Friends in High Places

Lor'ren was a stunning figure that looked like a statue given life. Perfectly proportioned, his golden hair seemed to move in a breeze no one else felt, and his voice was like a silver bell. He spoke softly as he ran his fingers through the low-tide sand, drawing a complicated sigil to the rhythm of the waves. As the final line finished, he clapped his hands, and spoke the invocation aloud.

One moment the circle was empty, and the next a figure stood there. It was radiant, taller than Lor'ren, and with a countenance that seemed serene in a way that made one think of the silence after a departed storm. They turned to him, and folded their arms across their chest, flickers of gold running along the outsider's veins, visible through their skin.

"This is the place you wished to come to?" it asked in a beautiful voice that sounded like the wind along one's ear.

"Yes," Lor'ren said, smiling as he bent to erase the sigil, and to obscure the true name of his companion.

"This hardly seems a place... worthy of you," it said.

"Pride was nearly your downfall," Lor'ren gently reminded the being. "Try to see the beauty in this place, friend, and remember that it is often the darkest places which truly need to be lit."

The outsider turned, and stared at the sea for a time. It seemed to be trying to take Lor'ren's advice to heart, attempting to see the shifting waves as their first, true impression of this world.

"Very well," the outsider said, turning back to the one who'd summoned it. "Lead me to the darkness, and we shall bring the light with us."

Friends In High Places

Summoners are a unique form of spellcaster who can call forth powerful outsiders to aid them in their adventures and quests. However, there are some summoners who aren't from the material plane... what would it be like to be someone who came to this plane from another, and then brought an ally they knew well? Someone who could act as an advisor, a guardian, and a companion?

This is where we get the idea of Friends in High Places.

We begin with an aasimar, but you give them the Heavenborn trait. They have spent their lives in the celestial realms, shaped and molded by the ideas and norms of that place. Why they came to the material plane is up to you to answer, but they are here now.

The other decision that must be made is who their eidolon is, and why they offered to come with on this journey. Are they a friend from the celestial realms who wants to join them? Are they a rival hoping to do penance? Are they a distant family member? Or something else entirely? Why this eidolon travels with the summoner is always an important question that must be answered, but in this instance the story has the potential to be even more personal.

Also, as an additional note, the summoner may choose to use their spell-like ability to summon creatures with the celestial template. This can be used to add more character interactions, and to build the summoner's history in the celestial world, fleshing out a story their more mortal companions weren't present for, but which they can be drawn into.

Finally, consider checking out 5 Tips For Playing Better Summoners before bringing this (or any other summoner concept) to your table! And if you need some inspiration for your character, then make sure you pick up a copy of my supplement 100 Unusual Aasimar as well!

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That's all for this week's Unusual Character Concepts post!

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