Gryph (3pp)

This small jet-black avian is about the size of an eagle. It has multiple legs and a needle-like beak.

Gryph CR 1

XP 400
NE Small magical beast
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +5

DEFENSE

AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 size)
hp 15 (2d10+4)
Fort +5; Ref +5; Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (good)
Melee bite +5 (1d6/x3), legs +5 (attach)
Special Attacks implant eggs

STATISTICS

Str 11, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 7
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 13 (19, 21, or 23 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Fly +8, Perception +5, Stealth +10

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Attach (Ex)

When a gryph hits with its legs, its talons latch tightly onto the target, anchoring it in place. An attached gryph is effectively grappling its prey. The gryph loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and has an AC of 11, but holds on with great tenacity and gains a +4 bonus on attack rolls with its bite. Alternatively, an attached gryph can attempt to implant eggs in the target. An attached gryph has a +8 racial bonus to maintain its grapple on a foe once it is attached. An attached gryph can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself—if its prey manages to win a grapple check or Escape Artist check against it, the gryph is removed.

Implant Eggs (Ex)

Once per day, a gryph can implant eggs into a helpless target or a target that it is currently attached to as a full-round action by extending an ovipositor from its abdomen and penetrating the victim’s flesh by making a successful +4 melee attack. On a hit, the ovipositor inflicts 1 damage and implants 1d4 eggs into the victim’s body. As long as a victim has gryph eggs implanted in his body, he is sickened as the eggs draw nutrients from his blood and flesh. The eggs grow swiftly, hatching in a mere 1d4 minutes into ravenous baby gryphs that immediately burrow out of the victim’s body. This inflicts 2 points of Constitution damage per baby gryph, after which the hatchlings immediately take wing and fly away. Treat a gryph hatchling as a bat if statistics are needed. Gryph eggs can be cut out of a victim’s body with a successful DC 20 Heal check made as a full-round action that inflicts 1 point of damage per attempt. Although immunity to disease offers no special protection against gryph egg implantation, remove disease or heal immediately destroys any implanted gryph eggs.

ECOLOGY

Environment underground
Organization flock (2-7 plus 1 female per 3 gryphs) or throng (8-15 plus 1 female per 3 gryphs)
Treasure none

Gryphs are bird-like creatures found in dungeons, ruins, and caverns. They are typically scavengers, feeding on dead rodents and other small animals, but in times when food is scarce they take on a more predatory role and become hunters, craving the flesh and blood of warm-blooded creatures.

A gryph has four, six, or eight legs. Its feathers are jet black, as are its talons and beak, and its eyes are reddish-brown in color. The gryph has a long, needle-like beak that it uses with deadly accuracy.

A gryph attacks by swooping down at its prey at high speed and stabbing with its beak. If a female gryph is present, she attempts to grapple an opponent and implant her eggs in the prey.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Gryph from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Peter Brown.

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