Pouakai

Huge monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)

Hit Points 119 (14d12 + 28)

Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft.

STR 20 (+5) · DEX 17 (+3) · CON 15 (+2) · INT 6 (−2) · WIS 15 (+2) · CHA 8 (−1)

Saving Throws Dex +6, Wis +5

Skills Perception +7, Stealth +6

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical ranged attacks

Condition Immunities frightened while flying

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 17

Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Traits

Keen Sight. The pouākai has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Massive Predator. The pouākai can carry (or grapple) one Medium or two Small or smaller creatures without its speed being reduced.

Shadow-Casting Dive. If the pouākai moves at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a Talon attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 10 (3d6) slashing damage and must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn.

Actions

Multiattack. The pouākai makes two attacks: one with its Beak and one with its Talons.

Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage.

Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the pouākai can’t use its Talons on another target.

Crushing Rend (Recharge 5–6). The pouākai beats its prey against the ground. Each creature grappled by the pouākai must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. A creature that fails the save is also stunned until the end of its next turn.

Bonus Actions

Take to the Sky. If the pouākai isn’t in sunlight and doesn’t have a creature grappled, it may move up to half its fly speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Reactions

Wing Buffet. When a Large or smaller creature the pouākai can see ends its movement within 5 feet of it, the pouākai beats its wings. The creature must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone.

Lore

A gigantic predatory bird said to carry people off to its nest.

Pouakai is one of the few mythological creatures in the world whose existence was later confirmed by paleontological finds. In other words, the legend of this monster is rooted in real ecological and historical facts, casting Pouakai as a fearsome beast that truly lived.

The primary name, Pouakai, translates from Māori as “Old Glutton” or “Devastator.” For a long time the scientific world dismissed Māori tales of a giant man-eating bird as pure fantasy, since there was no proof beyond the spoken word. However, when the bird’s remains were discovered in 1871 and subsequently described by Julius von Haast, European scholars were forced to admit that the Māori accounts were accurate.

From Oceanian Bestiary 5E, p. 72 · Fern Flower Press