Rukk
“It was for all the world like an eagle, but one indeed of enormous size; so big in fact that its quills were twelve paces long.”
~ Marco Polo
Sightings of the monstrous bird called the rukk range from the Middle East to the Southern Islands, but are most concentrated in its preferred territory of the Arabian peninsula and the horn of Africa. The Rukk is known to prey on caravans in these regions, carrying off elephants and camels, which are its favorite source of food.
Scourge of the Seas. The Rukk is known to aggressively attack ships that sail along the coast of the Arabian peninsula and even out into the Erythraean Sea. The target of these attacks seems to be the ships themselves, which the Rukk uses to build its nest. While it seems to prefer smaller fishing vessels, which it can carry off whole, the Rukk will also attack large cargo ships and warships, attempting to tear pieces of the ship off to use as building materials.
Loot the Body! The Rukk is not innately magical, but Rukk souvenirs (feathers, beak, claws, etc.) can still fetch a price in any market worldwide. A creature can attempt to harvest a souvenir from a Rukk corpse using a DC 16 Medicine check. Each successful check yields one souvenir, which has a market value of 2d6 x 100 gp. This check may be attempted up to 5 times per corpse.
Rukk
Gargantuan monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class: 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 158 (15d20 + 60)
Speed: 20 ft., swim 5 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 (+6) | 14 (+2) | 19 (+4) | 5 (-3) | 13 (+1) | 9 (-1) |
Saving Throws: DEX +6, CON +8, WIS +5, CHA +3
Skills: Perception +5
Senses: passive perception 15
Challenge: 10 (8,400 XP) Proficiency: +4
Features
Keen Sight: The Rukk has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day): If the Rukk fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack: The Rukk makes two attacks: one with its beak and one with its talons.
Beak: Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (4d8 + 6) piercing damage.
Talons: Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 19). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Rukk cannot use its talons on another target.
Legendary Actions
The Rukk can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option may be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The Rukk regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect: The Rukk makes a Perception check.
Rend (costs 2 actions): If the Rukk is grappling a vehicle, it attempts to sunder the vehicle with its talons. The grapple ends, and the vehicle must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or roll on its “Mishap” table, if it has one.
Wing Attack (costs 2 actions): The Rukk beats its wings. Each creature within 10 feet of the Rukk must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone. If this movement would force a creature into dangerous terrain (such as off the deck of a ship or over a cliff), the creature may also attempt a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw to grab hold of something.
Source attribution and license
Silk Road's Guide to Seafaring, printed pages 202.