Aarakocra

Sequestered in high mountains atop tall trees, the aarakocra, sometimes called birdfolk, evoke fear and wonder. Many aarakocra aren’t even native to the Material Plane. They hail from a world beyond — from the boundless vistas of the Elemental Plane of Air.
They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien.

Beak and Feather

From below, aarakocra look much like large birds. Only when they descend to roost on a branch or walk across the ground does their humanoid appearance reveal itself. Standing upright, aarakocra might reach 5 feet tall, and they have long, narrow legs that taper to sharp talons.
Feathers cover their bodies. 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. Their heads complete the avian appearance, being something like a parrot or eagle with distinct tribal variations.

Sky Wardens

Nowhere are the aarakocra more comfortable than in the sky. They can spend hours in the air, and some go as long as days, locking their wings in place and letting the thermals hold them aloft. In battle, they prove dynamic and acrobatic fliers, moving with remarkable speed and grace, diving to lash opponents with weapons or talons before turning and flying away.
Once airborne, an aarakocra leaves the sky with reluctance. On their native plane, they can fly for days or months, landing only to lay their eggs and feed their young before launching themselves back into the air. Those that make it to a world in the Material Plane find it a strange place. They sometimes forget or ignore vertical distances, and they have nothing but pity for those earthbound people forced to live and toil on the ground.

Avian Mannerisms

The resemblance of aarakocra to birds isn’t limited to physical features. Aarakocra display many of the same mannerisms as ordinary birds. They are fastidious about their plumage, frequently tending their feathers, cleaning and scratching away any tiny passengers they might have picked up. When they deign to descend from the sky, they often do so near pools where they can catch fish and bathe themselves.
Many 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. An aarakocra might become frustrated with people who fail to pick up on the nuances; an aarakocra’s threat might be taken as a jest and vice versa.
The idea of ownership baffles most aarakocra. After all, who owns the sky? Even when explained to them, they initially find the notion of ownership mystifying. As a result, 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 aarakocra who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses. Confinement terrifies the 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.

Aarakocra of Faerûn

The descendants of the avian creator race known as the Aearee, the aarakocra are an ancient people that can be found in high places all over the continents of Toril. Never well established in Faerûn, aarakocra have only four major colonies: in the Star Mounts within the High Forest, in the Storm Horns in Cormyr, in the Cloven Mountains on the Vilhon Reach, and in the Mistcliffs in Chult.
Those colonies established in the Star Mounts, closest to the Dessarin Valley, were ever a secretive and guarded people, only spotted during their flights over the High Forest. A cruel and rapacious green dragon nearly wiped out the population and scattered the survivors. These aarakocra and their descendants have sworn vengeance against the dragon and may be seen scouring the lands of the North and Cormyr for signs of their foe.Their only remaining settlement lies on the slopes of the Star Mounts’ southernmost mountains. At the headwaters of the Unicorn Run, the Last Aerie is home to several dozen aarakocra. Recently, aarakocra elders detected changes in the prevailing winds that they regarded as a bad omen.
Unlike the aarakocra of other worlds on the Material Plane, the aarakocra of the Realms rarely travel to the Elemental Plane of Air, but often call upon elemental powers to enhance their own strengths. Almost all of these aarakocra revere the goddess Aerdie Faenya, but many northern members of their society worship Syranita as well. The demon prince Pazuzu has also been a blight upon their people for millennia, tempting many good creatures to damnation.

Monster Harvesting

Infused with elemental power provided by the elemental plane of air, aarakocra have a few harvestable parts for alchemists and artificers to take advantage of. Many texts on lost alchemical formulas from the Netherese empire reference Aarakocra, but more research will have to be done to learn their use to the Netherese alchemists and mages. As humanoids, the check to appraise and harvest the materials is a Intelligence (Medicine) check.

DC	Item	Value	Weight	Crafting
5	Aarakocra Feathers (small pouch)	8 sp	2 lbs.	none
10	Aarakocra Heart	2 gp	5 lbs.	none

Aarakocra Feathers

The large feathers of an aarakocra are enjoyed among some of the more ostentatious members of society as fun accessories and fashion highlights. If you can find a tailor willing to take them, you are sure to be able to earn at least a few silver for a good amount of them.

Aarakocra Heart

Aarakocra have an innate connection to the elemental planes that allows them to summon air elementals when enough of them gather together. Burning their hearts in an offering can achieve much of the same effect but with less control over the temperment of the summoned elemental.
Use: When 5 different creatures within 30 feet of each other hold 5 different aarakocra hearts and spend their actions on three consecutive turns to burn the hearts, they may summon an air elemental in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of them. The burners must remain still while burning the hearts. This elemental is hostile to all creatures it can see around it, but any of the 5 creatures that summoned it can spend their action to try and succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check to direct the air elemental's hostility at a creature they can both see within 60 feet. The air elemental remains for 1 hour.

Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age
Aarakocra reach maturity by age 3. Compared to humans, aarakocra don’t usually live longer than 30 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 25 feet.
Flight
You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can't be wearing medium or heavy armor.
Talons
Your talons 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 bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common, Aarakocra, and Auran.

Major Locations

• Kir Sabal
• Kir Ghalan

Statblocks
   Monster Manual

• Aarakocra

   Monster Manual Expanded

• Aarakocra Brave
• Aarakocra Scout
• Aarakocra Talon of Syranita