Buy me a coffee“Giant Bee: Venomous Guardian of the Forest Canopy”
“A venom-dripping predator with gleaming amber eyes and thunderous wings, the giant bee stalks forest canopies with deadly precision, leaving a trail of buzzing terror in its wake.”
“A towering, venom-dripping predator with gleaming amber eyes and wings that thunder like a storm, the giant bee patrols forest canopies with lethal precision, leaving a trail of buzzing dread in its wake.”
Overview
The Giant Bee is a venomous forest predator, its black-and-gold armor glinting in sunlight filtering through the treetops. Wings that roar like a storm carry it with startling speed and agility, while glowing amber eyes track intruders with uncanny awareness. Fiercely territorial, it strikes with stingers and jagged mandibles with surgical precision. Its swarming tactics and relentless hive instincts make it both a vigilant guardian and a terrifying predator within its domain.
Appearance
Stretching four to six feet in length, the giant bee’s black-and-gold striped exoskeleton glimmers with a metallic sheen. Its enormous translucent wings hum like a war drum, creating a thunderous warning even before it strikes. Jagged mandibles and a curved stinger radiate menace, while its glowing amber eyes convey intelligence and lethal intent. Its sheer size and speed make it a formidable and memorable sight in the forest canopy.
Behaviour
Giant bees are highly alert and fiercely territorial, patrolling their hives in tight, coordinated formations. Normally defensive, they strike suddenly and decisively when provoked or hunting. The thunderous buzzing of their wings serves as a warning and psychological weapon, intimidating prey before a swift, lethal attack.
Habitat
Giant bees dominate forest canopies, cliffside ledges, and secluded magical groves, favoring areas abundant with flowers and nectar. Colonies may control vast stretches of territory, aggressively defending hives and forcing even larger creatures to retreat before confrontation.
Modus Operandi
These predators attack in high-speed dives, striking with venomous stingers and snapping mandibles. They often coordinate in swarms to overwhelm larger threats, using size, speed, and agility to strike, retreat, and regroup. Their venom is potent enough to immobilize creatures as large as humanoids, making them both efficient hunters and formidable defenders.
Motivation
Instinct governs their behavior: protecting the hive and young, defending nectar-rich territory, and hunting only when necessary. Any perceived threat or curiosity triggers an immediate, lethal response, and their size, venom, and agility make them one of the forest’s most dangerous aerial predators.
Giant Bee 5e 2024
Giant Bee, Pathfinder
Giant Bee
Medium monstrosity, unaligned
Giant bees are fearsome aerial predators, patrolling forest canopies and cliffside groves with lethal precision. Their black-and-gold armor glistens in sunlight, while wings that roar like storms carry them with astonishing speed. Glowing amber eyes track intruders, and swarming tactics make even a single bee a formidable threat when defending its hive.
Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 85 (10d8 + 40)
Speed: 10 ft., fly 60 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 17 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 2 (−4) | 12 (+1) | 6 (−2) |
Saving Throws: Dex +6, Con +7
Skills: Perception +4
Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: Poison
Condition Immunities: Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages: —
Challenge: 4 (1,100 XP)
Traits
Keen Smell. The giant bee has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Hover. The giant bee can hover and move through spaces as narrow as 1 ft. without squeezing.
Swarm Awareness. When within 30 ft. of at least one other giant bee, each bee can add +1 to AC and +1 to attack rolls.
Actions
Multiattack. The giant bee makes two attacks: one with its Sting and one with its Bite.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage.
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (3d6) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 round. After it stings, the giant bee dies.
Wing Buffet (Recharge 5–6). The giant bee beats its wings in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet back and knocked prone.
Reactions
Evasive Maneuver. When a creature the bee can see attacks it with a ranged weapon, the bee can use its reaction to move up to 15 ft. without provoking opportunity attacks.
Tactics
Giant bees use hit-and-run aerial attacks, striking poisoned stings first to weaken targets, then retreating. They exploit speed, agility, and Wing Buffet to control the battlefield, especially when in groups. Knowing their sting is fatal, bees may use swarming tactics to maximize damage before dying, retreating only if outmatched.
Habitat
Giant bees nest in forest canopies, cliffside ledges, and secluded magical groves, favoring areas dense with flowers and nectar. Colonies dominate territory aggressively, defending the hive and young from intruders and forcing even larger creatures to flee.
Lore
Legends portray giant bees as nature’s vigilant enforcers, guarding sacred groves and rare magical flora. Druids and fey sometimes revere them for their industriousness, while adventurers seek their venom or honey for alchemy, despite the danger. The bee’s fatal sting underscores its role as a lethal but expendable guardian.
Giant Bee
Striking yellow and black markings and a coat of bristling hairs cover this immense bee. Its stinger is the size of a dagger blade.
Like their smaller cousins, giant bees fill their ecological niche by playing matchmaker for a vast array of flowering plant life. As a giant bee feeds on plant nectars, clumps of pollen attach to the coarse hairs covering its body and legs.
Giant bees grow to approximately 5 feet in length, with a similar wingspan. These creatures weigh 60 pounds and live in their adult form for nearly 10 years. Giant bees’ stingers are not barbed like those of their diminutive counterparts, so these creatures can sting foes repeatedly and do not die after one sting.
Giant Bee CR 1
XP 400
N Medium vermin
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 16 (3d8+3)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2
Immune mind-affecting effects
Weaknesses vulnerable to smoke
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee sting +2 (1d4 plus poison)
STATISTICS
Str 11, Dex 14, Con 13, Int –, Wis 12, Cha 9
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 14 (22 vs. trip)
Skills Fly +6
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Poison (Ex)
Sting—injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.
Vulnerable to Smoke (Ex)
Smoke from particularly smoky fires or effects (such as that created by a pyrotechnics spell) causes a giant bee to become nauseated if it fails a DC 14 Fortitude save. This condition persists as long as the giant bee remains in the smoke, plus 1d4 rounds.
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate or warm plains
Organization solitary, group (2–5), or nest (6–19)
Treasure incidental
Giant Bumblebee (CR 2)
These bulky and aggressive giant bees have the advanced creature simple template. Their venom is deadly, and deals Constitution damage rather than Strength damage.
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Graeme Davis, Crystal Frasier, Joshua J. Frost, Tim Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal MacLean, Martin Mason, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Owen K.C. Stephens, James L. Sutter, Russ Taylor, and Greg A. Vaughan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.