Blood Mouse

Tiny beast, unaligned

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 7 (3d4)
Speed 35 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
4 (-3)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	2 (-4)	11 (+0)	5 (-3)

Skills Stealth +4
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Great Leap. The blood mouse’s long jump and high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.
• Pack Tactics. The blood mouse has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the blood mouse’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
• Soothing Aroma. The blood mouse is surrounded by an aromatic cloud that emanates from a gland in its tail. The pleasant aroma smells different to each creature and fascinates predator and prey alike. A creature other than a blood mouse that begins its turn within 10 feet of the blood mouse must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the mouse until the end of its next turn. While charmed in this way, the creature can’t willingly move more than 10 feet away from the mouse.

ACTIONS

• Blood Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage, or 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing damage if the blood mouse leaps at least 5 feet before the attack, and the blood mouse attaches to the target. While attached, the blood mouse doesn’t attack. Instead, at the start of each of the blood mouse’s turns, the target loses 4 (1d4 + 2) hit points due to blood loss. The blood mouse can detach itself by spending 5 feet of its movement. The blood mouse automatically detaches from the target if it or the target dies. A creature, including the target, can use its action to detach the blood mouse, but doing so deals the target 2 (1d4) piercing damage.

ABOUT

This nuisance animal is usually found in tightly packed urban areas, though larger specimens have been spotted in wild plains and forests. So named for their predilection for drinking blood through their snout-like proboscises, blood mice also sport strong back legs made for jumping and a long tail with a ball of fur on the end. Tiny glands in the fur ball emit pheromones that the blood mouse can use to dull prey’s defenses or distract predators. Either way, the blood mouse’s only true means of self-defense is its needle-like proboscis, which it uses to fight with as well as feed.

A single blood mouse is hardly a threat to most larger animals, but it is not uncommon to encounter blood mice in packs of three to five. While not typically aggressive, blood mice defend their dens and offspring ferociously. A short gestation period and high metabolism means that unprotected feeding grounds might become overrun with blood mice in a matter of days. Solitary blood mice usually do not attack larger creatures, preferring smaller prizes such as bugs, small birds, or voles.

In certain high society circles, people have tried to domesticate blood mice to serve as pets. To avoid having their blood sucked, some keepers remove their blood mouse’s proboscis, in which case the rodent must be hand-fed.