Hello everyone. I want to write a short (1-2 hours of play time, i.e. 3-4 encounters) adventure involving an insect hive or nest in my spiral-type campaign. My ideas to motivate the players is they want to procure poison from the insects bodies to brew into something they could apply to weapons, harvest royal jelly (or something similar) as an ingredient to brew a potion (or maybe just a medieval energy drink in and of itself) and/or retrieve a person who has been captured by the bugs and is about to be fed the larvae.
I was considering modeling the insects from real life, like a hive of large bees with similar social structure (soldiers, workers, queen, drones) or ants. Perhaps the bugs collect food and then bring it into a "brewing room" where other workers drop it in a cells holding acid to be digested before being unsealed and fed to the larvae and pupae? The captured person could be in this room.
Anyone got better or additional ideas? Any role playing ideas that can be thrown in? Perhaps a druid enclave is actively feeding the bugs NPCs?
Many thanks.
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I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
This seems in a perfect fit for Kruthiks. The Eberron 4th Edition adventure Seekers of the Ashen Crown has a fully detailed nest that they made in recently discovered ancient goblin tomb complex, that contains cocoons, hive queen etc...that could be worth a look.
I had another idea I forgot to write down. I have always been fascinated with symbiotic relationships. What if the bugs take their food to a room filled with mushrooms? The mushrooms digest the food (people). The bugs harvest mushrooms for food. People have put out some good ideas for mushrooms, both in books and on this website. Different sorts of toxins and spores...etc
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
This seems in a perfect fit for Kruthiks. The Eberron 4th Edition adventure Seekers of the Ashen Crown has a fully detailed nest that they made in recently discovered ancient goblin tomb complex, that contains cocoons, hive queen etc...that could be worth a look.
Not familiar with that. I looked it up though and it looks like two booklets, 100 pages in total. Worth buying???
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
I thought a bit more. I like the idea of having small swarming insects at the entrance. Maybe if 5 score hits they all lock onto the PC and pin them to the ground. But just when they get used to that, have a large insect in a symbiotic relationship. Something like an Ankheg. The players won't be ready for a fight against a single, large, strong monster.
i doubt there is a symbiotic relationship in the real world between a small insect, a large insect and fungi, but that's ok.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
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Hello everyone. I want to write a short (1-2 hours of play time, i.e. 3-4 encounters) adventure involving an insect hive or nest in my spiral-type campaign. My ideas to motivate the players is they want to procure poison from the insects bodies to brew into something they could apply to weapons, harvest royal jelly (or something similar) as an ingredient to brew a potion (or maybe just a medieval energy drink in and of itself) and/or retrieve a person who has been captured by the bugs and is about to be fed the larvae.
I was considering modeling the insects from real life, like a hive of large bees with similar social structure (soldiers, workers, queen, drones) or ants. Perhaps the bugs collect food and then bring it into a "brewing room" where other workers drop it in a cells holding acid to be digested before being unsealed and fed to the larvae and pupae? The captured person could be in this room.
Anyone got better or additional ideas? Any role playing ideas that can be thrown in? Perhaps a druid enclave is actively feeding the bugs NPCs?
Many thanks.
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
Ideas to add, no. Thinking about stealing the ideas you have, absolutely!
So, needless to say I think what you have is great for the scale of adventure you've described.
This seems in a perfect fit for Kruthiks. The Eberron 4th Edition adventure Seekers of the Ashen Crown has a fully detailed nest that they made in recently discovered ancient goblin tomb complex, that contains cocoons, hive queen etc...that could be worth a look.
I had another idea I forgot to write down. I have always been fascinated with symbiotic relationships. What if the bugs take their food to a room filled with mushrooms? The mushrooms digest the food (people). The bugs harvest mushrooms for food. People have put out some good ideas for mushrooms, both in books and on this website. Different sorts of toxins and spores...etc
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
Not familiar with that. I looked it up though and it looks like two booklets, 100 pages in total. Worth buying???
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
4th Edition adventures were designed this way, one book for narrative story and the other for mechanic encounters
Its up to you if you want get it and adapt to your game.
I thought a bit more. I like the idea of having small swarming insects at the entrance. Maybe if 5 score hits they all lock onto the PC and pin them to the ground. But just when they get used to that, have a large insect in a symbiotic relationship. Something like an Ankheg. The players won't be ready for a fight against a single, large, strong monster.
i doubt there is a symbiotic relationship in the real world between a small insect, a large insect and fungi, but that's ok.
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.