Imagine a bird of prey as big as a jetliner, with talons as big and sharp as swords. The ancient Persians did, and called it the Roc. When it flew overhead, the skies darkened, and its huge wings flapped with such power they created winds like a hurricane.
Air Attack: This ferocious bird dove down from the sky, grabbed animals as big as an elephant, and ripped them apart. It devoured the flesh or fed the victim to its young.
Header: The Roc had an unusual forked tongue like a snake's in its tooth-filled beak.
Don't Mess With the Rocs[]
Sinbad the Sailor found the Roc's jewels by hitching a ride on the bird's giant claw.
Besides terrorizing wild animals and people, the Roc guarded over a secret valley filled with jewels. Adventurers were always trying to find the valley and steal the jewels. If the Roc spotted them, it would unleash a ferocious attack.
Khan Game: The Chinese emperor Kublai Khan went in search of the Roc accompanied by the legendary explorer Marco Polo. They landed in Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa, but didn't find the bird.
Super Egg: The glowing white egg of the roc was so huge it was mistaken for a domed building by Sinbad the Sailor, an adventurer from The Thousand and One Nights stories.
Big Bird[]
The Roc had a real-life counterpart. The now-extinct elephant bird of Madagascar was one of the biggest birds in all of natural history. It looked like an ostrich, stood over 9 ft. tall and weighed almost 1,000 lbs. Its egg was 150 times the size of a chicken egg. The elephant bird differed from the Roc in that it couldn't fly and was a gentle giant. It was hunted into extinction by the 17th Century.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- The Roc is tied with the Oni for shortest card title, at only 3 letters.
- Counting trading cards, Orcs is also only 3 letters.
- All three are Monsters of the Mind and have an “o” in their name.
- The Roc is featured in Look Out! on Monster Mania 3.