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Pestilence Swarm

Medium · Beast · CR 1 · Unaligned

Armor Class
14 (natural armor)
Hit Points and Hit Dice
22 (4d8+4)
Challenge Rating CR
1

Ability Scores

Core attributes and their modifiers.

STR
7
-2
DEX
16
+3
CON
13
+1
INT
1
-5
WIS
12
+1
CHA
7
-2

Overview

Category Monsters
Size Medium
Type Beast
Alignment Unaligned
XP 200
Initiative Bonus +3

Movement

Walk 10 ft (3 m)
Fly 30 ft (9.1 m)
Swim 5 ft (1.5 m)
Climb 5 ft (1.5 m)
Crawl 5 ft (1.5 m)
Hover Yes

Senses

Darkvision 60 ft (18.3 m)
Passive Perception 11

Resistances & Immunities

Damage Resistances
bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Condition Immunities
charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned

Traits

Dormant in Darkness

The pestilence swarm appears dead in darkness and remains in a passive state until touched by light. When at least one insect in the swarm sees light, the entire swarm becomes active and attacks anything that moves. Once active, a swarm in complete darkness that isn’t taking damage returns to its dormant state after 1 minute. The swarm poses no threat to creatures passing near it in complete darkness.

Swarm

The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny beast. The swarm can’t regain hp or gain temporary hp.

Actions

Diseased Bites

+5 to hit. Hit: 4d4 piercing damage.

Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm's space. Hit: 10 (4d4) piercing damage, or 5 (2d4) piercing damage if the swarm has half its hp or fewer. The creature must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or contract sewer plague. It takes 1d4 days for sewer plague's symptoms to manifest in an infected creature. Symptoms include fatigue and cramps. The infected creature suffers one level of exhaustion, and it regains only half the normal number of hp from spending Hit Dice and no hp from finishing a long rest. At the end of each long rest, an infected creature must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature gains one level of exhaustion. On a successful save, the creature's exhaustion level decreases by one level. If a successful saving throw reduces the infected creature's level of exhaustion below 1, the creature recovers from the disease.

About Pestilence Swarm

Pestilence Swarm is a medium beast with a Challenge Rating of 1. It has a unaligned alignment.

In combat, this creature maintains an Armor Class of 14 and possesses 22 hit points (derived from 4d8+4).

GM Tips: Using Pestilence Swarm

1 tips available

When using Pestilence Swarm in your D&D 5e campaign, consider these tactical approaches:

  • Flight Control Strategy: Target flying creatures with spells like 'Hold Person', 'Web', or 'Grease' to ground them. Without flight restriction, they can escape melee range easily. Consider area denial spells below their flight altitude to force them into disadvantageous positions.

Player Guide: Facing Pestilence Swarm

1 strategies available

When your party encounters this creature, keep these strategies in mind:

  • Counter Flight Advantage: This creature can fly! Use ranged attacks, reach weapons, or spells like 'Thunderwave' to push it away. Consider 'Gust of Wind' or 'Earthbind' to ground it. Melee characters need fly speed or flight magic to engage.

Encounter Building Calculator

Standard Party Encounter (4-5 characters):

This creature is a medium encounter for a party of 4 characters of level 1.

Solo Encounter:

A single character of level 3 (up to level 20) can face this creature in a medium to hard encounter.

Experience Point Thresholds:

  • Medium: 200 XP
  • Hard: 300 XP
  • Deadly: 400 XP

Based on D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Guide encounter building guidelines. CR roughly equals party level for medium encounters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the challenge rating of Pestilence Swarm?
Pestilence Swarm has a Challenge Rating of 1, making it appropriate for parties of level 1.0.
What type of creature is Pestilence Swarm?
Pestilence Swarm is a Medium Beast, which affects how certain spells and abilities interact with it.

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