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Legacy of the Dragons
Wind Lord Large Giant Hit Dice: 12d8+48 (102 hp), dying/dead –5/–18 Initiative: +5 Speed: 30 feet, fly 60 feet (good) AC: 21 (–1 size, +1 Dexterity, +8 natural, +3 studded leather), touch 10, flat-footed 20 Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+19 Attack: Greatclub +19 melee (2d8+18) Full Attack: Greatclub +19/+14 melee (2d8+18) and 2 talons +14 melee (1d8+5) Space/Reach: 5 feet/10 feet (Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/10 feet) Special Attacks: Shock wave, sonic blast Special Qualities: Low-light vision, magical flight, resistance to cold 10 and sonic 10 Saves: Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +6 Abilities: Str 23, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 8 Skills: Listen +8, Spot +9 Feats: Improved Initiative, Modify Combat Style, Power Attack, Power Charge, Weapon Focus (greatclub), Weapon Specialization (greatclub) Environment: Cold and temperate mountains Organization: Solitary, pair, raiding party (3–12 plus one 4th-level leader), or flock (4–48 plus one 8th-level baron) Challenge Rating: 8 Treasure: Standard Advancement: By character class Level Adjustment: +4 A wind lord resembles a warped combination of a bird and a human. It stands 10 feet tall, with ragged, feathered wings that stretch like membranes from its torso and legs to its arms. Its legs end in fierce talons that it uses to tear into opponents. Its wings serve to stabilize and direct it in the air, allowing it to glide upon powerful winds and elemental energies. When angered, a wind lord can send tremendous shock waves toward its enemies by drawing on this power that swirls and capers around it. It can direct powerful gusts of wind that knock its enemies prone or summon the energy of elemental air to produce bursts of sonic energy. Wind lords are wild, reckless predators that haunt the highest mountain peaks in the world. They view anything that relies on its feet for travel as an inferior creature worthy only of pity and contempt. Their teachings hold that they are the true lords of the air, and other races are fit only for service or exploitation. Their raiding parties are rightly feared for their nocturnal attacks, in which they descend upon a city or town to force captives into great cages they carry with their talons. Other raiders carry off as much food, gold, gems, and other treasures as possible. The unfortunates taken prisoner are forced to toil as slaves high in the wind lords’ aerie with
little hope for rescue. Even the bravest rescue parties have trouble coping with the thin air and other perils of the mountain peaks—not to mention the wind lords themselves, who stand ready to cast any intruders down upon the rocks.
Combat In battle, wind lords are careful fighters who prefer to study their opponents. Their ability to fly allows them to wait for the perfect moment to attack. Like vultures, they fly just out of bowshot from potential targets, watching for the slightest sign that their targets are ripe for the picking. While wind lords are brave, if not overconfident, they realize that their speed and maneuverability allow them to dictate when and where a fight takes place. Shock Wave (Su): A wind lord can generate an intense, magical burst of wind and energy that knocks its opponents prone and may tear an enemy’s weapon from his hands. As a full-round action once per hour, the wind lord draws the power of elemental air to its body, focuses it into magical force, and projects it out as a 60-foot cone. Creatures within the cone are blasted by a combination of a powerful gust of wind and a mighty burst of energy. They must make Strength checks with a +4 bonus per size category larger than Medium or a –4 penalty per size category smaller than Medium. A creature receives an additional +4 bonus to this check if it is exceptionally stable or has four or more legs. If the creature receives any bonuses to resist bull rush attacks, it gains them for this Strength check as well. The shock wave ability has several potential effects depending on the target’s Strength check result. If the result is 20 or higher, the target suffers no ill effects. If the result is 10 to 19, he is knocked prone in his current space. If the result is less than 10, the target is knocked prone, and anything he carried in his hands is hurled 1d20 feet away by the force of this attack. Unattended objects are also affected by this shock wave. As a rule of thumb, objects that weigh 20 lbs. or less move 1d100 feet, those between 21 and 100 lbs. move 1d20 feet, and heavier objects remain in place (but might topple over). All objects affected by the shock wave are propelled away from the wind lord, in the direction of the force that emanates from it. Sonic Blast (Su): By gathering elemental energy to them and unleashing it in a single, devastating burst, wind lords can hammer their opponents with sonic energy. Once per hour, a wind lord can create a blast of sonic power in a 60foot cone. All creatures within this area take 8d6 points of sonic damage, with a Fortitude save (DC 15) halving this effect. In addition, characters that fail this save are deafened for 1d10 minutes. Magical Flight (Su): Wind lords can take to the air because of the magical and elemental energy that surrounds them. This effect counts as a 9th-level spell cast by a 20th-level magister.
