Aarakocra
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
, the aarakocra are a race of bird-like monstrous humanoids
dwelling in high mountains. First appearing in the Fiend Folio
in 1981, they have since appeared in and been adapted to numerous campaign settings including Greyhawk
, Dragonlance
, Dark Sun
, and the Forgotten Realms
.
#124 (August 1987) presents the aarakocra as both a player character
and non-player character
race. A sidebar by Christopher Jones introduced the lesser god Krocaa as the god of aarakocra.
The aarakocra first appeared in second edition in Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), which was reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
The aarakocra is presented as a playable character race in The Complete Book of Humanoids
(1993), and is later presented as a playable character race again in Player's Option: Skills & Powers
(1995).
Aarakocra were introduced as a playable race for the Dark Sun
setting in the Revised Dark Sun Campaign Setting.
The aarakocra appeared for third edition in Monsters of Faerûn (2001), and then appeared as a player character race in Races of Faerûn
(2003).
Aarakocra entry appeared in 4th edition Dark Sun Creature Catalog, featuring Aarakocra Diver, Aarakocra Warrior, and Aarakocra Windcaller.
Aarakocra inhabit high mountains.
The standard alignment of aarakocra is neutral good.
Each tribe lives in a communal nest made of woven vines with a soft lining of dried grass. The eldest male serves as the tribe's leader. In tribes of more than 20 members, the second oldest male serves as the shaman, leading simple religious ceremonies involving the whistling of melodic hymns at sunset on the first day of a new month. Males spend most of their waking hours hunting for food and occasionally for treasure, such as gems and other shiny objects. Females spend eight months of the year incubating their eggs, passing the time by fabricating javelins and other tools from wood and stone. While resting on their backs, aarakocra females can use all four hands at the same time to weave boundary pennants, javelins sheaths, and other useful objects from vines and feathers.
Aarakocra have little to do with other species, including neighboring aarakocra tribes, and leave their home territory only in extreme circumstances. They rarely encounter humans except for an occasional foray into a rural community to snatch a stray farm animal; this is not an intentionally malicious act, as aarakocra are unable to distinguish between domestic and wild animals. A human venturing into aarakocra territory may be able to convince one to serve as a guide or a scout in exchange for a shiny jewel or coin.
Aarakocra are extremely claustrophobic and will not willingly enter a cave, building, or other enclosed area.
Aarakocra worship the goddess Syranita
.
Five aarakocra, including a shaman, can summon an air elemental by chanting and performing an intricate aerial dance. The summoned air elemental will comply with the aarakocras' request for a favor, though it will not endanger its life on their behalf.
In the Dark Sun
setting, aarakocra are one of several player character races. Aarakocra inhabit the Jagged Cliffs region. Most aarakocra live in mountain tribes.
In Dragonlance, living amongst the mountains of Krynn
, aarakocra are rivals of the kyrie and often fight over living space, especially those tribes on the island of Karthay where aarakocra have been known to work with barbaric minotaur
tribes to hunt kyrie. Aarakocra that live in the Abanasinia region often trade with the phaethons that live among the Sentinel peaks.
Aaracokra feature statistically only in the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting
in 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons. In this setting, they are thought to be an immigrant race to Faerûn
from Maztica. Aarakocras almost all worship Aerdrie Faenya
, who appears to them as a giant white bird. In Faerûn this rare people have just four established colonies: in the Star Mounts in the High Forest, in the Storm Horns in Cormyr
, in the Cloven Mountains on the Vilhon Reach, and in the Mistcliffs in Chult. However the Star Mounts colony has been almost wholly destroyed by a green dragon
called Elaacrimalicros.
In the World of Greyhawk setting, aarakocra have been encountered in the Rakers
, Corrusk, Griff, Lortmil
, and Yatil Mountains
. Aarakocra also dwell on the planet Edill.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, the aarakocra are a race of bird-like monstrous humanoids
Monstrous humanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)
Monstrous humanoids are a "creature type" in the 3rd and 3.5 editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Monstrous humanoids are differentiated from humanoids by their monstrous or animalistic features, and not all are technically "humanoid" in body form...
dwelling in high mountains. First appearing in the Fiend Folio
Fiend Folio
Fiend Folio is the title shared by three products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
in 1981, they have since appeared in and been adapted to numerous campaign settings including Greyhawk
Greyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
, Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
, Dark Sun
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting featuring the fictional desert world of Athas. The original Dark Sun Boxed Set campaign setting was released in 1991....
, and the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
.
Publication history
The aarakocra (bird-man) first appeared in the Fiend Folio (1981) and were credited to Lawrence Schick. The article "The Wings of Eagles" by J.E. Keeping from DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#124 (August 1987) presents the aarakocra as both a player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
and non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
race. A sidebar by Christopher Jones introduced the lesser god Krocaa as the god of aarakocra.
The aarakocra first appeared in second edition in Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), which was reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
The aarakocra is presented as a playable character race in The Complete Book of Humanoids
Complete Book of Humanoids
The Complete Book of Humanoids is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Bill Slavicsek for TSR, in 1993....
(1993), and is later presented as a playable character race again in Player's Option: Skills & Powers
Player's Option: Skills & Powers
Player's Option: Skills & Powers is a supplemental sourcebook to the core rules of the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. This 192-page book was published by TSR, Inc. in 1995. The book was designed by Douglas Niles and Dale Donovan...
(1995).
Aarakocra were introduced as a playable race for the Dark Sun
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting featuring the fictional desert world of Athas. The original Dark Sun Boxed Set campaign setting was released in 1991....
setting in the Revised Dark Sun Campaign Setting.
The aarakocra appeared for third edition in Monsters of Faerûn (2001), and then appeared as a player character race in Races of Faerûn
Races of Faerûn
Races of Faerûn is an optional supplemental sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.-Contents:...
(2003).
Aarakocra entry appeared in 4th edition Dark Sun Creature Catalog, featuring Aarakocra Diver, Aarakocra Warrior, and Aarakocra Windcaller.
Ecology
Aarakocra resemble humanoid birds. The average specimen stands about five feet tall and has a wingspan of twenty feet. Halfway along the edge of each wing is a hand with three human-sized fingers and an opposable thumb. An elongated fourth finger extends the length of the wing and locks in place during flight. The hands cannot grasp while flying, but are nearly as useful as human hands when an aarakocra is perched and its wings folded back. Their powerful legs end in four sharp talons that can unlock and fold back to reveal another pair of functional hands. These humanoids have hollow, fragile bones. Their faces combine the features of both parrots and eagles. They have gray-black beaks and black eyes. Plumage color varies, but males generally have red, orange, and yellow coloration, while females tend towards brown and gray.Aarakocra inhabit high mountains.
The standard alignment of aarakocra is neutral good.
Society
Aarakocra live in small tribes of about 11-30 members. Each tribe has a hunting territory of about 10000 square miles (25,899.9 km²) with colorful banners and pennants marking the boundaries.Each tribe lives in a communal nest made of woven vines with a soft lining of dried grass. The eldest male serves as the tribe's leader. In tribes of more than 20 members, the second oldest male serves as the shaman, leading simple religious ceremonies involving the whistling of melodic hymns at sunset on the first day of a new month. Males spend most of their waking hours hunting for food and occasionally for treasure, such as gems and other shiny objects. Females spend eight months of the year incubating their eggs, passing the time by fabricating javelins and other tools from wood and stone. While resting on their backs, aarakocra females can use all four hands at the same time to weave boundary pennants, javelins sheaths, and other useful objects from vines and feathers.
Aarakocra have little to do with other species, including neighboring aarakocra tribes, and leave their home territory only in extreme circumstances. They rarely encounter humans except for an occasional foray into a rural community to snatch a stray farm animal; this is not an intentionally malicious act, as aarakocra are unable to distinguish between domestic and wild animals. A human venturing into aarakocra territory may be able to convince one to serve as a guide or a scout in exchange for a shiny jewel or coin.
Aarakocra are extremely claustrophobic and will not willingly enter a cave, building, or other enclosed area.
Aarakocra worship the goddess Syranita
Syranita
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Syranita is the aarakocra deity of protection and watchfulness, and is the patron deity of the aarakocra.-Publication history:...
.
Five aarakocra, including a shaman, can summon an air elemental by chanting and performing an intricate aerial dance. The summoned air elemental will comply with the aarakocras' request for a favor, though it will not endanger its life on their behalf.
Use in campaign settings
Aarakocra appear in several campaign settings.In the Dark Sun
Dark Sun
Dark Sun is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting featuring the fictional desert world of Athas. The original Dark Sun Boxed Set campaign setting was released in 1991....
setting, aarakocra are one of several player character races. Aarakocra inhabit the Jagged Cliffs region. Most aarakocra live in mountain tribes.
In Dragonlance, living amongst the mountains of Krynn
Krynn
Krynn is the fictional world of the Dragonlance novels, co-written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It has also been used in many other books, set in the Dragonlance universe. It is also used as the main setting in the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing...
, aarakocra are rivals of the kyrie and often fight over living space, especially those tribes on the island of Karthay where aarakocra have been known to work with barbaric minotaur
Minotaur (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, minotaurs are a race of monstrous humanoids, resembling bull-human hybrids. Many minotaurs worship the demon lord Baphomet.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
tribes to hunt kyrie. Aarakocra that live in the Abanasinia region often trade with the phaethons that live among the Sentinel peaks.
Aaracokra feature statistically only in the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
in 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons. In this setting, they are thought to be an immigrant race to Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
from Maztica. Aarakocras almost all worship Aerdrie Faenya
Aerdrie Faenya
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Aerdrie Faenya is the elven goddess of Air, Weather, Freedom, Impulse, Fertility, and Birds.Her symbol is a cloud with a bird silhouette.-Publication history:...
, who appears to them as a giant white bird. In Faerûn this rare people have just four established colonies: in the Star Mounts in the High Forest, in the Storm Horns in Cormyr
Cormyr
Cormyr is a fictional country in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting published first by TSR, Inc. and subsequently by Wizards of the Coast for the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy Role Playing Game...
, in the Cloven Mountains on the Vilhon Reach, and in the Mistcliffs in Chult. However the Star Mounts colony has been almost wholly destroyed by a green dragon
Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
called Elaacrimalicros.
In the World of Greyhawk setting, aarakocra have been encountered in the Rakers
Rakers
Rakers may refer to:* Aaron Rakers , American baseball pitcher* Jason Rakers , American baseball player...
, Corrusk, Griff, Lortmil
Lortmil Mountains
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the Lortmil Mountains are a mountain chain located in the central part of the Flanaess, forming the eastern border of the Sheldomar Valley.-Inhabitants:...
, and Yatil Mountains
Yatil Mountains
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Yatil Mountains are a mountain chain located in the western part of the Flanaess.-Ecology:...
. Aarakocra also dwell on the planet Edill.
Further reading
- Noonan, DavidDavid Noonan (game designer)David Noonan is an author of several products and articles for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game from Wizards of the Coast.-Role-playing games:...
. "Dark Sun Player's Handbook." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#319 (Paizo PublishingPaizo PublishingPaizo Publishing is an American publishing company in Redmond, Washington that specializes in game aids and adventures for "the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game" and its flagship spin-off game and setting, Pathfinder...
, 2004). - Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995) (Athasian Aarakocra)
- Polyhedron #121 (1996) (Malatran Aarakocra)