Giant Condors

Powerful, tempermental, and ominous, giant bald condors are among the biggest birds in existence. Native to the snowcapped peaks of the formidable Alpacan Mountain range, these gargantuan birds of prey stalk the swirling clouds and mist of the Alpacan mountains, defending their territories as they have done for countless generations.

The Alpacan giant condor — or "bald" condor — is one of the largest species of birds in the world. Few people have seen the birds up close, but a conservative estimate places the giant condor at 25 feet in length, with a 65-foot wingspan. One might assume that the condor is ungainly in the air due to its size, but these fowl soar with remarkable speed and agility through the narrow canyons and crevices of the Alpacan range. Able to negotiate the shifting air currents and treacherous updrafts of their mountain home, giant condors seem to know the territory like the back of their wing, rivaling even the best pilots in navigating the Alpacan range.

Giant condors are assumed to be carnivorous, but experts are at a loss in determining whether the birds are predators or scavengers. Solitary creatures, giant condors live lonely, isolated lives among the mountain peaks — they only meet during the mating season, or else by sheer chance. This solitude is actually necessary for survival, as giant condors are highly territorial animals and dislike sharing their hunting grounds with even their own kind. This enmity can become violent as the giant avians may clash high above the canyon floor, locked in fierce combat. Pilots passing through the area are cautioned against flying too close to the mountains, as they may be suddenly attacked by a condor trying to defend its nest.

Certain locals of the region, particularly in the small village of Vicuna, superstitiously regard the condors as "guardian spirits" of the Alpacan mountains. Smarter villagers, particularly merchants, wisely profit off the birds by selling giant condor feathers as fans during the hot summer season — the birds shed these feathers in great abundance during flight. Some individuals, most notably a local troublemaker named El Gato, have managed to tame and ride giant condors. While effective as a form of primitive aerial transportation, the bald condor cannot be fully domesticated and still possesses a certain degree of orneriness.

Left: Local nuisance El Gato, astride a giant condor.

GIANT CONDOR
Type: Huge mountain-dwelling avian DEXTERITY 3D Dodge 4D PERCEPTION 2D Search 5D, sneak: mountain range 5D STRENGTH 5D Special Abilities: Talons: STR+1D+1 damage Beak: STR+2D damage. When a condor attacks an airplane with its beak, a complication results in one of the plane's flight surfaces (roll 1D: 1-2 = rudder, 3-4 = elevator, 5-6 = aileron) becoming jammed, counting as a "controls locked" result. A Difficult aircraft repair or piloting roll will unjam the controls. Move: 5 (walking), 75 (flying) Size: 25 feet long, 65-foot wingspan Orneriness: 3D