Witchcrow
Witchcrows are harbingers of misfortune. They enjoy stealing possessions and the hopes of dreams of their victims. Fearless and without conscience, they delight in causing pain and anguish. They love to collect arcane knowledge, even items they cannot put into practice themselves. They will trade for or steal items that attract them. Some of their kind develop the powers of a witch. Spells that take a long time to cast attract witchcrows, who try to steal trinkets from the caster via flyby attacks.1
Ecology
Witchcrows often live near night hags; legends say they were hatched from eggs corrupted by hags in the Dreamlands. Groups of witchcrows, called murders, migrate from powerful magical place to powerful magical place. Greater witchcrows hatch from witchcrow eggs that have been exposed to magical power leaking from arcane items. Clutches of witchcrow eggs can be as large as five eggs. Witchcrows live for 20–30 years and are fertile for most of that time.2
Near the end of their lives, greater witchcrows enter the Dreaming, a fugue state that allows the bird to determine where its final resting place will be. The rest of the murder magically transports the witchcrow there, then squabbles over the disposition of its magical possessions.2
Society
Witchcrows prefer cold place near magical power, which has drawn them to Irrisen. The witches there mark them for destruction. Murders are led by greater witchcrows and follow a strict hierarchy based upon success in stealing magic. After organized raids, the leaders distribute the obtained items throughout the group. Poor thieves are either banished or live in barren nests.2
References
- ↑ . “Bestiary” in The Snows of Summer, 88–89. Paizo Inc., 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 . “Bestiary” in The Snows of Summer, 89. Paizo Inc., 2013