Raptorans and Flying

[Fizban]

In dnd, I want to be able to fly. While spells work, these are temporary. When I read the raptoran abilities I thought: Hey, a flying PC race, just what I want. Oh wait. WTF!? You can't even fly until 5th level? So we have a winged race, whose given activities, culture, and everything is based around flying, and they don't fly until 5th level. Apparently once you hit adult age you get kicked out until you reach lv5, then you can come home.
I like how they spread out the flight over time, but a flying race must fly at 1st level, failing that it should work like the feats in RoD that increase your flight ability.

So, I want to give raptorans full flight at 1st level, but with only an LA+1 and I present these ideas:

Grant flight at 1st level, and continuous flight earlier. I was thinking 5-8 hit dice would be a good place. LA+1?

Allow the raptoran to take a feat to gain flight earlier. Maybe have it give you your flight abilities x levels sooner, and at the normal 10 hit die give a bonus to speed or maneuverability. I was thinking +2-5. No adjustment, cause you spent a feat.

Grant flight at 1st level, then require a feat for continuous flight. This represents the fact that they can all fly, while allowing for some to not actually build up their flight ability. Put a 6 hit die prereq on it. LA+1?

So, tell me what options you guys like, and if LA+1 is good.

[Fax Celestis]

The problem there is that flight is a gamewinner. How is the melee barbarian going to get you if you're forty feet above him?

[Fizban]

Yep, I was hoping that not being able to gain as much altitude would bring it down to +1. But consider, how useful is average manueverability, especially when you only have 40' of movement? You need some room to keep moving, you can't make a full attack while flying unless you can hover, and any character worth his salt should have a bow/crossbow.

[Fax Celestis]

You could try giving them levitation instead of flight until 5th level.

Conversely, you could give them flight, but make them unable to fly under heavier than a light load.

[Fizban]

Levitation wouldn't make any sense, as they have wings, for flying.
You can't fly carrying more than a light load, it says so in the description and it's a general rule for any flight. Spells like fly break this, but they say if they do.

[Fizban]

That's it, no one else has an opinion? It'd be nice to get a response from more than one person.

[endoperez]

I have similar problems, actually. I tried to model a race that mainly "glides on the currents of winds", but can do Average, perhaps Good maneuverability tricks during fights... It's hard to balance. If you didn't mind limiting the fliers to warriors, you could give them few Monstrous Humanoid hitdice - that keeps them from using Flight from the 1st level, even though they can all still fly.

[Fizban]

While hit die would be another good balancing factor, the problem is that I like spellcasters. That's why I'm trying to get it down to LA+1. I'm starting to think it's not possible,and I should just live with a +2, which would give me more options: winged template, aarocka, insect lycanthrope (somewhere on the wizards site), and more.

My problem with just accepting the +2 LA is that the aarocka has speed 90', waaay better than the raptoran with full max flight at 1st, and it has better racial abilities, the winged template beats it too (but it's savage species, probly too good anyway). And either of those isn't as PC friendly as a stated PC race.

Still fishing for ideas, are we the only two people who like flying or something?

[Loren_and_Kivsith]

I think making flight a feat is a good way to go. Or perhaps, if there were enough drawbacks to flight (maybe you could have a creature that becomes fatigued, or even exhausted every time it flies?). That's the best idea I've got at the moment, unfortunately.

[Fizban]

The second stage of Raptoran flight (the one I would like to give at 1st level) allows you to fly for 1 round per point of constitution bonus. You can fly for twice that, but afterwards you're fatigued, and when fatigued you can't fly. You can stay in the air by gliding between rounds.