Homebrew Lithohermaea Species Details

Even now, the wondrous yet accursed beauty of this planet still never ceases to surprise me. After almost my entire squadron was wiped out by the Antharachnids, we fled to a place we hadn’t charted yet. All of a sudden, we heard a buzzing noise coming around the corner. What followed was a swarm of humanoid bees not too dissimilar in build to the Antharachnids (barring the fact that these creatures took after the likeness of bees rather than spiders). We expected the worst, but they were… kind of friendly to us.

Yes, they were very cautious, but they showed hospitality. Back of their… colony? Hive? I’m not sure, but what I saw all seemed perfectly efficient; every worker had a distinct role to play in the place, and were kind enough to share some of their food supplies.

One of our surviving members happened to be one who was biologically mute, so we all had to learn Common Sign Language as well. They seemed to just… understand him. Of course, their signage differed to his, but it didn’t take too long for a conversation to be near-seamless. If we are to commence another exploration, CSL will probably be taught to the next squadron in case we ever encounter those beings again.
- Weonin; spoken in an interview after Project Auril’s commencement

Being a sister species to the Antharachnids, the Lithohermaea had a similar evolution cycle, though most notably having features that resemble a bee rather than a spider. Contrary to the popular belief of being a surface dwelling species, they set up their hives in cave systems within habitable zones. Instead of the arsenal that six arms and two fangs provide, the Lithohermaea host a stinger on their abdomen and wings to allow for flight. As with bees that are commonly observed, the stinger provides incredible stopping power, though at great detriment to itself.

Members of the Lithohermaea are generally friendly and hospitable to others (excluding Antharachnids, which prey on them), often providing sustenance, shelter, and warmth to those who require it. They are also the natural farmers and cultivators of the planet in which they reside, ensuring that the flora required to keep the planet warm are rich and plentiful.

Extraplanetary Origins

The home planet of the Lithohermaea, known by some as Auril, is a mountainous winter wasteland on the ground, but does contain barely hospitable terrain high up in said mountains due to the strange nature of Auril’s extreme climates getting weaker and warmer with altitude.

The wildlife present in Auril - much like the Lithohermaea - tend to have thick, furry coats and strong skeletons/exoskeletons that are fairly difficult to break through. A strong ability to burrow is also a common trait among Auril’s inhabitants, as being able to dig through snow, dirt, or sometime even rocks is vital towards withstanding sudden wind storms that break through towards the habitable zones.

IMPORTANT NOTE - AURIL AS A PLANET NAME
Auril is considered by Northlanders in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting as the deity responsible for creating winter. If this is not the case in your campaign, you have the option to talk with your DM to theorise alternative origins to the planet being named Auril and/or discuss an alternative planet name.
Additionally, it would also be in your best interest to talk with your DM to establish why the Lithohermaea have moved (or been displaced) from Auril to your own planet.

Royal Families

Although any member of the Lithohermaea species can procreate and reproduce, the behaviours and actions of the hive are regulated by a singular family selected at the hive’s conception. This family is often the strongest and most trained of the hive, demonstrating extreme resilience and thought when it comes to planning the hive’s next move.

Should the royal family ever be eradicated in a hive - whether through external or internal forces - the new royal family is elected through a rigorous test of combat, planning, and social trials; the new family is the one who has the strongest and most efficient solutions.

Interest to Innovate

The Lithohermaea praise nothing else but technological advancements within hives. Often, a breakthrough or refined innovation in technology is what kickstarts a new royal family, potentially even creating a new hive in the process to dedicate itself to that advancement. The majority of their innovation comes from defence systems, however, as the looming and ever present threat of their much more competitive counterpart (Antharachnids).

Lithohermaea Traits

Your unique lineage gives you traits that would have been incredibly rare to develop on a regular world.

Age

The life of a typical Lithohermaea is a fairly short, but fairly sweet one. They grow to adulthood in mere months, and live up until the age of 15.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 20 feet. However, you have a flying speed of 40 feet and can hover.

Languages

You can read, write, and sign Common Sign Language and Hexadecimal. Hexadecimal is an unspoken language, only communicated in writing - which fittingly has 16 letters - or signing.

Additionally, you cannot speak any additional language you learn; you can only read, write, or sign them.

Size

When compared to a human, the Lithohermaea appear approximately half as big. At adulthood, they stand between 2-3 feet tall. Your size is Small.

Efficient Wings

With how much you use your wings to stay warm, you’ve managed to make use of what would be bonuses for your legs in multiple ways.

Whenever you receive an effect that would boost your walking speed, you may instead choose to receive a bonus to your flying speed at half of its usual bonus (i.e. +10ft walking -> +5ft flying).

Primed Stinger

While your stinger can be incredibly powerful to embed a creature with potentially fatal venom, it comes at great detriment to yourself.

Instead of a ranged attack, you may choose to move up to your current flying speed towards a creature, without provoking opportunity attacks, to sting it. Make a ranged attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 + your Dexterity modifier piercing damage, and you occupy the same space as the creature and move with them. On a miss, you are moved towards the nearest unoccupied space from the creature.

When or while stinging a creature, you may choose to either carefully remove your stinger carefully as an action or embed it into them as a reaction.
If you choose to carefully remove your stinger, you keep the stinger, deal an additional 1d4 + Dex piercing damage to the creature, and are no longer attached to the creature you stung.

If you choose to embed your stinger, it is forcefully ripped from your body, removing it and dealing slashing self-damage equal to half your maximum hitpoints, rounded up. The creature then takes 2d10 poison damage and is poisoned while the stinger remains in the creatures body. An embedded stinger is considered worn by its target. Any creature poisoned by an embedded stinger takes a further 2d10 poison damage at the start of each of their turns. The embedded stinger can be successfully removed by a creature as an action with a successful Strength check equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus.

If embedding your stinger causes you to drop to 0 hitpoints, you automatically receive two failed death saves.

You can only regain your stinger if you complete a long rest while at your maximum number of hitpoints.

The damage of your stinger and its venom increase at levels 6 [2d4, 4d10], 11 [3d4, 6d10], and 16 [4d4, 8d10].