Another nifty beast, this one actually plays into a well-known mythological creature, the ercinee, so well I have no idea why no one's made the connection before me.

Hooded pitohui - Wikipedia
The hooded pitohui (Pitohui dichrous) is a species of bird in the genus Pitohui found in New Guinea. The species was long thought to be a whistler (Pachycephalidae) but is now known to be in the Old World oriole family (Oriolidae)... A medium-sized songbird with rich chestnut and black plumage, this species is one of the few known poisonous birds, containing a range of batrachotoxin compounds in its skin, feathers and other tissues. These toxins are thought to be derived from their diet, and may function both to deter predators and protect the bird from parasites.

Ercinee (giant pitohui bird) ⁞ App 1 (1d4) ⁞ AC 8 ⁞ MV 20, fly 80 ⁞ HD 2 (hp 8)  ⁞ ATT buffet or peck (1d8) ⁞ SA/D: poison feathers ⁞ SV 16 ⁞ ML 6 ⁞ INT animal ⁞ DX 11 ⁞ SZ M ⁞ TC - ⁞ XP 64 ⁞ Instinct: skittish predator
* Any weapon striking the bird has a 2:6 chance of picking up the poison and any direct contact with the feathers has a 4:6 chance of causing exposure. The effects of the poison cause instantly cause numbness (-2 rolls): within 1 turn, a vaguely glowing rash will appear in the contact area, and will continue to spread and worsen. The bacteria is a flesh eater, and without treatment a victim will die within 1d6 days as a result.

The Ercinee is a large woodland bird resembling a hooded woodpecker or jay. It stands 5ft tall and has a wingspan of up to 10 ft. At night, an ercinee in flight is a truly spectacular sight, for it glows with an intensely bright green-yellow light. This light is twice as bright as torchlight, a bioluminescence caused by bacteria that grow on the bird’s feathers. The bacteria have one other effect: it is a deadly poison. Although the ercinee does not use its poisonous feathers as a means of attack, contact with the feathers can have hazardous results. (~ adapted from Monsters of Myth, OSRIC, by The First Edition Society)

Last edited by Jimm.Iblis (5/25/2018 11:31 pm)

Glad you liked them!