Void Gnat (Patreon)

Medium Aberration, Unaligned, CR 6

Beguiling Abductors from the Dark Expanse of Wild Space

The vast darkness of wild space is home to many strange creatures native to the cosmos. Eldritch things that lurk in the dark, not plotting or scheming, but simply hunting. Though we treat these creatures as though they are a plague, we are the invasive species in the void. We are explorers in this vast expanse, but they are home.

Otherworldly and Incandescent. Being a creature native to the space between worlds, these Void Gnats have several bizzare features. They have a body between an insect and a crustacean, with a “head” made from flexible membrane it uses to encase that of its victim, providing its prey with air. Instead of wings, they fly by tethering themselves to some unseen energy throughout the cosmos using two organs on their backs. Once tethered, these flight bladders glow with otherworldly colors, and the tethered gnats are nearly impossible to move against their will. Additionally, their affinity for controlling these cosmic lights gives them the ability to bend light, allowing them to turn invisible. Often the only thing one sees of these monsters is the pair of faint lights it emits as it sails through wild space.

Cosmic Drifters. This combination of abilities can result in collisions with spelljamming vessels who wander into a gnat migration, causing massive damage to the ship. Seasoned explorers have been known to call these creatures “pests” which often leaves their passengers all the more surprised should they lay eyes on them. To call such monstrosities mere pests is an understatement, as these horrifying creatures have an appetite for psychic energy and an instinct to seek it out. Drawn to large concentrations of intelligent life, they pluck crewmembers from the hulls of their spelljamming vessels, keeping them alive and immobile while they float off into the void of wild space. Even survivors of such an attack are left with a brief bout of madness, mesmerized by the energies emitted from the gnat’s organs. One never truly recovers after seeing a crewmate carried off into the void.

The crew of the spelljammer, mesmerized by the drifting lights before them, could not react fast enough, causing the ship to lurch and stall as if impacting a large astral body. A crewman rushes to the railing to inspect what caused such a disturbance. He calls out that the impact seems small but the hull has been damaged, and there is a strange slime coating the impact site. Looking over you see the oozing crater, noting the broken shell of whatever hit the ship. Suddenly, behind the deckhand, you see a creature materialize, floating with glowing orbs sprouting from its back. It reaches out with insectoid claws and grabs him, engulfing his head in a fleshy membrane. The man goes limp, and is slowly dragged into the vast dark by the drifting monster. As the looming horror dawns on you at the terrible fate that awaits him, several more of the drifting nightmares begin to materialize around you.