Buy me a coffee“Venomwing Colossus: The Giant Wasp of Dreaded Skies”
“A buzzing nightmare of dagger-sized stingers and armored wings, the Giant Wasp swoops from the skies to paralyze prey and drag it screaming into the hive’s shadowy depths.”
A Giant Wasp resembles its smaller kin, but grotesquely magnified to the size of a horse. Its chitin gleams in segmented plates of black and amber, while translucent wings beat with a thunderous drone. Its barbed stinger, as long as a sword, drips with venom, and its bulbous eyes shimmer with an alien intelligence that unnerves all who meet its gaze.
Behaviour
These predators are relentless and aggressive, patrolling their territory in sweeping aerial patterns. Giant Wasps hunt in loose swarms and display uncanny coordination, striking with ruthless efficiency. They attack intruders without hesitation, preferring swift, decisive assaults that leave little room for counterattack.
Habitat
Giant Wasps favor warm forests, jungles, and cavernous lairs where their nests can cling to cliffs, trees, or cavern ceilings. Their colonies often expand into sprawling hive-complexes filled with resinous tunnels, brood chambers, and the constant hum of wings.
Modus Operandi
A Giant Wasp relies on speed and venom. It swoops down to impale prey with its stinger, injecting a paralytic toxin that renders victims helpless. Once immobilized, targets are carried back to the hive, where they are entombed alive to feed developing larvae. Against organized foes, Giant Wasps harry from the air, stinging and retreating until their quarry collapses.
Motivation
Though not driven by malice, Giant Wasps are creatures of survival and propagation. Their instincts compel them to protect the hive, expand territory, and provide sustenance for their brood. Colonies act with a singular purpose: to ensure the swarm thrives, no matter the cost.
Giant Wasp, 5e 2024
Giant Wasp, Pathfinder
Giant Wasp
Large Monstrosity, Unaligned
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 110 (13d10 + 39)
Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 16 (+3) | 3 (–4) | 12 (+1) | 6 (–2) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +5
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages —
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) • Proficiency Bonus +3
Traits
Pack Tactics. The wasp has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the wasp’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and not incapacitated.
Hive Resonance (Innate Magic). The wasp channels strange, instinctual resonance that mimics magic. Its innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 13). It requires no components:
- 1/day each: faerie fire, entangle (appearing as sticky resinous webbing)
Frightening Drone (Recharge 5–6). The wasp beats its wings in a deep, resonant hum. Each creature of the wasp’s choice within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of the wasp’s next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. The wasp makes two attacks: one with its Mandibles and one with its Sting.
- Mandibles. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d8 + 2) piercing damage.
- Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d10 + 2) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Reactions
Skewering Counter. When a creature within 5 feet of the wasp misses it with a melee attack, the wasp makes a Sting attack against that creature.
Legendary Actions
The Giant Wasp can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn.
- Wingbeat. The wasp beats its wings, forcing creatures within 10 feet to make a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away and knocked prone.
- Swoop. The wasp moves up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
- Venom Surge (Costs 2 Actions). The wasp immediately makes one Sting attack.
Combat Tactics
A Giant Wasp is a relentless aerial predator. It opens combat with Frightening Drone to scatter foes, then harasses stragglers with repeated sting-and-retreat maneuvers, using Swoop to stay mobile. It targets weaker prey first, paralyzing and isolating them before dragging them away. When defending its hive, Giant Wasps fight with terrifying coordination, focusing on one enemy at a time until the swarm prevails.
Giant Wasp
This horse-sized wasp is covered in yellow and black vertical stripes—its stinger is the size of a sword and drips with venom.
Giant wasps nearly always form nests, though not like their much smaller cousins. Each nest functions with one leader (the queen), a few workers, and several soldiers. The workers and the queen produce offspring while the soldiers protect the nest and hunt for food. Giant wasp nests are typically found in caves, abandoned houses, or any complex large enough to fit a dozen 10-foot-tall insects.
Giant wasps attack when hungry or threatened, stinging their prey to death. They take dead or incapacitated opponents back to their lairs as food for their unhatched young—the experience of lying in a wasp nest, paralyzed while its grubs feed, is one of nature’s cruelest inventions. Even when part of a nest, giant wasps tend toward solitary hunting, and it’s rare to see more than one at a time.
Giant Wasp CR 3
XP 800
N Large vermin
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 13; (+1 Dex, +4 natural, –1 size)
hp 34 (4d8+16)
Fort +8, Ref +2, Will +2
Immune mind-affecting effects
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee sting +6 (1d8+6 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 19
Skills Fly +3, Perception +9; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Poison (Ex)
Sting—injury; save Fort DC 18; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dexterity damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based, and includes a +2 racial bonus.
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests
Organization solitary, pair, group (3–6), or nest (7–19)
Treasure none