Old Griffons

Typical Racial Characteristics

"Griffon" technically refers to the male of the species; a "griffoness" is a female, and a "griffonkit" is a child. The griffons of Griffon's Aerie are sentient creatures with plumage that comes in a wide variety of (sometimes mixed) colors. Naturally, they have the head, talons, wings and breast of an eagle and the hindquarters of a lion. A griffon's tail is feather-tipped; griffons sometimes treat the feathers to be razor-sharp for use in whipping. Griffons generally stand six to eight feet at the shoulder, with a ten to fifteen foot wingspan; griffonesses are slightly smaller. Their vision is piercing and they are formidable in combat. However, this is not the only form they will take, thanks to their relationships with dryads.

Griffons are highly resistant to magic of any sort, although they are vulnerable to psionics, and magic may be used indirectly upon griffons (for example, in flinging objects at them). Only the most formidable of spell casters stand a chance of their arcana affecting a griffon. With their extreme magic resistance, griffon mages are unheard of. Instead, griffons enjoy scientific pursuits; indeed, griffon engineering is extremely advanced, and their medicine is also quite sophisticated. This is how the foul wizard Rewop was able to temporarily seize power in Griffon's Aerie in the year 443. He used his study of the black arts to find ways of bypassing the ordinary Griffon resistance to magic. He was able to kidnap the King and Queen and in the initial panic and confusion caused by his surprise attack on the royal entourage.

Each griffon is bound to a tree, or, more accurately, a dryad, from hatching. The relationship between griffon and dryad is somewhat, but not totally, symbiotic. To keep their health and the health of their dryads, griffons commune with their trees frequently (no fewer times than once a month) and protect them with their lives. In the relative peace of the kingdom of Griffon's Aerie, dryads and their trees have little to fear.

The most striking effect of this relationship is the ability the dryad confers on the griffon to change forms. By calling upon his dryad, a griffon is able to change shape into a "half" or "mixed" form -- he will appear as an eagle-eyed human graced with a large pair of wings. Griffons can also take a completely human form, although they do not do this often; they cannot hold full human form for long, continuous periods of time. Naturally, each transformation is somewhat taxing for a dryad in poor health.

Were his dryad to die, a griffon would not die himself, but become rather ill and demonstrate advanced aging. He would also be trapped, temporarily, in whatever form he held at the time of the dryad's death. Dryads are, however, regenerating creatures. Once one is killed, it is replanted in the The Grove and eventually grows back. The new dryad would not be completely the same as her previous incarnation, but she would retain some of the memories that all of her predecessors had. Thus the knowledge of the dryads can be quite vast.

The period of time from a dryad's death to the time that she was once again able to step from her tree could be quite considerable -- anywhere from one to five years. As the sapling grows, the griffon gains very limited powers to change, but taxes the sapling and impedes her growth every time he does so, as well as taxing himself.

A griffon learns to transform as a kit with a great deal of training.