Swarmkeeper Ranger: What are your favorite Swarms?

[Verble]

I find the Swarmkeeper ranger very flavorful. What are some of you're ideas for interesting swarms?

[Kane0]

Rose petals and thorns
Nails and shrapnel
Playing cards
Feytouched dragonflies
Tiny myconoids

[Emongnome777]

I fell in love with the miniature twig blights (one of the suggested ones from the subclass description) when I first read it. I pictured them like wooden praying manti (is that the plural of mantis?).

[Verble]

With some minor reskinning this could be a class for the various elemental Genasi where their 'swarm' is their chosen element, kind of like elemental binders.

Then there's the Dhampir swarmkeeper who has a swarm of bats.

A common idea is a swarm of pixies, which could work nicely with the fey races UA released not too long ago.

[Segev]

I am fond of fireflies. Bonus points if you can get the Light or Dancing Lights cantrips.

[Amnestic]

Rats. Just lots and lots of rats.

[quindraco]

Miniature ornithopter modrons.

[RogueJK]

A common idea is a swarm of pixies, which could work nicely with the fey races UA released not too long ago.

Yep. There was a recent thread discussing a UA Fairy race Swarmkeeper with a swarm of Pixies plus the Knight background for 3 noncombat Sprite retainers.

The character was joking referred to as being just "a dozen fairies in a trenchcoat". :smallbiggrin:

[sayaijin]

On one I used for a one-shot, it was a dragonborn ranger in a land that wasn't welcoming to dragonborn, so the swarm was a bunch of fairie dragons who would rest on him and use their camouflage ability to look like a cloak.

In combat, he would reveal himself in order to use his swarm.

[stoutstien]

Pollen is a fun one.

[Segev]

Pollen is a fun one.

Vile, cruel villain!

[Aett_Thorn]

Tiny, eerily lifelike, flying voodoo dolls.

[stoutstien]

Vile, cruel villain!
Hehe Yep. Sometimes the simple ways can be the most effective forms of being effective.

[Rentirith]

For an underwater campaign I can think of a swarm of small lampreys or leeches, maybe piranha.

[Naanomi]

Bees, living in your bee-beard, from your dwarf an her meadery

[Dork_Forge]

Bees, easily.

My girlfriend played a Kobold BattleSmith/Swarmkeeper, she built a broom of flying into the Steel Defender and made it look like a bee (and functioned as a flying RV for her), using a honey dipper as her infused weapon and a swarm of bees to follow her into battle.

[Pixel_Kitsune]

Sprites.

Was it this Forum that came up with the idea of playing basically a small Fae Court? (Faery from UA, Noble Background with the Retainer Subfeature for 3 non-combat fae attendants, Swarmkeeper 3 for the squad of pixie warriors (Swarm) and ChainLock 3 for a Sprite 2nd in command?)

[Yakmala]

I've played two Swarmkeepers so far.

My first is a Goliath Ranger in a Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign who is constantly surrounded by his family of ermines. Cute and cuddly until a fight breaks out, then they turn into small white furry murder hobos.

My second is a variant human eccentric ornithologist that has dozens of small wicker nests tied to his armor that contain his colorful finch swarm.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Spiders, I recently played a dempir swarmkeeper, spiders fit great.
(He became a dampir as a ritual to become a spider hive in his druidic/rangers circle).

My next favourite is tiny fey, work great with the fey race.

[Unoriginal]

Not sure which swarm, but If I played a Swarmkeeper my PC would def. be wearing a medieval beekeeper outfit:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e1/61/7b/e1617bd86a00b4c87c2e30e5f13ed53f.jpg

[Temperjoke]

See for me, while I realize there are actual swarms of various creatures in game, the swarm controlled/summoned by the swarmkeeper always just feels like the swarm one of Naruto's characters controls:

https://pa1.narvii.com/6871/3a16a4394e47e8a18f75bd8a9ff5f079d5973771r1-427-240_hq.gif


To me, it's just some non-descript cloud of bugs.

[Joe the Rat]

In not-so-serious form, I have been mulling a chicken swarm for a retired farmer-turned-adventurer.
Return of the Chicken Infested flaw!

On a more serious note, crows.

[Theodoric]

Yeah, crows or ravens was my first idea after reading the class entry. Maybe magpies.

[MadMusketeer]

I've been thinking of a Samurai-Kensei-Swarmkeeper multiclass (11/6/3) with sakura blossoms following their blade for the swarm. While by no means optimal, the combination isn't any more MAD than a straight Monk, so thought it might be fun.

[jaappleton]

I heard of someone using a swarm of tiny raptors once.

I wish I were making that up, because that means I’m much more creative than I am.

I’m a big fan of bee swarms. I recall the legendary tale of the Beeforged, a Warforged with a beehive living in it and its personality had been indoctrinated into the hive. Cried honey. Many bee puns. So many you wouldn’t....

Bee-lieve it.

[Segev]

Could use "leaves" as the swarm, and have them sometimes visually connected by vines. A plant-master, essentially, using swarmkeeper abilities for plant control.

Or a warforged ranger with a leaf swarm. He's determined to be a hero, but not very creative with names: "Leaf Man."


For a particularly creepy swarm: teeth.

[Kane0]

For a particularly creepy swarm: teeth.

Nice.
10char.

[Gecks]

I like the idea of stealing Orc Dave's schtick from the "Rat Queens" visual novels- color-coded spectral birds which live in my beard and come out based on the spell / ability used- blue birds of healing, red birds of wrath, grey birds of deception, etc.

https://i2.wp.com/aiptcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/RQ9_dave.jpg?w=740&ssl=1