Great Swans are as beautiful and graceful as their smaller cousins with snow-white plumage and are typically found in elven lands. The elves have trained and raised these massive swans for use as war mounts, for riding. In wildspace some of the elves largest ships will carry one or two of these mighty birds. Being aquatic birds they are excellent swimmers.

    Combat: Though Great Swans are gentle birds, they can be nasty and ferocious fighters, striking with their beak and wing buffeting.

    Dive (Ex): However, its rider can urge the great swan into a power dive against an enemy; the rider's weapon and the Great Swan's beak gain all be benefits and penalties for a charge. Elves use mostly medium lances for such attacks.

    Immunity to Poison (Ex): Great Swans are immune to all forms of poison.

    Wing Buffet (Ex): The great swan can make a wing buffet attack against an opponents without drawing an attack of opportunity. That opponent then has to make Reflex check DC 14 or is unable to take an action for one round (as per daze spell), creatures of 5 or more hit dice are not affected. The sheer force of the wings can knock a man-sized or smaller foe backwards as if the wing buffet is a bull rush (See page 136 of the PHB). If a Great Swan is used as a mount, it cannot perform the wing buffet while in flight.

    Skills: Great Swans receive a +4 racial bonus to Spot checks.

Traing a Greatswan
    Training a greatswan as an aerial mount requires a successful handle Animal check (DC 23 for a cygnet, or 28 for an adult) and that the creature be willing.
    Greatswans eggs are worth 2,500 gp apiece on the open market, while chicks are worth 4,000 gp each. Professional trainers charge 1,000 gp to rear or train a greatswan, and riding one requires an exotic saddle. A greatswan can fight while carrying a rider, but the rider cannot also attack unless he or she succeeds at a Ride check (see Ride, page 72 in the Player's Handbook).
    When training the great swans the elves often use feesu as a reward.
    Carrying Capacity: A light load for a greatswan is up to 300 pounds; a medium load, 301-600 pounds; and a heavy load, 601-900 pounds.

In The Spheres
    Elves when exploring find the Great Swans prefect for water worlds in wildspace. Elves found with Great Swans have the Ride (great swan) 6 ranks. Such elves are always at least 3rd-level warriors, armed with some sort of charging weapon (such as a spear, pike, lance) and a bow (long or short) in addition to their normal melee weapon.

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Greatswan, © 1991 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
d20™ System, Conversion of Greatswan ©2002, Mark Doolan
Image by Ron Pollard and Mark Doolan
Original Source: Monstrous Compendium #9