Avoral

As a rule, the neutral good agathions are vastly more likely to be PCs’ allies rather than their antagonists—unlike archons, they’re less likely to be provoked by lawless behavior; unlike azatas, they don’t feel compelled to pursue their own agendas out of sheer iconoclasm and willfulness.  But the right set of circumstances could still find them crossing swords with adventuring parties, avorals included.  After all, avorals are the scouts of the agathions, and scouts are known for landing in trouble...

The Red Crane Clan has a heavenly sponsor in a crane-winged avoral, whose friendship with the clan’s founder helped inspire the family totem.  Sadly, in the last decade Red Crane samurai’s have become corrupted by their love of indolence, luxury, and peasant tax revenues. Still, the avoral will feel honor-bound to defend than clan’s holdings, unless PCs can present concrete proof of the samurais’ wrongdoings.

A god has been murdered.  A squad of avorals finds a party of sellswords holding the blade.  The adventurers must defeat the avorals, escape, and solve the murder before the wrath of the Blessed Planes comes down upon them.

An avoral claims to be a messenger sent back from the future.  But in order to avert the coming calamity, he is determined to kill a sorceress—with lightning bolts and empowered magic missiles if he can, or with claws if he has to.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 2 16

I try never to diss Paizo’s art choices—usually there’s no need—but does that particular avoral in the Bestiary look like an angry turkey to you?

I chose the Red Crane name to differentiate it from the Legend of the Five Rings’ Crane Clan.  Credit where credit is due: WotC’s LotFR take on Oriental Adventures was fantastic, and I just (and by just I mean 4/16/12, since this post is months late) got AEG’s Rokugan Campaign Setting in the mail.