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  Have your players wandered off the beaten path yet
  again?  Didn't have time to map out that castle?
  Just open Seven Strongholds™ to find forts, castles,
  and other well-fortified locations, fully detailed and
  ready for insertion into your game world.
  Seven Strongholds is a new book in the Penumbra
  line of D20 supplements from Atlas Games, sched-
  uled for release in late February 2002.  As the title
  suggests, it presents seven ready-made fortresses,
  waiting for you to insert into your campaign world.
  One of the seven locations described is the Perch.
  Keen-eyed birdmen zealously guard this domed lair,
  from which they oppress the area's population of
  “walkers” -- their contemptuous term for flightless
  humanoids. Known as psittae, these birdmen are a
  new species that you can introduce to your world.
  Like all Penumbra™ products, Seven Strongholds
  gives you material adaptable to any fantasy cam-
  paign, whether it be a published setting or a world
  of your own creation.  If you are intrigued by the
  psittae, you don’t even have to wait for the book to
  hit store shelves to add them to your own game
  world — this free preview gives you all you need.
  The Psittae
  Personality
  Intelligent, restless, and high-strung, the psittae
  (pronounced as a buzzing sound followed by a hard
  “i”) may seem distant or even cruel to mammalian
  humanoids. Among their own kind, they are highly
  social, following strict hierarchies of dominance
  and submission. Dominant individuals, who win
  their positions through ritualized combat, enjoy the
  best access to food, shelter, and mating opportuni-
  Atlas Games Presents a Seven Strongholds™ Preview:
  The Psittae
  A NEW D20 SYSTEM™ CHARACTER RACE BY ROBIN D. LAWS
  Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons® Player’s
  Handbook, Third Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast.
  ILLUSTRATION ©2001 BY DAVID INTERDONATO
  
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  ties. Subordinates follow their leaders out of a com-
  bination of fear, respect, and religious obligation.
  Always alert to the niceties of status, psittae are
  quick to take offense, a habit they find hard to drop
  while traveling in the lands of outsiders. Having
  been raised in a culture where all disputes are set-
  tled by the assertion of rank, they often find it hard
  to compromise or negotiate. Psittae are highly
  inquisitive; they believe there is no more satisfying
  way to die than in investigating a mystery.
  Many outsiders incorrectly assume that these
  humanoid birds suffer from claustrophobia. In fact,
  they’re more than comfortable in caves, which
  many psittae colonies use as homes. Fiercely terri-
  torial, they eagerly make war with other psittae
  groups who encroach on their feeding grounds or
  nesting areas.
  Contrary to the niceties of most intelligent cultures,
  psittae feel no sense of shame in relation to their
  own excrement, and are not revolted by the smell of
  their own ordure. Layers of the whitish guano typi-
  cally coat the flooring of a psittae colony. (They
  might feel differently if they had to walk on the
  slimy, slippery stuff, but they perch high above it.)
  A psitta among other humanoids has to train him-
  self not to empty his bowels with unthinking aban-
  don. It is not physically difficult for them to use
  latrines or chamberpots, though many have diffi-
  culty remembering to do so, especially when tired
  or nervous.
  Physical Description
  Psittae are winged, feathered humanoids, with
  large, rounded heads and big beaks that are both
  hooked and curved. Various groups display different
  colors of bright plumage, from eye-popping crimson
  to vivid cerulean. The first and fourth toes of their
  scaly gray bird’s feet are turned backwards. They’re
  slim of build but tall, with an average height of 5’
  11” for both male and female individuals. Psittae
  who survive to adulthood live, on average, to the age
  of 130 years. Although a few eccentrics may don
  clothes, most psittae are loath to hide the splendor
  of their plumage with mere rags. Psittae bones are
  pitted with air pockets, lightening their skeletons so
  that it’s easier for them to take flight. Consequently,
  they’re more susceptible to bludgeoning weapons
  than are mammalian humanoids.
  Females lay eggs and do not nurse their young, so
  they lack mammalian breasts. Unlike many bird
  species, both the males and females are elaborate-
  ly plumed.
  Relations
  Psittae lump all of the major humanoid races into
  the same category, perceiving little difference
  between them. They refer to them with an insulting
  psittan word that translates as “featherless.” While
  world-wise psittae are probably more enlightened,
  individuals who spend their whole lives among
  their own kind tend to look on the flightless as
  pathetic and easily exploitable. 
  Alignment
  With their hierarchical social structure, respect for
  the law is bred into a psittan’s aerated bones.
  Although often labeled as evil by outsiders, they’re
  more accurately described as indifferent to the wel-
  fare of creatures outside their colony structures.
  Even otherwise chaotic psittae usually follow the
  rules of the hierarchy, though they may be free-
  dom-loving and unpredictable in other ways.
  Psittan Lands
  In most realms, psittae are rare creatures who con-
  gregate only in colonies of a hundred or fewer indi-
  viduals. A single colony may claim a territory of
  several thousand acres, maintaining its boundaries
  with regular aerial patrols. Other humanoids who
  do not threaten the colony may be allowed to live in
  psittan territory in relative peace, though they’ll
  either have to pay tribute or suffer periodic raids
  from above. Psittae have been unable to transcend
  their habit of making war on rival colonies, pre-
  venting the development of larger political struc-
  tures like kingdoms. (GMs may, of course, choose to
  create exceptional places where psittae have made
  this leap to larger communities.)
  Religion
  Psittae recognize an extensive pantheon of deities
  led by the distant and impersonal Ch’gatibal the
  Lawmaker, a father figure too aloof and dignified to
  accept prayer or communicate with worshipers.
  Instead, most psittae direct their worship to his
  daughter, Ch’sunuskam the Clever, a trickster and
  explorer who gets into trouble but finds useful
  
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  things, like fire and the secret of breaking coconuts.
  Other deities include Ch’habugja Black-Robe, who
  sternly 
  enforces 
  Ch’gatibal’s 
  laws, 
  and 
  is
  Ch’sunuskam’s nemesis; Ch’jahnisi the Provider,
  who seeds the earth with the food psittae forage for;
  and Ch’niththaim Taker-In-The-Night, the forbid-
  ding goddess of death and the underworld.
  Language
  Psittan tongues and beaks are capable of producing
  a much wider range of sounds than mammalian
  humanoids, so their language is peppered with
  squawks, clicks, and mimicked sounds beings of
  other species find utterly impossible to recreate.
  Fortunately, they have no such problems with other
  languages, often learning Common to more pre-
  cisely specify to local humanoids the detailed
  nature of the tribute they demand.
  Names
  Psittan names are polysyllabic, knotted with diffi-
  cult consonant combinations, and invariably pro-
  ceeded by a shrieking noise best approximated with
  the prefix Ch’. Examples include Ch’thabugj,
  Ch’ailmaihlkin, Ch’hausthun, Ch’arabair, Ch’un-
  garnjthun, and Ch’lonsfriggei.
  Adventurers
  Psittan adventurers fall into two categories. Some
  are outcasts or eccentrics who have fled their home
  colonies to avoid a dominance duel, or after losing
  one. Others go out into the world as a sort of pil-
  grimage in tribute to the holy wanderings of
  Ch’sunuskam the Clever. They hope to return to
  their colonies one day, with the useful knowledge
  and magic they’ve acquired on their journeys.
  Their discoveries will allow them to challenge their
  colony leaders and send them shrieking from their
  perches. Some psittan adventurers develop an
  affection for the featherless and their ways, never
  returning to their homes.
  Psittae Racial Traits
  Ability 
  Modifiers: 
  +2 
  Intelligence, 
  –2
  Constitution
  Size: Medium 
  Base Speed: 20 feet, fly 45 feet (poor)
  Flight (Ex): Psittae have large, feathered wings and
  can fly, provided they begin by dropping from a
  height; for example, from a cliff face or tall tree.
  They can’t simply rise into the air, even with a run-
  ning start, so their flight is more limited than that
  provided by the fly spell. They’ll almost never find
  good flying opportunities in the typical under-
  ground environment. Psittae cannot take flight
  while carrying a heavy load; while carrying a medi-
  um load, they can do so only by making a DC 20
  Strength check. A failed check means that the char-
  acter plummets to the ground, taking falling dam-
  age. Psittae wearing armor over medium weight
  cannot fly, but speed penalties for lighter armor
  don’t apply to their flight speed. Special abilities
  such as the barbarian’s Fast Movement do not
  affect the flying speed of a psitta character.
  Awkward Winged (Ex): Because they have
  evolved arms as well as wings, psittae can’t fold
  their wings down against their bodies as neatly as
  can ordinary birds. Even with wings folded down as
  far as they’ll go, psittae need five feet of clearance to
  move comfortably down a passageway or corridor.
  Any passageway less than three feet across is
  impassable to a psitta.
  Attack From Above (Ex): When entering combat
  against an opponent who is not in flight, a psittan’s
  threat range for critical hit purposes increases by 1
  for each previous round spent in the air, to a maxi-
  mum of 3. The psittan must have been traveling in
  a more-or-less straight line through the air: diving
  or swooping are acceptable, but not circling.
  The psittae have also learned to use their melee
  weapons in emulation of a claw attack during a dive
  attack: they get double damage with handheld
  weapons whenever they can swoop in from thirty
  feet (as a charge), but can’t combine a critical and
  the dive attack damage.
  Mimicry: Any psittae can purchase the Mimicry
  skill (see page 4) as a class skill.
  Beak Attack (Ex): Unarmed attack damage 1d6;
  this is standard damage, not subdual, and has a
  critical x2 despite being a natural weapon.
  Nonstandard Feet (Ex): Psittae can’t wear boots,
  including magical ones.
  Lightweight Bones (Ex): When suffering a critical
  hit from a bludgeoning weapon, the damage multi-
  plier of the weapon is increased by 1 — for exam-
  
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  ple, a light mace critical is not x2, but x3. 
  Racial Modifiers: +2 racial bonus on Climb
  checks on natural surfaces, like cliffs and trees; –2
  racial penalty on all Diplomacy checks.
  Automatic Languages: Common and Psittan
  Bonus Languages: None
  Favored Class: Barbarian
  The Psittan
  Pantheon
  Ch’sunuskam the Clever
  Alignment: Lawful Neutral
  Domains: Knowledge, Trickery, Luck
  Typical Worshipers: Any psitta
  Ch’sunuskam is the psittan hero who tricked the
  older gods into bringing them the vital gifts of civi-
  lization, including fire, speech, and the secrets of
  dome-making. The myths depict her as a carefree
  wayfarer whose curiosity gets her into trouble, and
  whose ingenuity gets her back out of it again. She is
  a patron to blacksmiths and an encourager of trou-
  blemakers.
  Ch’sunuskam is depicted as a bright-eyed, colorfully
  feathered psitta, always in a dynamic pose. Her sym-
  bol is an anvil; her favored weapon is the longspear.
  Ch’habugja Black-Robe
  Alignment: Lawful Neutral
  Domains: Law, Protection, War
  Typical Worshipers: Fighters and rangers
  The enigmatic Ch’habugia Black-Robe is the war-
  maker of the gods. He is celebrated for slaying the
  ancestral foes of the psittan gods, including Kwa-
  thaa the Undulating Serpent and G’gobi Egg-
  Stealer. In many stories, he either captures and
  punishes Ch’sunuskam the Clever, or is fooled by
  her, depending on who tells the tale.
  He is depicted as a stern-looking psitta covered in a
  mantle of black feathers. His symbol is a feathered
  fist; his favored weapon, the longbow.
  Ch’jahnisi the Provider
  Alignment: Lawful Good
  Domains: Good, Magic, Plant
  Typical Worshipers: Paladins, foragers and
  crazy idealists
  The merciful Ch’jahnisi seeds the earth with fruit
  and nut plants for psittae to glean from. She is
  noted for her forgiving nature, which sometimes
  NEW SKILL:
  Mimicry (Int,
  Trained Only)
  Use this skill to imitate sounds: you can dupli-
  cate specific voices or realistically copy noises.
  If you also allot a rank of the Perform skill to
  the task, you can entertain others with amus-
  ing vocal impressions of people they know.
  Mimicry of animal cries or other natural
  sounds can be used to signal your compatriots
  without alerting sentries. You can also use
  these imitations in hunting, to attract beasts of
  the wild.
  Checks: Use the difficulties below when your
  artifice is showing; that is, you’re not trying to
  fool people as to the origin of the noise, but just
  show them how good you are at mimicking a
  sound. When you seek to deceive, make an
  opposed check against the target’s Listen skill.
  DC
  Attempted Sound
  10
  The cry of an ordinary animal
  13
  Speech with a specific foreign accent
  20
  Imitating a particular individual’s
  speech
  23
  The cry of a monster or exotic beast
  25
  A noise or sound effect: a breaking
  dish, howling wind, the scraping of a
  sword on whetstone
  Retries: These are generally not possible;
  once you’ve broken the illusion, you can’t
  recapture it.
  This is a class skill for bards, rangers, and
  rogues.
  
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  angers the other gods or leads to trouble, as in the
  story in which she takes pity on G’gobi Egg-Stealer
  and brings him back from the dead. 
  Ch’jahnisi the Provider is shown as a large psittan
  female with a fringe of white feathers around her
  neck. Her symbol is the papaya, and her favored
  weapon is the net.
  Ch’niththaim
  Taker-In-The-Night
  Alignment: Lawful Neutral
  Domains: Death, Destruction, Earth
  Typical Worshipers: Barbarians and fighters
  Although Ch’niththaim Taker-In-The-Night is gen-
  erally loathed and feared by ordinary psittae, she is
  not so much an enemy of the gods as a terrible rel-
  ative whose presence must be suffered. Her dread
  laugh rattling around her dry and dusty throat, she
  sweeps the souls of the slain off to the loamy under-
  world, meting out the judgements that determine
  one’s eternal perch in the great celestial dome.
  Some fighters and barbarians dedicate themselves
  to her grim cause, ensuring that their fellows may
  fear, but never love, them.
  Ch’niththaim appears as a skull-faced psitta with
  only a few ragged feathers dangling from her
  spindly frame. To make her symbol, string a dozen
  songbird skulls on a circular wire frame. Like most
  psittan deities, she favors the longspear.
  Ch’gatibal the Lawmaker
  Alignment: Lawful Neutral
  Domains: None
  Typical Worshipers: No direct worshipers
  The distant patriarch of the psittan gods is not
  directly worshiped, has no priests, and does not
  deign to provide magic or guidance to those foolish
  enough to seek these from him. 
  Unlike the other members of the pantheon, he is
  not depicted as an anthropomorphic figure;
  instead, he appears as a stylized sun. If he had a
  favored weapon, it would be the longspear.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Nyambe/Nyambe - The Psittae.pdf