Volt

A volt is a slightly flattened ball of stiff gray bristles with two huge bulging eyes on top, two little curved horns, and a sucker mouth of tiny eel-like teeth. Its bare 3-foot tail balances it in flight and ends in a barbed stinger and an electric organ.

A faint blue glow surrounds it, visible only in dim conditions such as torchlight, moonlight or darkness, and in perfect quiet its body can be heard humming softly. About 5% have little arcs of electricity crackling through their fur.

Volts hunt by feeling the electric signals of living nerves. They go for creatures with the most complex nervous systems first and ignore those with weak impulses, like plants, or none at all, like golems. They are short-tempered and often attack everyone in sight for no clear reason.

A volt lunges at its target's neck, or whatever exposed surface it can reach, and bites for 1-4. If the bite hits, it is clamped on and cannot be pulled free until it or the victim dies. Tendrils then extend from its mouth to drink blood for 1-4 more damage each round, and its charged tail stinger hits automatically for 2-12. About 5% feed on nerve energy instead of blood; their tendrils deal 2-16 per round, and this damage returns at 1 point per turn once the volt is removed.

A volt floats using magic similar to levitation and moves by whipping its tail like a swimming snake. It is slow and clumsy, flying at 6 with maneuverability class D, staying low when hunting and riding high when storms approach.

Herds follow weather fronts likely to bring thunderstorms and defend no territory; they are found wherever storms are at their peak. Each herd is ruled by the volt that has drained the blood, and with it the power, of its rivals. That leader is a normal volt aside from 3 Hit Dice and AC 2.

Lightning, whether from a storm or a lightning bolt spell, attracts volts and makes them more aggressive, and it heals an adult 2-8 points; weaker sparks such as shocking grasp have no effect on them. Near lightning, no more than once a year, a volt can reproduce by releasing a sudden bright flash of energy. In 2 rounds the crackling charge condenses into an immature volt, sometimes called a microvolt. It stays near the storm because it matures only if lightning strikes it within 6 hours; otherwise it withers and dies.

They drink blood mainly for its salt, which charges their electric organs. Sages are unsure of their role in nature but suspect their constant aura helps trigger thunderstorms. A properly harvested electric organ can be used in making a wand of lightning.