Metagalapan Riding Hawk

Metagalapan Riding Hawk

Mount Metagalapa lies northeast of Great Forks, floating hundreds of feet in the air. Its denizens learned to breed its native oversized hawks larger and larger, until the birds could carry riders. Now, traders and warriors from the lofty peak swoop down to barter with those who deal with them in good faith — and raid those who don’t — borne on the wings of Metagalapan riding hawks.

Modern hawks’ dispositions retain a healthy dose of the wild. Anyone foolhardy enough to steal one courts a long drop and a painful death. Riders train for long periods, earning a bird’s trust over months or years. Hawks and riders with the strongest bonds perform incredible feats, maneuvering as though they share body and mind. The hawks have 30-foot wingspans and powerful talons. They can carry a small load, about 200 pounds, for a rider and her spoils. They can transport riders up to 50-75 miles per day, but after a few days they need rest and recovery before continuing.

Metagalapan hawks often outlive their riders. Some pass their hawks’ jesses on to a child or favored student, the bird serving its masters faithfully for a century or more. The hawks are not very fertile; only a few hatchlings survive each year, and successful breeders are in demand. Even rarer is the great roc, a variety whose wingspan stretches double that of their smaller cousins, growing larger than a mammoth.

Essence: 1; Willpower: 4; Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: −0x2/−1x3/−2x3/−4x2/Incap
Speed Bonus: +0
Actions: Fly: 10 dice; Senses: 5 dice (see Eagle
Eye); Stealth: 6 dice; Tracking: 5 dice (see Eagle Eye)
Resolve 2, Guile 1

COMBAT
Attack (Beak): 10 dice (Damage 11)
Attack (Grapple): 4 dice (4 to control)
Attack (Talons): 10 dice (Damage 12)
Combat Movement: 8 dice (see Aerial Maneuverability)
Evasion 3, Parry 1
Soak/Hardness: 3/0

Special Abilities
Crushing Grip: Withering savage attacks the hawk makes against grappled opponents ignore up to four points of soak, while decisive ones ignore up to four points of Hardness.
Swooping Descent: A hawk that flies downward at least one range band and makes a decisive unexpected attack on the same turn adds two automatic successes to the attack roll. A hawk soaring high in the sky is beyond sensory range without superhuman senses, ensuring an ambush on first strike and allowing it to attempt re-establishing stealth in combat or withdrawing by simply flying higher than their enemies can see.
Aerial Maneuverability: Gain double 9s on disengage attempts while flying.
Steady Glide (Latent): The hawk moves smoothly through the air, allowing its rider to take aim or perform other actions requiring a steady hand without suffering any penalties during any maneuver. Armored hawks do not suffer barding penalties.

Merits
Eagle Eye: The hawk gains five bonus dice on visual Perception-based rolls to notice something while it has the height advantage, and can make out fine details of far-off targets this way. It automatically succeeds on rolls to track a character while airborne, unless that character employs perfect concealment magic.
Mighty Wings (Magical, 3m): The hawk can carry an extra 50 pounds for every three motes committed indefinitely, up to an extra 200 pounds.

Storyteller Tactics
Metagalapans prize their riding hawks for their maneuverability and ferocity. While a hawk is neither affectionate nor truly loyal, it recognizes a good master as a reliable source of food and shelter. It’s still a wild animal at heart, though, and a rider would do well to remember that. Mistreated hawks turn on their abusers. One Prince of the Earth known for his cruelty turned up dead on the rocks below the mountain. Official documents say his torn saddle’s straps gave way, but those who found him say they were sliced, as if by a talon.

Metagalapan hawks prefer to strike from above, then move swiftly out of range as they climb into the sky for their next dive. They can only restrain/drag or savage a grappled enemy, but they can drag him while ascending and then release him to cause falling damage. They attempt to flee when they’ve taken 5+ levels of damage, unless forced by a rider to continue. Those who manage to procreate are protective of their fledglings, and defend their nests until Incapacitated or killed.

A Metagalapan hawk is a 2-dot Familiar. Its larger cousin, the great roc, is a 3-dot Familiar. The great roc’s traits are similar to the hawk’s, but add four −0 health levels, +3 to attack pools, +5 soak, and the Legendary Size Merit (Exalted, p. 522).