Roc or Rukh (Rocs)

[The Archivist]

Rocs are one of the monsters found in OD&D.





Roc or Rukh, the mythological bird of Arabia that could carry an elephant in its claws to a great height and then drop it kill and eat it. Wingspan of 40 paces or about 75 feet. Other larger sizes are also postulated.


bradman8715.tripod.com/legend

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc_(mythology)

www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Roc

www.unknownexplorers.com/roc.php

www.kreolmagazine.com/arts-culture/history-and-culture/unraveling-the-myth-of-the-roc/

www.mythologydictionary.com/roc-mythology.html

www.draconika.com/legends/roc.php

abookofcreatures.com/2015/10/23/rukh/

[The Archivist]

These are of course already present in D&D, suggested as double or triple size versions of the 'small' Rocs listed in vol. II (which are supposed to represent Tolkein's eagles). That would give them 12 to 18 HD, other stats (AC, Move, etc.) presumably remaining the same. Can we assume that the two-headed Roc in the movie of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad is wholly a product of Ray Harryhausen's imagination and doesn't represent anything from actual mythology?





I included them here for completeness and also for consideration of any changes or variations anyone might want to suggest. As for the two-headed Roc I have found no reference that does not lead back to Ray Harryhausen, although that does not bar us from including them if we are so inclined.

[Morose]

Rocs and Sinbad the Sailor, love those Harryhasuen movies. Wish they were making movies like that now. Ray Harryhausen, is who should have made the D&D movies, they would all have been awesome. Wish he could have made a dozen of them in the 1970s. They would be the Classics.