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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Aug 2006 : 19:03:23
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I am looking for any references to Aearee or the Avian Creator Race.
Other than Serpent Kingdoms, Savage Frontier, and the history section of the FRCS, does anyone know of any stray mentions of the Avian Creator Race?
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2006 : 19:07:18
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| I think there is something in the 2ed Gods books but not much. That's the only reference I can think of. |
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2066 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2006 : 19:07:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Gray Richardson
I am looking for any references to Aearee or the Avian Creator Race.
Other than Serpent Kingdoms, Savage Frontier, and the history section of the FRCS, does anyone know of any stray mentions of the Avian Creator Race?
There's one in Dragons of Faerun in the "Wyrms of the North" section.
There's references in Lords of Darkness [1e] and Powers & Pantheons to the name as well.
--Eric |
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http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2006 : 00:21:40
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| Thanks! |
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Beirnadri Magranth
Senior Scribe
USA
720 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2006 : 16:52:40
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| Gray, what are you working on that involves these creatures? |
"You came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory... instead you will die with a whimper."
::moussaoui tries to interrupt::
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending."
-Judge Brinkema |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2006 : 17:54:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Beirnadri Magranth
Gray, what are you working on that involves these creatures?
Grin,
Ya'll have to wait for it. :) It'll appear soon. Course, if he wants to tell you more then he'll do so. I'm just being a tease. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 26 Aug 2006 : 01:20:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Beirnadri Magranth
Gray, what are you working on that involves these creatures?
Grin,
Ya'll have to wait for it. :) It'll appear soon. Course, if he wants to tell you more then he'll do so. I'm just being a tease.
Though Gray hasn't been here the last few days...
Beir, you may try emailing him with your question.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2006 : 00:31:48
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| I have always thought that the Cloudlands over the Stonelands had something to do with this Creator Race... |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2006 : 07:08:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
I have always thought that the Cloudlands over the Stonelands had something to do with this Creator Race...
I don't know, there are also a few hints that this was more a Cloud giant thing. The Elminster Ecology's for the Stonelands says it was inhabited by several arial races, but Ed's old Anauroch book mentions the sky cities as Cloud giant residences.
Although they could of course be the last remnants of the aerial creation race allied with giants or that the giants had taken over the castles at a later date. |
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w2b
Acolyte
Italy
30 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2006 : 19:52:34
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| i assume you already checked the grand history of the realms page 9, right? where it talks about aeree-kokra and aeree-kenku...? |
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Beirnadri Magranth
Senior Scribe
USA
720 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2006 : 20:00:46
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| i was dissapointed to not see any references to Aearee in Dragons of Faerun since i thought the giants and dragons in the Dawn Age wiped them out.... |
"You came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory... instead you will die with a whimper."
::moussaoui tries to interrupt::
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending."
-Judge Brinkema |
Edited by - Beirnadri Magranth on 03 Sep 2006 04:19:43 |
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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2006 : 04:38:34
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Thanks tremendously for your help guys. I am scrambling to put some lore together for the Aearee which you all may see real soon...  |
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Jimbo3DC
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jan 2007 : 04:11:32
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Hello: I'm new to this forum, but hope to add to some of Grey's work from his fascinating piece "Mysteries of the Creator Races: The Aearee" by creating v3.5 stats for the old Fiend Folio classic critter the Dire Corby, and also some heretofore unknown planetouched Aearee: the Quor-Vrockaearee (Voraeree) and the Syran-Avoraee (Avoraeree). I'm looking for a timeline, especially the dates accounting the rise of the Quor-Aearee tyrant Sieska Waewielonn and the fall of rookery Aeng-Shara. I've written about mean birds before in the Mimir Planescape fansite:
http://www.mimir.net/monsters/scarling.shtml
Thanks
- Jim |
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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2007 : 09:46:29
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I didn't set firm dates for any of those events, however I was guided by the starting and ending dates for the Aearee empires given in Serpent Kingdoms. Serpent Kingdoms says the Aearee became prominent around -31,000 DR after the Batrachi fell, and the Aearee in turn fell around -30,000 DR when the dragons rose to power.
I figured the Batrachi were wiped out by the Tearfall event, a rain of falling stars (or comet, asteroid or moon) that first brought dragon eggs to Faerun. This event is mentioned in Giantcraft and in the first Draconomicon and was recently ratified in Dragons of Faerun.
I had some ideas about how the Batrachi may have warred with a kingdom of Titans around the area that is now the Sea of Fallen Stars and I wrote about that in my Batrachi article in Candlekeep Compendium Volume III. I think it very possible that the Batrachi may have actually caused the Tearfall event and brought about their own doom.
Running with that idea, Brian suggested in his Grand History of the Realms that the Tearfall event caused a dramatic climate change, akin to a nuclear winter (presumably from all the ash and dust kicked up into the atmosphere from the catastrophe) which lasted for around 7 years.
The Batrachi that were not killed outright by the Tearfall had a hard time surviving the seven-year winter. Those that survived were mostly hunted to extinction in vengeful crusades by factions of Aearee. Though some decendants of the Batrachi survive to this day as the barbaric Bullywugs and Sivs that live in swampy environments around Faerun.
The Aearee, formerly oppressed by the Batrachi, fared much better. They survived the long winter to thrive and blossom as a civilization in the years that followed Tearfall.
The three major factions of Aearee were based around the Star Mounts in the North, the Orsraun mountains in the South and a hypothetical mountain called Havraquoar that would have existed west of the Sword Coast but which was destroyed or burried beneath the waves following the Sundering.
The three powers would have grown and expanded organically over several centuries, and I figure would not have really come to dominate so much of Faerun until the middle third of the Aearee period when they really flourished and could be seen across the skies of the continent.
I estimate that the rookery of Kookriu-Shara fell around -30,400 DR, which began a cascade of events that resulted in a much more militaristic and aggressive campaign of expansion by the Shara peoples.
I never dated the events involving Sieska discovering Pazrael (aka the demon prince Pazuzu) and her rise to power. However, in my mind it would have occured in the last 3rd of the Aearee period, perhaps sometime between -30,400 DR and -30,200 DR. It would have taken her a few decades to consolidate her control of the Sharan rookeries. The wars and expansion of her empire would have lasted another one or two hundred years or so (give or take).
The last battle of that war which saw the destruction of Aeng-Shara probably occured near the end of the Aearee civilization, within the last hundred years or so of the Aearee dominance. Say -30,050 DR (give or take a few decades).
It wasn't so long after Aeng-Shara fell that the dragons had bred enough generations to grow so numerous, large and powerful that they could wipe out the Aearee and take over Faerun.
All these dates are just rough guesses. It is certain that the Aearee didn't rise in exactly -31,000 DR nor fall in exactly -30,000 DR. These are just approximations, the true dates could vary by several tens or hundreds of years in either direction. Nothing I have said is official, merely a little educated speculation on my part. Feel free to assign or adjust any specific dates as you see fit. |
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Jimbo3DC
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2007 : 03:05:25
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I'm working on a general Avian sourcebook which was much like the Serpent Kingdoms book, focusing on creating a few playable races from that age, and skills brought back by the aarakocra upon returning from Maztica, such as Plumaweaving. I hope you enjoy the preview, and hope to have the rest written soon. - Jim
Here's a sample of a race created during the Days of Thunder by the avoraeree, a vrock-aeree hybrid planetouched creature called the Vroquoraa.
Vroquoraa
Vroqoraa are the progeny of an ancient aerial tyrant’s creation - an aerial-vrock hybrid for use as flying assault troops in her armies. While the tyrant didn’t have time to unleash these creatures in battle before her war was lost, these half-demons escaped to the wilds and ultimately bred true. Their inherent traits of secrecy and love for the blood of battle have kept their numbers low and movements secret until today.
Personality: The majority of vroquoraa remain in hiding in heavily forested mountainsides or in the deepest, darkest regions of trackless swamps. They know other races will fear them, yet factions in certain rookeries with a more aggressive side yearn for expansion, conquest, and the flesh of “the wingless ones” as they refer to humans and humanoids.
Physical Description: Vroquoraa are best described as “little black vrocks” as they most resemble their demon parents, but with feathers as black as night and a thick bill like that of a raven with a cruel curve at beak’s end. They have a set of black wings similar to those seen on birds of prey, and hard, dark-orange scales at their hands and feet. Black feathers with an oily sheen cover the rest of their body. A few individuals have a red or an iridescent purple tint to their feathers towards the tips of their wing primaries. They stand from 5 to 6 feet tall with a wingspan of 20 feet, weighing on average about 110 pounds. Their eyes are completely black, but sparkle with intelligence and malice. If they wear anything at all, it would be small satchels or bands around their ankles or wrists. Females are slightly larger than male vroquoraa, but otherwise look the same.
Relations: Enterprising fey’ri have discovered the vroquoraa, but a high level of mistrust remains between the two flying races before any alliances can be made. Any other race that looks edible is considered a renewable resource by the hungry vroquoraa. They are afraid of dragons, however, and will quickly and secretly relocate their rookery if any are thought to have lairs nearby.
Alignment: Vroquoraa tend towards evil and chaos, evident in their inability to grow in number due to rookery infighting that often leads to death. Only the strongest survive among the vroquoraa, and the weakest must either escape the rookery or be eaten. Most lone vroquoraa are such refugees whose expulsion from their own people leads to introspection and insight that can offer different alignment outlooks.
Religion: Vroquoraa are split between worshipping Malar, who speaks to their way of life, or the Demon Lord Pazriel who lords over their ancestors the vrock demons. Some revel in the power and destructon of storms and worship Talos.
Language: Vroquoraa speak Common and Abyssal.
Names: Vroquoraan names are created from the Abyssal words describing their first major kill conducted after a vroquoraa learns to fly. This cultural trait is another reason the Vroquoraa are rare, as fledglings often seek to slay creatures far out of their league for high name-status.
Adventurers: Most vroquoraa are barbarians or rangers, with at least one evil cleric for every rookery. Lone vroquoraa refugees often seek knowledge about their origins and can become druids or sorcerors. Many vroquoraa have a knack for stealth thanks to their aerial heritage and have at least a few levels of rouge. Bard vroquoraa are rare due to their schreechy vocalizations.
Regions: Scattered populations of vroquoraa exist in the most remote forested mountainsides, or in the deepest depths of tangled swamps around the Orsraun mountains of Faerûn.
Vroquoraa Racial Traits
Vroquoraa have the following abilities and characteristics:
• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. Only the strongest vroquoraa survive to adulthood, and their isolated and barbaric natures keep them ignorant of and unfriendly towards others.
• Outsider: Vroquoraa are native outsiders.
• Darkvision up to 60 feet.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, vroquoraa have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
• Vroquoraa base land speed is 20 feet. Their fly speed is 60 feet, with average maneuverability.
• +2 natural armor.
• Proficient with all simple and martial weapons.
• Natural Attacks: A flying vroquoraa can attack with two clawed hands, dealing 1d4 points of damage each, or he can use a weapon in his talons. A vroquoraa on the ground can wield weapons in his hands at his base attack bonus and attack with his beak as a secondary attack (-5 penalty on the attack roll, and half Strength bonus on the damage roll), dealing 1d4 points of damage.
• Dive Attack (Ex): A flying vroquoraa can make a dive attack, much like a grounded fighter would make a charge, but the vroquoraa must move a minimum of 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet. A vroquoraa can make a dive attack only when wielding a piercing weapon; if the attack hits, it deals double damage.
• Horrid Screech (Su): Once per day a vroquoraa can emit a spine-wracking screech that stuns all creatures within a 10 foot radius who fail a Constitution-based Fortitude save of 13.
• Mirror Image (Sp): Vroquoraa can cast mirror image once per day as cast by a 5th-level bard.
• +2 racial bonus on Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently and Spot checks.
• Automatic Language: Common and Abyssal. Bonus Languages: Auran, Draconic, Dwarven, Sylvan, Turmic.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass vroquoraan’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
• Level adjustment: +2. The vroquoraan’s flight, screech and spell-like ability are the main reasons for this high adjustment.
Vroquoraa
Vroquoraa are the descendants of breeding experiments between vrock and a lost avian race. They are best described as “little black vrocks” as they most resemble their demon parents, but with feathers as black as night and a thick bill like that of a raven with a cruel curve at beak’s end. They have a set of black wings similar to those seen on birds of prey, and hard, dark-orange scales at their hands and feet. Black feathers with an oily sheen cover the rest of their body.
The majority of vroquoraa remain in hiding in heavily forested mountainsides or in the deepest, darkest regions of trackless swamps. They know other races will fear them, yet factions in certain rookeries with a more aggressive nature yearn for expansion, conquest, and the flesh of “the wingless ones” as they refer to humans and humanoids.
Vroquoraa CR 2
CE Medium Outsider (Native, Avian)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +5, Spot +6
Languages Common, Abyssal
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12;
(+2 natural, +1 Dex)
hp 7 (1 HD)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 60 ft. (average)
Melee 2 claws +4 (1d4+3) and
1 beak +2 (1d4+3); or shortspear +6 (1d6+3) and
1 beak +2 (1d4+3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +1; Grp +4
Atk Options Dive
Special Actions Horrid Screech
Spell-Like Abilities:
1/day – horrid screech (free action) Fort DC 13
1/day – mirror image (CL 5th)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 7
Feats Multiattack
Skills Hide +7, Jump +9, Listen +6, Move Silently +7, Spot +6, Survival +3
Advancement by character class; Favored Class barbarian
Possessions shortspear
Horrid Screech (Su) 10-ft. spread, once every day, stun for 1 round, Fortitude DC 13.
Dive Attack (Ex): A flying vroquoraa can make a dive attack, much like a grounded fighter would make a charge, but the vroquoraa must move a minimum of 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet. A vroquoraa can make a dive attack only when wielding a piercing weapon; if the attack hits, it deals double damage.
Vroquoraa confuse and demoralize their foes by using their mirror image ability before moving in to attack. While in melee, individual vroquoraa use their horrid screech each round to keep their enemies stunned and helpless. Any grouping of vroquoraa is called a screech.
Enterprising wizards have found that vroquoraa feathers can be used as substitute components for the mirror image spell and for enhancing magical protections against summoned vrocks.
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Aearee / Avian Creator Race references
