Stirge (Dungeons & Dragons)

Overview

The legacy description combines a batlike body with the feeding apparatus of an oversized mosquito. Sharp pincers terminate the legs, while a long, needlelike proboscis provides the entry point for blood feeding. Its small size and ability to fly do not make an attached animal harmless: after the first piercing attack, it stops attacking and continues draining its host. The 2014 record gives the stirge a definite feeding endpoint, requiring it to release after draining the specified amount or when its victim dies. Removing the parasite is also an action available to the victim or another creature, rather than an escape that necessarily requires killing it.

The revised record retains attachment, flight and darkvision, but names the attack Proboscis and expresses the continuing drain as necrotic damage. It also changes the creature’s rules category from Beast to Monstrosity. That category and damage vocabulary are edition changes, not evidence that the animal has become undead or acquired a newly documented supernatural ancestry. The newer block allows the target or someone nearby to detach it, while omitting the older automatic release after a fixed blood total. Its listed habitats span forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains, swamps, the Underdark and urban environments. These settings permit a blood-feeding hazard in many adventures without establishing a particular colony structure, nesting cycle or universally preferred prey.

First appearances & development

This comparison selects the fifth-edition legacy treatment associated with the 2014 core books and the revised Monster Manual published in 2025. The legacy online entry also cites Basic Rules (2014). Earlier tabletop appearances are not newly audited, and the revised change from Beast to Monstrosity is explicitly kept within its rules generation.

Canon & continuity

The individual publisher records support the anatomy, first attack, ongoing attachment and detachment procedures. Their stated creature categories and attack names were compared directly. Player comments explaining the editorial reasons for necrotic damage were excluded; the rules themselves support the changed terminology without supplying a designer’s account of why it changed.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Monster Manual (2014)

   Wizards of the Coast · 2014

   Legacy blood-drain and release rules, also reproduced in Basic Rules (2014).

2. 02

   Monster Manual (2025)

   Wizards of the Coast · 2025

   Revised Monstrosity classification and Proboscis attachment.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. OfficialStirge — legacy monster recordResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. OfficialStirge — revised monster recordResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.