Mantarri (Flying Snow Ray)

A quiet animal, long the source of legends in the spirelands. Appear as a large white winged, flying snow ray.

Mantarri                                                                        CR 5
N Large Animal
Init +3 Senses Low-light vision; Perception +6

 DEFENSE

AC 20 touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dex, +8 natural, -1 size)
hp 52hp (7d8+21 con)
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +2
Resist Cold 10 (+6 on ice or cold saving throws)

 OFFENSE

Speed Crawl 20 ft., Fly 50 (Good)
Melee Headbutt +10 (1d10+5), Tail Slap +7 (1d6+3)
Special Attack: Double damage from headbutt dive of 40 or more feet

 STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base Atk +5 CMB +11 CMD 24
Feats Flyby Attack, Evasion, Wing-Over & Power Attack
Skills +15 Fly , +10 Survival, +6 Perception

 ECOLOGY

Environment  Spirelands or Cloud Islands
Organization  Solitary, Pair or Flock (4-16)    
Treasure Value none
Advancement 8-15 HD (Large)

A large flying manta ray, has light brown and white fur with a long, near-prehensile tail. Their wings range out between 12 to 20 feet wide. They can carry one large creature on their backs or up to 400 pounds of weight (flight speed reduced to 30 ft.)

While a Pegasi or Hippogrif are the preferred flying steed for the Spires, a Mantarri is a bit more common in the hinterlands. They can be fairly easily caught and trained; most are very loyal to their owners or trainers.

Most reside on the cloud isles, eating vegetation and avoiding contact with almost everything. A few fly down to feed on shrum in the Balashi's (snow whale) trail. Mantarri are peaceful creatures, and can be convinced to take others for a ride. Elven rangers have long used these animals when travelling in the cloud isles or most dangerous spires..

They cannot speak but many understand simple command phrases, similar to a dog or horse's tricks. They communicate with each other via high pitched clicks, inaudible to most humanoid creatures, but they can hear each other up to five miles away. While they can be spurred on by a trusted rider, they naturally flee from almost every encounter simply because they can. A few evil creatures will charm these rays to travel or transport goods. Some phaetox towns herd the mantarri to collect and gather their furs.

Combat
Mantarri begin by either charging their opponents or if possible diving. They have natural evasion, as they can always counter attack an enemy behind them with their tail slap.