Would you allow this?

[Les Moore]

Yes, but not as physical wings, rather as wings made of that divine energy, which then dissipates once the need for them is over, perhaps to return in the future if the situation is again dire enough to need them.

This is a cool idea. Great concept.

 

[Eltab]

No, you don't get an instant pair of wings. But you do get a one-use Misty Step (or similar, to cover the distance needed).

You homework, Player, should you choose to accept it, is: explain WHY that ability just popped up at this moment of crisis.
Challenge the player to come up with more than "But I needed it!" or deus ex machina.

 

[TwoSix]

If a player chooses to sacrifice a major racial feature for nothing, then they're communicating that their primary focus in the game is story and narrative concerns, rather than the puzzle solving/combat/resource management aspect. So, I'd respect their choice to focus on story and allow them to regain the use of their feature at a suitably dramatic moment.

That being said, a player sacrificing a major feature purely for character vision makes my powergamer soul hurt, so I would have offered them some kind of trade-off right at character creation.

 

[Umbran]

You homework, Player, should you choose to accept it, is: explain WHY that ability just popped up at this moment of crisis.

Just a question - if it were a spell in a book, that for some reason they'd vowed not to use, and then chose to break that vow, would you have a problem? Or some other character ability they chose to not use?

Challenge the player to come up with more than "But I needed it!" or deus ex machina.

The character has a celestial bloodline. It is more deus ex backstory, implicit in the character race.

 

[FrogReaver]

Just a question - if it were a spell in a book, that for some reason they'd vowed not to use, and then chose to break that vow, would you have a problem? Or some other character ability they chose to not use?

[uote]Challenge the player to come up with more than "But I needed it!" or deus ex machina.

The character has a celestial bloodline. It is more deus ex backstory, implicit in the character race.

The race doesn't have anything that suddenly grows back wings

 

[jaelis]

Just a question - if it were a spell in a book, that for some reason they'd vowed not to use, and then chose to break that vow, would you have a problem? Or some other character ability they chose to not use?

There is a significant difference between not having wings and choosing not to use wings that you have.

In terms of your example, if a wizard chose not to record a spell he encountered into his spellbook, and then later wanted to prepare that spell as if he had, would you allow it?

 

[Umbran]

The race doesn't have anything that suddenly grows back wings

The game you are playing dooesn't have hit locations to begin with. Within the rules, you technically *cannot* remove an ability from a character. There are no rules for removing appendages. So, the player cannot have done this on their own - they have no ability that would accomplish it. So, the removal of the wings was an exception, an agreement with the GM *outside* the rules, in the first place. It is too late to invoke "you don't have the ability to do that," as the player has already been enabled to step outside the rules.

Edit to add: At the point where the GM says the PC cannot use an ability that, by game design and balance they are supposed to have, teh GM should, in fairness, offer something to replace it. Players choosing not to use their abilities is different from the GM forbidding them.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I really just don't get the "muh v-tude" crowd. Why even play a game of imagination if you just sit with your arms folded and say "I dare you to make me buy in!" I swear some people look for any excuse to say "no" and shoot down something fun and cinematic...

They're magic wings anyways. It isn't like they could physically support the aasimar without being like 30' wide... The player isn't trying to game the system, they got nothing in return for not using a special ability for however many sessions. They wanted to activate the ability in a dramatic way. Why the hell wouldn't you allow it?!

 

[Hawk Diesel]

Something that is becoming painfully obvious to me is that many are commenting without knowing what the Aasimar is or what the relevant ability being discussed does. So I will post the relevant part of the Protector Aasimar ability.

Radiant Soul. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to glimmer and two luminous, incorporeal wings to sprout from your back.

Emphasis is mine. The wings described by the ability are not physical, but rather manifestations created from angelic power. There is nothing that needs to be regenerated or regrown. Not that it really should make a difference, because regardless, how the power of flight manifests does not matter. Whether it's wings, spirit wings, a jet pack, or being lifted by giant ghost hands of your god, the mechanical benefit is flight. In D&D, you don't need wings to fly. So I truly do not understand the folks that would nix the player's creativity and problem solving by getting stuck on a fluff description on a mechanical benefit that the player has always had, but just did not take advantage of.

 

[jaelis]

Something that is becoming painfully obvious to me is that many are commenting without knowing what the Aasimar is or what the relevant ability being discussed does. So I will post the relevant part of the Protector Aasimar ability.

The OP's question hardly makes any sense though in terms of this actual ability. I think most people are assuming a situation like a winged tiefling or aarakocra, since that better matches the situation posed.

But for the record yes, if you are playing a protector aasimar and have simply declined to ever use your radiant soul ability, I would certainly say it remains available to you.