Aarakocra

* 5e
* 4e
* 3e
* 2e
* 1e

**Aarakocras** (pronounced: /ærɑːˈkoʊkrɑː/ *æ-ra-KO-kra* about this audio file listen or: /ɑːrɑːˈkoʊkrɑː/ *a-rah-KO-krah*) were a race of avian humanoids.

## Description

Aarakocras resembled humanoid birds. The average specimen stood about 5 feet (**Expression error: Unexpected < operator.** meters) tall and had a wingspan of 20 feet (**Expression error: Unexpected < operator.** meters). Halfway along the edge of each wing was a hand with three human-sized fingers and an opposable thumb. An elongated fourth finger extended the length of the wing and locked in place during flight. The hands could not grasp while flying, but they were nearly as useful as human hands when an aarakocra was perched and its wings folded back. Their powerful legs ended in four sharp talons that could unlock and fold back to reveal another pair of functional hands. These humanoids had hollow, fragile bones. Their faces combined the features of both parrots and eagles. They had gray-black beaks and black eyes. Plumage color varied, but males generally had red, orange, and yellow coloration, while females tended towards brown and gray.

## Personality

Aarakocras were known to be extremely claustrophobic.

Male aarakocra tended to have very short tempers, and had been known to fly into fits of rage when a perceived wrong occurred. They also were notorious romantic flirts, regardless of whether or not they were married.

## Society

On Toril, aarakocras lived among the highest mountain peaks in small tribes that controlled hunting territories and shared a communal nest. The eldest male served as leader, assisted by the tribe's shaman.

Aarakocra were also one of the major races on the inner planet Coliar. On that planet, it was the females who were always chosen as leaders, as society deemed them far more controlled emotionally. These aarakocra females were chosen by democratic elections and each ruled over one of over 100 extended families. Males are not forbidden from running for office, but society is strongly against their election, and no male ruled for over 1,000 years. Male aarakocra from other worlds sometimes took offense at this societal trend.

### Religion

Aarakocras of Toril almost all worshiped Aerdrie Faenya. She appeared to them as a giant white bird.

The small number of aarakocras living in the North mainly worshiped Syranita as their goddess, but also paid homage to Akadi, Remnis of the giant eagles, Stronmaus of the giants, as well as Aerdrie Faenya.

### Known aarakocra settlements

They were an immigrant race to Faerûn from Maztica. Known aarakocra settlements in Faerûn were:

* The Star Mounts in the High Forest. This tribe was almost totally slain by the green dragon Elaacrimalicros.
* The Storm Horns in Cormyr.
* The Cloven Mountains in the Vilhon Reach.
* The Mistcliffs in Chult.
* The Adder Hills in Chessenta.

As of the Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR, the last settlement of aarakocra in the High Forest was the Last Aerie, on the slopes of the southernmost Star Mounts, near the headwaters of the Unicorn Run.

## Notable Aarakocras

* Asharra, a druid who led the community of Kir Sabal in the late 15th century DR.
* Kazra, an aarakocra taken prisoner by the Feathergale Knights in the late 15th century DR.
* Alekra Donakkis, leader of the largest family of aarakocras on Coliar.

## Appendix

### Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Art from 5th edition wrongly portrays aarakocra as having separate arms. This conflicts with all descriptions and art in earlier editions and does not even correspond with the descriptions given in 5th-edition sources themselves.
2. ↑ Aarakocra first appeared in the *Fiend Folio* (1981) and were credited to Lawrence Schick.
3. ↑ In later appearances, Asharra is described as a wizard.

### Appearances

Adventures
*Princes of the Apocalypse* • *Tomb of Annihilation*
Comics
*A Darkened Wish #1* • *A Darkened Wish #2* • *A Darkened Wish #3*
Novels
*Son of Thunder*
Video Games
*Gateway to the Savage Frontier* • *Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms* • *Neverwinter* • *Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace* • *Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation*
Adventurers League
*The Howling Void*
Board Games
*Tomb of Annihilation*
Cards
*AD&D Trading Cards*
### Gallery

Polyhedron-121.jpgAn aarakocra on the cover of *Polyhedron* 121.Alsari's Supply Shop Interior-PoR.pngAn aarokocra behind a desk at Alsari's Supply Shop on the port island of Athanar on Coliar.Athanar Congress Building Interior-PoR.pngAn aarokocra behind a desk at Athanar's Congress Building.Donakkis' Storage Co Interior-PoR.pngA member of the Donakkis Clan of Coliar.Shrine of Syranita Interior-PoR.pngA shrine to the aarokocra goddess Syranita.The Cutting Edge Interior-PoR.pngAn aarokocra weapons dealer.Windfollower Tavern Interior-PoR.pngAn aarokocra barkeep.
### Further Reading

* David "Zeb" Cook, *et al.* (1989). *Monstrous Compendium Volume Two*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-8803-8753-X.
* J. F. Keeping (August 1987). “The Wings of Eagles”. In Roger E. Moore ed. *Dragon* #124 (TSR, Inc.), pp. {{#regex:34–37|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}.
* Bill Slavicsek (1993). *The Complete Book of Humanoids*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6611-5.

* Doug Stewart (June 1993). *Monstrous Manual*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
* Don Turnbull (1981). *Fiend Folio*. (TSR Hobbies). ISBN 0-9356-9621-0.

### External Links

**Disclaimer:** The views expressed in the following links do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki, nor does any lore presented necessarily adhere to established canon.

* Aarakocra article at the ***Dark Sun Wiki***, a wiki for the *Dark Sun* campaign setting.

### References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Doug Stewart (June 1993). *Monstrous Manual*. (TSR, Inc), p. 5. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). *Monster Manual 5th edition*. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 12. ISBN 978-0786965614.
3. ↑ Richard Baker, Ari Marmell, Chris Sims (August 2010). *Dark Sun Creature Catalog*. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. {{#regex:10–11|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}. ISBN 978-0-7869-5494-0.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 James Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo (February 2001). *Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-1832-2.
5. ↑ Don Turnbull (1981). *Fiend Folio*. (TSR Hobbies), p. 8. ISBN 0-9356-9621-0.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Dale "slade" Henson (April 1991). *Realmspace*. Edited by Gary L. Thomas, Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc), pp. {{#regex:12–17|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}. ISBN 1-56076-052-4.
7. ↑ Richard Baker, Robert J. Schwalb, Stephen Schubert (April 2015). *Elemental Evil Player's Companion* , **link:**[1]. In David Noonan, Stacy Janssen eds. (Wizards of the Coast and Sasquatch Game Studio), p. 5.
8. ↑ Frank Mentzer (January 1985). “Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd”. In Kim Mohan ed. *Dragon* #93 (TSR, Inc.), p. 25.
9. ↑ Dungeons & Dragons FAQ (HTML). Wizards of the Coast. (2003). Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 James Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo (February 2001). *Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-1832-2.
11. ↑ Reynolds, Forbeck, Jacobs, Boyd (March 2003). *Races of Faerûn*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 131. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
12. ↑ {{#rreplace:Dale Henson/slade, Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Steven E. Schend, Jennell Jaquays/Paul Jaquays, Steve Perrin|([\w\.[:blank:]\[\]]+)\/([\w\.[:blank:]\[\]]+)|$1 (as $2)}} (April 1996). *The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (The Wilderness)*. (TSR, Inc), p. 25. ISBN 0-7869-0391-0.
13. ↑ Reynolds, Forbeck, Jacobs, Boyd (March 2003). *Races of Faerûn*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 130. ISBN 0-7869-2875-1.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Richard Baker, Robert J. Schwalb, Stephen Schubert (April 2015). *Elemental Evil Player's Companion* , **link:**[2]. In David Noonan, Stacy Janssen eds. (Wizards of the Coast and Sasquatch Game Studio), p. 4.
15. ↑ Brian R. James (May 2010). “Backdrop: Chessenta”. In Chris Youngs ed. *Dungeon* #178 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 72.
16. ↑ Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). *Tomb of Annihilation*. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
17. ↑ Michele Carter, Stacy Janssen eds. (2015). *Princes of the Apocalypse*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 125. ISBN 978-0786965786.