Dire Sheep

Dire sheep
Information
Natural Habitat:	Sresar Vale
Classification:	Mammal, sheep
Average Size:	60-80" at the shoulder
Average Weight:	300-350 lbs.
Coloring:	White to dark brown
Distinguishing Features:	Size, carnivorous teeth, eats god PCs

Once upon the time there were many dire beasts springing out of the darkness in the Vale. Many years later they began to taper off. One of the few to remain is the dire sheep.

Description

They resemble a traditional sheep in many ways, especially at a distance, but up close they're radically different. For starters they're at least a third larger than a normal specimen. Standing at 60-80" at the shoulder and weighing a good 300-350 pounds they're quite large. Their horns are equally supersized, 40-45" across and 25-30" long. Each weigh around 8-13 pounds and are hollow. A dire sheep's canines are larger than a tiger's and are roughly 6" long with the edges bearing serrations and the tip sharp.

A dire sheep not only has a great pair of spiraling horns but also a plate that runs above each eye and between the nose and back of the head in an arrow pattern pointing towards its pink nose. This plate is made up of many large bumps for armoring with a layer of thick skin for padding beneath and around each section. Both males and females have this plate to help protect it from predators though females lack the large curling horns.

A sheep's fleece grows quickly and remains thick all year around to all manner of attack. The thickness makes it impervious to hot and cold attacks and even dissipates electrical spells. Each individual hair is tightly spiraled and they interlock to turn wool into armor. Some have tried to fleece a dire sheep only to be devoured before they could even get a handful sheared off.

Typical of a normal ruminid system its stomach is quite large, almost cavernous, but it's not meant to ferment grass and other vegetable matter. The large size is to accommodate the dire sheep's chosen prey. They target and devour things far too powerful for the realm: demons, ninjas, dragons and angels that are up to no good or are an unsavory mix of them all. Unfortunately it can't keep up with the task of keeping up with this strange diet. As a result they belch often. Normal folk aren't on the menu as they barely qualify as a light snack.

Habitat

The dire sheep are native to the rolling hills of the Sresar Vale. Long ago they spilled from the Grey Fang Mountains along with a number of other fearsome beasts. In the years since that time they've roamed the Vale in search of travelers with more power than they do sense. Flocks of sheep can be found anywhere between the wineries to the virgin forests. A few have ventured further with one to a handful being found as far as Drache, kept by Dulcina in the pens behind the King's Inn.

Other Characteristics

They're surprisingly placid around normal people...at least until one tries to shear the wool from their bodies.