Stirge

Publication history

Originally presented as a more bird-like creature, the stirge may be derived from the Roman striga, a vampiric owl-like night bird.

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The stirge was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk (1975). It is described as a large, bird-like monster with a long proboscis which sucks blood from living creatures.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The stirge appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is said to be found in dark, tangled forests or in subterranean lairs, and lays in wait for warm-blooded creatures.

The stirge was detailed in Dragon #83 (March 1984), in the "Ecology of the Stirge".

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the stirge, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977, 1981, 1983). The stirge was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994), and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The stirge appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).

The stirge was again detailed in Dragon #239 (September 1997), in the "Ecology of the Stirge", which also introduced the desert stirge and the jungle stirge.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The stirge appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).

The Tome and Blood supplement introduced the stirge familiar for use as a wizard's familiar.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The stirge appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003). The stirge familiar also appears in the revised Dungeon Master's Guide.

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-2014)

The stirge appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008).

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (2015-)

The stirge appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2015).

Ecology

The stirge needs blood to survive. It finds victims, and then desperately latches onto them with its legs and pincers before finding a weak spot and driving its deadly proboscis in. It sucks out the blood, causing a long, painful death. If the victim dies before the Stirge's hunger is quenched, it detaches and finds a new victim. Though they grip onto their victims very excruciatingly, a good blow to one can detach it.

Typical physical characteristics

A stirge resembles a giant mosquito about the size of a housecat, being one foot long and half a foot wide and tall. It has a set of four leathery, bat-like wings with a span of two feet. It has a long, sharp proboscis, a short tail, barbed legs, and a row of short, curly hairs along the spine. Stirge coloration ranges from brown to rust-red, with the proboscis being pale pink.

Alignment

Stirges are unaligned, being non-intelligent survivalist predators.

Society

Stirges typically organize into colonies of two to four creatures, flocks of five to eight, or "storms" of up to fourteen creatures.

Critical reception

The stirge was ranked tenth among the ten best low-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. The authors consider the stirge "fun because they introduce the players to the power of some creatures to drain ability score points," commenting: "What's creepier than a giant mosquito that can suck a person dry? A whole flock of giant mosquitos, that's what."