Fantasy Monster: Quaff-Bird

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Quaff-Bird

A grotesque-looking bird, with a bulbous body, two pairs of partly feathered, partly membranous wings, membranous gular sac, long tube-like beak and even longer tongue.

CR 1/2 200 XP

N Tiny Magical Beast

Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, detect potions 60 ft.; Perception +5

Defense

AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 size)

hp 6 (1d10+1)

Fort +3; Ref +3; Will +1

Defensive Abilities evasion

Offense
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft. (perfect)

Melee bite +4 (1d3)

Ranged spit potion +4 touch (potion effects)

Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft. (5 ft. with steal maneuver)

Special Attack sip potion

Statistics
Str 1, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 3, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +1; CMB +0 (+4 steal); CMD 5

Feats Weapon Finesse

Skills Fly +13, Perception +5, Stealth +9

Languages they can learn how to repeat (and even possibly understand) single words or very short sentences in various languages, but seem to be unable to grasp any more complex grammar beyond repeating learned phrases

Ecology
Environment temperate or warm forests, ruins, and underground
Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3–10)
Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Detect Potion (Su) A quaff-bird can sense presence of magical potions within 60 feet range as if it had a constant detect magic spell in effect. This sense can be fooled with other magical liquids, magical potions, and some liquid magical components.

Sip Potion (Su) A quaff-bird can consume a single potion as a standard action. Alternatively, it can attempt a steal maneuver against a creature holding a potion or carrying it in easily accessible location (such as bandolier, belt pouch, etc.) as a standard action without provoking attacks of opportunity. On a successful CMB check it sips the contents of a single potion. The consumed potion is stored within the quaff-bird sack and slowly digested over a number of hours equal to the consumed potion's caster level without triggering its effect. A quaff-bird can hold a single potion in its gular sac. It can deliberately trigger the consumed potion as a swift action gaining its benefits or spit it on another creature within 10 feet as a standard action with a successful ranged touch attack if it decides so—quaff-birds seem to understand the general function of consumed potions intuitively as if they succeeded Perception check to identify their effects.

Quaff-birds normally feed on honey, plant sap, overripe fruits, and various insects, but they grow agitated and gluttonous when they come into presence of magical potions, which they will try to consume fervently, making them annoying pests to alchemists, potion brewers, and adventurers.

A fresh corpse of quaff-bird that consumed a potion but hadn't digested or used up the potion yet, can be used as a substitute component for a prepared or known spell when creating a magic item.

Some guardsmen keep quaff-birds to look for contraband potions, while less scrupulous individuals butcher them and use their potion-infused carcasses while creating magic items.

A quaff-bird can be selected as an improved familiar (requires caster level 3).