Plumazotl

A plumazotl is made of nothing but bright feathers. Most take bird shapes, from hummingbird to giant eagle in size, though some prefer a humanoid form. Their voices are musical, and they usually speak an archaic dialect of the old jungle-coast tongue along with the languages of thinking creatures living near them.

Peaceful by nature, a plumazotl avoids fighting when it can and defends itself with beak and claws when it cannot. Both kinds wield feather magic. A lesser plumazotl casts as a featherweaver of a level equal to its Hit Dice. Greater ones are stronger casters: 6 HD casts at 7th level, 7 HD at 8th, 8 HD at 10th, 9 HD at 12th and 10 HD at 14th. Fire is their great weakness, dealing double damage.

Coastal legend says a mighty featherweaver named Yaxun Tel spent many years crafting a living being out of enchanted plumage with spells now lost. The gods destroyed him for his presumption, but some of his creations escaped and bred, and their descendants still dwell in lonely corners of the land. Granted minds and a will to live, they slowly grew into a true race.

Far from settlements, they use their magic to turn their homes into peaceful havens of color and music. Though solitary, they do not fear humans and sometimes approach them for news of the outside world, offering scraps of information for a short chat. A gift of feather magic makes one quite friendly and willing to share anything it knows. Such visits are brief, because its curiosity is quickly satisfied.

Two greater plumazotl sometimes meet to breed in a dazzling ceremony, plucking feathers from each other, shaping them into tiny birds or people and breathing magic into them. Each such figure becomes a 1 HD lesser plumazotl, and a pair makes one or two before parting.

They grow slowly by gathering bright feathers into their bodies, and they feed on feathers and feather magic alike, breaking any talisman into its parts before absorbing it. Finding or receiving a feather talisman can add one or more Hit Dice, more for a stronger item. A lesser plumazotl at the peak of its growth hunts for ever more material, and once it has gathered enough, or a single talisman, it transforms into a greater one.

They have no natural predators, but people sometimes hunt them for their magic. A dead plumazotl yields feathers fit for featherweaving and feather magic, and a greater one may supply enough for a blanket of featherweaving.