Design and Play Notes: This creature was created for the short-lived Star Wars Gamer magazine and appeared in various D20 SWRPG books. While warbirds were designed for eras of play much earlier than current Canon, they still have a place in games set in the default times for all 3 major FFG SWRPG lines and The Force Awakens.
For EotE, there’s always another major crimelord (or captain of industry or noble) who will pay Bounty Hunters or Big Game Hunters very handsomely for a new pet. Likewise, scientific institutes or zoos run by the less scrupulous. Heck, the Alliance/Resistance is always on the lookout for new mounts for its Beast Riders. Any of these interests might also need to hire a smuggling crew to get the warbird to its new home…
An F&D party, though, is the most likely to encounter them, since those seeking to learn lost Force lore are by far the most likely to travel to worlds once associated with the Sith and their ancient Jedi nemeses. Warbirds could be on just about any world the Sith ruled, or tried to conquer, especially those with cold mountains, tundra, or similar environments. Subspecies could easily be evolved and adapted to other climes, like temperate/subtropical plains and even jungle. And none of the PCs probably has any clue just how deadly a wild warbird can be…
My take on the Sith Warbird was heavily influenced by the prehistoric real world Terror Birds, the common name for the Family Phorusrhacidae. They are extinct, thankfully, and were considerably smaller than Sith warbirds. Wookieepedia lists warbirds as 6m tall at the shoulder, while Phorusrhacids–the largest terror bird subfamily–only made it to 3.2m. I also repurposed a terror bird image for this article.
Ingame, I gave it a very high Soak, since the skin was so thick and tough, the Sith attached their tack with actual hooks and spikes. I also used a slightly higher Wound threshold than the fambaa, one of the largest and thickest-skinned Beasts with official stats, which is also smaller than the warbird. I don’t like to overload Adversaries with a bunch of separate abilities, so I didn’t create any mechanics to represent their bad tempers. I do recommend GMs spend Despair or multiple Threat on Survival checks to have the creature attack a handler or rider. I was debating whether to add the Terror Bird to the Domestic version’s Abilities list, but decided against it. A GM can always opt to call for a Fear check, if they feel the circumstances call for it.
Xenobiology Notes: This vicious, flightless avian species first evolved on Khar Delba, a frigid Outer Rim world on the fringes of the ancient Sith Empire. The Sith people domesticated them at some point after Naga Sadow annexed Khar Delba, and were using them as artillery mounts from before 6900 BBY to the time of Exar Kuhn. During the following millennia, abandoned and escaped warbirds reverted to the wilds on worlds where they had been imported by Sith infantries.
Like the original wild warbird population, these newly feral avians (and their descendants) feed upon local animals, mostly smaller species, although they are quite capable of taking down much larger prey. Because the Sith wars spread them around, there could be any number of isolated worlds, in addition to Khar Delba, where unfortunate adventurers and seekers of knowledge might run afoul of these large–even larger than fambaa or banthas!–fearsome carnivores.
SITH WARBIRD (Domestic) [Rival]
Characteristics
Brawn 5
Agility 3
Intellect 1
Cunning 2
Willpower 1
Presence 1
Skills: Brawl 2, Perception 2
Abilities
Silhouette 3
Domesticated (Difficulty of training a Warbird is not upgraded)
Trained Mount 1 (Add 1 Boost to a rider’s Survival checks made while mounted on a Warbird)
Soak: 10 Defense (m/r): 0/0 Wound Threshold: 60
Force Rating: 0
Equipment: Trample (Brawl, Damage 10, Critical 4, Engaged range, Knockdown 2, Disorient 1), Rend (Brawl, Damage 5, Critical , Engaged range, Pierce 1)
H-series Megafauna Carriage (Stay on Target) or similar tack.
Optional: Heavy Repeating Blaster (Age of Rebellion), or similar weapon, mounted on tack.
SITH WARBIRD (Feral) [Rival]
Characteristics
Brawn 5
Agility 3
Intellect 1
Cunning 2
Willpower 1
Presence 1
Skills: Brawl 2, Perception 2
Abilities
Silhouette 4
Terror Bird (When a character becomes engaged with a feral warbird, they must make an Average Fear check)
Soak: 10 Defense (m/r): 0/0 Wound Threshold: 60
Force Rating: 0
Equipment: Trample (Brawl, Damage 10, Critical 4, Engaged range, Knockdown 2, Disorient 1), Rend (Brawl, Damage 5, Critical , Engaged range, Pierce 1)
Linda Whitson
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“…Phorusrhacids – the largest terror bird subfamily – only made it to 3.2m.”
ಠ_ಠ
Seriously, though, I don’t think this even remotely qualifies as Sil 4. It’s BIG, sure, but it’s not whale-big.
Silhouette 4 DANG! Great article Linda!
For those who haven’t noticed, the Silhouette is 3 by RAI and it has been fixed.