Heron Men
They
live amongst reeds and bull rushes, on the shores of lakes and rivers. Long
limbed, lurching walkers, with the feathered heads and beaks and sharp yellow
eyes of the heron, and the gracile limbs of the man. Like the birds which are
their namesakes they are patient and quiet; they prefer to wait for the chance
to kill. Though they are neither great makers nor thinkers, their intelligence
in the hunt does not waver; their eyes are as adept at spotting a chink in a
man’s armour as they are at seizing on the silvery flicker of a fish darting
from shadow to shadow in the shallows of a pool. During the day they scatter
around the waterways to hunt alone or in pairs; in the dusk they gather
together in their reed huts, and sit with their heads hunched between their
shoulders to sleep, stooped against the cold of the night.
HD 1+1,
AC 7, #ATT 1, DMG by weapon (spear, axe, dagger, club), ML 7, No. Enc.: 1d2, or
3d20 in lair with a 3+3 HD big man and two 2+2 HD shamans
*Heron
men receive a +2 bonus to hit rolls
*Heron
men are never surprised, and surprise opponents 5 times out of 6
Nice. This particularly resonated with me as I have always had an affinity for herons. I distinctly remember sneaking up on a great blue heron as a wee tot out on the tide flats in front of my house, creeping from boulder to boulder until I was a child's stone's throw from it, only to realize with surprise and a little fear that it was considerably taller than myself. My parents laughed when I ran back to them, but I have always had a bit of that awe and respect for herons ever since. This was reinforced years later when my friend Ben related a story about herons from his time at a wildlife rehab center. A heron was brought in and it speared a camera with its great beak when an employee attempted to take some pictures. From that point on all employees were briefed to keep their eyes out of range. Apparently herons aim for the eye when threatened, stabbing straight through to the brain.
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Fun stories. (also nice post, noisms). I love watching them as well. Watching them in flight has always hit me right in the kid-loving-dinosaurs place. It's like watching a pterodactyl.
DeleteIn case you haven't seen a baby heron, they look exactly like a pterodactyl! Check it out: https://i.imgur.com/QAaLgbr.jpg
DeleteThis is very nice. I like it. How and where would they interact with the player characters? There is an interesting humanoid bird type of creature, Kenku, featured in the AD&D 1st Edition Fiend Folio, I don't know if you are familiar with them. I conceive of them as Zen monk-like jesters playing cruel pranks on people.
ReplyDeleteI only hope that this project includes New Troy, which I have been following closely. I just received your Yoon Suin which is incredible, superior to Red & Pleasant Land in terms of the vast-ness of its world-building. It makes me long for the Arthuriana-Celtic faeries-Nordic monsters version, as you have been suggesting with New Troy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words, Nick, and glad you enjoy it. New Troy is slowly but surely advancing. The new project is different, though.
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