Here - Comments on

1

AntQuest! Adventures in the Belokonian Federation

By Guy Jobbins Inspired by Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber and HeroQuest by Robin Laws and Greg Stafford

A legion of Formica rufa go to work

Note AntQuest is inspired by the novel Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber, ISBN 0-55357352-7. To play this game you will need HeroQuest by Robin Laws and Greg Stafford, published by Issaries Inc, ISBN 1-929052-12-X. AntQuest is by no means an official supplement, and is no way affiliated with Issaries Inc. or anyone else. It’s all my fault. Please don’t sue me. Thanks to folks on the heroquest-rules list for their suggestions.

2

Contents 1. Introduction to Bel-O-Kan ................................................................................................ 2 Other cities of the Bel-O-Kan Federation.......................................................................... 2 2. Ants ................................................................................................................................... 2 Social organisation and politics......................................................................................... 4 3. Creating Ant Heroes .......................................................................................................... 4 Castes................................................................................................................................. 4 Males ................................................................................................................................. 6 Females.............................................................................................................................. 6 Mercenaries ....................................................................................................................... 7 Playing Ants ...................................................................................................................... 7 4. Inside the City ................................................................................................................... 7 Moving around the city ..................................................................................................... 8 Important areas .................................................................................................................. 8 Responding to attack ......................................................................................................... 9 5. The Outside World .......................................................................................................... 10 Other dangers .................................................................................................................. 11 6. Bestiary............................................................................................................................ 11 Other peoples................................................................................................................... 11 Monsters .......................................................................................................................... 13 7. Scenario Ideas.................................................................................................................. 14 Encounters / Events ......................................................................................................... 17 End Note.......................................................................................................................... 18

3

1. Introduction to Bel-O-Kan It is the one hundred thousandth millennium of Myrmician Civilisation. Legends say the Ni Dynasty of Bel-o-kan was founded five thousand years ago by a young queen blown astray by a terrible storm. Failing to reach her own Federation again, she created Bel-o-kan, and from that city was born the Federation and the hundreds of generations of Ni queens who formed it. Belo-kiu-kiuni was her name, and all the queens of Bel-o-kan have taken her name thereafter. Bel-O-Kan 1 metre high. 50 floors above ground, 50 floors below ground. 120km of navigable corridors Surface area at ground level: 2m2 Estimated population: 18 million Annual Production: 50 litres of greenfly honeydew 10 litres of ladybird honeydew 4 kilos of agaric mushroom 1 ton of gravel expelled

Other cities of the Bel-O-Kan Federation. Russet ants not only organise into cities, but into federations of cities. The Belokonian Federation consists of Bel-okan itself, the largest and central city, and 64 daughter cities scattered in the neighbouring vicinity. These cities share the same scent, and are linked by a network of 125 km of hollowed out trails, and 780 km of scent trails. These cities stick together in times of war and famine. This level of organisation allows the possibility of specialisation. Belo-kiukiuni dreams of the day when one of the cities will deal in cereals, another will supply meat, and a third concern itself only with war. There is still a long way to go. Some of the other cities are Yodu-loubaikan, the largest producer of cereals, Giou-li-aikan, famous for its mighty warriors, Zedi-bei-nakan, famous for its chemical laboratories which produce

hyperconcentrated combat acids, Li-viukan, which produces a ladybird alcohol with a much sought after taste of resin, Lachola-kan, the most westerly Belakonian city, Zoubi-zoubi-kan, with a herd of over 9 million greenfly, and the city port of Satei. The outlying cities, in particular, also form summer nests, or advance posts, filled with warriors and hunters.

2. Ants “A ray of sunlight passed over. A leg stirred, the first thing to move since the start of hibernation three months earlier. Another leg moved slowly forward, the two claws in which it ended gradually opening. A third leg stretched. Then a thorax. Then a whole individual. They trembled to help their transparent blood circulate through the networks of arteries, thinning as it went from paste to liquor to liquid. Little by little, their hearts started to beat again, pumping the life-giving fluid to their extremities. Their biomechanisms warmed up. The hypercomplex joints pivoted. All around, the ball and socket joints, covered in protective plates, twisted and tuned to their full extent. They stood up. Their bodies started to breathe again, moving in an uncoordinated slow-motion dance. They shook themselves slightly. Their forelegs met in front of their mouths as if in prayer, but they were only wetting their claws to polish their antennae. The twelve who were awake massaged one another then tried to wake their neighbours. But they scarcely had the strength to move their own bodies and had no energy to offer. They gave up. Then they moved with difficulty between the statue-like bodies of their sisters, making their way toward the Great Outside. The cold blooded organisms needed to absorb calories from the sun.” - Empire of the Ants, p.6 In AntQuest the default heroes are russet ants (Formica rufa), a species found in 2

temperate woodlands. Like other ants, russets have three sections to their body – a head, thorax and abdomen. Their head has two large, globular eyes, powerful mandibles, and two sensitive antennae used for communication. The eyes are multifaceted, but this does not mean the image is repeated a thousand times – the ant sees a single latticed image. Detail is not clear, but it is easy to spot the slightest movement. Six jointed legs sprout from the heavily armoured thorax, and the abdomen contains two special pouches. The first contains a storage stomach, known as the social crop, which the ants use to store foods fresh for later consumption. They can pass this food to other ants, a gesture of generosity known as trophallaxis. The second pouch contains chemical weapons which can be squirted out of the abdomen. In russet ants the standard chemical weapon is highly corrosive formic acid. The concentration of the acid is usually 40 to 60%, and can be as high as 75%. It is a deadly weapon, and can do terrible damage to friend and foe alike. A word on acid The russet ant, Formica rufa, has learned to store formic acid in its abdominal pocket for use in combat. In HeroQuest there are no particular rules for using acid, a potentially deadly weapon. In extended contests acids and poisons use edges (HeroQuest p.186). The edge’s value depends on the strength of the acid or poison. Examples are given in the bestiary.

Each ant has 3 brains, one for each body segment. Sexual females and males have two distinguishing characteristics lacked by the asexual workers: three extra eyes capable of detecting infrared light, and a pair of wings. In addition their antennae are longer and more sensitive than normal. Most ants live for three years. The queen can live for 14 years, making her a valuable treasure of experience for the Tribe. Ants have, in general, a standard progression of learning and responsibility,

although exceptional ants (the heroes!) may ignore these generalisations. They are born in the nursery, in the upper storeys of the anthill, warmed by the sun’s rays. Until they are 10 days old, they look after the queen in her quarters, which are closely guarded by huge soldiers with terrible mandibles. Then, between the ages of 11 and 20 days, workers see to the cocoons in the nursery, before tending and feeding the freshly emerged larvae. From age 30 to 40 days, they are in charge of domestic tasks and roadwork, then earn the privilege of raising aphids outdoors. At the age of 50 days, they go out hunting and exploring. At the age of 11 days, young reproductives remain in their cells until it is time for their mating flight. Ants communicate by putting their antennae together and exchanging pheromones. They can also communicate less subtle information by simply spraying pheromones into the air. Scents from recent conversations can be detected and read from nearby soil, walls, and even carried on the wind. The seeking ant will steadily increase the frequency that her antennae beat at in an attempt to identify the scent. The difficulty depends on the distance and time passed. Antennae Ant antennae have 11 specialised segments. Segment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 – 11

Information / function Age (days) Caste Species & city Clutch number Receiver for trail molecules Transmitter for simple dialogue Transmitter for complex dialogue (sexual) Weapon (small club)

Another form of communication is used on special occasions, particularly problem solving. During absolute communication two or more ants will lock antennae together, allowing the neuromediators of one ant to directly touch the neuromediators of another. This literally allows their brains to join and allow an absolute sharing of experience. During problem solving it also allows a network 3

of ants to increase their effective brain power. Ants just distance in heads (3mm), and directions given in terms of angle to the sun, e.g. 46O to the sun for 1000 heads. Time is measured in OC, and ants might arrange to meet at 22C time, for example.

Social organisation and politics “The Tribe had been wounded and had not even noticed. He was the pain stimulus, so it was up to him to make the city react.” – Empire of the Ants, p. 45 Despite the apparently hierarchical nature of ants, there is no decision-making or political structure. Even Queen Belo-kiukiuni has no political power, as such. In the Tribe the decisions are made by constant consultation through the formation of working parties and think tanks that chose their own projects. The basic unit of organisation is the working group. An ant who has found a source of food, a hole in the protective twig layer of the city, seen a military innovation in an enemy, or identified something else requiring action will attempt to interest others in the problem. Ants should use their Nerve Stimulus ability to organise others. The level of resistance will be determined by the seriousness of the threat or problem, whether the required task is relevant to the ant approached, whether the problem can be understood, and so on. A soldier ant approached to carry some eggs is most likely to ignore the request, as will a nursery worker asked to go on a hunting expedition, as will any ant asked to build a space rocket. To take on the role of the Nerve Stimulus, the ant will state a ritual phrase and try to stimulate those it comes into contact with. If the ant is unable to generate a nerve centre, of forming a working group, its experience is useless. “I was the exploring leg I was the eye on the spot Now I’m home, I’m the nerve stimulus.” This form of organisation has both positive and negative points. On the

positive side, it allows for what be termed distributed processing, which allows for a great deal of efficiency in problem solving. On the downside, an ant that has seen a terrible threat to the city may be ignored and the city left unprepared to take action.

3. Creating Ant Heroes AntQuest is intended to reflect ant life as described in Empire of the Ants, so magical abilities, and items such as chainsaw are out. However, as narrator you might want something more fantastical, so feel free to totally ignore the following restrictions if you wish. You can use any of the methods of character creation as described in HeroQuest, but with a couple of changes. Narrative method backstories should be confined to 50 words, and both list and ‘as you go’ methods should be limited to 5 extra abilities. Ants (except for slavemakers) usually don’t start with other ants as followers, although they may gain them through forming workgroups. I guess it isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility that an extraordinarily rare ant might have some other kind of insect trained and attached to it as a kind of pet, or herd beast. Items are similarly problematic unless the player has a good idea of how it is carried. Possibilities for ‘items’ might include social crops filled with particularly nutritious honeydews, saliva glands that contain extra-strong anti-fungal or antibacterial agents, knowledge of how to make and use simple tools, or where a stock of a useful plant can be found. All these extra abilities start at 13, as usual. Next choose a Caste or Subcaste keyword and take all those abilities at 17, unless specified otherwise. Finally, distribute 20 points amongst your abilities, with no more than 10 going to any single ability.

Castes Worker These are the default workers that do the majority of work for the city. All workers begin life as nursemaid tending the queen, eggs and larvae in the city, and then learn 4

new tasks which may take them to the big outside. Ants with the basic Worker keyword may be young ants, or ants that perform general tasks such as carrying food, building and maintaining the city, and so on. Abilities: Antennae Clubs 13, Work with Mandibles, Fight with Mandibles 13, Shoot Acid, Social Crop, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Nurse Young, Work Doggedly, Build, Follow Path, Dodge 13, Know City, Know Local Area, Healing Saliva, Belokonian History 13 Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan, to working group Typical Personality: Determined, Stubborn Flaws: Panic 17 Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 17), Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 13), Mandibles +3 Worker Subcastes Some ants become more members of specialised subcastes as they age. Their body changes and they learn new abilities, and lose others. These changes seem to be environmentally mediated, rather than genetic. Warriors Some warriors specialise into further subcastes: specialised gunners with tapered abdomens filled with formic acid; powerful ants with wood-hard thoracic plates and mighty mandibles used in the front line of the charge; nimble skirmishers. All warriors tend to be very enthusiastic. Abilities: Antennae Clubs 15, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles, Fight in Formation, Social Crop 15, Shoot Acid, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path, Dodge, Know Local Area, Identify Foe, Scout, Know City, Fight Monster, Belokonian History 13 Relationship: to Bel-o-kan, to Legion Typical Personality: Brave, Enthusiastic, Grim, Disciplined Flaws: Panic 13

Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 5W), Chitin +5 (Resist Acid 17), Mandibles +5 Soldier specialisations: Gunner –Fight with Mandibles -4, Shoot Acid +4: Acid (Corrode Anything 10W) Ordinary – no change Shock – Brave +3, Scouting -3, Fight with Mandibles +4, Shoot Acid -2: Chitin +7 (Resist Acid 1W), Mandibles ^7 Skirmisher – Brave – 3, Scouting + 3, Fight with Mandibles -2, Shoot Acid +2, DoorKeeper: These specialists guard the Forbidden City. Their heads are broad, flat and round, and fit precisely into niches carved into the Forbidden City’s passageways. They are little more than living doors, but they have proven their worth. During the Strawberry Field War 780 years ago the city was invaded by yellow ants. All surviving Belokonians withdrew to the Forbidden City, and the Doorkeepers entered backwards, sealing it off. The yellow ants attacked the Doorkeepers 100 to 1, who fought back with their long mandibles. After two days the yellow ants dug through the chitin in the Doorkeepers heads, but by then reinforcements had arrived from other Federation cities and Bel-o-kan was retaken. Abilities: Antennae Clubs 15, Fight with Mandibles 1W, Shoot Acid 6, Seal Entrance 17, Navigate in Open 6, Social Crop 10, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Strong Relationship: Loyal to Bel-o-kan 1W Typical Personality: Steadfast Flaw: Panic 6. Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 13), Chitin +15 (Resist Acid 10W), Mandibles +6 Hunter Abilities: Antennae Clubs 13, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles, Shoot Acid, Social Crop, Influence Ant 5

13, Keen Senses, Scan Terrain, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Build, Know Animals, Follow Path, Dodge, Know Local Area, Ambush, Belokonian History 13

Build, Follow Path, Dodge 13, Know Local Area, Farming, Know Crops, Manage Farm, Healing Saliva 17, Treat Infection 17, Know City, Belokonian History 13

Typical Relationships: Loyal to Bel-okan, to working group Personality: Determined, Wily Flaws: Panic 13 Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 1W), Chitin +5 (Resist Acid 17), Mandibles +5

Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan, to working group Typical Personality: Cheerful, Conservative, Stubborn Flaws: Panic 17 Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 17), Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 13)

Explorer Abilities: Antennae Clubs 13, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles 17, Shoot Acid, Social Crop, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path, Dodge, Know Local Area, Know Foreign Lands, Know Foreign Ways, Scan Terrain, Lay Chemical Path, Belokonian History 13

Males

Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan, to working group Typical Personality: Determined, Adventurous, Curious, Polite Flaws: Panic 13 Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 17), Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 15), Mandibles +5 Herder Abilities: Antennae Clubs 13, Work with Mandibles, Fight with Mandibles 13, Shoot Acid, Social Crop, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Nurse Young, Work Doggedly, Build, Follow Path, Dodge 13, Know Local Area, Know Animals, Tend Herd Beasts, Healing Saliva 17, Know City, Belokonian History 13 Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan, to working group Typical Personality: Determined, Flaws: Panic 17 Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 17), Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 13) Farmer Abilities: Antennae Clubs 13, Work with Mandibles, Fight with Mandibles 13, Shoot Acid, Social Crop, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Nurse Young, Work Doggedly,

Males are the offspring of unfertilised eggs laid by the queen. Smaller than the sexual females and the workers, they live only to impregnate the females during the Festival of Rebirth, dying a few days later. They have wings which increase in size and strength near to the festival. Until that time they are incapable of flight, although the wings can be used to create bursts of speed or make short jumps. Most princes spend their time prior to the Festival making themselves look pretty and lounging about, but some want adventure in their short lives. Abilities: Antennae Clubs 15, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles 13, Shoot Acid, See in Dark, Social Crop, Influence Ant 15, Identify Scent 1W, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path 1W, Dodge, Know Local Area, Know City, Jump, Quick, Seductive Pheromones, Grooming, Belokonian History 13 Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan Typical Personality: Aristocratic, Snobbish, Foolish Flaws: Panic 17 Equipment: Acid (Corrode Anything 5W), Chitin +5 (Resist Acid 17), Mandibles +3

Females Females are the future queens of the Federation. It is a rare princess who leaves the cosseted chambers of the Virgin’s Quarters, and it is practically impossible for a female to be allowed to leave the safety of the city until the Festival of Rebirth. Females can release the most seductive pheromones, and, like males, 6

have wings that grow in strength near the festival. If a female’s wings are damaged she is not able to fly in the festival, but might survive to do meaningful work in the city, possibly even becoming the next Queen when the current Belo-kiu-kiuni dies. Larger than the average ant, they can live for up to 15 years. Abilities: Antennae Clubs 15, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles 13, Large 17, See in Dark, Social Crop, Influence Ant 1W, Identify Scent, Strong, Dodge 13, Know City, Jump, Quick, Seductive Pheromones, Grooming, Healing Saliva 1W, Belokonian History 17 Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan Typical Personality: Aristocratic, Snobbish, Cool-Headed Flaws: Panic 13 Equipment: Chitin +5 (Resist Acid 17), Mandibles +3

form, but is simply a joint awareness amongst the ants in the workgroup. The Workgroup Consciousness will always provide its members with a Mass Effort ability that reflects the nature of the workgroup, e.g. Mass Combat, or Mass Effort (Building). Based on the size of the workgroup, community support bonuses will also apply to non-physical tasks such as problem solving or remembering things when the workgroup members enter into Absolute Communication.

4. Inside the City Bel-o-kan is built in a cone, offering less resistance to the elements, and its long axis is oriented to receive as much sunlight as possible. It is constructed of piled earth, covered with protective layers of twigs that are constantly replaced.

Mercenaries It is also possible to play a non-russet mercenary ant who fights under the Belokonian scent banner. See the Bestiary for basic keywords.

Playing Ants Individual ants are puny, especially when facing a monster as dangerous as a woodpecker or a horde of Slavemakers. Ants learn to work together, and being able to share experiences with other ants to form a workgroup and build support for an idea or a mission are key abilities for the adventurous and ambitious ant. Even simply forming a workgroup requires the ant to influence others as modelled in HeroQuest by the community support rules. Players and narrators should be familiar with the HeroQuest rules for obtaining community support (HQ p. 88), mass effort (HQ p. 183) and dealing with hordes (HQ p. 186). Narrators may also like the idea that forming workgroups allows ants to create a unit consciousness that works similarly to Heroband Guardians (HQ p. 92). The Workgroup Consciousness, once formed, has no personality or identity or material

Bel-o-kan, capital of the Ni Dynasty

Entrants to the city will be challenged by sentries, and must display appropriate passport scents. A worker or traveller covered in dust must quickly clean her antennae and release identification scents to avoid being attacked. At night worker and soldier ants seal the entrances to preserve the inner warmth of the city. It is completely dark within the city. Save for the sexual ants, with their three infrared eyes, those within the city navigate by scent and touch.

7

Moving around the city Moving through the city is to experience wonder in ant architecture. One can pass through the city for kilometres, passing over bridges and under arches, moving through crowded and empty places. Soldier ants will be alert for intruders, and passing them requires passport scents. There are several large tunnels, ‘express routes’, which lead to the heart of the city. These are usually very busy, and it can be difficult to move against the flow of traffic. One main express route is used to carry eggs up from the Forbidden City in the basement to the nurseries in the solarium on the thirty-fifth floor above ground. Off the main routes are gradually smaller tunnels, arteries, arterioles, veins, venules and capillaries. It can often be faster to move through the city using these smaller tunnels, although it is a longer way around. As well as these official tunnels, there has been a mania in recent decades for the unofficial digging of escape routes. This followed the capture and murder by gluespitting ants of Queen Ha-yekte-douni, queen of another federation city, whose fanaticism for security left only one corridor to access her fortified Forbidden City. These private tunnels frequently undermine the official tunnels and can cause collapses of whole districts, and if the fashion is not checked they may eventually threaten the integrity of the city itself.

Important areas

the guards are nervous and edgy, and they are strictly observant even during periods of peace. Valid passport scents are required to pass them. The area is sealed by doorkeeper ants, and only one corridor leads to the royal chamber. The royal chamber is a large circular room. The vault is 12 heads high and 36 in diameter, with three cement pilasters supporting the roof. It is designed such that scent emitted molecules will bounce off the walls for as long as possible before being absorbed, and as such is a remarkable olfactory amphitheatre. Queen Belo-kiu-kiuni lies in the centre of the chamber with one of her pet carnivorous plants nearby. She lays almost continuously, producing eggs of different castes in response to information brought to her by workers. She welcomes her children by licking them, and with the ritual greeting “Welcome to the Tribe’s genitals. You left me but you can’t help coming back.” Virgin Quarters This is the harem of young sexual females, where they are cosseted and tended before taking to wing during the Festival of Rebirth. The virgins are well guarded to keep the future daughter cities free from infection. The Solarium On the 35th floor above ground, facing south to catch the sun’s heat. A fine covering of twigs allows the sun’s rays through. The room is generally hot, reaching up to 50C during the summer, but usually between 25C and 40C.

The Forbidden City The Forbidden City is the heart of Bel-okan, and lies beneath the ground in the stump of a dead tree. The Forbidden City is mostly empty. Nowadays, except for the Queen and her elite guards, everyone lives in periphery of earth and twigs that surround the stump.

Here the nursing subcaste of workers pile up eggs in heaps and rows that stretch into the distance. They lick the eggs with antibiotic saliva to keep them healthy and clean. Conversation is limited to reduce the influence of pheromones on the eggs. Other workers pile up black wood and fermented humus to build heat.

Approaching the Forbidden City, the air becomes thick with the sickly sweet scent of Queen Belo-kiu-kiuni, and the number of guards increases. During periods of war

In the centre of the vast incubator are heaps of larvae howling to be fed by the nurses. After 3 weeks the larvae grow lethargic and begin weaving a cocoon. 8

These are then carried off to a nearby room where they will metamorphose into nymphs. Because of the closeness to the surface, and the danger of attack by outside monsters, soldiers, particularly gunners, patrol the area. The Farms Unlike termites, ants can digest cellulose without needing predigestion by fungi. However, they have learned to cultivate their own fungi in order to bolster their food stocks, particularly during sieges. In the basement of the city, starting around the 20th floor, the farms are the centre of the ants’ agricultural technology. Mushrooms, mostly agarics, are cultivated in beds on compost fermented from ant excrement. Tended by the farmers to prevent them from growing out of control, the mushroom filaments are harvested and processed to obtain flour. The Barns Below the farms are halls where the milkmaid subcaste keep their herds of greenfly when they are not out grazing. The Gourd Room This is where the ants of the gourd subcaste are kept. These ants have extended their social crop to its maximum possible size, and appear as little more than distended abdomens with little legs. They are tended and fed by workers, and in turn they store large quantities of food as honeydew hygienically and without spoil.

mercenaries are provided with food and shelter in exchange for their services in war, even against their own kind. They receive passport scents to Bel-o-kan, and fight with the russet ant legions. They do not patrol or take part in guarding the nest – their only function is war. The Chemical Vats Here the ants manufacture formic acid, and other more exotic poisons, for use in defence. These stores are constantly refilled to provide ammunition to the soldiers. The Compost Pits At the bottom of the city, the compost pits are where excrement, organic waste, and the remains of dead ants are thrown.

Responding to attack Ant cities are used to residing in a state of conflict. Attacks by armies of ants and termites are part of larger strategic wars, and the city is also subject to attacks from a variety of monsters such as woodpeckers and moles. Ant armies will assault doors and sap walls, as well as trying various approaches to siege warfare. Larger monsters will generally assault the city walls directly. These attacks can bring destruction to whole areas of the city, as the monster induces earthquakes and avalanches that bury ants, and collapse tunnels, bridges, arches and vaults.

The Barracks The 44th floor of the basement contains the quarters of the soldier subcastes. In the low-ceilinged wrestling halls warriors fight practise duels, in a nearby hall gunners practise in the shooting-range, aiming at targets 500 heads away. This is also where new combat tactics are developed and honed.

Those ants near the site of the assault release priority alarm scents as a mist that fill nearby tunnels and chambers. Those breathing the scent immediately begin to tremble and run about in all directions, producing more pheromones and causing the panic to snowball. The alarm cloud spreads like a fog through the tunnels of the stricken region, and from there to the main arteries of the city. Gangs of workers begin to evacuate eggs from near the disaster area, and soldiers form themselves into combat units.

The mercenaries also have their quarters here. All peoples of the region rub shoulders here: yellow ant, red ant, dwarf ant, black ant, glue-spitting ant. These

Nearby soldiers will engage with the intruder, whilst workers drum on the ground with their abdomens to summon soldiers from the lower parts of the city. 9

Later they will dance the dance of fear, snapping mandibles spitting pheromones. Some will run around in a frenzy, biting anything that moves, completely hysterical. The wave of fear moving through the workers can move the city to self-destruction if it can destroy its attacker.

which is as of yet untested in warfare – this is a collection of russet ant heads infected with the deadly parasitic fungus alternaria which can be thrown at an enemy. The spores of this fungus are deadly to russets, but the dwarves are protected by the layer of snail slime they wear to keep out the cold.

By now the whole city is on a war-footing, and workers evacuating eggs to the safety of the deepest basement pass lines of soldiers hurrying to the fray. Waves of gunner subcaste soldiers fire rounds of acid against the intruder, before widemandibled soldiers bite into the wounds caused by the artillery. If the intruder is large enough, they attempt to invade the enemy’s body and attack the internal organs. If successful the enemy will either flee, or be slain and quartered by the city’s workers for food.

“In the eight hundred and fiftieth millennium, Bi-stin-ga, a russet ant queen of the Ga Dynasty (an eastern dynasty that had vanished a hundred thousand years earlier), had the mad ambition of discovering the “limits” of the world. She had sent hundreds of expeditions to all four points of the compass. None had ever returned.” - Empire of the Ants, p.28

5. The Outside World Shi-gae-pou The city of the enemy dwarf ants lies to the north. The dwarf ants arrived in the region only 100 years ago. At the time Bel-o-kan’s chief enemy were the black ants, and the federation ignored the puny newcomers. When the dwarves eliminated the black ants, the russets smiled. Then the dwarves took over a beehive, then the last termite hill of the north, and the red stinging ants’ nest. The refugees who filled the federation’s mercenary halls brought stories of avant-garde war strategies, such as poisoning water supplies by pouring in toxins from rare flowers. It was only when the dwarves sacked the city of Niziu-ni-kan last year that the federation realised at last that they were dealing with formidable enemies. 240 legions of russets retook the city after a whole day of hard fighting. Everyone expects war this year. Amongst their innovations on the battlefield, the dwarves have learned to build living traps by burying soldiers in the sand. They have taught gnats their pheromone language, and use them as messengers on the battlefield. Recently they have developed a new secret weapon,

The Northern River The Belokonian Federation is bounded to the east by a torrential river. The only crossing point is at the city port of Satei. Hundreds of thousands of ants died attempting to cross it until finally they arrived at the elegant solution of digging a tunnel underneath it. The tunnel is long and cold, and dangerous if only for that reason. On the other side of the river is the Termite Kingdom, which is a new realm of dangers itself. Many different species use the Satei tunnel, including the enemy termites themselves. The ants of Satei tolerate this to keep the tunnel open, and an uneasy truce occurs within it. However, the ants do keep a close eye on spies and raiding parties sent through the tunnel. The Termite Queendom of the East The ancient enemy of Bel-o-kan. The royal dynasty of the termites have mainly kept to their side of the river for the last few centuries, although they still raid periodically. The Queendom of the East has been a powerful and worthy foe, but unknown to the Belokonians, it has suffered a fatal blow during the past winter. The Termite Queendom has fallen, but so far no-one else is aware of it.

10

The Domain of the Red Weavers Beyond the Eastern Termite Queendom lies the forest domain of the Red Weaver ants. These nomads are feared fighters, for the slightest touch of their stings brings death. No Belokonian in memory has ever passed beyond the domain of the Red Weavers.

have been reported, and none have been reported from inside the Federation lands themselves.

6. Bestiary Scale Large

Example

Small

Example

The City of the Harvesters Far, far to the east, beyond even the Red Weavers’ domain, lies the agricultural city state of the Harvester ants, and beyond that lies the end of the world. The Harvesters, who arrived in the region only recently, are interested to know what lies beyond the end of the world, but so far all their efforts to cross it have failed.

6

Russet Ant

6

Russet

15

Wasp

15

Dwarf Ant

5W

Beetle

5W2

Mite

5W2

Mouse, small bird

5W3

Hedgehog, large bird

The End of the World This realm lies all the way around the four edges of the world, and is nearest beyond the realm of the Harvester ants. Its boundary is marked by a featureless black plain with a distinctive evil smell. This plain is patrolled by the Guardians of the End of the World. They move so fast they are invisible to ants. The sign of their approach is the trembling of the ground, and a sudden wind. Any ant foolish enough to stray on to the black plain itself is immediately squashed flat by these terrible monsters. No-one has ever crossed the plain to see what lies beyond the world.

5W6

Human

Other dangers Rain Not only does rain bring a dangerous drop in air temperature, but the fall of rain drops is like being caught in artillery fire to an ant. Ants caught in the open will immediately seek shelter, even risking the cities and nests of other people if there is no alternative. Mystery Winds In the last sixty years there have been occasional, rare reports of unusually strong winds with strange scents that appear suddenly out of nowhere, powerful enough to lift ants into the air and carry them for over a hundred heads. Not many

Other peoples Dwarf ants (Iridomyrmex humilis) The dwarf ant is not native to the region, but arrived a century ago. They were carried a great distance in the roots of an oleander before managing to escape. They were nearly wiped out many times by monsters, but managed to survive. They are determined and aggressive, and have managed to carve out a small empire of their own, based around the city of Shigae-pou They have learned to cope with the cold of this region by smearing themselves with snail slime, which also protects them from infection by fungal spores. They have no winged males and females, but rather new females lay within the city of their birth. This means that each city can have several hundred queens, giving them a real advantage in terms of population growth and producing armies. Dwarf Warrior Keyword These diminutive warriors are doughty despite their size, and to make matters worse they fight in packs, overbearing their enemies with numbers. Abilities: Antennae Clubs 15, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles, Fight

11

in Formation, Social Crop 15, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong 15, Small 15, Follow Path, Dodge, Know Local Area, Identify Foe, Scout, Fight Monster, Typical Personality: Brave, Grim, Disciplined, Innovative Flaws: Panic 13 Equipment: Mandibles +3, Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 13) Masked ants (Anergates atratulus) Masked ants are gifted organic chemists who can artificially reproduce any pheromone, whether passport, trail or communication, simply by cunningly mixing saps, pollens and saliva. Large black ants from the southwest, they are terrible slavers. Using their chemical camouflage they can infiltrate cities, and then pillage and kill in the dark without being identified by their victims. Masked Ant Warrior Keyword Abilities: Antennae Clubs 13, Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles, Social Crop 15, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path, Dodge, Know Local Area, Identify Foe, Scout, Know City, Fight Monster, Tend Slave, Copy Pheromone Typical Personality: Grim, Crafty, Cruel Equipment: Mandibles +5, Chitin +4 (Resist Acid 17) Red Weaver Ants (Oecophylla longinoda) These small red ants are equipped with a deadly poison sting. Originally from far off lands, they are a migrant species who make nests each night by gluing leaves together using silk from larval cocoons. They occasionally keep slaves hatched from stolen or traded eggs, and keep them ignorant and docile. Red Weaver Warrior Keyword Abilities: Work with Mandibles 13, Fight with Mandibles, Sting 17, Fight in Formation, Social Crop 15, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path, Dodge, Know Local

Area, Identify Foe, Scout, Fight Monster, Weave Nest Typical Personality: Cheerful, Friendly, Confident, Brave Equipment: Mandibles +5, Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 15), Sting +5 (Deadly Poison 10W) The Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex molefaciens) These ants cultivate fields of cereals, killing other plants growing around their crops by spraying a weedkiller, doleacetic acid, from their abdomens. They are great producers of flour from their harvests. Harvester Ant Farmer Keyword Abilities: Work with Mandibles, Fight with Mandibles 13, Spray Acid 13, Social Crop, Influence Ant 13, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Work Doggedly, Follow Path, Dodge 13, Know Local Area, Know Plants 1W, Tend Crops 1W, Manage Farm 1W, Healing Saliva 17, Treat Infection 17, Kill Plant 10W Relationships: Loyal to Bel-o-kan, to working group Typical Personality: Cheerful, Conservative, Stubborn Flaws: Panic 17 Equipment: Mandibles +3, Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 13) The Slave Maker Ant (Polyergus rufescens) The slavemakers specialise in warfare alone, but they are masters of it. Each of their joints ends in a curved spine, and their chitin is formidable. Their narrow heads are difficult to seize with claws, and the tusks of their huge mandibles are razor sharp. They have spent so much time waging war, they no longer know how to build their own nests, raise their young or even feed themselves – their mandibles, so terrible in war, are impractical for feeding. For this they rely on their slaves. They assault nests of smaller ants, generally those without poison or acid weapons, ferociously assault them, killing the queen and taking any survivors prisoner. Each slavemaker requires three slaves to attend 12

their needs: one to feed her, one to wash her, and one to remove the excrement that would otherwise corrode her armour. When on the move they are vulnerable to cold, and so will assault cities quickly in order to avoid spending the night outside. Typical Slave Maker warrior Abilities: Fight with Mandibles 5W2, Fight in Formation 10W, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path, Know Local Area, Identify Foe, Fight Monster, Manage Slave, Terrify Ant 1W, Large 5W Relationship: followers (slaves) Typical Personality: Cruel, Grim, Tyrannical Equipment: Mandibles +10, Chitin +10 (Resist Acid 5W) Seed crushers (Messor barbarus) These have very large, powerful mandibles and thick armour, but stunted legs, making them clumsy and slow moving, but very useful in processing seeds and other foods. Recently the russets have experimented with tank warfare, using six workers to carry mercenary seedcrushers into combat. Typical seedcrusher. Abilities: Work with Mandibles 17, Fight with Mandibles 15W, Social Crop 15, Influence Ant 13, Clumsy, Identify Scent, Navigate in Open, Strong, Follow Path, Know Local Area, Identify Foe, Large 1W Typical Personality: Patient, Dim, Loyal Equipment: Mandibles +10, Chitin +10 (Resist Acid 5W)

Monsters Woodpecker Terrible flying monsters strong enough to knock holes in trees, or even assault ant cities. Their powerful beaks and long, quick, worm-like tongues make them fiercesome foes. Typical Woodpecker Abilities: Large 15W2, Eat Ant 5W2, Snare Many With Tongue 15W, Assault Walls 5W2

Equipment: Tongue +3, Beak +10, Feathers +10 (Resist Acid 15) Lizard Ants call these monsters dragons, and find great reassurance in overcoming and killing them. Like ants, lizards are reliant on the sun’s warmth for their energy and are sluggish when cold. However, a sluggish lizard is still much faster than an ant, and they are always terrible challenges. Typical Lizard Abilities: Large 5W2, Quick 5W – 15W2 (depending on temperature), Stomp Ant 15W, Eat Ant 15W, Snare With Tongue 5W2, Claw and Bite 5W2, Tough 5W2, Lash Tail 15W Equipment: Tongue +5, Teeth +3, Skin +7 (Resist Acid 17) Rove beetles Red bugs with black spots, found on ceilings of tunnels. May drop on and attack ants. Abilities: Sting 17, Bite 5W, Large 17 Equipment: Mandibles +3, Stinger +3 (Paralysing Poison 1W), Chitin +2 (Resist Acid 13) Ichneumon wasp These fiends lay their eggs inside living ants. When the eggs hatch, the wasp larvae eat the still living ant, causing a long and painful death. Abilities: Fly Quickly 5W, Track Prey 17, Sting 5W, Lay Egg 1W Equipment: Stinger +5, Chitin +3 (Resist Acid 11) Lomechusa Beetle This beetle produces a sap-like chemical which induces ecstasy in any ant that smells or eats it. Ants effected are rapturously drunk, unable to feel any pain, and transported to the highest levels of pleasure. However, when the effects wear off the ant is inconsolable and, unless able to feed again on the Lomechusa, is most likely to pine to death. Its honeydew is a powerful analgesic.

13

Abilities: Large 1W, Intoxicating Scent 15W, Produce Honeydew 10W

crop with sugars and their pockets with formic acid.

Equipment: Mandibles +3, Chitin +5 (Resist Acid 15), Honeydew (Remove Pain 10W, Ecstatic Intoxication 5W2, Addictive 10W2)

The hunting grounds are found in a warm moist cave beyond dense undergrowth that is in wild, hostile territory. Challenges on the journey may include wandering monsters, rainfall, and scouting parties by dwarf ants. In the cave there are lots of small insects to hunt, fungus to collect, and several small streams crisscross through the passages. Apart from the time spent hunting, the ants may be attacked by monsters such as moles, and find treasures in the form of new fungi, plants that produce exotic chemicals, or a new kind of caterpillar that produces a wonderfully sweet honeydew. Once the hunt is done, the ants fill their social crops and carry as much food and treasure home as they can.

Lion ants These fierce predators bury themselves, forming sand traps into which unwary ants can easily fall but not easily escape. Abilities: Ambush 10W, Dig Trap 5W, Hide 17, Ferocious 15, Fight with Mandibles 10W Equipment: Mandibles +8, Chitin +5, (Resist Acid 17), Trap (Hard to Climb 10W) Venus fly-traps These plants let off a pleasant scent that lures ants to where they can be trapped with glue, pressed with leaves, and digested. Abilities: Alluring Scent 5W, Glue 8W, Pressing Leaves 17, Digestive Juices 10W

7. Scenario Ideas “…the Tribe was collapsing under the weight of ‘matters of priority’. Not only was the spring awakening not yet totally complete but work on the city’s skin was still in progress. And as long as the last layer of twigs had not been laid in place, it would be dangerous to go to war. On top of this, the Tribe was short of protein and sugar. Lastly, it was already time to think about preparing for the Festival of Rebirth. All this would take up everyone’s energy. Even the spies were overworked….” –Empire of the Ants, p. 42 1. Spring Hunting In Springtime Russet ants wake up from hibernation at 12C. The city needs food urgently, and those among the first to wake are the PCs. They are approached by an experienced huntress to form a hunting party which will spend several days in some fertile hunting grounds found just before the hibernation. They lie a day’s march to the west. Members of the assembled hunting party fill their social

2. Conflict with the Dwarves On a subsequent return to the same hunting grounds with an even larger exploration group, the russets find a very large raiding party of dwarf ants is hunting in the same area. The russet ants face a stiff battle to extract themselves from the cave, and in the panic may well get lost. Once they find themselves above ground they must navigate home, whilst outrunning the dwarves. It is some distance before they judge themselves safe. Here the heroes might spot some unusual flowers with an interesting scent. Whilst they examine these the rest of the ants move on, and when the heroes catch up with them they find that the entire hunting party has been slain, crushed flat by some terrible secret weapon in just the few moments the ants were distracted. Sensitive antennae can detect strange, unpleasant scents, and the faint pheromones of dwarfish soldiers! If on their return to the city the ants try to alert soldiers and workers to the new dwarfish threat, they face a very high resistance to any contest in getting support to form a working group on the subject. The story is simply too incredible to be true. If they approach Queen Belo-kiukiuni herself, she will kindly but sadly tell them there is nothing she can do to help,

14

as she is politically powerless. After their visit to the Queen, or if they persist in talking to others about it, they will shortly begin to fall prey to various assassination attempts by the rock-scented ants of internal security. This might range from attacks in isolated corridors, to being given poisoned trophallaxis. The only conclusion that sensible ants can come to is that the rock-scented dwarves are either insane, or are spies sent by the dwarves. Internal security In recent decade the queen secretly established a cross-caste working group responsible for suppressing bad stress within the nest. There is good stress, which causes the Tribe to progress, and bad stress, which leads to self-destruction. Noticeable by their rock-like scent, these individuals are free from inhibitions in assassinating those from the city who – wittingly or not – spread bad-stress within the city. Examples of bad stress include metaphysical anguish, or information about a threat the ants cannot counter. Worry leads to self destruction of the Tribe. The ritual motto of these secret ants is “we have put out the eye, we have cut off the nerve stimulus, we have ended the anguish”. 3. War! News comes that the city of La-chola-kan, the most westerly Belakonian city, is under siege by the dwarf ants. It is far too early in the year for war, but the federation has no choice. Legions are formed from each city, and two million russets march to the aid of their beleaguered ally. They face more than ten million of the enemy. Queen Belo-kiu-kiuni suggests that the russets develop a new secret weapon. Mounting seedcrusher ants borne on workers is one suggestion. The heroes may have others. The heroes may also decide to try and identify and neutralise the dwarfish secret weapon rather than participate in the main battle.

The battle itself lasts a full day, with waves of attacks as the russets charge downhill to assault the lines of the dwarves, which, warned by their scouts and gnat messengers, have been withdrawn from around the walls of Lachola-kan. The dwarves have two new secret weapons to deploy. First, a deep line of their soldiers have dug ambush traps like Lion Ants do. These are intend to surprise and break the russet charge, and are hard to breach as only the soldiers’ mandibles are visible above the sand. The second is a twig speared through many decapitated russet ant heads which have been previously infected with alternaria. Upon the slightest contact this fungus releases deadly spores which bond to chitin and infect the stricken ant with a lethal parasitic growth. The effect is not immediate, but all ants near the affected area must make panic rolls. The dwarves protect themselves from the alternaria through the covering of snail slime they use to keep out the cold. The russet secret weapons may be effective to a greater or lesser extent, but after the first assault the dwarves will quickly learn to attack the workers carrying the seedcrushers, inflicting terrible damage. If any dwarves are captured and questioned by the heroes, they will know nothing about any secret weapon that could crush a hundred workers flat in an instant. However, they know that something similar happened last year to one of their hunting parties, and that the Termites Queendom of the East was suspected. 4. Dragon Hunt! A message comes from Zoubi-zoubi-kan, far to the East that a lizard has been seen near its grazing fields. With 9 million greenflies it has the largest herd in the federation, and one lizard could do considerable damage to its productivity. Explorers, hunters and soldiers are invited to go on an expedition to hunt the dragon. Dragon hunts are dangerous, for lizards are terrifying beasts, but russet ants like to kill them as it is good for the federation’s morale that such mighty monsters can be beaten. In addition to the PCs, 32 others 15

have taken up the challenge. They tell stories of how ancient Belokonians challenged dragons with their bare mandibles, in the days before formic acid was invented. The city of Zoubi-zoubi-kan is hidden under bushes and surrounded by ferns and roses. Herds of greenfly feed on the leaves, guarded by their shepherdesses. These are magnificent beasts, tended by the ants as carefully as if they were ants themselves. From there the heroes receive directions to the advance post of GuayeiTyolet. Guayei-Tyolet is not far, and from a distance resembles nothing more than a rounded crater, like a molehill. It is occupied by around a thousand individuals from April to October. The citizens here are not divided into specialised castes, but, like primitive ants, fulfil all the roles themselves. It consists of a granary, and a single large hall decorated with trophies – the cuticles of hunted insects – preserved in formic acid. The Guayeityolotians can tell them that three lizards were recently seen terrorising the herds of Zoubi-zoubi-kan. They had destroyed two herds of a thousand greenfly each, and all their shepherdesses. There had been panic for a while, with cattle restricted to passageways cut into branches, but then gunners managed to repulse the three dragons. Two had gone a long way away, the third had been wounded and settled on a stone 50 000 heads away. Zoubizoubikanian legions have already cut its tail off, and now the opportunity to exists to finish it off before it regains its strength. Successful questioning may reveal more information. One Guayeityolotian can tell them that lizards are far more sensitive to changes in temperature than ants. When they have lots of stored solar energy, they are incredibly quick. When cold they are sluggish. If none of the PCs suggest it, an elderly warrior can suggest they assault the lizard at dawn. This leaves the obvious problem that the ants themselves will be sluggish. A successful working group can suggest covering themselves in snail slime and consuming lots of sugars to combat the cold.

The lizard is easily found. He is a monster, 60 heads long, and his tough greenishyellow armour with black markings is frightening and disgusting. This should be a difficult fight, with the ants attempting to burrow their way inside the dragon and attack its internal organs. Following this they will have the chance to slip away from the survivors to venture to the Termite Queendom of the East, or to return to the city, not as heroes, but members of a successful hunting group that has brought pride to Belo-o-kan. Asking about termites If a PC attempts to question citizens of Guayei-Tyolet or Zoubi-zoubi-kan about the termites to the east, the ant will deflate, droop its antennae, and move back to work. Repeated questioning will instil them with a kind of panic. The subject clearly terrifies them, and they are unable to converse on the subject. Repeated questioning in Zoubi-zoubi-kan will draw the attention of the rock-scented internal security working group. In Guayei-Tyolet an old warrior can tell them the following story: “For some time now not a single termite has been seen. They used to use the Satei river crossing to send spies here. The ants of Satei knew about this and monitored them, but now there are no longer even any spies. There is nothing. “An enemy who attacks is worrying, but an enemy who disappears is even more worrying. We in Guayei-Tyolet decided to send out spies of our own. The first band of explorers set out, and nothing more was heard of them. A second group followed and also disappeared. The third expedition consisted of 500 warriors. Only one returned. She dragged herself along for thousands of heads, and died in agony just outside the nest. We examined her body but could see no apparent reason for her death. This is why no-one wants to talk about the termites to the east.” 5. Spying in the Termite Queendom To reach the capital city of the termites the heroes must pass through the tunnel of the city port of Satei. Although a truce exists 16

between all species in the tunnel, it is so cold that merely traversing it is a difficult challenge. Once back above the ground, the ants must rest and regain energy from the sun before continuing. The termite city lies ninety thousand heads beyond the crossing point, and can be directly, although faintly, scented from thirty thousand heads away. Detecting any scent trails beyond that is a very difficult challenge, as they are so faint. Players may not realise the cause, as there is no reason to assume termites and ants use the same the scent marker system. An appropriate contest will reveal the knowledge that termites do use scent markers that ants can detect, even if they don’t understand them. Entering the termite city will take some courage. A burst of rainfall may persuade the ants that they have no choice. When they do enter, they are not challenged by anyone. The entire city appears deserted. Navigating further is difficult without a male or sexual female with infrared eyes, for the enemy city is completely dark and the faint scent trails are in the termite language. There is a real risk that they may wander in the dark until they starve to death. Should they press further they will come across the long-dead bodies of workers and ants, both slaves and the remains of what might be the Zoubizoubikanian exploration party. Perception rolls may detect the faint traces of poison gas. Only a few surviving larvae remain, screaming for food. The Queen still lives, barely, but is heartbroken, on the edge of sanity, and close to death. She has learned the ant language, and can tell the ants that the agents of this calamity are the Guardians of the End of the World. Termite explorers recently discovered the World’s Edge, far to the East, a terrible realm patrolled by invincible monsters. These monsters have visited destruction upon the termite city in revenge for their discovery. Finally, the Queen begs the ants for death. 6. To the End of the World The heroes may decide to travel to the end of the world, to see these Guardians for

themselves and gather more intelligence to bring to Bel-o-kan. This involves a journey of many days, taking them through wildlands, the Domain of the Red Weavers, and finally to the City States of the Harvesters. The risks are many and varied, not least negotiating passage through the Red Weavers’ domain (the Red Weavers, a migratory species, may be interested in trading for the Bel-o-konians’ passport pheromones). When they reach the End of the World and see the Guardians, the ants should be left with no doubt as to their power and ferocity. They rush around, causing great gales and flattening anyone foolish enough to cross into their eerie black domain (crossing the black plain requires success against a 10W4 resistance). Particularly adventurous and persuasive ants may get support from the harvesters to learn from Satei and dig a tunnel under the black plain. Should they succeed they find themselves in an alien and terrible place, with no plants and no soil, only flat, hard grey and black rocks. Danger is everywhere, particularly in the form of great slabs that fall from the sky and can crush hundreds of ants in a moment. The ants have discovered the source of the terrible secret weapon that destroyed their hunting party. Should the ants manage to return to Bel-okan their incredible adventures will, most likely, be believed by no-one other than Queen Belo-kiu-kiuni and the rockscented agents of internal security. They will explain that the heroes have explained phenomena that have long been mysteries and have led to epidemics of fear and panic amongst citizens of the Federation. Indeed, it was this panic that led to the foundation of the internal security working group in the first place. The heroes are now made members of this working group, and assigned special duties in defence of the federation.

Encounters / Events Outside of the nest or in the suburbs the heroes encounter another group of explorer ants. They are terribly damaged, and there is not one unscathed ant in the meagre troop. All have been mutilated – 17

some have only one leg left and are dragging themselves along miserably, others have lost all their antennae, or had their abdomen cut off. On a highway or chemical trail the heroes pass highway maintenance teams. Scouts report that an army of the terrible Slavemakers is approaching a Federation city. A powerful exotic scent lures the heroes away from the trail. A herd of greenfly is attacked by 3 ladybirds. If the heroes help drive them off the shepherdesses reward them by allowing them to take honeydew directly from the greenfly. The heroes are approached by senior explorer ants and asked to join a mission to the Masked Ants to trade for artificial dwarf passport pheromones. A woodpecker attacks the city in the vicinity of the heroes, and they get caught up in the defence. A sexual female who’s damaged wings prevent her from flying in the Festival of Rebirth has managed to wander out of the city and into the wilds, her mind clouded by despair. The ants must track her down and return her to Bel-o-kan or kill her, lest she be captured by slavers and her eggs used to create a slave race. The Festival of Rebirth The festival takes place in spring, once the Tribe has amassed enough energy. Mature

females and males move to the summit of the city, where they are supported and stuffed with sugar by workers. Gunners patrol in large numbers and keep up a constant bombardment against the monsters - sparrows, tits, robins, chaffinches, and other birds - that flock overhead. It is usual for between 50 and 100 monsters to be present for the festival – it is a great feast for them. When the weather is good, usually a temperature of 22C, the females begin to launch themselves from the runway in up to 18 waves, chased by the males. The monsters immediately begin their slaughter, with the gunners desperately trying to keep them at bay. When the monsters threaten to overwhelm the defences, the gunners can become rattled and misfire, causing drops of formic acid to fall atop the city and killing and wounding the assembled ants. Those females who survive the monsters will then be chased by males. They fly as fast as they can so that only the best males will catch and mate with them. Following the mating, the males die. The female must then fly on to find a suitable nesting point to establish her new city, surviving any other dangers and monsters she may find. Usually, out of 1500 princesses who take flight, only 12 touch down unharmed. At best only 4 will survive to build a new city.

End Note I wrote this over a couple of days having just read Empire of the Ants. All the way through the book I was gripped by the idea it could be made into a great RPG. I don’t have much time these days, and have no-one to playtest this with, so what you have here shouldn’t be considered much more than a draft. That I said, I really hope you enjoy the idea, and if you do play it out, please let me know. Any comments or suggestions will be received with thanks.

18