Stirge, Desert

Desert stirges resemble large, feathered mosquitoes and look little like their common or jungle cousins, In fact, the physical resemblance ends with the long dangling beak common to all members of the stirge family. The proboscis is just over 6” long and is a dull, sand-yellow color. Desert stirges have wings, but they are short, stubby, and incapable of supporting flight. Some witnesses, though, contend that stirges are able to glide on them. The feathers of a desert stirge are a reddish brown, allowing them excellent camouflage in the sand.

These creatures have six legs and are more insect-like than any other stirge variety. The legs are yellow-brown talons, joined at the center of their long beetle-shaped body. The monsters use their strong claws to burrow beneath the sand during the heat of the day as well as fasten themselves onto their prey. Perhaps the most remarkable feature is the stirges’ unique jumping ability—the stirge is able to leap up to 20’ high or a distance of nearly 50’.

Combat: Desert stirges are not nearly as powerful as their larger cousins and attack as a 1-Hit Die creature, unless they leap onto a surprised victim. These monsters attempt to attack by leaping onto the victim’s back from concealment. When employing this tactic, the stirge may make one initial hit roll as a 4-Hit Die creature. Because of their burrowing ability and camouflage, stirges are difficult to spot. Characters without the desert survival proficiency should receive a penalty to their surprise roll. In addition, if the victim is surprised, the DM is encouraged to add +4 to that hit roll, as a backstab. The creatures do not attack in concert, but often erupt from the sand at the same time to gain surprise.

A successful attack inflicts 1-2 hp damage with an automatic 2 hp blood drain for every round the stirge remains attached to the victim. The smaller desert stirges are full after draining 8 hp of blood from the victim, after which they drop to the ground, scurry away, and burrow back into the sand to escape retribution and sleep off their meal.

It is important for the DM to recognize that stirges attack only legitimate prey, almost never attack without surprise, and immediately flee combat once sated. In fact, stirges that miss their initial attack are more likely to try to escape (make a Morale check) by burrowing than to attempt to continue combat.

While the desert stirge is significantly less dangerous than other stirges, it is also the most difficult to remove once it has attached itself to prey. An attached stirge adds 5 to a Morale check, and its strong grip and extra leg power prohibits the option of a saving throw or Strength check to pull it off unless a combined Strength of 30 is employed.

Habitat/Society: The colonies of desert stirges are small; only rarely will more than 10 of the creatures hunt the same area. Stirges are often called ‘sand crabs” or “desert beetles” because of their burrowing and queer appearance. Their feathers are short and scaly, but are feathers nonetheless, disproving theories that the monsters were actually crabs or some form of insect.

Desert stirges do not have an exoskeleton, but their legs, save for the talons, are covered in chitin. Sword-swingers targeting the legs of the monsters must hit AC 1, due to the small size and hardness.

The monsters are found in areas wherever prey can be located. They have no permanent lairs or nests but sleep beneath the sand during the heat of the day. Still, it is not difficult to know when desert stirges are in the area; typically, they bury themselves in the sand not more than 100 yards away from the bloodless corpses of their victims.

Fortunately, of all the stirges, the desert stirge is the least likely to bother humans, particularly those in armor. Stirges are unable to penetrate anything better than studded leather and do not attack armored individuals.

Ecology: Desert stirges possess superior sight and infravision (240’), but lack the acute sense of smell found in other members of their family. They compensate for this with a sharp sense of hearing—desert stirges are very sensitive to vibrations in the ground, allowing them to track prey and be instantly notified of interlopers in their area.

When the stirges hear prey, they burrow closer to the surface, opening the protective chitinous cover around their eyes (they are blind when underground, moving by hearing alone). The cover around their eyes also closes when they are attached to a victim.

The stirges’ sense of hearing often wakes them during the day, and they take advantage of the morning or afternoon to snack. Barring this occurrence, stirges are never found above ground during daylight.

Once a stirge has drunk its fill of 8 hp of the victims blood, it flees, burrowing underground. The slow metabolism of the desert stirge allows it to sleep for one day per point of blood drained—and it can go three times as long until needing to feed again. Stirges do, however, make the most of every feeding opportunity, storing extra food as fat in their bodies just above the tail, giving them a “hump” of sorts. Stirges sleeping after feeding are very difficult to find because they bury themselves so deeply. If located, the stirge does not awaken until exposed to sunlight, very loud noises (like digging), or damage (as from a weapon). In any case, they flee at the first opportunity, either by leaping away or by burrowing deeper into the sand. Though not much more than a pest to humans, they can be difficult to find and kill.

Desert stirges do not collect treasure.