I Hear Music – Four Sonic Monsters (1/2)

This image composites and photomanipulates elements from the following images: p>bee-6369484.jpg by József Szabó; bees-8267791.png by Ted Erski; bee-2889351.jpg by Martin Winkler; and silhouette-3299716.png by Mohamed Hassan , all from Pixabay.
Also, 201109_honey_bee.png, Image by the Database Center For Life Science (DBCLS), used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, via Wikimedia Commons; plus
boy-2025115.png by OpenClipart-Vectors, and emoji-2756891.png by Gordon Johnson. The background is grass-83741.jpg by Larisa Koshkina, and the feature image is based on animal-160397.png, by OpenClipart-Vectors, all also from Pixabay.
It’s been quite a while since I sat down at the keyboard to write one of these articles without a clear idea in mind of what the subject matter would be – usually from weeks in advance of publication date.
When a deadline is looming, that experience can be extremely stressful and unwelcome, but when you have time to let your imagination run riot and see what you can dredge up from your subconscious, it can be a lot of fun.
So I was rather looking forward to it. But then I had a thought, and that led me to an opinion, and that led to an idea – actually, to three ideas. And hey presto – one article.

One of the Bee Images in closeup – this is Bee-2889351. See above for credit.
Actually, make that two articles. As some people know (but most don’t), I’m required to relocate in early January; lately, packing has taken up a significant chunk of my time, and it will only get worse in the next few weeks.
When I do (and I don’t yet know where I will be moving to), heaven only knows if posting to Campaign Mastery will be even possible; certainly, I would expect some disruption even under the best of circumstances.
So posts are going to get smaller and more distributed over the next few weeks, as I try to build up some cushion to pre-schedule before the curtain comes down.
The thought
It’s been a while since I did anything purely aimed at the D&D / Pathfinder crowd, and they are probably due.
The notion
I was musing about that when I suddenly realized that sonic-based creatures are badly under-represented in both. Sure, you’ve got Shriekers, and Banshees have their wail, and most monsters make a noise of some sort (and are all the scarier when they don’t) – but there’s not a whole lot that’s focusedThe ideas
In about two seconds after that train of thought entered my cortex, I had one idea. And then I sort of groped around mentally for a bit and found a second. And then I thought of a really nasty one. And, just now as I write, a fourth one has come to mind.
Most of these creatures are absolutely old-school in nature, when Dwarves were hairy-chested and Orcs were morally-challenged at the best of times. But that doesn’t make them unsuitable for a more modern campaign; the context changes, that’s all.
And so, the purpose of today’s post is to introduce you to the Humming Bee, Hissing Wyrm, Whisper Willow, and last – but not least – the Tunnel Shrieker.
An afterthought
And, just as I was preparing to get typing, an afterthought, as I realized that with a little tweaking (and some pseudo-science to explain their abilities), most of these could be adapted to serve in many sci-fi and superhero campaigns, to boot! So those folks shouldn’t feel left out…
What’s not included
These are offered as purely conceptual creations for the most part. How many HD they are, and other stats of that nature, are left to the individual GM who has to integrate any they choose to use into their personal campaigns. Most will have no game mechanics offered at all. These are ideas, nothing more.
The Humming Bee
These look like red-tailed Honeybees. At best, they are maybe half-an-inch in length. They travel in swarms, like honeybees – small ones, a dozen or so members in each at most, and usually half this number.
Like some suspect the honeybee has, they are possessed of a fairly basic gestalt mind, but they aren’t better than animal intelligence even on on a good day.
It’s rare but not impossible to encounter Humming Bees underground. They prefer forests and fields where there are flowering plants, however, because that is their principle food supply.
A heavenly chorus
They use this group mind to keep in tune with each other. Each Humming Bee makes a humming sound, as you might expect from the name; each is capable of producing several different musical notes.
They naturally and organically play in music chords. What these chords are doesn’t matter, especially. What matters is that a chord is a collection of notes that combine to form a new, richer sound when played at the same time. Details can add color to this – a bard will especially note the composition of the chord, for example, but those details hold no special significance.
Soporific Enchantment
But each chord is, in fact, very special, because when a swarm of Humming Bees surrounds an individual (and it takes at least three to do this), their melody is enchanting, it has a soporific effect.
And as they play their beautiful music, one a time, they will settle upon the skin of their entranced victim, and lay 4d6 eggs each, before rising again to rejoin the chorus, freeing another to do the same thing.
each time, the chord will change, signifying that the membership of the swarm playing has changed.
The hidden truth
Insects derive from arachnids, having turned one pair of their legs (sometimes two) into wings. The Humming Bees have followed the same path, but still retaining some nasty habits from their predecessor species.
Afterwards
When the last Humming Bee has laid its eggs, the swarm will elevate their song to a crescendo and then fly off, falling silent. They will return to their hive and feed, and grow a new set of eggs.
Their victim will feel a slight euphoria, as though nature had singled them out, by chance, for a very special encounter.
Six hours or so later, a slight rash will develop on the sites where the eggs were laid. This will not be itchy or tender and will quickly fade if any sort of healing salve is applied. Because of the soporific effect of the Bee’s song, there is very little likelihood that the victim will associate the two events; it’s just one of those things that happens from time to time.
24 hours later, there will be a slight swelling at the site and it will begin to feel a little tender to the touch. A day after that, the swelling will be pronounced and the site will be extremely tender. About 18 hours later, each egg will hatch, burrowing its way out the flesh of the victim, doing 1 point of damage in the process – no saves, no nothing.
A Quick Damage Assessment
A swarm of 3:
Multiplied by 4-24 eggs each = 12-72 damage, average 42..
A swarm of 4:
Multiplied by 4-24 eggs each = 16-96 damage, average 56..
A swarm of 5:
Multiplied by 4-24 eggs each = 20-120 damage, average 70.
A swarm of 10:
Multiplied by 4-24 eggs each = 40-240 damage, average 140.
A Swarm of 12:
Multiplied by 4-24 eggs each = 48-288 damage, average 168.
An extra-large Swarm of 18:
Multiplied by 4-24 eggs each = 62-432 damage, average 247.
Low-level characters are easily killed by even a small swarm. Mid-level characters can be taken out by a typical swarm. High-level characters will probably survive even an unusually large swarm, but it could be touch-and-go if they aren’t in peak condition. And that’s if they have a full d10-sized HD.
Treatment
Healing potions and spells have no effect, the swarm are healed at the same time. A full Heal will remove an infestation.
More mundane Treatments are easy at first but get harder as the larvae mature.
Before the rash develops:
Wash the site with a mild, diluted acid like vinegar. This will kill 75% of the larvae without harming the victim.
When a rash is visible:
A stronger caustic agent is needed, one that does at least 1d6 damage. This will kill 50% of the larvae while causing minimal harm to the victim.
When the swelling begins
Lance the swelling (does 1/2 d6 damage) and then apply an acid that does at least 4d6 damage. Repeat the treatment every hour for at least 3 hours. This will kill 25% of the larvae. The more harmful the acid, the higher that percentage will rise, up to 50%.
Once the swelling is severe
It’s almost too late. Lance the swelling with a red-hot poker (doing 3d6 damage), then apply acid as above, but the acid must be literally boiling hot (and so does at least 6d6 damage per treatment).
Time to find and bargain with a Black Dragon?
This will kill 25-50% of the larvae. But the cure is almost as bad as the sickness.
Bear in mind that once these treatments commence, the victim can receive no healing magic of any kind until it is completed, or half the larvae that would otherwise have died will also recover, maybe more.
It is entirely possible to reduce the damage caused by the hatching to a minimum but at such debilitating cost that the victim succumbs to some other threat encountered in the meantime.
After the new swarm have hatched, a character who survives can be healed by any normal techniques.
A small ray of sunshine
Something in the larvae’s gestation has an inhibitory effect on other diseases and infections. It’s even been suggested that Humming Bees might be able to cure things like Lycanthropy.
Recidivism
One might be tempted to expect that the victim, assuming they survive the experience, will be more cautious when next they encounter Humming Bees, but no – if anything, they seem even more susceptible to the soporific euphoria of their song. And from time to time, they may find themselves humming a strange tune that seems hauntingly familiar without being able to place just when and where they heard it.
Making matters worse
Certain conditions have been suggested as making victims even more susceptible. Drunkenness, for example. The suggestion is that when encountering a victim in a mentally-compromised condition, nearby swarms will also be attracted, resulting in 2-3 times the normal number of larvae being implanted.
But this might just be moralizing fiction. Do you want to find out the hard way? Even the suggestion is enough to curb excesses in many cases.
Mike’s Assessment:
Humming Bees are so friendly and innocuous. They play with you, make you feel good, and then let their young rip you to shreds. Of course, even if you undertake treatment, the universe being what it is, that’s when you’re sure to encounter something nasty.
Things become more problematic when a Swarm encounter a group of people, like an adventuring party. If they lack enough numbers to dedicate a sub-swarm to each potential victim, they will simply move on in search of easier prey. There’s safety in numbers.
As a GM, though, I like the fact that their danger can be scaled to threaten and challenge all but the very strongest PCs.

I wish I had a picture of a Hissing Wyrm to show you. But I ran out of time to make one. Maybe when I get some spare time..
The Hissing Wyrm
Did you ever wonder what it would be like if a creature made a sound and no-one heard t? Wonder no more, because the Hissing Wyrm is the answer.
Habitat
Hissing Wyrms also don’t venture underground very far, though they like to dig burrows into the sides of hills and mountains, especially slopes steeper than thirty degrees or so, in which to build their nests – and there’s always the chance that such a burrow will connect with something of greater substance.
They are normally encountered as solitary creatures (50%), mated pairs (40%) or family groups of 3-4 (1-2 adults) (9%). Very very rarely (that last 1%), several family units will converge for the exchange of female young; no-one is sure how frequently this takes place.
Females so exchanged will eventually form a new mated pair with one of the males of their new family group, and depart to set up their own nests.
Description
Hissing Wyrms resemble basilisks quite closely, but with longer front legs and a much longer neck that is capable of bending and twisting like a snake. Their upper chests are also larger than most other lizards.
Mobility
Their forward claws and strong forelegs give them something of the mobility of a mountain goat, though their progress seems more ungainly and labor-intensive, more pulling themselves up than pushing up from below.
Frequently a mottled brown or green in color, they are unmistakable when encountered because their jaws distend and give every appearance of shrieking at the top of their not insubstantial lungs.
This is all the more comical to behold because their hissing shriek is completely silent to human ears, as though they had pushed the ‘play’ button and nothing happened.
Air bladder and autonomous lung control
The upper chest cavity of the Hissing Wyrm houses an air bladder into which the creature exhales when it is ‘Hissing’. It has independent (instinctive) control over each lung separately, so while one is inhaling, the other can be exhaling, permitting the hissing to be maintained continuously for hours at a time, if necessary.
Personality
Hissing Wyrms tend to be extremely shy and nervous in disposition, doing their best to stay hidden from view, and mounting a sonic attack as soon as they feel threatened in any way even as they conceal themselves. They will frequently fold their hind legs beneath their torso as they hunker down, and will cover themselves with a loose mantle of soil, leaves, and loose branches if there are any handy. Concealment beneath shrubs and bushes is also a frequent tactic; if there are none handy, they will usually try and conceal themselves behind a tree trunk.
These efforts at concealment are at least partially undone by the length of their neck and the distinctive jawline when shrieking, which can make them look like an anaconda rising out of the covering/shrubbery, jaws wide, ready to strike.
Hiss Range
The sound of a Hissing Wyrm at full volume can be ‘heard’ when they are five minutes travel distant. Multiply this range by the square root of the number of adults present (young count as 0.25 to 0.5 individuals for this purpose, depending on their ages)
Mountainous terrain like canyons that produce strong echoes can also count as 1-3 additional individuals for this purpose.
This multiplier is referred to as the “effective population” and will be referred to a number of times subsequently, so I thought it would be wise to include a table for quick reference.
NB: in anything of this size, when everything has to be hand-calculated and hard-coded, there’s always the possibility of errors – I know, I caught a few myself! You may also note that I’m rounding to the absolute limits of precision and a little beyond.
Family |
Adults |
Small |
Older |
“Total |
Effective |
|||
M0 |
M1 = +1 |
M2 = +2 |
M3 = +3 |
|||||
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|