Achaierai

**Achaierais** were a race of foul fowl native to Acheron[2] that were also known to inhabit the Barrens of Doom and Despair[4]

## DescriptionEdit

Achaierais were 15‑foot-tall (4.6‑meter), flightless birds that resembled plump quails and weighed about 750 lb (340 kg).[2][6] They were quadrupeds with stilt-like legs, 8‒9 ft (2.4‒2.7 m) long, that emerged from their underside, ending in wicked talons.[2][3] Withered, rudimentary wings rested either side of the spherical, pony-sized heads that made up their main body.[2][6]

Their crests were almost always bright red but could be of any color, as their soft feathers, varied from dim teal to shadowed gold to burnt russet in their muted hue.[6][3] Their legs were a metallic blue-gray, and along with their claws and beak, shone like burnished metal

## BehaviorEdit

Achaierai were cunning predators with a penchant for torture, and yet a strange sense of justice. They were tribalistic and incredibly organized, seeking vengeance on those they believed wronged their kin and able to devise new, inventive strategies of torment for centuries.[6] In times of crisis however, an achaierai would abandon and even attack their brethren if need be and avoided other members of their kind when weak and vulnerable.[3]

## Abilities

Achaierais could only be killed by striking at their main, vulnerable bodies, but attacking their iron legs could cripple them in battle. A damaged leg would be rendered temporarily useless until the achaierai could recover from its injuries but a powerful swing from an edged weapon could permanently sever their appendages. Injured legs regenerated over the course of one or two days while detached limbs never regrew. Achaierai were just as fast with three legs as they were with four, but their speed halved when missing two and they could only crawl with one.[6][3]

Achaierais could breathe a black cloud of toxic gas three times each day that inflicted any non-achaierai with madness and confusion for three hours. They were naturally resistant to magical effects.[2]

## SocietyEdit

Achaierai were social creatures that formed flocks of 2-8 members, but nonetheless lacked any true society. Weak flock members were cannibalized in times of scarcity and 90% of the time they possessed no leader. Achaierai flock leaders were simply more larger, more powerful members of their kind. Flock gatherings and interactions were common, especially during their random migrations.[6][1]

When an achaierai flock decided to migrate to another cube in Avalas, they attached harnesses to their rust dragons and flew to their destination. Rust dragons displayed a strange affection towards achaierai mimicking that between dogs and humans and when raised by them, learned to tolerate the presence of other members of their kind. Achaierai occasionally gathered and tended to the cocoons of rust dragons and the resulting hatchling would create tunnels in Acheron's black cubes in which the achaierai made their lairs.[6]

On the Material Plane, achaierai and underground races like the drow or svirfneblin mutually exterminated one another. The achaierai devoured the populations and livestock of underground villages, rightfully invoking fear and disgust in the natives.[1]