Asuras

Asuras are noble, stately warriors with marble-white skin, handsome features and eyes like orbs of pure fire. Their feet are the talons of a great bird, and their wings are sheets of bright flame. A long mane of copper, gold or red hair frames the pale face, and males wear crested bronze helms plumed with feathers. Both sexes dress in loose togas of snow white or sky blue. To the unjust, the sight of one is terrifying.

Their claws look like rubies and are just as hard, ripping into evildoers for 1d10 damage per strike. Because those talons are its best weapon, an asuras prefers to fight on the wing, diving and hovering over its foes. It may also wield a huge spear or a scimitar, attacking either the creature it is clawing or a second enemy. One in four (25%) carries a flaming magical weapon much like a flame tongue sword.

When a large host enters battle it sounds great trumpets that can be heard for miles. Every evil creature of 3 Hit Dice or less that hears them must check morale, even if it is not yet fighting. Three or more asuras beating their wings together raise a scorching wind that deals 2d10 damage to evil beings and leaves good and neutral creatures untouched.

Their insight is famous across the planes. With Wisdom 21, an asuras shrugs off scare, fear, hypnotism, friends, forget, command, charm, hold person and ray of enfeeblement, and it sees through every illusion. The fire in its eyes dims when it hears a lie, as detect lie, and three times a day it can pierce all disguises and concealment as true seeing. Every asuras casts priest spells at 9th level with full bonuses for its Wisdom. Twice daily it can polymorph self into a human or demihuman to move among mortals, always taking a beautiful form and losing none of its skill in battle or spellcasting.

Across the upper planes, asuras serve various powers as zealous messengers and heralds. Some guide mortal mystics and oracles with wisdom, but more often they deliver vengeance, punishment and death to those who have offended a power.

They gather in hosts with little formal structure, yet a host works smoothly and its members follow orders gladly. Any asuras may leave one host for another whenever it likes, and its service is always offered freely and welcomed. Host leaders have double Hit Dice, maximum hit points and Wisdom 22 with the matching spell immunities. They stand taller and grander than their followers, ringed by a visible halo of golden light. The great celestial host itself is led by a radiant asuras general who outshines all his kind, a shining beacon before an army of thousands. For all his glory he is not a power and has no wish to become one.

Asuras resent devas and other celestials, lawful ones above all, as rivals for the favor of the good powers. Unlike the fiends of the lower planes, the two rarely come to blows, and neither stoops to trickery. Their contempt for each other is simply open and honest.

Asuras draw their strength from the Positive Energy Plane and need no food, air or sleep.

Being chaotic at heart, an asuras now and then slips loose and finds itself serving no power. These rare rogues wander the planes doing good at random: shielding the weak, freeing the oppressed, feeding the poor. Alone, they often fixate so tightly on their goal that they will do anything to reach it, sometimes with excessive violence. One planar merchant warns that a friendly greeting can turn into a beheading if you have snared a rabbit for supper, or into theft of your whole cargo for some street child. Yet he adds that a smooth talker can usually reason with the good sense still inside them and show them their mistake.

Occasionally a rogue falls for a particularly devout or righteous human. Their child generally looks human, pale of skin and with a keen, burning gaze, and a few can detect lie as their parent does. These children tend to become mystics, holy leaders or mighty warriors, always important champions of good, and they closely resemble aasimar, whose origins are similar.