Birdbarian?

[GutterFace]

Quick Question Poll because i have a player looking into this and not sure how i should rule.

Aarakocra barbarian. in essence he wants to grapple people, fly up and give them the talons and let them go. even at 50% flight speed he will still drop them 25 feet. he knows this is only useable outdoors and such. but the entry for the race says they cant fly with armor (blocks the wings?) but says nothing about encumbrance....so....should i let him?

[Wartex1]

I'd rule that he can't carry anyone whose weight would exceed his carrying capacity.

Granted, assuming that he has anywhere between 16 and 20 Strength, that's still 240-300 lbs.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

See the Aarakocra thread for more discussion on it. Personally I don't see a problem with it. A 25' drop is only 2d6, half that if the target can do an acrobatics save. That's less damage than a regular attack, unless there's spikes or a cliff nearby.

[unwise]

Given that they can't wear a fitted breastplate and still fly, I would find it very odd that they can carry an entire person and fly at all.

[Galen]

I would not allow them to carry anything heavier than the same armor they are not allowed to wear.

[Mandragola]

No way.

These things aren't using any kind of magical flight. They have to carry stuff using the strength in their own wings alone.

Tell him to stop being silly and just hit things. He'll do more damage and not have to mess around. And note that from level 5 onwards it would be stupid to not just take his two attacks.

Honestly Aarakocra are a pretty daft thing to exist as a player race, in my opinion. They are incredibly open to abuse. As a DM if you're going to allow them at all then it should be on the very clear understanding that the player won't mess around with them and try to break the game, because that will just ruin it for everyone.

I'd consider a modification that their arms and wings are one limb, which they have to use if they want to fly. So they could fly from place to place but they'd need to land if they wanted a hand free to cast spells or use weapons. I'd do this because right now an Aarakocra just seems like it's too good a pick for classes like rangers and rogues, or anyone who wants to zap things from range and not get beaten up by ogres.

[Chronos]

The armor thing isn't about the weight, it's about the fact that they have wings which can't fit through armor. You could make armor out of cardboard and balsa wood, and they still wouldn't be able to fly in it.

[SharkForce]

The armor thing isn't about the weight, it's about the fact that they have wings which can't fit through armor. You could make armor out of cardboard and balsa wood, and they still wouldn't be able to fly in it.

except that they could fly in that, because it would be light armour, which doesn't interfere with flight in the slightest.

[Galen]

Since light armor doesn't interfere with flight, but medium and heavy armor do, it clearly is about the weight.

[Wartex1]

Not necessarily, Galen.

For example: Leather armor is a lot more flexible than plate armor. It's also easier to move in, and it's not just due to weight.

[Jlooney]

The first light armor listed gives disadvantage in stealth. I agree with the not being a weight issue but build of the armor

[Ralanr]

Doubt there are much specialized armor for people with wings and I don't see these guys bothering to mine, smelt, and smith metal armor when they can peck things in the air with arrows. So it could be build of armor.

It could also be weight distribution since heavy armor is worn around their bodies while a person would be grabbed by their hands. You could maybe set a limit to what he could carry in his arms in flight. Maybe half normal weight or a quarter of it.

[Forum Explorer]

I'd let him do it, though perhaps give him disadvantage on the rolls, or let the opponent get a free grapple check to hold on when dropped.

The real threat is one of these guys going ranged where they then get to shoot from afar with impunity.

[Spacehamster]

Rule it as can only fly up lifting small creatures like gnoams and halflings. Making their arms and wings the same limb is not a good idea. Just give him a clear idea of what he can and cannot do. :)

[cobaltstarfire]

If he wants to do it fine, but throw in enemies that may grab onto him when he tries to drop them just for fun. :smalltongue:

It's not really that big of a deal though, if you are halving his speed 2d6 is the same amount of damage as a great axe anyway, only without str bonus. He'd be doing better damage just staying grounded and hitting enemies with a large heavy weapon than by putting himself at risk with the grabbing and the flying.

[MrStabby]

Regarding armor, I had just assumed that it was to represent the fact that there war a bloody great big pair of wings stuck out that could be hit so no armour could cover a decent amount of the vulnerable area.

Given the wingspan needed to to lift a character of that weight I would suggest that he would be a massive target with a really big vulnerable area to shoot at. Maybe even give people advantage to hit with ranged weapons when he is airborne.

[Person_Man]

I'd rule that you could fly carrying a load equal to your normal carrying capacity (Strength score multiplied by 15). Seems fairly reasonable. I'd also allow a Shadow Monk to Shadow Jump strait up with a Grappled enemy.

But my PCs are on notice that every ruling is a double edged sword. If they do it to enemies, enemies may do it to them. So they rarely request rulings that could lead to their instant death.

[Joe the Rat]

Physics says to me that unless your wings are seriously over-engineered, you probably can't translate your full carry capacity into flight capacity.

But we're talking game rules, not reality. Here's your catch (ha!): After using an action (or one attack in the case of extra attack) to Grapple, the Birdbarian's speed is halved, per Grappling rules. So 25' max (2d6), and he's given up making a regular attack to do this (2d6+str for a maul, for example). Dropping people over cliffs? You could do that already. Grapple, walk to cliff, shove.

So it's a cool trick, but suboptimal.

If you want a tweak, consider capping this trick at "same size or smaller." There shouldn't be any truly "Large" creatures in his carry capacity, but it would help curtail the number of halfling warlocks with pseudodragon jetpacks tooling around.

[Vogonjeltz]

but the entry for the race says they cant fly with armor (blocks the wings?) but says nothing about encumbrance....so....should i let him?

I imagine the armor restriction is because of the nature of armor and range of motion restrictions, so I'd allow it as long as they can carry them.

[SaibenLocke]

Why can't they wear armor? I mean if a Griffon can have barding then it is certainly feasible. Barding can be any armor. Pg 156 PHB