D&D (2024) Aasimar Celestial Revelation - Necrotic Shroud - one time only or every turn?

[ECMO3]

Necrotic Shroud. Your eyes briefly become pools of darkness, and flightless wings sprout from your back temporarily. Creatures other than your allies within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 plus your Charisma modifier and Proficiency Bonus) or have the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn.

The way I am reading this is it happens when you use the bonus action, affects enemies within 10 feet when you take the bonus action and only lasts one round. It is not like an emanation that affects enemies at the end of their turn or when moved into it for the whole minute you are in form.

If so this is a pretty weak feature - small AOE, no range, lasts a round, usable only once a day.

 

[pukunui]

Necrotic Shroud. Your eyes briefly become pools of darkness, and flightless wings sprout from your back temporarily. Creatures other than your allies within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 plus your Charisma modifier and Proficiency Bonus) or have the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn.

The way I am reading this is it happens when you use the bonus action, affects enemies within 10 feet when you take the bonus action and only lasts one round. It is not like an emanation that affects enemies at the end of their turn or when moved into it for the whole minute you are in form.

If so this is a pretty weak feature - small AOE, no range, lasts a round, usable only once a day.

Yes, that's correct. It's essentially a spooky "Boo!" effect. After the first round, you just get to deal some extra necrotic damage.

I checked the MotM aasimar and the Volo's fallen aasimar, and it is worded the same way for them as well.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Yeah, it's a one-time deal.

Most fights don't take that many turns, so maybe a one-turn lockdown might be worth it? Or, it being the only way to access necrotic extra damage might come up if... I dunno, what even has necrotic vulnerability? (edit: 3 things in all of Beyond, okay)

That 1/day usage limit doesn't seem fun to play with.

 

[pukunui]

That 1/day usage limit doesn't seem fun to play with.

Agreed. It's been there since the Volo's aasimars, but it would be nice if was PB times per day or something instead.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I guess they really wanted Aasimar to have that damage-once-per-turn as part of Celestial Revelation, but they were worried it would become the meta pick... so they just stuck the 1/day limit on it.

Now that I'm looking at these geezers... how is Healing Hands this terrible? A full action to give proficiency x d4 healing might be meaningful at lv1 and lv2, but come on. And again 1/day, cannot get too crazy with those healing amounts!

 

[pukunui]

Now that I'm looking at these geezers... how is Healing Hands this terrible? A full action to give proficiency x d4 healing might be meaningful at lv1 and lv2, but come on. And again 1/day, cannot get too crazy with those healing amounts!

That one has always been 1/day as well, but with the Volo's version, the amount healed was equal to the aasimar's level. Not sure that's a nerf. It went from being a static 1-20 hp depending on level, to 2-8 at low level to 6-24 at high levels. Probably about the same really.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I think aasimar suffers from the worry that a lv1 flying Aasimar archer might trivialize two encounters at that level with proficiency uses..? (which is misguided, as either the rest of the party is still there to beat on, or even only-melee enemies can just keep dodging behind cover until you run out of juice)

I'm trying to look at this grab-bag of abilities and wonder when I'd ever pick them. You'd really have to love that radiant/necro resistance (why are aasimar the tankiest Bear Barbarians?). I cannot call them a dedicated boss-killer, when their extra damage at lv10 for that one fight would be, like, 8 per round (4 from an attack, 4 from Inner Radiance)

 

[ECMO3]

I think aasimar suffers from the worry that a lv1 flying Aasimar archer might trivialize two encounters at that level with proficiency uses..? (which is misguided, as either the rest of the party is still there to beat on, or even only-melee enemies can just keep dodging behind cover until you run out of juice)

I'm trying to look at this grab-bag of abilities and wonder when I'd ever pick them. You'd really have to love that radiant/necro resistance (why are aasimar the tankiest Bear Barbarians?). I cannot call them a dedicated boss-killer, when their extra damage at lv10 for that one fight would be, like, 8 per round (4 from an attack, 4 from Inner Radiance)

You don't get the ability until level 3.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

You don't get the ability until level 3.

Then that's not their reasoning either! Just overtly cautious.

 

[Dausuul]

Yeah, it seems super weak compared to Heavenly Wings and Inner Radiance. Even the damage type is inferior; going by the 2014 Monster Manual, radiant damage is about 5% more effective than necrotic*.

I'm really struggling to think of a case where I'd pick Necrotic Shroud. A 10-foot radius is practically nothing, particularly when centered on the "caster," so it's no good for battlefield control. I guess... if you're in a fight that's right on the edge, and you're surrounded in melee, and trying to improve your odds of staying alive for one more round?

*A while ago I decided that I wanted to know exactly how effective each damage type was. My formula is, for each damage type: Add up 2 for each monster that is vulnerable, 1 for each monster that is affected normally, 0.5 for each monster that is resistant, and 0 for each monster that is immune. Then divide the total by the number of monsters. Applying this to the 2014 MM, this yields 1.0 for radiant and 0.95 for necrotic. Constraining the CRs results in somewhat different values, but radiant is always a few percentage points ahead.