I is for Insects

Insects - underestimated and neglected

Insects are poorly represented in the Old World books beyond the giant beetles, chaos ants and the like. Game masters are encouraged to fill the blanks and surprise veteran player with new kind of insects. One easy way is to create a new subtype of beastmen or demons with the subset of mutations fitting with an insect lineage. In this entry, we will focus on even more twisted insects.

Frankinsect is a tall and bulky humanoid formed by the aggregation of thousands of insects bound together by powerful force being magical, druidic or shamanic. Sometimes also named crawlers elemental they are very rare, always unique and very powerful. The first reported Frankinsect was cast centuries ago by a powerful druid named Frankus The Creeper. He successfully defended a sacred grove attacked by beastmen but at the cost of its own life. Each Frankinsect is one of a kind as its composition depends on the insects available in the surroundings: grasshoppers, cockroaches or carrion beetles, etc. There are reports of skaven grey seers, orcs shamans, dark druids and Nurgle priest to invoke and control those living constructs with great difficulties. Frankinsect are very resistant to physical damage while the magic involved makes them partially resistant to elements. Only high level dispelling magic can destroy them directly. If this is not possible only killing the controller will make the Frankinsect slowly becoming unstable and dissolve. But not before creating an huge havoc in their vicinity.

Dagmar zum Averland, lector at the Altdorf university, wrote a famous essay on the topic of insectaïd. Her work is based on several testimonies and old manuscripts describing nature spirit shaped as enhanced and augmented insects. Dagmar’s theory is that insectaïd are related to insect the same way dryads are related to trees. She makes the hypothesis that these entities are the tools created by nature to help cleanse and regenerate herself. Insectoïds appears to gather in small communities and cleanse and regenerate their surrounding. They perform menial works like removing tainted ground, irrigating and planting trees. They are also said to perform rituals involving exquisite choreography and humbling chants. Dagmar would finance an expedition to observe insectaïd directly.

-JMT

Popular posts from this blog

[D&D 5e] Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden 17

The party left the ice fortress to check out the dead body we heard was frozen in the ice halfway up the island. The body was of Nas. It turned out she was still there in spirit, and she possessed Vael. In Vael’s body, she went after the Codicil that Ylenn had her face stuck in. When Vael couldn’t get to Ylenn, Nas possessed Prax instead. Prax also couldn’t get there, as Ylenn cast Hold Person on him, and the rest of the party dragged him away from Nas’ dead body. After he was far enough away, the spirit had to return to the dead body…which Morgan had burned to a crisp. We got the orb containing Professor Scant from Nas’ dead body. We circled the island, looking for the whale or another good way off. We couldn’t find one. Ylenn said she could summon the whale, if we could just last the night. We made a lean-to to sleep in and keep cover from the roc. As an octopus, Morgan was able to get some sail from a sunken ship to cover our lean-to. He also was able to find a huge treasure che...
Read more

Thoughts on Stalwart Adventures 7

We were quite surprised at how we found our new party member, and exactly what race/class he was! I kept hearing there were witches outside of town, so I kept trying to recruit village folk to go adventuring with us, figuring that’s where our new party member would come from. Begrudgingly I was forced to leave town without anyone, only to find the new guy hanging from a tree in a cage.  The DM kept letting Zak try to climb the tree and pick the lock, no matter how badly I failed. Mostly it was to find out how long it took and what zany stuff happened while I was trying, including falling from the cage, and then also standing in Thanin’s saddle while she rode to stand under the cage.  Searching for the dwarf hold entrance, we were reminded once again how out of our element these characters are. I can see the benefit of a stable of rolled up characters, and then choosing the one used to the wilderness for this particular adventure. Zak is an in-town dude. He really needs to snap...
Read more

Thoughts on Stalwart Adventures 3

I think we were all done with fighting goblins. The DM had the pack leader in the next room. He gave himself up and assured us the goblins (and his ogre) would leave us alone. The rest of the night (until the end) was exploring. It’s really good to mix in the exploring after so much fighting. I still need to get better at Find/Remove Traps, as one blasted me pretty good.  I played the character a little more chaotic, and it was kind of fun. Probably not the type of fun that the other PCs feel they can rely on to watch their back, though. The fun thing about chaotic neutral is I can lean into it whenever I’m looking to spice things up. The rest of the time I can be more reasonable and reliable. The cleric held its own again. I really think he may be the best option for fighting the alpha werewolf. We’ll have to talk it over and see what the others think. I know Zak isn’t the best choice! If we can defeat the alpha wolf, it should wrap up this little adventure nicely. 
Read more