Aarakocra

AD&D (1e/2e) Rules

by OldSchoolDL

Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Dexterity (maximum 18), -1 Strength and Constitution (maximum 16 each).

Player Classes: Aarakocras can be warriors, barbarians, clerics/tribal shamans, and thieves.

Hit Dice: Aarakocra receive Hit Dice by class.

Alignment: Aarakocras tend towards neutral good. Aarakocra PCs can be any alignment.

Natural Armor Class: AC 7.

Monstrous Traits: Broken speech; aarakocra make bird sounds when speaking, even when speaking the common tongue.

Superstitions: Fear of enclosed spaces.

Racially Preferred Weaponry: Daggers, darts, javelins, special aarakocra flight lances.

Racially Preferred Nonweapon Knowledges: Alertness, animal noises, danger sense, direction sense, hunting, mountainous survival, weather sense, and weaving.

Special Advantages
The bird-men have the ability to fly, with a movement rate of 36 and a maneuverability class of C. Aarakocra's talons cause 1d3 points of damage and can strike twice in a round. Their beaks also cause 1d3 points of damge. They receive no attack penalties for aerial missile fire. When using two javelins, an aarakocra can make a diving attack. They must dive at least 200 feet to use this special attack. The attacks are usually accompanied by a blood curdling shriek, gaining a +4 bonus to the attack rolls and cause double damage.

An aarakocra shaman/cleric of 7th level or higher can, with four other aarakocras of the same religion, summon a friendly air elemental with three rounds of chanting and aerial dancing. It will perform favors, although it will not endanger its life for them.

Special Disadvantages
Aarakocra are very claustrophobic. Those who engage in combat in enclosed areas (buildings, dungeons, etc.) receive a -3 penalty to their attack rolls.

Background
Aarakocra are a race of intelligent bird-men that live among the highest mountain peaks of Krynn. The average aarakocra stands about five feet tall and has a wingspan of twenty feet. Halfway along the edge of each wing is a hand with three human-sized fingers and an opposable thumb. An elongated fourth finger extends the length of the wing and locks in place during flight. The hands cannot grasp while flying, but are nearly as useful as human hands when an aarakocra is perched and its wings folded back. Their powerful legs end in four sharp talons that can unlock and fold back to reveal another pair of functional hands. These humanoids have hollow, fragile bones. Their faces combine the features of both parrots and eagles. They have gray-black beaks and black eyes. Plumage color varies, but males generally have red orange and yellow coloration, while females tend towards brown and gray.

Aarakocra live in small tribes which control hunting territories and share a communal nest. The eldest male serves as leader, the second oldest as shaman. The aarakocra are rivals of the kyrie and often fight over living space, especially those tribes on the island of Karthay where aarakocras have been known to work with minotaur barbaric tribes to hunt kyrie. Aarakocras that live in the Abanasinia region often trade with the phaethons that live among the Sentinel peaks.

Languages: Aarakocra, Common, Giant Eagle.

Role Playing Suggestions: Aarakocra are reluctant to engage in ground or grappling combat because of their fragile bones. They love gems and other shiny objects. Their religious ceremonies are simple affairs involving whistled hymns. The aarakocra chief religions are the Gods of Nature (Habbakuk, Chislev, Zeboim), depending upon the alignment and/or location of aarakocra tribes. The first day of each new month is of religious significance.

These bird-men enjoy peace and solitude. They love their freedom, and are extremely claustrophobic. Most of them will not enter a cave, building, or other enclosed area without a very good reason. Aarakocra PC adventurers must have clear motivations. Some leave on a quest to aide their people, others because they do not fit with the rest of the tribe. Aarakocra who learn common intersperse the language with their native bird-like sounds. Caws, screeches, and whistles punctuate their broken sentences in typical bird-like fashion (similar to a parrot that mimics human speech). Aarakocra fighters prefer heavy fletched javelins when they must go to battle. An aarakocra can carry up to six javelins in individual sheathes strapped to his chest. While flying, he can clutch a javelin in each of its lower hands, throwing them or stabbing opponents when necessary. Aarakocra who have left their home territory and traveled to more civilized lands will sometimes wear pieces of studded leather armor to provide additional protection. They never carry shields.

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