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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alas" data-source="post: 9881998" data-attributes="member: 71687">Stirges are only CR 1/8, but I have used them to terrify parties of all levels for ages. What flips PCs out is that when the stirge lands a hit, it sticks to them. The PCs don't like the ongoing damage, sure, but it's the fact that it takes somebody's whole action to dislodge it that commands their attention. It's an unsettling image; it's a mounting threat.I've recently had great success with Ettercaps (CR 2) as well. Their climb speed allows me to throw them at parties from unexpected angles, and their web strand/reel combo lets me break up defensive lines and really mess with positioning-- forced movement scares my PCs. In our last session, the bad guy dropped a squad of ettercaps onto the party's airship, and seeing those come scuttling up the hull and over the railing really got the PCs going. Once they realized the ettercaps were pulling them out of position so a wyvern could steal the MacGuffin, they had to split their actions between freeing themselves from the webs and trying to target the bigger threat. The ettercaps did very little direct damage, but the challenge they posed to the PCs' goals was tremendous. Really chaotic fun.</blockquote>