Swarm’s Nest Battle Map - Launch

Hello Adventurers! Here is your latest battle map release, a nest of giant insects, maybe wasps or bees. I thought this would be great for a Halloween creature feature! I’ve tried to create the look and feel of the inside of a beehive or wasp nest while still making it fun to explore and have combat encounters in. I’ve done a little research on insects (Bees/Wasps) to help you add a little extra interest to your encounter, so take a look at the notes for some tips!

Next Maps

The Sea Cave will be with you by the month's end, with the Boglings Mudpit coming later.

• Sea Cave
  I have this vague memory of some sort of cave at the bottom of a coastal cliff, which is flooded by the tide. It may be at Tintangil castle in Cornwall, England. Something like that, which needs a rowing boat to enter and has an open cavern at its centre, should be a fun place for an encounter.

• Boglings Mudpit (Bog)
  I want to try a super swampy bubbling mud pit, with a narrow path leading through it. A place where some interesting monsters could call home. It's a lot of dank, muddy pools and sickly foliage.

Upcoming Maps

These map ideas are on the short list for the next couple of months. You’ll see them soon, but other map ideas may jump in ahead of them.

• Courtroom/Courthouse
  Another one of those buildings your party may end up in, especially if they are bad boys and girls :) Now you’ll have a battle map to have a fun courtroom brawl in!

• Frozen Crevasse
  I want to make a crevasse in a frozen/ice landscape. The majority of the map will be the different levels of the Crevasse, with caves on both sides. There will be ice bridges, ‘bridging’ the crevasse in places. Most likely something lives in the crevasse.

Thanks for your support and ideas! I love getting your suggestions, and honestly, after years of making battle maps, I need your help! So let me know in the comments or in private messages if you have ideas you’d like to see!

Thanks again, and happy adventuring! Now, let's go hunting for honey. I’ve heard the bees in these parts are especially large, so I’ve made sure to bring along some bee suits with extra-strong fabric. The locals say the bees are as long as daggers!… Wait, they said what?... The stingers are as long as daggers?… Oh… that would make the bees how big?... Ok, we may need thicker bee suits.

Downloads

The files, thumbnails, and tags can be accessed on the Map List Page. You must be logged in to Patreon and signed up for the correct tier to access them. Remember, you are only charged for map releases; you can download all the old maps at no extra cost!

Base version with Honeycomb

Map Descriptions

The entrance to the nest is half-buried, little more than a hole in the ground. As you draw closer, you feel warm, earthy air drifting from the interior. A low buzzing sound can be heard, accompanied by occasional clicks and ticks.

The inside of the nest is gloomy but not completely dark. The walls and ceiling of the tunnels are dug from dirt and held together by paper-like materials that resemble thin scales. Cracks in the ceiling filter just enough light from above to see by, although as you move deeper, this natural light vanishes, being replaced by small yellow bioluminescent buds that grow from the walls of the tunnel.

Stores Chamber

This chamber is large, with walls that are a mix of dirt and a brown paper-like substance. Small alcoves in the walls are filled with seeds, plant materials, and even the remains of dead animals.

Brood Chamber

The floor of the circular chamber spirals down towards a dark tunnel at its centre. Spice-scented air drifts up from below. Along the walls are holes of different sizes filled with small white larvae that squirm blindly as you approach. Workers move from hole to hole, cleaning and feeding the larvae with pollen balls and pieces of orange sponge.

Honey Chamber

You can smell the sweet scent of honey in this chamber. The walls glisten, and the floor is slightly tacky. A grid of hexagonal holes covers the floor, a honeycomb, many of the cells sealed with wax. Those that are still open are partially filled with golden honey or an orange, spongy material.

Queen’s Chamber

The walls of this circular chamber are covered in hundreds of glowing buds, lighting the interior with an almost dazzling yellow haze. This chamber has three levels descending towards the centre. The outer and highest level is used as a perch for several Bees/Wasps, larger than the drones you have encountered so far, their wings gently moving back and forth. The next level is made up of a honeycomb; the cells are mostly capped with wax. Below the thin wax caps, you can see movement in some of the cells. At the lowest level sits a Bee/Wasp far bigger than anything you have seen so far; this is undoubtedly the hive queen.

Notes and Tips

• 30x45 Grid Map

• The ecology of bees and wasps can be an inspiration for our swarm's nest, BUT they don’t need to be a one-to-one replica of either. Remember, this is a fantasy giant insect species. They can have unique behaviours related to their size, or even incorporate elements of magic to add interest.

• Bee hives and wasp nests are quite temperature-regulated. If you are setting this nest in a very hot or cold environment, the interior of the nest will likely be a fairly comfortable temperature.

• Bees and Wasps consist mainly of Workers and Drones; however, this is a fantasy creature, so we could take inspiration from Ants and introduce a Warrior Drone and even some kind of Magic User Drones.

• Bee Bread: This is a method for preserving pollen by combining it with honey and saliva. It is then packed into honeycombs and sealed with wax. It ferments like yoghurt and creates a preserved ‘bread’ (not really bread) that is used as food for the colony. Also, it would make great rations for hungry adventurers!

• Hexagonal cells (honeycomb) are an incredibly efficient way to store honey, eggs, pollen (bee bread) and, in our fantasy setting, other unique resources.

• Wasps abandon their nests each year, so other creatures could use a structure like this once it's been abandoned by the wasp colony. This also means wasp colonies can pop up quickly in a region, as it only takes a single queen to begin a new nest.

• The Honey is Funny - These giant honey bees forage deep into the fey, collecting nectar and pollen from giant magical flowers. The honey they produce is quite magical and serves as a valuable magical component, highly prized by certain magic users and noble families. It possesses healing and other beneficial properties when appropriately prepared. However, eaten raw, its wild magic effects are unpredictable. Collecting it can be highly hazardous.

• Unwelcome Guests - Have you ever had to fend off wasps while having a barbecue? Now imagine the wasps are the size of dogs. A local village is having trouble with giant wasps attacking their livestock and homes. Use a village fete (fair) as an opening encounter. A queen has set up home just outside of the village, and the nest is growing.

• A Second Home - An old giant wasp nest has been taken over by a band of monsters (goblins, for example). They are using the nest as a base to raid villages in the region. They are using wasp wings, stingers and carapaces as part of their clothing and armour to intimidate the locals.

Variants

All variants come with a Honeycomb and a Pool/Honeydew version.

Great for an ant colony. I imagine the pool is honeydew, milked from giant aphids that cling to the walls.

I've also made a winter variant with both Honeycomb and pool.

Sneak through the chambers, hoping not to disturb the hibernating bees!

I've also made a sandy desert variant.

And because Wasps are from hell, I made a Nine Hells variant!