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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Other Formics AKA Leadership: THE RACE [PEACH]



ImNotTrevor
2014-07-21, 09:34 PM
So this is a random idea that struck me while I was driving home from work today:
Could you make a playable race built around the mechanic of a Hive Mind?
I drew my inspiration from the Formics of Ender's Game.

For now I will just be posting the Crunch with enough fluff to explain why the crunch is that way. Otherwise I'll keep it close to just numbers.

Please note: this is a rough draft, so I don't have a lot of the information. This is mostly a skeleton to see if this idea is even vaguely viable. Also, the Leadership feat will be edited for Formics, and the Thrallherd PrC will be altered to fit the Hive Points system for Formics.

Any and all critique is welcome. More details to come.

Without further Ado:
Race: Formics
HD: By Class
Ability Adjustments: +2 INT, +2 WIS, -2 STR, -4 CHA Formics are smart and strong willed, but individually weak. Their insect minds and inability to speak severely limit their ability to communicate effectively.
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 ft

Racial Triats:

Darkvision: 30 ft.

Sensitive Eyes: Formics take a -2 to spot checks performed in bright sunlight or in the radius of a daylight spell. Similarly, Formics take a -2 penalty to all saves against spells, abilities, and items that use bright light to daze, dazzle, or blind.

Matriarchy: Formic PC’s may only be female. Only female formics have INT scores of 3 or higher. All other Formics have INT scores of 1-2.

Lesser telepathy: Formics can communicate telepathically with other Formics within 100 ft, and with willing creatures that they touch and share a language with. (Creatures touched by a Formic's drones are considered to be touched by the formic for the purpose of this communication.)

Unintelligible: Formics cannot speak any language audibly, though they can click and whistle with their mandibles to provide basic audible signals to their companions.

Naturally Psionic: Formics gain 1 bonus power point at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through class that manifests powers.

Hive Queen:Formics have the ability to form small hive-mind colonies by birthing Formic Drones. Formics have a number of Hive Points equal to their current Character Level + Their base INT modifier. They may choose to spend any unspent Hive Points whenever they have 24 hours to complete the birthing process. If they choose to do so, the Formic must spend 24 hours going through the birthing process for Drones. If a Formic does not have at least 1 Mating Drone, she cannot birth new drones until she is gifted one from another Formic. All Formics begin at level 1 with a Mating drone gifted to them by their mother Formic.
If a drone is killed, its Hive-Point cost is returned to the Hive Point pool and may be spent the next time she completes the birthing process.

LA: +4

Drones by Point Cost
-1 Point-
Mating Drone
Scouting Drone (5)
Brain Drone

-2 Points-
Buzzing Drone

-5 Points-
Worker Drone
Carrier Drone

-15 Points-
Soldier Drone
Shield Drone

-16 Points-
Proxy Drone

-30 Points-
Establish Colony

ImNotTrevor
2014-07-21, 09:35 PM
All Vermin of the (Formic Drone) subtype have the following features:
-All mental stats, all base saves, and initiative scores in combat are derived from the Formic that birthed them. They are merely extensions of her body, and therefore share her mind. A Formic need only make one save to suffice for the entire group of drones under her command. They react as quickly as she does. Her will is their will, and as extensions of her body they are only as resilient as she is, unless otherwise noted.
-Persistent telepathic connection with Formic that birthed them, so long as they are on the same plane.
The Formic that birthed them is as aware of their condition as she is of her own.
-Drones have the same skills and languages as the Formic that birthed them, unless otherwise noted.
-Although they are an extension of her, a Formic Drones cannot deliver Touch Attacks unless otherwise noted. Even those that are capable of this action find it to be immediately and somewhat violently fatal.
-Any mind-affecting compulsion spell, power, or ability (such as Charm Monster or Dominate Monster) that is targeted at a Formic Drone is considered to be targeting the Formic. Even if the Formic itself is out-of-range for a spell, she may still be affected if her Drone is within the area.

1 Point Drones


Mating Drone
Always N Tiny Vermin (Formic Drone)
Init: +0 ; Senses: Darkvision 30ft.
AC:12, Touch 12, Flat Footed 12 (+2 Size)
HP: 1/2 Formic or 1d4 (4 hp)
Fort-- Ref-- Will-- (Same saves as Formic that birthed it.)
Speed: 10ft
Melee: --
Ability Scores: STR: 1 DEX: 10 CON: 10
Attacks:---
Feats: ---
Skills: As Formic
Languages: As Formic
SQ: Mating Drone, Utter Dependance
-----------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL QUALITIES

Mating Drone
A Mating Drone is little more than walking male genitalia. Mating Drones are incredibly weak and tend to stay attached to the Formic that birthed them to provide a source of sperm for the birthing process. Drones so attached are partially integrated into the Formic's body, giving it an amount of HP equal to half the Formic's HP. A Mating Drone is barely able to survive when not attached, and spare Mating Drones are typically cared for by no less than 2 Scout drones dedicated to their care. If not attached to the Formic or being directly attended to by other drones, Mating Drones starve and die within 1d4 days.
Mating Drones that are attached to a Formic may be attacked with a successful Sunder attempt.


Utter Dependance
Formic Drones are entirely dependant upon their Queen to survive. If the Formic that birthed them dies, all Formic Drones under her control also die within 1d4 rounds. If the Formic is resurrected, she must re-birth those drones or else have each one individually resurrected. Attached Mating Drones are the only exception to this rule, surviving 1d4 days after the death of their Queen.

Scouting Drone
Always N Tiny Vermin (Formic Drone)
Init: +0 ; Senses: Darkvision 60ft.
AC:15, Touch 15, Flat Footed 12 (+2 Size, +3 Dex)
HP: 1d4 (4 hp)
Fort-- Ref--(+2 bonus) Will-- (Same saves as Formic that birthed it.)
Speed: 10 ft, Fly 40 ft (Perfect)
Melee: --
Ability Scores: STR: 1 DEX: 16 CON: 10
Attacks:---
Feats: ---
Skills: As Formic
Languages: As Formic
SQ: Scouting Drone, Utter Dependance
-----------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL QUALITIES

Scouting Drone
Scouting Drones are the eyes and ears of a Formic. They are frail but fast, and can be used to monitor allies as well as patrol the outskirts of her colony. As such, Scouting drones are given enhanced senses to aid the Formic in assessing her situation.
Scouting Drones get a +4 competence bonus on Spot and Listen checks, as well as a +2 bonus to Reflex saves. (They still share the same initial Reflex roll with the Formic.)

Utter Dependance
Formic Drones are entirely dependant upon their Queen to survive. If the Formic that birthed them dies, all Formic Drones under her control also die within 1d4 rounds. If the Formic is resurrected, she must re-birth those drones or else have each one individually resurrected.


Brain Drone
Always N Diminutive Vermin (Formic Drone)
Init: +0 ; Senses: Blind
AC:15, Touch 15, Flat Footed 15 (+4 Size, +1 Natural)
HP: 1d2 (1 hp)
Fort-- Ref-- Will-- (+1 bonus) (Same saves as Formic that birthed it.)
Speed: 10 ft, Fly 10ft (Clumsy)
Melee: --
Ability Scores: STR: 1 DEX: 16 CON: 10
Attacks:---
Feats: ---
Skills: As Formic
Languages: As Formic
SQ: Scouting Drone, Utter Dependance
-----------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL QUALITIES

Brain Drone
Brain Drones serve as additional processing power for the Formic that birthed them. They are highly dedicated thinkers, being mostly brain matter encased in a protective exoskeleton. Brain Drones can be used for several different purposes and are highly valuable to any Formic using them.
Brain Drones provide a +1 bonus to Will saves against mind-affecting effects for every 2 Brain drones. (Minimum +1)
Brain drones provide a +1 bonus to any Int-based skill or check per drone. (Maximum +5)
Brain drones can be used to temporarily store power points. Brain drones used to store power points do not count towards the previous two abilities, as their entire mental capacity is dedicated to storing that power point. Storing a power point in a Brain Drone costs a Formic the same number of Power Points as she is storing, but can be stored indefinitely. For instance, a Formic with 10 Power Points may spend 3 of those points into Brain Drone Storage. She has 7 power points to spend normally, and 3 in storage. If she does not spend any stored points, then she will begin the next day with 10 power points and 3 points in storage.
If a Brain Drone is used to store Power Points, it does not count towards the stacking bonuses previously listed.
Brain drones may also be used to store 0 or 1st level spells, using Spell slots instead of Power Points. As with Power Points, a Brain Drone storing a spell does not count towards the previously noted bonuses.
A Brain Drone can only store spells and powers that originate from the Formic itself, not from any other source. (Wands, Scrolls, etc.)
A Brain Drone can be used to deliver spells and powers with a range of Touch. However, the drone dies upon using this ability, as the surge of extra power required for it to do so overloads their cerebral capacity.


Utter Dependance
Formic Drones are entirely dependant upon their Queen to survive. If the Formic that birthed them dies, all Formic Drones under her control also die within 1d4 rounds. If the Formic is resurrected, she must re-birth those drones or else have each one individually resurrected.


2 Point Drones

Buzzing Drone
Always N Small Vermin (Formic Drone)
Init: +0 ; Senses: Darkvision 30ft.
AC:13, Touch 13, Flat Footed 13 (+2 Size, +1 Natural)
HP: 1d6 (3 hp)
Fort-- Ref-- Will-- (Same saves as Formic that birthed it.)
Speed: 20ft.
Melee: Bite (1d3 piercing)
Ability Scores: STR: 10 DEX: 10 CON: 10
Attacks: Bite
Feats: ---
Skills: As Formic
Languages: As Formic
SQ: Scouting Drone, Utter Dependance
-----------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL QUALITIES

Buzz
Buzzing Drones can produce a low buzzing sound as a move action during the Formic's turn. This buzzing serves to soothe Drones under her control and strengthen their bond and performance during combat or while working.
This buzzing provides a +1 bonus to Attack rolls, skill checks, and saves to all other drones within a 60 ft. radius. These bonuses do not stack for multiple Buzzing drones.


Utter Dependance
Formic Drones are entirely dependant upon their Queen to survive. If the Formic that birthed them dies, all Formic Drones under her control also die within 1d4 rounds. If the Formic is resurrected, she must re-birth those drones or else have each one individually resurrected.

3 Point Drones
Worker Drone

4 Point Drones
Broadcast Drone
Bioglue Drone

5 Point Drones
Carrier Drone

6 Point Drones
Soldier Drone
Shield Drone

10 Point Drones


20 Point Drones
Proxy Drone

30 Point Special Action
Establish Colony


Please Feel Free to PEACH the race as I edit it. I appreciate any input that can be given.

Epsilon Rose
2014-07-22, 05:16 PM
This is a very interesting concept for a race, though of do wonder if it would work better as a base class. As things stand, there are a few stand out annoyances that I've noticed, a few of which would make this rather difficult to play.

First, on the unimportant side of things, "effectively two armed" is a useless ability that can be dropped. Having two arms is the default, so adding an ability that does nothing but confirm the default is a bit redundant and somewhat irritating for a player (it's basically saying "here, look at this cool ability that you definitely don't have").

Now, on to more mechanically significant things.

Their stat bonuses are 2-4 points lower than they should be.

Lack of ranged communication will be problematic if it's expected to function in a party or a game with decent roleplaying elements. Hive queen is an extremely interesting ability, but requiring someone else to give you a mating drone to do anything is extremely annoying. What's worse is that by making it so drones can only be spawned at level up, you render the feature largely useless. You can't reliably use drones for combat or scouting, because if they die you can't easily replace them. You definitely can't use them to store spells or pp, because then they'll definitely die. You also can use them for many specialized tasks, since there's a good chance you won't know that you need to perform a specific task at level up and once your done with it you've sunk your points into something that's no longer useful.

Dedicated birthing is just annoying and needs to die in a fire. There's no reason to penalize their speed and, effectively, kill the character like that. The proxy drone idea also doesn't really work, since they'll take up most of a formic's points at level 20 and might not even be available at 17. Either way, building one kind of defeats the point of picking this race, because it means you won't actually be able to use most of the miniony stuff.

ImNotTrevor
2014-07-22, 07:46 PM
Ironically enough, I've been under powering the crap out of the drones and abilities because I thought they would be OP otherwise, and was kinda hoping that I would be able to beef them up if someone said that the race is underpowered.

So actually I will likely end up beefing them up. Any additional suggestions would be nice.