Let’s take a look at Aerial Combat in AD&D, and find out why it is the best version of Dungeons & Dragons in this How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons series. Buy the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide Handbook: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17004/dungeon-master-s-guide-1e?src=hottest_filtered&affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
In modern fantasy games, flying usually just means ignoring terrain. But in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the moment your feet leave the ground, combat becomes a deadly game of speed, altitude, and momentum.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about Aerial Combat in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I’d like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron — you can even pick up AD&D and Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I’m referencing the Players Handbook, the Dungeon Masters Guide, the Monster Manual, and Unearthed Arcana for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
One of the most overlooked systems in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is aerial combat. Most groups think of flying as simply “moving in three dimensions,” but the Dungeon Masters Guide treats the skies as an entirely different battlefield. Flying creatures are not standing still trading blows in the air like superheroes. They are constantly banking, climbing, diving, wheeling, and making attack passes at tremendous speed.
The result is a combat system that feels more like medieval aerial cavalry or dangerous bird-of-prey hunting than a standard dungeon melee. Once you understand the basics of speed, maneuverability, and altitude, the entire system becomes surprisingly elegant.
The core of aerial combat is the Maneuverability Class system found in the Dungeon Masters Guide. Every flying creature is assigned a maneuverability category from A to E. Class A creatures are incredibly agile and can hover, stop, and turn instantly. Class E creatures, such as dragons, are massive and powerful but sluggish when changing direction.
This means flying creatures cannot simply pivot in place. Most must continue moving forward to remain airborne. Aerial combat therefore becomes a series of attack passes where combatants swoop toward each other, strike, wheel around, and attempt another pass.
Flying creatures also interact with altitude differently. Most creatures can climb at half speed and dive at twice their listed speed. During a dive they may descend at roughly a forty-five degree angle, and diving attacks inflict double damage against creatures that are not also diving. This makes altitude an enormous tactical advantage.
The Dungeon Masters Guide also notes that creatures moving at half speed improve their maneuverability by one class, representing the increased control that comes from slower flight.
Flying mounts add another layer of complexity to aerial combat. The Dungeon Masters Guide explains that training and controlling a flying mount requires time, money, and practice. Riders who are inexperienced risk losing control, falling, or failing to attack effectively while airborne.
Mounted creatures also suffer maneuverability penalties in many cases, making them less agile in combat. This means aerial riders function more like cavalry making attack passes rather than hovering in place exchanging blows.
Aerial archery and mounted spellcasting are especially difficult, requiring training and stable positioning to perform effectively.
Large flyers such as dragons demonstrate the other side of aerial combat. These creatures are less maneuverable but possess incredible speed, durability, and offensive power. Rather than relying on agility, they dominate through attack passes, dives, and breath weapons.
The Dungeon Masters Guide emphasizes that large flying creatures rely heavily on momentum and positioning. Altitude becomes a weapon, and diving attacks can become devastating.
One of the most brutal realities of aerial combat is that grappling almost always risks mutual destruction.
The Dungeon Masters Guide explains that when two creatures grapple in midair, they often plummet toward the ground unless one can immediately disengage or hover. This creates extremely high-stakes combat where even victory can be fatal.
Some creatures are specifically adapted for this style of attack. The Couatl, for example, wraps around enemies and intentionally drags them toward the ground before escaping ethereally at the last moment.
This means players must think carefully before attempting weaponless combat in the air. A single failed maneuver can instantly end a battle through falling damage alone.
Fighting in the air also changes the effectiveness of missiles and magic.
The Dungeon Masters Guide applies significant penalties to aerial missile combat. Short range is treated as medium range, and medium range is treated as long range. Long-range aerial missile attacks automatically miss. This reflects the instability, wind resistance, and movement involved in aerial warfare.
Different magical flying devices also affect combat differently. A Fly spell grants excellent maneuverability and still allows spellcasting because the magic requires roughly the same concentration as walking. Carpets of Flying are stable enough to cast spells from while hovering slowly, making them excellent magical artillery platforms.
However, devices such as Brooms of Flying or Wings of Flying make spellcasting nearly impossible due to the constant bodily movement required to stay airborne.
The Players Handbook also reminds us that weather can dramatically alter aerial encounters. High winds generated naturally or magically through spells like Control Winds can drive smaller flying creatures from the sky entirely.
The Dungeon Masters Guide presents two primary methods for conducting aerial combat.
The first is a simplified method where creatures move in the direction they are facing and then turn at the end of movement. This method is fast and easy for theater-of-the-mind gameplay.
The second uses hex maps and miniatures to track facing, altitude, and turn arcs more accurately. This method better represents how flying creatures gradually turn rather than pivoting instantly.
Regardless of method, the key idea is that movement is simultaneous. Flyers commit to attack passes, dives, and turns before knowing exactly how opponents will respond.
This creates aerial engagements that feel dynamic and dangerous instead of static.
Aerial combat in AD&D is one of the clearest examples of the game’s simulationist philosophy. Flying is not simply movement in three dimensions; it is a dangerous style of warfare built around speed, altitude, maneuverability, and momentum.
Once you stop treating flying creatures like ground combatants floating in the air, the system becomes much easier to understand and far more cinematic at the table.
Outro
But that is all the time I have to talk about Aerial Combat in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Do you use the aerial combat rules in your home games, or do you simplify flying encounters? Have your players ever fought a dragon while airborne? And finally, would you rather ride a griffon into battle or command a dragon from the skies? Feel free to email me at info@dlsaga.com or leave a comment below!
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
It is not the fall that kills you. It is the sudden stop at the end.
