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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7145660" data-attributes="member: 143">They are pretty challenging foes (CR3 in 3.5e). One conversion can be found at <a href="https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Giant_Mantis_(5e_Creature)" target="_blank">https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Giant_Mantis_(5e_Creature)</a>. Mine here weren't quite that tough, but it was still fortunate that the party didn't have to face both of them together...* * * Chapter 47Bredan rushed forward to engage the giant insect before it could get to Glori.  The second mantis was somewhat smaller than the first, the size of a cart rather than a wagon, but it still loomed over the warrior as the two closed to melee range.The creature was incredibly fast, and it reached Bredan just as he was getting his sword clear of its scabbard.  He tried to slash at it before it could strike, but one of its forelimbs lashed out and snagged the blade.  The other limb snapped out to try to grab him the way its mate had grabbed Colum, but he managed to just duck under its grasp.  For a moment the two combatants awkwardly wrestled over the sword, but then the mantis jerked back and launched the weapon flying into the stream.  Pulled off balance, Bredan staggered to the side, disarmed and vulnerable.An arrow stuck into the insect’s side.  Glori’s shot distracted it for a moment, but the arrow had barely penetrated and as it twisted around the missile was knocked clear.  It took another step toward Bredan, who’d managed to dig out his small work hammer from the kit of tools he carried.  The weapon looked pathetically tiny against the massive scale of the creature, especially as it reared up in anticipation of another lunging attack.But before the mantis could hurl itself forward again, there was a bright flash of light and heat.  The insect stumbled back for a moment, its long limbs skittering on the packed earth that surrounded the mill, before turning toward the source of this new assault.This time it didn’t hesitate, launching itself forward toward Xeeta.The sorceress had just come around the corner of the building, and as the insect charged she ducked back behind that cover.  The mantis followed, cutting the edge of the structure with a dexterity that belied its considerable size.  As it rounded the mill it lifted its claws to attack its tormentor.What it did not anticipate was finding a half-orc cleric standing there to meet it.The priest slammed his mace into the mantis’s armored carapace.  The blow knocked it back a step, and though it recovered they could all see the shattered plate that oozed gelatinous fluids from inside its body cavity.  Glori tried to circle around to get a shot at that newly vulnerable location, but before she could finish the maneuver the mantis turned and lunged again at the cleric.  Quellan stood his ground, lifting his shield to meet its charge.But before the insect could reach him there was a massive crash from above.  All of the combatants—even the bug—looked up as a segment of rotten boards from the upper level of the mill exploded outward and Kosk came flying out from the interior.  The dwarf dropped faster than the mantis could react, landing hard on its back.  His staff drove through its body, impaling it like a spear, and his weight overpowered the strength of its spindly legs.  As it fell the dwarf rolled clear, leaving his weapon stuck through the dying creature.The adventurers gathered to watch the creature die, careful to stay clear of the last violent twitches of its long limbs.  Bredan was the last to arrive, dripping wet from recovering his sword.  “The other one’s gone, with Colum,” he said.His words stirred them back to the moment.  “Is everyone else all right?” Quellan said.  “Bredan?”The young warrior shook his head.  “Just wrenched my wrist a bit is all.  I’m fine.”“We have to go after Colum,” Glori said.“Bug’s probably taking him back to its nest,” Kosk said.  “If he’s not dead already, he will be soon.”“We can’t just leave him,” Glori insisted.“Even if he is dead, leaving such a creature alive so close to the village would be dangerous,” Quellan said.“If it were me, I’d want you guys to come after me,” Bredan said.“There could be more of those things where it’s going, more than we can handle,” Kosk said.“All the more reason to deal with them now,” Quellan said.  “What if they come on us on our way back, perhaps when our strength is depleted from another encounter?”Kosk looked at each of them in turn before settling his gaze on Xeeta.  “Well?  You have anything to add?”“I will defer to the will of the majority,” she said.“Looks like we’re going looking for trouble again,” the dwarf muttered as yanked his staff from the dead mantis.  They went back around to the side of the mill.  The only thing they found there was Colum’s writing kit and a few loose pieces of parchment.  Bredan picked one up and showed it to the others; it was a map of the area that showed the mill and stream clearly.  “Looks like he was taking notes,” he said.“Bloody idiot should have been keeping his eyes open for trouble,” Kosk said.“It might not have helped him,” Bredan said.  “Those things were fast.”“All right, if we’re doing this, no sense standing around chattering,” Kosk said.  He crossed the stream and trudged off into the tall grass on the other side at his usual brisk pace.“Did you see anything inside?” Glori asked Quellan as they hurried after the dwarf.“Nothing,” Quellan said.  “No sign of the boy.”“Well, at least the way it ran off was sort of the way we were going anyway,” Glori said.Her statement proved less accurate as the day went on, as they followed the giant insect’s meandering course.  At least its tracks proved relatively easy to follow.  Its wedge-shaped body left a noticeable path through the tall grasses, weeds, and scattered brush that filled the landscape beyond the mill.  They also found periodic bloodstains that did not bode well for the condition of their erstwhile companion, but no other signs of the mantis’s captive.They had been walking for maybe half an hour when the trail vanished into a dense thicket.  There was no mistaking where the mantis had gone, but it was also clear that it could have been anywhere in there, as there was ample growth to conceal a creature of its size—or a dozen of them.“Think it’s in there?” Glori asked.“I wouldn’t bet against it,” Kosk said.“You smell that?” Bredan asked.  At that prompt they all sniffed the air.  There wasn’t much of a breeze, but they could all make out just a hint of something acrid that did not encourage exploration of the thicket.“We could try and make some noise, try to lure it out,” Glori suggested.“I have a better idea,” Xeeta said.  She raised a hand, and flames erupted within her palm.“That could end up burning the entire region,” Quellan said.“All the better,” Kosk said.“Could you maybe just make a display?” Glori said.  “Throw a blast up over the thicket, maybe accompanied by one of Quellan’s augmented shouts.”“That could work,” Bredan said.“And if there are a dozen of those things in there?” Kosk asked.“Then we take cover,” Quellan said.  “Those trees over there… there’s enough of them that creatures the size of those bugs would have some difficulty getting at us.”“That wouldn’t slow them for long,” Kosk said.“Look, we didn’t come all this way to back off now,” Glori said.  She took out her bow and fitted an arrow to the string.  Bredan drew his sword and took up a ready position between her and the thicket.“Bloody reckless,” Kosk said.  But he lifted his staff and staked out a likely spot.Xeeta remained the furthest back.  She glanced over at Quellan, who raised his holy symbol and nodded.The fire bolt arched from the sorceress’s hand and streaked over the thicket.  As it reached its peak Quellan used his own magic to utter a deafening shout that launched flights of birds into the air from nearby hilltops.The echoes of the shout were still bouncing back to them when there was a sudden burst of motion within the thicket.  That was all the warning they got before the giant mantis exploded out of the growth and charged at them.</blockquote>

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