Roc: Usurper Kings of the Sky

How many murder birds have we had now? Is this the fourth or the sixth? I’ve lost count.

Anyways, here’s another murder bird.

*By the way, you can turn this article into a drinking game. Take a shot every time the word bird pops up. Though I can’t recommend that; I’m fairly sure it’ll kill you.*

Lore: The Ultimate Bird of Prey

With a wingspan of two hundred feet, the roc is one of the largest birds of prey in the Material Plane, rivaling even dragons in size. In the ancient days, Annam, father of the giant gods, created rocs to help his followers challenge the dragons for dominance of the air. When the war was over, the rocs were freed from the giants and allowed to wander the world as they wanted. Despite their shared history, rocs still consider cloud and storm giants as potential prey.

Solitary by nature, a roc can live on its own for centuries. Making their nests with trees, tents, broken ships, and caravan remains, they live high in the world out of mortal reach. Their nests sometimes contain treasures left over from the materials they stole, but the roc cares little for valuables. They care more for their eggs, which are often the size of a fully grown human.

Minimalist as this lore is, it’s rife with potential! Maybe you could have a dramatic encounter where the players get caught in a scuffle between a roc and a dragon! Perhaps they could team up with a giant to try and tame one. Or they could climb up a perilous mountain to reach a roc’s nest and reclaim some lost treasure!

Is it worth being a BBEG? Definitely not. But as a short side quest or a cool encounter, this is definitely a strong pick!

Design: Big Ass Bird

Yup. That’s a bird. A big bird! But a big bird is still a bird.

I dunno what you guys want me to say. It’s a bird. A colorful bird, sure. But it doesn’t really do much to stand out from other birds. It’s a god damn bird. You get the point.

Boring. Moving on.

Stats: Massive Body, Little Variety

The big thing about fighting a roc is that it’s… big. Like, really big. You could straight-up make this thing into a Shadow of the Colossus battle in the sky if you wanted to.

Which would be more interesting than the actual stats allow.

Combat wise, the roc is as basic as you can get. It has high AC and tons of HP and it can slash you with its claws or pierce you with its beak. Aside from the fact that it’s basically Rodan, it has no unique abilities or special powers to help it stand out.

You know, for a monster that supposedly used to rival dragons, this sure is disappointing.

Placement

This one went downhill real fast. Its lore is really strong! But its design and stats fall short. This could have been a contender for the top twenty. As it is, it doesn’t reach its true potential.

With all that in mind, the Roc is going to #138 on the Best of the Bestiary!

1. Beholder
2. Death Tyrant
3. Mind Flayer
4. Dragon Turtle
5. Mummy/Mummy Lord
6. Nagas (all three of ’em)
7. Green Dragons
8. Red Dragons
9. Blue Dragons
10. Black Dragons
11. White Dragons
12. Silver Dragons
13. Couatl
14. Behir
15. Aboleth
16. Sea Hag
17. Lamia
18. Bronze Dragons
19. Brass Dragons
20. Copper Dragons
21. Gold Dragons
22. Chuul
23. Kuo-Toa
24. Gibbering Mouther
25. Kraken
26. Intellect Devourer
27. Chimera
28. Death Knight
29. Fomorian
30. Bone Devil
31. Dracolich
32. Faerie Dragon
33. Gelatinous Cube
34. Lich
35. Peryton
36. Remorhaz
37. Orcs (all four of ’em)
38. Magmin
39. Kobold
40. Kenku
41. Hobgoblins
42. Night Hag
43. Green Hag
44. Black Pudding
45. Ankheg
46. Hook Horror
47. Oni
48. Purple Worm
49. Storm Giant
50. Hill Giant
51. Empyrean
52. Efreeti
53. Grimlock
54. Minotaur
55. Dao
56. Cloud Giant
57. Manticore
58. Drow (all four of ’em)
59. Shadow Demon
60. Modrons (all five of ’em)
61. Marilith
62. Drider
63. Aarackockra
64. Azer
65. Demilich
66. Spectator
67. Gray Ooze
68. Ochre Jelly
69. Hydra
70. Rakshasa
71. Marid
72. Harpy
73. Werejackal
74. Otyugh
75. Half-Dragon
76. Cambion
77. Fire Giant
78. Nothic
79. Pixie
80. Animated Armor
81. Banshee
82. Basilisk
83. Yochlol
84. Bulette
85. Cloaker
86. Darkmantle
87. Doppelganger
88. Revenant
89. Ghoul and Ghast
90. Ettin
91. Medusa
92. Pit Fiend
93. Erinyes
94. Chain Devil
95. Bearded Devil
96. Barbed Devil
97. Spined Devil
98. Ice Devil
99. Mimic
100. Djinni
101. Merrow
102. Nalfeshnee
103. Glabrezu
104. Chasme
105. Grell
106. Barlgura
107. Horned Devil
108. Balor
109. Shadow Dragon
110. Myconids (all four of ’em)
111. Piercer
112. Werebear
113. Lizardfolk
114. Vrock
115. Dretch
116. Pseudodragon
117. Gnolls (all three)
118. Goristro
119. Hezrou
120. Manes
121. Quaggoth
122. Frost Giant
123. Weretiger
124. Werewolf
125. Duergar
126. Quasit
127. Dryad
128. Flumph
129. Goblin
130. Nightmare
131. Wereboar
132. Wererat
133. Githyanki
134. Owlbear
135. Planetar
136. Imp
137. Ogres/Half-ogres
138. Roc <——————-
139. Clay Golem
140. Flameskull
141. Displacer Beast
142. Carrion Crawler
143. Githzerai
144. Grick
145. Invisible Stalker
146. Rug of Smothering
147. Bugbear Chief
148. Bugbear
149. Flesh Golem
150. Vine Blight
151. Twig Blight
152. Needle Blight
153. Mephits (all six of ’em)
154. Bullywug
155. Hellhound
156. Ettercap
157. Gas Spore
158. Cockatrice
159. Lemure
160. Homonculus
161. Merfolk
162. Solar
163. Deva
164. Gorgon
165. Hippogriff
166. Griffon
167. Cyclops
168. Centaur
169. Ghost
170. Pegasus
171. Fire Elemental
172. Water Elemental
173. Air Elemental
174. Stone Giant
175. Deep Gnome
176. Dinosaurs (All six of them)
177. Iron Golem
178. Stone Golem
179. Earth Elemental
180. Galeb Duhr
181. Helmed Horror
182. Flying Sword
183. Crawling Claw
184. Violet Fungus
185. Shrieker
186. Gargoyle