Roc's Nest
by John CalvinHavard wrote
What does the lair of a Roc look like? Why would a Roc have built a nest in the central city? A large or Huge Roc can carry off seriously heavy objects to bring back to his nest. Are there remains of thick Roc egg shells scattered about? What happened to the Roc? Did they kill it or had it already abandoned the nest before the Beastmen found it?
Oh! That's a great question. I would say the original rocs probably built that nest shortly after the Great Rain of Fire. It's the tallest location in the area, and it's pretty much in the center of what was a perpetual battle ground (so plenty of carrion to be had). At that point the Blackmoorian base was destroyed and in shambles, and the beastman city hadn't been built up yet. So the city probably grew up underneath the rocs over time, and the rocs just never bothered to move (and no one had the guts to evict them - at least until the Black Roc Wokani come around).
So we are probably looking at one or more generational nesting sites at the top of the tower, and there would definitely be plenty of refuse left by the rocs (probably a really good place to find material components for magic users - which may have drawn the wokani to the tower in the first place). Once they discovered a few of the tower's secrets, the wokani had their claim to fame.
I could see an early Urzud struggling to deal with the rocs in some way. The birds probably picked off a couple of beastmen every day, but what could the beastmen do about it? Once the city really became established they just couldn't leave the rocs up there unchallenged. Maybe Urzud brought together some of its greatest champions to deal with the rocs (and thus... the Black Roc Wokani were born).
EDIT: I also kind of like the idea that Uthorrad's symbol was the Hawk of Andahar, but when the beastmen took over that symbol was replaced by a black roc. So maybe the crest of Urzud is that of a black roc?
Here's a more fleshed out description of area 14:
Roc's Nest
This massive tower connected to the Central Vault once held aloft the sacred Hawk of Andahar, though now the remains of that once majestic onyx icon lie smashed at its base. In its place several dark feathered rocs have taken up residence (from which the tower now receives its name). The inner chambers are the home of the Black Roc Wokani, a secretive society of wokani that terrorize the populace.
The tower itself is massive, and the Hawk of Andahar that once sat atop it was on par with the size of an earthshaker. When the Hawk toppled over, the top of the tower crumbled into ruin and not long after, several black feathered rocs took up residence there. Three nests are visible, built into the tower using tree trunks, the wreckage of caravan wagons, bushes and brush, and whatever else the rocs were able to jam together to form a nest. The largest sits atop the tower in the shattered crenelations that formerly surrounded the base of the Hawk of Andahar. The other two can be seen protruding from large gashes in the tower walls several stories beneath the top nest.
Currently a single mated pair occupies the top nest, and raises a clutch of chicks every few years. The other nests were occupied but have since been cleared by the Black Rock Wokani, who use those entrances to access deeper chambers of the tower. The belief amongst the general populace however, is that the tower holds dozens of the creatures - a belief fostered by the wokani themselves.
On nights of the new moon, each of the Black Roc Wokani takes the form of one of the giant birds and flies into the tower. Once gathered, the wokani try to intimidate, cajole, and threaten one another to resolve any disputes among them, although their gathering has a deeper import as well. Together, before the night is ended, the wokani perform a ritual that binds the rocs above them to their control until the next new moon. Once the ritual is performed they practice their last rite of the night - a ritual challenge. The winner (or loser depending on the perspective of the wokani) must remain in the tower until the next new moon. While there, they are expected to control the rocs and use them to protect the tower from intruders. The benefit of remaining in the tower is that the wokani has plenty of time to study any arcane knowledge and treasure that can be found within.