Homebrew Ardling Species Details

Ardlings are supernal beings who are either born on the Upper Planes or have one or more ancestors who originated there. Their bright souls shine with the light of immortal beings who call the Upper Planes home. Ardlings vary greatly in physical appearance, resembling the diverse native beings of the Upper Planes - the animal headed Guardinals of Elysium, the Ki-Rin of Mount Celestia, the Sphinxes of Arborea, the Foo Creatures of the Beastlands, the Treants of Bytopia, and Arcadia's wondrous animals with metallic feathers and fur.

An Ardling might have vibrant colored skin, ornate feathers in place of hair, a single pearl horn in the center of their forehead, a thick golden mane, soft fur with glowing patterns, gnarled bark-like growths, fine shimmering scales, or even the head of an animal associated with a divine power. Each Ardling is an individual, and the expression of their immortal souls in their outward appearance is as varied as they are. An ardling gains a measure of magical power from their celestial legacy, as well as the ability to manifest spectral wings. An ardling’s moral and ethical outlook is self-determined, however, not fixed by ancestry.

The three celestial legacies are as follows:

Exalted

The fierce passions of Arborea, the heroic heart of Ysgard, and the wondrous nature of the Beastlands call to ardlings who have the Exalted celestial legacy. Their celestial ancestors are heroic champions of the Chaotic Good planes.

Heavenly

The blissful harmony of Arcadia, the unwavering justice of Mount Celestia, and the bucolic paradise of Bytopia touch the souls of ardlings who have the Heavenly celestial legacy. Their celestial ancestors are staunch defenders of the Lawful Good planes.

Idyllic

The Idyllic celestial legacy connects ardlings not only to the Beastlands and Bytopia but also to the eternal compassion of Elysium. Their celestial ancestors are paragons of kindness who hail from the Neutral Good planes.

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.

Ardling Traits

As an ardling, you have the following racial traits.

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.

Supernal Resistance

You have resistance to radiant damage.

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.

Angelic Flight

Starting at 1st level, as a bonus action, you sprout spectral wings for a moment and fly up to a number of feet equal to your speed. When you reach 3rd level, you can extend this flight by expending a bonus action on your turn for up to 1 minute or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell). From 5th level, this flight lasts for 1 minute without the need for concentration. If you are in the air at the start of your turn and you do not or cannot expend a bonus action, you fall if nothing is holding you aloft.

You can use Angelic Flight a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Celestial Legacy

You are the recipient of a celestial legacy that grants you magical abilities. Choose a legacy from the Celestial Legacies table. You gain the initial benefit of the chosen legacy: a cantrip that you learn. You also choose the animal you most closely resemble; the table provides a few suggestions for each legacy.
Starting at 3rd level and again at 5th level, you gain the ability to cast a higher-level spell with this trait, as shown on the table. Once you cast the spell with this trait, you can’t cast that
spell with it again until you finish a long rest; however, you can cast the spell using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.

Legacy	Suggested Animals	1st Level	3rd Level	5th Level
Exalted	Cat, eagle, goat, deer	Thaumaturgy	Divine Favor	Lesser Restoration
Heavenly	Elephant, owl, jackal, stork	Dancing Lights	Heroism	Aid
Idyllic	Bear, dog, raven, crocodile	Guidance	Shield of Faith	Animal Messenger