Buy me a coffeeGiant Mosquito, Bloodwing Horror
“This colossal 6-foot-long Giant Mosquito soars through the canopy, leaving drained megafauna—and terrified adventurers—in its wake!”
The Giant Mosquito’s body measures 6 feet from toothed mandibles to segmented abdomen, its carapace striped in iridescent black and blood-red bands. Four translucent wings span nearly 4 feet each, beating in a low, resonant drone that betrays its approach only moments before impact. Six jointed legs—each tipped with razor-curved claws—protrude from its thorax, designed both for perching on flesh and for shredding through clothing. Its head is dominated by a rigid, barbed proboscis over 2 feet long, containing reservoirs of neuro-venom and anticoagulants to dispatch prey swiftly.
Behaviour
Rather than mere pests, Giant Mosquitoes function as calculated predators, spending daylight hours in torpor within flooded cavern nests before stirring at dusk to patrol hunting grounds up to 10 miles from their lairs. They navigate via a blend of heat-sensing pits and carbon-dioxide detection, zeroing in on the pulse of living creatures with uncanny accuracy. Once a suitable target is found, they execute a near-silent dive, using hooked forelegs to grapple and immobilize victims before delivering their sting. Females alone feed on blood; males subsist on nectar but will rasp flesh with their claws if starved.
Habitat
Giant Mosquitoes choose flooded cavern chambers, ancient hollow trees, and abandoned ruins near freshwater as their lairs, weaving silken retreats from salivary proteins high above the waterline. They require standing water to oviposit—giant larval pools only form after cataclysmic floods—forcing seasonal migrations that can span hundreds of miles. Outside flood season, they roost in dark, humid recesses where their eggs and larvae await the next deluge.
Modus Operandi
- High-Altitude Recon: Cruising 200–300 feet above ground in search of CO₂ plumes, scanning a broad ten-mile radius.
- Stealth Dive: Folding wings into a dagger-like profile to plunge silently toward prey, claws extended for grappling upon impact.
- Venomous Drain: Piercing with its barbed proboscis, injecting anesthetic and anticoagulant compounds to facilitate rapid blood extraction—up to 5 gallons per feed.
- Rapid Retreat: Ascending in spiraling bursts, disgorging excess plasma to lighten its load before returning to lair or seeking new hosts.
Motivation
Instinctively driven by the imperative to propagate—each blood meal fuels the production of hundreds of eggs—the Giant Mosquito embodies a relentless evolutionary arms race. Its colossal form deters potential predators, while its surgical precision ensures minimal struggle, allowing it to dominate any swamp or woodland as apex hematophage. In a world of fleeting floodwaters and fierce competition, this behemoth soars supreme, a living testament to the dark ingenuity of nature’s design.
Giant Mosquito 5e
Giant Mosquito 3.5
Giant Mosquito
Large Vermin, Unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (6d10 + 12)
Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | — | 10 (+0) | 3 (−4) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +4
Skills Stealth +5, Perception +4
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 10 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages —
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Traits
- Vermin Traits. Immune to poison and psychic damage; immune to the charmed, frightened, and prone conditions.
- Flyby. Doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.
- Blood Frenzy. If the Giant Mosquito drains blood from a target, it gains advantage on its next Claw Grapple against that target.
- Swarm Defense. When a creature within 5 ft. hits a Giant Mosquito with a melee attack, another Giant Mosquito within 10 ft. can use its reaction to make one Claw Grapple attack against that creature.
Actions
- Claw Grapple. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 + 3 slashing damage, and the mosquito attaches to the target. While attached, it can’t use Claw Grapple again but instead uses Blood Drain at the start of its turns. It can detach by spending 5 ft. of movement.
- Blood Drain. While attached, at the start of its turn the mosquito drains blood: the target takes 2d4 + 1 necrotic damage and must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or have its speed halved until the grapple ends. A target can use its action to make a DC 12 Strength check to end the grapple and detach the mosquito.
Reactions
- Swarm Counterattack. When a Giant Mosquito within 10 ft. of another is hit by a melee attack, that mosquito can use its reaction to swipe at the attacker with a Claw Grapple (no extra action required).
Tactics
- Ambush Fly-In: Circles silently overhead using Flyby, then dives to use Claw Grapple on isolated or sleeping foes.
- Blood Feast: Remains attached until Blood Drain deals 12 hp of damage, then detaches and retreats to regroup with the swarm.
- Swarm Support: Nearby mosquitos use Swarm Defense to punish melee rescuers, buying time for detachments.
- Hit-and-Run: If reduced below half HP, the mosquito uses speed and Flyby to escape high-ground roosts or lair hollows.
Ecology & Variants
- Male-Only Cluster (CR 2): Males use foreleg claws (1d6 damage) but lack blood drain; gain +2 to escape attempts against grapples.
- Anopheles Stalker (CR 4): Coated in anticoagulant venom; its Blood Drain also poisons (DC 13 Con save or poisoned 1 minute).
A mosquito larger than a man soars into view.
Originally Posted by Shade of the En World forums.
Giant mosquitos, like their normal-sized kin, are a plague to all warm-blooded creatures. They can survive in nearly any environment, as long as some water is nearby.
Males of both the culex and anopheles species are nearly identical, save for slight coloration and body shape changes. The proboscises of male giant mosquitos lack stylets, and thus are unable to drain blood like the females of the species. However, their forelegs are sharply clawed, capable of drawing plenty of blood for their sustenance.
Culex giant mosquitoes dwell near urban areas, preferring the blood of humanoids, while the anopheles species prefer to prey on animals, thus preferring wilderness locales. Giant mosquitoes travel is swarms of the same species, but mixed genders. They make lairs in hollow trees, caves, or ruined or abandoned buildings. Although temperatures below freezing often kill giant mosquitoes or send them into hibernation, some species have been reported in even polar areas.
A male giant mosquito is 7 feet long and weighs 10 to 15 pounds. It lives about one month on average.
| Mosquito, Giant, Male | |
| Medium vermin | |
| Hit Dice | 6d8 (27 hp) |
| Initiative | +2 |
| Speed | 20 ft. (4 squares), Fly 40 ft. (good) |
| Armor Class | 15 (+2 Dexterity, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 13 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +4/+4 |
| Attack | Claw +4 melee (1d4) |
| Full Attack | 2 claws +4 melee (1d4) |
| Space/Reach | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | – |
| Special Qualities | Darkvision 60 ft., vermin traits |
| Saves | Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +2 |
| Abilities | Strength 10, Dexterity 15, Constitution 11, Intelligence -, Wisdom 11, Charisma 2 |
| Skills | — |
| Feats | — |
| Environment | Any land |
| Organization | Solitary or swarm (2-24 plus 2-20 females) |
| Challenge Rating | 3 |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Always neutral |
| Advancement | 7-10 HD (Medium), 11-15 HD (Large) |
| Level Adjustment | – |
Combat
Male giant mosquitos simply attack with two sharp claws, vigorously defending females of their swarm. Male giant mosquitos fight to the death in defense of their swarm.
Originally appeared in Polyhedron Magazine #67 (1992).