Dire ravens and crows

[Gwyllgi]

Are there stats for them in any book, I can't find one.

[Eldan]

There's a crow swarm, if that helps?

Alternatively, use the stats for any other slightly bigger bird and rename it, say, an eagle?

[DrMotives]

Frostburn has them.

[heavyfuel]

Yknow, questions like these really make me wish that "Dire" was a template

[hamishspence]

Frostburn has them.

Nope - Frostburn's is a Giant Raven in the same general style as Giant Owls and Giant Eagles - intelligent and a magical creature.


There's a crow swarm, if that helps?


Yup. The rules for Crow Swarms are in Tome of Magic.




Alternatively, use the stats for any other slightly bigger bird and rename it, say, an eagle?

Hawks are probably the closest to ravens in stats - both are Tiny. Hawks have more hit points though.

Which would mean that the closest to a Dire Raven should be a Dire Hawk.

So, using the Races of the Wild (or MM2) stats for Dire Hawks, and maybe nerfing them a bit - would create a reasonable approximation of a Dire Raven.

[Malphegor]

Yknow, questions like these really make me wish that "Dire" was a template

Yeah, looks like Pathfinder did it in the end http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/dire-creature-cr-2-tohc

also necromancer games did it once in the tomb of horrors 3.5 update, page 12 http://web.archive.org/web/20110823023517/http://necromancergames.com/pdf/ToHDire.pdf

(credit to agent451 on this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?289042-Dire-Animal-Is-there-a-template)for finding these links originally)

[ShurikVch]

Are there stats for them in any book, I can't find one.The only one I'm aware of is in the Ravenloft Gazetteer: Volume I - it's CR 1, 1 HD Small Animal
And Crow (possible Familiar in the Dragon #341) is a re-fluffed Raven, Dire Crow should be re-fluffed Dire Raven


Yeah, looks like Pathfinder did it in the end http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/dire-creature-cr-2-tohc

also necromancer games did it once in the tomb of horrors 3.5 update, page 12 http://web.archive.org/web/20110823023517/http://necromancergames.com/pdf/ToHDire.pdf

(credit to agent451 on this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?289042-Dire-Animal-Is-there-a-template)for finding these links originally)Also, Dire Creature template in the Immortals Handbook - Epic Bestiary
I had planned to cover the Dire and Legendary templates, but literally all they do is increase the size of the animal you apply it to.