Dragon	Races	-	-	-
Character statistics	Description	Aarakocra Deities	Aarakocra senses	Attacks and defenses
Disadvantages and advantages

One problem with the AD&D® game is <character races>
the lack of variety in the races available to
PCs and NPCs: They all resemble humans
in mind and body. The DMG claims that <The Monster as a PC>
this is necessary to keep the powerful
monster races away from the PCs, remain
within the game's "humanocentric" basis,
and avoid all the rule adjustments needed
to bring nonhumanoid characters to the
game. Yet there are a number of creatures
in the game which are sufficiently similar
to humans in power and form as to avoid
endangering game balance or convenience,
yet different enough from humans
to provide welcome variety to the game.
One of these, the aarakocra, is the subject
of this article.

In this article, the aarakocra is fleshed
out and detailed in a manner similar to the
official races in the AD&D game, so as to
make it playable as an NPC race. The birdman
has also been put on an equal footing
with the other races, so it may be permitted
as a racial choice to PCs if the DM
permits. The purpose in bringing the
aarakocra to the ranks of PCs and NPCs is
to lend variety to the racial choices in the
game; the aarakocra are as different from
demi-humans in mind as they are in body.
Thus, when the aarakocra are played,
these differences should be emphasized
for maximum variety, fun, and ? if you
like ? humor.

Character statistics
The ability scores for the bird-men may
be determined in the usual manner, with a
+1 on strength and a -1 on dexterity,
observing the maximum and minimum
scores below, or by rolling the special dice
on the same chart. Aarakocra have a minimum
strength of 11 because good strength
is required for flying. They have minimum
and maximum dexterity scores of 6 and 17
because, while some agility is required for
flight, they have clawlike hands which are
not very dextrous. The minimum constitution
for an aarakocra is 8, because the
bird-men must be in good health to live
with little shelter in the frozen mountains
The comeliness of the aarakocra has no
effect on other PC races, though it does
affect other aarakocra. This attribute does
not affect normal, nonsentient birds,
though it could affect sentient birdlike
species (such as kenku) at the DM?s option.

Aarakocra may be fighters (maximum
level of 9), clerics (maximum level of 7), or
thieves (no maximum level). Their only
multiclass is that of fighter/thief. If random
class selection is desired, roll 1d100
to determine the following results: 01-10,
cleric; 11-52, fighter; 53-80, thief; 81-00,
fighter/thief. Aarakocra with class abilities
cannot summon an air elemental as their
brethren can.

Aarakocra are small and light because
flying is difficult for large or heavy creatures.
Like normal flying birds, the aarakoera
have hollow bones, which largely
accounts for their minimal weight. To
determine height, roll 1d100 for the following
results: 01-15, under the average;
16-75, average height; 76-00, over the
average. For weight, these results are:
01-15, underweight; 16-85, average
weight; 86-00, overweight. Refer these
results on Table 2.

Because of the great amounts of energy
expended in an airborne life, aarakocra
age quickly and have short ?young adult?
and ?mature? life stages. However, because
of their mountain habitat or because of
some magical influence, they outlive
humans in the long run. General age classifications
are as follows (in years of age):
young adult, 14-20; mature, 21-37; middleage,
38-60; old, 61-100; and venerable, 101-
150. Use Table 3 to determine beginning
ages for adventuring aarakocra.

Aarakocra are only average thieves, but
being aerial creatures, they are excellent
thief-acrobats. Aarakocra lose from abilities
such as picking pockets and opening
locks because of their clumsy hands. Furthermore,
their wings make hiding in
shadows difficult. Aarakocra have good
balance because of their wings; this, in
combination with their light bodies, aids
considerably in broad jumping, high jumping,
and pole vaulting. The bulkiness of
their wings, however, makes tumbling
maneuvers difficult. The aarakocra?s wings
and feathers help them avoid damage
when falling even if they are injured too
badly for flying. Lastly, their clawed hands
aid them in climbing. All rules regarding
flight and aerial combat apply to PC and
NPC aarakocra as well as to ?monster?
types.

Although the FIEND FOLIO® Tome tells
us aarakocra ?have little to do with
humankind? and ?even less to do with
demi-humans,? this ruling must be softened
to maintain the usefulness of them as
characters. The bird-men could be on
good terms with the grey elves and, by
extension, on tolerant terms with other
elves (except the drow, of course, who live
in the underground setting most bird-men
avoid). Aarakocra have a general distaste
for dwarves, because elves dislike dwarves
and because dwarves live underground.
Aarakocra treat half-orcs with antipathy
because, as the FIEND FOLIO Tome says,
the aarakocra ?actively dislike humanoids.?
Generally, the attitudes of any race toward
aarakocra are the same as the aarakocra?s
attitudes toward that race. Briefly, aarakoera
are tolerant of elves, have antipathy
toward dwarves and half-orcs, have good
relations with grey elves, and are neutral
toward everyone else.

Description
The aarakocra are a race of sentient
avians who inhabit mountainous regions.
The alignment of aarakocra is usually
neutral good, but can be any other as well.
For random alignment determination, roll
1d100 for the following results: 01-40,
neutral good; 41-55, chaotic good; 56-70,
chaotic neutral; 71-80, neutral; 81-85,
lawful good; 86-89, neutral evil; 90-93,
chaotic evil; 94-97, lawful neutral; and
98-00, lawful evil.

An aarakocra is vaguely humanoid in
appearance, resembling a human-sized,
bipedal eagle whose wings fold into overlong
arms. Aarakocra plumage varies from
tribe to tribe and region to region, and
also varies with respect to gender; the
males are always crested and gaudier than
the females. Within the race, aarakocra
plumage serves no purpose other than a
means for identification. Aarakocra have
5" grey-black beaks which resemble a
cross between that of a parrot and an
eagle. Their faces are birdlike, except that
the eyes are placed frontally to provide
binocular vision. Facial shape varies little;
the bird-men identify their peers by their
plumage, not by their faces.

The bird-men are a timid and reclusive
race, living far from humanity and civilization.
Yet, like humans, the aarakocra have
some exceptional individuals who find this
peaceful and pastoral life a little dull. It is
these individuals who become the NPC or
PC aarakocra described in this article.
Such adventurers are generally believed to
be insane by the rest of the race.

It is a curious fact that some adventuring
aarakocra do suffer from a mild form
of mental malady. Most bird-men adventurers
share the usual racial distaste for
enclosed places and underground environments,
but some claim to have no fear of
such places at all. These latter aarakocra
are the insane ones. Aarakocra who venture
into any enclosed environment
become unusually quiet and peer about
with wide eyes, though they otherwise
seem calm. But, if engaged in melee, the
aarakocra?s reserve has a 10% chance of
breaking per round of battle ? a reaction
that is lacking in the outside world. At this
point, roll 1d6; the aarakocra is seized
with either: violent, indiscrete bravado
(1-2); cowering, involuntary claustrophobia
(3-4); or, screaming, mindless panic (5-6).

In the first instance, the afflicted aarakoera
becomes a reckless lunatic, attacking
any foe within range and bursting through
closed doors into unexplored areas without
restraint. In the second case, the aarakocra
collapses and ceases to defend itself
or run away, covering its head with its
wings in a small, rigid ball. In the latter
instance, the repressed racial claustrophobia
of the adventurer whips the afflicted
bird-man into a terrified frenzy; the only
goal for such an individual is freedom
from confinement: a goal which the victim
pursues without regard to safety for self
or party. In any case, the state of malady
lasts for 10-60 rounds. After the condition
passes, the victim returns to normal and is
once again in control of his faculties.

With regard to personality, the bird-men
vary almost as much as humans do,
though all manage to retain one element
of character common to their race: a
strong love of freedom. This love results
from the airborne lifestyle of the aarakocra.
As a result, they find urban life constraining
and uncomfortable, and all are
afflicted with very strong claustrophobia,
as noted in the FIEND FOLIO Tome. As
noted above, however, some adventuring
aarakocra are able to restrain or overcome
this fear, and are thus able to enter a town
or city ? at least for short periods of time.
Still, even these bold adventurers refrain
from extended stays in closed-in, urban
settings and enter dungeons only under
the gravest circumstances. Of course, this
doesn?t mean that a fellowship must be
broken every time the PCs stay at an inn or
have a town adventure; aarokocra are
happy to sleep on the roofs of inns or
other buildings (?Skraaaak! A few feathers
and the place'll be cozy enough!?). They
may also serve as aerial surveillance
troops, since it is being in cities, not above
them, that the aarakocra dislike.

A problem with the footloose and
freedom-loving lifestyle of the aarakocra is
their lack of respect for the ground-based
?walkers,? as they call most humans and
demi-humans. The bird-men cannot
believe that ?grounded? individuals have
any freedom at all, or that such individuals
can be anything other than boring,
depressed dimwits (the psychology of
dwarves is totally alien to them). Of
course, this opinion often changes with
time and familiarity, but still leaves room
for some good jokes. (?I just found out you
can?t fly. You poor thing! You can cry if you
want to.?)

Table 1
Aarakocra Ability Score Chart (either sex)

Ability	Minimum	Maximum	Roll
STR	11	18/90	10 + 1d8
INT	3	18	3d6
WIS	3	18	3d6
DEX	6	17	5 + 1d12
CON	8	18	6 + 2d6
CHA	3	18	3d6

Table 2
Aarakocra Height and Weight
                                                                Height in inches                            Weight in pounds

Sex	Average	-	+	*	-	+	-
Male	60	1-8	1-10	*	70	1-10	1-10
Female	56	1-6	1-8	*	56	1-8	1-8

Table 3
Aarakocra Starting Age by Class

Class	Age in years
Cleric	30 + 5d6
Fighter	13 + 1d8
Thief	13 + 2d4

Fighter/thieves start at the age of 21.

Table 4
Thief and Thief-Acrobat Adjustments

Ability	Adjustment
Pick pockets	-5%
Open locks	-15%
Find/remove traps	-
Move silently	*
Hide in shadows	-10%
Hear noise	+30%
Climb walls	+10%
Read languages	-
Tightrope walking	+5%
Pole vaulting	+6'
High jumping	+3'
Broad jumping, standing	+3'

* Aarakocra can easily glide, making
no sound at all in the air, whenever
they wish.

Aarakocra deities
The only character class open to normal,
nonadventuring aarakocra is that of
the cleric. Called ?elders,? bird-men shamans
and clerics are the older, respected
members of the community. As a monotheistic
culture, the aarakocra worship
Krocaa, their only deity, (see the sidebar
article by Christopher Jones). Clerics who
reach maximum level (7th) in the service
of Krocaa are able to summon a 12 HD air
elemental once per week, in addition to
the normal ability that nonadventuring
aarakocra have to summon air elementals.

As stated before, normal aarakocra
regard their adventuring counterparts as
insane. ?Insane? clerics are tolerated, but
even they are outcasts, unable to perform
the rights of worship for an aarakocra
community (though Krocaa does not reject
them). Generally, ?insane? bird-men are
considered an embarrassment by the
aarakocra society as a whole; ?insane?
clerics are thought to be cursed.

Aarakocra senses
Among the advantages the bird-men
have is their eaglelike, telescopic vision. At
distances of over 40?, aarakocra see 10
times as well as humans (i.e., everything
appears 10 times closer, so an object 10
miles away appears with the same resolution
and clarity as if it was 1 mile away).
Of course, if something is over the horizon,
it will still be invisible unless the
aarakocra is flying quite high. The vision
of aarakocra is limited by light considerations,
so a bird-man can only see 40? by
the light of a torch, not 400?. At night,
their vision is only slightly clearer than a
human?s.

Since good hearing is required for hearing
sounds in the thin air at high altitudes,
aarakocra hear noise on a 1-6 roll on 1d20.
As a result of this acute sense of hearing,
aarakocra are surprised only on a roll of 1
in 8.

An interesting feature of the aarakocra
is their extra pair of ?hands? ? i.e., their
feet. These ?netherhands? are used for
fighting when a bird-man is in flight, but
serve as feet when on the ground. Consequently,
having four hands does not affect
their number of attacks per round.

Attacks and defenses
All PC and NPC aarakocra have a base
AC 7, as listed in the FIEND FOLIO Tome.
They can use armor on the ground, but
any sort other than a small buckler prevents
flight. (This does not mean, however,
that a larger shield cannot be used by a
?grounded? aarakocra.) A further disadvantage
is that normal armor does not fit
bird-men; they must contract an armorer
to custom-make their protection. This
takes twice the time and three times the
cost for normal armor of the type requested.
Most aarakocra dislike wearing armor
anyway, because of their claustrophobia.
Consequently, no armor is made in birdman
communities.

While flying, bird-men fight with their
netherhands, as noted above. During such
melees, they are able to use any hand-held
or thrown weapon, but are not able to use
bows or slings. Aarakocra are so accustomed
to battles in the sky that they are
unaffected by the usual penalties for any
sort of aerial missile fire. In addition, those
of the fighter class are able to attack from
a dive (starting from above 200?) ? a
favorite tactic which involves carrying a
javelin in each netherhand, then suddenly
pulling up as the aarakocra snap the javelins
into their target. This attack is at +4 
to hit and inflicts double damage per
weapon (one ?to hit? roll is required for
each javelin). Spears or similar missile
weapons can be used instead of javelins.

Disadvantages and advantages
A major disadvantage for the bird-men
(in addition to their AC limitations) lies in
their hollow, fragile bones, which make
the aarakocra very weak in grappling
combat. Any damage sustained by an
aarakocra during grappling is doubled
(regardless of whether the system in the
DMG or either system in Unearthed
Arcana is used).

The main advantage the aarakocra have
is their ability to fly; this allows them to
avoid pits, bypass walls, and avoid or
overtake enemies with ease. Unencumbered,
aarakocra fly at 36? ; each 125 gp
weight carried reduces this by 3?. Maneuverability
class is C; this becomes class D if
more than 300 gp weight is carried, or E if
more than 900 gp weight is carried.

Strength affects the weight which can be
carried by 10 gp weight for every level of
strength adjustments given in the Players
Handbook. Flying requires almost no
effort for the bird-men; they can sometimes
remain aloft for up to a day at a
time. For long-range movement, aarakocra
fly at 12 MPH (1 MPH for each 3? of movement,
as listed in the Dungeon Masters
Guide), or 96 miles per day. As a result,
aarakocra have a great advantage over
humans in the area of travel.

Although they are excellent fliers, birdmen
are very clumsy on the ground. They
have a base walking speed of 6?) which is
reduced by 2? for every 35 lbs. of equipment
carried (calculated after strength
adjustments are added). Banded, chain,
padded, ring, or studded armor reduces
an aarakocra?s speed to 4? ; scale, splint, or
any sort of plate armor limits them to 2?.
Heavy armor and equipment (scale and
350 gp weight or more, for example) prevent
them from moving at all.

KROCAA
(God of the aarakocra)
Lesser god
by Christopher Jones

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 12 12"/48"
HIT POINTS: 124
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8/1-8 (+7)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Dive
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or
better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
SIZE: L (30’ wingspan)
ALIGNMENT: Neutral good
WORSHIPER?S ALIGNMENT: Neutral
good (aarakocra)
SYMBOL: Red feather
PLANE: Elemental Plane of Air
CAVALIER/PALADIN: Nil
CLERIC/DRUID: 10th-level cleric/
8th-level druid
FIGHTER: As 16 + HD monster
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil
THIEF: 5th-level thief
MONK/BARD: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

STR: 19 
INT: 19 
WIS: 18 
DEX: 22
CON: 20
CHA: 12 (25*)
COM: 8 (27*)

Krocaa appears as the perfect specimen
of the aarakocra race. He is large
and has blue eyes and golden feathers;
his head plumage is deep scarlet. Aarakocra
legends tell that Krocaa created
the first of their species, evolving them
from giant eagles. According to these
legends, Krocaa gave the aarakocra
intelligence and taught them to defend
themselves.

Krocaa carries two javelins +2 which
he uses in battle. These javelins return
to his hands at the end of the round in
which they were thrown. Krocaa is
able to dive as a normal aarakocra, and
he is considered maneuverability class
A. He is able to use his powerful wings
to create a wind equal to a gust of wind
spell cast by a 7th-level magic-user.
Once per day, Krocaa can summon two
16 HD air elementals. Krocaa generally
keeps to himself, but he is on good
terms with the Caliph of the Djinni and
the nobility of the air elementals.

Sacrifices and tithes are offered to
Krocaa at the end of every month and
on various tribal holidays. Offerings
generally consist of gems and eggs
from various evil creatures (such as
harpies). The offerings are placed on
the peak of the Holy Mountain, usually
the tallest mountain in the area, to be
taken away by the sacred eagles that
roost there. Aarakocra clerics may
attain the 7th level of mastery.