Griffon

A griffon mount is the prize at the end of a domestication arc. Trained from a chick by a knight, a sky-cavalry order, or the half-elf ranger who hand-fed it for two years, a bonded griffon will accept one rider and one rider only. The party most likely meets a tame griffon as the steed of an NPC ally, and the question is whether they can borrow it for a flight or convince the rider to lend it for a mission.

In combat with a rider, the griffon is a flying charger. Fly 80 lets a paladin dive on a back-line wizard and lance them off the field before the rest of the enemy line reacts. Multiattack gives two Rend at +6 for 8 average each, and the grapple rider lets the rider's mount carry off a Medium captive if the party wants prisoners. Without a rider, the griffon defends its bonded human with the same grapple-and-lift, dragging an attacker fifty feet up and dropping them. Fall damage finishes what the claws started.

Out of combat, a griffon needs a stable, fresh meat daily, and a wide takeoff space. It will not roost in a town inn or tolerate being chained, and it flies off if mistreated. The party that wants a griffon as a long-term ally has to commit to caring for it like a real animal, including the cost.

Have the griffon recognize one PC's voice across a crowd. The first time the griffon screams the rider's name in greeting, the table understands the bond.

A wild griffon is an aerial predator that hunts horses, deer, and anything that moves through its territory at the wrong altitude. Fly 80, Darkvision 60, Passive Perception 15, and a hunger for fresh meat. The party meets it because they are crossing its hunting range with mounts, not because it picked a fight on principle.

The opener is a dive from above on whoever is riding. Multiattack gives two Rend at +6, reach 5 ft., 8 average piercing each. The teeth of the encounter is the grapple rider: if both Rend hit a Medium or smaller target, the griffon grapples them with both front claws (escape DC 14). Griffons that grapple a Medium creature lift it on the next turn and fly away. The party loses the rogue, climbing every round, while the griffon's mate (run two of them) handles the rest of the party on the ground.

Run the fight in three dimensions. The griffon spends turns at 50 to 60 feet of altitude where most martial weapons cannot reach. Bows and spells can, but the griffon dives, attacks, and is back at altitude on its own turn before the archer has a clear shot. AC 12 means it goes down fast once cornered, so the party's win condition is forcing it to the ground. A wizard with Web or a druid with Faerie Fire can grease the rails.

Griffons break off above half HP if the prey is not worth the wound. They will not pursue into a cave or press a clearly stronger group; they will go look for an easier meal instead. Have the griffon scream once before it leaves. The sound matters more than the damage it dealt.

Stage the encounter near a cliff edge or a tall tree the players can climb to gain altitude. Watching a fighter scramble up an oak to swing back at a flying lion is the whole point of fighting a griffon.