The Aasimar are not simply a celestial variant of their parent race, despite appearances. Rather, they were placed purposefully in the world by whomever their patron might be, and they likely grew up to visions and dreams of destiny and greatness. It is not the call of each of them to dive headfirst into battle just as much good can be done by using their talents to garner support for their cause and their allies. This makes them a fantastic choice for anyone looking to play a bard, especially given their stat allocation. Let’s build an aasimar bard.

The Aasimar race can be found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters. Click here to pick up your own copy of Volo’s Guide to Monsters!

The Bard class can be found in the Player’s Handbook. Click here to pick up your own copy of The Player’s Handbook!

How to Make an Aasimar Bard

Bards delight in having high charisma scores, and aasimar bards are no different, as they come packaged with a natural +2 to charisma, which should be your primary stat. Dexterity should follow after this as your next most important stat, aiding your armor class, your initiative, and any ranged/finesse melee weapons that you will use. I’d recommend balancing out your intelligence and wisdom and putting whatever is left into your constitution while leaving strength till last.

Of course, any Bard College (subclass) could be a decent fit given the nature of bards, however, one might find it helpful to build into the style of whichever college one chooses. If you still wish for your aasimar to play more like a martial class, College of Swords or the College of Valor are both appropriate, though these are not optimal compared to other choices. The Colleges of Lore, Eloquence, and Creation are likely the best choices given the options they have available and the ways you might wish to tie your class into your heritage.

How to Play an Aasimar Bard

Bards are rarely effective on the front line, so that’s a place you wish to stay away from, but not as far as the wizard. Bards are full casters and although their spells are not necessarily as offensive as those of other casters, they can make a massive difference in any battle. Bards have access to around 139 spells at the time of writing, and the majority of those are enchantment spells, with the second and third most popular spell schools they have access to being transmutation and then illusion.

This should tell us something about the way that a bard engages enemies or buffs allies. Spells like Bane hit multiple enemies and help every member of your party in the process, which is a huge boon, but above all, I would say that bard spells may often require creativity, thinking of a special plan around whichever one you’re using may be the best choice, especially since bards to not have fantastic damaging cantrip options immediately available to them.

How to Roleplay as an Aasimar Bard

The colleges that bards are a part of are not simply the namesake of the class, they are actual institutions that should be part of the world of the game, so speak to your DM about this. That’s not to say you can’t play the class without them, you could also make the case that your bard is self-taught in their area of expertise. 

Consider then how your aasimar became a bard, and whether or not they’re celebrated for what they stand for or are a controversial figure. Even though bards have high charisma it does not necessarily mean that they are well liked by everyone. What was it that your aasimar learned in the course of their study that caused them to take up the path of the bard, and what kind of person are they for it? How does this differ from what they dreamed of as a child?