Building My Dungeons and Dragon World Part 2: The Aarakocra

 Introduction

This week, I wanted to put the focus of my worldbuilding on a specific magical race from Dungeons and Dragons. I had various ideas for how I wanted to tackle building this world, but going race by race seemed to be the best call as it would force me to do in-depth research into the game's lore. This restriction would allow me to build a more in-depth world moving forward.

At this point, I want to remind the audience that while I am using some information from the official Dungeons and Dragons books, I am not going to be strict with it. This game world is primarily my own design and I will be tweaking official lore to suit its needs.

Another note moving forward is that I have attached images to this blog to go along with my writing. These images are not my own. I will provide links to where I found the images used. These may not be the original uploaders or artists' websites. Now with all of the official stuff out of the way, let's get into the fun part.

The Lore

The Aarakocra usually are residents of the Elemental Plane of Air. A gate to that realm opens into the Windy Mountains, hence their name. The residents of the Plane of Air occasionally drift into the Material Plane through this entrance.

Picture Link: https://www.yowangdu.com/tibet-travel/where-is-tibet.html

The Aarakocra

Picture Link: https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/4-aarakocra 

One of these races is the Aarakocra. While most rarely stayed in the Material Plane, a couple of small tribes had established settlements in the Windy Mountains, within a short flight of the rift to Plane of Air. They are generally kind people who prefer their privacy, turning them into something of a myth in the surrounding areas. In fact, they are often referred to as the “Mysterious Eagles of the Windy Mountains.”

The Guardians of the Tempest

Picture Link: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/what-do-aarakocra-cities-look-like.840554/

Hidden amongst the peaks of the Windy Mountains is an elite force of Aarakocran Rangers and Druids. They reside in a mountaintop base with no natural (or constructed) pathways that lead to it. The Aarakocra haven’t taken great pains to keep this place a secret. Any of their kin who take on apprentices of a different species is forbidden from this location. Within its halls and vaults is a secured scroll. A scroll with a spell to summon one of the most dangerous forces in existence. These Aarakocra have taken to naming themselves appropriately. The Guardians of the Tempest.

The Rangers assigned here patrol the mountains, often weeks away from the base, to ensure that nothing approaches the location on foot or by flight. Some even face their fears of the underground to ensure the mountain remains secure. If they see something getting too close, they will take measures to try and redirect them away, usually trying to hide their presence as they do so. They will try to avoid doing direct harm but are not above harming or killing if they must.

The elite rangers of the base come from every conclave. This is to ensure that the base is secure from any threat. But with that said, the most common conclave that members are a part of is the Horizon Walker Conclave. This serves two purposes. The first is to guard the portal to the Elemental Plane of Air from intrusion. The second is to guard the secret.

A wide variety of Druids live at the base. Depending on the Circle they belong to, they may act as scouts, protectors of the mountain creatures, or defenders of the base. But members of some circles have a tendency to wander off into the depth of the Windy Mountains in search of solitude or in pursuit of the call of nature.

The most prevalent of the Druidic Circles is the Circle of the Land. Specifically, most of the members of this circle have chosen mountains as their land of choice for obvious reasons. These druids are a valuable resource to the base. Their spells heavily focus on the ability to manipulate stone, allowing the druids to literally shape the land to suit their needs. But their abilities don’t end there. Between Wild Shape and Wild Companions, these druids can also act as hidden scouts by fooling trespassers into thinking they are normal animals. Finally, stronger druids have the ability to shoot lightning, leading many of the surrounding inhabitants to believe that the mountains have unpredictable and dangerous weather conditions.

All of this contributes to hiding the base in the Windy Mountains from most of those who live in the surrounding areas. It is the general belief of the Guardians that no one can accidentally find the base, which means that when they find an intruder, they are inclined to assume the worst and execute the trespasser on the spot.

But the Aarakocra have one major weakness. They have a natural aversion to going underground. While the most daring of the rangers and druids have attempted to secure these underground passages, these defenses are generally more hastily built and are consequently weaker. This is a problem when you consider just how many things exist beneath the surface of the world.