Bird, Read

Small beast, neutral good

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 13 (3d6)
Speed 10 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) 16 (+3) 12 (+1)

Saving Throws Intelligence +5, Wisdom +5
Skills Arcana +5, History +5, Insight +5, Investigation +5, Nature +5, Perception +5, Religion +5
Condition Immunities exhaustion
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages Common and seven other languages
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Beast of Burden. The read bird is considered to be a Medium animal for the purpose of determining its carrying capacity.
  • Familiar. With the GM’s permission, the find familiar spell can summon this creature.

ACTIONS

  • Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage.

ABOUT

This bird has a head and bill rather like a duck’s, a body shaped and colored like a parrot, but much larger, while its tail opens out into an enormous fan.

Read birds are highly educated talking birds who ally themselves with a humanoid for life. They are often in the royal courts of island nobility, where they can read aloud for hours at a time without growing hoarse or weary. They are seafarers at heart and with their keen wit and clever mind, make excellent travel companions and able shipmates.

Rare Breed. Read birds are rare avians that have been bred by the Kings of Octagon Island. Read birds imprint at birth upon the first creature they say and adopt their language, but their facility for learning goes far beyond that. Each generation of kings is assigned their own read bird, bred from a clutch of otherwise normal birds who can mimic human speech but are not capable of comprehending the Common tongue.

Counting to Eight. Read birds are quite bright, and their facility to count to eight determines the king’s next royal bird. Once selected, the read bird is exposed to various languages. Given that Octagon Island is a land of eights, it is up to the eight scholars to train the royal read bird, each training it in a particular tongue. Read birds speak eloquently and at great length, and since they don’t speak using a larynx like humans, they can read for hours on end.

They are also surprisingly strong for their size, which is useful when read birds go on adventures to distant lands.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

5E RPG: Oz Adventures. Copyright 2021, Mal and Tal, LLC; Author Michael Tresca.

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