Celestellans carry celestial blood in their veins -- even if it is diluted and long-buried. When they were first created in the Age of Extant, celestellans were chosen mortals born with divine gifts. Their children, their children's children, and so on all carried these gifts as well. When bloodlines became diluted or celestial blood weakened, new celestellan bloodlines were created.
Since the Reckoning, no new celestellan bloodlines have begun. As such, many celestellans today are near indistinguishable from humans; however, when in life-threatening situations or after gaining power (like becoming an adventurer), their celestial blood can awaken, revealing their full, divine heritage.
Celestial Bloodlines
During and prior to the Reckoning, divine offspring of the Children of Yamma would create new celestellan bloodlines when more celestial champions and influencers were needed. As such, every celestellan has a specific bloodline they belong to -- even if they don't know their heritage.
The specific celestial behind a celestellan's bloodline can vary greatly. One celestellan may belong to a bloodline sired by a powerful solar, while another could have a great-great-great-great-great-grandparent who was blessed by a herd of pegasi. And, once a celestellan has reawakened their celestial blood, these celestial creators will often return to serve as guides -- if they can.
In the wake of the Reckoning, there is a fair chance that a celestellan's celestial progenitor is dead. When that's the case -- as it can often be -- a celestellan is left to find their own way and forge their own path. While many up-and-coming "awakened" celestellans often find the path to heroism and good, those without their celestial guides can be influenced and corrupted by darker forces, especially those with the ability to masquerade as a divine agent.
Hidden Among Humans
While celestellans are strident foes of evil, they typically prefer to keep a low profile. A celestellan inevitably draws the attention of evil cultists, fiends, and other enemies of good, all of whom would be eager to strike down a celestial champion if they had the chance.
When traveling, celestellans prefer hoods, closed helms, and other gear that allows them to conceal their identities. They nevertheless have no compunction about striking openly at evil. The secrecy they desire is never worth endangering the innocent.
Celestellan Guides
A celestellan, except for one who's celestial progenitor is dead, has a link to an angelic being. That being provides guidance to the celestellan, though this connection functions only in dreams. As such, the guidance is not a direct command or a simple spoken word. Instead, the celestellan receives visions, prophecies, and feelings.
The angelic being is far from omniscient. Its guidance is based on its understanding of the tenets of law and good, and it might have insight into combating especially powerful evils that it knows about.
As part of fleshing out a celestellan character, consider the nature of that character's angelic guide. Think of what deity it may serve, and how it passes those ideals to you. Is it involved, or distant? Maybe it seeks to guide you to a specific goal, to use you for a specific purpose. And, if it's dead, consider if you have one at all -- or, if something more sinister is occurring.
Awakening Bloodlines
As stated, most celestellans are indistinguishable from humans; however, when they gain sufficient power (around 3rd level, per se) or have a near-death situation, their celestial blood reawakens and manifests itself. This could take the form of glowing, golden eyes, or perhaps shimmering skin. And for some, the celestial blood doesn't manifest itself physically at all, staying relegated to their celestial revelation transformations.
Once their blood is awakened, if the celestellan's celestial guide is still alive, they will often reveal themselves. They can rarely communicate directly, appearing instead in the celestellan's dreams. Through these, the guide can give hints, clues, and messages.
Celestellans whose would-be guide is dead, or who finds the idea of their celestial heritage off-putting or otherwise negative, can find themselves corrupted by dark influences or by their own personal evils. Evil celestellans make deadly foes. The radiant power they once commanded becomes corrupted into a horrid, draining magic. And their angelic guides abandons them.
Even celestellans wholly dedicated to good sometimes feel torn between two worlds. The angels that guide them see the world from a distant perch. A celestellan who wishes to stop and help a town recover from a drought might be told by an angelic guide to push forward on a greater quest. To a distant angel, saving a few commoners might pale in comparison to defeating a cult of Orcus. A celestellan's guide is wise not infallible.
Celestellan Names/Ethnicities
Celestellans are typically indistinguishable from humans until something awakens their dormant blood, meaning they are raised among and alongside their human cousins. When their blood is awakened, celestellans may take on a name inspired by their celestial heritage, but until that point, most celestellans belong to and use names from the different cultures of Emaxus -- found under Cultures/Ethnicities.
Creating Your Character
At 1st level, you choose what race your character belongs to. If you choose a celestellan, follow the rules found below to make your celestellan hero -- or villain.
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 of 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 can 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. Your 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.
Celestellan Traits
Your celestellan character has the following racial traits.
Age
Celestellan mature at the same rate as humans, but they can live up to two centuries.
Creature Type
You are a Humanoid.
Size
Celestellan have the same range of height and weight as humans. Your size is Medium or Small, which you choose when making your character.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Blessed with a radiant soul, your vision can easily cut through darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were in bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.
Celestial Resistance
You have resistance to necrotic damage and radiant damage.
Healing Hands
As an action, you can touch a creature and roll a number of d4s equal to your proficiency bonus. The creature regains a number of hit points equal to the total rolled. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Light Bearer
You know the light cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
Celestial Revelation
When you reach 3rd level, choose on of the revelation options below. There after, you can use a bonus action to unleash the celestial energy within yourself, gaining the benefits of that revelation. Your transformation lasts for 1 minute, or until you end it as a bonus action. Once you transform using your revelation below, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest:
Necrotic Shroud
Your eyes briefly becomes pool of darkness and ghostly, flightless wings sprout from your back. Creatures other than your allies within 10 feet of you that can see you must succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
Until the transformation ends, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra necrotic damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra damage equals your proficiency bonus.
Radiant Consumption
Searing light temporarily radiates from your eyes and mouth. For the duration, you shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet, and at the end of each of your turns, each creature within 10 feet of you takes radiant damage equal to you proficiency bonus.
Until the transformation ends, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra damage equals your proficiency bonus.
Radiant Soul
Two luminous, spectral wings sprout from your back. Until the transformation ends, you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed, and once on each of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The extra damage equals your proficiency bonus.
Creation Mythos
Celestellans were created in the earliest centuries of the Age of Rebirth when Yamma allowed celestials to bless human bloodlines with celestial powers. This continued through the Age of Rebirth, but in the wake of the Reckoning, no new celestellan bloodlines have been created and few that remain are aware of their celestial heritage.
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