Neutral Evil Man-sized Monster (avian) (8-ft, 220-lbs)
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 4-16
SURPRISE: 33%
SENSES infravision
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 12" — fly 12" (Class C)
HIT DICE: 4 + 4 (hp 22)
% IN LAIR: 50%
TREASURE TYPE: see desc
ATTACK AC 0: 15
MELEE: beak (1d4) and 3 beaks (1d4 each, iterative)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: multi-attack/3 - Hits As: +1
SPECIAL DEFENSES: resist fire (+1, -1)
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Low to Exceptional (5-16)
MORALE: +24%
SAVES: Poison 11, Petrify 12, Wand 13, Breath 13, Spell 14
LANGUAGES: Eblis
LEVEL: IV (XP 165 + 5 per hp)
Eblis look like giant, gray-brown storks. Males have red-brown heads and black necks and legs.
Eblis, or storkmen, are seldom seen by humans, or possibly few men live to tell of such an encounter. These tall, evil natured birdmen dwell in marshes and swamps of subtropical and tropical climes.
Eblis are very fast in shifting and striking, and thus their excellent armor class. Their necks are snaky, sinewy, and very powerful. Attack is by stabbing with the beak.
In each community of eblis will be 1 individual capable of using illusionist magic by means of dancing and vocalization.
Each such storkman will have 2-8 of the following spells usable once each per day, at 3rd level ability: 1 = audible glamer; 2 = change self; 3 = hypnotism; 4 = spook; 5 = wall of fog; 6 = blur; 7 = hypnotic pattern; 8 = whispering wind;
Because these creatures love water and wetness and are always damp, they are not as vulnerable to fire as their feathery forms would indicate. Saving throws vs. fire are made at +1 and damage is at - 1 per die.
Each group comprises several mated pairs and their offspring. When a tribe of this sort becomes too large for its habitat, the younger ones form a new band and seek their own area. Eblis pairs live in carefully constructed huts of reeds and grasses with 2-8 huts in a community.
It is 90% unlikely that these dwellings will be discovered, even by careful search. In these huts are piles of rushes, sticks, etc., with an egg 30% of the time. There is also a 25% chance that there will be 1 of the following: 1-2 = scroll in metal tube; 3-5 = potion; 6 = ring; 7 = miscellaneous magic item (small size only) 8-9 = magic dagger or magic knife; 10-20 = 1-4 pieces of metal jewelry. Because these creatures love shiny objects, there will always be some metal, glass, or similar items in a nest.