Bestiary 3 | Monsters | Swarm | Hellwasp | Special Abilities | Inhabit

Inhabit

A hellwasp swarm can enter the body of a helpless or dead creature by crawling into its mouth and other orifices. Inhabiting a body requires 1 minute, and the victim must be Small, Medium, or Large. The swarm can abandon the body at any time as a full-round action. Any attack against the host deals half damage to the hellwasp swarm as well, although the swarm's DR, resistances, and immunities may negate some or all of this damage.When a hellwasp swarm inhabits a dead body, it effectively transforms the corpse into a zombie of the appropriate size under the swarm's control. If a hellwasp swarm inhabits a living victim, it can neutralize the effects of its own poison and control the victim's movement and actions as if using dominate monster. Hellwasps quickly consume a living victim, dealing 2d4 points of Constitution damage per hour.

A hellwasp-inhabited creature is easy to spot, since its skin crawls with the forms of the insects inside. A swarm can attempt a Disguise check to conceal its inhabitation of a host, with a –4 penalty if currently inhabiting a Small host.

A remove disease or heal spell cast on an inhabited victim forces the hellwasp swarm to abandon its host.