A swarm of rotting ravens takes awkward flight. Their lifeless eyes staring, their mangy wings rotting, the creatures open their beaks to call but make no sound. Bits of feather and flesh swarm around them, buzzing like flies.
Carrionstorm CR 1
Always NE Tiny undead (swarm)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +2, Spot +7
Defense
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 size)
hp 13 (2d12)
Saves:Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +5
Defensive Abilities: half damage from piercing and slashing;
Immune swarm traits, undead traits
Offense
Spd 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Melee swarm 1d6
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction
Tactics
During Combat A carrionstorm has an unnerving preference for the flesh of humanoids, and while the swarm won’t hesitate to attack other creatures, it generally seeks out humanoid targets before other victims.
Morale Carrionstorms fight to the death.
Statistics
Str 1, Dex 11, Con —, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Base Atk +1; Grp –12
Feats Improved Initiative
Skills Spot +7
SQ pallid bond, vulnerable to turning
Ecology
Environment any near ghouls
Organization solitary, flock (2–4 swarms), or murder (5–12 swarms)
Treasure none
Advancement —
Level Adjustment —
Special Abilities
Distraction (Ex) Any living creature that begins its turn with a carrionstorm in its square must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Pallid Bond (Ex) A carrionstorm never initiates an attack on a creature that openly wears an unholy symbol of The Blood of Vol or is itself undead. If attacked first by such a creature, the carrionstorm’s swarm attack only deals 1d3 points of damage rather than the normal 1d6.
Vulnerable to Turning (Ex) A successful turn undead check against a carrionstorm does not turn the swarm—rather, it destroys many of the individual birds, dealing damage equal to the result of the turning damage roll. A turn undead attempt that would normally result in the target’s destruction destroys the entire swarm.
Where the dead walk, the carrion birds follow. In most cases, birds that feast on the remains of the undead simply grow diseased and die. Yet the flesh of some ghouls has an altogether different effect upon such scavengers, for when they die of the poisoned repast, they do not stay dead for long. Alone, the isolated undead crow or vulture is little more than a hideous mockery, but in rare cases where ghoulish activity is thick, entire flocks of carrion birds can succumb to undeath, retaining their flock mentality yet no longer seeking the flesh of the freshly dead to sate their hunger. Carrionstorms, as these flocks of undead birds are known, find brief respite from their morbid hunger only when their meals are warm and screaming.
Habitat & Society
Carrionstorms are typically found near graveyards, haunted structures, or abandoned villages where ghouls have been active. Many necromancers and cultists of The Blood of Vol have a particular fondness for carrionstorms, and since the birds have a strange respect for the symbol of the lich queen, rookeries of them are often found roosting in the nooks of the goddess of undeath’s macabre cathedrals.
Source: Pathfinder #2 pg 83
