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Thunderbird

Thunderbird

AX.GHW.13.03.06

Type: Cryptid, Elite

Power Package: Elite (9D)

Veil Risk: High in open terrain, Moderate in wilderness, Thunderbird range is remote enough that encounters outside wilderness areas are unusual; when they occur in accessible terrain the lightning and storm effects generate significant attention

Size: Huge (wingspan 20–30 feet, body comparable to a large bear)
Attributes: Body 4D · Speed 3D · Wit 2D
Talents: Athletics 3D · Notice 2D · Stealth 1D · Survival 1D
Health: 54 (20 + 4 + 15, Elite modifier; Legendary Health for Huge size variant, GM discretion)
Defense: 2 (1 + (3+0)÷3)
Saves: Body 7D · Speed 4D · Wit 3D

Attacks

  • Strike (Primary Action): Body + Athletics vs Defense, 7 damage; target is grabbed and moved up to Near range on a critical (3+ successes)
  • Lightning Discharge (Primary Action, 1×/scene): Speed + Athletics vs Speed Save, 6 damage; all targets in Close range. Metallic objects on targets count as +1 to damage (conducting surface). Triggers Storm Aura (see below).
  • Carry and Drop (Primary Action, requires grappled target): Body + Athletics, no roll to carry; drop from height deals 1 damage per 10 feet of altitude (minimum 4, maximum 10)

Special Abilities

  • Storm Aura: When the Thunderbird uses Lightning Discharge, storm conditions form within Far range, heavy rain, 40-50mph winds, thunder. These conditions persist for 10 minutes after the Discharge. Wind imposes -1D on all ranged attacks; rain imposes -1D on Notice rolls. The storm dissipates naturally.
  • Magnetic Disruption: All electronic devices within Far range of the Thunderbird fail. Unlike the Mothman's aura, this is passive and constant, the Thunderbird's electromagnetic field is always active. Characters navigating to or from a Thunderbird encounter cannot use GPS, phones, or vehicle electronics.
  • Altitude Dominance: The Thunderbird operates at altitude (100+ feet) when not engaging. At this height it is effectively immune to most portable firearms; characters need high-powered rifles with excellent elevation angles to have any chance of hitting. The Thunderbird controls when it descends to attack.
  • Territorial Signaling: The Thunderbird marks its territory (often entire mountain ranges or large wilderness regions) with storm activity. Characters with Lore knowledge can read storm patterns to identify active Thunderbird territory and approximate core nesting areas.

Tactics

The Thunderbird is an apex predator operating at a scale that makes most hunter encounters asymmetric. It descends to strike, carries targets into altitude, discharges lightning when pressed into close engagement, and re-ascends. It is not curious about humans; it is territorial and treats large intrusions (vehicles, helicopters, groups) as threats to be driven off. Smaller intrusions (1–2 people) may simply be ignored.

When forced into sustained engagement (cornered, nesting site threatened, young present), the Thunderbird becomes significantly more dangerous, treat as Champion power budget for defending a nesting site.

Lore & Ecology

Thunderbirds appear across North American indigenous traditions from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains, in varying forms but consistently associated with storm generation and apex predator behavior. They occupy montane wilderness regions, the Rockies, the Appalachians, the Cascades, with established territories that correspond to historical documentation. The BUA maintains no-fly zones in several identified territories under civilian cover as weather research restrictions.

Thunderbirds appear to have long breeding cycles, population estimates suggest fewer than 100 individuals continent-wide, which makes destruction a conservation concern as well as a Veil concern. Network researchers who have studied them argue that Thunderbird encounters should default to deterrence, not destruction.

Destruction/Banishment

Military-grade anti-aircraft weapons or coordinated heavy rifle fire while the Thunderbird is grounded (Body Save damage). Practically impossible to destroy in flight at altitude with field equipment. Standard hidden-world protocol: territory deterrence (leave the area, don't return), deterrence signaling (specific vibrational patterns that mimic departure behavior have been documented in Network field notes). The Thunderbird cannot be banished; it is a biological entity in its native territory.

Scene Materials

Investigation: feathers the size of a human arm, massive talon prints in alpine meadow, storm activity in areas with clear meteorological forecasts, no-fly zone documentation. Terrain: wilderness, mountainous, no civilian infrastructure. Evidence management: storm effects are the primary concern; they are weather-explainable but create documentation.