Prologue (3k)
Chapter One: Designing Beasts (61k)
Chapter Two: New Rules for Familiars (2k)
Chapter Three: Familiars and Saga Development (42k)
Chapter Four: Popular Familiars (103k)
Chapter Five: Quadrapeda (84k)
Chapter Six: Birds (84k)
Chapter Seven: Serpents (62k)
Chapter Eight: Worms (9k)
Chapter Nine: Fish (13k)
Appendix One: Humans as Familiars (12k)
Appendix Two: Familiars of the Realms (70k)
Appendix Three: Forms, Effects and Sizes (11k)
Bibliography (6k)
| Raptors tend, historically, to belong to the more violent houses. They are, for example, quite popular in House Flambeau, as they can extend "Sight" to tremendous distances through the exchange of virtues. Redcaps also find their scouting abilities useful. Ravens are popular with the spirit master subsection of House Ex Miscellanea Swans are most commonly paired with Jerbiton magi. Bjornaer magi also tend, for reasons unclear, to favour raptor shapes. |
The most fascinating thing about the bird mind is its pragmatism. Birds are sufficiently bright to ignore their instincts when they do not serve a purpose. Birds will alter their ranges, allowing them to become smaller, should that be pragmatic. They rapidly adapt to new food sources. Birds build different shapes of nest, or nests in more protected places, if new predators enter their environment. Some choose whether they will enter courtship, how many eggs they will lay, if they will incubate all of their eggs, and if they will feed the weakest of their young, based on the availability of food.
Few familiars will be migratory, because they have no reason to leave their covenant home, where they will be warm and well-fed regardless of the season.
Many birds are intelligent, in so far as that they are aware that they have an identity, and that their actions can affect the behaviour of others. Some are even capable of intelligent, although limited, conversation after prolonged training.
The following traits sometimes pass along the bond to magi with avian familiars.
Two examples of this are raven and kite magi. Raven magi find the most intriguing ways to propel stones at intruders into their sancta, while magi with black kites as familiars are intrigued by the use of fire in the production of crops. Magpies store stones in their nests which they drop on intruders. Black kites snatch sticks out of campfires and throw them into tufts of grass. As these flare up, rodents and insects flee their patch of cover, and the kites consume them.
Since the physiology of birds differs so greatly from that of humans, physical quirks transfer only slowly between the species. That being understood, some truly ancient magi have been warped incredibly by their avian familiars.
Some other birds have poor hearing. Some, such as pigeons, hear in the infrasonic range, and can gain directions by listening for the reverberation of waves on the sea, sometimes hundreds of miles away.
The following are specific quirks, but can be transferred across species if they suit the familiar you are creating. To the appropriate species these are free, but if, for example, you wish to create an eagle that suffers heron-style hydrophobia, then you can take it as a flaw (-1 "Oversensitive" in this case.) Many of these quirks are transferable to magi along the bonds of the body and mind.
Mythically, doves are said to flock in groups and to have diverse and allegorical colours. Each flock is led by the red dove, who represents Christ, with other doves having colours to represent saints, martyrs and priests.
Peacock magi dislike looking at their feet, as the find them ugly. Their interest in beautiful shoes verges on the obsessive.
Owls also have no sense of smell, or a rudimentary one. Your hearing, however, is excellent. One of your ears is probably slightly higher than the other.
Owls are birds of ill-omen, known to prefer dirty nests in caves or near graveyards. They are sometimes said to fly backwards, or be attacked by other birds.
Parrots dislike having their plumage wet, mythically, and so their magi are cautious concerning the welfare of their clothes, which tend to be expensive, gaudy, or both.
Magi who have hawks are determined and courageous, depending on these qualities, more than skill.
You are probably more buoyant than the average person. Sailors consider swans lucky, as they only dip into the water, not truly submerging.
Your skin might turn black, especially in those places covered by hair, which may turn white.
Magi of this type enjoy following Wizards on the March.
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There are so many species of bird found in medieval Europe that
it is impossible to discuss all of them profitably, save in a
specialist volume. The birds I shall discuss are those which
are most interesting, and have been considered most thoroughly
by the ancients, together with those most beloved of magi of our
Order.
Birds acted as the familiars of the priests and priestesses of many Greek cults, but during the Imperial period the owl fell out of favour by presaging the deaths of both Julius and Augustus Caesar. Birds as a class of familiar were replaced by urban animals such as the dog and cat. Hedge wizards continued to accept bird familiars, most notably cockerels, favoured of Apollo, it is said, but until the resurgence of the noble sport of falconry, few Roman magi selected birds as their familiars. Trianoma is recorded to have had an owl as her companion, but some believe that this was a magical spirit, or a faerie in owl shape. Those Bonisagi who follow in her footsteps sometimes carry feathers, as charms for luck, but not in the presence of churchmen, which considers the owl a bird of ill-omen. Birds chosen by magi, of the modern Roman tradition, as familiars tend to be raptors, although some few select less aggressive creatures such as sparrows. Outside the hierarchy of daytime predators, the most popular bird species for familiarisation are the owl, the raven and the swan. Some hedge wizards familiarise chickens or buzzards, although this is rare. ...It is known in the Order that the owl is an ally of the bat, and that some vampires have the eyes of owls. The owls and the crows have an ancestral dispute, which neither side recalls the origin of, and the magi favouring either side sometimes allow this to seep into their politics.... |
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The barnacle is a creature like a goose, but smaller, that grows,
at first, as a bud upon pine logs. They grow coated in a shell,
hanging from the log with their beaks, while their plumage develops.
Once mature they detach and either fall into the sea or take
flight.
These creatures are, truly, a form of plant, and some bishops of Ireland, where they are found, eat them during fasting periods, since they are considered not to be flesh. |
For barnacles use Goose statistics, but be aware that magic targetting them should be Herbam not Animal
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The bat is an unusual bird, in that it has teeth, and does not
lay eggs, bringing forth live young. It has a third peculiarity,
it does not fly by the power of feathered wings, but uses instead
folds of skin.
Bats form great clusters, each holding onto another, with one holding onto the tree, anchoring its brethren. If it lets go, the others must seek new perches. The Arabs who collect cassia find it in a shallow lake. The land about this site is infested with bat-like creatures, which molest the gatherers so sorely that each is carefully dressed from head to foot in ox-hides, for their protection. Only the eyes of these gatherers are left exposed, so the men need be careful, for the bat-like creatures will shred these if they can. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: -2 (+3 at night), Pre: -1, Com:
+1, Str: -2, Stm: 0, Dex: +3, Qik: -1
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws: Blinded by sunlight. If your bat is more scientifically accurate than those in medieval bestiaries this flaw is inappropriate, and you have the ability to use echolocation. Personality Traits: Malicious +3, Brave -1 Weapon (Teeth): Init: +6, Atk: +6, Dfn: +7, Dam: +1 Soak: 2 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 1 Vim per 100 pairs of wings.
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Bees are born as grubs from the putrefying blood of oxen, or lions.
To gather bees to begin a hive it is therefore necessary to beat
the decaying corpses of cattle. In time these grubs develop feet
and wings. They live in vast communities, which they construct
for themselves from wax. Each worker has a little six-sided chamber
in which to live. The outmost chambers of the honeycomb are the
dwellings of the Castors, the king of the bees.
Bees are unusual in that they elect their king from amongst themselves. He rules them wisely and well, having personal virtues such as beauty and size, but also he is of kindly disposition. The king does not use his stinger, but he has no need to, for the bees hold such great store in their customs and honour that those who break their laws kill themselves. The bee has many tasks, but the foremost of these are leading flights to flowers, and commanding his soldiers in war. Bees hate fire and flee smoke. Noise also concerns them. The ancient Egyptians called the bee the "Tears of the Sun God" and the Greeks called them the "Birds of the Muses". The touch of a bee on the lips of a child is said to make them a poet. |
Bees are too small to have statistics.
| The caladrius is a bird that is entirely white, lacking any blemish. It is a very rare type of plover, and is prized so that few but kings have them. A caladrius can cure the jaundice, and the dung of this bird will cure poor eyesight. More even than this, the caladrius can foretell the fate of invalids, so that if a man is to die the creature will not face him, but if he is to live it will stare upon him and draw the invalid's sickness into itself. It then flies to the sun, and burns the sickness from itself, although it needs not catch fire as the eagle does. |
No combat statistics are given for the caladrius, as it is an utterly inoffensive bird.
If played as a character, a caladrius is any other waterbird which purchases the healing power above as a +3 virtue. Although this power does not require vis, it does not heal wounds, only fevers and similar infirmities which would heal anyway, given time. Note that this virtue includes the fact that caladrii are inherently valuable and, among the learned at least, are not likely to be killed for sport.
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The cinnomolgus is found in Arabia, and builds its nest in tall
cinnamon trees, from which it gets its name. The twigs of the
cinnomolgus's nest are the choicest of the cinnamon, and the trees
are too difficult to climb, so men fire lead-weighted arrows at
the nest, to bring them down.
In ancient times, Herodotus says, men tempted these birds with huge joints of meat, cut from oxen or donkeys. When the greedy creatures retreated with them to their perches, the weight would bear the nests to the ground, snapping the branches that supported them. Herodotus also notes that the Arabs who used the chunks of flesh to weigh down the cinnamon knew not where it came from, supposing it that it grew in a land further to the east. The Arabic cinnamon-birds nested in mountain crags to which no man could climb, and bought the cinnamon as nesting material from some distant homeland. It may be that the trick using lead arrows is used in the true homeland of this bird, somewhere in distant Persia or India, and that the trick using meat comes from Arabia. I have not seen the bird myself, but find reports of both strategies convincing. |
For the cinnomolgus use Swan statistics, but make it Greedy and alter its abilities.
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The cock's name comes from ancient times, when it was sometimes
castrated, which is why the Imperial Romans called their eunuchs
"cockerels". The crow of the cock has many powers.
It brings contentment, ends evening storms, scares away robbers
and lights the evening star, according to poets. Cocks can predict
the weather and the future, although the type of events with which
they are attuned may vary due to their colour.
The limbs of the cock are eaten away if mixed with liquid gold. This strange affinity affects familiarisation. The cords to cocks may be gold tinctured without bond score cost. |
The cock has more than the standard 20 beginning experience points. This is to ensure compatibility between this and the previous version of "The Medieval Bestiary".
|
Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +2 (+5 toward all evil), Pre:
+2, Com: -1, Str: -1, Stm: +1, Dex: -1, Qik: 0
Size: -3 Virtues and Flaws: Sense Unholiness is free, but not compulsory. Personality Traits: Noble +1, Devoted +1 Weapon (Talons): Init: +6, Atk: +5, Dfn: +8, Dam: +2 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 1 pawn Vim, body.
| I have heard that a generous bird called the coot nurtures the rejected young of the eagle. I have also heard they always live in the same place, with food, water and all useful things close by. They do not fly for amusement, nor do they eat corpses, and they are therefore considered wise, but more of them I cannot say. |
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Cranes are military birds, known best for their migrations. Before
they begin flying to distant places, perhaps even unto Faery,
they ballast themselves, so that the wind will not blow them off
course , by swallowing sand and gravel. They climb to a raised
vantage, from which they can see their landfall, then form a letter
in the sky as they fly behind a leader. The ancient Greek Palamides
is said to have invented the alphabet through watching storks,
and some claim he was an early magus.
The leader of the storks is older, and knows the route well. His commands keep the group together and well-ordered. He urges on the slow. When his voice tires another takes the lead. If any bird becomes weary, the others clutch at him and hold him up until he is rested. The cranes form encampments when they sleep, dividing the night into watches. Each watchman seeks enemies in the gloom, either as a sentry or patrolman, then he calls out to one of the others, who cheerfully takes his place. Sentries stand on one leg, holding a stone in the other, so that if they become drowsy they drop it, and the noise wakes the camp. In distant Africa, where cranes winter, are a tribe of tiny humans, the pygmies, whose crops the cranes raid. The cranes and pygmies do war upon each other all winter, until the birds return to Europe. I suspect that these pygmies may be a faerie race, although Herodotus assures us they are human magicians. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3, Pre: +1, Com: +2, Str: -1,
Stm: +1, Dex: +2, Qik: +3
Size: -1 Personality Traits: Militaristic +2, Lazy -2 Weapon (Talons): Init: +9, Atk: +8, Dfn: +8, Dam: +5 Soak: 0 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The crow is an excellent bird, much prized by ancient magi. The
crow can foretell the future, can show the sites of ambushes,
can see the motivations in the hearts of men, can predict rain
and can act as a messenger to certain fae powers. Some crows
lead the emigrations of storks into the distant realms of Arcadia.
Crows are attentive to their partners and offspring, nurturing chicks for far longer than most birds, just as we nurture our apprentices far longer than most humans their children. They watch their children as they learn to fly, ready to catch them should their exertions prove too great. The parallels to our own lives could not be more clear. The owl and the crow are enemies, and the owl kills crow chicks by night. |
Crows use the statistics for ravens, but may purchase the virtues Weather Sense and Divination.. The hearts of crows contain two pawns of Intellego vis, and, if eaten, give the Divination virtue. Storyguides may set a duration on the use of this virtue if they wish.
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The dove is a bird touched by God, and so it has many sterling
properties. It sighs, yet does not sing. It does not feast on
flesh, but instead on carefully-selected grains. It raises the
chicks of other birds, if it finds them orphaned. It nests by
water, so that, seeing the approach of the hawk, it may dive within
it and escape. It defends itself with its wings, and with nests
that it makes in rocks, carefully fortifying them for the use
both of themselves and others. It flies in flocks, and the members
of the flocks have four colours. The leader, the Red Dove, can
bring wild pigeons into the dovecote, making them tame.
In India is a tree in which doves nest. It is called the Peridexion, and the dragon fears both its substance and shadow. Since doves may feed upon the fruit of this tree, they do not leave its shade, and are therefore safe from the serpents of those parts of the world. The turtle dove is devoted to its mate and, should he die, she takes no other. It is said to avoid man, living in lonely places, at the tops of mountains and in forests. It lines its nest with the leaves of the squill, because wolves hate and avoid these same leaves. Doves of both genders produce milk from their necks to feed their young. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +3 (+4 predators), Pre: +1, Com:
+1, Str: -2, Stm: 0, Dex: -1, Qik: -1
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws: True Faith or Clear Thinker. Check with your storyguide before selecting True Faith.
Personality Traits Weapon: None Defence: +5 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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As the lion is to the earth so the eagle is to the air. Eagles
are linked to sovereignty magic, storms, victory and lightning,
They consider themselves well above the commonality of birds,
and refuse to familiarise themselves with short-lived humans,
in most cases. An eagle familiar is the aspiration of some of
the proudest of archmagi. They are therefore popular among the
Tremere not indoctrinated into the Wolf worldview and those Tyaltii
who desire to have what no-one else has, as proof of their superiority,
or simply because it is an enormous challenge.
Eagles can cure some of the ravages of age by finding a fountain and flying up from it toward the sun, flying so high that it scorches their wings and burns the darkness from their eyes. They plunge flaming back into the water, dousing themselves thrice and are thereby cured of ageing vision and infirmity of wing. This process draws its power from the Sun and the Light of God, so it breaks hermetic limits, but it does nothing for the Twilight addled, so it will not allow a magus to live forever, should they trade this virtue from their familiar. Even eagles die eventually, but the few Eagle-bonded Archmagi, and the Council of Eagles in House Bjornaer use their longevity to vast advantage. Eagles who do this sort of thing need to chip their aged beaks back into shape on a rock. Magi who use it will find themselves needing to refile their teeth. Their new eyes, hair and skin will be more avian that their old ones. Eagles have terribly keen sight, which they use for fishing. Despite being high in the air they can spot their prey deep in the water and swoop down upon them with an unerring accuracy. As this talent wanes with age they know they must seek a fountain and the Sun. Eagles test their young, to ensure that they have not had the eggs of another placed within their nests. When a chick is old enough to see, the mother forces it to stare into the solar orb. If it looks without disquiet it is nurtured, but chicks which turn away are flung down, or kicked from the nest. Some say that coots nurture fallen eagles. Eagle chicks are born live, as are vulture chicks. Eagles cannot die of thirst. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3 (+6 for vision rolls), Pre
+2, Com: +1, Str: -1, Stm: +1, Dex: +2, Qik: +3
Size: -2 Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Merciful +2, Gentle +2 (according to some reports), Arrogant +2, Judgemental +3, Judicious +3 or Regal +3 (according to others). Weapon (Talons): Init: +9, Atk: +8, Dfn: +10, Dam: +6 Soak: +1 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Traded virtuesPlayer characters may seek out an eagle familiar by making it a focus of the campaign, spanning many years of the magus's life. The risks involved in seeking an intelligent eagle as a familiar should be commusurate with the reward, which is to be able to trade for the "Rejuvenation" virtue. Check with your storyguide to see if they find this virtue acceptable in their campaign. If you wish to play a Bjornaer Eagle, check with your storyguide in advance.
-3 Eagles' JudgementA magus suffering this flaw, like an eagle, will place a difficult test before their offspring slightly before they become Magi, casting them out should they fail to succeed in it. Some magi of aggressive temperament will be driven to slay their offspring, to cover their shame at having so worthless a child, and having wasted so much time on a futile gesture.
+5 RejuvenationEagles can cure some of the ravages of age by finding a fountain and flying up from it toward the sun, flying so high that it scorches their wings and burns the darkness from their eyes. They plunge flaming back into the water, dousing themselves thrice and are thereby cured of ageing vision and infirmity of wing. This process draws its power from the Sun and the Light of God, so it breaks hermetic limits, but it does nothing for the Twilight addled, so it will not allow a magus to live forever, should they trade this virtue from their familiar. Even eagles die eventually, but the few Eagle-bonded Archmagi, and the Council of Eagles in House Bjornaer use their longevity to vast advantage. Storyguides should assign a penalty of Twilight points for each use of this virtue by a magus, if they wish. Eagles who do this sort of thing need to chip their aged beaks back into shape on a rock. Magi who use it will find themselves needing to refile their teeth. Their new eyes, hair and skin will be more avian that their old ones. |
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The goose comes in two varieties, the wild and the tame. Wild
geese are uniformly grey, while the tame may also be white, or
dappled. Geese can detect the scent of men more easily than any
other bird, and, doing so at night, call out to their brethren
to warn them. This saved ancient Rome, long ago, for as the Gauls
snuck over the walls and through the streets the geese raised
such a ruckus that the citizens awoke before the gates could be
opened. Amongst the ancient Romans the goose was sacred to Hera,
and amongst the ancient Britons it was a forbidden food, as a
servant of the gods of war. For the Egyptians the Goose was the
bird that laid the egg from which all things came. It also represented
love.
Tame geese often fight each other, and have wicked beaks. They mark the hours of the night with hooting. |
Geese use swan statistics, but have two added points of Perception and two fewer points of Presence. Their point in Sing is moved to Awareness (people).
| The halcyon is a water fowl that lays its eggs, on the shores of the Mediterranean, during the winter. The raging sea immediately quietens, and remains so for a fortnight, which the sailors, grateful for this calm weather, call the halcyon days. During the first week the eggs are incubated, during the second the chicks are fed and at the third they are adults. This amazing rapidity of nurturance is unmatched by other birds. |
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Modifiers: Cun: 0, Per: 0, Pre: +1, Com: -1, Str: -1, Stm:
+3, Dex: -1, Qik: 0
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws: Calm Nest: Storms and tides cannot upset the nest of a Halcyon. Some covenants report that magi who trade for this virtue, or who have the Halcyon heartbeast, similarly affect weather around the covenant. A halcyon nesting in a covenant library is considered a lucky omen, and may prevent, at the storyguide's discretion, storm or water Dam: +age to texts. Some few Halcyon magi claim that the Halcyon Days return when they perform their apprentice's season of tutelage each year, during the winter. Personality Traits: Nurturing +2, Enduring +1 Weapon: None Defence: +8 Soak: +2 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Falcons, kites and merlins should also be generated with these scores, but should reflect their differences in size with flaws or virtues.
| The hawk is a hunting bird popular with nobility. They have great skill as hunters because they are forced from the nest early by their parents, who refuse to feed them and force them to seek their own prey. To tame hawks they need be confined in mews until they have moulted off all of their wild feathers. Once this has occurred they will be entirely docile and will fly to the hand. The left hand is best, the tranters say, since a hawk thus released flies to the right. Hawks are belled and jessed and, sometimes, have their eyelids sewn shut... |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +3, Pre: +1, Com: +1, Str: -2,
Stm: 0, Dex: +2, Qik: +3
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws: Companion's Social Class: If you have a pet human who is not a magus, human laws indicate that you must belong to landed gentry, or the clergy if you are a merlin. You are inherently valuable and are therefore likely to be spared by humans, should you fall into their power. Personality Traits: Follower +2, Determined +3, Slothful -2 Weapon (Talons): Init: +7, Atk: +6, Dfn: +9, Dam: +4 Soak: -1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| The bird of the Harz mountains has plumage that glows in the dark. It flies by night and finds its way by the illumination of its feathers. I have not seen the Harz birds in the wild, and I am told by some that the feathers only shine if they are dropped upon the ground, so that the flying bird must shed them. I cannot confirm this, but I do know that many recaps carry an enchanted feather to use as a light source when they carry urgent dispatches by night. |
The author has no real idea what a Harz bird is meant to represent, but the drawings of them imply that they are dark, with glossy feathers, a little like a rook, crow or raven. Pliny calls the Hyrcinian birds, after the forest in Germany where he stated that they lived.
For a harz bird, use raven statistics, but change the personality traits to unravenish ones.
| The heron is the wisest of birds, say the ancients, because although it feeds in the waters, it nests in tall trees, to protect its young. It hates being wet by rain, and flies high, so as to be above the storms. It refuses carrion. |
Herons use Hawk statistics, but add one point to Cunning and take one from Perception. They lack the "Companion Social Class" virtue, but have weather sense instead. Modify the specialities of their skills.
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This name, "hoopee" is used for two different birds,
in different places. One is a bird that showers care upon its
young. When it has grown old, its children gather about it, pull
out its aged feathers, lick its misty eyes and warm its cold body
with their own flesh. In this way it is made vigorous and young
again.
I have not met a magus who has used the hoopee to avoid the ravages of age in the same way that eagle magi do. It may be that were more magi to have children of their bodies, then such things would occur. The second hoopee is a terrible bird that dwells in graveyards and dungpits. It has a crest, and has blood whose poison, if spilled on human skin, will give the victim nightmares of demons which threaten to smother him. It may be that these two birds are varieties of a single type, for amongst the Arabs the hoopee is considered to be a bird of great virtue and also of vice. It is called the Doctor Bird, both by the Arabs and ancient Egyptians, and they use its head to perform healing magic, of the Natural variety. It is a messenger from invisible forces and has a mark of wisdom upon its breast, put there y Solomon in thanks for shading him in the desert. It can find hidden wells, for which it is much prized, but it whispers secrets, which can cause people great harm. |
Note that some sources do not separate the hoopee into two birds. They have identical statistics, except for their virtues, flaws and Perception Bonus. Hoopees may have one of, or both of, the sets of virtues and flaws given.
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +1 (6 to recognise the elderly),
Pre: +1, Com: +3, Str: 0, Stm: +1, Dex: +1, Qik: +3
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Gentle +2, Respectful +3, Filial +2 Weapon: None Defence: +6 Soak: +1 Fatigue: +1 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The ibis is a bird of long leg that walks the banks of rivers
seeking the corpses of dead animals and the eggs of serpents.
These it mixes in its stomach to make a gruel that it vomits
down the throats of its young. It needs to scavenge day and night
as it is too terrified of water to seeking living fish within
it.
The ibis is linked in Egyptian mythology to the god of magic, Thoth. The ancients worshipped the ibis because, each year, flocks of them defend the country from swarms of syrenii which swarm in from their Arabic habitations. The dead syreii make excellent gruel for chicks, but some feel that so much eating of snakes may lead ibises to lay cockatrical or basiliskine eggs. I doubt this, for if it were true Egypt would be as barren as the deserts of Lybia. There are two types of ibis. One is white, save for the head, wingtips and tail feathers. It is common near the inhabited parts of Egypt. The other, which is the defender against the sirens, is completely black in colour and is a wonderful bird, linked sympathetically to the human practice of magic. |
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: +1, Pre: +1, Com: 0, Str: -1,
Stm: -1, Dex: +2, Qik: +3
Size: -2 Personality Traits: Hydrophobic +3 Weapon: None Soak: -1 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| Jackdaws are gossipy birds that cannot keep quiet. They are therefore a supreme irritant to one seeking a quiet and contemplative life. That being said, jackdaws can be trained in human speech, being better at it than any other bird and so are sometimes useful as messengers. |
Jackdaws use magpie statistics, but have the Flaw Gossip.
| The kite is a terrible hunter, filled with the lust for blood and mayhem. It prefers tame birds as prey to wild ones, and is therefore much hated by Men. Diodorus Siculus says that a book of Egyptian law was bought to Thebes by a kite, and that the transcribers of this book wore red caps, each with a kite's feather in it. Diodorus may have recorded the very moment when the Tahuti-inspired form of magic reached across the Mediterranean and became early Hermeticism. Note that we redcaps were there at the beginning? |
Kites use Hawk statistics, but have Ferocity directed at tame birds.
| The magpie has two interesting features. The first is that it can mimic the human voice, speaking as if human. The second is that, since it was touched by the Old Ones, no nail will remain in a tree that the bird alights from. |
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Characteristics: Cun: -1, Per: 0, Pre: 0, Com: +4, Str: -2,
Stm: -1, Dex: +2, Qik: +3
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws:
Personality Traits: Mocking +2, Cautious -1, Talkative +3 Weapon (Swoop): Init: +5, Atk: +5, Dfn: +10, Dam: +1 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| The nightingale's song, like the cry of the cock, heralds the dawn. She sings to herself while sitting upon her eggs. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: 0, Pre: +1, Com: -1, Str: -1,
Stm: -1, Dex: +2, Qik: +1
Size: -3 Personality Traits: Melancholy +3 Weapon: None Defence: -5 Soak: -1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| The Osprey is one of the birds of Ireland, so noted for its avifauna. They are like a hawk, yet larger, though not so large as an eagle. Their most curious property is that they have one foot that is a claw and the other that is a paddle. Having keen eyes, like those of many other birds of prey, they dive for fish, seizing with the clawed foot and steering with the scooped. While awaiting their prey they are able to hover in place with gentle movements of their wings. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +3, Str: -2, Stm: 0, Dex: 0,
Qik: +2
Size: -2 Free Virtues and Flaws: Companion's Social Class: If you have a pet human who is not a magus, human laws indicate that you must belong to landed gentry,. You are inherently valuable and are therefore likely to be spared by humans, should you fall into their power. Personality Traits: Follower +2 Weapon (Talon): Init: +5, Atk: +4, Dfn: +7, Dam: +2 Soak: -1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated Abilities: Use Hawk abilities, but reduce Hunting by one, add one to Swim and alter all specialities to reflect a lifestyle of fishing. |
Ospreys without the odd Irish feet change their specialities, but do not alter their ability levels. That is, they do not swim.
| Ostriches are large flightless birds, with short legs and the feet of camels. They like to eat iron. They breed only when certain stars, the Pleiades, are in the sky, then ignore their young to ponder higher things. Magi who have ostrich familiars rarely have apprentices. Ostriches compete, and the finest pair raise all of the chicks in an area, so a Bonisagus with an ostrich familiar may begin to acquire many Gifted children. Eventually a Tribunal will be called to force the magus to abandon these "chicks" |
Ostriches can be generated as huge storks. Use the Stork Statistics given in the Birds section, but raise the size to +1 and adjust the combat statistics accordingly. The stork statistics should have their specialities altered to reflect their meditative disposition.
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The owl is a bird that flies by night, fearing the sun, and being
blinded by its light. The screech owl is a larger bird than the
night owl. It utters a terrible cry, and dwells in caves and
graveyards. It is unclean, and its roosting places are soiled
with its dung. It is a harbinger of ill-luck, and the herald
of disaster.
Note that perhaps the night owl is not so cruel as its bigger cousin, for the Goddess of Wisdom in ancient times was familiar to an owl, and our own Trianomans, following the example of their leader, following the example of the ancient Greek cult from which she descended, have many owls amongst themselves, and use owl feathers as the mark of their fraternity. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +3, Per: 0 (+5 vision at night), Pre:
+2, Com: -2, Str: -1, Stm: 0, Dex: +1, Qik: +2
Magic Might: 10 Size: -3 Virtues and Flaws: Blinded by Sunlight: Not all varieties of owl are blinded by sunlight, but your familiar is unlikely to be one of the exceptional ones. Screech Owls as above but also:
Personality Traits: Photophobic +3, Screech owls: Lazy +2 Weapon (Claws): Init: +4, Atk: +3, Dfn: +6, Dam: +4 Soak: -1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 2 pawns Intellego, eyes.
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The parrot is a bird from India, which has been described to me
by Latham, that excellent wizard of Mercere who chose to follow
the trade routes west into that distant country, beyond which
lie the lands of the Silk People.
The parrot has a tongue which is broader than that of other birds, which permits it to speak as a man does, if trained from an early age. All parrots can say "Ave!" ("Hai!"), but can be taught other words most easily if tuition occurs before the third year of life. The parrot, though green, has a neck that is coloured grey like pumice. This is because it has a head that is as hard as stone. To teach it you should whack it over the head occasionally, with a rod of iron, to retain its attention, If it falls from a height, so long as it lands upon its beak, it is unharmed. This is why chicken feathers dyed green are given to Tytalus apprentices who fail their Gauntlet. ...Parrots hate getting wet... |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: (-1 per year of age after the
first three), Pre: 0, Com: +2, Str: -2, Stm: 0, Dex: 0, Qik: +2
Free Virtues and Flaws: Head of Stone: Blows to the head, including those caused by falls, only do Dam: +age to the parrot. Size: -2 Personality Traits: Easily distracted +3 (if older than two) Weapon (Talon): Init: +3, Atk: +2, Dfn: +8, Dam: +2 Soak: -1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated Abilities:
Frankly it doesn't take a lot of effort to be a domestic parrot. Many of them put these spare points into speech. |
Real ParrotsModern studies of parrots indicate that they, along with certain other birds, can have vocabularies of hundreds of words. That is, they can understand the meanings of a couple of hundred words and can use them in conversation with humans. One parrot, under study in the U.S., is certainly sentient (that is, aware that he is an individual) and can increase his vocabulary by asking the names of things, which he later uses. He also shows every evidence of the ability to plan and to feel emotions. If you are designing non-magical birds, especially parrots, it is important to note that many of them, if they spend large amounts of time around humans, and have a method of communication, will begin acting anthropomorphically |
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The partridge is much concerned with the security of her eggs.
The nests of partridges are ringed with thorns and she dusts
her eggs with dust to camouflage them. Cunningly, she takes different
routes returning to the nest on each foraging expedition, to throw
off pursuers. If a person approaches the nest, then the mother
will go a little way off and cry out, pretending her wing is broken,
and so draw attackers away. Little partridges are similarly deceptive.
When they fear attack they roll on their backs and pick up pieces
of earth in their claws, so as to hide invisibly beneath this
soil. Male partridges kill chicks, to bring their mothers to
heat again, especially in the breeding season.
Males are so filled with lust that, in season, they do war with each other, and those who fall must submit to being mounted as though female. The scent of a male on the wind is enough to impregnate the female. |
Partridges use "Swallow" statistics, but have the personality trait Lust with a score of 5, if male, or Filial, with a score of 3, if female. They also have an added point of Cunning.
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The peacock has a magnificent tail, whose plumes are marked with
the sign of the Eye. The ancients claim these eyes came from
Argus the ever-watchful, once he had been slain by Herakles.
Some say that the bird is cursed, while others say that these
plumes deflect the hexes of cunning women. The Pope uses the
feathers of the peacock as a symbol of the watchfulness of God.
The flesh of the peacock is very hard, so it is almost impossible
to cook, however it is a delicacy, especially the tongue. The
peacock is a startling blue and green, but Solomon had a peacock
that was of many other colours, and some few are white. The peahen
is brown and lacks a tail.
The peacock is dismayed by the sight of its own, ugly, feet. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: -1, Pre: +5, Com: -2, Str: -2,
Stm: 0, Dex: 0, Qik: -1
Divine or Magic Might: 10 Size: -2 Free Virtues and Flaws: Immunity to Curses: The Peacock cannot be affected by the "Evil Eye" or similar hexes, turning the spell back upon the caster. This power is due to the markings upon its feathers. Personality Traits: Proud +5, Vain +4 Weapon: None Defence: +1 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -3, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -3, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 6 pawns Vim, tail. Note that a peacock would rather die than lose its tail, so magi cannot usually use this vis, then wait for the tail to grow back, so as to harvest it again. If your peacock allows this, it must be paid for as the "Secret Vis Source" virtue, or must be part of your covenant design.
| The pelican lives in remote backwaters of the Nile. When their children are newly hatched, they strike their parents in the face, so the pelicans kill them. Then, three days later, the parent tears its breast and side open, then lies upon its dead chicks, pouring out blood upon them, which revives them. |
The pelican of the bestiarist's art looks more like a goose than the large-billed creature which we would call by the same name. If you are creating a mythic pelican, it is essentially a goose with the power to kill, then revive, its offspring. Realistic pelicans use the goose statistics also, since they are basically waterfowl of poor temper which, although capable in theory of killing a person, generally won't be fought by grogs.
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Much twaddle is spoken of the Phoenix, not in the least by Flambeau
magi who are attempting to impress their brethren with stories
of a meeting with the creature, considered in that House to be
incredibly auspicious. The Phoenix is not larger than an eagle
and is partially gold and somewhat red. Herodotus states that
this bird gathers a lump of myrrh which it then hollows out and
stuffs its father within, carrying this egg-like burden to Heliopolis.
I am aware of other tales of the bird, that it builds itself a pyre of aromatic substances, or has one built for it by the priest of Heliopolis, which it then lights by striking a rock with its beak. After it fans the flames with its wings it is consumed, then, after the ashes cool a grub works its way from them. After two days the grub develops feathers and the shape of a bird, then on the last it becomes a phoenix itself. This is all later tale. I am aware that some Flambeau, of a quasi-religious inclination, feel that the priest who officiated at the last incineration was their Founder and that the Order being nearly five hundred years old it will soon come to pass that the phoenix will seek out a Flambeau archmagus, to aid it through its passage and to renew the powers of the House through its own renewal, granting the Chosen immortality. This merely demonstrates that magi have a tremendous capacity for child-like credulity when their Founders are concerned. |
Modern mythsFredrica's tale is the version found in The Histories by Herodotus. More modern tales indicate that the phoenix is an Indian bird, Herodotus claims it comes from Arabia, and that it has a golden body, a red throat and head, a crest like a peacock's and a tail of sky blue. It's name literally means "purple" or "from Phoenicia". The Phoenicians were a race of traders from Sidon and Beruit who later colonised Carthage and Spain and contested with Rome for dominance of the Western Mediterranean. Note that despite modern artistic depictions, neither classical nor medieval commentators believed that it burned continually, or that it had the capacity to create flames. More ancient even that Herodotus, and likely the source of the phoenix myth, is the myth of the Bennu, a heron-shaped bird that died and was reborn in a fiery tree in Heliopolis. It was linked to Ra, God of the Sun and was the physical embodiment of the spirit of Osiris, lord of the dead. Persistent rumours in House Flambeau indicate that during the Great Redaction, when magi were forced to join the Order or die, the Heliopolitan Bennu priesthood was subsumed into the House of fire magi. A covenant still exists at Heliopolis and the Bennu cult may have survived, in some form, into the modern era. |
The phoenix uses eagle statistics, with slight skill modifications. Its magical talents are living forever and rising from the dead. It is firmly suggested that phoenixes not be used as player characters.
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The quail flies across the sea in great swarms once the summer
has ended. In this pilgrimage they are led by a single bird,
called the ortigometra. The ortigometra is the target of birds
which wish to prey on the formation, so the other quails do what
they can to protect it.
The favourite food of the quail is a poisonous seed, which makes its flesh unwholesome for consumption. The Bible records the death of an army who feasted upon a flock of quails. Quails are the only creatures, other than men, to suffer from the falling sickness. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: 0, Pre: -1, Com: +3, Str: -3, Stm:
0, Dex: 0, Qik: -1
Size: -3 Personality Traits: Self-sacrificing +1 Weapon: None Defence: 4 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| The raven does not feed its young, until they develop a coat of black feathers, because it does not believe that they are ravens. Once they have become dark it showers its affection on them. Ravens eat carrion, and prefer eyes to the other parts of a corpse, consuming them as though a delicacy. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +2, Pre: +3, Com: +3, Str: -3,
Stm: +1, Dex: +3, Qik: +3
Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws: Sense Misfortune: Ravens can sense when something terrible is about to happen to someone, or something. Personality Traits: Nurturing +3, Orderly +2 Weapon (Swoop): Init: +8, Atk: +6, Dfn: +10, Dam: +1 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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| The sparrow is a quick little bird that nests in cracks, and in the walls of houses. Among the ancient Israelites they were used as an offering to God for he cure of leprosy, and may be useful in devising a magical cure for that disease, so often considered beyond Hermetic power. |
Sparrows use "Swallow" statistics, but they have 2 fewer points of Cunning, and one more in each of Dexterity and Quickness.
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The stork is the most devoted of parents, nurturing its eggs for
so long that all of its feathers fall from it. This care is returned
by the chicks of the stork, who nurture it once it has become
feeble with age. The stork lacks a tongue and communicates by
the clacking of its beak. They form vast flocks which sweep into
Asia during the winter. Sometimes these flocks are lead by crows.
The stork is the enemy of serpents, which it feeds to its chicks to give them strength. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per: +3, Pre: +1, Com: -4, Str: -1,
Stm: +1, Dex: +2, Qik: +3
Size: -2 Personality Traits: Merciful +4, Gentle +3, Nurturing +3 Weapon (Talons): Init: +9, Atk: +8, Dfn: +8, Dam: +5 Soak: 0 Fatigue: +2 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The swallow is a very wise little bird. It is afraid for its
young, so it likes to build its nest close to the ground. This,
however, places it within the reach of predators, so it cunning
builds its nests in the awnings of the houses of men. The men,
you see, kill all manner of things that might eat the swallow,
yet, since they are charmed by the little creatures, do not kill
the birds themselves. Further, it has mastered the creation of
pottery. To further care for its young, it builds its nest of
mud, so that they cannot trip upon the thatching of twigs other
birds use. This mud it creates by dusting its wings with earth
and filling its beak with water, mixing it into a mortar only
upon reaching the awning. This clay has the further advantage
of hiding its young from sight and harbouring them, in the winter,
from draughts.
Finally, it should be noted that swallows may cure the injured eyes of their chicks. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: 0, Str: -1, Stm: -1, Dex: +2,
Qik: +1
Size: -3 Personality Traits: Melancholy +3 Weapon: None Defence: -5 Soak: -1 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The swan is a graceful water bird. In Ireland, where I spent
my early years, there are bards so wonderful that swans, on hearing
them play form a choir around them. Swans sing beautifully, particularly
just before they die. Sailors love them, for they never sink
into the water, merely dipping down, then coming up again. To
bards and fisherfolk then, these birds are a welcome omen.
It is said in the Hibernia tribunal that once there was a girl drowned by her sister turned first into a swan, then into a harp when a bard found the swan's body. The harp played on its own, and the voice of the woman, singing from its strings, accused her murderess. I have endevoured to discover what subsequently became of the harp, but have been unable to discover is whereabouts. |
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Characteristics: Cun: +2, Per: +2, Pre: +3, Com: +2, Str: -1, Stm:
1, Dex: -1, Qik: 0
Size: -2 Personality Traits: Fierce +5 Weapon: None Defence: 6 Soak: 3 Fatigue: 1 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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The vulture is large and flies slowly, but high, and it therefore
can sight prey from a very great distance. It can see things
hidden by shadows, and is especially skilled in finding corpses.
Vultures do not mate, being born of their mothers without the
intercession of the male. They live to great ages, sometimes
a century.
Vultures are skilled in the divinationary arts of death and know when and where great battles will occur. Great flocks of them come to the feast, one, it is said, for each man who is to die. I have had occasional communication with a crone of Africa, whose tradition entered the House Ex Miscellania relatively recently. She informs me that her family, as she calls this tradition, are all linked to vultures, reproduce like the vulture does and have its ability to predict death. I know of a similar sisterhood in Hibernia, based around crows, or ravens. In the picture writings of the ancient magi of Egypt's the vulture is the word for "mother". In the far east are people who feed their dead to vultures, believing that it moves their souls to new bodies. Vultures are therefore very useful in fertility magic, but the other implements of such rituals are oft disgusting. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: +3 (+5 vision), Pre: +3, Com:
-2, Str: -1, Stm: 0, Dex: 0, Qik: -1
Magic Might: 10 Size: -3 Free Virtues and Flaws: Divination: Vultures can sense death's approach, and places where large numbers of deaths will occur together. Power: Reveal the Hidden, InIm 20, 0 points: When a vulture's shadow touches a concealed person or animal, then all vultures may see that prey. Personality Traits: Patient +1 Weapon (Talons): Init: +6, Atk: +5, Dfn: +1, Dam: +1 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, -1, -5, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, -1, -5, Incapacitated Abilities:
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Vis: 4 pawns Perdo, wings.
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The water-ouzel, or martineta, is a tiny bird, quail-like, that
sits upon river banks and preys upon small fish. The Irish martineta
is unusual in that aside from its stomach, which is white and
black, it is strikingly green, like a parrot or peacock. They
have the peculiarity that, if killed and stored in a dry place,
they never decay. Moreover, if stored amongst clothes they preserve
them from months and endow them with an agreeable fragrance.
Further, if hung by the beak in a dry place the dead Irish martineta
continues to moult and replace its feathers each year.
This is truly remarkable to the laity, but to magi this is even more important as these feathers contain vis. The bodies of martinetas serve as a currency amongst the magi of the Order, much as vis does, but as portable sources that readily renew they are much more prized and are exchanged only for the rarest and most valuable of services. |
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Characteristics: Cun: 0, Per: 0, Str: -3, Stm: 0, Dex: 0,
Qik: -1
Free Virtues and Flaws:
Size: -3 Defence: +4 Soak: 0 Fatigue: 0 Fatigue Levels: OK, Unconscious Body Levels: OK, Incapacitated
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Vis: 3 pawns of Creo, body. If left unharvested a martineta corpse produces a pawn of Creo vis, in shed feathers, each year.