Peryton

Picture a huge dark green eagle with the head of a blue-black stag. Its antlers gleam like polished obsidian and its eyes smolder a dull red-orange. Males have pale blue breast feathers, females dull brown. Strangest of all, a peryton's shadow is that of a grown human, not of its own body.

Perytons carry no weapons and wear no ornaments. They speak in roars and shrieks that sound like a creature in pain or fury. Some keen-nosed beings say a peryton smells human; others feel unreasoning dread at the first whiff.

Hunger is secondary; what a peryton wants from humans and humanoids is the heart. It is uncannily accurate, gaining +2 on attack rolls, and fights with its sharp antlers because its talons are too feeble for melee. Only weapons of +1 or better enchantment can harm it.

Once it picks a target it locks into a duel and never switches foes, whatever happens; such fights nearly always end with one of the two dead. If driven off, it keeps stalking that victim and comes back later.

When a fight goes badly, or when it hopes for complete surprise, a peryton may climb several hundred feet and plunge on its target for a further +2 to hit and double damage. Another favorite trick is to snatch a man-sized victim and soar upward so fast that most victims only react at 100 feet or higher, where breaking free means a 10d6 fall.

Perytons roost in caves on high cliffs and peaks in nests of 2d4, each independent and usually miles from the next, unless rich prey such as a mountain dwarf community draws them closer. They often keep live captives in the nest to eat later (90% likely for nonhumans, 25% for humans) or for breeding. Nests may hold scattered treasure and 1d4 unhatched eggs.

With skin few weapons can pierce, the peryton has no natural enemies, and it hunts humanoids, especially humans. A female needs a fresh, still-beating heart, ideally human, to reproduce. After eating one, her shadow takes on her true shape and she is fertile for 3d6 hours. Unhatched eggs sell for 10d12 gp each.