B/X monster: the undomesticated flying carpet

I don't know what the lizard's doing there

A Brief Treatise on the Habits and Habitat of the Undomesticated Flying Carpet. It's been a miserable wet week here, and I feel like some unmitigated nonsense is called for.

The wild flying carpet is both smaller and faster than its domestic cousin, not having been bred for carrying human passengers. It also has a much more wild temperament. Some captured specimens have been quite vicious. Males can be recognised by their bold geometrical patterns, while females tend towards Turkish patterns in muted colours. Younger carpets will be a paisley or tartan before their patterns fully grow in.

You can find the undomesticated carpet roosting on the arid side of mountain ranges, where the males build nests by assembling rings of small rocks and tangling them together with loose threads. Females are attracted by the strength and lack of fray in those threads. A male with a tidy weave will make a good mate.

Wild carpets are almost entirely carnivorous and don't have the appetite for Turkish delight their domestic counterparts display. They typically prey on lambs and young goats, by sweeping them up and dropping them from a height so the animals are stunned and can't resist being flown back to the carpet's lair to be devoured. When prey is scarce they range further afield and although they prefer to avoid settlements, there are reports of them targeting children up to about six years old as prey.

When threatened they prefer to run rather than fight, but will defend their nests with swoop-and-slash tactics. Males and females both have tassels they can use to grip small rocks and flint shards as weapons.

Armour Class	4 [15]
Hit Dice	4 (12hp)
Attacks	1 × slash (1d6)
THAC0	14 [+5]
Movement	30’ (10’) inching / 480’ (160’) flying
Saving Throws	D13 W14 P13 B16 S14 (4)
Morale	8 (12 in lair)
Alignment	Neutral
XP	75
Number Appearing	1 (1d2)
Treasure Type	I