Bat-Ogre! (new monster)

Art by Daniel Horne, Stats/Info by Ewan Cummins, Paul Beel

I was browsing through old Dragon Magazines today and came across issue #128. My eyes lit up! The amazing cover by Daniel Horne has this truly awesome monster adorning the cover. What appears to be two halflings just stumbled upon this beast.

I really studied the art of this creature, with its large hands, powerful legs, and dragon-like tail. I also noticed it had winged ears, bat-like wings, and a big, strong chin. This was not a monster that I had seen before, so I messaged my friend, Ewan Cummins to ask if he knew what it might be, but to our knowledge, it is unknown. Ewan mentioned we should stat it and name it and I thought that was a great idea! Ewan was all over this and came up with the stats very quickly in conversation. We named it the Bat-Ogre. Below you will see the description and stats for this very special monster which I am absolutely thrilled with. I hope you can find a place for it in your games. It loves yummy halflings!

Details:

This creature is a bulky, batlike monster with limited gliding ability and poor maneuverability, though it can use its wings for silent drops, sudden leaps, and extra power in combat. Comparable in strength to an ogre, it fights with fists, a tail sweep against rear targets, and wing-assisted strikes, though it folds its wings when brawling. It has low to low-average intelligence, can speak specific languages, but lacks culture or written language. Its hide is tough enough for an armor class of 7, making it durable but not overly protected. Special traits include improved alertness, a higher chance of surprising foes if attacking from above, and resistance to surprise itself. However, it suffers a -1 penalty to attack rolls in daylight, similar to goblins or orcs. The creature’s preferred habitats are deep forests and caverns, and while it finds halflings a favorite meal, it is just clever enough that adventurers might negotiate with it. Altogether, it is more dangerous than an ogre due to its abilities, earning extra experience points, though it remains relatively easy to hit.

AD&D stats:
Armor Class: 7
Thac0: 17
Movement: 9 (limited glide move, can leap using legs and wings)
Hit Dice: 4+1
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Languages: Orge, Common, Goblin
Size: Large (9’+ tall)
Intelligence: Low (8)
Combat: #AT 2: fists Dmg 1d6+1d6 or by tail (rear only) 1d8, +2 Str bonus, improved surprise/alertness, -1 to hit in daylight
Batlike: Improved chance of not being surprised. Surprised only on 1. If monster starts encounter in a place higher than party/adventurer, he surprises +1