Legend: The witches was meetin’ up on the moor. The priest got the menfolk together to follow ’em and see to ’em. We ‘ad our pitchforks and a few swords an’ followed up up to the moor an’ they upped an’ vanished into a tor. There were a crack in the earth, goin’ down, and the priest whipped us up into a frenzy to follow ’em.
That we did, down into the crack an’ it went deeper and deeper and deeper. Then we found ’em, in a grotto under there. Lit up all blue by the ‘shrooms an stuff all over the walls and they was chantin’ an’ cavortin’ in some wicked ritual.
We set to ’em an’ then the walls came alive, crawlin’ wi’ black-and-white bugs an’ a hummin’ that sets yer teeth on edge an’ they stung like old scratch hisself. We ‘ad to run. Can’t fight a swarm wi’ a sword after all. Lost the priest, lost a few other good ‘uns. Never saw the witches again though.
Description: Cave bees are about the size of a human thumb and live in great swarms underground. Rather than flowers, they harvest fungi and turn the spores into a bittersweet honey that glows with a blueish light. A single cave can play host to many swarms, all of which cooperate and live alongside each other. The bees are incredibly defensive and have pink eyes and black and white banding. Their sting is vicious, though fatal to the bee itself.
Their nests are built primarily into the cracks and crannies in the rocks but rounded masses of honeycomb protrude here and there, faintly lit up with the same phosphorescence found in the honey.
Statistics:
- Armour Class: 16 (landing an effective hit on a swarm is difficult)
- Hit Dice: 4d8 per Swarm (18hp) multiple swarms combine into a single swarm and there may be as many as six swarms in a single chamber.
- Movement: 180′
- Number of Attacks: A single attack is made every turn upon everyone within the area of the swarm.
- Damage per Attack: 1
- Morale: 12
- Special Abilities: Most physical attacks only do one damage, a burning torch can do 1d4. Spells with areas of effect do full damage.
- Special: Cave Bee honey can be collected to be used as a flameless lantern, though the light is about half as strong as a torch. When consumed it causes mutual hallucinations between nearby participants and can, with extended use, make them a ‘part’ of the hive, after a fashion.
Postmortem Studios 