Fleder



Fleders are lesser vampires, but this description can be deceiving, for lesser does not mean weak and stupid. True, they are primitive and bear a closer relation to animals than to humans; but when they drop on their prey from above, they can be as dangerous as their noble cousins. Even to a witcher.

Journal Entry

 * "Common people believe that fleders are dead heathens who turned into vampires and rose from their graves. Being vampires, they attack sleeping people and drink their blood. According to peasants, a man bitten by a fleder becomes a fleder himself. This is nonsense, obviously."

Location

 * Slums
 * Little Mahakam, most westerly end of the alley
 * crypts, in general
 * garden of St. Lebioda's Hospital
 * Vizima cemetery
 * warehouse adjacent to the town hall
 * Old Manor catacombs
 * Trade Quarter sewers

Source

 * Vampires: Facts and Myths
 * In Act II, Shani will give Geralt this bestiary entry if he asks her for a monster anatomy lesson after delivering five Celandine during the Old Friend of Mine quest. Depending on the circumstances, Shani will either give this entry or a drowned dead entry, but these seem to be mutually exclusive.
 * : The Book of Fleders

Monsterbook
Developer CD Projekt's characterization of the fleder taken from the monsterbook, which was enclosed with the Collectors Edition of the computergame The Witcher for Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia:

The fleder is a lesser vampire. Its appetite for blood is the only thing it shares with the noble princes of the night. A creature with animal instincts, deprived of any human, it seemed inappropriate to make him a stereotypical vampire with flat, black hair and dressed in a long black coat. These obvious attributes eliminated, we had to devise features less typical of a bloodsucker. Its head – triangular, with a flat face and horn-like protrusions – renders it similar to a vampire. The concept art and model depicted certain bat-like features, including the monster's face and ears (which became horns). With its glowing red eyes the fleder also resembles a demon, while fans of Coppola's movie may note a similarity with the aged Dracula.

The fleder is not a good flier, the membranes under its arms allowing only short jumps and attacks from above. Though not particularly smart, it knows that it gains an advantage and increases its chance of victory by suddenly attacking unsuspecting victims. Since the fleder's arms are also wings, its hands have thin extensions that enable it to pin down its prey. The long, prehensile toes on the beast's feet allow it to hang head down from the ceiling as shown in the rendered image.

Gallery
Noctule Flatterer Fleder