Terror Bird

The flightless terror bird stands nearly ten feet tall atop two immensely powerful legs. Its plumage ranges from dark russet or brown to bright green.

Large beast, unaligned

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20)
Speed 50 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 3 (-4) 12 (+1) 10 (+0)

Skills Athletics +6, Perception +3
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Special Traits

  • Pack Tactics. The terror bird has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the bird’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
  • Passing Bite. Terror birds who move at least 20 feet straight toward a target have advantage on the next attack roll against that target.

Actions

  • Serrated Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) slashing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) slashing damage at the beginning of its next turn.

About

Pack Hunters. The terror birds live and hunt in packs of ten to twelve individuals. They are clever hunters, drawing their prey into positions that allow the birds to flank. Their attacks are done with blazing speed and ferocity, removing limbs in a flurry of lacerating bites.

Fortress Nests. Terror birds live in woods or copses of trees, where they assemble walls made of branches around large nests. The nests have several ways in and out, and creatures without the terror bird’s long legs find navigating the nests difficult. Several adults stay behind to guard the eggs and nest while the rest go out hunting.

Mounts for Plains Tribes. Tribes of dust goblins, hobgoblins, humans, and even gnolls have been known to capture terror birds for use as mounts in battle.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Creature Codex. © 2018 Open Design LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon, Richard Green, James Haeck, Chris Harris, Jeremy Hochhalter, James Introcaso, Chris Lockey, Shawn Merwin, and Jon Sawatsky.