"New
monster?" Well, it's a new monster to me, because I've never
used a normal-sized bird of prey before. This particular hawk isn't a hawk at
all, but a merlin, which is smaller than a hawk but otherwise
identical. In the old stat blocks, the mechanical difference between one
and the other is nil, so I'll list it as a merlin but you can understand it to
mean "hawk or merlin."
The
reason I'm setting it down so is so that I can attempt to collect one with my
druid, Ældlin, in the 1e game in which I now play. I'm not sure what kind
of animal that Vuvier/Julie might want, but we will burn that bridge after the
horse has gone over the waterfall, or whatever the saying is.
MERLIN
#Enc.
1 (stag or brace), AL N, MV 6"/36", AC 2, HD 1, #AT 1 (talons), dam
1d4, ML 9, TREASURE nil, XP 100
Birds
of prey sympathetic to being trained with falconer's commands. Merlins have a
wingspan of not more than three feet. Females of the species are slightly
larger and less-colorful than the males, but both hunt. There are between three
and nine subspecies and their taxonomy is unclear, however they are visibly
related to the larger falcons. All kinds are diurnal and will hunt for their
own prey. A well-trained merlin will fly up to 36 miles away in a day to
deliver a note or for other reasons, and then return within a day and a night
to his master's arm.
A merlin is black, grey, brown, russet or blue on its back feathers and the tip
of its beak, and carries a herringbone or seersucker black-and-white
underbelly. Its tail is stripèd crosswise black in three or more bands.
Like other birds of prey, they have eye sight four times that of a man's.
Likewise their hearing is keener than a hound's, both in tonal extremity and in
acuity.
They are well-suited to striking and killing other birds on the wing. As prey,
they will kill any bird up to half their size, but they can be trained to
strike birds larger than they.
 |
| Blueback Merlin (male) |
Each
type of bird mates for at least one breeding season and usually more. Females
are fertile more or less throughout their lifespans. None live longer than
about 13 breeding seasons.
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