Kestrekel
Kestrekel
2433
Climate/Terrain: | Any (especially harsher regions) |
---|---|
Frequency: | Uncommon |
Organization: | Flock |
Activity Cycle: | Day |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Intelligence: | Animal (1) |
Treasure: | Nil |
Alignment: | Neutral |
No. Appearing: | 3-30 (3d10) |
Armor Class: | 6 |
Movement: | 1, Fl 24 (C) |
Hit Dice: | 1+2 |
THAC0: | 19 |
No. of Attacks: | 1 |
Damage/Attack: | 1d4+1 |
Special Attacks: | Flock attack |
Special Defenses: | Nil |
Magic Resistance: | Nil |
Size: | S (1 tall) |
Morale: | Irregular (5-7) |
XP Value: | 35 |
The scourge of the Tablelands, kestrekel are vile avian creatures that feast upon desert carrion. Although they are weak and cowardly in small groups, kestrekel can become a devastating force in larger numbers.
Kestrekel are fairly scrawny in appearance, with black plumage graying from the constant exposure. The only spot of appreciable color is found on the head, where the vivid crimson stands out like the blood it resembles. Standing barely a foot tall on short, taloned feet, kestrekel are extremely vulnerable on the ground. In the air however, their 3-foot wing span is more than enough to carry it aloft.
Kestrekel communicate among themselves through calls and guttural squawks. They make no attempt to learn other languages.
Combat: Alone, kestrekel are more nuisance than threat. Their claws, made more for rending already rotting flesh than fresh meat, cause 2-5 points of damage. Opponents who are moving tend to scare them off.
In groups kestrekel are more fearsome. For every two kestrekel present more than five, they gain a +1 to their Morale. Multiple kestrekel are able to swarm about their targets like insects, making deadly strafing attacks. Instead of an attack roll for each individual kestrekel, make a single attack roll and a single damage roll for the group. Every two kestrekel present more than five confer an additional +1 to the attack and damage rolls. For example, a character attacked by a flock of 25 kestrekel would be hit at +10 and receive 12-15 points (1d4+11) of damage and each kestrekel would fail a Morale check only if a 13-15 is rolled.
In groups of 20 or more, the kestrekels minuscule brains can link together to produce the telepathic psionic effect of aversion. The flock maintains this power as a group, having a combined PSP total equal to the number present, with a power score of 10. For every kestrekel in the group more than 20, the power score increases by one point.
A kestrekel is extremely territorial, using its aversion power to scare trespassers from its nest areas. Also, each kestrekel receives a +4 to its Morale check when defending its home.
Habitat/Society: Kestrekel congregate in flocks, adopting mates only long enough to reproduce. A female lays 3-6 eggs each year. She stays with the nest for one month until the eggs hatch and two more months while the young mature.
Kestrekel flocks are not migratory, preferring to inhabit their particular region for centuries if the elements allow. The nests they build in the available crags and trees are temporary, used but once per set of offspring.
When defending their home regions, kestrekel cooperate as a flock, raining a veritable torrent of pecks and scratches upon any who dare invade.
Ecology: Wild kestrekel are impossible to domesticate. Those hatched from stolen eggs make excellent watch birds. In such cases, the kestrekels cowardly nature loses out to their defensive nature. Many merchants rely on the squawked warnings of their avian sentinels. In Nibenay, kestrekel eggs are considered a delicacy, provided the eggs are procured and eaten within two weeks of being laid. As expected, such versatility makes kestrekel eggs an expensive commodity.
Kestrekel detect prey with a dual combination of senses. The stench of death carries far across the blistering desert winds. Kestrekel olfactory glands are more than adequate to pick up the scent. Once airborne, they depend on keen eyesight to locate their decaying meals. Some barbaric customs in the Ringing Mountains involve eating the eyes of recently dead kestrekel to imbue the consumer with better vision. Such rituals are ineffective, but sometimes myth and tradition are stronger than logic.
Feral kestrekel have a life span of approximately 15 years. Domestic kestrekel sometimes live as long as 25 years.
Last Modified: April 22, 2009, 13:48:58 GMT
◆ 1095 ◆