Formian fun! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Formian fun! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
AegriSomniaPress
08-07-07, 06:37 PM Ok kids wondering if any one has done much with Formians because I f@cking love them. I have not gotten to run a game yet but no one I know has used them at all. So any conversions, new right ups or anything along those lines on bug races I would love to hear about.

The reason I am looking into them is I am currently making a setting (linked in my sig) and one of the realms has a huge empire of sentient bug people.

Any links or suggestions much appreciated!

Regards, Seth
tui
08-10-07, 11:01 AM I don't know much about Formian, but Thri-Kreen are pretty popular (albeit very different).
Witch
08-10-07, 11:10 AM Formian Arcusrect (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=872)
Juvenile Formian Queen (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=5302)
Kriodoscect (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=1310)
Foederesect (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=5222)
Formian Gear Mistress (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=815)
Polyergus, Formian Duke of Hell (http://dicefreaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=155920)
Orchomenos
08-10-07, 11:48 AM Formian Observer (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mm/20010928a)

I used them as a campaign starter. An old senile farmer found a worker in his shed, and he locked the door. He was screaming beside the road PCs were using to go from city A to city B, for various reasons. While trapped there, the worker was able to craft a basic trap that launched as soon as the PCs opened the door. Well, the PCs easily killed it, but the farmer claimed he saw other ones. And of course, there were tracks all around in the field.

It turned out to be a little recon team with a few worker and warriors, lead by a taskmaster. The taskmaster also had an enslaved griffon (which tried to lead the PC in the wrong direction with hit-and-run tactics), and a PC whom player wanted to run an amnesiac character...
Sarlax
08-10-07, 12:08 PM I would add in a humanoid-shaped formian variety. The formians usually just show up and start fighting, but that doesn't always work. They ought to create a human-looking sort who can live among humanoids, learn their ways, trade, etc. without provoking fear.
Orchomenos
08-10-07, 01:28 PM I would add in a humanoid-shaped formian variety. The formians usually just show up and start fighting, but that doesn't always work. They ought to create a human-looking sort who can live among humanoids, learn their ways, trade, etc. without provoking fear.

Well, that's one of the Taskmaster's function. He can Dominate up to 4 creatures, and communicate telepatically with them. If within an Hive Mind, every formian would automatically know what he learn.

For a more interactive spy, I would suggest something like a Puppeteer (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionicMonsters.html#puppeteer). You could rule the puppeteer is a larval form of formian.
Sarlax
08-10-07, 02:08 PM Well, that's one of the Taskmaster's function. He can Dominate up to 4 creatures, and communicate telepatically with them. If within an Hive Mind, every formian would automatically know what he learn.
They won't be very good at that task. It's only a DC 15 Sense Motive to detect that someone is dominated. It lasts only 10 days, necessitating periodic return trips to the hive (or taskmaster's location) to get dominated again. Unfortunately, the DC is only 17, which even a 1st-level commoner has a 15% chance of making - and if made, the same task-master can't try to dominate them again for 24 hours. In other words? That slave-spy is going to get busted or going to get freed.

What I really would like is a human-form formian (a "ant-man") that doesn't raise eyebrows in a cosmopolitan humanoid city. It'd be a way for the formians to gradually gain the trust of a city/nation over a period of years.

It could also be fun to play, and shouldn't be too difficult to write up as an ECL 0 or ECL 1 race.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AegriSomniaPress 08-07-07, 06:37 PM	Ok kids wondering if any one has done much with Formians because I f@cking love them. I have not gotten to run a game yet but no one I know has used them at all. So any conversions, new right ups or anything along those lines on bug races I would love to hear about. The reason I am looking into them is I am currently making a setting (linked in my sig) and one of the realms has a huge empire of sentient bug people. Any links or suggestions much appreciated! Regards, Seth
tui 08-10-07, 11:01 AM	I don't know much about Formian, but Thri-Kreen are pretty popular (albeit very different).
Witch 08-10-07, 11:10 AM	Formian Arcusrect (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=872) Juvenile Formian Queen (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=5302) Kriodoscect (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=1310) Foederesect (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=5222) Formian Gear Mistress (http://community.dicefreaks.com/viewtopic.php?t=815) Polyergus, Formian Duke of Hell (http://dicefreaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=155920)
Orchomenos 08-10-07, 11:48 AM	Formian Observer (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mm/20010928a) I used them as a campaign starter. An old senile farmer found a worker in his shed, and he locked the door. He was screaming beside the road PCs were using to go from city A to city B, for various reasons. While trapped there, the worker was able to craft a basic trap that launched as soon as the PCs opened the door. Well, the PCs easily killed it, but the farmer claimed he saw other ones. And of course, there were tracks all around in the field. It turned out to be a little recon team with a few worker and warriors, lead by a taskmaster. The taskmaster also had an enslaved griffon (which tried to lead the PC in the wrong direction with hit-and-run tactics), and a PC whom player wanted to run an amnesiac character...
Sarlax 08-10-07, 12:08 PM	I would add in a humanoid-shaped formian variety. The formians usually just show up and start fighting, but that doesn't always work. They ought to create a human-looking sort who can live among humanoids, learn their ways, trade, etc. without provoking fear.
Orchomenos 08-10-07, 01:28 PM	I would add in a humanoid-shaped formian variety. The formians usually just show up and start fighting, but that doesn't always work. They ought to create a human-looking sort who can live among humanoids, learn their ways, trade, etc. without provoking fear. Well, that's one of the Taskmaster's function. He can Dominate up to 4 creatures, and communicate telepatically with them. If within an Hive Mind, every formian would automatically know what he learn. For a more interactive spy, I would suggest something like a Puppeteer (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionicMonsters.html#puppeteer). You could rule the puppeteer is a larval form of formian.
Sarlax 08-10-07, 02:08 PM	Well, that's one of the Taskmaster's function. He can Dominate up to 4 creatures, and communicate telepatically with them. If within an Hive Mind, every formian would automatically know what he learn. They won't be very good at that task. It's only a DC 15 Sense Motive to detect that someone is dominated. It lasts only 10 days, necessitating periodic return trips to the hive (or taskmaster's location) to get dominated again. Unfortunately, the DC is only 17, which even a 1st-level commoner has a 15% chance of making - and if made, the same task-master can't try to dominate them again for 24 hours. In other words? That slave-spy is going to get busted or going to get freed. What I really would like is a human-form formian (a "ant-man") that doesn't raise eyebrows in a cosmopolitan humanoid city. It'd be a way for the formians to gradually gain the trust of a city/nation over a period of years. It could also be fun to play, and shouldn't be too difficult to write up as an ECL 0 or ECL 1 race.