How Do You Fight A Swarm?

[Hypersmurf]

How Do You Fight A Swarm?

With heart; faith; and steel. In the end, there can be only one.

-Hyp.

 

[Darklone]

I prefer heart, faith, steel and my wand of fireballs.

 

[DM_Matt]

Whenever my players face a swarm of creatures sized Diminuative or less (that is, no weapon damage need apply), most of them run for the hills and hope they're faster than the swarm (or at least faster than their friends). This is a nice variety of six roughly 10th-level characters.

Then the sorcerer throws fireballs at the swarm until it's dead.

Frankly, the ranger, the bard, the cleric, the rogue, the monk - they're a mixture of frustrated and bored. "Nothing we can do about it," they say, if they don't have hefty energy-damage spells to throw around.

Any suggestions? Any tactics?

The Spectrum Rider

Use a vacuum.

Summon some air elementals. In whirlwind form they can quite easily pick up a swarm (thereby neutralizing it), and then deal the swarm 1d6/HD/round. IMC, our cleric with the Air domain's controlled air elemental companion has eaten quite a few Hellfire Locust swarms in his time.

Control Weather --> Tornado will do the same thing.

 

[Barak]

I find the best solution is to have some DR, and walk through it.

 

[Scion]

I find the best solution is to have some DR, and walk through it.

Careful about suffocation.

 

[James McMurray]

Careful about suffocation.

How is that going to happen? None of the SRD swarms have suffocating abilities. Perhaps swarms from other sources?

 

[Scion]

How is that going to happen? None of the SRD swarms have suffocating abilities. Perhaps swarms from other sources?

Enough small flying creatures and walking through their occupied square would be 'bad'. That is the way that some swarm like creatures in real life kill after all So I bet that at some point there will be a swarm that attempts to kill by swarming over and sufficating. Never can be too cautious about such things! I may at some point myself.. hmm.. massive butterfly swarm who like to lay eggs in dead bodies.. and they make them dead by suffocation.. interesting

 

[James McMurray]

Ah, cool. I thought there was already something out there that did it. It would probably have to be fast sufocation though. Standard suffocation ruls mean that you have to have a below average constitution to not be able to hold your breath for at least two minutes (20 rounds). If you can't kill or flee a bunch of butterflies by then, you can't really claim to be an adventurr, can you?

 

[Scion]

Ah, cool. I thought there was already something out there that did it. It would probably have to be fast sufocation though. Standard suffocation ruls mean that you have to have a below average constitution to not be able to hold your breath for at least two minutes (20 rounds). If you can't kill or flee a bunch of butterflies by then, you can't really claim to be an adventurr, can you?

Wouldnt that be a cool visual though? the adventurers bravely leave town..only to be seen fleeing from a bunch of pretty butterflies.. not only fleeing, but screaming and running for their lives!

 

[James McMurray]

Or some local kids see them fireballing butterflies.