Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Ecology Of The Storm Bird From Bloody Arduin For Your Old School Campaigns


 Within the glowing confines of the storm the monstrous birds wheeled, turned, and pivoted on wings of brilliant blue and the lightning arched off their bodies. The rains cascaded from their silver beaks and claws.
One could not help but to respect the sheer fury and raw power they generated as the thunder storm kept pace with their power.
The young shamanic pupil sat terrified as his master instructed him telepathically.  'They have come young one and have answered your call. Now all you must do is control their fury with your own.'
The young shaman watched as all four of the storm birds weaved their way through the clouds as he stood with his master braced against the night sky. Their inhuman tendrils tightly gripping the sides of the mountain.
 ' Master these things born of the winds of the Hells themselves.' 
'So why have you called them my pupil?' 
The statement was punctuated with another clap of thunder and flash of lightning against the claws of the monsters!

 
Storm Birds are monstrous giant birds of prey who fly through the worlds on wings of brilliant blue feathers, silver claws and beaks. They are creatures of the fierce storms born of both element fury and hellish power. 
They are fly between the elemental planes of Air, Water, and the semi elemental ones as well and are well known to the inhabitants of those places. They also come to our own as the fury of the most violent storms call to them as they carve open dimensional openings.
These monsters however are most often found among the storms of gas giants and the like hunting down the delicate life forms of those worlds. They feed and feed well upon the molecular bounty of that prey.
Storm Birds 
Number Appearing 1- 2  I
If Summoned 1d6 may appear 45% of the time 
Armor Class: 3(16)
Hit Dice : 7 
Attacks: Bite (1d6), Claw (1d8)
All attacks accompanied by electric damage 
Specials : Flight , Immune to wind, fire, sonics, electricity, and storm effects
Lightning strike 1d4 per round three times per day 
Move : 12(27 when flying)
HDE/XP : 8/800 

 Master what are the secrets of the storm birds? The old one looked at his pupil with multi faceted eyes and drew a heavy sigh. ' They are far to easy to summon my young one. For to call one is to call many.'
'They roam the sixth plane of Hell and hunt many of the inhabitants there. Souls do not easily escape their gasp and they hunt in packs that rage through the skies. There are few things that can stand against a full pack of ten of the wings of destruction.'
'Their claws can rip and tear wound of terrible burns and only dragons can stand against them my young one.
I have summoned them very few times and they have left their mark upon my body as well as my soul.' 


Notes 
  • Storm birds are from 'Bloody Arduin' and appear to be one of the more dangerous monsters within the works of Dave Hargrave. 
  • The birds are semi otherworldly and demonic. They appear upon the sixth plane of Hell. 
  • They don't regenerate as demons do and a have a completely alien elemental psychology
  • They hunt in packs and are almost never encountered alone. These giant birds relentless. They hunt both flesh and element power feeding on both in equal measure. 
  • These monsters always use pack tactics and often play with their food and prey for a time until they tire of such devilish games. 
  • These monsters are creatures of pure violence and fury. They are distantly related to both thunderbirds and phoenix. 
  • They hate pagasus and hunt them whenever possible. This often puts them at odds with red dragons and the like as well who compete for such food. 
  • Very few demons and the like tangle with these monsters. There are rumors of some demonic overlords who use these monsters as mounts. 
Certain esoteric 'Summon monster spells' may summon these creatures. DM's desecration as always. 

Uses within a Space Based Game 
  • These monsters have often appeared within the confines of gas giants summoned by the elemental tears that these types of storms inflict on the dimensional fabric. 
  • The storm birds are sometimes summoned for certain types of terraforming operations by esoteric alien Dwarven clans. 
  • There are certain alien cultures who use these monsters in weird rites of passage for their shamans
  • Storm birds have been used as weapons of mass destruction by psychics and madmen who have summoned them by the fury of their psychic wraith. Such events are rare however. 
  • Storm birds are sometimes hunted down for their carcesses of semi precious metals and the jewels found within their gullets. The corpses of these creatures is used in the making of many kinds of space based technology level five artifacts.
    The Storm birds are from the fevered mind of Dave Hargrave and Arduin Eternal's Bestiary and Treasures book. No copyright violation of their copyright or the artist's is intended.
    You can purchase the Bestiary from Emperor's Choice Games HERE 
    This blog entry is for entertainment purposes only. The author's intent is for entertainment purposes only.

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