Swarm of Hellwasps

Large swarm of Tiny fiends, lawful evil

Armor Class 15
Hit Points 90 (12d10 + 24)
Speed 5 ft., fly 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	20 (+5)	14 (+2)	5 (-3)	11 (+0)	3 (-4)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands Infernal but can’t speak
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Special Traits

• Swarm. The swarm can occupy one or more other creatures’ spaces and vice versa, and the swarm can move through an opening large enough for a Tiny hellwasp. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

Actions

• Multiattack. The swarm makes two Stings attacks.
• Stings. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm’s space. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage, or 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer. The target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 21 (6d6) poison damage and is poisoned until the end of its next turn. On a successful saving throw, it takes half as much poison damage and is not poisoned.
• Inhabit. The swarm enters the body of a dead or incapacitated creature of size Small, Medium, or Large. If the creature was dead, it becomes a zombie of the appropriate variety with full hit points under the control of the swarm. If the creature is alive, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or the swarm takes complete control of its body. The swarm may cause the creature to take any of its normal actions, except spellcasting. Damage done to an inhabited creature is split evenly between the creature and the swarm. When a creature begins its turn inhabited by the swarm, it takes 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. An inhabited creature may repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, expelling the swarm from its body and ending the swarm’s control over it on a success. A living inhabited creature which dies from the swarm’s necrotic damage becomes a zombie of the appropriate variety with full hit points under the control of the swarm. Casting greater restoration or heal on a living inhabited creature expels the swarm.

About

Even Hell’s fiendish inhabitants know to stay clear of the maddening buzz of hellwasp swarms. While individual hellwasps are mindless, when swarmed together they gain a hive mind that torments the living and the dead alike. Sages and diabolists argue as to why this happens, but a favored explanation is that all hellwasps contain the dispersed soul of some greater devil, scattered and imprisoned by his rivals for infractions lost to mortal knowledge.

Though intelligent, these swarms are often difficult to understand and reason with. A hellwasp swarm can speak in a fashion with its myriad droning wings. The chatter is often little more than repetitive mantras of insults and the voicing of the twisted and base desires of the swarm.

A hellwasp swarm has little use for reason, diplomacy, or discourse in other circumstances, for its desires are as savage as its home plane.