My DM doesn't accept my aarakocra ;-;

[felipeeefl]

He just don't like the picture.
https://image.prntscr.com/image/fFePeAcSR7aoIC9-tjIM0w.png

[Lance Tankmen]

first, really great picture, second depends on the DM i mean i could let it slide that you're a mutant but Aarakocra are more eagle than crane/stork headed so maybe thats why? you didnt really give context to why lol

[GlenSmash!]

It's a great picture, but lots of tables and all of Adventurer's League ban Aarakocra because unlimited flight at level 1 is considered disruptive and possibly overpowered.

[the_brazenburn]

It's a great picture, but lots of tables and all of Adventurer's League ban Aarakocra because unlimited flight at level 1 is considered disruptive and possibly overpowered.

Air Genasi
Avariel
Winged Tiefling

Lots of things can fly at 1st.

[PhantomSoul]

Air Genasi
Avariel
Winged Tiefling

Lots of things can fly at 1st.

And they're also not allowed in AL play (https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/DDADVL_FAQv3.pdf) (barring explicit overruling):



NOTE: Without specific campaign documentation,
racial options that allow a character to fly at 1st level
aren’t available for use Adventurers League play at
this time.



Edit -- I posted and then remembered my first thought: The Air Genasi (https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/EE_PlayersCompanion.pdf) additionally doesn't have Flight, but can instead cast the Levitate spell once per Long Rest. It's a minor note in this case, though, since it doesn't take away from the no-flight rule that is in place anyway.

[Naanomi]

One of the Amonkhet UA things has a few more types of birdmen as well

[Lance Tankmen]

i assumed the thread was that the DM just didnt like how made it look, like hes allowed to play an Aarakocra but cant look like that?

[Tanarii]

I though aarokocra wings were also their arms? That they didn't have separate arms as well.

Edit: okay I must either be thinking of pre-5e or just wrong. Because the 5e MM has separate arms and wings.

[A Fat Dragon]

Kind of feel out of place, as I don’t have anything else to say but really great picture man. Honestly, it’s really well made.

[Aett_Thorn]

I though aarokocra wings were also their arms? That they didn't have separate arms as well.

Edit: okay I must either be thinking of pre-5e or just wrong. Because the 5e MM has separate arms and wings.

Yeah, at some point in their history they changed from primitive parrot-people, who’s arms were their wings, to a fairly civilized race of anthropomorphic bird-men

[Tanarii]

Yeah, at some point in their history they changed from primitive parrot-people, who’s arms were their wings, to a fairly civilized race of anthropomorphic bird-menI don't remember them being particularly civilized in Dark Sun. But that doesn't make them a particular outlier. No one was very civilized in Dark Sun. That is where I remember first encountering them as a major race though.

I just went and checked and the Dark Sun aarokocra had hands mid-wing, and could use their feet as hands. And had vulture-like heads. Which is what I was thinking of.

[Malifice]

In Savage Words campaign I run we have a Fish man (custom D-Bee race) Juicer (drug harness wearing superman).

He looks like this:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.massively.com/media/2007/11/fishman_small.jpg

Even more hillariously, during a PF game I played in once, a mate of mine was playing a Grippli Zen Archer.

This was his actual character portrait:

https://cdn.churchm.ag/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Kermit-the-Frog.png

[Beelzebubba]

The :humblebrag: in this thread is going right over most of y'all's heads.

:smallyuk:

(Its is a cool drawing tho)

[DeadMech]

If unlimited flight is an issue to you as a DM remember enemies are just as capable of picking up a bow or javalins as the PC's are. In fact more so because you can handwave their wealth.

[damascoplay]

Even more hillariously, during a PF game I played in once, a mate of mine was playing a Grippli Zen Archer.

This was his actual character portrait:

https://cdn.churchm.ag/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Kermit-the-Frog.png

That's gold.

[Tanarii]

The :humblebrag: in this thread is going right over most of y'all's heads.

:smallyuk:

(Its is a cool drawing tho)
It is a very cool drawing.

Makes me think Monk. Probably Way of the Sun Soul, because flying = range.

[Lombra]

The picture is cool tho. Maybe the hands canonically should be less antropomorphic and more talon-like? The fact that he has a head of an ibis is really cool imo. If it's because of the flight, well, you should cope with it for the best gaming experience, if your DM doesn't know how to handle "3D" combats you should understand his necessities and play along in the interest of a better game.

[Errata]

If unlimited flight is an issue to you as a DM remember enemies are just as capable of picking up a bow or javalins as the PC's are. In fact more so because you can handwave their wealth.

A large proportion of humanoids in the monster manual have ranged options by default, so it doesn't even really require customization. Also, it's really not that unbalanced for a single PC anyway. A typical archer character doesn't usually have much trouble staying at range, and they can benefit from cover, while the flying guy is out there in the open making themselves a target to enemies with range. Any hits the archer doesn't take have to be tanked by someone else. It only becomes unbalanced in unusual corner cases like an entire party that flies.

Plus, flying is situational. How many of your fights are you having outdoors? Usually not all of them. If you're spending significant time indoors with 10 or even 15 foot ceillings, your flight is not going to that useful for that part of the campaign. You're basically giving up a feat compared to another race (like variant human), for an ability that may provide some tactical advantage in certain situations. In practice flight is not a tremendous balance problem in combat.

The out of combat utility can be a concern. If ground travel is supposed to be an important part of a pre-scripted campaign, then having someone who can completely bypass it might mess something up. It's hardly limitless, since it would involve splitting up the party and making everyone more vulnerable. But for AL where everyone is supposed to have exactly the same pre-planned experience it might throw a wrench in something. A normal home DM wouldn't normally have much trouble with a flying character, though it may depend on what kind of campaign they had in mind.

[Millstone85]

At our table, we have got a seagull aarakocra. I think such variations are a great idea.


Maybe the hands canonically should be less antropomorphic and more talon-like?I keep having to look at 5e illustrations to remind me that, nope, it is just feathered hands, like Donald Duck at his most anthropomorphic.

[mephnick]

A large proportion of humanoids in the monster manual have ranged options by default, so it doesn't even really require customization.

To be fair, the ranged option is generally much weaker than their melee options, and many monsters have zero ranged options, so there is still a balance issue. But I agree it isn't a huge deal.

As a DM I would definitely focus fire the flying bird dude first though. Fair play.

[Naanomi]

Unless all those humanoids have longbows and the Sharpshooter feat, it is easy to build an untouchable bird-man (in the situations where you have free range of overhead movement anyways)

[Errata]

As a DM I would definitely focus fire the flying bird dude first though. Fair play.

I don't think "high ground" is a concept in RAW, but I would count vertical distance double when applying range increments to physical projectile weapons.
But yes, the flyer is generally leaving themselves more exposed than the typical ranged character who can benefit from a +2 half cover bonus or more.

I think people who complain about flight are often theorycrafting about hypothetical 1 on 1 matchups rather than relaying personal experiences from realistic campaigns. Maybe AL has valid reasons for it, but their concerns are much different than a typical informal campaign.

[Naanomi]

To be honest, I’d guess low level flight banning is less about combat and more about exploration... flying invalidates so many ‘cross this pit, climb this tower, scout this enemy’ sort of challenge that is common in low level adventures. It does so more than any other racial ability

[Errata]

Unless all those humanoids have longbows and the Sharpshooter feat, it is easy to build an untouchable bird-man (in the situations where you have free range of overhead movement anyways)

Then you're spending valuable character resources beyond just your choice of race, building toward something that doesn't have much benefit for the other members of your party. Your unassailable defense means the rest of your party takes that much more heat. Maybe a positive thing if you're the weak link, but it's far from unusual for one character to have ways of tanking for others.

Unless you have a whole party of untouchable bird men, which is a weird thing to do that doesn't normally happen. And all your DM has to do is put you indoors, and suddenly you're nothing but a weaker than average party who put considerable resources into something they can't use. Most campaigns seem to end up indoors, often for the harder battles too.

This seems like a hypothetical rather than something that's actually a balance problem in real campaigns.

[Errata]

To be honest, I’d guess low level flight banning is less about combat and more about exploration... flying invalidates so many ‘cross this pit, climb this tower, scout this enemy’ sort of challenge that is common in low level adventures. It does so more than any other racial ability

It doesn't invalidate climbing a tower unless you're going to go solo to whatever is waiting for you, which is probably dangerous. You cross the pit alone, then what? Normally you need to keep going. This falls under the category of theoretical problems that are in practice only problems if your whole party is flyers, which would be an exceedingly rare thing to actually happen in a normal campaign, and wouldn't be hard for a DM to adjust for if they knew the players wanted to do that..

Scout the enemy? If you're far enough above the ground to be away from any danger of attack, then you're going to miss a lot of crucial detail. And if you can see them, they can see you. Not a lot of places to hide in the sky. So you've just announced your presence and given them time to prepare or follow you to attack your party. A rogue or wild shaped druid can get up close and see things the flyer would miss, while not being observed, and they can do it under a forest canopy or indoors, unlike the flyer.

[Malifice]

That's gold.

+2 Dex, +2 Wisdom.

I laughed my ass off when I saw the pic.

[Malifice]

Unless all those humanoids have longbows and the Sharpshooter feat, it is easy to build an untouchable bird-man (in the situations where you have free range of overhead movement anyways)

Now if only we had a DM in control of the environment in which the PCs must adventure...

I have no problem with flying PCs. I just ensure that they cant always get advantage from those wings (i.e. dungeons with 10' x 10'x 10' hallways).

Id rather allow the concept, and manage it in game, than have a blanket No.

Im considering a refluffed Aaracroca (actually Human) Kensai. I only want the race for the flight, and I only want the flight so I can be all Wuxia Crouching Tiger/ Hidden Dragon from level 1.

This kind of thing:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fPmV5vfO9xk/TjiewXsD8QI/AAAAAAAAAHA/rViax92juuA/s1600/hero2.jpg

Fly around running along bamboo and along water, leaping into the air and swinging my Jian.

[Naanomi]

Now if only we had a DM in control of the environment in which the PCs must adventure...
To a degree, though there are DMs who run published adventures (or have to, like AL) where the flexibility to tailor encounters around the abilities of a single PC are not as open.

[KorvinStarmast]

I only want the race for the flight, and I only want the flight so I can be all Wuxia Crouching Tiger/ Hidden Dragon from level 1. . Volo's Guide, Aasimar, has flight now and again. It's a decent compromise, but I think the flight doesn't kick in until level 3.

[Malifice]

To a degree, though there are DMs who run published adventures (or have to, like AL) where the flexibility to tailor encounters around the abilities of a single PC are not as open.

In which of the published adventures is flight a game-breaker at early levels?

Im not seeing it.

[Throne12]

To be fair, the ranged option is generally much weaker than their melee options, and many monsters have zero ranged options, so there is still a balance issue. But I agree it isn't a huge deal.

As a DM I would definitely focus fire the flying bird dude first though. Fair play.

1 point of damage is better then none.

[Tanarii]

Unless all those humanoids have longbows and the Sharpshooter feat, it is easy to build an untouchable bird-man (in the situations where you have free range of overhead movement anyways)
You can do the same against many enemies with a fast horse, or better yet a monk, in open terrain.

Admittedly there are some terrains that might specifically provide good & rough ground cover but very bad overhead cover. Most of the south-western United States are a pretty good example.

[Naanomi]

You can do the same against many enemies with a fast horse, or better yet a monk, in open terrain.

Admittedly there are some terrains that might specifically provide good & rough ground cover but very bad overhead cover. Most of the south-western United States are a pretty good example.
True, there are benefits and drawbacks to both. The first thing that comes to my mind is ship-combat... most campaigns I run (because of my homebrew setting I usually use) have at least one ship excursion, and flight picking off anyone who dares stand on the deck is my first go-to example when thinking of the combat advantages of flight (especially 60ft flight speed)

[Tanarii]

True, there are benefits and drawbacks to both. The first thing that comes to my mind is ship-combat... most campaigns I run (because of my homebrew setting I usually use) have at least one ship excursion, and flight picking off anyone who dares stand on the deck is my first go-to example when thinking of the combat advantages of flight (especially 60ft flight speed)
I would think in that case they'd be at their most vulnerable to the long range personal missile fire that all ships would already have as part of their marine complement. Since ship to ship combat already requires that.

Same if you were trying to be a flyer picking off Mongol (or other horse archer) hordes.

[Naanomi]

Very few ship-to-ship weapons are aimable at small targets... nor can most of them aim upwards (though could be designed to in worlds with dragons and the like). A spellsniper with eldritch blast or a sharpshooting longbowman has a massive range advantage when there is no path to close the distance... especially when the flight speed of 60’ is tacked on

[Vorpalchicken]

Maybe if you cook your DM dinner, turn the lights down low, play some romantic music...