Astrals

Some call Us a miracle, others the whim of a force well beyond understanding.
One could go their entire life without encountering an Astral, in fact most have, and some may well have and would never know. Astrals are a unique occurrence, arcane energies of the world coalescing into a physical form at leyline nexus points. They come into the world with knowledge and understanding, though what that knowledge is varies highly from one to the next. Some theorize it is divine energy and not simply the arcane, wills of the Gods made real, while others devote their entire lives to trying to explain the phenomena that is an Astral.
Astrals tend to have very unique physical appearances, based on whatever they desire their humanoid shape to be as they come into being. They are the definition of burning bright and fast, born already fully grown and generally only living for a handful of years (The longest documented lifespan of an Astral being was 10 years and 3 months.) As such they tend to try and live in excess, wanting to experience as much as they can in their short time on our plane. These desires also vary wildly from one Astral to another, some craving lavish lives of nonstop parties and finery, others preferring the thrills of a life lived on the edge, always moving fast, staring danger in the face. As Astrals can feel the emotional aura of the people around them some look outward, hoping to immerse themselves in the joys and revels of the people they surround themselves with. As with their desires and goals, morality too can vary deeply between Astrals, some looking to amass everything they can, no matter the cost, or bathing themselves not in joy but in suffering.
Astrals carry a dark secret, one they are always born knowing, an Astral can extend their own lives by feeding on the life essence of other beings. While not a requirement, creatures of extremely low intellect or lacking sapience provide significantly less gain and can have drawbacks in the form of permanent damage to their own intellect.

Traits

Age: Astrals come into being as adults. When creating an Astral, roll 1d10, this is how many years you have remaining in your natural lifespan.
Size: While Astrals can manifest themselves in any humanoid shape, they tend to be between 5 and 6 feet tall, but are surprisingly light, rarely ever weighing more than 75 pounds with their weight diminishing as they come closer to the end of their lifespan.
Speed: Your movement speed is 30 ft.
Darkvision: As a being of the arcane you can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Arcane Knowledge: You have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
Arcane Empath: You may cast the Sense Emotion spell with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast the Detect Magic with this trait. Once you cast Sense Emotion or Detect magic with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice.
Arcane Resistance: At the end of a long rest you may choose one type of damage (Fire, Cold, Lightning, Thunder, Acid, Necrotic, or Radiant) you gain resistance to that type of damage from magical sources until you take another long rest.

Naming Traditions

Unisex names

Astral names tend to be widely varied, with some taking on names they find charming and others choosing names based on things or concepts that drive them. A popular alternative some Astrals choose is to name themselves after the first thing they encounter once they come into being.

Culture

Funerary and Memorial customs

When an Astral senses the end of their lifespan on the horizon they begin working on their Final Work. The form this takes varies greatly, but is always tied to their goal in life. For Astrals who spend their time in a material form as hedonists, their Final Work may take the form of a grand party, spending any wealth they may have accumulated over the course of their lifetime on throwing the most lavish, decadent party they possibly can. Live music and other entertainment, quality food, all forms of drink, perhaps even hosted in a mansion or castle. For an Astral who spent their time surrounding themselves with beauty, they may decide to create a piece of physical Artwork as their Final work, a painting, a carving, or a story that they pour everything they have into. For a darker slant, one who has amassed great wealth through criminal activity or revels in slaughter may take to a truly twisted act for their Final Work, a nightmare than they can be sure will be remembered for centuries to come.
No matter what form the Final Work takes, they will almost always have parting gifts for those they consider their closest friends and confidants. While their Final Work is meant to leave the world with something to remember them by, these mementos are personal to those they are given to, with some sort of emotional meaning that they believe is representative of their bond.