Homebrew Formic Species Details

Thousands of narrow passages and cavernous pits weave through the Underdark. These cave systems are the product of many natural and supernatural processes, and the vast majority of these networks were formed as hives of the insectoid Formics. Exceedingly efficient, their ceaseless labour has created vast networks of underground territories, fought over by these colonies and other underdark denizens. The individual formic exists as a drone, their life defined by their role and service to the colony and queen. The rare formic who leaves or is separated from their hive faces near certain death, and is constantly driven to find a new community and niche to serve within.

Industrious Labourers

Formics skitter about on six limbs, with the front two being useable as arms, able to carry weapons or tools like more typical humanoids. Once born, they grow rapidly, and within a few months develop a chitinous exoskeleton ranging from reddish to light beige, which is occasionally shed and re-grown. Their compound eyes and large mandibles make for an unfamiliar and unsettling sight to some species, emphasized by their inability to articulate common speech. Instead, they communicate via psionic pheremones, or otherwise learn to express themselves using the clicking and buzzing of their joints and mandibles. They stand between 3 to 6 feet in height, and are light for their size but incredibly strong, weighing only 50 to 120 pounds. Adapted to life deep underground, Formics navigate their hives with the guidance of their social pheremones, and navigate unknown terrain by sensing small vibrations in the ground. With an omnivorous diet, Formics are able to digest nearly anything. 

Formic Culture

Formic society is structured completely around the survival of the hive. A single queen can live for centuries, producing all offspring for the hive. Hives are separated into dozens of distinct castes, with each formic being physically and psychologically specialized to their role. These roles vary between hives; some may raise mages both sorcerous or wizardly, while others lack magic altogether. Hives lack any religion except an absolute, single-minded reverence and dedication to the survival of the queen and community. Formics have no concept of leisure, and their existence is dedicated to furthering the security and survival of the colony. 

The individual formic is like a cell of a larger organism. While capable of independent decision making, they inevitably operate as one due to their capacity for complex instantaneous communication and their shared absolute dedication to their community. 

Lone Formics

Formics engage with other races sparingly. Some formic hives occasionally engage in commerce with non-hostile underdark societies as their chitin makes for excellent building and armor material. Individuals formics who associate too frequently with other cultures may find themselves cast out, their minds warped by time spent immersed in humanoid psychologies. Likewise, most humanoid societies see formics as little more than mindless pests.

A Formic that has been separated from their hive is extremely vulnerable, lacking many practical skills of self-preservation due to their specialization and dependance on community. Formics can lose their hive for any number of reasons: The death of a queen sending colonies into anarchy, associations with humanoids or strange magics warping you to the point you no longer operate in unison with the colony, being sent off to accomplish some task or form a new hive as your own queen, or even the simple tragedy of a wandering troglodyte's stench confusing the path of pheremones that led you back to your hive. However it occurs, these helpless vagrants now wander through alien terrain always seeking to rediscover the community and home they lost.

Formic Names

Formic names are often formed by a combination of clicks and pheromone secretions that identify colony and social status. Formics that regularly engage with simple-tongued folk may identify with a name in the common tongue, usually formed from an onomatopoeia of their formic title.

Formic Names: Chachak, Dod'daty, G'chul, Krrik, Kruq'tuk, Ppritiv, Rikknik

Colony Names: Deeplake, Dwarfeater, Spidercorpse, Surfacebreaker, Cavernclaw, Magmahearth

Formic Traits

Your Formic character has certain traits deriving from your biology.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and one other ability score increases by 1.

Age

Formics pupate rapidly, becoming adults after just 1 year. On average, Formics live only 10 years before they are not productive enough to support the hive, at which point they are killed to reduce their load on the community. A formic outside the hive may live for up to 20 years.

Size

Formics can stand anywhere between 3 to 6 feet tall, and weigh between 40 to 120 pounds. Your size is either Small or Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a base climbing speed of 30 feet.

Ground Dweller

Accustomed to underground caverns and tunnels, you have tremorsense to a range of 20 feet.

Six-Limbed

You have four legs and two arms. Your wide stance means that you have advantage on Saving throws or Ability checks against being knocked prone. You can also climb vertical surfaces while retaining free use of both arms.

Exoskeleton

Your exoskeleton grants some degree of natural protection against harm. While unarmored, you have a +2 bonus to your AC. While wearing armour, you have a +1 bonus to your AC. 

Languages

You can read and understand Common and Undercommon. Formics communicate by emitting pheromones that, when smelled, communicate telepathic information to creatures. These pheromones can travel up to 30 feet before fading, but you can control their range. You can also, as an action, secrete a substance which preserves these pheromones for up to 7 days, allowing you to leave messages in an area. Formics occasionally communicate by moving their various mandibles and joints to produce clicks, hums and buzzes. Formics that live outside their hive often learn to communicate emotion using these sounds. These sounds are also used as the verbal components for spellcasting.