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Stirge

Quick Reference

Racial Statistics
Description
Combat
Habitat/Society
Ecology

Picture

Number of 6 sided Dice:

SpeciesI.Q. M.E. M.A. P.S. P.P. P.E. P.B. SPD PER LUCK
Stirge1D62D61d61D6 4D6 3D6 1d6 / 2 6D6 (Flying) 4D6 1D6

Alignment:Unprincipled (considered unaligned)
Hit Points: P.E. + 2D6 + 10
S.D.C. Base: 15
Natural A.R.: 10
Horror/Awe Factor: 12
O.C.C.'s Available: N/A
Special/Natural Abilities: Superb vision and hearing, Fly, Darkvision 200 ft., Track by smell 85%.
# Of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1d6 (piercing, proboscis)
Bonuses: +3 to strike, +2 to dodge,
Magic: None
Psionics: None
Average Lifespan: 10 years.
Value: If properly treated their proboscis can be used as a stabbing instrument. Goblins are often known to utilize them in this way. The muscle at the base of a Stirge's wings can be safely eaten, although it has to be carved and cleaned very carefully and has to be prepared within a day of the creature's death. The flavor was similar to pork or sausage, and it was sometimes served baked with toast. On the first level of the Librarium in Kendail, A book contains a recipe that describes dishes that can be made with freshly killed Stirges.
Languages:Stirges communicated with each other by wagging their probosci, to indicate that food or a dangerous enemy had been found, as well as the direction, size, and strength of said creature.
Habitat: Habitats Stirges were typically found in forests, underground, in caves, in ruins, or in marshes in areas with a warm climate.
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Packs
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: carnavores
Enemies: N/A
Allies: N/A
Height: 1 foot tall, 2 foot wing span.
Weight: 1 pound
Treasure: None
# Appearing: 3-30
Favourite Weapons: N/A
Racial Skills: N/A

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Description: This horrid monster looks like a cross between a large bat and an oversized mosquito. Its legs end in sharp pincers, and its long, needle-like proboscis slashes the air as it seeks to feed on the blood of living creatures. Stirges, also called Subawa`Te are a type of magical beast that feed upon the blood of other creatures. The bodies of Stirges can be summed as resembling a monstrous cross between a large bat and an oversized mosquito. On average their bodies grow to be 1' in length, with a wingspan of 2'. Males and females are outwardly identical in appearance. Their bodies are short and furry, though some describe them as being covered in feathers that ranged in shades of rusty red to reddish brown. Their eyes have a yellowish hue. Their wings are membranous and bat-like, with thin-walled blood vessels. They have six legs that were eight-jointed and ended in sharp pincers, which were sometimes said to have a similar hue to their eyes. Their most prominent feature was their long, sharp needle-like proboscis, which is pink at the tip and faded to grey at the base. Newborn Stirges are only capable of gliding, not flying, and thus spend the first four months of their lives being carried on their mother's back. Stirge mothers are capable of carrying up to two of their young on their backs.

Rumors & Legends: The origins of Stirges are a mystery. Sages who specialized in the zoology of fantastical creatures speculate that they were created by vampiric wizards to throw hunters of the undead off their track. Others believe that they were created by a group of evil wizards, who gathered them in the millions and then sicked the beasts on enemy armies that were arrayed against them. In reality they are the creation a long forgotten Fae Goddess of Death

Behavior: Stirges have an average animal-level of intelligence. The scent of blood often draws Stirges to battles and even into the fatal grasp of such things as vampiric mists. Stirges are cannibalistic creatures and drain blood out of their recently dead kin. Perhaps the most curious behavior of Stirges is singing. When the creatures are feeding, they "hum" macabre tunes.

Abilities:

  1. The eyes of a Stirge are capable of seeing in areas of total darkness, in areas with low-light conditions, and even heat sources within 200' of them.
  2. They also have an acute sense of smell.
  3. While alive, their bodies produce a clear liquid that actes as an anti-coagulant and is stored within the tip of their proboscis.
  4. Attach: When a Stirge hits with a touch attack, its barbed legs latch onto the target, anchoring it in place. An attached Stirge is effectively grappling its prey. The Stirge loses its PP bonus to AR and has an AR of 10, but holds on with great tenacity and inserts its proboscis into the grappled target's flesh. A Stirge has a +8 bonus to P.S. to maintain its grapple on a foe once it is attached. An attached Stirge can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself; if its prey manages to win a grapple check (Roll vs P.P. or Escape Artist Skill Roll) the Stirge is removed.
  5. Blood Drain: A Stirge drains blood at the end of its turn if it is attached to a foe, inflicting 1D6 points of P.E. damage. Once a Stirge has dealt 4 points of P.E. damage, it detaches and flies off to digest the meal. If its victim dies before the Stirge's appetite has been sated, the Stirge detaches and seeks a new target.
  6. They draw small quantities of the blood they ingest into lesser cavities just beneath their backbone. Within these cavities blood sugar is converted into body energy and ingested blood into plasma balanced for its own bodily use. This allowes a Stirge to replace its own blood when needed, hastening its recovery.
  7. Their bite also has a paralytic effect ( Save vs Paralysis).
  8. Due to the stagnant swamps in which they live and their contact with the blood of numerous creatures, Stirges are harbingers of disease. Any creature subjected to a Stirge's blood drain attack has a 10% chance of being exposed to filth fever or blinding sickness. Once this check is made, the victim can no longer be infected by this particular Stirge, though attacks by different Stirges are resolved normally and may result in multiple illnesses.
  1. Blinding Sickness:
    • Type disease, ingested; Save vs disease
    • Track physical; Frequency 1/day
    • Effect At the impaired state, also become permanently blind
    • Cure 2 consecutive saves
  2. Filth Fever:
    • Type disease, injury; Save vs disease
    • Track physical; Frequency 1/day
    • Cure 2 consecutive saves

Physical Disease Track:
  • Day1: Healthy: Suffers no ill effects and is not contagious.
  • Day2: Latent/Carrier: A character in this stage has the disease, and may pass it on if contagious, but suffers no ill effects.
  • Day 3: Weakened: A character weakened by a physical disease suffers all the effects of the sickened and fatigued conditions.
    • Sickened: The character takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
    • Fatigued: A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.
    • Exhausted: An exhausted character moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a -6 penalty to P.S. and P.P. After 1 hour of complete rest, an exhausted character becomes fatigued. A fatigued character becomes exhausted by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.
  • Day 4: Impaired: A character impaired by a physical disease also suffers the effects of the exhausted condition. Whenever he takes a standard action, he must succeed at a P.E. save or lose the action and gain the nauseated condition for 1 minute.
    • Nauseated: Creatures with the nauseated condition experience stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.
    • Exhausted: An exhausted character moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a -6 penalty to P.S. and P.P. After 1 hour of complete rest, an exhausted character becomes fatigued. A fatigued character becomes exhausted by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.
    • Fatigued: A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a -2 penalty to P.S. and P.P. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.
  • Day 5: Disabled: A character disabled by a physical disease gains the disabled condition. If he takes a standard action, his hit points drop by 1 or to -1, whichever is worse.
  • Day 6: Bedridden: A character rendered bedridden by a physical disease is awake and can converse, but he can't stand on his own or take any standard or move actions.
  • Day 7: Comatose: A character rendered comatose by physical disease is unconscious and feverish. He can't be woken by any means as long as he remains in this state on the disease track.
  • Day 8: Dead: The disease overcomes the body's immune system, and the character dies. The corpse may be still be contagious, and some diseases may have unusual effects after the character dies.

Combat:During battles, a Stirge typically will indiscriminately attack any creature that is wounded. In small numbers they are quite manageable for most adventurers, only becoming formidable threats when in large groups. They use their pincer legs to latch on to their prey and then look for a vulnerable spot of flesh to plunge their probosci into. Their legs themselves are not strong enough to be effective weapons. And due to their diet, their probosci are liable to transmit some disease, typically those related to blood. Once attached to its prey, a Stirge will feed until it is sated. Once sated, it will attempt to fly away to digest its meal. It is difficult to remove a feeding Stirge, with some saying the only way is to kill it. They are so persistent, that a swarm of ravenous Stirges will chase their prey for miles if need be.

Habitat/Society: Habitats Stirges are typically found in forests, underground, in caves, in ruins, or in marshes in areas with a warm climate. The inside of broken or hatched Stirge eggs contain a green foul-smelling jelly that will deter Stirges from attacking for up to a whole day if it is rubbed on the skin. Stirges are capable of being bred in captivity. Some Mages are known to have them as familiars. Both Goblins and Kobolds are known to sometimes capture Stirges and use them in traps. Some Stirge colonies are known to live in symbiotic relationships with evil Dragons or Bugbears. They also tended to lair near bloodthorns in hopes of preying upon their ensnared victims.

Ecology: Singular Stirges are rarely ever encountered, as these creatures tend to live and hunt in large groups. They are known as flocks, colonies, or "thirsts". On average these consist of around three to thirty specimens. The territory of a colony generally extendes out for only 1 mile in diameter. Their presence in an area is often discovered long after they had migrated to a new territory, making it difficult to track them. Much like a bat, Stirges hang upside down when sleeping. They breed freely year round and reproduce by live birth, in litters of one to three, with a gestation period of six months. These young are known as "Stirgelings." Most Stirges are content with feeding upon large mammals such as cattle, deer, and moose, though some species prefer to dine particularly on the blood of humans. A fully nourished Stirge can subsist on its digested blood for a period of seventy two hours, and canould go on for another twenty four-hours without food before starving to death.