Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Angels (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Angels (PFRPG)
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Touched by benevolent beings of the good Outer Planes somewhere in their ancestry, aasimars are viewed with either awe or fear by all who know of their celestial heritage. Hailed as scions of angels at best or otherworldly bringers of heavenly destruction at worst, there is no doubt that aasimars hold a very special place in the world of mortals, and all know to be wary of their actions in the presence of an aasimar.

Blood of Angels presents a player-friendly overview of the aasimars of the Pathfinder campaign setting, as well as new rules and information to help players create unique and interesting celestial characters for any type of game.

    Inside this book, you’ll find:
  • Expansive entries on aasimars’ origins and upbringings, their psychologies, how others perceive them, and the beliefs such angelic beings hold in the face of their celestial mark.
  • A table of 100 variant aasimar abilities to further customize your blessed character.
  • A detailed look at the six most common types of aasimars based on their celestial heritage, including alternate ability score modifiers, skills, and spell-like abilities for each.
  • New curses, inquisitions, and subdomains for heavenly oracles, inquisitors, and clerics.
  • New masterpieces for aasimar bards and the martyred bloodline for sorcerers whose celestial ancestors made great sacrifices.
  • A host of new traits to help make your aasimar character truly unique, as well as dozens of bodily features that distinguish your celestial character.

Written by Amber E. Scott

Each bimonthly 32-page Pathfinder Player Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume’s theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for social, magic, religious, and combat-focused characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-438-2

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

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Highly Recommend and I want MORE

5/5

Between this, the Champions of Purity, and Faiths of Purity, I am highly impressed. These three really stand out in the Player's Companion line. It's very refreshing to have Player Material focused on the Good Alignments, though, not really being exclusively a book about Good, much of the content here is more orientated towards Good than Evil.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Tieflings, so I'm a bit bias towards Blood of Fiends in general, but this one, in my opinion, blows it and all of the other "Blood of" books out of the water, (up to and including Blood of Shadow currently). It's a fun read, with some solid crunch too. The alternative Heritages are a bit on the strong side, for lower level play only, but still interesting and cool.

This, along with the two above mentioned books are the standard for Player's Companions that Pathfinder should aim for. And in particular, albeit far too late not, this is also the minimum standard that all the "Blood of" serious SHOULD have aimed for.


Pretty much everything an Aasimar player needs

5/5

Aasimars in the setting? Check.
Society, culture? Check.
Class roles? Check.
Heritages? Check.
Variant abilities? Check.
Random Aasimar Appearance Generation Table? Check.
Feats, traits, spells? Check.

An extremely well written companion. It mirrors the Tiefling one, and that's GREAT. Wohoo. Here's to hoping that more "Blood of ..." books use this approach!


"Races Of" Heads to Higher Ground

5/5

A wonderfully indepth look into the lives of aasimars, "Blood of Angels" gives players a wide variety of characterful choices for those of celestial blood. Not just angels, a variety of goodly beings from the outer planes seem to have taken interest in mortals of all races. Info on non-human aasimars and lots of different varient sub-types give players tons of choices for both mechanics and fluff.

Amber Scott does a fantastically good job of detailing the lives of aasimars, reminding readers that not all aasimars lead a life of purity, and giving insight into the feelings of aasimars and those of the races they associate with, casting them as a race apart and definately distinct. Regions all over Golarion are detailed with motives and likely progenitor type and there is a large section for Tian Xia. Each base class thus far published also has a write-up.

For those who want mechanics, fear not. The 6 different subraces each have varient abilities and traits and there are 100 additional varient abilities to choose from. However, this is largely a fluff book!

In conclusion, a great addition to any player's library. Though largely geared toward PCs, DMs may find the sections on aasimars trying to fit in a useful aid in helping PCs roleplay or use the volume to create a new NPC. A fantastic way to kick off the new monthly offering!


A must-have for aasimar-players.

5/5

The second book in the "Blood of" series. Blood of Angels does for Aasimars what Blood of Fiends did for Tieflings, and it does it with just as much detail and excellence.

Like Fiends, Blood of Angels starts out with a sizable portion of fluff regarding all the details you could ever need to know about aasimar lifespans: Conception, birth, childhood, adolescence, physiology, society, combat, work, religion, geography, old age, friendship, love, class roles, and death are all covered in intricate detail here. In fact, the fluff section is two pages longer that that of Fiends, and like its predecessor, ends with a chart of 100 variant abilities for its respective race. Role-players and story-buffs will love this section, but others will likely flip past the first 18 pages.

Next comes the aasimar heritages for the specific types of ancestors aasimars can have. There are six (compared to the 10 in Fiends for Tieflngs), each with different ability modifiers, skill modifiers, spell-like abilities, and traits. The six are: Agathion-blooded, Angel-blooded, Archon-blooded, Azata-blooded, Garuda-blooded, and Peri-blooded.

Follow that up with aasimar-specific combat feats, two new oracle curses, three new inquisitions for (you-guessed it) inquisitors, three subdomains, three bard masterpieces, a new sorcerer bloodline, and a selection of aasimar race traits and random features, and you have at your disposal quite a few options for aasimar characters (and a few that will work for non-aasimars as well).

When all is said and done, Blood of Angels is as worthy a book for aasimars as Blood of Fiends was for tieflings.


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Silver Crusade

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Cheapy wrote:
You can't just respond to an argument with more questions! At least say "It allows for more interesting options" or some other thing like that. And then come up with a reason for why they shouldn't get a lycanthropic cthulhthite totem, because that's where the next argument is going: where do you draw the line.

Pretty sure the question was answered, just in the form of questions. But if you insist:

spoilered because tangent

Spoiler:
The game supposedly promotes the idea of good heroic characters. So many folks understandably would probably appreciate having good-flavored options for all classes.

Personally, the reasons to make celestial totems available far outnumber and outweigh whatever reasons there could be to keep them out of the game. Chaotic Good exists. Chaotic, barbarian, primitive celestials exist. Good barbarian characters exist. Some of them could be just as Good as any paladin. LG isn't Best Good after all. There are in fact cultures and characters in Golarion canon that just scream this sort of thing, like the Lyrune-Quah's Desna-revering Moon Maidens.

There are far too many neat things that can be done with that concept. The possibilities are incredible. All players need is a mechanical option so that their characters can walk the walk instead of being forced to only talk the talk and have their concept feel hollow.

As for lycanthropic totems or eldritch abomination totems? Sure. They could fit if approached from the right angles.

But I'd wager that celestial totems are desired by a larger number of players and have the widest general appeal as far as an option that's been denied two years going now. I mean it seems like a more obvious concept needing support than say, hive totems. Nothing against hive totems, but that's still a bit more fringe than support for good characters. And that supports been cut out of books twice now, despite the support for evil-flavored barbarians being there as soon as totems first showed up.

Some people want to play holy-themed barbarians. Why rain on their parade?

Hopefully that's gonig to change with the Good-support coming in the Companion line.

Silver Crusade

On-topic, liked the note on how aasimar are often "miracle babies" for couples otherwise incapable of concieving, even if, and I understand why the specifics aren't really explored, it led to some confused imagery concerning how it works out for some couples.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Cheapy wrote:
You can't just respond to an argument with more questions!

Of course he can. It's a common rethorical tool to demonstrate how a question is absurd by taking an even more absurd position.


3 people marked this as a favorite.

I think Mikaze makes a good overall point...I'd like to see more heroic "good" options for players as well. It's cool to play the anti-hero, but I'd like to see more "good guys".

I know pulp fantasy is filled with characters that are fairly self-serving, and often thieves, and that in the end they do the right thing...but I'd like to see some options and choices for folks that want to do good for good's sake, and have just as many tools and toys to play with as the bad guys and the anti-heroes.

My players often want to play Neutral (of some persuasion) characters just so they can act like they want to occasionally, and so they can use some of those "morally questionable" tools and tactics sometimes, but I'd love to have some mechanical encouragement for them to go the "good" route.


I stay with Mikaze^^
Lines? Why on the earth should anyone draw lines? Lines are made to be SHATTERED! GRAWRRRRR! (so speaks my CG Celestial Titan Mauler)


I would also like more options for good characters both for PCs and for NPCs.


Angelkin are officially the best stat-kitted racial option for paladins now, dang.

(Not that this is a bad thing)


TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:

Angelkin are officially the best stat-kitted racial option for paladins now, dang.

(Not that this is a bad thing)

Musetouched would be better for archer paladins. If they would feel like being paladins at all. :D


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I want my chaotic-good barbarian of Cayden Cailean, after powering up his celestial totem, to say to a daemon: "Cayden sends his regards you filty #@!*!!!" before he smashes his face in with his holy axe. I want to play a sorceror with an Archon(or Agathion or Azata)bloodline to manifest the terrible anger aspect of her celestial lineage to cower a group of gnolls. She gives them one chance to surrender(via an intimidate check)before she rains fiery(yet holy)death upon them. I want a character(not just a paladin) to radiate so much holy power that enemies wet themselves.


Navarion wrote:
TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:

Angelkin are officially the best stat-kitted racial option for paladins now, dang.

(Not that this is a bad thing)

Musetouched would be better for archer paladins. If they would feel like being paladins at all. :D

Point, I meant for default melee paladins.


Bardess wrote:

stay with Mikaze^^

Lines? Why on the earth should anyone draw lines? Lines are made to be SHATTERED! GRAWRRRRR! (so speaks my CG Celestial Titan Mauler)

If all lines must be smashed, isn't that really just a diferent set of lines?

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Barong wrote:
I want my chaotic-good barbarian of Cayden Cailean, after powering up his celestial totem, to say to a daemon: "Cayden sends his regards you filty #@!*!!!" before he smashes his face in with his holy axe. I want to play a sorceror with an Archon(or Agathion or Azata)bloodline to manifest the terrible anger aspect of her celestial lineage to cower a group of gnolls. She gives them one chance to surrender(via an intimidate check)before she rains fiery(yet holy)death upon them. I want a character(not just a paladin) to radiate so much holy power that enemies wet themselves.

Between this and Mikaze's ever-unanswered requests for Celelstial Totems, methinks a Kobold Quarterly article could be put together. Well, if it turns out long enough to be an article and not just a blog posting or something.

Dark Archive

4 people marked this as a favorite.

Ideas to give classes 'good' options;

Barbarians - celestial totems
Bards - sacred hymns with effects like give allies fast healing, or cow undead
Clerics - new Good sub-domains or cleric spells related to the seven virtues
Druids - a good subtype spell for the NG druids, perhaps a feat that allows a druid to add the celestial template to an animal that he wildshapes into (or summons via summun nature's ally)
Fighters - ?
Monks - sanctified ki strike option (add good to unarmed attack for overcoming DR), ki smite evil option (blow a ki to do extra damage to evil creatures), undead smite option (blow a ki to do extra positive energy damage to undead), share wholeness of body option / give own hit points to others
Paladins - they already own this
Rangers - ?
Rogues - ?
Sorcerers - Agathion, Angel, Peri, Archon, Azata-variants of the celestial Bloodline
Wizard - [good] arcane spells, perhaps even a Virtue specialist wizard, who can prepare an extra [good] spell per spell level, but can't prepare [evil] spells at all, and has a pair of School powers related to being extra-special-good


I would rather have a bardic music ability that causes damage to undead every round the bard performs.


Set wrote:


Bards - sacred hymns with effects like give allies fast healing, or cow undead

I totally read that as giving your allies access to undead bovines...


TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:
Navarion wrote:
TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:

Angelkin are officially the best stat-kitted racial option for paladins now, dang.

(Not that this is a bad thing)

Musetouched would be better for archer paladins. If they would feel like being paladins at all. :D
Point, I meant for default melee paladins.

str or finese paladins

Dark Archive

MMCJawa wrote:
Set wrote:


Bards - sacred hymns with effects like give allies fast healing, or cow undead
I totally read that as giving your allies access to undead bovines...

That's totally where I was going with that. :)


Druids have Planar Wildshape already... but I love your ideas.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Got the Celestial Totems and the Archon and Agathion bloodlines done. Having some issues with the Azata bloodline in that most of my ideas just seem to be a (slight) modification of the Maestro bloodline. Crossblooded Maesto/Celestial would basically do it, as far as I can see it.

I'll get to work on Set's other ideas. Hard to make a lot of it not just seem like 3.5 D&D Book of Exalted Deeds retreads, though.

Anyway, we should start up a new thread elsewhere for these ideas and not just muck up this product discussion thread.

Edit: And here's that thread.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:
Angelkin are officially the best stat-kitted racial option for paladins now, dang.

There's also the Suli.

Strange though, that in all the multitudes of so-called "PC-compatible races"—including all the aasimar and tiefling variants and all of the circus-freak races from the Advanced Race Guide—there's not a single one that is as suited to the magus as these, with Str and Int bonuses.

Contributor

Zaister wrote:
TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:
Angelkin are officially the best stat-kitted racial option for paladins now, dang.

There's also the Suli.

Strange though, that in all the multitudes of so-called "PC-compatible races"—including all the aasimar and tiefling variants and all of the circus-freak races from the Advanced Race Guide—there's not a single one that is as suited to the magus as these, with Str and Int bonuses.

Suli have an Intelligence penalty while the Angelkin do not. Considering Paladins are not Intelligence dependent beyond their skill points it isn't a huge point, but it is a point nevertheless.

If you're looking for oddities, make a list of the game's races with a Wisdom bonus. It is surprisingly small. Bonuses to Charisma, as far as I've seen, are the most common.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

@Set

For fighters, something that allows them the same bypass DR as for the monks, maybe a morning blessing ritual they perform?*

Spoiler:
RL aside, I was researching prayers for blessing a sword in the Christian way. All of the rituals I found were more of the 'Let this blade protect the innocent and defend the pilgrim' and not 'smite Your foes into tiny pieces, in thy mercy' kind.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Alexander Augunas wrote:
If you're looking for oddities, make a list of the game's races with a Wisdom bonus. It is surprisingly small. Bonuses to Charisma, as far as I've seen, are the most common.

That's one thing that caught me with the Devil tainted tiefling. Wisdom bonus, int penalty. Really made me want to play an inquisitor.

Silver Crusade

I need to look over it more in-depth, but I really like the flavor the Archon Style feats support. Really lends itself to self-sacrificing bodyguard-type monks.

The notes on Osironi and Thuvian aasimar and the Emberkin make me want to know more about the Peri that much more.

Matthew Morris wrote:
** spoiler omitted **

Tangent:

Spoiler:
Maybe a refined revisiting of the annointed blade concept? Possibly divorced from the PrC format and reworked into something fighters simply train into and need to maintain with their own sort of "mini-code". Rather than serving as direct channels for Good like paladins and divine casters, they seek to get some of that cosmic aid into their arsenal by way of rituals and certain standards of practice?
Dark Archive

Matthew Morris wrote:

@Set

For fighters, something that allows them the same bypass DR as for the monks, maybe a morning blessing ritual they perform?*
** spoiler omitted **

That's certainly an idea.

Porting over the 'invocations' from the Scarred Lands setting (short prayers any faithful person can make to a god to get a minor bonus for 1 round, such as a prayer to Tanil, the goddess of the hunt and archery, to get a +1 sacred bonus to a ranged attack made in the next round) could be one option, that would apply to pretty much any class.

Something akin to Arcana Unearthed's Rituals (or even Ceremonies) could also be an option.

I'm not 100% in love with either of those options, but they definitely fit the theme.

The spoilered tangent is neat. It reminds me of King Arthur being asked what was the most potent thing about Excalibur, and being scolded for not realizing that it was the scabbard, which protected the bearer from the blades of his foes!

I've seen a couple different versions of a 'shield ally' feat, but never one that really seemed worth a feat. That's the sort of thing that I'd love to see from a 'holy' fighter, the ability to parry block or even intercept (and take to oneself) blows meant for adjacent allies, or to provide one's shield bonus to one (or more!) adjacent allies.

Combat techniques based on 'temperance', such as a Combat Expertise upgrade that allows you to block a single blow per round (similar to how Deflect Arrows or Crane Style can block an attack), or even gain Attacks of Opportunity against those who attack you, while you take the Total Defense action, allowing you to do nothing but retaliate.

Another 'bodyguard' feat might allow you to designate one (or more!) adjacent allies as 'wards,' and if they are attacked by a foe you threaten, you gain an automatic AoO against that foe, for turning his attention away from you and threatening your 'ward.' I'm sure there are versions of this out there as well, but compiling (and balancing / tweaking) them in a theme-appropriate 'combat feats of virtue' sort of article might be cool.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

You know... if I could see any other setting for Pathfinder, it would be Scarred Lands.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber

I loved Scarred Lands, I almost got to run a Titan Spawn game where the players would choose to either try and show that Titan Spawn aren't all horrible monsters.... or try and Resurrect a Titan.

Silver Crusade

Friendship Subdomain seems like it's weaponized to make whoever takes it the "heart" of whatever party they're in. Really like the feel those abilities give.

Spoiler:
All three of those subdomains are probably going to wind up being Core in Ponyfinder. ;)


Does anyone else feel bad that the guy on the cover died alone?

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Kain Darkwind wrote:
Does anyone else feel bad that the guy on the cover died alone?

He didn't die alone, he is my foot rest right now.


Dark_Mistress wrote:
Kain Darkwind wrote:
Does anyone else feel bad that the guy on the cover died alone?
He didn't die alone, he is my foot rest right now.

Poor fellow,

poor poor fellow.

hope he gets something for being a foot stool.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Ultimate Equipment wrote:

They came upon him in a slavering horde, ten times a hundred, yet the bridge was wide enough for only one at a time. Sword ablaze, burning crown set above his brow like a beacon in the darkness, Aram the Golden-Heart struck them down, one by one. Claws rang against his armor, yet could not scratch it. Acid blood stained his blade, but could not etch it. His was the voice of truth, and all souls who heard rejoiced in it, even as the demons quailed.

For three days he fought. When at last he fell, it was as a light departing—yet he did not fade entirely. The sword and mail lie still within the lake of fire, untouchable, a brightness that may not be shaded.

We still sing his song, that the damned may remember.

Pretty sure he's not a footstool :P


Mikaze wrote:
All three of those subdomains are probably going to wind up being Core in Ponyfinder. ;)

That realization boiled the DM's blood. His rage kinda rubbed on me too. it was rather hilarious, since I don't really HATE MLP as much as I do my best to ignore it.


So the traits below the alternate assimar types, those are traits one can pick up via adopted, right? Or are those supposed to be traits like sturdy or lucky, part of the races stat block?


A player in my group wants to play an Aasimar and thus, I had to read the Companion in greater detail. I really like the book. However, I have to give a fair warning to GMs about the "variant aasimar abilities" table (pages 18 - 19). The table is not really fair in any way. In theory, it could happen that a character gains two additional +2 ability modifiers in place of his daylight ability (sp) and even one additional ability modifier is much stronger than this. I hope that similar tables in future companions are more balanced than this one.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Baroth wrote:
A player in my group wants to play an Aasimar and thus, I had to read the Companion in greater detail. I really like the book. However, I have to give a fair warning to GMs about the "variant aasimar abilities" table (pages 18 - 19). The table is not really fair in any way. In theory, it could happen that a character gains two additional +2 ability modifiers in place of his daylight ability (sp) and even one additional ability modifier is much stronger than this. I hope that similar tables in future companions are more balanced than this one.

It's based off the table for tieflings in Blood of Fiends which is based off the original one from 2e planescape. No, it isn't balanced, but that isn't really the idea behind it. It's supposed to convey the idea of random distant heritage of celestial or fiendish ancestry, but no, balanced it ain't.

Silver Crusade

The Advanced Races Guide says that planetouched become adults in their 60s, and live 250-850 years.
Blood of Angels and Blood of Fiends don't mention this at all, and in fact Blood of Fiends specifically says that even tieflings of nonhuman descent share the human lifespan.

So which is correct? I'm playing an Aasimar in Pathfinder Society, and I want to make sure my background is legit.

Silver Crusade

Scottbert wrote:

The Advanced Races Guide says that planetouched become adults in their 60s, and live 250-850 years.

Blood of Angels and Blood of Fiends don't mention this at all, and in fact Blood of Fiends specifically says that even tieflings of nonhuman descent share the human lifespan.

So which is correct? I'm playing an Aasimar in Pathfinder Society, and I want to make sure my background is legit.

The ARG is way off the mark with some of its lifespan numbers. Blood Of is correct. :)

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

What is the aasimar on page 13 supposed to be exactly?

Webstore Gninja Minion

meeko wrote:
What is the aasimar on page 13 supposed to be exactly?

Besides an aasimar...I believe it's supposed to be one that's descended from angels, judging by the bald head and stubby vestigial wings.

Developer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
meeko wrote:
What is the aasimar on page 13 supposed to be exactly?

The art on that page is of an evil aasimar who has not only shunned his celestial birthright, but has embraced the foul teachings of Zon-Kuthon. The burning hatred within his heart has manifested itself through his halo, which now glows a crimson red, and he's clipped and stained his wings so he no longer need suffer stares or accusations of celestial kinship from his newfound allies among the Church of the Midnight Lord. The spiked chain he wields is the favored weapon of his patron deity, and it has seen him through many battles against paladins, crusaders, and even celestials.

Webstore Gninja Minion

Patrick Renie wrote:
meeko wrote:
What is the aasimar on page 13 supposed to be exactly?
The art on that page is of an evil aasimar who has not only shunned his celestial birthright, but has embraced the foul teachings of Zon-Kuthon. The burning hatred within his heart has manifested itself through his halo, which now glows a crimson red, and he's clipped and stained his wings so he no longer need suffer stares or accusations of celestial kinship from his newfound allies among the Church of the Midnight Lord. The spiked chain he wields is the favored weapon of his patron deity, and it has seen him through many battles against paladins, crusaders, and even celestials.

That works too. :D

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