A bat swarm is a “whirling cloud of screeching, bloodthirsty bats.” Emphasize the bloodthirsty part when dealing with these creatures. While not the case in the Shadowark rules, in some systems, swarms of bats cause confusion. This usually manifests as attack and saving throw penalties. I adopted this for one of the encounter seeds below; feel free to ignore it if it does not fit the vibe of your game.
Encounter Seed: A bat swarm sleeps soundly below an unstable rope bridge, only to become disturbed (and hungry) when someone tries to cross. [Mechanics: Make a DC 15 DEX check or disturb the bats. Attacking bats on the wobbly bridge comes with either penalties or a risk of falling off the bridge, GM‘s choice.]
Encounter Seed: As a bat swarm attacks characters in an open chamber of a cave system, a group of goblins with bows targets the party from outside the chaotic cloud. [Mechanics: Any missile attacks against the goblins from within the bat swarm are at disadvantage due to the confusion.]
Encounter Seed: A bat swarm within a dungeon or cave is particularly attracted to any torchbearers or other sources of light.
Adventure Seed: It is the night of the settlement’s harvest festival. The normally celebratory atmosphere becomes tense as a bat swarm flies through the settlement and begins to surround a specific home or building. The swarm grows larger by the hour.
Adventure Seed: A settlement deals with an unexpected storm. While the residents are cleaning debris, two bat swarms sow chaos. After dealing with the bats, the peasants hear drumming in the distance. They fear he has awakened.
Ridiculous Adventure Seed: Every bat poops. In this cavern adventure, bats are in every chamber of the cave system. Sometimes the bats attack. Sometimes they remain at rest. The problem for characters is that guano (bat poop) is everywhere. It’s impossible not to walk in it. [Mechanics: Consider various mechanical effects, such as CON checks to avoid being disgusted or DEX checks to avoid slipping. There could also be the risk of a disease, similar to a rat bite in the Shadowdark rules.]
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