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Swordwings are a 4e original, I believe. They’re only on the Monster Manual, though I think they get some extra lore in a Dragon article.

The Lore

Swordwings are a species of humanoid arthropod who lives in the deep Underdark. Their name comes from their wings and from the fact that one of their arms is shaped like a sword and can be used as such. They’re sapient, and their alien culture is focused on building and displaying collections. Of what? It varies!

Every individual swordwing has its own preferences. Some are specialized in a single type of object, while others are more eclectic and keep several different collections. The book says typical examples are collections of skulls, weapons, gems, magic items, eggs, or victims’ hearts. A swordwing’s collection is what defines it as an individual, and I guess the quality of that collection might also act as a measure of status in their society. This implies that every swordwing is a connoisseur and an expert curator in its chosen field.

Swordwings build nesting spires using the same biological processes a wasp would use: chew the surrounding material and transform it into a paper-like substance, which gets molded into the final structure. Each home in these spires is a small museum of its inhabitant’s collection.

These creatures fly out of their nests in groups to find more items suitable for display, and as you might expect they don’t much care for the feelings of those items’ current owners. Sometimes, they’ll ally with other denizens of the Deep Underdark who don’t own anything they collect but can help them increase their hoards in exchange for certain favors.

As I remember, these monsters were responsible for starting one of the battles in the Edition War, since they were showcased in an article as an example of the sort of all-new monster you would see in the new edition to better support epic play. Detractors complained a lot about how swordwings made no sense because any world where these things lived would end in short order.

To a point, that’s true - any epic monster that gets loose in the sort of setting one imagines for a low-level game can theoretically turn into an unstoppable, apocalyptic menace. However, this is supposed to be the game whose settings have a place for epic creatures. And for Swordwings, that’s the deep Underdark, where they get to pal around with eye tyrants, gibbering orbs, and alien gods from the Far Realm. Preventing these fine folks from invading the surface is the type of thing an epic campaign is supposed to be about.

The Numbers

Swordwings are Aberrant Humanoids, and prove that the Aberrant origin isn’t always about tentacles. Sometimes it’s about sword arms!

Swordwings are Evil and communicate using Deep Speech. They have a ground speed of 6 and a dragonfly-like air speed of 10 with Hover. They have low-light vision, and their main attack is of course the armblade, tough different stat blocks do different things with it. There’s two of those.

Swordwing

The basic model is Medium, and a Level 25 Soldier with 234 HP. Its armblade is a Reach 2 high-crit weapon and gains a +2 to attack bloodied targets. It also marks the target for a turn, and benefits from a couple of passive traits that increase its damage in certain situations.

One of them is Sudden Strike, which allows the swordwing to attack an adjacent enemy that shifts as an interrupt, with a damage bonus. Thanks to Vicious Opportunist, the swordwing also gains the same damage bonus on opportunity attacks.

These critters are awesome at fighting in a square formation two bugs deep, where both rows can attack. They’re also good in a wedge formation, since they’re so effective at punishing enemies who try to slide around them. Both of these are better in tight quarters - wide open spaces might make then susceptible to ranged attacks, though they can close the gap really fast.

Give them some artillery and controller allies who can stand behind that tight formation, and the PCs should sweat a bit. If the heroes have lots of area attacks at their disposal, basic swordwings are also really effective in a looser skirmish formation, since each individual can exert some control over its immediate area.

Crownwing

This Large specimen is likely a high-status individual. It could be because of simple genetics, though I think it’s more interesting if they mutate as their collections grow fancier and more prestigious. Their average Int is 18 instead of the basic model’s 10, and they have more skill training. It’s plausible they know and can use magic rituals.

Crownwings are Level 26 Skirmishers with the Leader tag and 238 HP. Their armblade is still a Reach 2 high-crit weapon, and this time it does bonus damage against flanked targets. They can make the standard Flyby Attack maneuver where they fly their speed without drawing opportunity attacks and make an armblade strike at any point.

Their leadery skill is the Mark of Death (ranged 10, encounter), which always hits and grants allies a +2 to attack and +10 to damage against the target. This lasts until the end of the fight, which suits an encounter power.

Crownwings are a perfect complement for a troop of basic swordwings, and they also work really well in command of a gaggle of minions, who suddenly become a lot more dangerous against a PC afflicted by the Mark of Death. Multiple crownwings can mark multiple PCs and switch targets so they’re always hitting someone who gives them a damage bonus. Smart PCs should try pin these things down ASAP, and either attack from range or keep switching back to avoid the bonus.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

There’s two sample encounters:

  • Level 25: 4 swordwings and 1 crownwing. Your basic patrol or raiding squad.

  • Level 29: 3 swordwings and a gibbering orb. Boss-and-bodyguards, with the guards acting as a nice force multiplier.

It might be my bias towards 4e speaking, but I really like swordwings. They fulfill a needed role of “high-level regulars”, and their collecting obsession makes them more than just “Orcs, but Epic”. It also helps that they can fly.