Day Ten -- Ardes, the marshstalkers

Day Ten of 30 Monsters in 30 Days.

I haven't been posting much of the background for the monsters I've been generating, so here's a brief rundown of what the random rolls resulted in and what the monster ended up being: Beast, heron, human head or face, stalking predator,

# encountered: 1d12
% in Lair: 45%
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90' (30')
           Flying: 120' (40')Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: Beak 
Damage: 1d6
Save: F2
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: XX
XP: 20

Ardes are large, ill-tempered heron-like creatures with the elongated faces of Men that taper to a sharp beak. They stand about eight feet tall, but as birds are relatively light and fragile. They stalk the waters of marshes and swamps, subsisting mostly on fish, eels and small mammals but delighting in the flesh of Man if any are foolish enough to wander into their territories.

They possess the ability to stand stock-still, surprising on a roll of 1-4 in 6, and attack with lightning fast beak attacks, gaining a +1 bonus to all initiative rolls. Ardes have the ability of flight, but are slow, clumsy fliers, and rarely take to the skies unless absolutely necessary. 

They have roughly the intelligence of an average Man, and communicate via a croaking language that can be understood by the frog-folk, whom they often live in close proximity to them. There's a 1 in 20 chance that an ardes will have the spellcasting capabilities of a 1d4+1 level cleric, worshipping an obscure avian swamp god.

They collect shiny trinkets and baubles; any treasure they possess can often be found woven into their massive nests.

Lair Encounter

Deep in a marsh dwells a sedge of 5 ardes, their nests located on a small hillock rising out of the marsh. They keep a close eye on their surrounds, and any intruders are stalked. If the ardes judge them to be too great a threat they will stay hidden amongst the reeds; otherwise the massive birds will attempt to pick off those that look weak or are stragglers.

They possess a relatively large hoard: 11,000 copper coins, 4,000 gold coins, and 6 emeralds, each worth 1,000 gold. All of this treasure can be found in the three nests that comprise their lair. In addition, a moldering corpse half submerged in the marsh on the slopes of the hillock is wearing a suit of chain mail +1 and wearing waterlogged boots of levitation. The body will only be found on a roll of 1-4 in 6, as it is partially buried in the mud, and only if the entire island is searched.