Immortal spirits who embody virtue, born and reborn to mortal life in the world
AW at-will · ENC encounter · DLY daily |
Fields: Req requirement · Trig trigger · Tgt target · Atk attack · Hit/Miss/Eff · 1°/2° primary/secondary · Sust sustain · After aftereffect · Spec special |
Shorthand: Str/Dex/Con/Wis/Int/Cha = ability mod · EONT/SONT = end/start of your next turn · sq = square(s) · CA combat advantage · OA opp. attack · MBA/RBA melee/ranged basic attack · HP hit points · tgt target · [W] weapon dice
| ENC | Memory of a Thousand LifetimesDeva Racial PowerNo Act Pers | The dreamlike memories of your previous lives lend insight to aid you. Trig You make an attack roll, a saving throw, a skill check, or an ability check and dislike the result · Eff You add 1d6 to the triggering roll. |
Deep in the recesses of memory, devas recall what they once were: immortal servitors of the gods of good, spirits who chose to bind themselves to the world in mortal flesh. For millennia, their souls have been reborn to wage an endless war against the forces of darkness. Most devas are fiercely committed to the cause of good, because they fear what they might become if they turn to evil: A deva whose soul becomes corrupted risks being reborn as a rakshasa.
In appearance, devas are very similar to humans, but with an unearthly beauty and an uncanny stillness about them. They are almost as tall as dragonborn, but much more slender.
Devas’ coloration distinguishes them most strongly from humans. All devas have patterns of light and dark colors on their skin. The light portions are chalk white or pale gray, and the dark areas range from blue or purple to dark gray or black. In any individual deva, either light or dark can be dominant, with the opposite shade appearing in simple, elegant patterns on the face, chest, and shoulders. A deva’s hair is typically the same color as these skin patterns. When sitting or standing at rest, devas remain almost perfectly still, except for the occasional blink of the eyes. They don’t fidget or twitch, and their eyes move only when they are actively examining something.
Devas do not have children. When a deva dies, his or her spirit is reincarnated in a new, adult body that appears in some sacred place, such as a mountain peak, a riverbank, or a desert oasis. The new deva retains enough memory of past lives to speak and understand multiple languages and offer the proper prayers and sacrifices to the gods of good.
Devas are refined and polite. They follow the highest moral standards, but they are not afraid of violence. They believe that the pursuit of good is an eternal war with the forces of evil, embodied in rakshasas, demons, devils, and the evil gods and their servant angels. Devas wage that war in their hearts as well, constantly vigilant lest evil take root and corrupt their souls, transforming them into the creatures they most despise.
Because they remember, at least dimly, a life in the Astral Sea spent in close company with the gods, most devas are devout worshipers of the gods of good, especially Bahamut but also Moradin and Pelor. Devas seek to achieve a personal connection with the gods rather than approach them through temples and priests. They worship at meals in their homes, setting an empty place for the absent gods, and strive through meditation and prayer to become more like the gods they serve. Deva adventurers are commonly avengers, clerics, and invokers, who savor the experience of divine power flowing through them without any intermediary.
Devas do not have cities or societies of their own, and their numbers are so small that a deva can spend entire lifetimes without ever meeting another of his or her kind. They live among other races and, at least to some extent, adopt their ways. However, all devas remember elements of the life they had before their incarnation in flesh and the beginning of their cycle of rebirth, and they share some common cultural elements of dress, religion, and habits. Devas favor flowing clothes of fine silks, polished metal armor with winglike shoulder ornaments, and headdresses or helmets that suggest crowns or halos. In other ways, they prefer to live simply, without extravagance.
Three sample deva adventurers are described below. Galad is a deva wizard who believes that the goal of his existence is to attain perfect knowledge of the universe. He believes that his arcane power is a manifestation of all he has learned throughout all his past lives, and that in this life or perhaps the next he will achieve perfect mastery and become a demigod, freed from the cycle of reincarnation.
Eranah is an invoker who wields the power of Bahamut. Just as Bahamut warred with Tiamat when the world was young, Eranah believes that her calling in this incarnation is to fight against the evil dragons and dragonspawn that pollute the world. Words of power resound in her mind like an echo of the Platinum Dragon’s voice when she invokes his wrath upon her enemies.
Raham is a shaman who has embraced his life in the world, abandoning all thought of his previous astral existence. The primal spirits of the world are his patrons and allies, not the gods he left behind. He sees his endless rebirth as a part of the cycle of nature and has no desire to escape it.
“It looks as if you spent a lifetime learning that technique. I humbly counter—with a technique that took a dozen lifetimes to master.”
All devas have at least a tenuous connection to their past lives, and they see themselves as spiritual descendants of their previous incarnations. For you, the connection to your past lives is more tangible. As an ancestral incarnate, you can call forth your own spirit as it existed years or centuries ago to advise you, protect you, and confound your enemies. Those who have the temerity to face you in battle learn that they aren’t fighting just the present-day incarnation of you, but also every incarnation of you that has ever been.
| ENC | Past-Life GuardianAncestral Incarnate Attack 11Std Ranged 5Conjuration, ImplementTgt One creature adjacent to the guardian | A translucent deva spirit steps out of your body and interposes itself between you and an enemy. Eff You conjure a spectral guardian that occupies 1 sq within range. The guardian lasts until EONT. The guardian makes the following attack when it appears, and it can repeat the attack as an OA. · Atk Wis vs Reflex · Hit 3d8 + Wis dmg. |
| DLY | Past-Life ServantAncestral Incarnate Utility 12Minor Ranged 20Conjuration | A spirit resembling one of your past incarnations steps out of your body, bows briefly, and moves as you direct. Eff You conjure a spectral servant in an unoccupied sq within range. The servant can perform one of these tasks when it appears: • Move 6 sq. • Pick up an unattended object adjacent to it that weighs up to 20 pounds. • Manipulate an unattended object adjacent to it. Sust Minor The servant persists, and it can perform another task from the list above. You can spend multiple minor actions in a round to have the servant perform multiple tasks. |
| DLY | Past-Life VanguardAncestral Incarnate Attack 20Std Close burst 5Healing, ImplementTgt Each enemy in burst | Spirit after sword-wielding spirit leaps out of your body Each stabs a nearby enemy; then they all leap back inside you, invigorating you as they return. Atk Wis vs Reflex · Hit 4d8 + Wis dmg. Eff You regain 5 HP for each target. |