Ikran (Mountain Banshee) (2.5e Creature)
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| Climate/Terrain: | forest and mountain |
| Frequency: | Common |
| Organization: | Pack |
| Activity Cycle: | Diurnal |
| Diet: | Carnivore |
| Intelligence: | Animal intelligence |
| Treasure: | Nil |
| Alignment: | N |
| Number Appearing: | 1d12 |
| Armor Class: | 4 |
| Movement: | 30'/120'/ |
| Hit Dice: | 5 |
| THAC0: | 10 |
| Number of Attacks: | 1-3 |
| Damage/Attack: | 2 claws 2d6 1 bite 1d10 |
| Special Attacks: | Dive Attack, Improved Grab |
| Special Defenses: | Nill |
| Magic Resistance: | Nill |
| Size: | 45'ws |
| Moral: | |
| XP Value: | 4300 |
GeneralInformation:
Mountain banshees (Na'vi name: ikran) are large, bird-like aerial predators that are native to Pandora. They are used by the Na'vi for hunting from the air and traveling larger distances. Ikran are also used in battle, where the mount attacks its opponents from the air.
Bonding with a banshee and becoming an Ikran Makto is a dangerous and required rite of passage for Na'vi warriors in some clans, including the Omaticaya. Like the direhorse, a Na'vi can connect to a banshee through a neural interface that allows animal and rider to move with apparent effortlessness through the skies. The first ikran makto was Taronyu, a na'vi of the Kekunan Clan. After eight days studying an individual banshee, he was able to bond it and name it Rotalyu[1]. Unlike the direhorse, however, the banshee will only bond with one Na'vi in its lifetime. It is unknown whether the banshee or its rider can bond with a new partner should the previous one die, as is the case with Neytiri's mount Seze having been killed during the Assault on the Tree of Souls.
The mountain banshee rookery is high in the Hallelujah Mountains. The largest rookery, which features the largest specimens (and therefore the best to tame for riding), is in grottoes and outcrops on the sheer cliff faces of Mons Veritatis, one of the largest of the floating mountains. It is here that the Na'vi come to select (and be selected by) a banshee for domestication. The bonded mountain banshees nest in the highest branches of Hometree, where they can be close at hand for their Na'vi rider.
The mountain banshee is highly adapted for flight. Specially developed muscles attached to the breastbone allow for the powerful strokes needed to achieve lift. Xenobiologists continue to study the aerodynamics of the banshee. It is believed that all of Pandora's flying animals take advantage of gravity that is lower than Earth's and the increased air density, (which requires more force to displace with the downward/rearward stroke of their wings, and thus gives the animal's body more impetus with each flap). The downside is that the denser air is harder to move through, and requires highly-efficient streamlining to achieve high flight speeds.
Combat:
Dive Attack-while flying an Ikran can make a dive attack against one creature this gives a +4 to attack and damage for all attacks against the creature
Improved grab-If both claw attacks hit the bite attack automatically hits
Ecology:
Bioluminescence- in darkness the patterns on the Ikrans skin glows giving off light in a 10 ft radius
Neural Interface-Ikran can use the tentacles on the back of their head to link with nature to get a “empathic feel” of any threats to nature. In a dense forest area, the “empathic feel” has a range of up to 1 mile. Ikran can also use them to mentally link with other creatures native to Pandora.
low light vision-60ft
skin-(indigo, blue, teal, green, pink, purple, orange, yellow or pale, brown or a mixture of them)
eyes-yellow, red, green, blue, purple or orange
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