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Documentation Area

Document Path: /doc/monsters/wyvern

Name:
	Wyvern  (Magical Creature)

Stats:
	No. Appearing  : 1-6
	Climate/Terrain: Temperate mountain forests and jungles
	Frequency      : Uncommon
	Organization   : Solitary
	Activity Cycle : Dusk and dawn
	Diet           : Carnivore

Description:
	A distant cousin to the dragon, the wyvern is a huge, flying lizard
	with a poisonous stinger in its tail. The 35-foot-long dark brown to
	grey body of the wyvern is half tail. Its leathery batlike wings are
	over 50 feet from tip to tip. The head alone is 4 feet long and filled
	with long, sharp teeth. Unlike the dragon, it has only hind legs, using
	them the same way a hunting bird would. The tip of the tail is a thick
	knot of cartilage from with a 2-foot-long stinger protrudes, very much
	like that of a scorpion. The eyes are red or orange. A wyvern does not
	have a strong odor, although its lair might smell of a recent kill.
	These beasts can make two sounds: a loud hiss, which sounds like a hot
	sword plunged into water, and a low, deep-throated growl, much like
	that of a bull crocodile.

Combat:
	Rather stupid, but aggressive, wyverns will nearly always attack. In
	combat, the wyvern always prefers to be flying, and will seize any op-
	portunity to take flight and continue combat. If trapped on the ground
	it will bite and use its stinger, attacking the most convenient target
	or targets. The tail is very mobile, easily striking over the back of
	the wyvern to hit an opponent to its front. The stinger injects poison
	in the wound. From the air the wyvern is a far more deadly target. It
	dives upon ground targets, attempting to snatch them up in its two tal-
	loned claws and fly off. Man-sized victims are snatched it at least one
	talon hits for damage. Large victims require both talons to hit in or-
	der to snatch them up.

	As a hunter, the wyvern is cunning. It will avoid letting its shadow
	fall across its prey as a warning. The final approach of the dive is
	done in complete silence. It trails its prey from downwind whenever
	possible. A mature wyvern often waits for the right moment to strike,
	and is willing to let prey go that is too powerful or within easy reach
	of cover. Such a wyvern understands that men, particularly those armed
	in bright metal, are stronger than their size would indicate. Given a
	perfect opportunity, it will attempt to snatch up an unarmoured member
	and fly out of range.

Habitat/Society:
	The wyvern is a solitary creature, nesting only with its mate and
	young. It tends to lair on mountainsides that overlook forests, jun-
	gles, or sometimes plains. A wyvern makes its lair in large caverns
	that can be found in such places, staking out a territory about 25
	miles across. If game is sparse, it will hunt with a small group of its
	own kind. Only young wyverns attack others of their kind, usually to
	establish new territory. Older wyverns settle disputes in an unknown
	manner without actual combat.

	Some wyverns have been known to work with evil dragons. Usually these
	dragons completely dominate the weaker and smaller wyverns.

Ecology:
	An adult wyvern consumes the equivalent of a man-sized to large crea-
	ture once per day. This could translate to a horse, pig, or a handfull
	of sheep. While it eats them whole, the bones are not digested, and
	neither are metal obejcts. The wyvern eats carrion only if desperate.

	The wyvern has no natural enemies, although it would not be a match for
	certain powerful creatures. It is noted for the foul taste of its
	flesh. No one has found a way to cure its hide and the bones are light
	and brittle to aid in flying. Certain body parts are used by spell cas-
	ters as spell components, for which they will pay a reasonable price.