D&D General How has flying affected your games?

[Xeviat]

Hi everyone. How has having flying PCs affected your game? Whether it has been spellcasters, magic items, or aarakocra characters, have you seen trouble? How much do you value flying?

In my own games, I only had one character who did a lot of flying. He was a fighter/sorcerer/Eldritch Knight who loved using haste and flight. That was like level 12 in 3.5, so we were way past the time when fights with animals were regular. Also, he was a melee build so I didn't have to worry about flying artillery.

What has your experience been?

 

[Legatus Legionis]

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[Hawk Diesel]

I've never played in or run a game with any dedicated flyers, but I've had some spellcasters use the fly spell in my games and games I've played in. Honestly, the impact of flight was minimal. It helped with certain obstacles or conditions of the battlefield, but they also typically had others things to worry about as well. The more important aspect of flight (at least in games I've played) has been to allow for story elements and cinematic elements of fights that could not have been achieved without it.

 

[Larnievc]

Hi everyone. How has having flying PCs affected your game? Whether it has been spellcasters, magic items, or aarakocra characters, have you seen trouble? How much do you value flying?

In my own games, I only had one character who did a lot of flying. He was a fighter/sorcerer/Eldritch Knight who loved using haste and flight. That was like level 12 in 3.5, so we were way past the time when fights with animals were regular. Also, he was a melee build so I didn't have to worry about flying artillery.

What has your experience been?

I ran a game with a PC being an Aaracocra ranger (who could fly). The big thing it did was make the party able to plan for the encounter.

I can’t remember there being any issues and we played for about a year.

It was a Dark Sun game.

 

[Richards]

I recently ran a fighter who owned a bronze griffon figurine of wondrous power. For the most part, he used his griffon as a means to cross the battlefield faster, then he'd leap off and fight his enemies from the ground. Every once in a while there was a flying enemy which necessitated him riding his griffon into combat and engaging the enemy up in the air, but that was (fortunately) not that often.

Johnathan

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Had a Pixie ninja in a Fey-heavy 4e game, and an aarakokra archer Kensei in a 5e game, both obviously dedicated flyers.

Thing is, we already built encounters and challenges in a way where a single flyer or teleported wasn’t gonna wreck anything.

Even low level goblins have falconers and archers, regardless of flying PCs or not, and the chasm or hard to reach BBEG is usually just as easily bypassed by a magical jump.

So, very very little.

 

[Oofta]

At will or per combat flying can be somewhat annoying. I know because the last campaign my wife ran I had a PC with boots of flying. Combined with sharpshooter, I could just zip around, avoiding the majority of attacks in most encounters while doing a ton of damage.

So ... it just depends. Want to open the option for PCs like mine that flit around harassing bad guys? Will the rest of the group cheer them on? Do you regularly rely on overcoming physical obstacles like walls as challenges?

Only you can answer those questions.

 

[Nebulous]

We had an aarocroka barbarian in Tomb. I didn't like it, mostly because he was always shuttling other PCs around like a lyft driver. I found it annoying and often difficult to gauge what he could reasonably lift and carry.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

At will or per combat flying can be somewhat annoying. I know because the last campaign my wife ran I had a PC with boots of flying. Combined with sharpshooter, I could just zip around, avoiding the majority of attacks in most encounters while doing a ton of damage.

So ... it just depends. Want to open the option for PCs like mine that flit around harassing bad guys? Will the rest of the group cheer them on? Do you regularly rely on overcoming physical obstacles like walls as challenges?

Only you can answer those questions.

I’m always curious about this scenario, and how it plays out.

I get that a longbow with SS has an enormous range, and ignores all but full cover, but how did you regularly have a clear shot without full cover from 200+ feet away? Or even 100+ feet away?

A reasonable copse of trees will provide full cover to anything inside it from even 80ft away.

In open terrain, did your PC ever draw creatures like rocs or dragons or other giant flying predators?

I mean I get that other people don’t see giving enemies feats, pets, and tactics that take into account what other creatures are capable of as basic adventure design, but even without those things I have trouble seeing how a flying archer wrecks adventures like some folks have seen.

 

[ccs]

Whatever the edition, 5e or previous, I've never had any real problems with flying characters.

I just design encounters & challenges bearing in mind what the actual characters being played are capable of - to do otherwise wouldn't provide the players (or me) with a fun game.
So. If you choose or gain flight? You can expect I'll take that into account.