Sequestered in high mountains atop tall trees, the aarakocra, sometimes called birdfolk, evoke fear and wonder. Some aarakocra aren’t even native to the Material Plane. They hail from a world beyond—from the boundless vistas of the Elemental Plane of Air. They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien.
From below, aarakocra look much like large birds. Only when they descend to roost on a branch or walk across the ground does their humanoid appearance reveal itself. Standing upright, aarakocra might reach 5 feet tall, and they have long, narrow legs that taper to sharp talons.
Feathers cover their bodies. Their plumage typically denotes membership in a tribe. Males are brightly colored, with feathers of red, orange, or yellow. Females have more subdued colors, usually brown or gray. Their heads complete the avian appearance, being something like a parrot or eagle with distinct tribal variations.
Nowhere are the aarakocra more comfortable than in the sky. They can spend hours in the air, and some go as long as days, locking their wings in place and letting the thermals hold them aloft. In battle, they prove dynamic and acrobatic fliers, moving with remarkable speed and grace, diving to lash opponents with weapons or talons before turning and flying away.
Once airborne, an aarakocra leaves the sky with reluctance. In the Elemental Plane of Air, they can fly for days or months, landing only to lay their eggs and feed their young before launching themselves back into the air. Those that make it to humanoid cities in the Material Plane find it a strange place. They sometimes forget or ignore vertical distances, and they have nothing but pity for those earthbound people forced to live and toil on the ground.
The resemblance of aarakocra to birds isn’t limited to physical features. Aarakocra display many of the same mannerisms as ordinary birds. They are fastidious about their plumage, frequently tending their feathers, cleaning and scratching away any tiny passengers they might have picked up. When they deign to descend from the sky, they often do so near pools where they can catch fish and bathe themselves.
Many aarakocra punctuate their speech with chirps, sounds they use to convey emphasis and to shade meaning, much as a human might through facial expressions and gestures. An aarakocra might become frustrated with people who fail to pick up on the nuances; an aarakocra’s threat might be taken as a jest and vice versa.
The idea of ownership baffles most aarakocra. After all, who owns the sky? Even when explained to them, they initially find the notion of ownership mystifying. As a result, aarakocra who have little interaction with other people might be a nuisance as they drop from the sky to snatch livestock or plunder harvests for fruits and grains. Shiny, glittering objects catch their eyes. They find it hard not to pluck the treasure and bring it back to their settlement to beautify it. An aarakocra who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses.
Confinement terrifies the aarakocra. To be grounded, trapped underground, or imprisoned by the cold, unyielding earth is a torment few aarakocra can withstand. Even when perched on a high branch or at rest in their mountaintop homes, they appear alert, with eyes moving and bodies ready to take flight.
Most aarakocra live high in the mountains away from other humanoids. Aarakocra can be drawn down from the mountains, sometimes to pursue enemies or thwart their foes’ designs there. Circumstance might also send a nest of aarakocra tumbling into that world. A few find their way to such a world and establish nests in high mountains or in the canopies of old forests.
Once tribes of aarakocra settle in an area, they share a hunting territory that extends across an area up to 100 miles on a side, with each tribe hunting in the lands nearest to their colony, ranging farther should game become scarce.
A typical colony consists of one large, open-roofed nest made of woven vines. The eldest acts as leader with the support of a shaman.
Aarakocra enjoy peace and solitude. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an exceptional circumstance for an aarakocra to leave his or her tribe and undertake the adventurer’s life. Neither treasure nor glory is enough to lure them from their tribes; a dire threat to their people, a mission of vengeance, or a catastrophe typically lies at the heart of the aarakocra adventurer’s chosen path.
Two other circumstances might call an aarakocra to adventure. First, aarakocra have claim historical ties to the Wind Dukes of Aqaa. Exceptional individuals honor that connection and might seek out the missing pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, the remains of an artifact fashioned by the Wind Dukes long ago to defeat the Queen of Chaos’s monstrous champion, Miska the Wolf-Spider. When plunged into Miska’s body, the chaos in his blood sundered the rod and scattered its pieces across the multiverse. Recovering the pieces means gaining honor and esteem in the eyes of the vaati who forged it and could possibly restore a powerful weapon for defense against the agents of elemental evil.
Second, aarakocra are sworn foes of elemental earth, in particular the gargoyles that serve Ogrémoch, the Prince of Earth. The Aarakocra word for gargoyle is loosely translated as “flying rock,” and battles between aarakocra and gargoyles have raged across the Elemental Planes of Earth and Air, occasionally spilling into a world on the Material Plane. Aarakocra on that plane might leave their colonies to lend aid to other humanoids committed to fighting earth cults and thwarting their efforts.
The first recorded location of Aarakocra is Mount Ryvoran. They spread from there forming homes in spires and mountain cliffs. By 150 they had started to make homes along the white cliffs of the Ageegha Territory. Merfolk are spotted, but no substantial contact is made until sometime later. By 375 Aarakocra had started to come into contact with Giants in the north and Dwarves and Halflings in the South. By 400 they had started relationships with humans. Because of the tense border with the giants it isn't until nearly 480 when they first contact elves.
The Golden era was one of peace and growth for the Aarakocra. They developed a philosophy of discovery and balance in this time. These 700 years was only only time when Aarakocra felt comfortable mixing with most other races.
It was 1213 when the Giants started to take some of the northern mountains in Kogemava Spires. The Aarakocra were not ready to fight, but would not quietly take the loss. First they turned to the Elves who also had a tense boundary with Giants. They discovered the elves too were under attack. Realizing that both were suffering losses to the Giants, the Aarakocra and Elves petitioned the Human king for assistance. The humans never denied assistance, but never offered assistance. The Aarakocran mindset had forever been changed. They returned to their native lands and withdrew from most of the other races. Even to this day an Aarkocra's home is hard to reach for a non-flyer and for one to be in your home would cause you to be distrusted by your fellow Aarakocra. The only place where this distrust is less is for the elves, who shared their struggle with the Giants. In 1243 it was the Aarakocra scout Gnishna Tulana that discovered dwarves were giving arms to Merfolk to be delivered to the giants. In a single generation, roughly 1300, the Aarakocra had developed a blood hatred of Giants, Dwarves and Merfolk.
1482 marked the death of last queen of the Aarakocra. Her kingdom was fractured by war and isolationism. They were first to enter the time of Darkness. For one hundred, short generations the gears of war continues to turn, powered by local blood feuds and generalized hate.
In 2215 the War Chieftain Praa Krovaa attended the first council. He returned from the council citing the reclamation of the ancient racial boundry. The spires had been reclaimed and the Hero Krovaa became the first Winglord of the Aarakocra. The Krovaa Dynasty lasted more than one hundred generations. Each Winglord passing mantle of leadership to his oldest living son upon his death. During this time the Aarakocra continued to remain mostly isolated from the other races.
In 2949 when the last Winglord of the Krovaa dynasty died he had no apparent living heir. The scouts went out and scribes started scouring. Within a year, it was discovered that the Winglord did, in fact, have a living heir. An Angel conceived during a diplomatic visit to the Elven kingdom. At this discovery, the kingdom broke into panic. Some said an Angel couldn't lead the Aarakocra, others thought the very fact that he carried Krovaa blood was enough. No other acceptable heir was found. So, five years later, in 2954 Prolaa In'donii took the throne. The In'donii Dynasty of the Aarakocra began with a twenty seven year old Angel, still immature for his race. Prolaa was a remarkable leader. Many thought he might have been emperor when the election was held in 3029. He ruled until 3354. During his time he strengthened the Aarakocras military might, but kept peace with all of their neighbors.
The In'donii dynasty lasted until 4113, when the emperor declared the racial kingdoms defunct. Only four Angel generations had passed, while for the Aarakocra around sixty generations had passed. During that time Angels were elevated to a place of honor among the Aarakocra. To this day visiting Angels are treated with a special reverence because of the greatness of the In'donii dynasty. The Aarakocra word for Angel is In'donii.
After the removal of the racial regions some Aarakocra began to live in the regions of other races. Very rarely did they actually live directly with non-Aarakocra, more often they lived on the outskirts of the main population. Even as generations were born away from the old Aarakocra region, the distrust they had for other races did not pass away. In the time before the death of the last Emperor the Aarakocra had divided their land into three large territories. The Kogemava Spires in the north, the Ageegha Territory on the East Coast and the Atharada Peaks, which is the most heavily populated and includes Mt. Ryvoran and Mt. Aoldainal.
From 4297 the Kogemova Spires have been controlled by a Krovaa, a name given in honor of the War Chieftan who attended the first council. The Kravaa is not handed down through bloodline, it is handed down by Military might. The rulership is an uncontested dictatorship. Currently the Krovaa is Krulla Ronna, a violent and paranoid warlord who has maintained a bloody war with the giants along his northern border.
Since 4300 the Ageegha Territoty has been under the official control of the Duke of the Wild. This position is largely honorary as the Duke of the Wild lives in Mt. Aoldainal and the Ageegha Territory is largely empty. There are a few Aarakocra who live in this area, but there are no cities. By and large, the land is a wildland without a set population. The current Duke of the Wild is actually a Dutchess, Anoti Bruja and she uses her position to regulate mining and hunting, although there is little need for it.
Ageegha Territory
Atharada Peaks
Kogemava Spires
Ability Score Increase: Dexterity+2, Wisdom +1
Ages: 3, 7, 12, 18, 30
Alignment: Most are good
Size: 4'10"-5'2", 80-100 lbs., Medium
Speed: 30 feet, flying: 30 feet (can't wear medium or heavy armor)
Flight: Because of your wings you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed. You can't use this flying speed if you're wearing medium or heavy armor.
Talons: You have talons that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, the strike deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Wind Caller: Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the gust of wind spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Once you cast the spell with this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have 2nd level or higher. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it when you cast gust of wind with this trait (choose when you select this race).
Languages: Common, Aarakocra and Auran