Legends tell of the Caladrius, a mysterious bird with gold-flecked white feathers, possessed of such purity that they can heal any poison merely by touch. Hunters sight these birds and give chase, and nobles have offered bounties worth a barony's ransom for capture of the bird. The vile goddess Talona, Mistress of Poisons, is said to have offered immortality as a reward to one of her servants who can bring her the bird, so that she can brew the perfect poison from its corrupted flesh.
In a land devastated by cataclysmic war only a few generations ago, and still in the throes of a fiendish plague that broke a kingdom and its army, sightings of the Caladrius stir hearts and make the people believe in hope once again. A sanatorium where patients go to their deathbeds has all its patients rise, cured, one morning. They speak of their feverish dreams, of seeing a white bird and hearing its curious call in the night-time, and of their bandages falling off to reveal clean flesh. These rumours spread like wildfire, and hunters from all over gather to capture the Caladrius for their own use. These bands of hunters are as follows:
The hunting teams assemble at the green of the nearby village, gathering for some days before the bishop can give his blessing to their hunt. They mingle a little, competing in tests of might and strength to get to know one another. Here, several are surreptitiously slipped minor poisons in their foods by the Talontar to weaken them. Sightings of the Caladrius indicate it may have departed into the Lincona Woods during the winter, an unpleasant place to be even in the best of weather. Here, the tension between the teams escalates to skirmishes, shedding blood but not quite taking lives, unless they're sure they can get away with it. There are a few ruins that litter the depths of the Lincona Woods, ruined during the war. In one of these, formerly a shrine to one of Talona's sister goddesses, the Caladrius has been nesting. The clearing around this shrine is scattered with malignant undead, oozing decay. Inside this ruined shrine, a small amount of peace surrounds the nest of the Caladrius. Soft snow flurries through the lightbeams in between the fallen rafters, and there is an aura of consecration that keeps out the undead. Here, the battle for the Caladrius - and surprisingly, its eggs - becomes deadly in earnest. The Talontar reveal themselves, promising painful and bloody deaths to any who oppose them, while blades are drawn by those who have needs of their own. A violent showdown is interrupted by the appearance of a zombie dragon, crashing through the roof. A frantic defense against the dragon and its servants could unit unlikely allies in the only way to prevent plague enveloping both kingdoms. Requested by reader Nate O'Connor. It is surmised that these creatures were magically bred by the same mage that created Owlbears, but none can really be certain. All that is known is that these squat and dangerous creatures react unpredictably to threats and have tremendous strength for their frame. Despite their density, they can achieve flight for short periods, and are possessed of incredible sight. As nocturnal hunters, they are surprisingly quiet until their rage is aroused, and then their hoots and grunts become thunderous.
OWLRANGUTAN Medium monstrosity, unaligned Armour Class 13 (natural armour) Hit Points 39 (6d8 + 12) Speed 30ft. Str 16 (+3); Dex 14 (+2); Con 14 (+2); Int 5 (-3); Wis 12 (+1); Cha 7 (-2) Proficiency bonus +2 Skills Athletics +5, Perception +3, Stealth +4 Senses darkvision 120ft., passive Perception 13 Languages - Challenge 2 (450 XP) Keen Hearing and Sight. The owlrangutan has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight. Take Flight. The owlrangutan can gain a fly speed of 20ft. until the end of its turn, but must end its turn on a solid surface. ACTIONS Multiattack. The owlrangutan makes two fist attacks and a bite attack. Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 +3) piercing damage. An unusual mismatched pair of daggers made by Olidammara for use by his champions, these blades bear pommels with the Laughing Rogue's trademark humour and tragedy masks. Ghost Dancer is a long-handled dagger with a sickle-like forward-curving blade, its blade inlaid with ghostly-glowing runes that fluoresce under the light of the moon. Shadow Bringer is a single-edged backward-curving blade, its flattened cheek melded with tiny ingots of obdurium, mined from the depths of the elemental plane of Earth. and possessed of incredible density and darkness.
Currently used in the battle against Tiamat's champion, the blades have incredible magical powers alone, but when used in conjunction, their powers truly shine. [Statistics for D&D 3.5 format, as requested] GHOST DANCER +3 keen, ghost touch dagger Known colloquially as 'ghost dancer', the truer translation of this blade's name means something more akin to thief of essence. Its runes enable it to cut into the Ethereal plane as easily as the Material, allowing it to strike incorporeal creatures with no miss chance, as well as being able to deal critical hits and other types of precision damage to them, even if they are usually immune to critical hits and sneak attack damage. SHADOW BRINGER +3 defending, shadow burst dagger Upon command, Shadow Bringer trails a faint blur of shadow behind it as it moves, which hangs in the air temporarily. The shadowy energy does not harm the wielder, and remains until the command is given to deactivate it, or it is sheathed. While in effect, Shadow Bringer deal an additional 1d6 points of negative energy damage on a successful hit. In addition to the negative energy damage from this ability, Shadow Bringer deals an additional 1d10 points of negative energy damage on a successful critical hit. When wielded at the same time, the enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +4 for both weapons, and in addition, both weapons counts as having epic enhancement for the purposes of striking creatures with damage reduction and immunity. |
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