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View Full Version : Mercedes Lackey says griffons CAN be PCs! [Creature, Fanservice]



Delcan
2007-03-26, 08:41 PM
(Sucks to the rule that non-humanoids make poor PCs. Hooray for fluff-bunny fantasy!)

"I am not vain. I am merely aware of my considerable attributes and talents. There is such a thing as false modesty, you know." -Skandranon Rash'kae (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Gryphon-Mage-Wars/dp/0886776430/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3704975-8097537?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174959631&sr=8-1%22)

Urtho's Gryphon

Large Magical Beast
HD: 3d10+12 (29 hp)
AC: 15 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 13
Speed: 30 ft., fly 120 ft. (average)
Initiative: +2
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+10
Attack: Two claws +5 melee (1d6+1)
Full Attack: Two claws +5 melee (1d6+1) and one bite +0 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Pounce, rake 1d6+1
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, magesight
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +0
Abilities: STR 17, DEX 13, CON 16, INT 10, WIS 11, CHA 8
Skills: Listen +7, Spot +7
Feats: Fly-By Attack, Toughness
Environment: Warm hills
Organization: Solitary, pair, wing (3-6), or eyrie (6-30 plus 50% noncombatants)
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral good
Challenge Rating: 2
Advancement: By character level
Level Adjustment: +2

This creature's body resembles that of a small lion, with the head, legs, and wings of a great eagle. It regards you with an amiable eye, and assumes a proud, haughty posture.

Created by the Mage of Silence during the last Mage War, Urtho's Gryphon is a subtle variation on the common griffon - a weaker, but much more intelligent and adaptive species, more than capable of fighting and leading in wartime.

Gryphons average around 8 feet in length with up to a 20-foot wingspan, and weigh about 500 pounds. Gryphons speak Common.

COMBAT
Gryphons favor aerial skirmishes, where they can make the greatest use of their natural weapons and maneuverability. They are daring and headstrong combatants, prone to rushing headlong into risky situations.

Pounce (Ex): If a gryphon dives upon or charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks.

Rake (Ex): Attack bonus +0 melee, damage 1d6+1.

Magesight (Sp): Gryphons can detect magic at will as a first-level caster. If they have levels in a spellcasting class, their highest caster level is used instead.

Quadrupedal (Ex): While gryphonic foreclaws are developed enough for somatic components, they are ill-suited for the careful manipulation that humanoid hands are capable of. They take a -4 penalty to attack rolls with wielded weapons and any skill check which requires free hands to use.

GRYPHONS AS CHARACTERS
Once fully grown, almost all gryphons choose to adopt a class to continue to hone their learned and natural abilities. Most become fighters or barbarians to make the best use of their formidable physical talents. A rare few follow their creator's heritage to become wizards or sorcerors; unlike most quadrupeds, their foreclaws are articulated enough to form the somatic components of spells. Some gryphons have become well-known for both martial and magical prowess, including the noted "Black Gryphon" Skandranon Rash'kae, whom most historians theorize was one of the world's first Arcane Tricksters.

Gryphon characters possess the following racial traits:

+4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, +2 Wisdom.
Large size: -1 to AC and attack rolls, +4 to grapple checks, -4 to Hide checks, carrying/lifting capacity double that of Medium characters.
+4 natural bonus to AC.
Land speed 30 ft, fly 120 ft (average).
Racial Hit Dice: Gryphons start with three levels of magical beast, which give them 3d10 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1.
Racial Skills: A gryphon's magical beast levels give it skill points equal to 6 x (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Balance, Jump, Listen, and Spot.
+4 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Feats: A gryphon's magical beast levels give it two feats.
Pounce (Ex): If a gryphon dives upon or charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks.
Rake (Ex): Secondary melee attack, damage 1d6 + 1/2 the gryphon's Strength modifier.
Magesight (Sp): Gryphons can detect magic at will as a first-level caster. If they have levels in a spellcasting class, their highest caster level is used instead.
Quadrupedal (Ex): While gryphonic foreclaws are developed enough for somatic components, they are ill-suited for the careful manipulation that humanoid hands are capable of. They take a -4 penalty to attack rolls with wielded weapons and any skill check which requires free hands to use.
Favored Class: Fighter.
Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Halfling.
Level Adjustment: +2.

The gryphon presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: STR 13, DEX 11, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 9, CHA 8.

Innis Cabal
2007-03-26, 08:45 PM
love it.....absolutly amazing

Fizban
2007-03-27, 12:01 AM
Magesight contradicts itself. Either they detect magic continuously, which could then be reestablished as a free action, or they detect magic at will, which requires an action to activate. Either one would require further concentration to gain more information.

Jannex
2007-03-27, 12:12 AM
Awesome. It saddened me to read in the Monster Manual that D&D gryphons weren't sapient. I like what you've come up with here. Mercedes Lackey FTW! :smallbiggrin:

Delcan
2007-03-27, 09:51 PM
Fizban - Thanks, I mixed up monster ability precedents. Fixed.

Kyace
2007-03-27, 10:51 PM
Gryphon characters possess the following racial traits:

Large size: -1 to AC and attack rolls, +4 to grapple checks, -4 to Hide checks, carrying/lifting capacity double that of Medium characters.

Not to be nit picky, but large quadrupeds can usuually carry 3 times as much as medium bipeds.

Triaxx
2007-03-28, 09:37 AM
I love it, being a fan of the books, and so I need to make two points. Some Gryphons had the less broad wings and more humanoid hands. I don't recall the exact term used, though the destinction should be made. Perhaps by swapping the Dex and Strength scores, and lowering the penalties for wielded weapons or actions requiring free hands. The second thing, is that now we need warclaws.

Maldraugedhen
2007-03-28, 01:17 PM
I think there was something about quadrupeds or other creatures with more than 2 legs getting a +4 stability bonus vs. bullrushes and trip effects on the ground. Might want to give these griffons something along those lines.

Weirdlet
2007-03-28, 08:06 PM
Gryfalcons were the more dexterous, as opposed to 'musclebound broadwings'.