Flying races?

[jmucchiello]

I had seen that one. While the eyesight thing is interesting, it doesn't really work for me (aesthetic opinion only, the gaze attack bit was well designed ). The lower size for carrying is not a bad option. The large weapon restriction is almost identical to one I had come up with independently, so I have to nod with approval.

Hmm.

Gonna have to write my theoretical race up, I think...

I'd like to see it to see what you do differently.

 

[Morgenstern]

Here's a tentative go at doing an ECL +0 flying race (as a power gamer, I'd probably go with a human over this race). I'd fill in the history, personality, etcetera, but such things tend to be pretty campaign specific.

Nods to Sean K. Reynolds on the feather fall idea.

- - -
Allarin
A race of winged humanoids, the Allarin clearly come from human stock. Their own legend speak of the favor of the gods granting their ancestors the gift of flight. Darker tales speak of magical experimentation by the First Lich carried out on slaves who then escaped.
Allarin resemble humans in most respects, including a wide range of possible skin, hair, and eye coloration. Allarin are typically 1-2 inches shorter than humans, and weigh roughly two-thirds as much as a human of similar height and build. Allarin use the same age categories as humans. Their most noticeable features are the large, feathered wings sprouting from their backs. Folded, they extend some 18 to 24 inches above the Allarin’s shoulders, and run all the way to the ground. Extended, most Allarin have wingspans of over 15 feet.

Allarin Racial Traits

· Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, Allarin have no special skill or attack modifiers due to their size.
· Allarin are considered Small-sized for purposes of all Bullrush, Disarm, Grapple, and Trip attempts. Allarin weigh much less than other creatures of comparable size.
· Allarin base speed is 20 feet.
· Wings. Allarin have fully functional wings sprouting from their backs. This provided a variety of benefits, including:
o Flight. Base speed: 40 feet. Maneuverability: Poor. Taking off requires a full-round action, and you must be able to move in a straight line for 40 feet while doing so. You must have a path at least 20 feet wide to fly through (as if you had a 20 ft. face). You may not fly while carrying a heavy load (see Encumbrance).
o You may only fly for a maximum number of hours per day equal to 4 + your Con modifier (minimum of 1 hour). If you have the Endurance feat, you may fly for an additional 2 hour each day.
o If you are carrying a medium load or less, you may fall safely as if under the effects of feather fall (except that this is a non-magical ability). If you are carrying a heavy load, halve any distance fallen for purposes of damage taken. Use of the Jump or Tumble skills to treat a fall as a shorter distance is applied after this effect.
o You suffer a –1 to AC while flying (as if you size category were Large due to your wingspan).
o You must make a Concentration check to cast spells while flying as if you were casting defensively. If you attempt to cast on the defensive while flying, the DC is increased by the spell’s level (DC 15 + 2x spell level).
o You may not wield weapons requiring two hands while flying (including bows). This does not prevent you from wielding a one-handed weapon in each hand.
o You gain a +4 bonus to Jump checks.
o All of these abilities are lost if your wings are bound or you are pinned during a grappling attempt.
· Farsight: All penalties to Spot checks from distance are reduced to one third of normal (round down).
· The critical multiplier of bludgeoning weapons is increased by x1 when attacking an Allarin.
· Armor, excluding magical versions, must be specifically tailored to allow for an Allarin’s wings.. The cost of all such armor is increased by 20%, unless manufactured in an Allarin community.
· Racial Feats: Allarin may take a number of feats to improve their ability to fly or make use of their wings (see below).
· Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Auran.
· Favored Class: Ranger.

Racial Feats

Aerial Acrobatics
You are able to spin and twist while airborne.
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Allarin Only.
Benefit: You no longer suffer a –1 to AC while flying. You require a path only 10 ft. wide while flying (as if you had a 10 ft. face). You may now begin flying as a move-equivalent action (this does not reduce the distance required, however).

Death from on High
You have trained to use larger weapons while flying
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Allarin Only.
Benefit: You may use any weapon requiring two hands that you have the Weapon Focus fear for while flying. You do not gain the benefits of the Weapon Focus feat when wielding a weapon with two hand while flying.
Special: This feat is added to the list of fighter bonus feats for Allarin fighters.

Falcon’s Speed
You are a fast and powerful flier.
Prerequisites: Str 13+, Allarin Only.
Benefit: Your flying speed is increased to 50 feet. Further, you require only 20 feet to take off (but may still move up to 40 ft while doing so if you choose).

Greater Speed
You make tremendous speeds look effortless!
Prerequisites: Falcon’s Speed, Str 15+, Allarin Only.
Benefit: Your flying speed increases to 60 feet. Further, you may fly for an additional hour each day.

Grounded
You have learned to use your wings to help you remain firmly on the ground – and on your feet.
Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, Balance 2+ ranks, Allarin only.
Benefit: You are considered Medium-sized for purposes of all Bullrush, Disarm, Grapple, and Trip attempts. You gain a +2 racial bonus to all saves to remain on you feet or to avoid falls.
Special: This feat is added to the list of fighter bonus feats for Allarin fighters.

Gull’s Grace
You can remain aloft for hours.
Prerequisites: Endurance, Con 13+, Allarin Only.
Benefit: You may fly for an additional 2 hours each day. Further, you may fly while carrying a heavy load, but your maneuverability decreases by one grade (poor to clumsy, average to poor), and you loose your Dex bonus to AC while doing so.

Wind Dance
You can literally dance through the air.
Prerequisites: Aerial Acrobatics, Dex 15+, Allarin Only.
Benefit: Your maneuverability while flying increases to average. Your jumping distance (vertical or horizontal) is not limited by your height (see Jump skill description).

 

[jmucchiello]

Allarin are considered Small-sized for purposes of all Bullrush, Disarm, Grapple, and Trip attempts. Allarin weigh much less than other creatures of comparable size.

I like that. You should add "unless their wings are unfurled and the allarin can use them for stability. This make the Allarin Large for combat purposes." Or something like that.

Taking off requires a full-round action, and you must be able to move in a straight line for 40 feet while doing so. You must have a path at least 20 feet wide to fly through (as if you had a 20 ft. face). You may not fly while carrying a heavy load (see Encumbrance).

You left out the verbal component "Up, up and away!" There are standard rules for flight under a heavy load. It's not worth disallowing flight under heavy load, IMO.

You may only fly for a maximum number of hours per day equal to 4 + your Con modifier (minimum of 1 hour).

This is not a limitation. PCs tend not to work more than 2-3 hours a day. So this means they can fly whenever they really need to. It's also an annoying amount of bookkeeping.

You suffer a –1 to AC while flying (as if you size category were Large due to your wingspan).

I like this. You should add in the -4 to Hide checks as well.

You must make a Concentration check to cast spells while flying as if you were casting defensively.

You mean casting while under vigorous motion, right? Casting defensively only applies to not getting struck by enemy weaponry when you let your guard down.

The critical multiplier of bludgeoning weapons is increased by x1 when attacking an Allarin.

Technically, you should say the critical multiplier is doubled. That's the game term for adding one to a multiplier.

Pretty good attempt.

 

[Someone]

There´s always the winged template from Savage Species: +4 Dex, +2 Wis, Auran bonus language, favored class Fighter. Maneuverability depends on base Dex (from poor at 10 to perfect at 17 or 19, I don´t remember) +2 ECl.


In a campaing we´re playing there´s a player with a homebrew winged race (angelic variety) While the flying is a very good ability, worth itself ECL +1, it rarely makes us avoid major encounters since he´s the only one flying. At least made since we are of enough level to have flying mounts, fly spells and magic items.

 

[Morgenstern]

On Allarin being Small-size for various melee rough and tumbles:

I like that. You should add "unless their wings are unfurled and the allarin can use them for stability. This make the Allarin Large for combat purposes." Or something like that.

That's what the Grounded feat is for. Though I'll probably add the large size aspect to thet feat . Basically you can "buy back" a lot of your penalties with feats in this set up.

On not being able to fly with a heavy load:

You left out the verbal component "Up, up and away!" There are standard rules for flight under a heavy load. It's not worth disallowing flight under heavy load, IMO.

I see one passing mention of it in the description of speed in the monster manual. Is there somewhere else I should be looking for this rule? I wanted to reiterate it so the Gull's Grace feat had an immediate hook.

On the long, but not unlimited duration of flight:

This is not a limitation. PCs tend not to work more than 2-3 hours a day. So this means they can fly whenever they really need to. It's also an annoying amount of bookkeeping.

I think it's a tragic statement about the game that if "it's not a limitation in combat, then it's not a limitiation" . I would never track hours of use for combat purposes. The point here isn't about the combat utility of the race - this line tells me a lot about their culture. They can't fly all day! No continuously flying patrols without large enough numbers to have lots of shifts. And more importantly for PCs, you can't use your flying rate for overland travel...

On being effectively a Large-size target with your wings spread:

I like this. You should add in the -4 to Hide checks as well.

I'm not really sure how you make Hide checks while out in the open (in three dimensions no less), but I'll add the text... What would be nice is if size actually effected spot checks from a distance. You ought to be easier to spot comming than a human-size mage with a fly spell going...

...Huh. Allarin Shadowdancers would be rather weird...

On the penalty to spell casting while flying:

You mean casting while under vigorous motion, right?

*rummage-rummage* Hmm. Yes, those rules look promising. I'll work that in. Thanks .

Casting defensively only applies to not getting struck by enemy weaponry when you let your guard down.

Hmm. How would you interpret both conditions going on? Two checks?

In the increased damage of bludgeoning weapons:

Technically, you should say the critical multiplier is doubled. That's the game term for adding one to a multiplier.

It's never going to -not- bother me to make a statement that is categorically untrue. You do not "double" the damage from crits by increasing the multiplier by one ((x2 to x3 is not "doubling" to me). As I've seen various effects that "increase the multiplier by 1" I'm much more comfortable with that wording that relying on the the mathmatical cludge of running two multipliers together (x2 + x3 = x4 ~ not x6) .

Pretty good attempt.

Just warming up. Once they're being matched to a setting, I might change some more. This is a pretty generic "I'd like to be able to fly at low levels, and not break the game" build.

 

[jmucchiello]

On the long, but not unlimited duration of flight:I think it's a tragic statement about the game that if "it's not a limitation in combat, then it's not a limitiation" . I would never track hours of use for combat purposes. The point here isn't about the combat utility of the race - this line tells me a lot about their culture. They can't fly all day! No continuously flying patrols without large enough numbers to have lots of shifts. And more importantly for PCs, you can't use your flying rate for overland travel...

Tragic or not, you are trying to achieve balance at ECL +0. ECLs measure combat ability. It is the only part of a creature that you can objectively rate. If you want to play a game where the race's ability with dance is its balancing factor, more power to you. But that ain't D&D.

How unusual is an 18 Con, which give 8 hours of flight, allowing overland travel?

 

[Coredump]

Kinda like it,

Would change flight to 2 hours plus Con Bonus. There are lots of feats that allow more than that. (may even make it 1 hour plus 1/2 Con bonus, may take playtesting to be sure.)

Personally, I never like the idea that Magical armour fit everyone, no matter what; but whatever.

AAcro: I think 10' is way to narrow to allow. That means the wings are just 4' long, and no deviating during flight. I think 20' would be about the most narrow I would want. Since they are poor manueverability, I would say 30' normally, and with this feat 20' (Maybe 15', but I doubt it.)

 

[handforged]

What if the Aerial Acrobatics feat was changed to read:

Benefit: You no longer suffer a –1 to AC while flying. You may now begin flying as a move-equivalent action (this does not reduce the distance required, however). You can also tuck through areas that are only 10 ft wide, but can only do so for twice your base flight speed at a time.

This means that an Allarin could swoop down through a hallway and keep going as long as there was a large space on the other side. I can picture lots of cool cinematic scenes with this one, like going under bridges, between buildings, weaving through tight forested areas, or even flying through an open hallway and landing in the audience chamber of some king or somesuch.

Otherwise, I think that the race could be pretty balanced with other ECL +0 races. As long as the DM used varied combat tactics like grappling, bull-rushing, etc.

~hf

 

[Morgenstern]

Tragic or not, you are trying to achieve balance at ECL +0. ECLs measure combat ability. It is the only part of a creature that you can objectively rate. If you want to play a game where the race's ability with dance is its balancing factor, more power to you. But that ain't D&D.

Really...? So a dwarf's stonecrafting has no value in examining the game balance of a race's desirablity? It's not a combat abilty, and by your argument not a factor. Adding stonecrafting to every other race in the game has no impact on it's ECL then...?

Let's just say I flatly reject your premise .

It may get more into art than science, but I tend to find non-combat abilites and a well crafted drawback to be the most interesting parts of race design.

How unusual is an 18 Con, which give 8 hours of flight, allowing overland travel?

Point buy based, I'd say quite uncommon, and a clear statement from the creating player that he'd like the non-combat utility of being able to fly from town to town without having to walk or ride. That it's possible without the use of feats is a feature, not an accident .

 

[Morgenstern]

What if the Aerial Acrobatics feat was changed to read:

Benefit: You no longer suffer a –1 to AC while flying. You may now begin flying as a move-equivalent action (this does not reduce the distance required, however). You can also tuck through areas that are only 10 ft wide, but can only do so for twice your base flight speed at a time.

Wordy, but kinda the effect I was shooting for with the feat. I just didn't think the bookkeeping would be worth it .

This means that an Allarin could swoop down through a hallway and keep going as long as there was a large space on the other side. I can picture lots of cool cinematic scenes with this one, like going under bridges, between buildings, weaving through tight forested areas, or even flying through an open hallway and landing in the audience chamber of some king or somesuch.

Yup! Exactly the point of the feat .

Otherwise, I think that the race could be pretty balanced with other ECL +0 races. As long as the DM used varied combat tactics like grappling, bull-rushing, etc.

Thanks, and yes, a little variety in combat is a good thing anyway .