The Rise of Ants 2: The Jungle!

[Sniccups]

Vannethia, the Golden Horde

Size 16, Growth 2, Offense 4, Defense 4, Speed 4, Skill 2, Power 8
Skill Research 2/6
Power Research 8/15
Food 10/20

Colony
Power Chamber- Holds your Power Source. Actions can be spent to do Research on the source to unlock new Power Traits.
Central Hive- Includes the Queen's chamber, the resting areas, and the central tunnel leading to the surface. All other sections of the Colony branch off from here.
Soldier Warren- Soldiers rest and train here, located higher up along the central tunnel to allow early reaction to attacks on the Hive.
Food Storage- Can currently hold 20 food.
Pit Traps- Protective traps dug around the entrance.
Watch Posts- Regular patrols of the immediate area are based out of these.
Treehopper Eggs- Will hatch this turn.

Discoveries
Power Source- A perfect, bright golden orb that emits strange magical energies, located in your Power Chamber. Allows you to research Power.
Great Tree- The colony is built underneath an enormous, beautiful tree, larger than those around it and surrounded by undergrowth. The entrance to your colony is between two of its roots, with the main trunk to the north of the entrance. Apparently has the potential to boost magic effects using your Life powers.
Treehoppers- Small creatures that look like leaves at a distance and move around by jumping.. They live high on the tree, as well as on the smaller plants around it, where they drink sap by piercing the plant with their mouthparts. They secrete a sweet fluid sometimes.
Walking Sticks- The other type of insect that lives on your tree, these are far larger than you or the treehoppers and are indistinguishable from sticks while they stand still.
Stream- Wider across than the length of a hundred ants, this stream is south of the Great Tree. It flows from west to east, and was discovered to turn northward after a while by Fiona and Antigone. You have now marked its banks with pheromones.
Sloth- An enormous creature that is located in a neighboring tree. It has four limbs with three claws on each, gray-green fur, and does not like to move very much.

Biological Traits
Appearance: You used to look like most other ants, with black chitin and three rings of golden yellow around the abdomen.
After gaining Life powers, your black chitin has started to turn more towards green. Your golden stripes, however, remain unaffected.
Swarm- Doubles the outcome of an action, positive or negative. 3 turn cooldown.

Skill Traits
Rudimentary Tools- Some workers have begun using small objects (sticks, rocks, etc) as tools to help them work more effectively.

Power Traits
Life (lesser) - You have an increased rapport with the growth and form of the life around you - and this jungle is teeming with life. You gain a 50% bonus to all food gathered or produced.

Heroes
JoJoAnt: Soldier - Health 6, Attack 3, Armor 2, Speed 2, Skill 1, Power 1
Ant-Eye Aircraft Weaponry: Power Seeker - Health 5, Attack 1, Armor 1, Speed 3, Skill 2, Power 3
Antimony: Power Seeker - Health 5, Attack 1, Armor 1, Speed 3, Skill 2, Power 3
Fiona: Speedster - Health 5, Attack 2, Armor 1, Speed 4, Skill 2, Power 1
Dave Foreici Espimoda: Pit Boss - Health 6, Attack 1, Armor 2, Speed 2, Skill 3, Power 1
Antigone: Speedster - Health 5, Attack 2, Armor 1, Speed 4, Skill 2, Power 1
Antitan: Guardian - Health 8, Attack 1, Armor 3, Speed 1, Skill 1, Power 1
Theoanta: Generalist - Health 6, Attack 2, Armor 2, Speed 2, Skill 2, Power 1
Zektak: Power Seeker - Health 5, Attack 1, Armor 1, Speed 3, Skill 2, Power 3

[flappeercraft]

What do you guys think we go Life? Last game we had many of the other powers but Life is one of the new ones. Also I do kinda want to use it for Hamon so it automatically gains my vote.

[Zweanslord]

I vote Life! It seems very fitting with the Jungle, which is teeming with life!

[BrutalZandax]

I also vote Life

[Xihirli]

I like void.

[PopeLinus1]

I like void.

I agree, If there's a void power resting on the mantle in the beginning of the play-by-post game, it will be fired by the end of it.

Void.

[Ramsus]

Life sounds exactly perfect for what I want to do with the bio-construction material, so that has my vote.

[Xihirli]

I want a lot of these.
I’m also good with Life, Fiona can be a healer maybe.

[PopeLinus1]

Life sounds exactly perfect for what I want to do with the bio-construction material, so that has my vote.

But imagine what hilarious comedic mishaps we could have, if we devoted our time to studying the essence of nothing!

[Morgaln]

I vote Life, too. It seems fitting. Also, we're not restricted to researching just one area, are we?

[Xihirli]

We don’t know yet.

[Ramsus]

But imagine what hilarious comedic mishaps we could have, if we devoted our time to studying the essence of nothing!

Right but.... imagine if we combine them!

But actually Void is absolutely my second choice because it's the other one least similar to things we did last game.

[Personification]

I am voting life because we live in a giant tree and I think it will help us maser the art of stick-insect and tree hopper riding (we are the golden horde).

-Investigate stick insects as mounts
-Dig Deeper
-Research power.

Ant-Eye will help with power research, as well as try to make a connection to the Great Tree.

[Eternis]

- Research Skill
- Make Food Storage
- Search along the riverbanks to map the area, with pheromones

Dave is going to be with the power orb, meditating to see if his inherent Pitboss-yness plus the new Hive trait might grant him some kind of "buff productivity" ability.

Vote for Trait:
Life (because tree fans have a good point and also imagine what we could do with some power combos)

Ideas for traits:
Arcane (more power=more good)
Mind (HIVEMIND FTW)
Void (Shadow Darkness Grimdark Ants)
????????????

I just want to point out that skill seems to be a limiting factor in some of our power stuff, so doing some research on that might be really handy.

[flappeercraft]

Thinking we should research biology and anatomy since it will likely be useful to know more about those things if we get the life trait

[PopeLinus1]

Right but.... imagine if we combine them!

But actually Void is absolutely my second choice because it's the other one least similar to things we did last game.

You win. I'm trying to imagine a combo between Life and Void, and no matter what it sounds absurd and a whole lot of fun. I'm changing my vote to life(as if it matters at this point).

[PopeLinus1]

I vote Life! It seems very fitting with the Jungle, which is teeming with life!

For Now. Bluh Bluh

[Sniccups]

This whole time I have been laughing because the webcomic Homestuck has two plot-important items called the Rings of Life and Void.

[flappeercraft]

Today is the update right?

[Sniccups]

Turn 3: Learning Life

Actions
-Expand food storage
-Explore and map the bank of the stream
-Research Power

---

Ant-Eye helps with power research. As the new Life power surges through him, he connects his life force to that of the Great Tree. As it turns out, the Great Tree cannot think, but he does discover that it may be useful as a place to set up magic effects on the area from.

Antigone helps to mark the stream banks.

Zektak attempts to extend his senses using the Power Orb. As the new Life energy reaches him, he suddenly gains a sense of every living thing in and on the Great Tree - and then it’s gone, as soon as it came.

JoJoAnt develops a secret technique.
(Flappeercraft, do you want this on the hive stats as an exclusive trait, or do you want to keep it actually secret?)

Antimony doesn’t manage to gain any extra power beyond what the hive does.

Dave does not manage to develop any new abilities this turn.

While climbing on the tree, Theoanta gets a good look at a walking stick for the first time. Twenty times your length, it moves slowly and is almost indistinguishable from a stick while it remains still - but you can tell it’s still an insect, from its six legs and the general layout of its face.

Fiona and Antitan venture into a neighboring tree to check out that shadow. Upon getting there, they are faced with a monstrously large creature, many times the size of even a walking stick. It has only four limbs, with three long claws on each one by which it hangs from the branch. It is covered in gray-green fur and seems to be asleep, or possibly just very slow. In any case, it doesn’t see you or move.
(Yes, it’s a sloth.)

---

Expand food storage
You now have room for 20 food.

Explore and map the stream bank
You have no idea what “map” actually means (remember, writing is a skill trait) but you leave pheromones to mark where the stream is.

Research Power
Success, Power +2

---

Life Power Trait gained. Your appearance changes, and you gain your first ability.
2 Food consumed
+2 Size from Growth
New Size category reached! You can now vote on 4 actions!

Begin Voting!

[BrutalZandax]

-Research Skill
-Research Power
-Forage Food
-Explore North of the Great Tree

Theoanta will Help with Skill Research.

[Xihirli]

Is the hatching of the leafhopper eggs going to be this coming turn or the next turn after that?

[Sniccups]

Is the hatching of the leafhopper eggs going to be this coming turn or the next turn after that?

This coming turn. Added to the Hive Stats.

[flappeercraft]

-Research Skill
-Research Power
-Forage Food
-Explore North of the Great Tree

I'll keep the secret trait secret. Btw sending a link via PM for a google doc to keep track of those be it completed or just ideas.

JoJoAnt will work on exploring this new life magic and attempting to use it to increment his physical abilities.

[Xihirli]

-Research Skill
-Research Power
-Forage Food
-Begin domesticating the babby treehoppers.

Fiona will help domesticate the hatchlings and do it herself if she must.

[PopeLinus1]

-Research Skill
-Research Power
-Forage Food
-Begin domesticating the b8by treehoppers.

Antigone follows the stream until she finds an end, or a crossing point, or something along those lines.

[Ramsus]

Before I vote on actions, can you tell me if I'm just wasting my time trying to improve Antimony's power or I'm just having bad luck with it?

[Personification]

-Research Skill
-Research Power
-Forage Food
-Begin domesticating the b��y treehoppers. (Into war-aphids for riding out to war)

Ant-Eye will try to use his newfound knowledge to research wards (particularly anti-flier wards, but anything would suffice).

[PopeLinus1]

Before I vote on actions, can you tell me if I'm just wasting my time trying to improve Antimony's power or I'm just having bad luck with it?

Don't give up Antimony! I believe in you! From the ground! Which is a lot safer!

[Zweanslord]

- Research Power!
- Research Skill
- Forage Food
- Explore North of the Great Tree

Zektak believes in Antimony too! Come, sit on the Power Orb and let the Life energy flow through you, we're going to be experimenting!