Giant Wasp 5e: The Sting That Paralyzes the Fallen

A giant wasp is a CR 1/2 Medium Beast with a 50-foot fly speed and a sting that deals 5 piercing damage plus poison. The two editions build it very differently. The 2014 wasp (AC 12, 13 hit points) forces a DC 11 Constitution save against 10 (3d6) poison damage, and if that poison drops a character to 0, the character is stable but paralyzed for an hour, even after healing. The 2024 wasp (AC 13, 22 hit points) drops the save and the paralysis, deals a flat 5 (2d4) poison on every hit, and gains Flyby, so it never takes an opportunity attack when it flies away.

Table of Contents

• •Giant Wasp Stat Block (2014)
• •The Giant Wasp in the 2024 Rules
• •How Giant Wasps Fight
• •Running a Giant Wasp Encounter
• •How Players Beat Giant Wasps
• •Wasps for Players: Conjure Animals and Wild Shape
• •Giant Wasp Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Giant Wasp Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 giant wasp:

Read the last sentence of the sting carefully. The paralysis only triggers when the poison damage is what takes the target to 0 hit points. The creature is then stable (no death saves), has the Poisoned condition for 1 hour, and is Paralyzed as long as that poison lasts. Healing gets it back above 0 hit points, but it stays paralyzed.

When the piercing damage alone drops the target, the rules don't say what the poison does to a creature already at 0. DM ruling, not rules text: apply the piercing damage first, and treat the poison as damage at 0 hit points (a failed death save), with no paralysis.

The Giant Wasp in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 wasp is sturdier and easier to run, and it lost the trait that made it memorable.

How Giant Wasps Fight

The numbers. Against AC 16, the +4 sting hits on a 12 (45%). Against a character with Con +2, the 2014 poison fails on 1-8 (40%):

A 2014 hit averages 12, which drops a level 1 wizard with 8 hit points in one sting. That's how the paralysis comes up in play.

What happens next (2014). A paralyzed character automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saves, and any attack that hits it from within 5 feet is a critical hit. If the wasp stings a paralyzed, 0-HP character again, the character stops being stable and takes two death save failures from the critical hit. One more sting after that kills. A wasp that keeps stinging the downed character is lethal; one that moves on to the next target is merciful. Pick one before the fight, based on how deadly you want the table to feel.

Flyby (2024). The 2024 wasp flies in, stings, and flies back out, splitting its 50 feet of movement, without provoking. Melee characters never get an opportunity attack against it. Swing the wasps in from different directions so they don't bunch up.

Grounded. A wasp can't hover, so a flying wasp that is knocked Prone or has its speed reduced to 0 falls. On the ground it walks only 10 feet a turn.

Running a Giant Wasp Encounter

The 2014 labels use the Dungeon Master's Guide group multiplier from our encounter calculator. With 2014 wasps, trust the harsher label: paralysis takes characters out for an hour, not just a round. With 2024 wasps, the 2024 budget is closer to how it plays.

How Players Beat Giant Wasps

• •Lesser Restoration. It ends the Poisoned condition in both editions, and in 2014 the paralysis only lasts while the target is poisoned. Healing alone doesn't work.
• •Keep the low-HP characters back. A 2014 sting can drop an 8-HP wizard from full in one hit.
• •Dwarves take less. Dwarven Resilience gives resistance to poison damage (and, in 2014, Advantage on the save).
• •Ready attacks. Flyby wasps never stay in reach. Ready an attack for when one comes in.
• •Fight under a low ceiling. Indoors, a wasp can't stay overhead out of reach between stings.

Wasps for Players: Conjure Animals and Wild Shape

The 2014 Conjure Animals can summon four beasts of CR 1/2 or lower, and four giant wasps are strong picks: 50-foot flyers with a poison sting. The 2024 Conjure Animals summons a spectral pack instead of beast stat blocks. For Wild Shape, the fly speed means a druid needs level 8 in both editions.

Giant Wasp Encounter Ideas

The orchard. An orchard's crop is ruined by a nest of giant wasps in the old cider house. The owner wants the nest burned, but the wasps also eat the giant centipedes that used to nest in the cellar.

The paralyzed scout. The party finds a ranger lying in the grass, alive, unable to move, with sting marks. The nest is 100 feet away. Carrying the ranger out means doing it under the wasps' flight path.

Wasp riders. Small forest folk ride trained giant wasps as mounts (a reskin, not SRD lore). They're defending a grove and attack from the treetops with Flyby, never landing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a giant wasp's sting paralyze in 5e?

In the 2014 rules, only if the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points. The target is then stable but poisoned for 1 hour, and paralyzed while poisoned, even after regaining hit points. The 2024 giant wasp has no paralysis.

How do you cure giant wasp paralysis?

End the Poisoned condition. Lesser Restoration does it, because the paralysis lasts only while the creature is poisoned. Regaining hit points doesn't end it.

What CR is a giant wasp?

CR 1/2 (100 XP) in both editions. The 2014 wasp has AC 12 and 13 hit points; the 2024 wasp has AC 13 and 22 hit points.

Can a druid Wild Shape into a giant wasp?

Yes, from druid level 8 in both editions, because the giant wasp has a fly speed.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.