settle on the character concept.
Fighter
Radiant Soul provides easy flight that works in heavy armor, and even if you don’t need the flight, the damage boost is nice. If you don’t care about flight, Radiant Consumption is great for handling crowds. Healing Hands is nice for sharing (you have Second Wind for yourself), and Celestial Resistance provides resistances that you can’t get from most magic items or from spells that your allies can cast.
Monk
Radiant Consumption is good if you worry about crowds and Radiant Soulprovides flight that most monks simply can’t match. Two damage resistances aregreat on the monk since monks are relatively frail compared to otherfront-line martial classes, and most monks don’t have built-in healingoptions, so Healings Hands is useful if your allies go down.
Paladin
Radiant Consumption is great for crowds and Radiant Soul gets you flight inheavy armor. Necrotic Shroud is an option since paladins have decent Charisma,but the fear effect isn’t great unless you’re going for Oath of Conquest.
Ranger
Melee rangers should consider Radiant Consumption and ranged rangers shouldgo for Radiant Soul. Healing Hands removes the temptation to learn Cure Woundsas an emergency healing option, leaving room in you limited spells known formore interesting things.
Rogue
Melee builds might take Radiant Consumption to handle crowds, but crowds arenot a great situation for rogues unless you’re hiding in them. More likelyyou’ll go for Radiant Spirit.
Sorcerer
Radiant Spirit is your best option. Necrotic Shroud looks tempting becausethe DC is Charisma-based, but the range is tiny and if you’re stuck in meleeit’s probably not going to save you. You either need to Disengage orteleport.
Warlock
For hexblades, Necrotic Shroud and Radiant Consumption are both options. I’mhesitant to recommend Radiant Consumption as a way to handle crowds becauseeven hexblades are fairly frail, so wading into a crowd is dangerous. It’stypically best to pull back and cast Hunger of Hadar. Necrotic Shroud’s fearoption isn’t great, but the DC is Charisma-based so if anyone’s going to useit successfully it’s a hexblade.
For other warlocks, Radiant Spirit is your best option by far.
Wizard
Radiant Soul gets you flight and a damage boost without Concentration. But ifthat’s all you’re here for, a flying race like the Fairy or the Owlin isprobably a better choice. The Aasimar’s damage resistances are difficult forthe Wizard to replicate, and with nearly no healing options Healing Hands is agood way to save a dying ally.
Aasimar Classes (Customizable Origins, DMG Variant and VGtM)
This section assumes that you’re using the option “Customizing Your Origin” rules presented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. If you’re not using those rules, scroll down to the next section.
With the addition of the Customizing Your Origin rules, the only thing whichdistinguishes aasimar subraces is the subraces’ transformations, and matchingthe transformation to your class is an important decision. Fallen is great forclasses that are sometimes in melee, but aren’t built to be a front-linedefender, like the Rogue. Scourge is good for durable front-line classes withbig piles of hit points like the Barbarian or the Fighter, as well as classeswith the ability to heal themselves like the Cleric and the Paladin. Protectoris great for spellcasters and ranged attackers because it offers flightwithout Concentration, allowing you to stay in the air even if you take a fewhits.
Artificer
The Fallen Aasimar works for melee artificers and the Protector Aasimar worksfor ranged artificers, though the Fallen Aasimar’s Charisma-based save DC willbe a problem. The Scourge is too risky with the Artificer’s d8 hit points andlimited healing capabilities. The Variant Aasimar works, but the innatespellcasting doesn’t add anything that the Artificer needs and can’t alreadyprovide.
Barbarian
The Protector Aasimar gives the Barbarian easy access to flight, and thedamage bonus will be reliable thanks to Reckless Attack. Scourge is a verytempting option for the Barbarian because it both helps to handle crowds aswell as focusing on large single targets. You can even use Healing Hands whileraging, though the healing isn’t big enough that it’s worth the action unlessit’s an emergency.
Bard
The Aasmiar’s innate spellcasting is a good complement to the Bard’scapabilities, and the damage resistances are nice for a fairly frail class.For melee bards, the Fallen Aasimar’s Necrotic Shroud is a great crowd controloption with a Charisma-based DC. For bards focusing on spellcasting, Protectoris an easy choice. The DMG Variant Aasimar’s additional spellcasting istempting, but doesn’t add anthing that the Bard can’t already do.
Cleric
The Aasimar’s innate spellcasting is redundant with the Cleric’s features,especially for the DMG Variant Aasimar. Even so, the Scourge Aasimar’s RadiantConsumption is a tempting option for a class with abundant magical healing,and the Protector Aasimar gives and easy option for flight in combat which canoften be difficult for clerics to find.
Druid
The Aasimar’s innate spellcasting is redundant with the Druids’s features,especially for the DMG Variant Aasimar.
It’s unclear which, if any, of the Aasimar’s racial traits work whilewildshaped. The Aasimar draws their unique racial traits from their celestiallineage, so it makes sense that they wouldn’t work in a different form, butyou could also argue that things are more spiritual than biological. Talk toyour DM about it.
Fighter
The Aasimar’s innate spellcasting doesn’t help the Fighter much, but thedamage resistances are hard to replicate and can protect the Fighter frompowerful foes like celestials and undead. Fallen is a tempting option, butmost fighters won’t have the Charisma to make Necrotic Shroud’s DC reliable.Scourge can work, but the self-inflicted damage from Radiant Consumption isdifficult to manage without a lot of built-in healing. Protector is probablythe easiest choice, allowing melee builds to get into melee with flying foesand allowing ranged builds to get out of reach.
Monk
The Aasimar’s innate spellcasting does little to help the Monk, but thedamage resistances are just as useful as they are for other martial classes,and Transformation offers an enticing damage option for a class which can makeso many attacks right from level 1.
With no dependency on Charisma, the Fallen Aasimar’s Necrotic Shroud won’thave a reliable DC. The Protector Aasimar’s flight may be useful, andUnarmored Movement’s speed bonus will apply to the flight speed. Scourge lookstempting on a melee class, but with few healing options it’s a hard choice. Itmay work for Way of Mercy, provided that you’re willing to spend Ki to healyourself repeatedly in combat.
Paladin
Every variety of aasimar works for the Paladin. Fallen works great for ahigh-Charisma build, so Blessed Warrior builds are an excellent choice.Protector is a natural choice, allowing you to handly flying enemies withoutrelying on allied spellcasters or magic items. Scourge is great for handlingcrowds, which is normally hard for the Paladin due to their almost completelack of area damage options. The DMG Variant Aasimar provides early access tospellcasting options which paladins don’t normally get until well into theircareer due to their slow spellcasting progression.
Ranger
Protector’s flight is great for the Ranger. Scourge may also work, but theRanger’s healing options are very limited, so be cautious about your hitpoints.
Rogue
The Aasimar provides some magical options not normally available to theRogue, but subclass options are difficult. Protector is almost certainly yourbest choice.
Sorcerer
The Aasimar offers access to some options which the Sorcerer can normallyonly get from Divine Soul. Fallen looks tempting due to Necrotic Shroud’sCharisma-based DC, but most sorcerers don’t want to be in melee to use it, sostick to the Protector Aasimar for flight or the DMG Variant Aasimar foraccess to Lesser Restoration.
Warlock
The Warlock offers a lot of great options for the Aasimar. Fallen Aasimar area good choice for hexblades built for melee, and the Protector is a greatoption for caster warlocks looking to get off the ground occasionally. Scourgemay be hard due to the Warlock’s d8 hit dice and lack of healing options. TheDMG Variant Aasimar may work for celestial warlocks looking to serve as theirparty’s healer, offering access to Lesser Restoration so you can do more thanjust restore hit points.
Wizard
The Protector’s access to flight is an easy option for the Wizard, but few ofthe Aasimar’s other traits directly benefit the Wizard.
Classes (Classic Rules, DMG Variant and VGtM)
This section assumes that you’re not using the option “Customizing Your Origin” rules presented in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything or the updated version of the race published in Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse. If you are using those rules, scroll up to the previous section.
Artificer
Bad ability spread. The damage boosts from Transformation would work great,but without and Intelligence increase you’ll lag behind other artificers mostof the time.
Barbarian
The Fallen Aasimar’s Strength bonus and their Necrotic Shroud ability workfine for the Barbarian, but the Aasimar’s other subraces and the core racialtraits do very little for the Barbarian.
Bard
A +2 Charisma increase is a great start for a bard, and Healing Hands andLight Bearer provide magic options which will open up space in your cantripsand spells known.
Your choice of subrace will likely depend on your subclass. Fallen Aasimarmight work as Sword or Valor bards, but Strength is generally a poor choicefor bards planning to use weapons. Scourge Aasimar works great offensively,but you’ll fall behind expected attack bonus and damage with weapons until youpick up at least one Ability Score Increase, and the Bard doesn’t have enoughhit points for the Scourge Aasimar’s Transformation to be safe. ProtectorAasimar offers access to flight, making it a safe option for bards focused onspellcasting.
Cleric
Despite their Charisma increase offering very little to clerics, the Aasimarstill makes a decent cleric. Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage isgreat for a class which frequently confronts celestials and/or undead, andHealing Hands is a useful complement to your healing spells..
Protector Aasimar is the go-to option for aasimar clerics because of theirWisdom increase, and Radiant Soul allows you to fly and deal a bunch of extradamage for one minute per day. Scourge and Fallen Aasimar can both workdepending on your choice of domain and your role in the party, but yourspellcasting may lag behind at low levels until you pick up some Ability ScoreIncreases. If you don’t want to deal with Transformation, the DMG VariantAasimar’s innate spellcasting could be a good option.
Druid
The Protector Aasimar provides a Wisdom increase and access to flight whenyou need it in combat, plus the innate spellcasting nicely complements theDruid’s spellcasting.
It’s unclear which, if any, of the Aasimar’s racial traits work whilewildshaped. The Aasimar draws their unique racial traits from their celestiallineage, so it makes sense that they wouldn’t work in a different form, butyou could also argue that things are more spiritual than biological. Talk toyour DM about it.
Fighter
Purple Dragon Knight is the only archetype where Aasimar is a truly good fit,especially for a Fallen Aasimar. Scourge Aasimar are fine, but their lack of aStrength or Dexterity increase can be crippling for a low-level fighter untilyou pick up a few ability score increases.
Monk
Almost nothing useful for the Monk.
Paladin
Aasimar make natural paladins. Charisma supports many paladin features, andBlessed Warrior makes a Charisma-heavy build not just possible but also veryeffective. Scourge aasimar are a great option for durable paladins, and fallenaasimar are great offensive options, and their flavor makes sense foroathbreaker paladins. Protector aasimar typically work better as clerics, butthe flight is still very appealing. The DMG Variant Aasimar’s innatespellcasting offers access to Lesser Restoration long before the Paladin wouldnormally get it, making it a tempting option in a party without a cleric or adruid.
Ranger
Nothing useful for the Ranger.
Rogue
Bad ability spread.
Sorcerer
A Charisma increase is the most important part of your race selection for theSorcerer, but the Aasimar also gives you resistance to two damage types and anoption for healing which arcane spellcasters usually can’t replicate.
Protector is an easy choice for spellcasters because it provides access toflight without Concentration. Scourge may be an option for sorcerers worriedabout being pulled into close quarters, but Radiant Consumption will burnthrough your hit points very quickly.
Warlock
Like the Sorcerer, the Warlock needs Charisma first and foremost.
Protector is an easy choice for spellcasters because it provides access toflight without Concentration. Scourge may be an option for sorcerers worriedabout being pulled into close quarters, but Radiant Consumption will burnthrough your hit points very quickly.
Wizard
Bad ability spread.
