Roc

Looking almost too big to be real, rocs are huge birds of prey that dwell in warm mountainous regions and are known for carrying off large animals (cattle, horses, elephants) for food.

Rocs resemble large eagles, with either dark brown plumage or all golden feathers from head to tail. In a few rare instances, rocs of all red, black or white are sighted, but such sightings are often considered bad omens. These giant birds are 60 feet long from beak to tail feathers, with wingspans as wide as 120 feet.

Roc lairs are vast nests made of trees, branches, and the like. They inhabit the highest mountains in warm regions. Rocs are not given to nesting close to each other, with a nest rarely being located within 20 miles of another nest.

Rocs are occasionally tamed and used by cloud or storm giants. Good-aligned giants do not allow their rocs to attack civilized areas and the animals therein. One race that has little love for rocs is Dwarves. Dwarven mines located in remote mountains often have to contend with unruly rocs intent on protecting their territory. Attempts by the dwarves to tame rocs have all met with failure, so the accepted manner of dealing with rocs is to kill them and smash their eggs.

Note: Rocs originally appeared in this form in the 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual for the AD&D game from TSR. Their use here is for the purposes of providing context for the campaign only.