Formians
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(From 3.5e Monster Manual I - 2003 - [credits]):
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Formians hail from the plane of Mechanus. They seek to colonize all that they see and incorporate all living things into their hive as workers.
Expansionist in the extreme, formians are dedicated to spreading their colonies until they have taken over everything and their order is unquestioned. To further this end, they attack all other creatures, usually to put them to work building and expanding cities. Formians maintain these “conscripted” workers as well as those mentally dominated by the power of their taskmasters.
A formian resembles a cross between an ant and a centaur. All formians are covered in a brownish-red carapace; size and appearance differs for each variety.
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Formians build fabulous hive-cities in which hundreds of the creatures dwell. They are born into their station, with no ability to progress. Workers obey orders given by warriors, myrmarchs, or the queen. Warriors carry out the will of their myrmarch commanders or the queen. Myrmarchs take orders only from the queen herself, although they have different ranks depending on services rendered. These are not positions of power but of prestige. The most prestigious of the myrmarchs guard the queen. Taskmasters are equal in rank to warriors but seldom interact with other formians.
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(from Planescape: Planes of Law Monstrous Supplement - 1995 - [credits])
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Native to Arcadia, formians are also called centaur ants. As their moniker indicates, they appear to he upright walking ants, but their sentience is that of warmblooded creatures as opposed to insects. They’ve always inhabited Arcadia, and sages say they always will. Though formians found on the Prime make war on each other, Arcadian formians of different hives have learned to live together peaceably.
Similar to true ants, there are three basic types of formians: the worker, the warrior, and the myrmarch. (A fourth type, the queen, is extremely rare.) Unlike ants, formians’ waists are flexible; thus, they often move with only four legs, their heads and thoraces raised. Their forelegs are jointed at the wrist and have three opposing claws, which they can use to manipulate objects and to attack. Formians come in various subdued colors, which serve no function other than to indicate their cities of origin.
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