Giant Cyclic Insects That Lay Larvae in the Living and the Dead

Habitat: Forest, Grassland, Hill; Treasure: None

Grave drummers aren’t the first creature that comes to mind when picturing a graveyard—partly because of their rarity, and partly due to their strange life cycle. These insectoid monsters sport a pair of protruding mandibles used to inject larvae into hosts. Though they have wings, grave drummers are clumsy flyers.

The most reliable sign of a grave drummer’s presence is the sound it makes. Once it emerges from the ground, a grave drummer produces a loud, continuous buzzing by vibrating its wings. This noise can disorient nearby creatures. However, some cultures and cults that revere the grave drummer interpret the sound differently—hearing it as a form of sacred music, like the song of a divine being announcing its arrival. Among these groups, prayer rituals often involve long sessions of communal humming, mirroring the grave drummer’s endless drone.

They spend most of their lives burrowed underground, conserving energy as larvae grow in specialized compartments inside their bodies. When this dormant period ends, a grave drummer emerges in search of hosts—dead or alive—in which to deposit its young. The larvae eventually consume the host, then seek out enough nourishment to mature and bury themselves, continuing the cycle. Adults rarely live longer than a few months after surfacing.

Communities that live near a grave drummer often develop traditions to appease it and minimize its disruption. These might include offering the recently deceased or even live sacrifices. However, any changes to these rituals—or interruptions to the creature’s dormant phase—can turn it into a significant threat. Roll once or choose a result from the Grave Drummer Disruption table to determine what’s disturbing its cycle.

Grave Drummer Disruption

1d6	The Grave Drummer’s Cycle Has Been Disrupted By…
1	A natural event, such as an earthquake or flood.
2	A time anomaly affecting its burrowing patterns.
3	Another Grave Drummer’s emergence.
4	Lack a resources for the appeasement ritual.
5	The destruction of the cult that supported it.
6	The loss of the town that cared for it.

Lore

With a Intelligence (History or Religion) check, characters can learn the following:

DC 10. Grave drummers prefer graveyards due to the abundance of corpses for their larvae.

DC 15. A grave drummer’s bite transmits larvae into a living victim, which then serves as sustenance.

DC 20. Grave drummers emit a constant, disorienting buzz.

Encounters

Grave drummers thrive in moderate climates with firm, slightly damp soil.

Level 3 – 4. An Elephant defends itself against a Grave Drummer (1,100 XP).

Level 5 – 6. Three Cultist Fanatics make sacrifices to a Grave Drummer (3,650 XP).

Level 8 – 9. A Deafened Oni and two pet Grave Drummers (7,500 XP).

Level 11. The buzzing of three Grave Drummers has awoken seven Ghosts (14,900 XP).

Tactics

Once they emerge, grave drummers are nearing the end of their lifespan. Their only priority is the continuation of their species. They focus relentlessly on injecting larvae into as many hosts as possible.

Names and Aliases

Grave drummers are often known by eerie or reverent titles: Child of the Grave, Final Song, Gravekeeper, Last Embrace, Watcher of the Dead.

Magic Items and Treasure

Grave Drummers don’t carry treasure. However, due to their ties to death and the divine, relics or sacred art objects are often found nearby.

Components harvested from grave drummers may be required to craft items such as the Horn of Blasting, Ioun Stone of Sustenance, Ring of Jumping, or Staff of Swarming Insects.

Grave Drummer

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Large Monstrosity, Unaligned

Armor Class 13

Hit Points 123 (13d10 + 52)

Speed 30 ft., Burrow 30 ft., Fly 40 ft.

Initiative +0 (10)

Skills Perception +5, Survival +5

Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 15

Languages None

CR 6 (XP 2,300; PB +3)

Traits

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Constant Buzz. The grave dummer emanates an aura in a 30-foot Emanation while it doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 16, any creature that starts its turn in the aura and can hear the grave dummer. Failure: The target has Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws to maintain Concentration while in the aura until the start of its next turn. Success: The target is immune to this grave drummer’s aura for 24 hours.

Grave drummers are immune to this aura.

Weak Flier. If the grave drummer is aloft at the end of its turn, it falls.

Actions

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Multiattack. The grave drummer makes two Bite attacks.

Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +8, reach 5 ft. Hit: 23 (4d8 + 5) Piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is subjected to the following effect. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 16. Failure: The target has the Poisoned condition. While Poisoned, the target takes 3 (1d6) Poison damage at the start of each of its turns. It repeats the save if it takes Fire damage, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Downloads

Further Reading

If you’re in need of more insects, check out the Boot Bug.

Perhaps the party could use some bugs of their own with the Bug-Out Bag.

Imagery created with Midjourney.