Hippogriff

A hippogriff is an omnivorous winged creature commonly found in northern Nora and was introduced into Salvatore. Like a griffon, it has the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered with feathers, the rest of its body being that of a horse. It is commonly tamed and used as a winged mount.

Hippogriffs dive at their prey and strike with their clawed forelegs. When they cannot dive, they slash with claws and beak. Mated pairs and flights of these creatures attack in concert, diving repeatedly to drive away or kill intruders. Hippogriffs fight to the death to defend their nests and their hatchlings, which are prized as aerial mounts and fetch a handsome price in many civilized areas.

Hippogriffs are a symbol for love, though they do not mate for life.

In comparison, the hippogriff possesses an intellect that is inferior to that of the griffin, making them more suitable to be trained as mounts. This is especially true for hippogriffs trained from their birth. They also lack the dangerous talons, although this barely appears to impact their effectiveness in combat.

A hippogriff's feathers bear coloration similar to those of a hawk or an eagle; however, some breeders have managed to produce specimens with stark white or coal black feathers. A hippogriff's torso and hind end are most often bay, chestnut, or gray, with some coats bearing pinto or even palomino coloration. Hippogriffs measure 11 feet long and weigh upward of 1,500 pounds.

Territorial, hippogriffs fiercely protect the lands under their domain. Hippogriffs must also watch the skies for other predators, as they are a preferred meal of griffons, wyverns, and young dragons. Hippogriffs nest in sweeping grasslands, rugged hills, and flowing prairies. Exceptionally hardy hippogriffs make their home nestled into niches on canyon walls, from which they comb the rocky deserts for coyotes, deer, and the occasional humanoid. Hippogriffs prefer mammalian prey, yet they graze after every meal of flesh to aid their digestion. Their dietary habits can be dangerous to both ranchers and their livestock, so ranching communities often set bounties on them. Victims of these hunts are often taxidermied, and preserved hippogriffs frequently decorate frontier taverns and remote outposts.

Far easier to train than griffons, yet easily as intelligent as horses, hippogriffs are trained as mounts by some elite companies of mounted soldiers, patrolling the skies and swooping down on unsuspecting enemies. Although they are magical beasts, if captured young, hippogriffs can be trained using Handle Animal as if they were animals. An adult hippogriff is more difficult to train, and attempts to do so follow the normal rules for training magical beasts using the skill. A hippogriff saddle must be specially crafted so as to not impact the movement of the creature's wings—these saddles are always exotic saddles.

Hippogriffs lay eggs rather than birthing live young—as a general rule, a hippogriff nest only contains one egg at a time. A hippogriff's egg is worth 200 gp, but a healthy young hippogriff is worth 500 gp. A fully trained hippogriff mount can command prices of up to 5,000 gp or more. A hippogriff can carry 198 pounds as a light load, 399 pounds as a medium load, and 600 pounds as a heavy load.

Diet


A hippogriffs diet primarily consists of meat, with a strong (and ironic) preference for horse meat. Other favoured meals include fish, game and livestock, the latter often bringing them into conflict with farmers. Hippogriffs often graze after particularly large meals, supposedly to aid digestion.

Captive hippogriffs have shown that they are omnivores. They have been observed being able to sustain themselves on grass and plant matter for about up to a week, provided that small amounts of meat of up to two pounds are available each day. This also is the likely reason why they are able to thrive in the barren hills and prairies where they typically live, as other predators need more abundant resources to sustain themselves.

Social Observations


Hippogriffs are predominantly solitary creatures. They are very territorial and will protect their lands against intruders, whether they are of their own or a different species. Unlike griffons, they do not mate for life. During mating season, males compete with other males to claim a female for themselves. Only after claiming a female will two hippogriffs live together as pair.

During this period two hippogriffs will build a nest, usually in the females territory. There the female hippogriff will lay an egg, which will hatch after about a few weeks. The young hippogriff is then raised for about 5 to 6 months, after which it is strong enough to survive and is driven off to fend for himself. The female will then in the coming week drive away the male from her territory.

Young and inexperienced hippogriffs are known to group together into 'flights' of up to 7 hippogriffs, though flights of up to 12 hippogriffs have been examined in some rare cases, where food sources were in abundance. These flights live a nomadic life style in which they move from region to region when local food sources have been depleted. However, once a hippogriff reaches maturity he will leave the group to find a domain for himself.

Behavioral Observations


Due to their ability to see well in the dark, and the danger of other predators that also hunt hippogriffs, like dragons, wyverns, drakes and other large beasts, hippogriffs tend to hunt in the dark during the early morning hours or very late in the evening. During day they will stay close to their nest or lair, during which time they will rest and groom their wings.

When out hunting, they use hunting patterns comparable to that of eagles: turning in circles until they have located prey, after which they will dive and carry off their meal back to their nest. Or, if the area is relatively safe, they will consume their meal on the spot. After especially large meals they will consume grass, grazing near their nest. If grass is not readily available, leaves are a readily available alternative.

The nests behaviour varies wildly between gender, and indeed between individual hippogriffs. There is a somewhat common appearance between most nests, however. Males tend to build rather simple nests to rest in which are mostly made from branches and leaves. Females, however, have been observed building their nests from a multitude of materials: leaves, branches, fur, feathers and even the hides of their prey.

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