Aaracokra (Birdfolk)

Basic Information

Anatomy

Humanoid avians; they have a pair of wings situated just behind their shoulders, and they posses beaked mouths that allow for parrot-like vocalizations.

Genetics and Reproduction

As the amount of livable space in the Chasm is extremely limited, overpopulation is a pressing concern. A married aarakocra woman is expected to have no more than one child for every husband she has.
After a four-month pregnancy term, an aarakocra will lay a single grapefruit-sized egg that will incubate for another six months before hatching. The hatchling will reach adulthood in 3 years.

Ecology and Habitats

Aarakocra live in cliff-dwelling villages with little to no access to the surface besides flight. Out of necessity these villages must remain at a very low population, with anything over 2'000 aarakocra being considered dangerously high.

Dietary Needs and Habits

An aarakocra village will subsist almost entirely on small game, including birds, rabbits, and fish from the river at the bottom of the chasm.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Aarakocra have small feathers resembling down covering their face that come to a crested point near the back of the head.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Aarakocra are native to the Chasm east of the Akregian Empire.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Aarakocra are predators by nature, and have extremely keen vision at great distances.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

As with much of their speech, 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, and there is no cultural distinction between a 'male' and 'female' name. When interacting with other races, Aarakocra may use nicknames gained from people they meet or shortened forms of their full names.

Gender Ideals

Women dominate the administrative and economic aspects of society, while men live semi-nomadic lives travelling and accruing wealth in hopes of impressing a potential wife during mating season.

Courtship Ideals

Once every five years or so, the men's biological clocks drive them all to return home at once to participate in a months-long pageant and vie for the attentions of the richest and most influential women in the tribe. This mating ritual varies depending on the whims of the tribe's women, but typically they involve great shows of wealth, spending vast amounts of wealth on singular outfits and works of art.

Relationship Ideals

An Aarakocra woman may have as many husbands as she desires, with three to four being typical for larger villages. After an elaborate and expensive wedding ceremony, the man returns to his travels, sending a portion of his revenue back to his new wife. The woman, in turn, shares a portion of her political influence with her husband, opening avenues that would be unavailable to an unmarried Aarakocra.

RPG Datasheet

Ability Score Increase: Your DEX score increases by 2, and your WIS score increases by 1.
Size: Medium
Speed: Your base walking speed is 25 ft, and you have a fly speed of 50 ft while you are not wearing medium or heavy armor.
Talons: You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, and they deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
Hunter's Sight: You have advantage on WIS (Perception) and INT (Investigation) checks at distances greater than 30 ft, and disadvantage on such checks at distances closer than 5 ft.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write aarakocra and common.

Lifespan

Adulthood by age 3, average lifespan of 30 years

Average Height

5'

Average Weight

80 to 100 lbs

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Aarakocra men often have brighter plumage on their face and wings, which they will accentuate with dyes and brightly colored clothing during mating season.