Body Snatch. The Swarm can take control of a nearby skeleton as an action and use it to move faster and access different attacks. The Swarm's size Influence the size of the skeleton it can inhabit and its hp (This block is for a human skeleton). If the swarm tries to control a dead body that isn't a skeleton it must spend 1 turn consuming the excess parts and gains control on the start of the next turn.
Swarm. The Swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. When not inhabiting a skeleton, the swarm can inhabit another creature's space and vice versa. The swarm can also move through any opening large enough for a tiny insect when not inhabiting a skeleton.
If the Swarm is Inhabiting a Skeleton:
Swipe. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., Hit: 15 (4d6) blunt damage, or 6 (2d4) blunt damage if the swarm is below half its max hp. The target must also make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 8 (2d6) Acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
Tackle. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., Hit: 6 (2d4) blunt damage, or 2 (Dexterity Mod) blunt damage if the swarm is below max hp. The target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 8 (2d6) Acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. The target must also make a DC 16 Dex save or be knocked prone and covered by the beetles taking 6 (2d4) Acid damage each turn. The target can make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw each turn to shake off the beetles.
If the Swarm isn't Inhabiting a Skeleton:
Consume. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 0 ft., Hit: 10 (4d4) piercing damage, or 5 (2d4) piercing damage if the swarm is below half its max hp. The target must also make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 8 (2d6) Acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. The target must also make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or covered by the beetles taking 6 (2d4) Acid damage each turn. The target can redo the Dexterity save each turn to shake the beetles off.
Body Snatch. The Swarm can take control of a nearby skeleton as an action and use it to move faster and access different attacks. The Swarm's size Influence the size of the skeleton it can inhabit (This block is for a human skeleton). If the swarm tries to control a dead body that isn't a skeleton it must spend 1 turn consuming the excess parts, then gains control of the skeleton on the start of the next turn.
Disperse. Upon taking damage the swarm can use its reaction to reduce the incoming damage by 2 or 4 if its hp is below half its maximum. This reaction can't be used if the attack deals cold or fire damage, or if the swarm isn't inhabiting a skeleton. Once the swarm disperses in this way the skeleton that was being used is destroyed.
Description
The Body Snatcher is a colony of small black beetles that will take the skeleton of its prey and use it to travel large distances and assist with hunting. A small colony consists of at least 5 thousand beetles, any colony over 10 thousand will have more than one queen beetle which allows it to control larger skeletons (This block is for a human skeleton). The colony is controlled by a single queen beetle that is constantly moving throughout the colony. The colony queen(s) give off a small amount of mana. Fire causes the colony to abandon the skeleton and attempt to flee from the fight immediately. If the colony escapes, they will flee to their mound, create a new mound to lie dormant, or search for a skeleton to inhabit. Any force damage will cause the colony to fall off the skeleton and either try reinhabiting the skeleton or directly attacking a nearby creature. Depending on the size of the colony they can inhabit different skeletons that are not always humanoid. The Body Snatcher is instinctually intelligent enough to lure prey into simple ambushes. A Body Snatcher tracks its prey through smell. The beetles inject acid into the target in order to dissolve and consume the creature. The acid is extremely painful as it dissolves the prey's nerves, skin, and muscles. Body Snatchers hunt at night and take any excess skeletons to a burrow if they've created one, they will go out during the day if they don't have a burrow to return to. If multiple queen beetles are present, they can form a large colony inhabiting a larger skeleton, inhabit two separate skeletons to hunt together, or inhabit two separate skeletons to travel and create a new colony in a different area. A queen is created if the original colony has at least 6 extra skeletons, the original queen will then lay a queen egg inside one of the skeletons. Once the queen egg hatches the original queen will give part of its colony to the newly born queen. The queen beetles are constantly laying eggs, creating at least 600 new beetles every day. The eggs are stored inside a mound in large sacks. Once the eggs are ready to hatch the queen will release a chemical onto the egg sack causing the eggs and egg sack to open. The beetles are extremely hostile toward anything it can consume and anything that disturbs their mound. The Body Snatcher is carnivorous. Signs that a Body Snatcher is in the area are, Skeletons picked clean, a lack of small or medium creatures, and/or a large mound with an extremely round top with small wholes along the sides of the mound. The Body Snatchers always have a larger exit nearby that they use to exit as and bring in skeletons.
Lair and Lair Actions
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