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Fire Bat
Fire Bat
A Fire Bat as they appear in the Monster Manual II (1983)
Naming
Morphology
Body type Chiropteran
Intelligence
Sapience Non-sapient
Aggressivity High
Ecology
Place of origin Elemental Plane of Fire
Diet Blood
Locomotion Powered flight
Related species All Bats, but especially Mobats and Fire Keese
Status Least Concern
Behind the Scenes
Universe Dungeons & Dragons
Created by Gary Gygax


Fire Bats are a species of large fiery bats indigenous to the Elemental Plane of Fire.

Monster Manual descriptions[]

2nd Edition[]

The fire bat is a denizen of the Elemental Plane of Fire, and, although rather common there, it seldom appears in the Prime Material Plane. Its body is bat-like, about 2 feet long, with a wingspan approaching 4 feet; its entire body is flaming, and it radiates a temperature of several hundred degrees. Its mouth is small but the fangs therein are razor-sharp, and the damage from burning affects the victim more than the blood drain (hence 2-8 points of damage per round). The skin of the fire bat is tough and leathery, and even the relatively thin wings are difficult to pierce.

Fire bats live in colonies usually numbering from 1-2 dozen. Naturally, they will only lair in very hot places such as volcanoes, near hot springs, and, of course, on their native plane. How they travel to the Prime Material Plane is a mystery, but some sages have speculated that when fire elementals are summoned, once in a great while some fire bats will appear with them; and woe to the conjurer, for the fire bats are not under the mage's control at all! Fire bats reproduce by fission after gorging themselves on blood, so even 1 fire bat escaping into this plane can start a colony and can replace any casualties. A fire bat colony will not grow very large, however, for they will instinctively limit their population to the available food supply.

When fire bats engage an opponent, they make swooping attacks as they attempt to attach themselves to the victim. Once they have attached themselves, fire bats do not need to roll for further attacks and will automatically burn and bleed their victims for a total of 4 rounds (the first round they scored a hit plus 2 more rounds). At the end of 3 rounds, the satiated fire bat will drop off and return to its lair. If the victim dies before 3 rounds are over, the unsatiated fire bats will attack other opponents to finish feeding (but will never drain more than 3 rounds' worth of blood whether from 1, 2, or 3 victims). Fire bats can detect invisible opponents because of an advanced sonar sense and infravision; they attack invisible targets without penalty. Unlike ordinary bats, fire bats are not harmed by sunlight (or other bright lights) and can see within the normal vision range quite well. Fire bats are allies of fire elementals and will never attack them.

Fire bats are pack hunters, and an attack by these creatures is a marvel of teamwork. Every member of the victim's group is attacked by an approximately equal number of fire bats: if 12 fire bats attack a total of 4 victims, 3 bats will attack each individual; if the same number attack 9 victims, 6 would be attacked by 1 bat each and 3 unlucky victims by 2 bats each (chosen at random). If the number of fire bats ever falls below 25% of their starting force (whether from casualties or satisfied returnees), the fire bats will all instantly withdraw and attempt to escape to their lair. If cornered in their lair, they will fight ferociously to the death. When they die, a burst of flame envelopes them and their physical bodies are transported back to the Elemental Plane of Fire, where they are reborn.

The lair of a fire bat colony tends to be rocky and cavelike, with many exits and labyrinthine passages but only one large, easily noticeable entrance. Treasure is likely to be in the form of gems and jewelry, because fire bats love the sparkling stones and especially prize rubies, jacinths, and carnelians. One or 2 young fire bats (under 1 year old) may be found in the lair if a hunting pack is destroyed, and each young fire bat will have one-half the hit dice and damage per attack of an adult.

Fire bats move by an awkward hop-walk on the ground or (more efficiently) by flight. Fire bats use true flight and not gliding, because hot internal gases lighten them a great deal. Water scares fire bats, but it takes a minimum of 10 gallons of cool water to douse 1 fire bat's external fires. Once extinguished, it requires 10 rounds of drying off before the fire bat can ignite again. During this period it cannot fly, and will only do 1-4 points of damage if it attacks successfully. Fire bats can glide through hot solutions (including lava and magma) at their flying speed, for they are at home in anything involving fire.

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