Giant Wasp

Medium beast, unaligned

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 13 (3d8)
Speed 10 ft., fly 50 ft.

Senses passive Perception 10
Languages --
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Actions

Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.

Hornet, Giant

2102

Giant hornets are nothing more than fantastically enlarged versions of normal insects. Unlike their more common cousins, they are often hostile and aggressive.

The giant hornet has a 5’ long body and a 10’ wingspan. Their chitinous exoskeleton is marked by shiny, parallel stripes of black and yellow. The abdomen is tipped by a retractable stinger.

Combat: Giant hornets are solitary creatures who will attack on sight. It swoops down onto its prey and takes hold with its legs while its stinger stabs into the victim’s body. In addition to inflicting 1-4 points of damage, the stinger also injects a potent toxin. If a saving throw versus poison is not made, the toxin does 5-30 points of damage and paralyzes the victim for 2-12 (2d6) hours.

Smoke and flame are powerful weapons in any battle against these giant insects. Smoke causes them to become somewhat tranquilized, invoking a -2 penalty on its attack rolls. Flame frightens them greatly, and they will suffer a -4 on their attack rolls against anyone who is using it to defend himself. The hornet’s wings are especially vulnerable to flame and will be consumed by any form of fire-based attack in one round. Although this does no physical harm to the hornet, it does render it flightless until its wings grow back in 2-12 (2d6) weeks.

The giant hornet is a very noisy flier and the buzzing of its wings can be heard up to 150’ away. Underground, this range is halved by each wall or closed door between the monster and the listener.

Habitat/Society: Giant hornets are believed to be the result of magical experiments gone awry. Save for the fact that they are much more aggressive than the common hornet, their gigantic size has not changed their instinctual behavior.

Once per month, female hornets will prepare a nest and attract a male for mating. Together, the two create an egg chamber in some out of the way place. Egg clambers can be established in pits, abandoned buildings, caves, or any similar area. The wales of the chamber are coated with a mixture of mud, cellulose, and hornet saliva which hardens into rock. The construction of the chamber takes between 1 and 6 days, depending on its size.

When the chamber is complete, the couple mates. The male departs shortly afterwards, but dies within a day from exhaustion. The female leaves the chamber in search of a victim which it paralyzes and carries back to the chamber. Once in the chamber, the hornet uses its mud-like compound to bind its prey and injects it with 2-4 (2d8) eggs. It leaves promptly thereafter, pausing only to seal the egg chamber (which takes 1-6 hours), Mere hours later, the eggs hatch and the larvae within begin to feed on the body around them. The six inch long larvae do 1 point of damage each per turn. After devouring the body, the young hornets break through the wall of the egg chamber by dissolving it with their saliva and fly off to begin their lives in the wild.

Although hornets do not keep treasure troves, their egg chambers may be a source of valuable in the form of victims’ possessions.

Ecology: The giant hornets are the result of deliberate tampering with nature. They roam the world mindlessly following their primal instinct to reproduce.

Hornet toxin decays quickly when removed from the body. It can be used to coat blades and such only if the toxin is less than two days old. The toxin may also be used in the preparation of anti-paralysis potions and antidotes.

Gianl Wasp

These insects are very similar to giant hornets but live in swarms of as many as 20 individuals. Giant wasps are cooperative insects who build and maintain immense hives. Constructed of a thick paper-like substance, giant wasp hives are home to 21-40 (1d20+20) adults and 100-400 (1d4×100) eggs, larvae, and pupae. Their hives may surround a lace tree or fill a vast chamber in the earth.

A giant wasp first attacks with its powerful bite (2d4 points of damage), then stabs with its stinger (1-4 points). Failure to make a save against poison means that any victim hit by the stinger has been injured with a poison similar to that employs by the giant hornet. Paralyzed victims are carried back to the hive and placed in the communal egg chamber where they are quickly consumed by the hungry young.

Dragonfly, Giant

2107

Giant dragonflies, like their smaller counterparts, are swift and deadly aerial hunters. While their smaller cousins are generally beneficial, the giant variety is a dangerous predator that attacks any creature its size or smaller.

Adult giant dragonflies are famous for their brilliant metallic colors; common hues are green, blue, and gold. Striped and spotted individuals have been reported. All adult giant dragonflies have two identical pairs of transparent wings that show dark veins in an sparkling amber membrane. A dragonfly’s six legs are long and delicate, so the insect can at best balance lightly on a tree branch or other perch. The legs are tightly bunched where they join the body, but spread out at angles so the dragonfly can clench them together to form a large basket.

Combat: A giant dragonfly’s four wings enable it to hover and to dart with blinding speed. They gain a -3 bonus to all initiative rolls; if they win initiative, they can dart into melee and zip out of range before their opponents can make return melee attacks. A darting dragonfly also can avoid missile attacks. When a giant dragonfly has initiative, missile attacks directed against it suffer a -4 penalty. Even when the dragonfly loses initiative, missile attacks against it suffer a -2 penalty. When attacking creatures of tiny or small size, a dragonfly scoops its victim into its leg basket and devours it in midair. Once caught in the basket, the creature automatically suffers bite damage each round until completely devoured. When attacking larger creatures, a dragonfly darts in to bite with its mandibles.

Habitat/Society: Since they tend to attack and devour anything they see, giant dragonflies do not form organized groups. Nevertheless, several of them hunting in the same general area may attempt massed attacks against less agile opponents. After such a gang attack, however, any crippled dragonflies are likely to become the next victims.

Ecology: Giant dragonflies mate and breed on the wing and near water, where they prefer to hunt. However, they are strong fliers and often are encountered over dry land, miles from water. Generally, they prey on other flying giant insects, but they take warm-blooded prey when they can get it. Giant dragonflies cannot tolerate freezing temperatures, but they are found in nearly every non-polar climate except deserts. In tropical areas, giant dragonflies tend to be even bigger. These larger specimens use the statistics in parentheses.

Giant dragonfly eggs hatch in 12-20 days, depending on the temperature. Once hatched, a dragonfly remains in larval form for about a year. In temperate climates, the larvae hibernate through the winter, emerging as adults the next spring.

A giant dragonfly’s wings have no special value, but its glittering, metallic skin is highly prized in some areas for use in apparel and decoration. Magically preserved skin can bring up to 600 gp per square foot (a typical specimen yields six square feet of skin; tropical specimens can yield about eight square feet).

Larvae

Dragonfly larvae are sometimes called nymphs. These creatures are every bit as voracious as the adults, but they are flightless and completely aquatic. They are poor swimmers, however. Instead they lurk on the bottoms of lakes or ponds, hiding in burrows, weed beds, or fallen debris and waiting to ambush prey. Their abdomens are equipped with organs that can expel a powerful jet of water once every two rounds. When jetting out of cover to the attack, a nymph surprises victims 50% of the time. Dragonfly nymphs are armed with mandibles even more formidable than those of adults. Furthermore, these mandibles are covered by a rubbery, liplike organ when not in use; so even if the nymph is spotted before the attack, it often appears to be an inoffensive, toothless creature.