Tallstrider



A tallstrider, plainstrider, or simply strider is a large flightless bird native to Kalimdor, though they are also found in the Swamp of Sorrows, on Darkmoon Island and in Terokkar Forest.

Most species are to adventurers, but a few are.

Background
According to Halga Bloodeye, tallstriders are gamey, flightless birds with thick skulls. Their brains are no larger than an orc woman's knuckle, and they are too dim to get out of the way of moving carts. She suspects that the quilboar of the Barrens often intentionally frighten flocks of them into the path of Horde caravans just prior to an ambush. A tallstrider's speed on open ground is unrivaled, so predators rely on stealth and pack tactics when hunting them.


 * The largest of the plainstrider birds, the geru striders are few in number and rarely encountered.
 * The vibrant forest strider breed can only be found in the forests of Darkmoon Island. Most of Violet's numerous forest strider hatchlings are turned into Darkmoon Faire fare by Stamp Thunderhorn, though a few are raised as mounts or purchased by adventurers looking for a petite purple pet.
 * The swift shorestrider is a rarity amongst the tallstrider breeds of Kalimdor, but is easily recognized by its pungent dead seaweed aroma.

Notable

 * (removed)

Types

 * Darkmoon Striders are on loan by "Dusty" Brandom for those wishing to quickly arrive at the Darkmoon Faire.
 * A group of Foreststrider Fledglings are found in Darkshore. They are led by the Strider Clutchmother.
 * After the Cataclysm, normal Foreststriders and their giant variation have been removed from the game.


 * Hornbill Strider only spawns when looting the Hornbill Strider Egg inside the cave at the Singing Marshes in the Valley of the Four Winds.
 * Lost Torranches are found in Terokkar Forest, on an island drifting in the twisting nether called Sorrow Wing Point.
 * Plainstriders are found in the Northern Barrens, Southern Barrens, Durotar and Mulgore. They appear in a very wide variation throughout the four zones.
 * Normal, adult and elder variations can be found in Mulgore.
 * Wayward Plainstriders, driven out of their homes by the Cataclysm, can be found in Durotar.
 * Fleeting, Greater and Ornery Plainstriders are found in the Northern Barrens.
 * Towering Plainstriders can be found in the Southern Barrens.
 * Deviate Plainstriders are found near the Wailing Caverns, corrupted by the energies that dwell there.
 * Swampstriders have been added to the Swamp of Sorrows after the Cataclysm.
 * Timberstriders are found on Azuremyst Isle, also appearing in the greater and fledgling variations.

As a battle pet

 * Darkmoon Hatchling can be purchasd from at the Darkmoon Faire at a cost of.
 * Lovebird Hatchling can be purchased from Lovely Merchants at a cost of during Love is in the Air.
 * Mulgore Hatchling can be purchased from at the Argent Tournament at a cost of.

As a hunter pet

 * Rarely seen as a Hunter pet due to their scarcity. Mazzranache, due to his comical flamingo-like appearance, is the most popular of them all.
 * Tauren hunters will start with a Tallstrider pet.
 * In the 2.1 patch, a new breed of tallstrider named Lost Torranche became available on an island south of Terokkar Forest called Sorrow Wing Point. They are level 70 with a purple and green coloration, and are tamable as hunter pets, making the first tallstrider pet available above level 20. As of the Cataclysm, several more striders above level 20 have appeared, though none as high in level as the Lost Torranche.

In the RPG


Tallstriders are large, flightless birds of prey that look to kill anything they can outrun or overpower. They have a pair of muscular legs, and their vestigial wings flutter as they walk. Their thick hairless necks swing about a head ending in a heavy, sharp beak as they hunts for prey. Renowned for their speed, tallstriders are difficult to shake for those trying to flee them. They resemble 6-foot tall ostriches with strong, thick necks and heavy, sharp beaks. Tallstriders are common in Mulgore, Darkshore, the Barrens, and Durotar. Young heroes in these regions hunt these beasts in tests of honor and valor. Tales tell of heroes who attempt to tame tallstriders as mounts or beasts of burden, but these tales are typically humorous ones. If it is possible to domesticate the flightless birds, no one has claimed success at the task.

Tallstriders are tenacious pack hunters. A tallstrider’s main mode of attack is with its beak and talons. It will smash its beak down upon a victim with ruthless efficiency. Tallstriders hunt instinctively in packs. Tallstriders attempt to isolate single members of a pack of prey and run them down. When facing stronger prey, they harry a single victim if possible until, after hours of running, the quarry is most likely exhausted and weak. Tallstriders will attack prey - which includes anything larger than a field mouse - on sight, always fighting to the death. They leap at their opponents while slashing with their claws and stabbing with their beak. If hungry, tallstriders will attack until they or their prey are dead.

RPG species

 * Axe beak
 * Bludgeonbeak
 * Clubnek