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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 5747738" data-attributes="member: 2067">So, I thought the folks over here would have some interesting thoughts on <a href="http://daedaluswing.wikidot.com/start" target="_blank">this</a>. Basic summary is that the aarakocra highlight two design issues in D&D that could use some broader thought. The original design of the critter was a Good folk who lived in mountains and basically were guides and locals and occasional livestock-thieves. This image loaned itself to a few incarnation of the aarakocra as a PC race, but largely with similar problems: The critter can fly, which is a problem for D&D combat. So if you ditch it as a potential ally, potential PC, and all-round benevolent critter, and leave it as a "monster," it has another problem: as a Good monster with generally poor combat stats, it's not a great fight for heroic characters. The challenge implied in the original version was esentially a light social challenge: the aarakocra and local townsfolk might conflict, and it's up to the PC's to make peace, if they can. This kind of thought process is probably what resulted in 4e's vulture-like antagonists: clearly a better villain than misunderstood tribal locals. The linked article ends with <a href="http://daedaluswing.wikidot.com/aarakocra" target="_blank">some 4e rules</a> for using "old" aarakocra in 4e, as NPC's that aren't monsters to fight, but also aren't PC-ready. But I'm interested in EN World's take on these problems. Is Flight always a problem with a PC in D&D? Are there mechanics that can help? How has PC flight worked in your games?Should "monsters" always be combat antagonists? Is there room in our Monster Manuals for creatures that might not be battled to the death? What should their "stat blocks" look like? How might you bring the aarakocra into your own games?(and yeah, the little article is something I wrote...though clearly the blurry image with the misspelling of "charge" could've used some more work...<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid    :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" />)</blockquote>

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