Bugstiary Adventure Seeds: Swarms

Instead of a regular adventure seed for The Bugstiary this week's post is a creepy-crawly artifact.

Previous: Giant Scorpions to Giant Sunspiders

Swarms (p. 44)

The Teeming Rattle

This shamanic rattle, carved from a reindeer femur, is covered with the bas relief images of every kind of vermin and swarming pest. It possesses the power to call forth and command such creatures.

Stories and Legends

Saga When the Norðlondr first came to this land, other men dwelt here. Wild men squatting in the ruins of the Dragon Empire, inhabiting the woodlands, and herding reindeer across the steppes. These people followed  not the Æsir but rather the spirits of nature and the fae. Rattles of this kind were wielded by their shamans and used to command various natural forces. Of the Teeming Rattles. one was taken by  Margunnar the Far-Seeing whose people settled in Hnnakur. The family came to see the object as cursed in time, and claim to have buried it in the ancient barrow mounds of its people.

Rumor Eirfinna Tórsdóttir, a thief in Stutbaer says she looted a rattle like this from the barrow-downs near Hnakkur and claims she is mastering it's powers for her own use.

Rumor Some Teeming Rattles have become cursed and now summon undead swarms (Norðlond Bestary p. 179) instead.

Powers

As the abilities of this artifact depend on how it's played, each of the following effects require a number of contiguous Ready maneuvers and a successful Musical Instrument (Shakers) roll (defaults to (Drums)-3). These effects apply to all types of swarms, as well as to vermin (Spells p. 17) of any size.

Thrum of Repulsion Played with a steady side-to-side rhythm the sound repels all swarms and vermin within Margin of Success yards (success by 0 keeps them out of your hex). Swarms are automatically repelled. Large vermin must win a Quick Contest of ST against your Musical Instrument to approach or remain in the radius.

Beat of Command With a syncopated rhythm you may command any one swarm (any size contiguous swarm) or vermin creature that you can see. Swarms automatically succumb, but larger vermin resist with Will (+SM if larger than SM 0). Once under your control, the target will obey your verbal commands as long as you continue to shake the rattle. 

Shake Forth the Multitude By shaking the rattle violently you summon a random swarm. Each time you shake the rattle at the ground a number of creatures fall out, forming a swarm in front of you. This takes the listed contiguous Ready maneuvers per hex of swarm. Stopping before at least one hex is formed causes the creatures to disperse. Otherwise, when you stop playing, the swarm will move to attack a target that you specify. It will continue to attack that target  (unless commanded otherwise using the Beat of Command or spell), feasting on the corpse once the target is slain. Summoned swarms disperse after 10 minutes. Note that if the swarm summoned isn't appropriate for the environment, e.g. piranha on a stone floor, it won't do much except die. After the first turn you may start over and roll again if you don't like the results, but must roll Musical Instrument again to do so.

Roll 1d:

1 Roll 1d;

    1-3 Roll 1d:

        1-2 Army Ants; Monsters p. 54; 3 turns/hex

        3-4 Fire Ants; Monsters p. 54; 3 turns/hex

        5-6 Bullet Ants; Bugstiary p. 44; 3 turns/hex

    5-6 Roll 1d

        1-2 Centipedes; Monsters p. 54; 3 turns/hex

        3-4 Scorpions; Monsters p. 54; 3 turns/hex

        5-6  Roll 1d

            1-4 Spiders; Monsters p. 54; 3 turns/hex

            5-6 Baby Acid Spiders; Bugstiary p. 44; 3 turns/hex

2 Roll 1d

    1-2 Bees Monsters p. 54; 2 turns/hex

    3 Hornets Monsters p. 54; 2 turns/hex

    4-5 Mosquitos Monsters pp. 54-55; 2 turns/hex

    6 Wasps Monsters p. 54; 2 turns/hex

3 Roll 1d

    1-2 Bats Monsters p. 54; 1 turn/hex

    3-4 Roll 1d

        1-4 Birds Monsters p. 54; 1 turn/hex 

        5-6 Ravens; Norðlond Bestary p. 138; 2 turns/hex

    5-6 Rats Monsters p. 54; 1 turns/hex

4 Roll 1d

    1-3 Small Snakes; Monsters p. 54; 2 turns/hex

    4-5  Small Snakes, Venomous; Monsters pp. 54-55; 2 turns/hex

    6 Vipers; Norðlond Bestary p. 186; 2 turns/hex

5 Roll 1d

   1-3 Beetles; Bugstiary p. 44; 3 turns/hex

    4-5 Crabs; Bugstiary p. 44; 2 turns/hex

    6 Piranha; Monsters p. 54; 1 turns/hex

6 Roll 1d

    1-2 Giant Ants; Bugstiary p. 44; 1 turns/hex

    3-4 Giant Beetles; Bugstiary p. 44; 1 turns/hex

    5 Giant Crabs; Bugstiary p. 44; 1 turns/hex

    6 Giant Wasps; Bugstiary p. 44; 1 turns/hex

Adventure Seed

This Swarms For You An enemy or rival of the party, perhaps Eirfinna of Stutbaer, has a teeming rattle and delights in using it whenever they are encountered.

Take a Gross Thing and Make it Worse The delvers are hired to retrieve a number of unsavory items, including a teeming rattle.The client seems a bit off, and the list is suspicious if given any scrutiny. The client is a necromancer deliberately *trying* to make a cursed rattle that summons undead swarms.

Put it Back Where it Came From  Angry nature spirits and undead wildmen are attacking the town. Why? Because one of the townsfolk has a teeming rattle taken from a shaman generations ago. The attacks will continue unless the delvers figure this out, get the reluctant townsman to give up his heirloom, and then return it to the site it was first taken from.