Appearance: The Executioner’s Raven is a formidable sight, adorned in a sleek gray plumage with wings and head coated in inky black feathers. Standing at 5 feet with an impressive 10-foot wingspan, its presence is ominous, a harbinger of fate.
Behavior: These ravens, drawn to the macabre, exhibit an uncanny intelligence. They frequent execution sites, gallows, and stakes, savoring the aftermath with a stoic demeanor. Despite their grisly associations, they operate with a calculated precision and, surprisingly, a sense of duty.
Habitat: Adaptable to urban environments, Executioner’s Ravens are often found near places of judgment and punishment. They navigate the cityscape with ease, seeking out moments of finality and aftermath.
Modus Operandi: In combat, these avian creatures are strategic, aiming to blind opponents by striking at their eyes with precise bites. Their Aligned Strike, fueled by a diet of fiendish flesh, inflicts chaos and evil upon their attacks, overcoming defenses.
Motivation: Driven by an innate attraction to the aftermath of justice or vengeance, Executioner’s Ravens act as spectral witnesses, drawn to the finality of life. Whether serving as omens of doom or guardians of cosmic balance, their motivations remain inscrutable, tied to the ethereal currents of fate.
Armor Class 16 (-1 size, +4 Dexterity, +3 natural) Hit Points 34 (4d8 + 16) Speed 10 ft., Fly 70 ft. (average)
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
8 (-1)
19 (+4)
16 (+3)
4 (-3)
12 (+1)
10 (+0)
Saving Throws Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +1 Skills Spot +8, Tumble +6 Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, Passive Perception 13 Languages Common Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Actions
Bite.
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 – 1) piercing damage.
Claw (Multiattack).
Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d3 – 1) slashing damage.
Special Attacks
Aligned Strike.
The natural attacks of the Executioner’s Raven are treated as chaotic-aligned and evil-aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Eye Gouge.
If a critical hit is scored with the bite attack, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Reflex save or lose sight in one eye, becoming permanently dazzled. A Remove blindness/deafness spell can heal the injury. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Special Qualities
Darkvision (Ex).
The raven can see in complete darkness up to 60 feet.
Evasion (Ex).
If subjected to an effect that allows a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage, the raven takes no damage on a successful save.
Low-Light Vision (Ex).
The raven can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.
Resistant to Disease (Ex).
The raven has a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves to resist normal diseases.
Roleplaying Notes
The Executioner’s Raven, adorned in a blend of sleek gray and inky black feathers, is a creature of calculated intelligence and eerie precision. Drawn to sites of judgment and punishment, it acts as both an omen and a guardian of cosmic balance, embodying the ethereal currents of fate. In combat, it strategically targets opponents’ eyes, aiming to blind them and leaving a lasting mark on the tapestry of destiny.
This large, gray-bodied raven has black-feathered wings and head.
A valkyrie
and a raven having a conversation. Illustration to Hrafnsmál or Haraldskvæði
by Þórbjörn hornklofi. Published in 1862 Frederick Augustus
Sandys (1829-1904)
Originally Posted by Shade of the En World forums.
Executioner’s ravens tend to strike at their opponents’ eyes, attempting to blind them.
Aligned Strike (Ex): Due to its habit of eating the flesh of fiends the natural attacks of an executioner’s raven are treated as chaotic-aligned and evil-aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Eye Gouge (Ex): If an executioner’s raven scores a critical hit with its bite attack, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Reflex save or lose the sight in one eye, becoming permanently dazzled (or blinded if they lose the use of all its eyes). A Remove blindness/deafness spell can heal the injury. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Resistant to Disease (Ex): An executioner’s raven has a cast-iron stomach. It has a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves to resist normal diseases, but not supernatural or magical diseases such as mummy rot.
Skills: An executioner’s raven has a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.
Originally appeared in In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil (1995).
The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Medium-sized raven.
Distraction.
Any creature within 5 feet of the swarm must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be blinded and deafened until the end of the swarm’s next turn.
Actions
Bite.
Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm’s space. Hit: 14 (4d6) piercing damage, or 7 (2d6) piercing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.
Eye Gouge (Recharge 5-6).
Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm’s space. Hit: The target must succeed on a DC 12 Reflex save or lose sight in one eye, becoming permanently dazzled. A Remove blindness/deafness spell can heal the injury. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Roleplaying Notes
The Executioner’s Raven Swarm, an assembly of dark feathers, maintains its foreboding presence. With coordinated movement, the ominous cloud of ravens continues to act as a relentless guardian of cosmic balance, foretelling doom in its shadowy wake.
Buy me a coffee
