Runequest Thursday Thanksgiving Bonus Creature - The Terror Bird!

In honour of American Thanksgiving [up here in Canada we gave thanks a month ago, when we could still see the grass through the snow] I offer a little bonus Runequest material.

Here is a turkey that invites itself to dinner! The terror bird is a flightless, carnivorous bird bigger than a grizzly bear, more aggressive, utterly fearless and more than a little stupid. So get out your carving knives, and your mailshirts. Happy Thanksgiving!

The terror bird hunts singly or in pairs, in summer with a gaggle of ravenous half-grown monstrous young in tow – all of them too stupid to be afraid. Most of the creatures' time is spent stalking the mud flats and low, brush covered islands of the River of Cradles. They also sometimes venture into the upland valley of the Vilinar River, but seem to prefer the wetter ground and better cover of the Great Bog. They cannot really be said to ambush prey. Essentially, terror birds wander until the find something worth eating, then go about eating - whether it protests or not. Terror birds compete with prides of Daggerfangs in the area for food, and are slowly losing to the big cats ferocity, intellect and numbers. They make up for their lack with tenacity, fearlessness and speed. They rarely give up on a hunt without major injury, are unafraid of fire or arrows, or the 'Firearrow' spell, and they can run down a fleeing man on horseback over short distances. It is possible that a terror bird could be tamed for riding or other work, but the difficulty and danger inherent in the training has evaded all but the Dragonewts, who have bred a more docile version of the terror bird as mounts.

		Location	Melee	Ranged	Armour	Hit Points
STR	30	R. Leg	1-5	1-3	3	9
CON	17	L. Leg	6-10	4-6	3	9
SIZ	30	Abdomen	11-12	7-10	3	10
DEX	14	Chest	13-16	11-15	3	10
INT	2	R. Arm	17	16-17	3	6
POW	11	L. Arm	18	18-19	3	6
Actions	2	Head	19-20	19-20	4	9
Move	16
SR	+12
HP	20

Attacks          Reach    Attack     Damage   

Beak                2              65         1d8+1d10   Bleed, Grip, Sunder

Claw                2              45         1d8+1d10   Bleed

Skills: Athletics 50%, Evade 33%, Perception 75%, Persistence 50%, Resilience

60%, Survival 35%