Sphinx

The strongest sphinx is the male androsphinx, a huge winged lion with a man's face that speaks common and every sphinx tongue. One blow of its paw can kill an ordinary man, and it casts spells as a 6th-level priest, mostly for healing and protection.

When truly enraged it can roar three times a day, each roar worse than the last. The first sends everything within 360 yards fleeing for three turns unless it saves vs. wands. The second makes all within 200 yards save vs. petrification or stand frozen with fear for 1d4 rounds, and deafens anyone within 30 yards for 2d6 rounds unless already deaf or protected. The third forces all within 240 yards to save vs. spell or lose 2d4 Strength for 2d4 rounds (each point equals 10% of exceptional Strength). Within 30 yards, anything shorter than 8 feet is thrown down for 2d8 damage and must save vs. breath weapon or be stunned for 2d6 rounds, and stone cracks unless it saves vs. crushing blow.

Androsphinxes live alone, avoiding the cleverer, neutral gynosphinxes, though nearly every one yields to a gynosphinx's courtship at least once. They hate riddles and dislike talking with humans. Lacking any common pattern of behavior, they are thought by sages to be wandering protectors of all sphinxes against men and similar races. They war with hieracosphinxes but usually let a beaten one flee, roaring after it. They rarely bargain and care little for wealth; of all sphinxes, only they may take offense at gifts from evil or low-Charisma characters.

A criosphinx is a ram-headed winged lion, always male, speaking its own dialect, the andro- and gynosphinx tongue, and the speech of animals, which suits the warm woods it prefers beside the gynosphinxes' deserts. It fights with two paws or a horn butt, casts no spells, and is not bright: its only bargain is 'pay for safe passage or die.' Ample treasure, or the location of a gynosphinx, always buys peace.

Groups are rival suitors chasing one gynosphinx, often blindly following whoever seems to know the way. On finding her they may wall her lair shut with boulders pushed by their horns, then fight for her in the air like rams. More often they brawl at once, and the winner finds her gone, left with only the treasure she abandoned after a search that may have taken decades.

The female sphinx has a human face and a winged lion's body. She is weaker than the androsphinx but far wiser and more knowledgeable, and speaks common plus all sphinx languages. She would rather bargain than use her two paws, helping strangers only for a price: gems above all, or jewelry, magic, knowledge, lore, fine verse or a clever riddle, and especially news of an androsphinx. Anyone who breaks a deal is attacked and, if beaten, eaten.

She can cast each of these once a day: clairaudience, clairvoyance, detect invisibility, detect magic, dispel magic, legend lore, locate object, read languages, read magic and remove curse, and each symbol once a week, all used with real cunning. A party that huddles to plan will hear a soft growl as she listens in by clairaudience.

She is lonely by circumstance, dodging criosphinxes, which she despises, and hieracosphinxes, which she fears, while hunting for an androsphinx. She settles in ruins and forgotten temples, learns them through her spells, and waits for travelers who may have news or useful magic. An androsphinx mate gives an andro- or gynosphinx at even odds; a criosphinx sire gives only a male criosphinx, and a hieracosphinx is no better. Being one of the slowest sphinxes, she relies on wit and deception to escape persistent pursuers.

The only evil sphinx is the hieracosphinx, always male, with a hawk's head and wings on a lion's body. It speaks the other sphinx tongues, and 20% know common. It casts no spells but fights with savage persistence, swooping to tear with paws and beak.

Hieracosphinxes lair in hill caves above the desert and sometimes form bands of up to six, usually to run down an androsphinx, whom they hate utterly. They scorn fair play, and an androsphinx that loses to them is always torn to pieces. They also want gynosphinxes, and would sooner slay an androsphinx and seize its lair, waiting for a gynosphinx to come following old stories. They outnumber the criosphinxes. Their origin is unknown, though many believe evil elder gods created them to plague the other sphinxes.