Griffon

The griffon, also spelled griffin or gryphon, is a mythological cornerstone. A mix (usually) between a lion and an eagle, two apex creatures within their own ecological niche, the griffon has a myriad of real-world mythos associated with it. I could give you real-world historical information on it but this is a Beastfinder entry, not a Wikipedia article.

Statistically, the griffon is a pretty generic creature. It uses hit-and-run tactics with Flying Strafe, which allows it to Fly once (using its massive 60ft fly speed) and Strike twice throughout that movement. It can also serve as an ambush predator with Pounce. At the end of the day, the griffon is an animal. It has low intelligence and fights in order to protect its territory, its young, or in search of a meal. That being said, it generally will lean toward self-preservation in battle, flying out of range of enemies when it grows too wounded to continue.

The griffon is useful for our purposes because of its iconic nature. It's easily recognizable and carries with it the zeitgeist of various historical periods. Because of these attributes, in my opinion, the griffon functions best as the subject of a quest, not the boss monster of an encounter. Poachers collecting griffon eggs, a mated pair needing to be relocated due to a precarious nesting location, that sort of thing. You could take it a step farther, however, and create entire subspecies of griffon based on other feline/bird hybrids. Not that I, uh.

Not that I'd know anyone who would do that.

Hook 1 (Max) - Loyal Steed

At night, a soul-rending shriek of agony can be heard. Upon investigating it, one will find a mighty griffon clad in ornamental armor, bleeding from countless wounds, inflicted by both weapons and magic from the looks of it.

If healed, it will immediately start walking (assuming it cannot yet fly) northward. After a day of travel, anyone following the beast will happen upon a battlefield, though "massacre" might be a more apt descriptor. Dozens of griffons and knights in similar armor lie scattered about, most of them in barely recognizable pieces. The animal cries out in anguish after finding what one could only assume to be its rider. The pained beast looks toward the nearby ruins of an old keep.

Whatever demolished the warriors is there.

Hook 2 (TJ) - Pennycat Problems

The Westway Pennycat is a small griffonoid creature that rules the underbrush of the Galboia Range. The diminutive Pennycat seems to be a cross between a common grouse and the runt of a bobcat litter and is therefore not fit for riding like the Ozun Seahawk would be.

This does not stop enterprising breeders and tamers from seeking them out, however. Pennycats make incredible mousers, and ratcatchers all over Aldunn have begun to use them to clear out local rodent populations.

When a fire broke out at the compound of Huxley Dawndew, the lead pennycat breeder in Westway, he released all of his pennycats so that they could flee the blaze. Now that the fire has died down, he needs help tracking all 473 of them down, as well as finding the source of the fire.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Secrets of Sand

Folk tales among the Nffrach people of the Resspa desert claim that the vigilants - the vulture-hyena griffons of the region - value sea fish over any other food. Of course, for most locals, living hundreds of miles away from the sea means that is a virtually untestable premise.

Travelers from faraway lands will find out that upon offering a vigilant seafood, it will bow down, indicating that the donor should mount them. Curiously, should one accept the offered seat, they will find themselves dropped off at elven ruins surrounding a dried-out oasis deep in the desert, two continents away from the next closest elven settlement known...