Hellbat

Large Fiend (Demon), Chaotic Evil

Hellbats are nightmarish aerial predators of the lower planes, wreathed in flickering flames and trailing thick, sulphurous smoke. They hunt in chaotic flocks, striking with blinding speed and leaving scorched trails in their wake. Even among their kind, they are volatile, vicious, and utterly destructive, making them terrifying opponents in dark caverns, planar rifts, or shadowed ruins.

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Armor Class: 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 110 (13d10 + 39)
Speed: 10 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	19 (+4)	16 (+3)	3 (-4)	12 (+1)	6 (-2)

Saving Throws: Dex +7, Con +6, Wis +4
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances: Fire; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses: Blindsight 60 ft., Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages: Understands Abyssal but cannot speak
Challenge: 5 (1,800 XP)

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Traits

Fire Trail (Recharge 5–6). When the hellbat flies, it leaves a trail of embers up to 60 feet long and 10 feet wide. Any creature ending its turn in the trail takes 7 (2d6) fire damage and has disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of its next turn.

Pack Instinct. The hellbat has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one ally is within 10 feet of the target and can see it. Multiple Hellbats in a flock instinctively coordinate their attacks.

Innate Spellcasting. The hellbat’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). It can innately cast the following spells without material components:

• At will: Thaumaturgy (for flickering flame and smoke effects)
• 1/day each: Fog Cloud, Hellish Rebuke (2nd-level)

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Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.

Swooping Strike. The hellbat flies over a target and makes a bite attack. On a hit, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Flame Burst (Recharge 6). The hellbat exhales fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

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Reactions

Smoke Veil. When a creature targets the hellbat with an attack, it can use its reaction to create a 10-foot-radius smoke cloud centered on itself. Attackers must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw to maintain line of sight; otherwise, the attack automatically misses.

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Legendary Actions

The hellbat can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn.

• Wing Buffet. The hellbat beats its wings, forcing creatures within 10 feet to succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone.
• Ember Burst. The hellbat sprays embers in a 10-foot line. Each creature in the line takes 7 (2d6) fire damage.

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Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the hellbat can take a lair action while in its lair:

• Summon a 20-foot-wide patch of swirling embers and smoke, granting concealment to any creature within it.
• Ignite part of the terrain, creating a 10-foot radius area of difficult terrain that deals 5 (1d10) fire damage to creatures that enter it.
• Instill terror in foes: one creature within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn.

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Combat Tactics

Hellbats rely on mobility, chaos, and disruption. They:

• Fly in overlapping waves, using Smoke Veil and Fire Trail to obscure and harass enemies.
• Target isolated or weaker creatures first with Swooping Strike.
• Use Flame Burst against groups of foes and retreat immediately afterward.
• Coordinate instinctively, leaving some members to obscure vision while others strike.
• Prefer ambushes in dark, cavernous environments or planar rifts, maximizing surprise and terror.

Hellbat

This demonic bat is wreathed in fire and billowing clouds of sulphurous smoke and is so obscured you can hardly make out its outline.

Monster Encyclopaedia I: Ravagers of the Realms
Author August Hahn, Gareth Hanrahan, Lizard
Series Monster Encyclopaedia
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2004

Vermin of the lower planes, hellbats flock in vast numbers in the skies of the abyssal reaches. The passage of the bats can ‘mercifully’ block out the swollen red suns or baleful, fiery skies of the underworld for a time. When an army of demons emerges from one of the terrible fortresses, thousands of hellbats take to the wing, hungry for blood and carrion.

Lost souls who have somehow escaped from their demon captors can easily be spotted thanks to the bats circling endlessly above them. Hellbats are sometimes used as mounts by lesser demons such as succubi or babau, but attempts to train whole flocks of bats to serve as aerial legions have met only with failure.

The bats are too chaotic and hateful to be tamed in numbers; they have no loyalty to anything outside the flock. In their natural environment, the hellbats nest in the vast gorges and pits of the underworld, but enough have been summoned to the Material Plane for the horrors to be found in the caves and dark places of this world too. Hellbats can be summoned using a summon monster IV spell.

Hellbat
Large outsider (Evil, Fire)
Hit Dice	4d8+8 (26 hp)
Initiative	+4
Speed	10 ft. (2 squares), Fly 60 ft. (12 squares) (good)
Armour Class	18 (-1 size, +4 Dexterity, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple	+4/+10 Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack	Bite +7 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach	10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Flaming trail
Special Qualities	Acid and electrical resistance 10, Blindsight, concealment, Spell Resistance 10
Saves	Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +4
Abilities	Strength 14, Dexterity 19, Constitution 14, Intelligence 2, Wisdom 11, Charisma 3
Skills	Hide +7, Listen +7, Move Silently +11, Spot +7
Feats	Fly-by Attack, Weapon Finesse (bite)
Environment	Lower planes
Organisation	Flock (6-18)
Challenge Rating	4
Treasure	None
Alignment	Always chaotic evil
Advancement	5-10 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment	–

Combat

Hellbats flit around their enemies, leaving a trail of smoke and burning embers before attacking. They always use their Fly-by Attack feat to swoop past enemies, tearing at them with vampire-sharp fangs. They have a good enough understanding of pack tactics for one to lay down a cloud of smoke and then for the rest to swoop in and attack under the smoke’s cover.

Concealment (Ex): A hellbat leaves a trail of smoke behind it as it moves. In each round, it can leave a trail up to 60 feet long and ten feet wide and high (if the bat flies faster than 60 feet in a round, the smoke trail is too wispy and diffuse to provide concealment). This smoke lingers for three rounds before dispersing. Anyone within the smoke trail gains 50% concealment. High winds or a Gust of wind spell can disperse the smoke. Note that thanks to the hellbat’s Blindsight ability, it is not impeded by its own smoke.

Flaming Trail (Su): Burning embers are constantly being shed from the flickerflame edges of the hellbat’s wings. Anyone within five feet of a hellbat suffers 1d4 points of fire damage each round.

Hellbat

Large Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Fire)

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Hit Dice 4d8+8 (26 hp)
Initiative +4
Speed 10 ft. (2 squares), fly 60 ft. (good)
Armor Class 18 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple +4/+10
Attack Bite +7 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack Bite +7 melee (1d6+3)
Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.

Abilities Str 14, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 6
Saves Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +4
Skills Hide +7, Listen +7, Move Silently +11, Spot +7
Feats Flyby Attack, Weapon Finesse (bite)

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Special Abilities

Flaming Trail (Su): It leaves behind a drifting trail of burning smoke as it flies, up to 60 feet long and 10 feet wide. The smoke persists for 3 rounds, providing 50% concealment to creatures within. The hellbat itself is unaffected, navigating by its keen blindsight. High winds or a gust of wind spell disperse the smoke immediately.

Infernal Scent (Ex): Hellbats can detect the presence of living creatures within 30 feet, even through walls, smoke, or magical darkness.

Pack Tactics (Ex): When attacking in groups, hellbats become far more dangerous. A hellbat gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls for each allied hellbat threatening the same target, relying on instinctive coordination and overwhelming numbers.

Spell-Like Abilities (Su): 1/day—summon monster IV (can summon another hellbat with a 35% chance of success).

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Combat

Hellbats seldom fight alone, preferring to swoop and strike in coordinated flocks. They use Flyby Attack to harry and retreat, relying on their smoke trails to blind and scatter enemies before circling back to strike again. One or two may deliberately lay down heavy smoke while others attack under cover, making retaliation nearly impossible. In battle, hellbats target the isolated, the weak, or the slow first, reveling in the chaos of battle and avoiding prolonged combat with heavily armored or magically protected foes unless their numbers give them confidence.

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Ecology

Environment lower planes; sometimes summoned to dark caverns or ruins on the Material Plane
Organization flock (6–18)
Challenge Rating 4
Treasure none
Alignment always chaotic evil
Advancement 5–10 HD (Large)

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Description

Hellbats are verminous predators of the lower planes, their vast wings trailing smoke and flame as they blot out the skies. They circle endlessly above fields of battle or caverns of the damned, their shrieking cries heralding despair. Though occasionally employed as mounts by lesser demons, hellbats are too chaotic to be trained in great numbers, serving only themselves and their flock. To mortal eyes, their passing is a nightmare of fire and shadow—one that ends in blood.