Ashtar

Ashtar

Generally speaking, if we are involved, thing have gone too far already

-- Otikas, The Ebon Slayer

Biological Information BODY TYPE Humanoid VISION Normal ABILITIES Dual Mind Mental Discipline Mind Link Severed from Dreams Physical Characteristics SIZE Medium SPEED 30 ft. AVERAGE HEIGHT male- 5'9" female- 5'4" AVERAGE WEIGHT male- 172 lbs. female- 137 lbs. LIFESPAN Ashtar reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century. SKIN COLOR Ashtar range from nearly black to very pale. HAIR COLOR White Black Pale Violet Pale Pink Pale Lavender EYE COLOR Violet Pink Red Yellow Orange Green DISTINCTIONS Ashtar eyes often glow when they are focused or expressing strong emotions Sociocultural Information PLANES Prime Material (Sytheria) The Dreamscape ORIGIN Orgalis Piscea LANGUAGES Ashtar Common

The products of the twisted mind of the Ishtar Triana Lofo, the ashtar were bred to be a race of slaves. After centuries of enslavement, the Ashtar rose up and fought back against their keepers, and in the end founded their own grand civilization. Unfortunately, their freedom was short lived and after striking the final blow and ending their war with the Ishtar; their own civilization would come to sudden end. The God of Dreams, Boresi, enraged by the destruction of his greatest creation, he took his vengeance out upon the Ashtar, obliterating their civilization and wiping all evidence of their existence from the face of Sytheria for millennia.

Now, although the Ashtar walk the face of Sytheria once more, they are much different than they were back in the days of their peak. Their spirits have made their way back into the realms by force of will alone, and these new ashtar are beings the like of which has never been seen before. Creatures of one body but multiple minds, the Ashtar have lost all their lands and now wander Sytheria looking for the justice denied to them by time itself.

Bound to Spirits

The Ashtar often seem unsocial to the naïve. In truth, each Ashtar is a group unto himself, composed of three fully independent minds (the original Maenad’s, and two Ashtar minds) that are fused into a cooperating whole. While most races suffer the crushing loneliness of a wholly closed-off mind, the Ashtar reap the benefits of combined thought, cooperating planning, and multiple viewpoints on each new task of topic.

The bond to the Ashtar spirits can often cause some ashtar to display unusual quirks. Consider rolling or selecting a trait from the Ashtar Quirks table.

Appearance

In the bright light of day, an Ashtar passes for a tall, slim human. In dim light, however, out of the corner of an observer’s eye, an Ashtar sometimes appears as a humanoid with three heads. The normal head appears bracketed by two ghostly heads completely devoid of hair, eyes, ears, mouth or nose. This happens only if the Ashtar becomes exhausted or is surprised, as the act of hiding their other faces takes concentration on the host's part.

The Ashtar typically stand just over 6 feet tall and weigh about 170 pounds, with males somewhat taller and heavier than females. They have pale skin, with hair and eyes of unnatural colors (for Humans). They typically dress commonly but some enjoy impressive, flamboyant headwear.

Haunted by Nightmares

The virtuous spirits tied to the Ashtar fled from the Dreamscape to escape subjugation by the God of Dreams, Boresi, who had imprisoned them there. The rebel ashtar spirits believe that through meditation and devotion, they can change the fundamental nature the Dreamscape, shifting the balance from darkness to light. Most Ashtar communities focus on acts of devotion known as the Path of Light. But the dark ministers of the god Boresi have their own plans for the ashtar, and for Sytheria as a whole. Many ashtar defend themselves by focusing on devotion to the Path of Light. Others, though, seek out the agents of Boresi and oppose their plans, or protect the innocent however they can.

Ashtar Names

An Ashtar name adds a personal prefix to the name of the spirits within the ashtar. Such names have no relation to the Ashtar’s gender. Ashtar also use the Maenad family name of the host as a way to honor the origins of the people who have given everything of themselves in order for the Ashtar spirits to have a body once again.

Spirit Names: Ashana, Ashtai, Ishara, Hareth, Khad, Kosh, Melk, Nari, Tana, Tari, Tash, Ulad, Vakri, Vash
Maenad Names: Coratash, Dalavash, Dolishara, Halakosh, Khoratari, Koratana, Lanhareth, Molavakri, Nevitash, Sorashana, Torashtai, Valakhad, Vishara

Powers and Abilities

• Ability Score Increase- Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
• Alignment- The noble spirit tied to an ashtar drives it toward lawful and good behavior. Most ashtar combine strong self-discipline with compassion for all beings, but some ashtar resist the virtuous influence of their spirit.
• Dual Mind- You have advantage on all Wisdom saving throws.
• Mental Discipline- You have resistance to psychic damage.
• Mind Link- You can speak telepathically to any creature you can see, provided the creature is within a number of feet of you equal to 10 times your level. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language.
• Severed from Dreams- Ashtar sleep, but they don’t connect to the Dreamscape as other creatures do. Instead, their minds draw from the memories of their otherworldly spirit while they sleep. As such, you are immune to spells and other magical effects that require you to dream, like dream, but not to spells and other magical effects that put you to sleep, like sleep.