Monster Monday: Riding Hummingbird, the Fast Fey Flying Mount

Today's Monster Monday is the riding hummingbird, a man-sized hummingbird bred and ridden by small fey races because of their incredible speed and maneuverability.  I even made stats for giant hummingbird animal companions for druids, because why not?

Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens), by Mdf, via Wikimedia

There aren't enough flowers in the Prime Material Plane to support these sugar-crazy beasts in the wild, but the fey realms are a different story.  The High Humming Stables of the Seelie Court are well stocked with barrels of sweet nectar from magically enhanced blossoms.  Dashing little scouts ride these magnificent ruby-throated birds in teams of three in the van of the Faerie King's armies.  And every spring, the best hummingbird riders compete in a tournament - a twisting test of speed and maneuverability where riders catch rings with their lances from bird-back along a shifting three-dimensional aerial obstacle course.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.

The man sized hummingbird’s blurred wings give off an overwhelming hum, its iridescent feathers gleaming with a rainbow of colors.

Hummingbird, Riding   CR 2

XP 600

N Medium animal

Init +9; Senses low-light vision; Perception +6

DEFENSE

AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 10 (+5 Dex, +1 dodge)

hp 19 (3d8+6)

Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +3

OFFENSE

Speed 5 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect)

Melee bite +4 (1d6+3)

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 14

Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 19

Feats Dodge, Hover^B, Improved Initiative

Skills Fly +18, Perception +6

ECOLOGY

Environment warm and temperate forests, jungle

Organization solitary

Treasure none

Riding hummingbirds are magically bred by Small fey races as swift and agile aerial mounts.  Like their much smaller cousins, giant hummingbirds beat their wings faster than the eye can see and are able to hover and rotate perfectly in mid-air, and even fly backwards.  Riding hummingbirds require several gallons of sugary nectar per day to maintain their energy levels, making their breeding and maintenance an expensive challenge. 

Giant Hummingbird Companions

Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 5 ft., Fly 100 ft. (perfect); AC +0 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 12; Bonus Feats Hover.

   4^th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Speed 5 ft., Fly 80 ft. (perfect); Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Dex +4

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Thus concludes our first full month of Monster Mondays!  Ideally, I would have written other articles too, but August finds me in a heat induced torpor.  I was barely able to stir myself to write this post; the oppressive heat causes my higher order brain functions to shut down, leaving me little more than a puddle of sweat and misery.  It's not a good situation for this website, nor is it great for my attempts to write my PhD proposal.  I am thinking of installing a liquid nitrogen cooling system in my skull.  Maybe that should be my next Patreon goal.  See you in September, you devious dungeon delvers!

-your hot d20 despot