Avians

Written by Daxim101

“ According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that an Avian should be able to fly. Their wings are too small to get their body off the ground. Avians, of course, fly anyways. Because Avians don't care what humans think is impossible.”
Avians do not care for record keeping as other races might, so their origins are unsure. Myths and legends speak of mystical immortal birds who chose to become mortal to experience earthbound life but did not want to give up the freedom of the sky, becoming the first Avians, equally at home in both environments.
While they are most commonly called ‘Avians’ by other species, as well as occasionally other names such as 'Birdkin' or 'Feathers', these diminutive humanoids somehow retain the ability to fly, and take advantage of this to settle in remote outposts of the world’s high mountains, some of which are cities to rival any Dwarf stronghold or Human capital in complexity. Still, while some may be content to stay in their mountaintop villages, others follow the call of wanderlust, many becoming the finest scouts and skirmishers you could ever hope to find.

Neither Fish Nor Fowl

Avians look fairly similar to humans, aside from their wings, and the fact that they rarely reach greater than five and a half feet in height. Despite their relatively small size, Avians can be deceptively strong, with impressively lean or wiry builds required for flight. Because of the added weight of their wings, they also weigh a little more than the same size human would, sometimes reaching up to 250 pounds for some subraces. Their skin colour ranges a fair gamut, though Avians generally trend towards fair skin.
Subraces are common among Avians, if within several broad lines, and while some small clan outposts may be family-based, you can find a large variety in anything larger than the smallest villages. Despite friendly rivalry between subraces, in times of need Avians will draw together against whatever danger or outsider threatens them. It helps that each broad subrace often has some small advantage over others- for example, Raptors or ‘Birds of Prey’ have slightly superior sight, while Corvidae often have the edge in flying silently. Despite their natural physical weakness, Avians have good aim and better eyes.
Some Avians may be able to spend hours at a time in the air, floating on thermals, and in battle they are nimble enough to swoop down to slash with weapons, or pelt with arrows from out of reach, or even with new-fangled blackpowder weaponry. In melee they are fearsome fighters, stubborn to the last and many a Raptor clan has stories of warrior ancestors who perished in a heroic action in order to save his or her comrades. Some all-Avian military units are able to land almost anywhere and strike anytime, decimating entire units of troops with a brutal close fullisade of fire or wiping out artillery batteries in actions that last mere minutes. Avian mercenaries are often sought after for this very reason, and can make up a significant percentage of their home cities' or clan's income.

Like Feather, Like Son

Avian villages, towns and the occasional city are almost all located in places too high for regular, non-flying races to reach, though they do not avoid digging out tunnels. The largest and oldest of Avian settlements have turned high mountains into a catacomb of chambers, large and small, from warrens of storerooms to vaulting market squares. Despite what you might think, an Avian is not necessarily averse to being in such a place, and indeed, there is comfort in having well-defended ‘Aviaries’.
Despite this, there will almost always be well-defended and sometimes hidden entrances for those other races to enter. Some settlements, especially smaller clan outposts, may ban non-Avians, some require strangers to be vouched for by a member of the community, depending on size, and others freely trade with whoever may come to their homes- these tend to be based closer to other races' settlements, sometimes not located on a mountain or hill at all.
Avian culture is greatly meritorious, with Avians from all walks of life being able to rise into whatever position they please. Avian society does not place as high of a focus on clans and family standing as some other races do, at least not in larger settlements, but even so, there is a trend for dynasties that rise above others, being known for producing great generals, merchants, politicians, and so on. Despite some being distrustful of outsiders, some Avians settle with other races, where they find much the same work they might do in their own settlements, but are still prized for their ability to deliver vital messages or scout and trap without requiring a horse.

Wide-Spread Wings and an Open Sky

Above all, almost all Avians have the attitude that one should keep moving forward, for their is nothing greater for an Avian than the sky, and being able to wheel and turn whenever they please is their greatest joy. This perhaps informs their rate of development, as they count as many tinkers and inventors as Dwarves and Gnomes among them, and the secrets of black powder have started to spread amongst their settlements, as well as steam or clockwork devices, to say nothing of their most fiendish and questionably sane artificers.
For those who do not wish to stay in the mountain settlements they call home, doing much the same jobs other races do, there are three main vocations available: Pathfinding for new settlement opportunities or threats to a settlement, mercenary work as Avians make fine scouts and skirmishers, or, of course, adventuring for fame, fortune, and glory.

Avian

Ability Score Increase +2 DEX, -1 STR

Size Medium

Speed 25ft, flight 50ft

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Avian traits

Your Avian character has certain characteristucs in common with all other Avians.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score decreases by 1.
Age. Avians mature slightly faster than humans, and are considered of age at 15. They have a similar lifespan to humans, living at most around a century without magical enhancement.
Alignment. Avians run the full scope of alignments, if with a slight disfavour towards evil. Those who are willing to go out into the wilderness tend towards Chaotic, however.
Size. Avians tend to grow to about five feet, and are never taller than five and a half. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Flight. You have a flying speed of 50 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.
Focused flying. At the start of your turn, you can choose to cut your flight speed to 15 feet. If you do so, all attacks until your next turn have a +2 to hit.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.
Subrace. Avians have many individual subraces with tiny variations, but there are three main ‘families’:

Birds of Prey (Hawks, eagles, falcons)

Hunters, trappers, scouts, and soldiers are all common careers for these subraces, as they naturally trend to being slightly hardier than their fellow Avians, along with better sight for spotting prey, and nimbleness in the air. That’s not to say you wouldn’t find a baker or smith among their numbers, but they certainly trend towards more violent vocations, and the least-tamed frontiers.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Eagle eyes. You gain proficiency in the perception skill and advantage on perception checks that rely on sight.
Flyby. You do not provoke opportunity attacks when you fly out of an enemy’s reach.

Corvidae (Ravens, crows)

Always with a reputation for mischief and magic, these subraces are most disproportionately found among the magical population of an Avian settlement. They seem to excel at wizardry in particular, and there are few soldiers on the battlefield who wish to face the hail of aerial fireballs an Avian warmage can rain like hail. They are also (perhaps unfairly) well-known for having an affinity for sneakiness, and some can’t seem to just pass by if they see something shiny.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Quiet flight. You have advantage on Stealth checks based on hearing while flying.
Naturally gifted. You gain one free cantrip from the Wizard spell list. Your casting Ability for this cantrip is Intelligence.

Columbidae (Pigeons, doves, sparrows, ‘standard’ birds)

The majority of the Avian population belongs to these subraces, and as a result trend towards the ‘keeping’ of Avian settlements, performing the many civil and trade jobs that keep them running. Despite the stereotypes, there have been many Columbidae soldiers of note as well as healers or guild-members. Some of the most well-known members of these subraces are famous for their courier work, delivering vital messages in peace as well as war- one of the most famous Columbidae, Cher Ami, flew for three days straight in order to deliver a vital shipment of medicine to an ailing settlement.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Guilds of a feather. Proficiency in any one skill and any one artisan’s tool.
Air mail. Once a day, you can dash as a bonus action for one minute.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.