Aerie (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Aries are tiny fey, courtiers and emissaries of fey courts and gentry among smaller fey. Long confined only to the deepest fairy glades and to the fairy plane, aeries are becoming more common as the barriers between planes weaken.

Aeries have high opinions of themselves, and thrive on respect and influence. Less concerned with pranks and more with simply enjoying fun and beauty, aeries are creatures of conflicting drives. They are daring and think nothing of challenging opponents several times their own size. Generally stay-at-home types who enjoy the good life, they can be intensely curious when not overtaken by shyness or laziness. They view the world with a curiosity and mirth, and this runs counter to their boisterousness; aeries will often find it convenient to remain hidden to observe the ways of others. They are also highly protective of things around them, and might decide to adopt and protect almost anything as their ward on the spur of the moment.

Aeries prosper in any place of natural beauty or that satisfies their curiosity. A few aeries even live in cities, usually as invisible observers. In areas dominated by evil they try to maintain small hidden havens of beauty. Aeries love to craft beautiful and intricate things, and can get mesmerized by artful devices. In fairy lands, aeries often take on a more active role, as mediators and spokesmen for other small fey and as courtiers in fairy courts.

Physical Description Aries are humanoid fey, about 8 inches in height (a full foot with wings included) and weigh 4 to 8 ounces. They are generally gnome-like in appearance, with gossamer wings that have a wingspan of just over a foot. Like gnomes their hair and skin comes in a variety of colors and often reflects their personality; a shy aerie is likely to have pale coloration, a passionate one bright, one interested in plants is likely to be green, and so on. The generally have graceful builds, but this is not universal. Some aerie are shorter and chubbier, looking somewhat like tiny winged dwarfs others are longer and more graceful, resembling elves.

Society: Aeries are not naturally gregarious among their own kind. They only create societies when several aeries independently decide to live in the same place. This is often often a society devoted to the study and protection of some locale or phenomenon, called their ward. A ward can be anything from a quaint human village to a waterfall or even a storm cloud. Such groups of aeries are very devoted to the focus of the community, letting it inspire everything from clothes to living spaces and they might even change their appearance to resemble their ward. If the wards is a creature, the aeries take on the mannerisms and views of their ward.

Aeries don't have families and young aeries are formed out of raw magic or from the ward of another aerie. It has been observed that a living ward of an aerie can be reincarnated as an aerie after death. Aeries do enjoy a flirt, and those living in complex courts might engage in lengthy courtships, complete with all the pride and prejudice of mortal love.

Relations: Aries often live in the societies of others, either as nobility among the smaller sprites or as courtiers and messengers among elves and larger fey. They admire elves and seek to mingle with them as equals. They are friendly but patronizing to gnomes and small fey, regarding gnomes as plebeian. Aeries are curious about other races when the see them, and often study them and even mimic their behavior, but rarely reveal themselves except to a few individuals, generally artists, children, beggars, or others whose reports on them are unlikely to be believed. Because of this, they remain elusive fairy-tale creatures and other races have no particular preferences or prejudices about them.

Alignment and Religion: Aeries are proud but good-natured and tend toward a chaotic good alignment. Their loyalties and interests are personal rather than familial or patriotic. An aerie will think nothing of opposing another aerie if their interests collide, but such confrontations are rarely belligerent. Aeries with conflicting wards would rather let their favorites quarrel and bet on the outcome than involve themselves directly, at least as long as their ward is sure to survive. If the existence of a aerie's ward is threatened, they will use every trick in their arsenal to protect it.

Adventurers: Aeries sometimes get attached to larger folk and follow them around, often adopting traits similar to their companion. Often seen as little more than familiars to their larger friend, some aeries thrive in being the mind behind the mask, others demand respect and attention in their own right.

Names Aeries often have names that describe them or that sound like titles. An aerie warrior who likes to ride goats might be called sir horn or clovenhoof, an aerie with particularly bright colors might be named indigo or roseblush. Remember than aerie appearance often match their interests, so a descriptive name often gives a clue to the aerie's interests as well.

Bark, Brave, Chiper, Chump, Clever, Grump, Nettle, Rose, Silver, Sly, Spray, Strong, Sunflower, Thorn.

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: -4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
• Size: Tiny. Tiny creatures gain +2 size bonus to their AC, a +2 size bonus on attack rolls, a –2 penalty on combat maneuver checks and to their CMD, a +4 size bonus on Fly checks, and a +8 size bonus on Stealth checks.
  • Tiny creatures have encumbrance limits half of those of a Medium creature of the same Strength. Armor, weapons, and personal gear sized for a Tiny creature weighs 1/10 as much and costs half as much as that sized for Medium creatures.
  • Tiny creatures use Dexterity instead of Strength bonus on Climb, Swim, and Combat Maneuver checks.
  • Tiny characters take up a space of 2-1/2 feet by 2-1/2 feet, so up to four of these characters can fit into a single square. A Tiny creature can stand in the space of a larger creature.
  • Tiny creatures have a natural reach of 0 feet, meaning they can’t reach into adjacent squares. They must enter an opponent’s square to attack it in melee. This provokes an attack of opportunity from the opponent. Since they have no natural reach, they do not threaten the squares around them. Other creatures can move through those squares without provoking attacks of opportunity. For an exception, see fey reach below.
• Type: Aeries are creatures of the fey type.
• Base Speed: 20 ft. They also have a fly speed of 30 ft. (good).
• Languages: Aerie begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Aerie with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: aklo, auran, elf, fairy common, gnome, halfling, treant.
• Random Starting Age: Base age zero
  Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer +1d2
  Bard, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger +1d3
  Cleric, Druid, Monk, Wizard +1d6.
• Aging Effects: Aeries do not age.
• Height and Weight: Height 4 inches Weight 2 ounces. Modifier 2d3 inches. Weight Multiplier x1 ounce.

Offense and Defensive Racial Traits

• Fey Reach: When wielding a rapier or a weapon with reach, an aerie has a reach of 5 ft.

Magical Racial traits

• Spell-Like Abilities Aeries can use the following spell-like abilities at will. All spell like abilities have a caster level of 1. Dancing lights, detect magic, endure elements, and vanish (self only).

Movement Racial Traits

• Flight Ceiling: Aeries can fly only at low altitudes, to a maximum height of 5 ft. per 2 Hit Dice (minimum 5 ft.).

Senses Racial Traits

• Low-Light Vision (Ex) An aerie can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of dim light. It retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Alternate Racial Traits

Ambassador (Sp) Some aeries take it upon themselves to be ambassadors among different types of creatures and can adapt their size to fit in different social situations. An ambassador aerie can use enlarge person and reduce person at will on themselves only and despite not being humanoids. They can also cast comprehend languages at will with a range of touch and Save: Will negates (harmless). This replaces fey reach and all spell-like abilities.

Borrower (Ex) There exists an underclass of flightless aeries that live subsistence lives, scavenging in the homes of larger creatures. Lacking flight, the borrowers have become masters of stealth. Burrowers can cast invisibility (sp) (self only) and misdirection (sp) at will, with a caster level of one. This replaces flight speed, flight ceiling, and the ability to cast vanish (sp).

Droplet (Ex) Some aeries live in and near water. Their flight ceiling ability allows flight only over or near a body of water, they cannot fly elsewhere. They gain the aquatic subtype, the amphibious quality, and a swim speed equal to their fly speed. They can cast water breathing (sp) 1/day. This replaces all the aerie's spell-like abilities and modifies the flight ceiling ability.

Energy Affinity (Sp) Some aeries live close to extreme manifestations of elemental energies or even on the elemental planes. Choose one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. The aerie's hair and wings resembles a mass of the chosen energy (acid aeries have hair and wings that resemble salt crystals). The aerie gains energy resistance 5 against the chosen type of energy and can make a ranged touch attack that inflicts 1d3 points of damage of the chosen type. This attack counts as a missile weapon with a range increment of 30 ft. It has a caster level equal to the aerie's Hit Dice and is subject to spell resistance. This replaces all spell-like abilities.

Energy Wings (Su) The aerie's wings are ephemeral and can disappear when not flying. The fight is magical and has perfect maneuverability. This replaces fey reach.

Fairy Dust (Sp) The aerie sheds light as constant light (sp) and leaves a trail of glowing fairy dust behind when flying. The aerie can suppress this glow and can use faerie fire (sp) at will with caster level 1 and a range of 10 ft. This replaces the ability to use vanish (sp).

Race Trait Options

Aeries can choose among the following race traits, in addition to other trait options.

Clever Companion (Race) You must have an animal companion or mount to use this trait. You replace that animal companion or mount with a familiar, like the one gained from the wizard's arcane bond class feature. You can ride this familiar even if it is the same size category you are, but not if it is of a smaller size category.

Elf Shot (Race) When you use a bow or sling you do not suffer a damage penalty because of a negative Strength modifier.

Reincarnated (Race) You have vague memories of a previous life as another type of creature. Knowledge (local and nature) become a class skills for you and you gain a +1 bonus on one of these skills.

Tiny Titan (Race) When you make an armed melee attack you do not suffer a damage penalty because of a negative Strength modifier.

Ward (Race) You have a close affinity for a particular place, type of object, or creature. When in the same space as your ward, you gain cover. If you have a living creature as a ward and cast reincarnate on your ward, the ward is reincarnated as an aerie instead of whatever type and race it had before. This trait does not give the ability to cast reincarnate.

Aerie Feats

Fast Flight (General)

Prerequisites Fly 7 ranks, Aerie fly speed.

Benefit: Your fly speed increases by 30 feet. You lose the benefits of this feat if you wear heavy armor or carry a heavy load.

Special: You can take this feat multiple times. The effects stack. The prerequisite ranks in the fly skill increases by 6 each time the feat is taken.

Free Flight (General)

Prerequisites Fly 5 ranks, Aerie flight ceiling racial trait.

Benefit You can ignore the flight ceiling racial trait.

Aerie in Greyhawk

The Flaness is the home of most aeries and other fey, but aeries have an unusually wide geographical spread. They are relatively common in Nippon and the Nippon Territories, and exist Zindia and the Celestial empire. Individual aerie may travel to other parts of the world, usually accompanying a ward.

Advance Race Guide Design Points

+4 Size Tiny

+2 Fey type

-1 Speed

+1 Reach

+6 Flight

-3 Fly ceiling

+6 Spell-like abilities

-3 Limited spell-like caster level

12 points

See Also

• Aerie in 3.5
• Atomie in 3.5 (sketch)

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