Homebrew Half-Birdfolk Species Details

Sequestered in high mountains atop tall trees, the half-aarakocra, sometimes called half-birdfolk, evoke fear and wonder. They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and

Feathers

Standing upright, half-aarakocra might reach 5 feet tall, and they have sharp claws.

Feathers cover their bodies, mainly all over their backs, shoulders, and the sides of their heads. 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.

Sky Wanderers

Nowhere are the half-aarakocra more comfortable than in the sky. In battle, they prove dynamic and acrobatic fliers, moving with remarkable speed and grace, diving to lash opponents with weapons or claws before turning and gliding away.

Avian Manners

Half-Aarakocra display many of the same mannerisms as ordinary birds. They are fastidious about their plumage, tend to their feathers, When they deign to descend from the sky, they often do so near pools where they can catch fish and bathe themselves.

Many half-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.they can also talk normally with facial expressions

The idea of ownership baffles most half-aarakocra. After all, who owns the sky? Even when explained to them, they initially find the notion of ownership mystifying. As a result, half-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 half-aarakocra who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses.

Confinement terrifies the half-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.

Homelands

Most half-aarakocra live on the Elemental Plane of Air. Half-Aarakocra can be drawn into the Material Plane, sometimes to pursue enemies or thwart their foes’ designs there. Accident might also send a nest of half-aarakocra tumbling into a world on that plane. A few find their way to such a world through portals on their own plane and establish nests in high mountains or in the canopies of old forests.

Once tribes of half-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. 

Great Purpose

Half-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 half-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 half-aarakocra to adventure. First, half-aarakocra have historical ties to the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. 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, half-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 half-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.

Half-Birdfolk Names

As with much of their speech, half-aarakocra names include clicks, trills, and whistles to the point that other peoples have a difficult time pronouncing them. Typically, a name has two to four syllables with the sounds acting as connectors. When interacting with other races, aarakocra may use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.

An half-aarakocra of either gender may have one of these short names: Ara, Aial, Ar, Dek, Ek, Heek, ki, Kck, Orr, Ous, Quaf, Qerk, Sleek, Ur, or Zed. 

Half-Birdfolk Traits

As an half-aarakocra, you have certain traits in common with your people. Being able to glide at high speed starting at 1st level is exceptionally effective in certain circumstances and exceedingly dangerous in others. As a result, playing an birdfolk requires special consideration by your DM.

High Jump

The creature is able to jump 15 feet in the air

Darkvision

Can see in darkness as if there were dim light, the range is 30ft. however the creature can't see color only shades of grey.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Aarakocra reach maturity by age 12. Compared to humans, aarakocra don’t usually live longer than 70 years.

Alignment

Most aarakocra are good and rarely choose sides when it comes to law and chaos. Tribal leaders and warriors might be lawful, while explorers and adventurers might tend toward chaotic.

Size

Aarakocra are about 5 feet tall. They have thin, lightweight bodies that weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Gliding

You have a gliding speed of 45 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Claws

Your Claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Aarakocra, and Auran.