Transport Life-Shaped Creation

These organic machines are bred by the halfling windriders who live along a towering cliff region of the desert world. Some think a little for themselves, but all follow orders without question, and none need food or care; a special nutrient broth invented by their makers sustains them.

The smallest windriding mount is a slim insect with wings twice as long as its body, carrying one halfling and 25 pounds of gear and still reaches 75 miles per hour with a full load. Built purely for speed and precision, it can hover, pivot and rise or drop straight up and down with an agility nothing natural can match, slipping through narrow cracks or holding still beside a cliff wall so its rider can harvest the hanging cliffside forests. It attacks with a small stinger that carries no venom. Riders pick it for quick errands and tight maneuvering.

Midway in size between the breeze sprite and the soar whale, this feathered flyer has enormous wings and a hawk's beak, though it fights only by raking with its big talons. It carries one to three riders, or a single rider and 200 pounds of cargo, and manages 50 miles per hour with that load. Windriders heading into battle choose it, since it dives savagely at foes and rakes them while its rider attacks too.

Outsiders glimpsing one from a distance often call it an airship. It is a vast living balloon that stays aloft on the cliff winds by filling huge internal chambers with hot, damp air. Riders sit on its back or in slung gondolas seating as many as eight halflings, or a single windrider with a ton (2,000 pounds) of freight; laden, it tops out at 30 miles per hour. It cannot attack or defend itself, and damage beyond a quarter of its hit points punctures its air sack and forces it down. It is the most common mount, used when bulk matters more than speed; several can be linked to haul especially heavy loads, and their slow, smooth motion makes them ideal for forest harvesting and as steady platforms for hunters using spinethrowers and lightning generators.

The only ground mount the life-shapers make has a round, furry body, a camel-like head and four long stilt legs. Its gallop looks clumsy but is quick, steady and surprisingly graceful. It seats two halflings comfortably and can carry a load of up to 120 pounds.