Dire Raven

Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 2d8+2 (12 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares), fly 70 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 16 (+4 Dex, +2 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+0
Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6-1)
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d6-1) and 2 claws +0 melee (1d3-1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Eye gouge
Special Qualities: Evasion, low-light vision, resistance to disease
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +4
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Spot +8, Tumble +6
Feats: Flyby Attack, Weapon Finesse (B)
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary, pair, or flock (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 3-6 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —

A raven as big as a small human.

Dire ravens have the same habits and diet as normal-sized carrion crows and ravens. Like their smaller
cousins, these scavenger birds are remarkably intelligent animals. A young dire raven can be tamed and
taught tricks. In the wild, dire ravens sometimes learn cunning stratagems to find food or deceive
predators.

Dire ravens show little fear of humanoids. They normally only fight if they feel their lives or nests are
endangered. However, a hungry enough flock might try to kill and eat man-sized creatures.

Dire ravens are about 5 feet long and have wingspans of about 10 feet.

COMBAT
Dire ravens tend to strike at their opponents' eyes, attempting to blind them. They usually fly away as
soon as a battle turns against them.

Eye Gouge (Ex): If a dire raven scores a critical hit with its bite attack, the target must succeed on a DC 15
Reflex save or lose the sight in one eye, becoming permanently dazzled (or blinded if they lose the use of
all its eyes). A remove blindness/deafness spell can heal the injury. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Resistant to Disease (Ex): A dire raven has a cast-iron stomach. It has a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves to
resist normal diseases, but not supernatural or magical diseases such as mummy rot.

Skills: A dire raven has a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.