Homebrew Astaru Species Details

 

"We are the shepherds of the cosmos" *He said as he turned his hand on the massive holographic display. His robed arms and hands manipulated the controls as the projection before the gathered students. The image enlarged into twelve starry bubbles floating in a sea of swirling colors.* "We keep the balance amongst the realms, we keep them from overtaking one another." *The students watched with wonder as The Feeling of Accomplishment put his blue hand against his temple and closed his eyes. Slowly, one of the starry bubbles on the display began to move. Sweat ran down Accomplishment’s temple, but his face showed no sign of struggle. The bubble moved slowly through the colors, leaving a rippling wake behind it. When the bubble came to rest he opened his eyes back up and let a bright, if not weary smile cross his face.* "Most of what you learn to do here will never be understood by the planet-dwellers, but it is oh, so important." *he paused a moment* "Now, does anybody have any questions?" *Every hand of the assembled students shot up.*

— Observations from Accomplishment's Lectures

To understand the movements of galaxies and nebulae, to calculate the trajectories of ships and asteroids and then adjust them to your benefit, to have the solutions to complex puzzles seem to present themselves to you, this is the mind of an Astaru. The Astaru are a starfaring race that is new to the peoples of Eberron. Isolationist and mysterious, most Eberronians have never met an actual Asteru. They are humanoid, with blue skins that range from deep, almost-black navy to gentle, almost-white blue. Curved pointed ears and lean bodies appear elvish to many, but their animalistic noses differentiate the two. The true signature mark of an Asteru is their skin. Asteru have freckle-like spots all over their bodies that shine in moon and starlight. These shining spots evoke images of the night sky on the blue Asteru skin and many Asteru even get constellations tattooed onto their bodies with glowing ink. The society of the Asteru is mostly contained within their spherical cities. These cities float within the Phlostigon, the space between realms, and are full of galactic schools and universities where they are educated in all number of trades and traditions. Most Astaru find life amongst these cities to be suitable, an enviornment in which they can hone their mind, their craft, or their studies. Some, however, leave the bubble cities to explore life outside of the Phlostigon. Their motives are as varied as the people themselves, but they universally draw eyes and whispers wherever they go.
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Welcome to the Stars

The Astaru are a new race to the peoples of Eberron, only discovered when refugees of Eberron's wars took to the stars. The Astaru faw their plight and took pity on them, sharing with them their technology and their knowledge, even teaching them the treasured methods of traversing the Phlostigon by *Spelljammers,* mystical, eldritch engines that allow ships to jump from system to system. The people of Eberron promptly weponized their new technologies and used them to render the planet of Eberron nearly uninhabitable. Horrified by these actions, the Astaru closed off their cities and universities to the peoples of Eberron and remain largely isolated to this day.

Shipbuilders, Mystics, and Adventurers

The main export of the Astaru people are the mysterious Spelljammers. Eldritch engines whose construction methods have remained a closly guarded secret, much to CannithCorps' chagrin. The production and sale of these engines supports most of Asteru society. Those who do not find themselves in the Spelljammer production world are typically academics, steeped in esoteric knowledge and always seeking more. The highest of these mystics are referred to as the "Illuminated" and they serve as shepherds of the cosmos and teachers at the most prestigious of the galactic universities. Over the years, a number of Asteru have left their cities to explore life outside the Phlostigon. Some feel called by the gods of the outsiders, others by trade. Curiosity, ambition, and even rebellion can send an Asteru into the universe. Whatever the reason, these few usually find themselves at the center of attention, for better or for worse, wherever they go.

Astaru Names

The Astaru people are able to communicate simple thoughts and feelings to one another via telepathy. As such, most of them don't choose spoken names. Instead, they choose ideas, feelings, or impressions to represent them. These feelings are unisex. Family names are typically translated as ideals. When the Asteru met the peoples of Eberron, who could not hear these feelings, they had to translate to spoken names. Most choose names that best describe their emotive name, but some adopt spoken names from whatever culture they find themselves most in contact with.

Emotive Names: Gratitude, Satisfaction, Peace, Epiphany, Joy, Responsibility, Determination, Young Love, Solitude, Satisfaction

Family Names: Dilligence, Intellect, Character, Loyalty, Compassion, Cleverness

THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE

Astaru are as varied as any race, but one unifying motivation of most Astaru is the quest for more knowledge. This can manifest in many different forms, with most Astaru sating their thirst with time in the massive libraries, engineering stations and universities of the spherical cities. Whether it's learning a better way to steer a ship, some esoteric tidbit about an ancient people, or deep magic, most Astaru find few feelings as gratifying as learning something new, especially if no one else learned it first. This makes the Astaru a naturally curious and ambitions people, forever on a quest to learn all there is to learn. However, sometimes this thirst for knowledge can become an obsession, and many Astaru have vanished into the Phlostigon seeking forbidden knowledge.

Astaru Traits

Astaru share certain racial traits as a result of their space-bound heritage.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age

Astaru mature at the same rate as humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 180 years. Those who reach "Illumination" however, can live much longer.

Alignment

Astaru typically see themselves as being outside the realm of the conflicts of good and evil, law and chaos. As such, they tend strongly towards neutrality, doing whatever they see as best for themselves and their people.

Size

Astaru are about the same size and build as humans, though typically more lean. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Astral Resistance

You have resistance to psychic damage.

Galactic Education

You have proficiency in the History skill and in Vehicles (Space).

Celestial Recall

You have advantage on all Intelligence saving throws.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Astaru.

Mind of the Cosmos

You know the  mage hand cantrip and can cast it without components (psionic;) the hand is invisible to the eye. When you reach third level you can cast the levitate spell with no components (psionic) once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the fly spell on yourself with no components (psionic) once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.