Homebrew Astral Genasi Species Details

Designed by Steve Fidler. Published in the Spelljammers Guide to the Galaxy (pg 5).

The astral genasi are humanoids who—over the aeons and through exposure to the magics of the Astral Plane—have evolved into a stellar form. Astral genasi are capable of shapeshifting between multiple distinct forms, and each body type is unique to the region of the Astral Plane it represents. Some astral genasi spend all their lives in one form, and as a result, many outsiders and astral genasi alike believe that each form is the result of a unique lineage. Typically, astral genasi adventurers become comfortable changing their form, shifting their biology to suit the environment.

Genasi

Tracing their ancestry to the genies of the Elemental Planes, each genasi can tap into the power of one of the elements. Air, earth, fire, and water—these are the four pillars of the Material Plane and the four types of genasi. Some genasi are direct descendants of a genie, while others were born to non-genasi parents who lived near a place suffused by a genie’s magic.

A typical genasi has a life span of 120 years.

Creating Your Character

At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, 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.

Creature Type

Every creature in D&D, including each player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A race tells you what your character’s creature type is.

Here’s a list of the game’s creature types in alphabetical order: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the cure wounds spell doesn’t work on a Construct or an Undead.

Life Span

The typical life span of a player character in the D&D multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t meet a violent end on an adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s description.

Height and Weight

Player characters, regardless of race, typically fall into the same ranges of height and weight that humans have in our world. If you’d like to determine your character’s height or weight randomly, consult the Random Height and Weight table in the Player's Handbook, and choose the row in the table that best represents the build you imagine for your character.

Astral Genasi Traits

As an astral genasi, you have the following traits.

Astral Flight

Due to your nature, you have a flying speed equal to 5 × the highest of your mental ability score modifiers. While in the Astral Sea, you can fly at a speed equal to 5 × the highest of your mental ability scores.

Astral Magic

You know the dancing lights cantrip. Your highest mental ability score is your spellcasting ability modifier for it.

Form

Your body can take on the properties of a nearby celestial body. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can adopt the closest form associated with your current environment. Each form changes your appearance, and gives you new traits as described below:

NEBULA FORM. Your body becomes amorphous and gaseous. You can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide, along with anything you are wearing or carrying. If you’ve moved at least 15 feet since the start of your last turn, ranged weapon attacks made against you have disadvantage.

PLANETARY FORM. Your body becomes rocky and firm. As long as you are standing, you have advantage on ability checks or saving throws to resist being pushed, pulled, or knocked prone. Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage that you take from nonmagical attacks is reduced by 2.

STAR FORM. Your body becomes brilliant and warm. You have resistance to fire and radiant damage. As a bonus action, you can shed bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light for an additional 60 feet, or stop shedding light. If you take this bonus action while grappling a creature, the grappled creature takes radiant damage equal to your level.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 feet.