Bestiary: Stirge
Monster Type: Monster (Common).
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 1* (S)
Move: 30′(10′) / 3″
Flying: 180′ (60′) / 18″
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d3
No. Appearing: 1d10 (3d12)
Save As: F2
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: L
Intelligence: 1
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 13
A stirge is a evil looking cross between a bat and a mosquito with a long, sharp syringe-like proboscis. It attacks by thrusting its beak into the victim’s body, and feeds on blood. A successful hit (for 1d3 points of damage) means that it has attached itself to the victim, sucking for 1d3 points of damage per round automatically until the victim is dead.
A flying stirge gains a bonus of + 2 on its first attack roll against any one opponent due to its speedy diving attack.
Terrain: Cavern, Ruins, Woods.
Treasure
Stirges carry no treasure, but the males pick up colored debris and fly in random patterns to attract a mate. This debris is dropped and soon forgotten about. In the floor of their lair among the old bits of color cloth, flower petals, shiny paper or other brightly colored thing, there is a 50% chance of finding 1d4 gems of a random value.
Harvesting
The beak of a stirge can be repurposed as a syringe needle. Many alchemists and healers use them to inject fluid or drain sores. Any healer or alchemist will pay well for a fresh supply. The going rate is 1 silver piece per proboscis. The stirge beak is virtually weightless.
The glands of a stirge have a strong anti-coagulating effect, and have been known to be used as a component in Anti Venom potions. If the digestive organs are harvested, or if an entire corpse is presented, an Alchemist will pay 2sp per corpse worth of organs as a component for their magics.
