Shroudwing
Level 4Attacks
Abilities
The shroudwing emits a guttural, haunting call that instills a sense of fear almost impossible to shake. Each non-shroudwing creature within a 30-foot emanation must attempt a DC 18 will save. Regardless of the result, creatures are then temporarily immune to Death Rattle for 1 minute.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is Off-Guard until the start of the shroudwing's next turn.
Failure The creature is Frightened 1.
Critical Failure The creature is Frig
Saving Throw DC 18 fortitude
Stage 1 carrier with no ill effect (1 day)
Stage 2 1d6 persistent poison damage every hour, Sickened 1, and can't reduce the value of the sickened condition while taking persistent poison damage (1 day)
Stage 3 2d6 persistent poison damage every hour, Sickened 2, and can't reduce the value of the sickened condition while taking persistent poison damage (1 day)
Requirements The shroudwing is adjacent to a dying creature
Effect The shroudwing attempts to devour the dying creature's soul. The creature must attempt a DC 18 will save or their dying condition increases by 1 and the shroudwing regains 2d8 healing Hit Points.
These unsettling birds are thick-bodied, long-legged creatures standing 4 to 5 feet tall with an 8-foot wingspan. They possess black feathers, clouded white eyes, and a menacing obsidian bill hooked at the tip like a curled claw. Sometimes called soul-eater crows, shroudwings are carrion feeders known to roam graveyards and sites of collective death, absorbing lingering spirits and consuming the decaying corpses. They can be found digging up grave sites, shoveling the earth and breaking into caskets or tombs with their massive, hooked beaks, as well as lurking at execution sites, burial mounds, or feeding on travelers' corpses left behind on roadsides.
Due to their size, shape, and propensity for burial grounds, it isn't uncommon for a shroudwing to be mistaken for a grieving widow when seen at a distance—only when an unfortunate creature gets close enough does it discover the danger it's in. Though not predatory or outright aggressive, shroudwings are exceptionally territorial; they'll protect and defend both their feeding site as well as their nesting area from anyone who might trespass upon it.
While many might know these unusual birds by name and sight, even more know the shroudwing by sound. When threatened, the shroudwing emits a haunting, fear-inducing death rattle that can be heard for miles. They prefer nesting in covered brush, and their mating season occurs in the winter months. Shroudwings have a particular fondness for the collection of skulls and have been known to decorate nests with them as well as to use them in mating rituals, with the male presenting the female with the freshest and cleanest skull it can find.