Homebrew Astral Elf Species Details

Long ago, groups of elves ventured from the Feywild to the Astral Plane to be closer to their gods. Life in the Silver Void has imbued their souls with a spark of divine light. That light manifests as a starry gleam in an astral elf’s eyes. Because nothing ages in the Astral Plane, astral elves from that plane are thousands of years old, and their longevity gives them an unusual perspective on time. Some are prone to melancholy, while others display an absence of feeling. Many look for creative ways to occupy themselves. Whether they choose to live in quiet contemplation or strike out to explore the reaches of the multiverse, they tend to see things through the lens of time as having little or no meaning to them.

Creating Your Character

At 1st level, you choose some of the abilities you have gained, shaped by your experience in the Astral Plane. Follow these additional rules during character creation.

Ability Score Increases

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

Languages

Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign. 

Age

Astral elves who don’t dwell on the Astral Plane can live to be over 750 years old.

Astral Elf Traits

As an Astral Elf, you have the following racial traits.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. You are Medium.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Astral Fire

You know one of the following cantrips of your choice: dancing lights, light, or sacred flame. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it (choose when you select this race).

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Fey Ancestry

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Keen Senses

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Radiant Soul

When you succeed on a death save, you can regain a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier (choose when you select this race). You can’t use this trait again until you finish a long rest.

Trance

You don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep. You can finish a long rest in 4 hours if you spend those hours in a trancelike meditation, during which you remain conscious.

Whenever you finish a long rest using your Trance trait, you gain two proficiencies, each one with a weapon or a tool of your choice (selected from the “Equipment” chapter of the Player’s Handbook). You mystically acquire these proficiencies by drawing them from shared elven memory, and you retain them until you finish your next long rest.