"To witness a Great Stag is not to see a mere beast, but instead to glimpse the very heart of a forest given form and come alive before your eyes."
- —Bonnaudo, famed Bretonnian Explorer
A Great Stag of the forest
Great Stags are magical beasts that are closely connected to the most ancient of forests. It is said that when a Great Stag emerges from its dark arboreal shelter, great deeds are at hand. Thus, in a great many lands, the appearance of a Great Stag is thought to signal the onset of portentous times. This has led many an unscrupulous wizard to bind a Great Stag to their will purely as a means of gathering wealth and support from their more credulous allies. That such plans inevitably backfire in a spectacularly gory fashion — the Great Stag invariably chafes at servitude to an unrighteous master, and will likely trample the fool to death the moment the spell lapses — seems to serve as little warning to the next charlatan.[1a]
There is no chance of mistaking a Great Stag for any of the lesser herd beasts that roam the forests of the world. It is a powerfully built animal, whose every snorting breath releases plumes of steam. The antlers of the Great Stag are both impressive and formidable, about whose iron-hard points dances a ghostly nimbus of magic. However, what is most remarkable about a Great Stag is its noble presence; the creature moves with on unsurpassed grace, for it is a king amongst beasts and the natural spirit of the world made manifest. Such a creature can be tamed for brief periods, perhaps, but never truly mastered. Only when the Winds of Magic blow strong will such a proud beast ever answer a wizard's summons.[1a]