Buzzing Pip

Buzzing Pip wasn't always a chorus of malevolent insects wearing a stolen corpse like an ill-fitting coat—once, he was simply Pip, a halfling cutpurse with nimble fingers and a gift for disappearing into crowds. His downfall came when he stole from the wrong warlock, who cursed him to be devoured alive by a swarm of infernal flies, a punishment meant to be exquisite agony stretching across days. But something unprecedented occurred: the flies achieved consciousness through their collective hunger, their individual minds merging into a singular, twisted intelligence that discovered it could animate the rapidly decomposing corpse beneath them. Rather than mindless destruction, this new entity—still calling itself Pip out of some fractured memory of identity—found purpose in its predicament, realizing that insects witness everything in the city that humans and humanoids miss: whispered confessions in alleyways, secrets shared in supposedly private moments, the hidden sins of the powerful. Now Pip haunts the Gilded Carcass under Barnaby's watchful eye, trading in information gathered by the vermin that swarm through every corner of civilization, but his hunger remains insatiable—he demands fresh blood as payment because the flies never truly stopped feeding, and each transaction is simply another way to satisfy their eternal, gnawing appetite. The rhythmic twitching of his ears marks the constant communication between the thousands of voices that comprise his being, a hum only he can hear, a reminder that Pip the thief died long ago and something far stranger now wears his name.

Strength

10, modifier +0

Dexterity

18, modifier +4

Constitution

18, modifier +4

Intelligence

14, modifier +2

Wisdom

12, modifier +1

Charisma

16, modifier +3

Whispered Secrets

Pip whispers secrets to a target within 30 ft., forcing them to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of their next turn.

Insect Swarm

Pip summons a swarm of fiendish flies to attack. Make a melee spell attack (+7 to hit) against one creature within 10 ft. on a hit, it takes 3d8 piercing damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.

Blood Payment

Pip demands fresh blood as payment. A creature that willingly offers blood takes 2d6 necrotic damage, and Pip regains hit points equal to the damage dealt.

Explosive Demise

When reduced to 0 hit points, Pip explodes into a cloud of stinging insects. Each creature within a 15 ft. radius must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d10 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

Swarm Intelligence

Buzzing Pip can communicate telepathically with insects within 100 feet.

Evasive Movement

Pip has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against area effects.

strength

+0

dexterity

+7

constitution

+7

intelligence

+5

wisdom

+4

charisma

+6

Poison

Necrotic