Copyright 2009 Wizards of the Coast

Hawks are real world animals, and though they are birds of prey they’re fairly small and don’t usually attack people. For these reasons, 4e doesn’t consider them “monster material”, and this entry focuses on supernatural hawks that can pose a bigger threat to adventurers.

Blood Hawks

As Small Natural Beasts, Blood Hawks are bloody enormous for hawks. They’re also a lot more aggressive than usual, and their claws deal wounds that bleed profusely. This, and their reddish coloration, gives them their name.

A blood hawk is a Level 1 Skirmisher with 27 HP. It has a flight speed of 6, and a ground speed of only 2 (and it’s Clumsy while walking). Its basic attack is a Claw Rake that deals standard physical damage and inflicts 2 ongoing damage (save ends). This ongoing damage raises to 5 if the hawk is bloodied.

The blood hawk can also make Flyby Attacks at will. This follows the standard rules seen in other monsters: it flies its speed, makes a basic attack at any point, and doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving away from the target.

Frost Hawk

A Small Elemental Beast native to certain ice-aspected regions of the Elemental Chaos, the Frost Hawk can also be found in mountaintops and other cold places of the world. It’s a Level 7 Skirmisher with 80 HP, making it a lot more formidable than any mundane hawk. Its flight speed is 8, and its ground speed a clumsy 2. It has Resist Cold 10.

The hawk’s Ice Talons serve as its basic attack, dealing a mix of physical and cold damage. It has the same Flyby Attack as the blood hawk, and it adds a couple elemental powers to its arsenal. Freezing Screech is a Close Blast 3 vs. Fortitude that deals cold damage and slows (save ends). Shattering Strike is a passive trait that make all its attacks deal extra damage against slowed targets.

So a frost hawk is going to start a fight with the Screech, and will then focus its flyby attacks on one of the targets it managed to slow. It pairs really well with controllers and other monsters with the ability to slow enemies.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

In addition to being found in the wild, hawks might also be found in the service of many sapients. Falconry is a real-world sport with roots in the Middle Ages, so of course it’s extensively practiced in the medieval-ish setting of 4e. The sample encounters are:

  • Level 2: 3 blood hawks, 2 bloodseeker drakes, 2 elf archers. A hunting party going after dangerous game?

  • Level 6: 2 frost hawks, 1 orc bloodrager, 1 orc eye of gruumsh. Orcs also know falconry.

I don’t think these supernatural hawks would make for an exciting encounter by themselves, but the falconry angle has promise. Lots of enemies become 20% cooler if you give them a badass hawk friend.