2010-09-26

Perytons

I want the mysterious Mount Rendon to have a strange set of ruins on the top, a relic of a forgotten age.  This structure will have spheres, rusty metal towers, cubes heaped upon cubes, and other bizarre architectural features.  Will the players actually visit it?  I don't know, the dungeon has all the action and stairs down to the lower levels.  Once the gatehouse lever is pulled, there may be a motive to search the ruins for a second entrance to the dungeon.  Certainly, the wizards will be stopping by.

Regardless of all this potential foot-traffic, there needs to be a reason that nobody hangs out in this ruin, salvages its metal, or otherwise visits.  Being a mountain-top, I figure it's a flying reason.  And I also figure that flying reason likes to eat human hearts and casts a human shadow.  Yes, perytons!  Sadly they are not present in the Labyrinth Lord rules, but that gives me a chance to stat them up how I want them to be, and to make something a bit closer to the original portrayal of the beast.

Peryton
AC: 5
HD: 4
Move: 120' (40')
  Flying: 360' (120')
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d6 or 1d10
No. Appearing: 2d4
Save As: Fighter: 4
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: B
Alignment: Neutral

From a distance, the peryton resembles a winged stag.  It has a brownish hide, a large rack of horns, and huge bat-like wings.  Closer inspection reveals that the beast's brownish hide is mixture of brownish fur and dull brown scales, it has four red eyes, two on each side, spaced closely together, and its mouth is full of razor-sharp curved teeth.  Rather than hooves, the peryton's legs end in a pair of clawed fingers.

In combat, the peryton's first attack will be a dive-bomb, where it attempts to impale opponents with its horns.  If the attack hits, it does 1d10 damage and the opponent is stuck in combat with the peryton until either the peryton is killed, or the opponent spends a round trying to disengage (save vs Petrification to successfully disengage).  An opponent caught on the horns may attack and defend himself normally.

After the impale attack (successful or not), further attacks from the peryton will use its bite (1d6 damage).

Should the peryton kill an opponent, it will spend the next 1d3 rounds gnawing off armor and chewing through the victim's chest, to eat the still-warm heart.  It will ignore any attacks during this period, as its lust for human hearts is paramount.

The peryton casts the shadow of a human being.  This is quite disturbing to view when a flock flies overhead, the shadows of men flapping their arms being cast upon the ground.  There are rumors that the peryton somehow holds on to the souls of those it has fed on and uses their shadows - those who have been raised from the dead after a peryton attack speak of memories of flying and hunting the little men who walk upon the ground.

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