Apoidea (5e Race)

Apoidea

The Apoidea are a race of bee-like humanoids native to the treetops of the Feywild.

Physical Description

The Apoidea are a race of bee-like humanoids with some more insectoid-like traits. They have a chitin exoskeleton with some parts being covered by small brown or black hairs. They posses four three-fingered arms and a pair of thin, bug-like wings. They posses a large abdomen which stores a majority of their organs and holds a stinger at the end. On their head, they possess small mandibles for their mouth, large black eyes, and instead of a nose and ears, a pair of antennae. Compared to males, female Apoidea tend to be larger and stronger than their male counterparts.

History

Apoidens were, for many millennia, all simply drones in great hives lead by mighty queens. But in recent years the queens have begun to disappear and the Apoidea have begun to fallow their own will as individuals. They have been a staple of the Feywild for centuries, but their origins are heavily obscured, as the Apoidea keep very few written records and their primary form of communicating is very hard to understand. They few Apoidea stories that have been transcribed depict the pitfalls of hubris and the need to be loyal. Scholars believe that such stories are in place as warnings to the Apoidea as to avoid repeating some event which some believe may have brought about the creation of the Apoidea.

Society

The Apoidea construct their hives high in the treetops of the Feywild. They consist of multiple structures built in the inside of trees and connected with bridges made of wax and honeycomb. In the colony, the queen reigns supreme and the other Apoidea live to serve her. The population mostly consist of female Apoidae, outnumbering the male Apoidea ten to one. Female Apoidea take up most of the jobs in an Apoidea hive as soldiers, advisers, nurses, and everything a hive needs to be successful. Males rank the lowest in Apoidea society as their only job is to leave the hive in order to fertilize and entertain other Apoidea queens. Post-fertilization, a queen will be able to lay an entire generation of Apoidea. Each egg is laid in special honeycomb cells where they may be able to begin initial growth and development. The Apoidea are very strong when it comes to military might and Apoidea soldiers are universally praised for their strength and unwavering loyalty. Many soldiers will stay and protect a hive while small patrols will be sent outside the hive to scout out areas and eliminate potential threats to the hive. Other institutions have hired Apoidea squadrons for protection and service for brief amounts of time. Singular Apoidea will be sent out to acquire food and resources. The Apoidea primarily feed of a honey-like substance made by the Apoidea created with the nectar of the Feywild's many large and magical flora. The Apoidea are also able to communicate through a complex series of emotions known as a Waggle Dance.

An Apoidea queen is much larger then the average Apoidea. They have a slightly larger torso and upper body and an extremely large and bulbous abdomen. However, this does not affect her effectiveness in battle as she is still very strong and has great spellcasting capabilities. A queen will typically stay within the hive at all times and will only ever leave her chamber on very special occasions. Her chamber is the same place where the larvae Apoidea honeycomb cells reside, as she is their primary caretaker. She will take care of them in their youth before they reach the age of around nine or ten, where they leave her chamber and are taught in a special profession in the hive. The birth of a new queen is a joyous occasion for a hive. The new queen will be taught in all aspects of Apoidea life and culture. Upon reaching maturity, the new queen will compete with the old queen for dominance, performing a special Waggle Dance. The loser will be stripped of their title and through a special ritual, they will be stripped of their queen physiology, and continue as a priest of Apesiana, the patron goddess of the Apoidea.

But in recent years, there has been a decline in the births of Apoidean queens. But this sudden change has given the Apoidea to change and grow as a people, allowing them to develop a stronger sense of will and individuality.

Apoidea Names

After hatching into a larvae, a Queen will give the newborn Apoidea a name. Apoidea names are actually spoke in Waggle Dance, and as a result, cannot be translated effectively. Thus, most adopt humanoid nicknames for the sake of communication with other species.

Apoidea Traits

A race of humanoid bees native to the Feywild
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength and Wisdom scores each increases by 1.
Age. You typically mature at the age of 12 and live to around 75 years old.
Alignment. Apoidea serve their hive loyally and dutifully and tend towards lawful alignments.
Size. Apoidea average about 5 feet tall and weigh between 80 to 90 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet
Flight. You have a flying speed of up to 30 feet. Your flight is noisy and you have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while moving in this way. If you are wearing medium armor you fly at half speed and you are unable to fly while wearing heavy armor or armor you are not proficient in.
Extra Arms. You have four arms and may hold and use items in each hand but cannot wield two two-handed weapons, a two-handed weapon and a shield or benefit from a shield while using two-weapon fighting.
Stinger. You have a potent stinger on your abdomen. Your stinger is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Poisonous Shot. When you make a successful stinger attack you can force a creature to make a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failed saving throw, the creature takes 1d6 poison damage or half damage on a successful saving throw. The poison damage increases to 2d6 at 6th level, 3d6 at 11th level and 4d6 at 16th level.
Waggle Dance. You can understand and perform the traditional Apoidea language of the Waggle Dance, a physical language derived from a complex series of full body movements. To most, these movements are completely meaningless but can be quite mesmerizing to look at. Only another creature who knows Waggle Dance understands messages performed this way. It takes four times longer to convey a message this way as it does to speak the same idea plainly.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 8''	+1d4	80 lb.	× (1d12) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

5.00

(3 votes)

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