Insect Swarm [Dark Sun]

The desert world breeds tough insects, and its swarms rank among the worst plagues it has ever known. Two kinds swarm in the deserts: a hardy locust and a tiny cousin of the pack insect. Swarms form rarely, about once every three or four years, and nomad herders suffer most, often losing whole herds of pack insects or scale-runners. Any creature caught in either kind of swarm moves at only 3.

These locusts look like big brown grasshoppers about 8 inches long, with five-inch wings that make them very fast and agile fliers. A lone locust attacks three times a round with mandibles and forelegs for 1-2 each, and any weapon hit kills it, since it has just 1 hit point.

In a swarm they bury a victim from head to foot and eat until only bone remains. Roll 1d4 x 20 for the number on one creature. Make three attack rolls at THAC0 10, total the damage, and multiply by half the number of attacking locusts to find that round's damage. A fallen body is stripped bare within 3 rounds.

From a distance a swarm looks like a small, fast dark cloud racing over the sand, covering about 100 square yards. Besides the danger to people, they lay waste to mile after mile of plant life, though they also kill off great numbers of desert rodents and small mammals.

This small relative of the pack insect is about five inches long with three-inch wings. Swarms are about as numerous as locust swarms but cover a bit less ground, roughly 75 square yards, and travel faster.

They drink blood rather than chewing flesh. Usually 10-40 (1d4 x 10) settle on a victim, each sipping 1 hit point a round for a maximum of 3. Each round the victim saves vs. paralyzation, losing 1 hit point per attacking insect on a failure and half that on a success. After three rounds that group flies off, and a fresh group attacks the very next round, repeating until the victim dies.