Original Life Forms:
- Aves: Lyran Kite (a slender raptor known for precision dives)
- Reptilia: Shardscale Girdled Monitor (a spiny desert lizard)
- Mollusca: Emberglow Octopus (a shallow reef cephalopod with bioluminescent organs)
- Mammalia: Verdant Duskhare (a nocturnal hare with mossy fur and burrowing habits)
Appearance:
The Skyrake Sablethorn is a four-limbed, long-bodied creature with a wedge-shaped head crowned by two backward-curling horns. Its skin is layered with flexible shard-like scales of mottled copper and green. Along the flanks, shifting patches of bioluminescent tissue pulse in dull red when the creature is agitated or courting. Its forelimbs are powerful, taloned and feather-fringed like a raptor’s, while the hindlimbs are long and jointed, adapted for bounding leaps. A prehensile tail ends in a fan of translucent filaments that glow softly at night. A hidden mantle behind the shoulders can unfurl into a gliding membrane, allowing short aerial descents.
Size:
Medium (approx. 4 feet long excluding tail, 2 feet at shoulder, 25–30 lbs)
Speed:
Land: 40 ft
Climb: 30 ft
Glide: up to 60 ft descent per round
Stat Modifiers (Tier 1):
+2 Dexterity (agile movement)
+1 Wisdom (keen senses)
+1 Constitution (resilient scales)
Skills:
Stealth (excellent camouflage and quiet movement)
Acrobatics (bounding leaps, midair adjustments)
Perception (alert, wide field of view)
Survival (locating burrows and edible plants)
Behavior:
The Skyrake Sablethorn is a cautious ambush predator and opportunistic forager. It spends daylight hours hidden under rocky outcrops or in shallow burrows, emerging at dusk to hunt small prey or scavenge. It prefers elevated perches for scanning territory and will glide down upon anything that moves carelessly. During mating season, it uses bioluminescent displays along its tail fan to attract mates.
Diet:
Omnivorous—small rodents, lizards, carrion, tough desert plants, and occasionally the eggs of other creatures.
Emotions:
Displays wary curiosity; easily startled but also highly territorial. Defensive when cornered, it may hiss and flare its membrane before striking.
Environment Where Found:
Arid scrublands and rocky plateaus with scattered caves and ledges. Most common along the Embercrest Ridges and the western fringes of the Silent Barrens.
Tags: Feral, Gliding, Bioluminescent, Ambush Predator, Desert Dweller, Nocturnal, Territorial, Omnivore, Burrowing, Reptilian-Mammalian Hybrid, Arboreal Forager, Scaled Plumage, Silent Hunter, Heat-Adaptive, Burrow Architect, Glide-Assisted Strike, Mossy Camouflage, Clutch Guardian, Crepuscular Activity, Adaptive Physiology
Age:
Average lifespan: 16–20 years in the wild
Maturity reached at 2 years
Breeding prime between 3–10 years
Speed:
Land Speed: 40 ft (bounding gait)
Climb Speed: 30 ft (claws and tail assists)
Glide Speed: up to 60 ft per round on descent (limited to short glides between perches)
Tactics:
- Prefers to scout from elevated vantage points before committing to a hunt.
- Uses camouflage and bioluminescent flickers to confuse or distract prey.
- Will glide silently onto prey from above to maximize surprise.
- In open conflict, circles an opponent, striking rapidly and retreating out of reach.
- If seriously threatened, retreats into tight burrows where larger predators cannot follow.
Actions:
- Glide Pounce: Leap and glide up to 60 ft to land adjacent to a target; if successful, the first attack gains advantage.
- Shardscale Fend: Raises scales and hisses—imposing disadvantage on an attacker’s next melee strike if the creature has not moved this round.
- Tail Dazzle: Waves tail filaments in a quick display; nearby creatures must pass a Will or Wisdom save (depending on system) or suffer brief distraction.
- Burrow Retreat: If adjacent to loose earth or scree, digs rapidly and disappears underground, re-emerging up to 30 ft away on its next turn.
Other Interesting Information:
- The Skyrake Sablethorn’s bioluminescence can be faintly seen through sand at night, revealing hidden burrows if tracked carefully.
- They sometimes cache shiny objects and bones near their dens, leading to local superstitions that they guard buried treasure.
- Their shard-like scales were historically used in amulets believed to ward off desert spirits.
- They are known to mimic low croaks or whistles to lure curious animals within striking range.
- Mated pairs occasionally cooperate, one flushing prey while the other waits in ambush.
A party of adventurers might seek out or stumble upon a Skyrake Sablethorn [713] for several reasons:
- Rare Materials: Its shard-like scales are prized for crafting light armor plates that resist both cutting and heat, while the bioluminescent filaments can be rendered into inks or potions that reveal hidden inscriptions or ward off desert predators.
- Local Superstitions: Folklore claims Skyrakes hoard gemstones and relics in their burrows. Prospectors and treasure hunters may pay adventurers to locate or clear out lairs.
- Ecological Bounty: The Skyrake preys on pests that threaten desert settlements. A village might hire a party to relocate a Skyrake that has grown too bold or aggressive near livestock.
- Ritual Components: Shamans and alchemists believe the creature’s mantle and glands enhance rituals of stealth, transformation, or desert endurance.
- Research and Lore: Naturalists and scholars sometimes commission expeditions to study their mating displays and mimicry abilities, which remain poorly documented.
- Personal Challenge: For some glory-driven adventurers, simply tracking and observing this elusive hybrid is a test of skill and patience worthy of renown.
Harvestable Items and Ingredients from a Skyrake Sablethorn [713]:
- Shardscale Plates:
Thin, glassy scales layered over the back and flanks. When properly cleaned and set in leather or resin, they create lightweight armor plates that resist slashing damage and provide mild heat insulation. - Bioluminescent Tail Filaments:
Delicate, luminous tendrils at the tail tip. Alchemists use them to brew visibility potions (briefly revealing hidden writings or tracks) or inks that glow in darkness for maps and ritual circles. - Mantle Webbing:
The flexible gliding membrane behind the shoulders. When dried and treated, it retains a fraction of its weight-reducing properties. Incorporated into cloaks or belts, it grants minor improvements to jumping or falling safely. - Sablethorn Venom Glands:
Small sacs near the jaw. The secretion is not lethal but causes intense disorientation. Distilled, it can be applied to weapons to induce confusion or dizziness in foes. - Horn Curls:
The backward-sweeping horns are dense and threaded with coppery veining. Artisans carve them into talismans believed to ward off exhaustion or bolster willpower in desert climates. - Camouflage Fur Tufts:
Sparse patches of mossy fur around the limbs and chest. When powdered and mixed into dyes, they produce pigments that help blend clothing into arid or rocky terrain. - Skyrake Heart:
Rarely taken due to difficulty preserving it. Some ritual practitioners believe consuming it grants a temporary affinity with desert spirits, improving endurance and perception during sandstorms.
Glass-Scaled Flicker-Beast and Hunter Whose Name Was Forgotten
In the elder dusk, before sands knew the counting of their own grains, there crept a beast of the copper shardskin and the hidden flame-tail. This beast the ancients named Skyrake Sablethorn, though in the tongue of the older ones it was spoken in four breaths and could not be held inside any single mouth.
It is told, though none can prove with tongue nor carving, that the first hunter of the Waking Edge was born without a name and was given only a copper hook and a dream of hunger. This nameless hunter did pace the brink of the Embercrest where cliffs slept beneath the moons and listened to the sighing of the fissures. There, the hunter spied a drifting flicker like a dying coal, and thought in his empty belly: This I will take, for it glows and must be fat with sweetness.
So he climbed on fingers cracked as the old lakebed and waited through seven leanings of the sun. Each night, the flicker came closer, and each night, the hunter believed it was a spirit sent to test the iron in his breath. On the eighth leaning, the Skyrake unfolded its skin of flight and came aloft with the hush of falling ash. Its tail trailed the dreamlight that no darkness could swallow.
With no word in his throat, the hunter flung the copper hook and struck true into the flank beneath the shardskin. The Skyrake did not cry but shimmered, so that the air grew uncertain, and even the cliff beneath the hunter’s feet forgot its shape. The hunter fell, though he did not know the direction of falling.
When the hunter awoke upon a floor of riddled stone, the beast lay beside him, eyes unblinking and coals dimmed. Around them both lay a ring of glimmering scales and the bones of creatures that had been taken before: swift lizards, slow hares, clever birds. He reached to claim the scales, for they were surely the price of triumph, but when his palm met them, the shards burned his memory from the inside out.
So was the hunter unmade and remade without the story of his own chasing. When he returned to the tribe, no voice could speak his name, and none could say why he came wrapped in gliding skins and crowned in horn curls. He was only the Hunter Whose Name Was Forgotten, and even this was spoken in whispers, for fear the beast’s memory-fires would come unbidden.
And it is further told that the Skyrake Sablethorn rose again from the broken scales, its tail aglow to tempt the next empty belly.
Moral of the Story: Never chase the flickering promise, lest you lose the shape of your own remembering.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Characteristics:
STR 70
CON 60
SIZ 50
DEX 90
INT 35
POW 45
Hit Points: 11
Move: 10
Build: 0
Attacks:
Claw Swipe – 40%, 1d6+1 damage
Bite – 50%, 1d8 damage, target must succeed on a CON roll or be disoriented (-20% to all rolls for 1d4 rounds)
Armor:
Shardscale Plates reduce damage by 2 points per attack
Skills:
Stealth 80%
Listen 70%
Jump 60%
Climb 75%
Special Abilities:
Glide Pounce – May leap and glide up to 20 yards, gaining +20% to next attack roll
Tail Dazzle – Once per encounter, emit bioluminescent flash; targets within 10 yards must make POW vs POW contest or lose next action
Burrow Retreat – May instantly burrow into loose soil, reappearing within 10 yards in 1 round
Sanity Loss:
1/1d4 Sanity points from witnessing its bioluminescent mimicry or unnatural movement
Blades in the Dark
Skyrake Sablethorn
Threat: 2
Description:
A shard-scaled predator with gliding membranes and flickering bioluminescence. Hunts at dusk, highly territorial.
Features:
- Camouflaged Scales: Resists detection (Desperate rolls to spot without preparation)
- Glide Ambush: Engages from above, ignores first obstacle during movement
- Dazzle Display: Can blind or confuse foes momentarily (reduce effect level of opposition action by 1)
Instinct:
To protect its burrow and lure prey with deceptive light
Moves:
- Pounce from a hidden perch
- Retreat into narrow crevices
- Seize shiny or unusual objects to store in lair
Notes:
Engaging directly without preparation usually results in harm or being outmaneuvered.
Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Medium Beast, Neutral
Armor Class: 15 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 45 (6d8+18)
Speed: 40 ft., climb 30 ft., glide 60 ft.
STR 14 (+2)
DEX 18 (+4)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 3 (-4)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 6 (-2)
Skills: Stealth +8, Perception +4, Acrobatics +6
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages: —
Challenge: 3 (700 XP)
Abilities:
Camouflage. Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks in rocky or desert terrain.
Pounce. If the Skyrake moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits with a claw attack, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength save or be knocked prone.
Glide. Reduces fall damage to zero when descending and can glide up to 60 feet horizontally.
Actions:
Multiattack. The Skyrake makes one Bite and one Claw attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Tail Dazzle (Recharge 5–6). Emits a sudden bioluminescent flash. Each creature within 15 ft. that can see must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom save or be blinded until the end of their next turn.
Knave
Skyrake Sablethorn
HD: 4
HP: 20
Armor: 15
Move: 40 ft., Climb 30 ft., Glide 60 ft.
Attacks:
Bite (1d8 damage)
Claw (1d6 damage)
Special:
- Camouflage: Stealth rolls have advantage in rocky/sandy terrain
- Glide Pounce: When dropping onto a target, attacks gain advantage
- Tail Dazzle: Once per fight, blind all within 15 ft. unless they pass a WIL save
- Burrow: Can retreat underground in loose soil as an action, emerging up to 30 ft. away next round
Morale: 8
Treasure: Scales (light armor crafting), bioluminescent glands (valuable to alchemists)
Fate Core
Skyrake Sablethorn
High Concept:
Shard-Scaled Gliding Predator of the Embercrest
Trouble:
Fiercely Territorial When Cornered
Aspects:
- Bioluminescent Lure to Distract and Confuse
- Camouflage in Rock and Sand
- Collector of Shiny Things
Approaches:
Careful +2
Quick +3
Sneaky +4
Forceful +1
Clever +1
Flashy +2
Stunts:
- Glide Pounce: When attacking from above, gain +2 Sneaky to create an advantage.
- Tail Dazzle: Once per scene, spend a Fate Point to blind all nearby opponents for one exchange.
- Shardscale Defense: Gain +2 to defend when resisting melee attacks in its own territory.
Stress:
3 boxes
Consequences:
Mild (2), Moderate (4), Severe (6)
Numenera / Cypher System
Skyrake Sablethorn
Level: 5 (Target Number 15)
Motive: To defend territory and ambush prey
Health: 20
Damage Inflicted: 6 points
Armor: 2
Movement: Short distance on the ground, long distance gliding
Modifications:
Stealth tasks as level 6
Perception as level 6
Speed defense as level 6
Combat:
- Claw Rake: Standard attack, 6 damage
- Bite: Standard attack, 6 damage plus the target must make a Might defense roll or be dazed for one round
- Tail Dazzle (once per combat): All creatures within immediate range must succeed on a Level 5 Intellect defense task or be blinded for one round
Interaction: Cautious unless defending its lair
Use: The Skyrake’s scales are valuable crafting materials, and its glands are sought by alchemists and Aeon Priests.
Loot: Bioluminescent gland (1d6 shins), shardscale plates (worth 2d6 shins), rare tail filaments (special crafting components)
Pathfinder (Second Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Creature 4
Uncommon, Neutral, Medium, Beast
Perception +12; darkvision, scent (imprecise) 30 feet
Languages —
Skills Stealth +13, Acrobatics +11, Survival +9
Str +3, Dex +5, Con +3, Int -2, Wis +2, Cha -1
AC 20
Fort +10, Ref +13, Will +8
HP 60
Speed 40 feet, climb 30 feet, glide 60 feet
Melee [one-action] Bite +13 (agile), Damage 2d8+3 piercing plus Dazzle Venom (DC 19 Fort save or dazzled 1 round)
Melee [one-action] Claw +13 (agile), Damage 2d6+3 slashing
Special Abilities:
Glide Pounce [two-actions]: Stride up to 30 feet and make a Claw Strike; on hit, the target must succeed a DC 19 Reflex save or fall prone.
Tail Dazzle [two-actions] (Visual, Light): The Skyrake emits a bioluminescent flash; all creatures in a 20-foot emanation must succeed at a DC 19 Will save or be blinded until the end of their next turn. Once used, it must wait 1d4 rounds to recharge.
Camouflage: The Skyrake gains a +4 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks in rocky or sandy terrain.
Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Attributes:
Agility d10, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills:
Athletics d8, Fighting d10, Notice d8, Stealth d10, Survival d6
Pace: 8; Climb 6; Glide 12
Parry: 7; Toughness: 8 (2)
Special Abilities:
- Armor +2 (Shardscale Plates)
- Bite: Str+d6 damage
- Claws: Str+d4 damage
- Glide Pounce: If it moves at least 6” before attacking, gains +2 Fighting and damage.
- Tail Dazzle: Once per encounter, creatures in a Medium Burst Template must succeed on a Smarts roll or be Distracted and Vulnerable until their next action.
- Camouflage: +2 Stealth in natural rocky or sandy terrain.
- Burrow: Can burrow Pace 4 through loose soil.
Edges: Acrobat, Quick
Hindrances: Cautious, Greedy (Shiny Objects)
Wild Card: No
Shadowrun (6th Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Type: Critter (Paranormal Animal)
Attributes:
Body 5
Agility 7
Reaction 6
Strength 4
Willpower 3
Logic 1
Intuition 5
Charisma 2
Edge 1
Magic 0
Movement: 12/25 (Ground), 20 (Glide)
Skills:
Perception 6, Sneaking 8, Gymnastics 5, Unarmed Combat 7
Powers:
- Enhanced Senses (Low-Light Vision, Thermographic Vision)
- Natural Camouflage (+2 dice to Sneaking in rocky/sandy terrain)
- Pounce (May leap up to Agility meters and gain +2 dice to attack test)
- Bioluminescent Dazzle (Simple Action, Opposed test Intuition + Willpower vs. Reaction + Willpower; on success, target is Blinded for 1 round)
Armor: 4
Condition Monitor: 10
Notes:
Skyrake scales may be harvested as alchemical reagents worth 500¥ per successful Survival (Tracking) Extended Test.
Starfinder
Skyrake Sablethorn
CR 4
XP 1,200
N Medium Animal
Init +7; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +12
DEFENSE
HP 60
EAC 16; KAC 18
Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +4
Defensive Abilities camouflage (+4 Stealth in natural terrain)
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft., glide 60 ft.
Melee bite +13 (1d8+6 P plus daze)
Melee claw +13 (1d6+6 S)
STATISTICS
Str +3, Dex +5, Con +3, Int -4, Wis +2, Cha -1
Skills Acrobatics +12, Stealth +16, Survival +9
ECOLOGY
Environment arid plains, rocky ridges
Organization solitary or mated pair
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Pounce (Ex): If it moves at least 20 feet before attacking, gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls and the target must succeed a Reflex save DC 15 or be knocked prone.
Bioluminescent Flash (Ex): As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, emits a dazzling flash in a 15-foot radius. All creatures in the area must succeed a DC 15 Will save or be blinded for 1 round.
Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Characteristics:
STR 9 (+1), DEX 12 (+2), END 8 (+1), INT 1 (-2), EDU —, SOC —
Traits:
Natural Weapon (Bite, 2D damage)
Natural Weapon (Claw, 1D damage)
Natural Armor (+2)
Climber (30 ft.)
Glide (60 ft.)
Camouflage (+2 Stealth in rocky terrain)
Pounce (When moving at least 6 m before attack, gains +1D damage)
Bioluminescent Dazzle (As an action, forces END check 8+ or target loses next action)
Skills:
Athletics 2, Stealth 3, Recon 2
Instincts:
Territorial, scavenger tendencies, attracted to reflective objects
Movement: 12 m ground, 18 m glide
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)
Skyrake Sablethorn
Species: Beast
M WS BS S T I Ag Dex Int WP Fel W
4 45 0 40 35 40 60 30 10 30 10 25
Skills:
Athletics +10, Stealth (Rural) +20, Perception +10, Climb +10
Traits:
Armour 1 (Shardscale Plates)
Night Vision
Pounce: If charging more than 6 yards, gains +1 Advantage and target must pass Agility test or be Prone
Territorial
Natural Weapons (Claws and Bite)
Burrow 5 yards per Round
Camouflage: +20 Stealth in desert/rocky terrain
Special:
Tail Dazzle – Once per Encounter as an Action, forces all creatures within 10 yards to pass Average (+20) Cool Test or suffer Blinded Condition for 1 Round
Attacks:
Bite – Damage SB+4
Claws – Damage SB+2
Notes:
Carcasses yield valuable scales and glands worth 10 Silver Shillings per successful Trade (Taxidermy) Test.