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Bug-Bear Larva

small monstrosity, neutral
Bug-Bear Larva
Illustration: ChatGPT
Armor Class: 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 10 ()
Speed: 20 ft., burrow 10 ft.
ModSave
STR10+0+0
DEX10+0+0
CON11+0+0
ModSave
INT1-5-5
WIS10+0+0
CHA3-4-4
Damage Vulnerabilities: Cold, Fire
Senses: darkvision 30 ft., tremorsense 10 ft., passive Perception 10
CR: 1/4 (50 XP); PB +2

Traits

Soft Carapace: The larva has vulnerability to fire and cold damage.

Actions

Bite: Melee Attack Roll: +2, reach 5ft. Hit: 3 () Piercing damage
Defensive Spit (1/Day): The larva sprays a foul-smelling goo in a 5-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.

Notes

Soft, bloated grubs the size of dogs, bug-bear larvae are the first stage of life for these monstrous hybrids. Though seemingly helpless, their jaws can pierce leather, and they squirm toward vibrations with eerie instinct.
 Larvae are born in clutches and immediately active. The matriarch’s control ensures they do not swarm aimlessly—unless she dies. In the wild, abandoned larvae often turn cannibalistic or are devoured by predators, but in the hive they’re tended, fed, and protected by their older kin until they molt and metamorphose into juveniles.
 A larva typically takes between 2 and 4 weeks to evolve into a Bug-Bear Juvenile, but this process is not solely dependent on time. Larvae must reach a threshold of nutritional intake and exposure to the matriarch’s pheromones to begin their transformation. If denied either, they remain in stasis or die off.

The Bug-Bear Brood

A grotesque fusion of insect and bear, bug-bears are hulking monstrosities born from ancient magical tampering in deep subterranean hives. Though they resemble no known natural species, their social structure and lifecycle parallel those of eusocial insects, with a powerful queen-like matriarch at the core of each colony.
 Bug-bear hives operate with eerie precision. Each creature is bred for a specific function—larvae serve as helpless feeders and future soldiers, juveniles as scouts and expendable shock troops, and adults as frontline warriors and guardians. Despite their monstrous appearance, bug-bears exhibit surprising coordination and resourcefulness, often ambushing prey or enemies with hive-level tactics.
 The colonies themselves are sprawling labyrinths of hardened resin and organic material, exuding warmth, pheromones, and a low ambient hum. Matriarchs anchor the colony from its deepest point, continuously birthing new larvae to feed and protect the hive. Other members of the species function as extensions of her will, guided by scent, vibration, and instinct.
 Wherever bug-bears spread, local ecosystems are swiftly disrupted—predators avoid the area, carrion beetles and scavengers follow the swarm, and hunters speak in hushed tones about the tunnels breathing just beneath the forest floor.
 Bug-bears are blind to morality, acting on biological instinct and pheromonal command. Their presence in a region often indicates a nearby hive, hidden in caverns, ruins, or even buried forests, where chitinous tunnels wind through the earth like a festering wound.
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