FormianSource 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.
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.Aliens in the "Formian" FamilySource Alien Archive 2 pg. 52Formian Taskmaster CR 7 XP 3,200
LN Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +2 (+6 with hive mind); Senses blindsense (scent) 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14 (+18 with hive mind)
DefenseHP 90
EAC 18; KAC 19
Fort +6; Ref +8; Will +12
Resistances sonic 10
OffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee stinger +12 (1d8+8 P plus taskmaster toxin)
Ranged thunderstrike streetsweeper +14 (1d10+7 So; critical knockdown)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; ranged +14)
1/day—suggestion (DC 20), tongues
3/day—daze monster (DC 19), force blast (DC 19), hurl forcedisk, mystic cure (2nd level)
At will—charm person (DC 18), mindlinkStatisticsSTR +1; DEX +2; CON +1; INT +2; WIS +5; CHA +4
Feats Combat Casting
Skills Diplomacy +19, Profession (merchant) +19, Sense Motive +14
Languages Common; telepathy 120 ft.
Other Abilities hive mind, mental motivation
Gear thunderstrike streetsweeper with 2 high-capacity batteries (40 charges each)EcologyEnvironment any land or underground (Castrovel)
Organization solitary, exchange (2–6), work crew (1 plus 6–12 formian workers), or band (1 plus 3–15 formian workers and 5–8 formian warriors)Special AbilitiesHive Mind (Ex) Formians operate from a shared hive intelligence that allows them to communicate nearly instantaneously. While within telepathic range of at least one other formian with this ability, a formian gains a +4 bonus to initiative and to Perception checks. If one formian is aware of a combatant, all members of the hive mind within range are aware of it, and a member of the hive mind cannot be surprised unless all members within range are surprised. If one member of the hive mind succeeds at a Will save to disbelieve an illusion effect, all members of that hive mind within telepathic range also disbelieve the effect.
Mental Motivation (Su) As a move action, a taskmaster can inspire all other formians from the same hive within range of its telepathy, granting them a +2 morale bonus to attacks, skill checks, and saves against charm and fear effects for 1 minute. A creature can be affected by only one taskmaster’s mental motivation ability at a time.Taskmaster Toxin Type poison (injury); Save Fortitude DC 17
Track Dexterity; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Cure 1 saveDescriptionFormian taskmasters and myrmarchs each serve highly specialized roles within their hive-organized species. Taskmasters are typically 5 feet tall and weigh 300 pounds, while myrmarchs average 8 feet in height and weigh around 1,200 pounds.
Formian taskmasters play a mercantile role and often represent formian interests abroad. Formian myrmarchs are almost never seen outside of the hive. These aristocratic members of formian culture are the queen’s agents and advisors, generals of formian armies, and leaders of complex civic projects. They are deadly combatants, but their real power comes from their ability to elicit extraordinary performance from the entire hive.Extra ContentThe following extra content was found for this creature:
- Formian Race Entry
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