Source Alien Archive pg. 50 Formians resemble giant ants with humanoid upper bodies, and carve their chitinous plates with insignias reflecting their individual names and achievements. Members of a hive all share a telepathic link, allowing them to coordinate efficiently.
Within a hive are castes specialized to particular tasks. The queen leads the hive and is its sole means of propagation, while castes like the aristocratic myrmarchs and mercantile taskmasters direct lower castes like warriors and workers.
Formian workers are the backbone of hive labor and hatched in large clutches-many workers never gain a name beyond their number within the clutch. While strong, they typically flee combat unless ordered to fight. Formian warriors, by contrast, are fierce sterile females, each with a stronger individual identity to allow for more effective battle tactics. This individualism makes warriors more likely to chafe under strict hive hierarchies, and these are the formians most likely to set out on their own.
Formians are most common on Castrovel. For millennia they sought to eradicate the lashunta, their traditional foes, but their queens now instead focus on adopting other species’ technology to industrialize their traditional hive societies.
Ability Modifiers +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Wis Hit Points 4Size and TypeFormians are Medium monstrous humanoids.
Formian SensesFormians have darkvision with a range of 60 feet, and they have blindsense (scent) with a range of 30 feet.
Limited TelepathyFormians can communicate telepathically with any creatures within 30 feet with whom they share a language.
Natural WeaponsFormians are always considered armed. They can deal 1d3 lethal piercing damage with unarmed strikes, and those attacks don’t count as archaic. Formians gain a unique weapon specialization with their natural weapons at 3rd level, allowing them to add 1-1/2 × their character level to their damage rolls for their natural weapons (instead of just adding their character level).
Sonic ResistanceThanks to the chitinous plates that cover them, formians have sonic resistance 5.Vital StatsAverage Height 6–8 ft. Average Weight 150–250 lbs. Age of Maturity 1 year Maximum Age 15+1d10 years
|