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.