Stuff to check out!

Gallimaufry

Gallimaufry is a collection of 18 (and counting) items for Troika!

The item descriptions are free/PWYW, readable as HTML within the itch product page itself, for easy rules referencing during online play. A print-friendly PDF will be forthcoming once I decide the item collection is finished. The items are also licensed CC-BY 4.0 so feel free to adapt and remix into your own rulesets and modules, including ones sold commercially.

Bestiarum Geondica

Bestiarum Geondica is a bestiary that's free to download. @NateTreme made a simple monster-name generator and crowdsourced people to write tweet-length descriptions of monsters they'd rolled up. The Bestiarum collects 100 descriptions (including two by me) along with the generator tables. It's an excellent read! BYO stats, populate your next hexcrawl or campaign setting with them, you won't regret it.

Two More Randomly-Named Monsters (BX monsters)

See last post. @NateTreme is putting together a free zine of 100 tweet-length descriptions people have read, which looks sweet. I wrote the Chittering Skull Fly, while my partner wrote the description for the Pestilent Glow Weasel. The stats and Geegaw table are all mine, I hope they're useful for your game. The geegaw table in particular is well-suited for other trashbaby monsters like goblins.

Chittering Skull Fly

Fist-sized adult form inhabits a skeleton. Cranial cavity provides resonance for their tymbal clicks, fast enough to simulate the common tongue. Builds silk "tendons" to marionette the skeleton. Slow, deliberate movements, trading speed for torque.

(as Skeleton)

Armour Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1* (4hp)
Attacks: 1 × weapon (1d6 or by weapon, roll damage with advantage)
THAC0: 19 [+0]
Movement: 45’ (15’)
Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (as 1 HD monster)
Morale: 8
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 13
Number Appearing: 2d6 (5d6)
Treasure Type: C

• Lair: Roughly half of the 5d6 flies found in a lair will be naked, the rest will be skeleton-piloting flies.
• Slow and Strong: Makes damage rolls with advantage (roll damage dice twice and use the highest). Can break through doors with 1d3 rounds of effort even if held shut with iron spikes; can overcome hold portal spells by 1st-level casters (i.e. as a 4 HD creature). Can carry up to 200 lb (2,000 coins).

(as naked Fly)

Armour Class: 9 [12]
Hit Dice: 1 (4hp)
Attacks: 1 × bite (1 damage)
THAC0: 19 [+0]
Movement: 45’ (15’) / 75’ (25’) flying
Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (as 1 HD monster)
Morale: 6
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 10
Number Appearing: 1d3 (5d6)
Treasure Type: C

• Lair: Roughly half of the 5d6 flies found in a lair will be naked, the rest will be skeleton-piloting flies. Treasure in a lair used to be the grave goods buried with each skeleton. The flies have no use for nonmagical treasure, but understand humans enough to trade with them.

Pestilent Glow Weasel

A clever child-sized mustelid. Carrion & refuse feeder, it's skills as a scrounger & thief are useful to some. Proudly filthy, notorious for spreading disease with bites & scratches, its fur is covered in bioluminescent fungus which it eats during lean times

Armour Class: 9 [10]
Hit Dice: 2 (9hp)
Attacks: 1 × bite or scratch (1d3 + disease), or 1 × junk-sword (1d8, breaks on a natural 8)
THAC0: 18 [+1]
Movement: 90’ (30’)
Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (as 2 HD monster)
Morale: 5
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 20
Number Appearing: 1d6 (1d6)
Treasure Type: V, plus one roll each on Geegaws, below

• Disease: Bite has a 1-in-6 chance of infecting the target (save versus poison). Incubation time is 2 days, followed by up to a month of fever, vomiting, swollen joints and lymph nodes, and purple rashes around the infected area (-2 to all rolls, naturally heal at half the normal rate). The disease has a 1-in-6 chance of death, which occurs in 2d6 days after onset.
• Immunity: Immune to most poisons and diseases. Any specific poison/disease has only a 1-in-6 chance of affecting them as a species, in addition to any saving throw called for.
• Luminescent: Fungus growing on fur casts light in a 10' radius. Removed fungus keeps glowing for 1d6 days, but can be cultured on other mammalian hair or fur.
• Scrounger: Can find (but not remove) treasure traps, hear noise, and pick pockets as a 6th-level thief. Due to their luminescence, they are terrible at hiding, and carry too many scrounged geegaws to move silently.
  • Find Traps: 40%
  • Hear Noise: 3-in-6
  • Pick Pockets: 45%

Geegaws

1. Snapped wand, cerulean magic sparks at the break pose a fire hazard.
2. Beetle-shell lamellar "armour". Offers no protection, but quite pretty.
3. Mouldy loaf of bread. If consumed, equal odds of curing or causing disease, as the spell).
4. Slingshot and five dried dung-pellets.
5. Mangled paintbrushes and a bottle of vinegared egg yolk.
6. Diary of encountered fungi. Can answer a single question about every fungus encountered, 2-in-6 chance the answer is wrong.
7. Lamp oil stolen from humans, good for deep-frying.
8. Copper amulet covered in bite marks.
9. Vial of musk, a gift from a lover.
10. A spare junk-sword, 1d8 damage but breaks on a natural 8.
11. Bulky goggles, protect eyes but impede vision.
12. Badly magnetised compass, needle points a cardinal direction other than north. Roll d3: 1 = east, 2 = south, 3 = west.
13. A soft sugary roll, perfectly preserved in some sort of transparent film.
14. A clay jar full of live crickets.
15. moth-eaten linen shawl, bright yellow, embroidery now illegible.
16. A map of the dungeon level. Each secret door has a 50% chance of being known and marked, rooms only accessible by an unknown secret door are obviously not on the map.
17. A coconut goblet with silver foot and stem.
18. An Alagaësian Smuggle-Hamster, its cheeks are an extradimensional space that can hold 10 fl oz. (300 mL) of goods without showing any external bulge.
19. A pitted, wiggly-bladed dagger that glows blood-red. Nonmagical, the dagger is actually home to another bioluminescent fungus that metabolises iron, and will colonise nearby iron & steel objects.
20. Paper fortune-teller made from the torn-out sheet of a wizard's spellbook. Can do one accurate augury per person per month. Roll d8 or construct a fortune-teller with the following:
    1. Turn left.
    2. You will find riches soon.
    3. You will have good luck today.
    4. You will have bad luck today.
    5. Do a good deed today.
    6. An old friend will come calling.
    7. Love is in the air.
    8. Be careful on Tuesday.

Grinning Star-Wyrm (B/X monster)

This monster name was generated by @NateTreme's cool generator. Check out the other tweet-length monster descriptions, they're all great!

Grinning Star-Wyrm

Vestigial-winged, propels itself through vacuum through sheer plucky, can-do nature. Breathes a plume of capitalist work ethic and retail-smiles. Eats a mock meat made of ground, extruded asteroid, but sometimes cheats with the odd human.

Armour Class 0 [19]
Hit Dice 12** (54 hp)
Attacks [1 × bite (4d6), 1 tail slap (4d6)] or breath
THAC0 10 [+9]
Movement 90’ (30’) / 180’ (60’) flying
Saving Throws Death 6, Wands 7, Paralysis 8, Breath 8, Spells 10 (as 12 HD monster)
Morale 10 (4 during economic downturns)
Alignment Any
XP 2,700
Number Appearing 1 (1d4)
Treasure Type H

• Breath weapon: Cloud of stimulant gas (50’ long, 40’ wide, 20’ high). Save versus breath or be unable to rest for 2 days, or for 1 day if the grinning star-wyrm is at half-hp (27 hp) or less. This includes overnight rest necessary to heal and regain spells, and shorter rests during the day to avoid attack penalties, see Dungeon Adventuring: Resting. Characters affected are also immune to sleep for the duration, and their facial muscles tighten into an uncomfortable smile.
• Language and spells: 100%; 4 × 1st level, 4 × 2nd level, 4 × 3rd level.
• Open-Plan Office: All characters within the grinning star-wyrm's lair automatically succeed at Hear Noise rolls, but automatically fail Move Silently rolls. A silence 15' radius spell will negate this.
• Sleeping: 33%.

Typical Spells Prepared

• 1st: detect magic, purify food and water, ventriloquism¹ × 2
• 2nd: invisibility, phantasmal force¹ × 2, wizard lock
• 3rd: clairvoyance¹ × 2, haste, protection from normal missiles

¹ while in the grinning star wyrm's lair, this has a range of "anywhere else in the lair".

Sample Hoard

• 50,000 gp
• 40 necklaces. Each is a rounded rectangle made of silver, borne on a fine silver chain. Each is engraved with a tiny serial number but is otherwise blank. The first time the necklace is ever worn, parts of the rectangle magically darken to resemble a daguerrotype photo of the wearer's face. Each necklace is cursed, requiring the remove curse spell to remove.
• A mahogany box with a big button of solid ruby, and ivory dials which can be spun to show any four-digit number. Press the button and the silver necklace with that serial number will explode.
• A velvet-lined silver box, lid bears a repoussé apple tree. Holds a syringe made of platinum and rose quartz, and four glass ampoules: two potions of longevity, and two potions of cure disease (as the spell)

Jellymanders (BX and 5e monster)

Another monster suggested to me by @mountain_foot! This one was a bit of a struggle to write. My major mistake was to put together a list of oozes spanning several editions and try to cove them accurately. There's a lot of oozes with samey abilities out there! I think it's better pared back to six entries, though I might write some fanciful entries that are more exciting than brown, dun and white puddings.

Jellymanders

These slimy amphibians live in cloud forests. Like many amphibians, they were vulnerable to fungal infections, until a freak mutation gave them the ability to absorb plant and fungus cells and embed them in layers of mucus.

Like other newts and salamanders, they can regrow lost limbs and other extremities. For this reason, as well as their talent for kleptoplasty, they are prized research subjects for vivimancers. They also make excellent animal companions for adventurer-types who must often face oozes in dank dungeons.

The following stats are OGL-compatible. As usual, I'm happy for anyone to use them in a product with attribution. Let me know if you need the appropriate legalese.

B/X Stats

Jellymander

Armour Class 7 [12]
Hit Dice 2+2* (11hp)
Attack 1 × bite (1d4+1)
To-Hit 17 [+2]
Move 90’ (30’)
Save Unified 14, D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F1)
Morale 6
AL Neutral
XP 35
NA 1d4 (1d4)
TT None

• Breath weapon: Once per day, a jellymander can cough up a spray of phlegm with the properties of any fungus it has absorbed via its kleptoplasty ability. See the Special Fungal Ability table below.
• Kleptoplasty: Jellymanders are immune to the corrosive and/or poisonous attacks of oozes, slimes, and similar creatures. Whenever they bite such creatures, they can assimilate tissue and gain special abilities. The XP entry above assumes the jellymander has one such ability; award extra XP for defeated jellymanders with additional powers (see "Experience Points", BX Essentials: Core Rules, p14)
• Nauseating stench: A jellymander has a 2-in-6 chance of having fungal strains that produce a strong odour: creatures must save vs poison or suffer -2 to hit while in melee with jellymanders. Humans can notice the odour from 120 ft away; only stenchless jellymanders are capable of surprise. Roll on the Stench Table below to determine odour.
• Swallow whole: An attack roll of 20 indicates a small victim is swallowed. Inside the jellymander's belly: suffer 1d6 damage per round (until the jellymander dies); may attack with sharp weapons at -4 to hit; body digested in 6 turns after death.
• Water-dependent: Jellymanders sicken after 1d3 days in dry air, and die 1d3 days after that.

Variant: Giant Jellymander

Armour Class 7 [12]
Hit Dice 6+6* (33hp)
Attack 1 × bite (1d8+1)
To-Hit 13 [+6]
Move 90’ (30’)
Save Unified 11, D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (F4)
Morale 6
Alignment Neutral
XP 750
Number Appearing 1d4 (1d4)
Treasure Type None

Special abilities as above, except the giant jellymander can swallow creatures up to the size of a bugbear.

5e Stats

Jellymander

Medium beast, unaligned

Armour Class 11
Hit Points 22 (4d8+4)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	13 (+1)	13 (+0)	2 (−4)	10 (+0)	3 (−4)

Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Kleptoplasty. Jellymanders are immune to the corrosive and/or poisonous attacks of oozes, slimes, and similar creatures. Whenever they bite such creatures, they can assimilate tissue and gain special abilities.

Nauseating Stench. A jellymander has a 2-in-6 chance of having fungal strains that produce a strong odour. Any creature other than another jellymander who starts their turn within 10 ft of the jellymander must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. Failure means the creature is poisonedA poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. until the start of their next turn. Success renders the creature immune to the stench of jellymanders for 1 hour. Humans can notice the odour from 120 ft away. Roll on the Stench Table below to determine odour.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 11). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained • A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. , and the jellymander can't bite another target.

Swallow. The jellymander makes one bite attack against a Small or smaller target it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded • A blinded creature can't see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage. and restrained • A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. , it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the jellymander, and it takes 5 (2d4) acid damage at the start of each of the jellymander's turns. The jellymander can have only one target swallowed at a time. If the jellymander dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 5 feet of movement, exiting prone • A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
• The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls.
• An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage. .

Breath Weapon (Recharge 5–6). The jellymander can breathe a 15 ft. cone of phlegm. The effect of the breath weapon is determined by the Fungal Ability table, below.

Giant Jellymander

Large beast, unaligned

Armor Class 11
Hit Points 39 (6d10 + 6)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	13 (+1)	13 (+1)	2 (−4)	10 (+0)	3 (−4)

Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Kleptoplasty. Jellymanders are immune to the corrosive and/or poisonous attacks of oozes, slimes, and similar creatures. Whenever they bite such creatures, they can assimilate tissue and gain special abilities.

Nauseating Stench. A jellymander has a 2-in-6 chance of having fungal strains that produce a strong odour. Any creature other than another jellymander who starts their turn within 10 ft of the jellymander must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. Failure means the creature is poisonedA poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. until the start of their next turn. Success renders the creature immune to the stench of jellymanders for 1 hour. Humans can notice the odour from 120 ft away. Roll on the Stench Table below to determine odour.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage plus 5 (1d10) poison damage, and the target is grappled • A grappled creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated (see the condition).
• The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell. (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained • A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. , and the jellymander can't bite another target.

Swallow. The jellymander makes one bite attack against a Medium or smaller target it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded • A blinded creature can't see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage. and restrained • A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. , it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the jellymander, and it takes 10 (3d6) acid damage at the start of each of the jellymander's turns. The jellymander can have only one target swallowed at a time. If the jellymander dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 5 feet of movement, exiting prone • A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
• The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls.
• An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage. .

Breath Weapon (Recharge 5–6). The jellymander can breathe a 15 ft. cone of phlegm. The effect of the breath weapon is determined by the Fungal Ability table, below.

Stench Table

d20	Odour	d20	Odour
1	acetone	11	hot plastic
2	baby powder	12	lemon
3	barnyard smell	13	liquorice
4	bubblegum	14	peaches
5	burning tyre	15	smegma
6	cinnamon	16	soap
7	corpse	17	strawberries
8	dirty sock	18	sweat
9	fresh bread	19	tobacco
10	garlic	20	vinegar

Fungal Ability Table

d6	Organism	Skin Properties	Breath Weapon
⚀	Black Pudding	Can climb sheer walls and ceilings. deform flesh and bone to slowly pass through openings. Has resistance (half-damage) to any non-fire attack. Non-fire attacks also have a 1-in-6 chance of causing binary fission, creating two smaller jellymanders. Divide remaining hp evenly. Giant jellymanders become regular ones, regular ones become smaller, harmless ones.	Paralyses for 2d4 × 10 minutes. A save vs paralysis or DC 11 Constitution saving throw negates this.
⚁	Gelatinous Cube	Transparent skin and muscle, showing organs and bone within. Immune to cold and lightning damage.	Paralyses for 2d4 × 10 minutes. A save vs paralysis or DC 11 Constitution saving throw negates this.
⚂	Green Slime	Can climb sheer walls and ceilings. Immune to all damage except cold and fire.	Acidic slime that destroys wood or metal in 6 rounds. Once in contact with flesh, slime catalyses its conversion into more green slime over 1d4 + 6 rounds. Only fire can halt this process, dealing half damage to the slime and half damage to the patient. The slime must be dealt damage equal to half the jellymander's maximum hit points to be eradicated.
⚃	Grey Ooze	Visually indistinguishable from wet stone. When still, characters have a 1-in-6 chance or must succeed on a DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check to spot small movements/life signs. Odour may also betray presence. Objects will adhere to skin, requiring a cumulative Strength score of 20 to pull free (e.g. a Str 8 halfling and a Str 13 fighter could cooperate). Immune to cold and fire damage.	Acidic, sticky phlegm that deals 2d8 damage per round until removed. Destroys nonmagic metal (including armor) in 1 round. Enchanted metal is destroyed in 10 minutes. Phlegm can be scraped off (residue will inflict one more round of damage), neutralised with chalk, lye or some other base, or washed off with strong alcohol.
⚄	Ochre Jelly	Resistance to all damage except cold or fire. Objects will adhere to skin, requiring a cumulative Strength score of 20 to pull free (e.g. a Str 8 halfling and a Str 13 fighter could cooperate). Dissolves cloth, leather or wood in one round, magical in 10 minutes. Can deform flesh and bone to slowly pass through small openings. Lightning and weapon attacks have a 1-in-6 chance of causing binary fission, creating two smaller jellymanders. Divide remaining hp evenly. Giant jellymanders become regular ones, regular ones become smaller, harmless ones.	Acidic, sticky phlegm that deals 2d6 damage per round until removed. Destroys nonmagic leather, cloth or wood (including armor) in 1 round. Enchanted materials are destroyed in 10 minutes. Phlegm can be scraped off (residue will inflict one more round of damage), neutralised with chalk, lye or some other base, or washed off with strong alcohol.
⚅	Yellow Mould	When struck with enough force to cause injury, the jellymander releases a spore cloud to a radius of 10 ft, that is poisonous if inhaled. B/X effect: Save vs death or die in 10 minutes. 5e effect: A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 3d6 poison damage, and must repeat the saving throw at the start of each of its turns. On each successive failed save, the character takes 1d6 poison damage. After three successful saves, the poison ends.	A mist that instantly corrodes wood, leather, cloth and bone. Living tissue is mysteriously immune.

Bat-Harpies (BX Monster)

Batfolk, flying troglodytes, snatchers. The bat-harpies have many names, and come in many varieties. Generally they are squat, furred, humanoids with bat wings for arms and underdeveloped legs. Some have a vulpine countenance, some are crumple-faced, some are even rumored to pass for a cloaked human.

This monster was commissioned by @mountain_foot, one of my kind patrons. If you'd like a monster once a month, you can check out my patreon.

Rumour Table:

1. They are loath to fly in the rain (True)
2. They're agents of the gods; they drag evildoers back to their caves and down to Tartarus. (False)
3. If a white-robed woman appears at a crossroads in the dead of night, she is a necromancer. Bring a fresh-killed animal to her, and she will raise the dead. (Partially True)
4. Beware the desert-bats, they carry a wicked sting. (True)
5. They feast on human blood. (Mostly False)
6. Old Bill lost his arm to one of them, they sprinkled some agony-powder on him and he cut it off himself. (True)
7. Their language has over a hundred words for "quit touching me!" (True)
8. Some wear crystal armour. Beware, they're the batfolk's secret kings, who disappear any human witnesses to their royal dungeons. (Mostly False)

Batfolk Statistics (BX)

Armour Class	9 [10]1
Hit Dice	2 (9 hp)
Attacks	1 × weapon (1d6 or by weapon)
To-Hit	18 [+1]1
Movement	30' (10') / 180' (60') flying
Saving Throws	As 2nd-level Fighter: Unified 13, or D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
Morale	6
Alignment	Neutral
XP	20, or 25 if you use a variant below.
Number Appearing	1d3 (3d6 in lair)
Treasure Type	N2

¹ First value is for systems with descending AC, [bracketed] value is for systems with ascending AC
² No individual treasure, 40% chance their lair has 2d4 potions.

Echolocation: Unaffected by effects that impair, modify, or rely on sight. Blinded by silence 15' radius.

Ungainly Walk: Hold weapons in their legs. On the ground, can only attack with daggers or similar light weapons.

If you prefer abbreviated/inline stats, here you go.

AC 9 [10], HD 2 (9hp), Att 1 × weapon (1d6 or by weapon), THAC0 18 [+1], MV 30' (10') / 180' (60') flying, SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (F2), ML 6, AL Neutral, XP 20, NA 1d3 (3d6), TT N

Variants

Each of these variants (except maybe Ghost Bat) counts as a special ability. If you award XP for combat, they're worth +5 XP.

1. Desert Long-Eared Bat. Sandy fur, large sideways-pointing ears, wing membrane extends to legs.

   Immune to the venom of giant scorpions, 4-in-6 chance of immunity to any other poison (roll for each distinct poison).

   Each carries a curved, grooved dagger carved from a giant scorpion stinger, and 1d3 - 1 doses of giant scorpion venom (save vs death or die after 1 turn (10 minutes).

   The dagger is worth 3d6 × 10 gp (105 gp) to buyers interested in nonmetallic weapons. Scorpion venom is contraband in most civilised areas.

2. Ghost Bat. Short white fur, face is humanlike save for a leaf-shaped growth on their nose. Carnivorous, accept fresh kills as trade.

   Can speak with dead creatures (at-will, lasts 10 minutes, cannot speak to any creature more than once).

   Can become ethereal for 1 turn (10 minutes) per day. While ethereal, they are:

   • Invisible
   • Immune to nonmagical attacks
   • Able to pass through objects that are not also ethereal.

3. Greater Noctule Bat. Robust skull and russet fur, long canines.

   Have a bite attack that deals 1d6 damage (still only capable of one attack per round).

   Snatch small birds from the air, use nets to bring down larger prey. Will even kill and eat birdfolk, using their feathers as fletching for magic darts imbued with basic intelligence.

   Treat magic darts as daggers if thrown, or as arrows if launched with an spear-thrower (e.g. atlatl, woomera). They home in on targets that match a three-word parameter. Attacks against such targets are made with advantage, similarly, roll damage dice twice and use the best result.

   The darts can be "reprogrammed" in a 1-hour ritual of blowing woodsmoke over the darts while continually intoning the new parameter. Any number of darts (even ones with different parameters) can be changed at once to the new parameter.

   The parameter must be something visually identifiable like "has green feathers". The referee should rule out overbroad parameters like "is a creature".

4. Sac-Winged Bat. Wing surface extends between legs, prefer insects and fruit. Have sacs of pearlescent skin near their elbows, where they store bodily secretions to scent-mark territory or waft at mates.

   In dire circumstances, they can scatter greater amounts of scent to create a almost-magical effect. The effect is particular to each bat, some sample effects are presented below.

   Each bat has enough musk for 1 usage per week. Generally, effects last for 1d6 turns (1d6 × 10 minutes) and can be avoided with a save vs breath. A bat can scatter musk in front of them in a 10 ft by 10 ft area, or underneath them in a 20 ft by 20 ft area. The lower dosage of the latter gives affected creatures a +2 bonus to their saving throw.

   1. charm. As the spell charm person, but can affect any non-undead creature.
   2. levitate. You and all carried gear are weightless, can only move by pushing off surfaces or throwing reaction mass.
   3. itchiness. Bad enough for you to consider cutting off affected body parts.
   4. loss of touch, balance, and proprioception. You have -2 on all attacks, move at half-speed, and cannot manipulate anything you can't see.
   5. super-heavy. Everything weighs three times as much (or takes three times as many slots) for determining encumbrance.
   6. static cling. Thin, lightweight materials (e.g. fallen leaves, parchment, many textiles) will stick to you if they come within 1 foot.

5. Vampire Bat. Flat nose, razor teeth, brown and silver fur. Able to run on all fours, their land speed is 120' (40'), as a human.

   A sleeping character has only a 1-in-6 chance of awaking, rolled as the bat approaches and lands. Their saliva numbs pain and prevents blood clotting, so victims do not wake upon biting. Note that attacking a sleeping character does not require a roll to hit.

   The victim will wake with 1d6 fewer hp, to a minimum of 1. They only bite superficially, lapping at the open wound with their tongue. Except for their bedding being drenched with blood, many victims wouldn't even realise they were bitten.

   These batfolk are Lawful. They have a well-developed society that cares for its sick and infirm, even regurgitating blood for them. If something threatens their human "herd", they will act to protect them.

6. Virus Bat. Crystalline growths evident across its body. These grant a +2 bonus Armour Class (changing it to 7 [12]) and a 3-in-6 chance of nullifying any spell cast upon it, even beneficial ones.

   These batfolk are a natural reservoir for the crystal virus, a disease which progresses much further in humans. Contact with any bodily fluids (including saliva) will risk transmission.

   The virus bats are aware of their condition, and try to avoid humans. they have on humans and try to avoid them.

The details of the crystal virus are still pretty up in the air, but two visual inspirations are 4e D&D's Shardminds and the T4-bacteriophage-esque machinery of the Kindergarten from Steven Universe. The fate of an infected human isn't going to be "save or die", either. Sorry, I don't know the artist(s) for either piece.

Skyrabbits (monster for BX & 5e)

Midnight-blue rabbits whose lustrous fur twinkles with motes of light. They can burrow through any earthly material, their bodies subject to no mortal poison. They live in the firmament, grazing on moonsilver vegetation growing inside the cavernous pinprick holes that let in starlight from beyond.

"When I was a wee boy, the sky fell.

"The sages say an armada from beyond the stars came to breach our "crystal sphere", whatever that is. Whatever they were, they failed, but their cannons or whatever must have blasted fragments of the sky itself down here. Now the sky grew back, else I wouldn't be here, but those fragments were riddled with skyrabbit warrens.

"They burrow through anything with ease: wood, stone, even steel. Our world must be nothing to paws and teeth capable of digging through the sky itself. Rumour has it even the wizard Arthras, one of the few still able to conjure the fabled Wall of Force, was unable to repel an infestation from his demesne. Supposedly his tower stands abandoned, its foundations doomed to collapse any month now.

"Their fur's easy to spot, and they're worth a small fortune even once the twinkle wears off. But not even wolves can catch them, and they shrug off any poison. Caught one in a trap once, but it just gnawed through the metal, leaving only shining purple blood behind. Occasionally some big military commander captures a few to dig into an enemy castle or something. But the breeding stock always gets loose again, letting the bastards loose on yet more soil.

"There's a ranger stalking these parts, follows the Old Ways. She says the world itself rejects these beings of aether, that they cause reality to erode. I've seen it, I think. The soil near their warrens, just... decaying into its fundamental parts. She says that if they're not stopped, eventually the skyrabbits might destroy the world as we know it.

"I'll be long-dead by then though. Just m'bones, drifting through the stars. Sounds neat."

Skyrabbits in B/X

Note: [square bracketed] stats are for use with systems with ascending AC and/or unified saving throws

Armour Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1⁄2 (2hp)
Move: 150’ (50’), 60’ (20’) burrowing
Attacks: 1 × bite or kick, 19 [+0] to hit
Damage: 1
Saves: as normal human [18], Death 14 Wands 15 Paralysis 16 Breath 17 Spells 18
Morale: 5
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 5
Number Appearing: 1d3 (3d6)
Treasure Type: None

• Flighty: Unless magically summoned or controlled, skyrabbits check morale every round.
• Glowing pelt: Sheds light for 10 ft. Continues glowing for 1d6 days after death. 
• Immunity: Unaffected by common poisons.
• Keen smell: Automatically smell silver, otherwise only surprised on a 1.
• Peerless burrower: Can burrow through any known material, including magic forcefields.

Skyrabbits in 5e

Tiny beast, unaligned

Armour Class 11
Hit Points 3 (1d4 + 1)
Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft.

STR     DEX     CON     INT     WIS     CHA
4 (−3)  12 (+1) 12 (+1) 2 (−4)  14 (+2) 14 (+2)
 
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages --
Challenge 0 (10 XP) 

Illumination. The skyrabbit sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. The pelt continues to shed light for 1d6 days after the skyrabbit dies.

Keen Smell. The skyrabbit has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell, and automatically smell silver.

Peerless Burrower. The skyrabbit can burrow through any material, including walls of force and similar effects created by mortal spellcasters.

Actions

Bite or Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing or bludgeoning damage, as appropriate.