Askis

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The world of Askis

Askis is a 3rd-party campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition created by Legendary Games. Characterized as a "Decopunk" setting, it takes place on the titular world, where a band of legendary adventurers known as the Celestial Heroeos succeeded long ago at all but eradicating evil from the world. This ushered in a utopian age in which angelic magic and technology grew intertwined to produce a wondrous world... but also one sinking deep into boredom and complacency, and which has drawn the wrath of a powerful primordial entity devoted to the preservation of balance between Good and Evil.

And so the forces of evil strive in the shadows cast by the towering vaults of angels, working to claw their way back into power.

Because of this, Askis is divided between two splatbooks; the Book of Exalted Darkness, which centers around running an evil campaign aimed at tearing down this utopia, and the Book of Celestial Heroes, in which players take the role of fantastical superheroes seeking to preserve utopia and keep the malign at bay.

To give you an example of the kind of world this is, eroughly 80% of Askis' human population is infected with a sexual transmitted disease called "the Divinus Biologis", which only becomes active if the host creature engages in rape. Once it does, it spiritually neuters them, then transforms them into a Divirulent Hound, a white-furred bestial, lupine humanoid that exists only to serve the commands of the Ministry, the theocracy that runs this world.

In other words, Legendary Games tried to update the Book of Vile Darkness and Book of Exalted Deeds to 5e, and then built an entire magitek-themed setting around them.

Races

For the most part, Askis uses the standard PHB races of 5th edition. There are two major differences. The first is that dragonborn on Askis come from either of two bloodlines; Holy Dragons and Vile Dragons, whose damage types are Radiant and Necrotic respectively and whose breath weapons are both 5ft by 30ft lines that are saved against with Dexterity. Second, aasimar are a major race on Asksis (for obvious reasons), but they use their own distinct statblocks due to being connected to a unique cosmology.

Askisian Aasimar have the following stats:

Ability Score Increase: +2 Charisma

Size: Medium

Speed: 30 feet

Darkvision 60 feet

Angelic Resistance: You have Resistance to both Necrotic Damage and to Radiant Damage.

Healing Soul: As an action, you can touch a creature and heal them. You can restore a maximum number of hit points per day equal to your level, and can choose how many hit points you heal each time this ability is used. Your "healing pool" is replenished when you take a long rest.

Lightened Soul: You can cast the Light cantrip.

Subrace: Choose the Elated, Soul or Vindico subrace.

Elated: These aasimar bear echoes of the songs of creation in their souls, and typically have ancestral ties to Elysium.

Ability Score Increase: +1 Wisdom

Float: You float above the ground rather than walking. You cannot be knocked prone unless grappled, incapacitated or restrained, and can use your Reaction to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to twice your level. Also, creatures suffer Disadvantage when trying to tack you without the aid of scent. You still can't float over surfaces that wouldn't normally support your weight.

Soul: These aasimar are descended from creatrues native to the Streams Divinia and Heaven, charging them with seemingly limitless energy.

Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution

Telepathy: You can communicate telepathically with any intelligent creature within 30 feet. If you gain telepathy from any other source, increase its range by +30 feet.

Vindico: These aasimar descend from angels, the holy warriors who defend the heavens.

Ability Score Increase: +1 Strength

Fast Healer: When spending Hit Dice during a short rest, you heal twice the normal amount.

Otherwalker: You can become Ethereal for short bursts of time, allowing you to move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain, but taking 1d10 (5) Force damage if you end your turn inside of a creature or object. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Proficiency bonus.

Subclasses

All of the core PHB classes has at least two subclasses in Askis; one Celestial, one Unholy.

Celestial Subclasses

• Barbarian: Primal Path of the Holy Spirit, a barbarian who uses their rage to act as a vessel to the ghosts of holy warriors or to lesser angels.
• Bard:
  • College of the Celestial Song, a bard that performs the music of angels.
  • College of Inaequa Tinkering, a bard who dabbles in the spiritual energy-fueled magitek of Askis.
• Cleric:
  • Celestial Bureaucracy, a Cleric Domain that worships an organized divine hierarchy that sees to the smooth functioning of the multiverse.
  • Cog, a Cleric Domain that worships technology.
• Druid: Circle of the Gray, a druid whose connection to the powers of nature has captured the attention of the Gray Knight, imbuing them with some of its powers to manipulate magic.
• Fighter: Chevalier, a fighter sworn to the path of chivalry and honor, until they receive almost Paladin-like abilities from it.
• Monk: Heavenly Soul Tradition, a monk who seeks to attain spiritual enlightenment by following the examples of angels.
• Paladin:
  • Oath of the Angelic Warrior, a paladin directly sworn to following the examples and leadership of the angels.
  • Oath of the Chosen, a paladin directly selected as a divine agent and godly representative.
• Ranger:
  • True Inquisitor, a ranger specifically dedicated to hunting out agents of evil wherever they lurk.
  • Inaequateer, a ranger who specializes in the use of spiritual energy-powered magitek gadgets to serve as the scouts and shock-troops of Askis' militaries.
• Rogue:
  • Samaritan, a rogue who seeks to use mischief and good humor to brighten spirits and battle evil.
  • Deviant Technologist, an outcast academic who still seeks to perform good with inaequa-powered technology, even if that means using it in ways that the government disapproves of.
• Sorcerer: Angelic Bloodline, a sorcerer whose powers stem directly from a celestial heritage.
• Warlock: Gray Knight Patron, a Warlock who has been championed by the Gray Knight, spirit of balance, gaining the power to manipulate magic itself.
• Wizard: Holy Mystic, a wizard who practices a blend of arcane and divine magic passed down from the angels.

Unholy Subclasses

• Barbarian: Primal Path of the Feral Rager, a barbarian who has awakened a dark and monstrous ancestry within themselves, gaining bestial might and claws.
• Bard: College of Anarchy, a bard who seeks to manipulate others to do their bidding, which is kind of the opposite of anarchy come to think of it.
• Cleric:
  • Abyssal, a Cleric Domain representing worship of a Demon Prince.
  • Infernal, a Cleric Domain representing worship of an Archdevil.
• Druid:
  • Circle of the Gray, a druid whose connection to the powers of nature has captured the attention of the Gray Knight, imbuing them with some of its powers to manipulate magic.
  • Circle of Necrobotany, a druid who blends necromantic magic with druidic magic, learning to animate dead plants and strengthen the undead by infesting them with parasitic plants.
• Fighter: Warrior of Darkness, a fighter characterized by ruthlessness and a willingness to embrace dark magic to empower themselves.
• Monk: Warrior of Dark Chi, a monk who willfully practices forbidden teachings that draw power from the dark side of the soul.
• Paladin: Oath of Heresy, a blackguard dedicated to pursuing the dominance of evil and the downfall of Askis' rulers.
• Ranger: Gruesome Salvager, a ranger who hunts down foes in order to harvest living flesh from its prey and strengthen itself through grafting on its trophies.
• Rogue: Masquerading Heretic, a rogue dedicated to subverting and destroying the heavenly-backed bureaucracy that runs Asksis from within.
• Sorcerer: Fearmonger, a sorcerer with the innate ability to manipulate and control fear.
• Warlock:
  • Gray Knight Patron, a warlock who has been championed by the Gray Knight, spirit of balance, gaining the power to manipulate magic itself.
  • The Meat Patron, a warlock who has sworn an oath to a dark spirit of hunger and cannibalistic urges.
• Wizard:
  • Chirugeon, a fleshcrafting wizard.
  • Vile Scholar, a wizard dedicated to mastering the blackest arts of arcane magic out of sheer intellectual curiosity.

Classes

In addition to subclasses, both of Askis' campaign splats offer several unique base classes as well.

Celestial Classes

Exemplar: Literally the living embodiment of what it means to be a hero, the Exemplar is a manifest archetype, destined to achieve great things. Subclasses are the Disciple (a religious exemplar), the Enchanted Warrior (an exemplar whose power emanates from an enchanted relic), the Epic Hero (a god-blooded champion), the People's Champion (an exemplar who relies on wits and cunning to protect their people), and the Slayer (an exemplar dedicated to destroying evil).

Feywalker: A hero who has forged deep spiritual pacts with the fey, drinking deep of their magic and gaining the ability to wield their strange powers; not quite warlock, not quite druid, but with traits of both. Feywalkers are defined by which Primal Sphere of fey influence they are most attuned to; Beasts, Plants, or Entropy.

Unholy Classes

Diabolist: Not quite wizard, not quite warlock, these spellcasters forge pacts with myriad dark entities in order to rapidly gain power through fiendish magic, necromancy, and unholy conjurations. Subclassess are the Path of Devils and the Path of Demons, representing which family of fiends your Diabolist prefers to work with.

Mad Scientist: A being who has learned through the spark of madness to blend science with sorcery to achieve great things. Whilst the original Mad Scientist from the Book of Exalted Darkness is restricted to non-Good and non-Lawful alignments, the Book of Celestial Heroes features the Inaequa Inventor subclass, which allows for one to play Good-aligned (though still non-Lawful and now non-Evil) Mad Scientists. The malevolent mad scientist's subclasses are the Engineer of Evil (specialized in crafting magitek that fools detective spells & sorcery), the Fleshworker (self-explanitory; a fleshcrafter by any other name), the Trickster (specialized in traps, explosives and outsmarting foes), and the Unholy Technologist (a mad scientist specialized in subverting inaequa-fueled devices).

Occultist: A dark melding of warlock and monk, the occultist uses mystical rituals, unnatural science or otherworldly forces to transform itself into a creature that is no longer human(oid). Subclasses are the Abomination, the Horror, the Nightmare, the Ooze, the Vampire, and the Werecreature.

The Book of Exalted Darkness also includes the Dark Transformation prestige class, which uses prestige class mechanics to allow a PC to become a demon, dragon, devil, golem, lich or rakshasa.