Antloid

''A species of giant ant, this creature has six legs and a segmented exoskeleton. It has sharp mandibles and moves with a rapid, scuttling motion.''

Combat
Workers are the strongest of the antloids and have giant-like Strength; however, their mandibles are more designed for lifting than combat. Workers only fight if provoked, which usually entails the queen or the warrens being threatened, or whatever they are carrying being taken away from them. Once in combat, they use their mandibles and their great Strength to bite, for that is all the worker has to defend itself and the warrens it lives in.

Description
Each antloid worker spends its entire life doing one specific job: finding and carrying water and foodstuffs back to the warrens, caring for the queen, repairing and making additions to the warren, etc. Solely responsible for the warrens, worker antloids can consume sand and then regurgitate it as a strong, brick-like substance that forms the walls of the warren.

Worker antloids have three easily defined, sapphire-blue body segments that reach about eight feet in total length.

Combat
Soldier antloids attack with powerful mandibles. Infantry antloids deliver their poison upon a successful melee sting attack. Archer antloids deliver their poison through a spray from the sting, treated as a ranged attack with a range of 50 feet (no range increment).

Description
Soldiers grow to be 10 ft. in length and have a mottled blue-green-grey exoskeleton. They are the secondstrongest antloid in their warren, second-best to workers. They are sleeker, and have a devastating poison attack. The soldier caste comprises two types, infantry and archers.

Combat
All dynamis share a mindlink with each other in their warren, which allows them to combine their powers when attacking. Dynamis will use all their powers in combat and sacrifice themselves to protect the queen.

Description
Dynamis' bodies house large brains, which give them their psionic abilities. Dynamis always use psionics first and physical combat as a last resort. They are the leaders and managers of the warren, supervising the workers, making sure that the soldiers continue hunting and guaranteeing that the queen is comfortable and safe.

Dynamis are gray-black in color and slightly smaller than the workers, reaching only six feet in length.

Combat
The queen has no physical attacks. Her primary attack/defense is the ability to release pheromones that can cause intruders to go mad, or attract soldiers for mating purposes.

Description
Antloid warrens generally just have one queen, who serves only one purpose: to lay eggs. She lives in the deepest parts of the warren, laying 10-20 eggs a week. These eggs are cared for by workers, and the queen herself is tended by young, immature queens (treat as workers) and guarded by her most powerful soldiers.

An antloid queen is a fat, bloated creature that ranges in color from warm apricot to deep red.

Description
Antloids are giant colonial insects resembling ants that inhabit warrens in the Athasian desert. They have evolved through adaptive specialization, which gives some certain powers, and others great Strength. There are four types of antloids: dynamis, soldiers, workers, and the queens, each having their own tasks in antloid society.

Antloids frequently come into conflict with the other colonizing insects of the Athasian desert, namely wild kanks, giant ants and giant termites. These conflicts almost always end up as wars of attrition – whoever has the most soldiers wins (although the psionic powers of the dynamis breed gives the antloids a bit of an edge).

All antloid warrens share one characteristic: a water source, usually located at or near the bottom of the warren. Should this water source dry up, a mass antloid exodus will result and the entire warren will move elsewhere.

Giants are known for their passionate hatred of antloids and will almost never pass up a chance to throw boulders at an antloid warren.

Antloid warrens can reach 25 ft. in height and 250 ft. in width. All antloids have six legs, and segmented bodies. They also have an exoskeleton that protects from weapons and dehydration, and sharp mandibles used for cutting, carrying, or combat. They have 180 degree vision and darkvision up to 60 feet.

Their antennae are used for communication purposes and allow them to sense any vibration within 30 feet.