Cloud Ray

Cloud rays are among the most majestic of all flying creatures. They do not truly fly; instead, they levitate while propelling themselves with their wing-flaps.

A cloud ray has an enormous, flattened, triangular body that resembles that of an aquatic ray, but on an immensely larger scale. Its vast body is mottled in shades of dark blue and gray, with similar, lighter colors underneath. Along each side of its body is a long, wing-shaped piece of muscular tissue, which it uses for maneuvering and propulsion. Its abdomen tapers into a long, agile tail, called a zip, which is covered with bony spines.

With the possible exception of dragons, cloud rays have no known predators. They typically prey on rocs, pegasi, manticores, hippogriffs, griffons, and other large flying creatures. Cloud rays do not deliberately seek out human prey, but they have been known to devour whole villages when the opportunities presented themselves.

Combat

Most often, a cloud ray attacks simply because it is hungry. It dives on its prey and tries to snatch it up in its 20-foot-wide mouth, then flies off to swallow it.

In melee, a cloud ray can use its Snatch feat, or it can slap a foe with its tail. When it does the latter, the tail moves so fast that it creates a thundrous sound, like the crack of a whip.

Swallow Whole (Ex): A cloud ray can swallow a snatched opponent that is Huge or smaller by making a successful grapple check. The cloud ray, however, has no appreciable stomach. Instead it has a long throat, the whole length of which is equipped with teeth for grinding and tearing food. Its throat empties directly into its intestines, so the ray must chew its food thoroughly to ensure proper digestion. Once inside the ray’s throat, the opponent takes 3d10+22 points of bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage per round from its teeth and muscular contractions. See Swallow Whole for rules for escaping. A cloud ray’s throat has an AC of 20 and 25 hit points and can hold 2 Huge, 8 Large, 32 Medium-size, or 128 Small or smaller creatures.

Levitate (Ex): The cloud ray controls its altitude by generating and manipulating lighter-than-air gases inside its body. This ability enables it to ascend 20 feet per round or, by neutralizing the levitating gases and letting gravity take its course, descend as much as 500 feet per round. In spite of its immense bulk, the ray can pull out of such a dive instantly simply by levitating again.

Protection from Arrows (Su): This ability allows a cloud ray to resist most ranged attacks. It works like a protection from arrows spell (damage reduction 10/magic against ranged weapons), except that the effect cannot be dispelled and it does not discharge after absorbing a certain amount of damage.

Telekinesis (Su): Lacking any sort of hands or paws, the cloud ray instead uses telekinesis to manipulate objects. This ability works like the telekinesis spell (caster level 5th), so the creature can lift or throw 125 pounds.

Skills: Thanks to its coloration, a cloud ray has a +16 racial bonus on Hide checks. When it tires of drifting through the sky, it settles to the ground for rest. Through a combination of telekinesis and moving its great wing-flaps, it covers itself with dust, dirt, rocks, logs, uprooted bushes, and whatever else is nearby. While it is thus camouflaged, its Hide modifier rises to +32. The ray may rest on the ground thus covered for a few hours or a few weeks.

Feats: A creature that is flung by a cloud ray after being snatched travels 100 feet and takes 10d6 points of damage. If the cloud ray is flying, the creature takes this damage or the appropriate falling damage, whichever is greater.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 49. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II.