Patago

The Patago are hunched, nocturnal creature roughly the size of a monkey that are humanoid-bat hybrids. These hybrid creatures appear to have been magically intermingled, bat and monkey, fused into a creature with a malicious demeanor. They have wing flaps under their arms that allow them to fly, and they have incredible night vision and a keen sense of smell. Their tiny red eyes gleam with a spark of intelligence uncommon amongst most animals.

These creatures love to drink blood; it is one of the few things they do well, other than infest and destroy herds of livestock. These creatures are exceptionally cunning, and can undo latches, work door handles, open gates, locks, and windows. Where these creatures have bred to vast numbers, they become a menace to all life, stealing into any location to find blood. Some will even boldy invade rooms in the midst of the night.

Patago have a colony-based ecology, like the colonies of the common bat. However, Patago are much more competitive and intelligent than the common chiropteran. Given enough time, Patago will try to eliminate any other predators that they directly compete with in order to secure a food source. They will drink packs of wolves dry, kill any natural animals incapable of fighting back, and terrorize the local environment. Luckily, the Patago has one fatal weakness – itself. Patago in frenzy will drink blood from anything, including other Patago, and when hungry all sense of intellect leaves them and is replaced by a terrifying appetite. The most efficient way of dealing with the creatures is to seal up a cavern where a colony exists, and wait for them to cannibalize one another. This tactic has saved many a small community from bleeding dry at the hands of these voracious little predators.

Patago have no fighting style; they just latch on, bite, and drain. This tactic usually isn’t very efficient for survival unless there is a cloud of these creatures attacking a given target. The normal tactic is to swarm a target, with several of them latching on and biting into the flesh, draining the body of its blood in a few minutes. Bloated Patago can’t fly well, and often a well-fed Patago will crawl under a nearby rock or bush to digest its meal, and fly away when it feels light enough.

#4300 Cyradon, page 161