D&D: Best Ways to Fly (and Only One Involves Being Dead)
Flight can be an absolute game changer in D&D. And fortunately for you, there are plenty of ways to get access to it. Here are the best ways to fly.
Flight. It’s what humanity has dreamed of ever since they saw a prehistoric bird escape from its life of being a dishwasher and occasionally saying “eh, it’s a living.” And in D&D it’s an incredible advantage. It lets you escape melee range. Soar past harder to kill defenders to kill the mages first. And these two things alone make it great. But if you’re a melee character? It can be your only option for dealing with flying foes. Otherwise, you might end up like the Tarrasque.
How do you gain that tactical advantage? Turns out, there are plenty of ways to do that.
Be Born with Wings
Do you know that old saying about how if we were meant to fly, we’d have been born with wings? Well, according to that logic, there are plenty of peoples who were meant to fly. A number of PC races are, in fact, born with wings. If you want natural wings, you can play an Aarakocra, a fairy, or a winged variant tiefling.
Class Features
You could also try taking matters into your own hands and using one of your class features to fly. There are a number of classes that have access to flights (at least for a little while). A surprising number of Sorcerer origins give you access to flight (storm, draconic).
Or you could play a tempest cleric, or an eldritch knight fighter so you have access to the fly spell. That spell is probably the most accessible way to fly, but it’s far from the only one.
Magic Items
If you can’t fly with your own power or with your own magic/class abilities, then the next best thing is finding a magic item that allows you to fly. Wings of Flying, Winged Boots, a Carpet of Flying, the list goes on. Any one of these magic items will give you the ability to fly – usually for about an hour or so.
Winged Mount
Here’s a throwback to the earlier editions of D&D when flying mounts were all but expected once you got past a certain point in the game. Your hero could take flight on a griffon, a hippogriff, a pegasus, a giant eagle, a giant owl, possibly a dragon– or a flumph if your DM is a little wild. But whatever you pick, a flying friend is the perfect way to soar into battle, especially if you take the Mounted Combat feat.
Become a Ghost
This last one might be a little extreme, but if you need to fly, it’s worth pointing out that there are a number of incorporeal undead who can fly natively. Sure, you have to die to become a ghost, but honestly you gain damage resistance and flight. Plus, you don’t need to eat, breathe, or sleep – making you incredibly tough to kill indeed.
Happy Adventuring!
