Stony Bat

Gorgons are a broad group of animals that share a few peculiar traits. All gorgons are covered in armored plates and breathe petrifying gases. Other than these features, gorgons can resemble almost any animal. While some gorgons may seem like less physically imposing creatures, they should never be underestimated. Gorgons are canny hunters, and even a small puff of their breath can immobilize almost any prey.

These creatures resemble chubby bats covered in small overlapping metal plates. They can't exhale enough petrifying gas to paralyze a normal-sized humanoid, but it's effective on their usual prey of insects and other small animals, which they petrify before consuming. However, stony bats have learned how to use their petrification gas to defend themselves against larger creatures, freezing a limb or raining down pebbles of petrified water vapor.

Further, they can work together to bring down larger creatures, petrifying and consuming them limb by limb.

Stony bats generally live in caves in large groups, though they frequently fly out in small numbers for hunting. They typically aren't aggressive against non-prey they encounter outside, though they're very protective of their caves. Oreads and others who don't fear petrification sometimes keep stony bats as pets.