Better Flyers

Flyers are strange monsters from a DM's perspective. They are equal parts treasure and obstacle. Not only do they make excellent mounts, characters caught in a roc's talons and carried away to its nest may find themselves surrounded by valuable eggs - if only the characters can find a way to return them to the relative safety of civilization.

Flyers

Flyers are fantastical avian creatures, many of which are prized as flying mounts. With the exception of pegasi, all fliers build nests. If a hippogriff, griffin, pheonix, roc, or giant eagle's nest is discovered, there is a 50% chance that a 1-6 eggs or young will be inside.

Monster Type	Number Appearing	Armor Class	Move in Inches	Hit Dice
Pegasi	2-12	6	24 / 48 (flying)	2 + 2
Hippogriffs	2-12	5	18 / 36 (flying)	3 + 1
Phoenix	1-3	4	6 / 48 (flying)	4
Griffon	1-8	3	18 / 36 (flying)	6
Roc or Giant Eagle	1-3	3	6 / 36 (flying)	16

Pegasi
These winged horses have coats of pure white fur and feathers. They are extremely shy and intelligent, making them difficult to capture. Once captured, they are even harder to train: they will serve only  Lawful characters and will only allow themselves to be bridled with gold. A captured pegasus can be sold for 1500 Gold Pieces or 500 Gold Pieces if it is still young.

Hippogriffs
Hippogriffs are winged horses with the head of an eagle and sharp talons. They are similar to pegasi, but much more aggressive and territorial. Instead being shy, hippogriffs are fierce fighters. Like pegasi, they can be trained as flying war horses. A captured hippogriff can be sold for 2000 Gold Pieces and a hippogriff egg is worth 500 Gold Pieces.

Phoenix
Phoenix are beautiful red and gold birds, three times the size of an eagle. They are incredibly intelligent and sensitive to emotion. If slain, a phoenix bursts into flames, which acts fire ball cast by a 6th-level magic-user. Afterwards, its body crumbles to ash, from which a new phoenix will be reborn. Phoenix are especially valuable as songbirds and can be sold for 3000 Gold Pieces if captured, though they will refuse to serve any but a Lawful owner.

Griffons
Griffons are the most prized of all flying steeds. They have the head and wings of an eagle and body of a lion. They are swift, loyal, and fierce. Their favorite food, however, is horse meat. Horses and griffons cannot be mixed without bloodshed. A captured griffon can be sold for 4000 Gold Pieces and a griffon egg is worth 1000 Gold Pieces.

Rocs and Giant Eagles
Rocs (Neutral and Chaotic) and giant eagles (Lawful) are enormous birds, large enough to pray on elephants and lift them up into the air with their gigantic talons. Their young can be captured and tamed as steeds, but adults are almost always hostile and impossible to train. A young roc or giant eagle (up to 6 hit dice) can be sold for 6000 Gold Pieces and a roc egg can be sold for 2000 Gold Pieces. Rocs and giant eagles mortal foes and will attack each other on sight.