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<blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 6618189" data-attributes="member: 6777696">I like the idea that a flying character needs to move approximately half its speed each round in order to stay aloft. I wouldn't get into square fiddling and turn radius with the player, but it should be obvious to all what counts as &quot;movement.&quot; Doubtful that an Aarakocra would be able to &quot;circle&quot; in a 5' or even 10' radius. (And trying to fly straight up would probably require an action anyway. And dive bombing could have negative consequences. You just gotta move a bit.) It's definitely a house-clarification that should be brought up as soon as a player starts talking about playing a flying PC, though.In practice, this might not be such a big deal, because the Aarakocra is probably going to be outside of melee range of land creatures anyway, so unless the Aarakocra is trying to hover 5' feet above an opponent, circling in a 20' radius above a combat won't really bring any ill effects to the big bird-creature.I do not agree with you, Paul, that an Aarakocra would need to stop moving in order to fire an arrow or take some other action. If mounted archers could fire from a moving horse, a society of flying bird-people could definitely manage a shot in flight. They could even stop beating their wings and glide briefly, to smooth out their trajectory. Just looking at the picture in the MM, the arms and wings of the Aarakocra are completely separate.So, under normal outdoor conditions, as I see it, the inability to hover becomes more of a weakness that can be targeted by clever opponents and GMs, and less of a blanket disadvantage.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="redrick, post: 6618189, member: 6777696"] I like the idea that a flying character needs to move approximately half its speed each round in order to stay aloft. I wouldn't get into square fiddling and turn radius with the player, but it should be obvious to all what counts as "movement." Doubtful that an Aarakocra would be able to "circle" in a 5' or even 10' radius. (And trying to fly straight up would probably require an action anyway. And dive bombing could have negative consequences. You just gotta move a bit.) It's definitely a house-clarification that should be brought up as soon as a player starts talking about playing a flying PC, though. In practice, this might not be such a big deal, because the Aarakocra is probably going to be outside of melee range of land creatures anyway, so unless the Aarakocra is trying to hover 5' feet above an opponent, circling in a 20' radius above a combat won't really bring any ill effects to the big bird-creature. I do not agree with you, Paul, that an Aarakocra would need to stop moving in order to fire an arrow or take some other action. If mounted archers could fire from a moving horse, a society of flying bird-people could definitely manage a shot in flight. They could even stop beating their wings and glide briefly, to smooth out their trajectory. Just looking at the picture in the MM, the arms and wings of the Aarakocra are [I]completely[/I] separate. So, under normal outdoor conditions, as I see it, the inability to hover becomes more of a weakness that can be targeted by clever opponents and GMs, and less of a blanket disadvantage. [/QUOTE]

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