What classes and paths are Anakkora best at?

[CyberThread]

What do the bird folks do best?

[calebrus]

What do the bird folks do best?

Dex +2, Wis +1, ground speed 25', flight speed 50', unarmed strikes that deal slashing.
They would make pretty damned amazing monks. Basically anything Dex and/or Wis, or pretty much any caster because of the flight, but especially monks.

[Dontdestroyme]

Or Rangers. Death from above.

[RulesJD]

Ranged classes, end of story. Anyone who says they would make good monks doesn't understand the benefit of having a fly speed. You could, in theory, use the Mobile feat to dip in and out of combat, but that is peanuts compared to what a Fighter/Ranger that closes to 90ft to cast Hunters Mark before flying up to 600ft away and Sharpshooting to their heart's content.

[Gwendol]

I'd go further and say that ranged fighting ability will be a requirement for not meet an untimely death. In the skies one is a prime target, and anyone having to waste time getting to the enemy will eventually fall. There's no-where to hide (unless it's a cloudy/rainy/snowy day, but that will bring its own issues).

[calebrus]

Ranged classes, end of story. Anyone who says they would make good monks doesn't understand the benefit of having a fly speed. You could, in theory, use the Mobile feat to dip in and out of combat, but that is peanuts compared to what a Fighter/Ranger that closes to 90ft to cast Hunters Mark before flying up to 600ft away and Sharpshooting to their heart's content.

Ranged classes are not the end of the story.
And I accounted for every ranged possibility you could think of with the "basically anything Dex and/or Wis based" comment.
Anyone who says they would make good monks doesn't understand the benefit of having a fly speed?
How does having a fly speed make them a bad monk?
Racial bonuses to both of your main stats, a fly speed, and the ability to choose between bludgeoning and slashing for your unarmed strikes.
They make AMAZING monks, and anyone that claims that they don't doesn't understand the benefits of being able to change your unarmed damage type.

[Gwendol]

Just as long as they have a ranged attack option, I have no issue with using monk. Their unarmed AC is most certainly a boon.

[-Jynx-]

Monk deserves just as much of a mention if for no other reason than the seismic toss they can pull on enemies. Charizard would be jelly.

[ad_hoc]

They are best as monks. Don't forget their armour limitations.

Keep in mind that this is a group game. Staying away from the fray with your martial character does not help your party.

[Rfkannen]

They are best as monks. Don't forget their armour limitations.

Keep in mind that this is a group game. Staying away from the fray with your martial character does not help your party.

sure it does! Plenty of uses for a squishy archer. i have played them and you help protect your squishies and pick off other targets the melees cant reach

[Spacehamster]

Druid so they don't die at age 30ish. :p

[Ralanr]

Druid so they don't die at age 30ish. :p

Same with monks

[Spacehamster]

Same with monks

Monks only make you take no effect of old age, you still die at your races normal max age. Druid makes each year you age take ten yrs which gives the bird race 340 yrs instead of 34. :)

[Slipperychicken]

What do the bird folks do best?

Barbarian/Rogue grapple builds. Grapple with a ridiculous modifier and advantage, cunning action dash the target 50+ feet in the air, use remaining attacks, then drop him for 5d6 or more damage. Bonus points if you can drop him onto a hazard or another enemy.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Anything with a ranged attack or likes to play keep-away. So Rangers, rogues, dex-fighters, and most full casters. Certain clerics and perhaps the druid would not work as well, due to a lack of effective ranged cantrip/attack or not being able to wear heavy armor. Moon druids would be interesting though, being able to easily flip between different kinds of mobility.
Great Monks as mentioned, and also fairly decent barbarians for similar reasons. If the DM allows the character to pick up and drop enemies, the Barbarian's great grapple checks and extra carrying capacity could make for some big moves.

[Vortenger]

Barbarian/Rogue grapple builds. Grapple with a ridiculous modifier and advantage, cunning action dash the target 50+ feet in the air, use remaining attacks, then drop him for 5d6 or more damage. Bonus points if you can drop him onto a hazard or another enemy.

Ooh, that's good!

[ChubbyRain]

I came up with a spell combo back when EE first came out that made them hellacious.

Sorcerer 8 is the main starting point when using point buy.

Fly (w/wings) + Warding Wind (concentration) + Subtle Spell Metamagic (when needed) + Fireball (or Scorching Ray).

This can be made better (damage wise), I'm sure, but flying around giving archers disadvantage and dropping death from above is always fun. Have a telepath in the party (Cleric and Warlock are popular) and you don't need to hear to get directions from allies.

Now to get a way to silence a moving object and things get even more fun.

Being indoors sucks but that happens from time to time.

[Dontdestroyme]

Druid so they don't die at age 30ish. :p

I changed my mind this is the right answer.

[MinotaurWarrior]

They have 15ft, slashing damage, and flying on wood elves. But they lack darkvision, keen senses, fey ancestry, trance, and mask of the wild. As well, boots of speed benefit them 20ft less.

Up until level four, I think they're basically just worse than wood elves as being a monk, because they can't have mobility at that point, so flyby attacks aren't really an option. Sure, they're faster, but not in any way that matters, and they need to get in melee range and stay there to do anything. So, they basically do the exact same thing as a woodelf monk, but have worse senses and worse resists. My guess is that for a while after that, they trade off in a pretty balanced way. In a dungeon? I'd rather be a wood elf. Traveling overland? I'd rather be an Anakkora. Something else, like urban combat or attacking a surface encampment? I think it's pretty balanced.

Things go back in the direction of wood elves being just better (1) with magic & magic items and (2) at levels 17 & 20. Woodelves sneaking up, getting surprise, using quivering palm, and then booking it faster than people can pursue is where things once again come up with wood elves having the advantage. Woodelves are just better at that in a way Anakkora can't match, and I don't think Anakkora generally get anything to compensate at this point, since by that then even their flying isn't that special. Now, an Anakkora monk is still the fastest flyer out there, with a base fly speed of 80ft at level 20 with no feats, so there are situations where they're better - in a game involving lots of complex aerial battles, I'd love to be the dude who can chase down the fleeing dragon or intercept the flankers. But I doubt it's really worth it.

So, in summary, I think Wood Elves are better monks before level 4 and after level 17, and just as good in between.

However, Anakorra are, as others have noted, amazing for ranged builds - especially at lower levels where other sources of flying are rarer, and, I'd say, they make the biggest difference for a ranger. Even in a dungeon, having that higher-than average speed could make a big difference.

[Gritmonger]

Barbarian/Rogue grapple builds. Grapple with a ridiculous modifier and advantage, cunning action dash the target 50+ feet in the air, use remaining attacks, then drop him for 5d6 or more damage. Bonus points if you can drop him onto a hazard or another enemy.

Does falling away from an attacker/an attacker leaving your reach by you falling away from them count for opportunity attacks?

[Slipperychicken]

Does falling away from an attacker/an attacker leaving your reach by you falling away from them count for opportunity attacks?

It does not. The section on opportunity attacks explicitly calls out gravity as an exception.

[Gritmonger]

It does not. The section on opportunity attacks explicitly calls out gravity as an exception.

Okay. If an Aaracokra is reduced to zero move when in flight (either from grappling, or from a Sentinal feat plus a reach weapon) does it drop like a stone since its flight speed is now zero, and it depends on unrestrained wings for flight?

Oh, and does a feat grant somebody the ability to execute a full move when grappling? I thought move was at half-speed when grappling...

[silveralen]

Rangers are the stand out option imo. Uses both stats and can really benefit from flying as an archer.

Monk has pros and cons. Getting a second potential damage type on your unarmed strike (assuming this works) isn't bad but isn't going to be helpful that often. The fly speed is a bit redundant with some of monk's mobility options, though if the speed boost applies to the fly speed (AFB) it is pretty nice.

Any archer can work to a degree like ranger would, though probably less benefit from wisdom.

A cantrip cleric isn't an awful choice, you have the wis bonus and a fly speed isn't awful. It pairs well with spiritual guardians, one of the better cleric offensive spells.

A tempest cleric is thematically fitting but the abilities don't match up real well. Most of the other full casters are generally getting less benefit, druid in particular already has lots of access to flying speed which is the big selling point of the race. No stat boost to the other key stats seems meh.

[Slipperychicken]

Okay. If an Aaracokra is reduced to zero move when in flight (either from grappling, or from a Sentinal feat plus a reach weapon) does it drop like a stone since its flight speed is now zero, and it depends on unrestrained wings for flight?

Oh, and does a feat grant somebody the ability to execute a full move when grappling? I thought move was at half-speed when grappling...

I believe an Aarakocra would drop if it gained the grappled or restrained conditions while flying (a creature doesn't get the "grappled" condition unless it's the target of a grapple), but I don't have a page number handy for that. Also, it would move at half speed while grappling another creature; note that my calculation for "50+ feet" included using both normal movement and the rogue's bonus action dash.

[Slipperychicken]

Okay. If an Aaracokra is reduced to zero move when in flight (either from grappling, or from a Sentinal feat plus a reach weapon) does it drop like a stone since its flight speed is now zero, and it depends on unrestrained wings for flight?

Oh, and does a feat grant somebody the ability to execute a full move when grappling? I thought move was at half-speed when grappling...

I believe an Aarakocra would drop if it gained the grappled or restrained conditions while flying (a creature doesn't get the "grappled" condition unless it's the target of a grapple), but I don't have a page number handy for that. Also, it would move at half speed while grappling another creature; note that my calculation for "50+ feet" included using both normal movement and the rogue's bonus action dash.

[Sabeta]

If the bird can't fly with medium armor on, why would they be able to fly with a struggling, heavy person.

[mephnick]

Because people want to make an already stupid option more OP.

[Beleriphon]

If the bird can't fly with medium armor on, why would they be able to fly with a struggling, heavy person.

I think the rationale is that the armour is restrictive rather than too heavy.

[Spacehamster]

I think the rationale is that the armour is restrictive rather than too heavy.

And a person struggling with all their might to get loose aint? :D

[Beleriphon]

And a person struggling with all their might to get loose aint? :D

Well, less so than armour that restricts wing movement I guess. I don't think its that different than a raptor grabbing a prey animal in, beyond the size and the fact that humanoid prey tend weild weapons.

[Slipperychicken]

And a person struggling with all their might to get loose aint? :D

What do you think the Strength(Athletics) check is for?

[SharkForce]

Because people want to make an already stupid option more OP.

it isn't OP. the most powerful version is a chance at dealing 2d6 damage every 2 rounds at level 1 or 5d6 damage every 2 rounds at level 2 (one to ascend, the second to come back down and grapple a target, then the next to ascend, etc), unless there is a cliff or pit or something around, in which case you don't need flight to deal damage by dropping people and it is no more OP than anything else.

if you can't figure out a way to deal more damage than that, you're either not trying very hard or are a full caster and single-target damage isn't really your thing anyways (and in all likelihood, neither is grappling).

i mean, let's take what should be an incredibly suboptimal DPR character; a rogue that isn't getting sneak attack. with a short sword and a rapier, at level 1 that rogue can potentially deal 1d8 + 1d6 + 3 in a single round... so 2d8 + 2d6 + 6 every 2 rounds. if they can get sneak attack (and it's not *that* hard), add another 2d6 damage per 2 rounds.

the seismic toss build is kinda funny, but it is not dealing good damage.

[Shining Wrath]

It makes no sense that a breastplate would interfere with a aaracokra's flight, while a 350 pound dragonborn is liftable. However, rules do not have to make sense.

The most hilarious part of the barb/rogue grapple, hoist, drop routine is the ability to drop the 350 pound dragonborn on the 110 pound high elf caster. I'd call it 2 birds with 1 stone, but I think aaracokra dislike that expression.

[mephnick]

the seismic toss build is kinda funny, but it is not dealing good damage.

I guess if you're fighting in a featureless room. Any fight with a bridge, cliff, pit, fire, lava, water etc etc makes it quite a bit more powerful.

Plus the seismic toss isn't the real issue, free flight at level one is. I'm just saying the toss makes it even better.

[Shining Wrath]

I guess if you're fighting in a featureless room. Any fight with a bridge, cliff, pit, fire, lava, water etc etc makes it quite a bit more powerful.

Plus the seismic toss isn't the real issue, free flight at level one is. I'm just saying the toss makes it even better.

Being able to inflict moderate damage on two foes, while moving one of them out of what may be a key position, and inflicting the prone condition on both of them, is nothing to sneeze at.

[Wartex1]

It makes no sense that a breastplate would interfere with a aaracokra's flight, while a 350 pound dragonborn is liftable. However, rules do not have to make sense.

The most hilarious part of the barb/rogue grapple, hoist, drop routine is the ability to drop the 350 pound dragonborn on the 110 pound high elf caster. I'd call it 2 birds with 1 stone, but I think aaracokra dislike that expression.

Not really.

Carrying a heavy object doesn't restrict joint movements. Wearing stiff, heavy armor does.

[Gritmonger]

But unless they start the round within five feet of their target, the most they'll get is a 25 foot drop, not a 50 foot drop.

First move action - close to grappling distance. Action to grapple, or attack and grapple.

Cunning action to dash 1/2 move up. 25'

[SharkForce]

I guess if you're fighting in a featureless room. Any fight with a bridge, cliff, pit, fire, lava, water etc etc makes it quite a bit more powerful.

Plus the seismic toss isn't the real issue, free flight at level one is. I'm just saying the toss makes it even better.

except that they're still only adding 5d6 damage per 2 rounds, tops. because if we took a different character (one more suited to grappling and with a higher strength to lift stuff, for example) with good grappling capabilities, they could still toss enemies off the bridge or cliff, into the fire or lava, etc. and, in fact, as a result of not going up as high as they possibly can, those other people may even be able to toss people into hazards once per round instead of once per two rounds, making it decidedly better to not fly (obviously, the aarakocra retains the ability to not fly as well, so it's not that those other builds are inherently better... they just aren't suffering from inability to fly as far as grappling is concerned)

flight is a nuisance for a DM to plan around. it is not game-breaking. now, if a given DM doesn't want to deal with that nuisance, then it's totally reasonable to ban it - not because it ruins the game balance, but because the DM needs to have fun too, and flight certainly helps get around many obstacles relatively easily unless you specifically ask yourself when designing an obstacle "what happens if someone can just fly".

[Slipperychicken]

But unless they start the round within five feet of their target, the most they'll get is a 25 foot drop, not a 50 foot drop.

First move action - close to grappling distance. Action to grapple, or attack and grapple.

Cunning action to dash 1/2 move up. 25'

Yeah, I was assuming starting the routine within 5ft. Only considering the fall damage, the drop is more of a finisher move; you'd grapple, fly up while wailing on the target, and drop him for a handful of d6 when he looks low on health (or if you just don't want to get hit by him next turn). When you consider the reposition effect, automatic prone condition from falling, and extra damage from dropping him on another enemy (or a hazard; like dropping him outside a window, off a cliff, into water, onto a fence, onto a trap, into a flanked square, etc), it's a lot stronger than just the fall damage implies.