"Aye, half-eagle, half tomcat, just like on the lord's crest. 'Cept this 'un was carryin' me dead cow 'stead of a scepter.
— Griffin attack witness, name unknown
Griffins were once only found high in the mountains, where they would hunt marmots and wild goats. When humans encroached on their lands, however, griffins soon discovered a new source of much more plentiful and easier-caught prey: cows, sheep and shepherds.
Though still wary of main roads and towns (where fold with the means to hire a Slayer are like to dwell), these half-eagle, half-wildcat creatures have gone from rarities to oft-encountered pests known throughout the Northern Realms. Especially hated are the subspecies known as royal griffins and archgriffins
Now extinct, the Last of their kind are surprisingly dumb, but fortunately... tame-able these beastie's are now known as Hippogryphs, this name as given to them for their very existence is a hypocritical mockery of their predecessors