Subraces of the Aarakocra - New Racial Features for the Bird-Folk D&D 5th Edition

Oct 6, 2026

Upload by Himbo

Guide to customizing the Aarakocra (bird-folk) in D&D 5th Edition, focusing on personality quirks, life of flight, and subrace-linked narrative options. Provides a d12 quirk table and a separate d8 list for explaining why a character may be flightless. Details flight-related mechanics such as Delayed Flight, Flightless, Flight with armor limits, and Slowfall with space and fall-rate requirements. Includes core racial traits covering ability scores, age, alignment tendencies, size, speed, languages, and the concept of distinct subraces.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time14 min

AccessFree to download

Aarakocra Subraces

Aarakocra Personality

A Life OfFlight

Flight Options and Compromises

Subraces and Narrative Explanations

Aarakocra Traits

Aarakocra Subraces Misconceptions

Sub races of the Aarakocra New Racial Features for the Bird-Folk D&D 5th Edition By Jamie Manson Subraces of the Aarakocra The Aarakocra Sequestered in high mountains atop tall trees, theaarakocra, sometimes called birdfolk, evoke fear and wonder. Many aarakocra aren’t even native to the Material Plane. They hail from a world beyond—from the boundless vistas ofthe Elemental Plane of Air. They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien to them. Aarakocra Personality AnAarakocra may have different quirks and motivations from the regular inhabitants within the Material Plane. Use the following table to help customize your character and bring an extra racial quirk that sets them apart from other races. | d12 | Quirk | | --- | --- | | 1 | You sometimes let out a loud squawk when you feel nervous or anxious. | | 2 | You preen yourself and others you feel comfortable around, it’s an old habit you’ve had since you were young. | | 3 | You are fixated by reflections of yourself, becoming unaware of your surroundings. | | 4 | When eating, you try to eat things whole, tilting your head back, letting gravity do the work. | | 5 | Your pockets are constantly lined with grain and seed, which you regularly snack on. | | 6 | You use your own feathers for arrows, quills and other crafts giving it a personal touch. | | 7 | Being in an enclosed space makes you feel uneasy, making you focus on ways out. The sight of the sky helps calm you. | | 8 | You can’t help but whistle a cheery tune when you wake up in the morning. | | 9 | When things get heated, you puffyourself up and outstretch your wings until you calm down. | | 10 | In moments of excitement, your speech becomes breathless, sometimes making chirping noises. | | 11 | You are keen to communicate using your wings and plumage. | | --- | --- | | 12 | When you fall, trip, or otherwise make sudden movements-you create a trail of feathers, which inexplicably get everywhere. | A Life OfFlight As an aarakocra, the idea offlight is ingrained when they are first born. However, starting with the ability to fly at 1st level is exceptionally effective in some situations, while being exceedingly dangerous in others. Flight is often unaccounted for in campaigns at an early level, so it is recommended that you talk to your DM to give special consideration to your character. As a compromise, you can start your character in one of 2 other ways. Use one of the following flightless options you can start as an Aarakocra character below to trade off the loss of your flying ability: Delayed Flight. You are only suffering a temporary injury and will gain your ability to fly at a later date as determined by your DM, where you will start with Slowfall, but change it to Flight once you regain the use of your wings. Flightless. You have completely lost your ability to fly. You instead start with Slowfall + Racial Feat of your choice. Flight Aarakocra are born into a life of flying, it is their nature, their life and they are at their most comfortable when they take to the air. You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To fly, you can’tbe wearing medium or heavy armor. Slowfall If your wings are not working as they once were, your lightweight body and remaining wings are still able to carry you slowly towards the ground. You can fall from any height using your remaining wings, you can't be wearing medium or heavy armor and must have at least a 10 feet of free space to either side of you (a total of 25ft.) to make room for your wings. (You fall at a speed of 60ft. per round.) 1 Design Version 1.2 By Jamie Manson Subraces of the Aarakocra If you decide to forgo the use of your wings, you can use the list below to help create a possible narrative to explain why you cannot use them. | d8 | You lost the ability to fly because... | | --- | --- | | 1 | It is a forgotten skill lost through genera

FAQs

What personality quirks are suggested for an Aarakocra character?

The document provides a d12 table of quirk ideas, including nervous squawks, preening habits, fixation on reflections, and whistle-like cheerfulness when waking.

What options let an Aarakocra start without immediate flight?

It offers Delayed Flight, where flight is gained later with Slowfall in the meantime, and Flightless, where flight is lost and the character starts with Slowfall plus a racial feat.

What are the key racial traits of an Aarakocra?

Traits include +2 Dexterity, maturity by age 3, mostly good alignment tendencies with lawful or chaotic exceptions, Small-to-Medium size range, 25 ft walking speed, and languages Common, Aarakocra, and Auran.

Oct 6, 2026

Upload by Himbo