Thomas
2006-04-10, 03:01 AM
Murder of Crows
Tiny Animal (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 4d8 (18 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex), touch 14, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/—
Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus eye peck)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus eye peck)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, eye peck
Special Qualities: Half damage from slashing and piercing, low-light vision, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +7, Spot +8
Feats: Alertness, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary, flock (2-4 murders), or colony (5-8 murders)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: 1/10 standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —
Fluttering shadows appear above the treetops, accompanied by frenzied cawing. Black shapes dart down toward you, wings flapping at your faces, claws tearing at your hair, and bills pecking sharply at your skulls.
This can be used to represent a large group of any birds of the genus Corvus, including crows, ravens, and rooks. The birds rarely attack people, especially in such great numbers, but can be commanded to it by magic - at the DM's discretion, summon swarm and similar spells may be used to summon a murder of crows instead of a swarm or bats or rats (other swarms may not be replaced with crows).
Combat
The crows attack relentlessly, pecking, scratching, and clawing at their opponents.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Eye Peck (Ex): Any living creature damaged by a murder of crows must succeed on a DC 12 Reflex save or be blinded. The spells remove blindness, heal, and regenerate can cure this condition. The save DC is Constitution-based.
[hr]
The statistics are based on the raven entry in the MM and SRD.
I'm not sure about the Eye Peck attack; remove blindness explicitly can't return eyes that are missing. I considered requiring a Fort save to see if your eyes can still be restored by remove blindness, but that seemed unnecessarily complex. In any case, I don't think a CR 2 opponent should cause permanent conditions that can only be removed by a 6th- or 7th-level spell. As it stands, a party attacked by these will likely need a 3rd-level spell for the less fortunate members.
Pawk! Pawk!
Tiny Animal (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 4d8 (18 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex), touch 14, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/—
Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus eye peck)
Full Attack: Swarm (1d6 plus eye peck)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, eye peck
Special Qualities: Half damage from slashing and piercing, low-light vision, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +7, Spot +8
Feats: Alertness, Lightning Reflexes, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary, flock (2-4 murders), or colony (5-8 murders)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: 1/10 standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —
Fluttering shadows appear above the treetops, accompanied by frenzied cawing. Black shapes dart down toward you, wings flapping at your faces, claws tearing at your hair, and bills pecking sharply at your skulls.
This can be used to represent a large group of any birds of the genus Corvus, including crows, ravens, and rooks. The birds rarely attack people, especially in such great numbers, but can be commanded to it by magic - at the DM's discretion, summon swarm and similar spells may be used to summon a murder of crows instead of a swarm or bats or rats (other swarms may not be replaced with crows).
Combat
The crows attack relentlessly, pecking, scratching, and clawing at their opponents.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Eye Peck (Ex): Any living creature damaged by a murder of crows must succeed on a DC 12 Reflex save or be blinded. The spells remove blindness, heal, and regenerate can cure this condition. The save DC is Constitution-based.
[hr]
The statistics are based on the raven entry in the MM and SRD.
I'm not sure about the Eye Peck attack; remove blindness explicitly can't return eyes that are missing. I considered requiring a Fort save to see if your eyes can still be restored by remove blindness, but that seemed unnecessarily complex. In any case, I don't think a CR 2 opponent should cause permanent conditions that can only be removed by a 6th- or 7th-level spell. As it stands, a party attacked by these will likely need a 3rd-level spell for the less fortunate members.
Pawk! Pawk!