Adarna and the Aasimar

(First off, an acknowledgement: #RPGaDay turned out to be a bust, as I was simply unable to maintain the momentum of daily posts. But I did have half a month's worth of responses, which is more than what I usually even write for a year. So that has been a plus.)

Actress Marian Rivera as

the iconic Darna.

This week, I released the first of two diwatas that I am planning to release for November: Adarna! There are some commonalities between the Star Maiden trope, the Adarna bird, and the superhero Darna, and I figured it would be a fun idea to see how they will mix together.

Check out the Adarna on my Patreon! And if you want to see more content like this, support me by becoming my patron. I will truly appreciate it.

November is also the month showcasing the release of Volo's Guide to Monsters. WotC has turned its release schedule slow but steady for 5th Edition, so every release has been quite anticipated. I for one will certainly get it when it arrives on local shores.

One of the races that has been made available by Volo's Guide is the aasimar, which from what I've gathered has been significantly expounded upon from what we see in the Dungeon Master's Guide. An interesting bit that has been noted to me by one of my friends is that this version, particularly the protector subrace,is strikingly similar to the adarna. How will the two races coexist if they are in the same campaign setting?

Well, one good way of going about it is to acknowledge their similarities by having the aasimar and the adarna actually related. it is not uncommon for the star maidens of folklore to live on earth and have half-mortal children, only to leave them once they regain possession of their wings. A connection to their parent could still remain, however, and the adarna can even be the aasimar guide for the player character. The adarna is significantly weaker than the deva angel, but this lets the adarna be a more prolific presence in the aasimar's story without overshadowing the player characters.

Alternatively, this parental relationship could exist, but the adarna parent could have perished, with her wings being used by someone else to channel a celestial form. It thus becomes the aasimar's duty to retrieve her parent's wings so that her legacy won't be tarnished.