Carrionstorm

Bits of feather and flesh buzz around this swarm of rotting ravens like flies, countless lifeless eyes staring out from the chaos.

Carrionstorm (CR 1)

Tiny Undead (Swarm)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +4
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet; Perception +6

Speed: 10 feet, Fly 40 feet (good)
Space: 10 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 12, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 size, +0 natural)
Hit Points: 11 (2d8+2)
Saving Throws: Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +5
swarm traits
Immunity: undead traits
Weaknesses: vulnerability to channeled energy

Offense

Melee: swarm (1d6 plus distraction)
Reach: 0 feet

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
1 (-5)	11 (+0)	-	2 (-4)	14 (+2)	13 (+1)

Base Attack Bonus: +1
CMB -1
CMD 4 (can't be tripped)

Feats: Improved Initiative

Skills: Fly +12, Perception +6

Languages:

Special Qualities: pallid bond

Special Abilities

Pallid Bond (Ex)

A carrionstorm never initiates an attack on a creature that openly wears a symbol of Urgathoa or that is itself undead. If attacked first by such a creature, the carrionstorm's swarm attack deals only 1d3 points of damage to that creature rather than the usual 1d6 points.

Vulnerable to Channeled Energy (Ex)

A carrionstorm takes 150% as much damage as normal from channeled positive energy.

Ecology

Environment: Any Near Ghouls
Organization: solitary, flock (2-4 swarms), or murder (5-12 swarms) Languages Necril
Treasure: none


Where the dead walk, the carrion birds follow. In most cases, the unfortunate birds that feast on the remains of fallen undead creatures simply grow diseased and die. Yet the flesh of some ghouls has an altogether different effect upon such scavengers, and when they die of the poisoned repast, they do not stay dead for long. Alone, an undead crow or vulture is little more than a hideous mockery, but in rare cases where ghoulish activity is thick, entire colonies 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 called, find brief respite from their morbid hunger only when their meals are warm and screaming. Carrionstorms are typically found near graveyards, haunted structures, or abandoned villages where ghouls have been active. Many necromancers and cultists of Urgathoa have a particular fondness for carrionstorms, and since the birds have a strange respect for the symbol of the Pallid Princess, rookeries of them are often found roosting in the nooks of the goddess of undeath's macabre cathedrals.

Although the individual undead birds that make up a carrionstorm are little more intelligent than they were in life, as a whole, a carrionstorm forms a rudimentary hive mind that grants its members a slight bit more intellect than the typical bird. This not only allows the undead birds to utilize basic tactics, but allows rudimentary speech as well. Most carrionstorms understand a few dozen words in Necril, the language of the dead, and the sound of thousands of these undead carrion birds croaking out strange words can be truly unsettling to those who aren't prepared for the horror.

This same hive mind allows necromancers to treat an entire carrionstorm as a single undead creature with regard to the effects of spells like command undead and control undead, or feats like Command Undead. The swarms make excellent scouts, and even better threats against small towns and superstitious communities.