Homebrew Chimera Ant Species Details
Chimera Ants
Chimera Ants are extremely dangerous insects designated quarantine level one. Also known as "Gourmet Ants" due to carefully selecting their food, they have voracious appetites and can consume several times their own weight within a single day. It is not uncommon for Chimera Ants to devour their preferred fodder species to extinction. In general, not even Chimera Ant queens become bigger than 10 centimeters, but gigantic Chimera Ant queens (over 2 meters tall) can be found in the Dark Continent. The Hunter Association classified the colony led by Meruem as a B level threat
Biology Phagogenesis
Chimera Ant queens possess an entirely unique method of reproduction known as Phagogenesis, a term meaning reproduction through devouring. By eating other creatures, a Chimera Ant queen can impart the characteristics of ingested creatures onto the next generation of Chimera Ants it gives birth to. She can produce up to five Ants with one meal. To take advantage of the genes of a particular species, Chimera Ants have been known to feed until the fodder species is driven to extinction in its ecosystem. Humans are known to be extremely nutritious fodder for Chimera Ant queen's. Each generation of Chimera Ants is profoundly different from the one that preceded it, and even individual Ants from the same generation exhibit profound genetic differences, which are expressed by their unique appearance: a fodder species/Ant hybrid, the former component depending on the queen's diet. Genes from multiple species can be mixed in the same Ant. Regardless of their non-insect genes, many of them retain arthropod legs.
The Chimera Ant Queen with first generation soldiers
Thanks to the unique method of reproduction of the species, Chimera Ant soldiers often inherit advantageous traits of the fodder species the queen fed on. Should the prey in question be humans, the resulting Ants will be more intelligent than ones born from wild animals to different extents, stronger, have the ability to talk, learn and operate machinery such as firearms, some of the more primitive ones are capable of feeling aura without seeing it, possibly due to their superior affinity with nature. Higher-ranked soldier Ants are born with the ability to see aura.
Chimera Ants are capable of surviving decapitation for a whole day. However, this is not always the case for those born with human genes. Like all other living beings, they need to breathe, although the manner in which they do so varies with their genes.
It is unknown how ordinary Chimera Ants communicate. The Queen who drifted from the Dark Continent to the human world could issue orders telepathically, possibly with the aid of specific sound signals. Despite her high level of intelligence, however, the fodder species she feeds on affects the mental and communication abilities of her offspring, to the point that some of them may be unable to express complex concepts that an Ant with human intelligence would ordinarily be able to understand. Some soldier Ants born with human genes acquired the ability to speak while also retaining their telepathy, whereas Royal Guards (and, presumably, kings) lack the ability altogether and can resort exclusively to verbal communication.
Chimera Ants, or at least the ones born with human genes, have the potential to recollect events that occurred to the individuals whose genetic material they ended up inheriting, to the point some of them consider themselves as being the exact same person reborn. These memories are the reason some of them were able to talk right after being born. The personality of the fodder human can affect a Chimera Ant to varying degrees, and many remember their former names. In some cases, Chimera Ants can recall everything about their past life, while in others the memories are only subconscious. Some believes that this is made possible by the human soul surviving through the process of Phagogenesis. Having a strong will as a human being makes it more likely for one to be reborn as a Chimera Ant.
Hierarchy and Behavior
A Chimera Ant colony is organized into a military-like chain of command. At the top of the hierarchy is the Queen who hunts on her own until she produces a sufficient amount of soldiers to procure food in her stead. In the meanwhile, she keeps moving until she finds a suitable location to build a nest, after which she spawns hordes of Construction Ants or Kenchiku Ariwhere she remains until her death. She produces a King at regular intervals, who leaves the nest to mate with a female of another species and impregnating the next generation's Queen.
Right below the Queen and King in the hierarchy are the Royal Guards a handful of elite soldiers. Initially tasked with protecting the Queen, they are assigned to the King after his birth and leave the nest with him. A Queen's appetite increases while she prepares to give birth to the Royal Guards, at which point she stops spawning Soldiers, and peaks while she is pregnant with the King. Soldier Ants are organized in three ranks, their number is inversely proportional to their degree of strength and authority: directly under the Royal Guards, and, after the King's birth, the Queen, are the Squadron Leaders each in command who in turn have authority over Peons. and Drudges. After the Queen's demise, her underlings, starting from the Squadron Leaders, then spreading to the Officers as the chain of command breaks, become copycat Kings and leave the nest to spread their own seed.
The giant Chimera Ant Queen who also produced a different type of ant on whose back where the amniotic sacs where the three Royal Guards incubated. Following her death, at least one of her Squadron Leaders reorganized his division: he split his Officers between a minority of Assistant Squadron Leaders and a larger group of lower-ranked Captains. Additionally, the Royal Guards created a whole new species of soldiers by turning living humans into Chimera Ant hybrids. One of them had her emotions separated from her memories, for which she was labelled as an experimental specimen. A Squadron Leader exhibited a similar ability,
When the giant Queen spawned soldiers with human genes, her offspring began to acquire a strong sense of individuality. This first manifested in their request to have names, a concept that ended up fascinating the Queen herself. Many of her subjects became vicious, hunting, torturing and killing humans for fun. The strength of the human ego ended up causing inner conflicts that in the long run undermined the chain of command.
Development and Reproduction
The Royal Guards in their eggs
A Chimera Ant's life starts from an egg, which the Queen hangs from the ceiling of her shelter. When it hatches a Chimera Ant will emerge in full adult form ready to work for the Queen. The Queen is the center of reproduction. In the event that she should die, reports state that male soldier Ants will break from the colony and will become copycat Kings, trying to forcibly mate with females of other
Chimera Ant Traits
Your half-orc character has certain traits deriving from your orc ancestry.Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age
Chimera ant mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 175 years.
Alignment
Chimera Ant choose to stay neutral on the chaotic side wishing to only survive in the only way they know how
Size
Chimera ant are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 6 to well over 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Thanks to your Ant blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Menacing
You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
Savage Attacks
When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and two languages of your choice
Natural Armor
You have tough, exoskeleton. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.