Nightmen Bat Gliders

Nightmen Bat Gliders

Nightmen bat gliders were steam-powered flying devices used by the Nightmen on the Zenwey Continent and in subsequent campaigns for travel, aerial reconnaissance, and attack. Capable of swift, agile flight, they were among the more advanced aerial technologies associated with the Nightmen and represented a notable threat to opposing forces and vessels.

Description

Bat gliders were flying craft whose wings moved in a stilted, mechanical manner rather than with the fluid motion of natural bird flight. Observers who first encountered them at a distance initially mistook them for birds and then for bats before recognizing their artificial nature. As noted by Harkerpal, their wings "flapped in a stilted manner," distinguishing them clearly from any living creature upon closer inspection.

In The Steam Knight, the craft are explicitly identified as steam-powered, being described as "the Nightmen from Zenwey with their steam-powered bat-gliders."

The gliders were capable of quick, agile movement and could circle targets with precision. They were used to drop explosive bags on targets below, making them effective offensive weapons in addition to transport and reconnaissance craft.

Bat gliders were also employed for aerial reconnaissance, including operations conducted with torches, and were used to corral ground targets during engagements.

History

Zenwey Expedition

Bat gliders were observed on the Zenwey Continent during an earlier expedition aboard The Liliana (Airship). During this encounter, the gliders circled around the Liliana, giving Zaira von Monocle and her crew considerable alarm. These observations proved consequential: Harkerpal subsequently began developing "single-man fliers based on my observations of the bat gliders we saw on Zenwey," drawing directly on what had been learned about the craft's design and capabilities.

Attack on a Zenwey Coastal Village

Role in The Iron Wedding

In The Iron Wedding, a large number of bat gliders approached Carnait Cove during the wedding event. The gliders flew quickly and agilely, circling the mechanized units as if selecting prey — "The bat gliders swooped around again, this time circling the mecha for prey." They dropped explosive bags on targets during the assault.

Two bat gliders came directly toward the tower during the attack. One was shot down when its pilot was picked off by riflemen; the craft crashed into the stone bricks below the tower. A second glider went down a safe distance from the tower.

The threat posed by the bat gliders at Carnait Cove underscored the need for a dedicated aerial countermeasure. Following these events, the new Wyranth Aerial Fleet was planned to carry smaller fighter craft specifically to counter bat gliders in future engagements.

Role in The Steam Knight

In The Steam Knight, bat gliders continued to be employed by the Nightmen of Zenwey. The craft are explicitly described as steam-powered in this account, providing the clearest technical characterization of their propulsion system across all recorded encounters.

Legacy

The bat gliders' design and flight characteristics served as the primary inspiration for Harkerpal's ongoing work on single-man fliers, representing one of the more direct instances of Nightmen technology influencing Rislandian aerial development.

In A History of Rislandia

According to A History of Rislandia, bat gliders are mechanical flying craft with skin-like wings, created by Rhys. The sourcebook identifies Rhys as their inventor, a detail not recorded in the novels.

Design and Capacity

According to A History of Rislandia, bat gliders have skin-like wings and hold three people. The craft are steam-powered, with wings that move in a stilted, mechanical manner. Passengers aboard the gliders carry explosive bags and weapons.

Storage and Infrastructure

According to A History of Rislandia, bat gliders are stored in dedicated bat-glider hangars within Nightmen cities, indicating an established logistical infrastructure supporting their use at scale.

Military Use and Scale

According to A History of Rislandia, bat gliders were used extensively by Nightmen invasion forces, including in a continental-scale invasion of Areth. The sourcebook records that more than 150 Nightmen attacked using bat gliders during the assault on Carnait Cove at the Iron Wedding. The sourcebook also records their use in the attack on Seeva's village and in raids on coastal villages more broadly.

Arena Escape

According to A History of Rislandia, a crew stole a Nightmen bat glider transport during an escape from the Nightmen Arena. The stolen transport was damaged and crash-landed in the desert.