Gibberlings

They come screaming, jabbering, and howling out of the night. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of hunchbacked, naked monsters swarm unceasingly forward, the strongest among them brandishing short swords. They have no thought of safety, subtlety, or strategy, leaving others with no hope of stopping their mass assault. And then, having come and killed, the gibberlings move on randomly back into the night.

The first impression of gibberlings is of a writhing mass of fur and flesh in the distant moonlit darkness. The pandemonium is actually a mass of pale, hunchbacked creatures, with pointed canine ears and black manes surrounding their hideous, grinning faces. Their eyes are black, and shine with a maniacal gleam. Some carry short swords in their overly long arms as they lope ever faster forward.

Cyclical Hordes. Gibberlings spend most of their lives dormant, sleeping in deep rock-floored recesses of subterranean caves and earthen burrows. However, gibberlings subconsciously obey mysterious but predictable cycles of activity. On certain nights, hundreds of gibberlings will emerge from their dormancy and gather into massive swarms that ravage the landscape, devouring anything they can kill before dawn rises. They retreat back into their burrows in the daylight, slipping back into dormancy until their cycles tell them to gather once again.

Nocturnal Marauders. When a gibberling horde forms, they spread rapidly through the night to find sustenance. Their forward motion slows only long enough to kill anything moving, then continues forward, their bloodlust apparently unabated. They always fight to the death. All food in their path is devoured, including the fallen among their own number, and any unfortified building or objects are generally wrecked.

Light Sensitive. The only true hope of survival, should a horde of gibberlings be encountered, is to take strategic advantage of their fear and detestation of bright light. The gibberlings generally frequent only dense forests and subterranean passages, loathing bright light of all kinds, and are particularly afraid of fire. Although their mass attacks would quickly overwhelm someone wielding a torch, a bright bonfire or magical light of sufficient intensity will hold them at bay or deflect their path.

Live To Die. Gibberlings carry no treasure or other useful items. Their hides are vile and worthless. Their swords are of the commonest variety. In short, gibberlings serve no purpose and no known master, save random death in the night.