Formians are creatures that appear to be partially-upright ants with reddish-brown carapaces. They hail from another world, where order and law are obeyed to the exclusion of all else. They live in vast underground nests, with sprawling tunnels whose design has a strange logic. These creatures are aggressive, viciously attacking anything they deem a threat to their hive.
Formian society is set in castes: the workers are the lowest ranking members, followed by the warriors, followed by the taskmasters, followed by the myrmarchs, followed by the queens. Formians below the myrmarch in rank have little in the way of free will, and cannot speak, merely obeying the will of the queen or her myrmarch subordinates. The formian hivemind allows them to communicate; thus, formians have nearly perfect coordination in battle.
A hive tends to have one queen, between five and eight myrmarchs, four to twenty taskmasters, ten to fifty warriors, and between one and four hundred workers. Much larger hives are said to exist, but none have been found thus far.
Formian Worker
Small monstrosity, lawful neutral
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 9 (2d6 + 2)
Speed 40 ft.
Str 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 9
Damage Immunities poison, cold
Damage Resistances lightning, fire, thunder
Condition Immunities charmed, petrified, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages -
Challenge ¼ (50 XP)
Hive Mind. Any formian within 50 miles of its queen is in constant communication with her, and all other formians within 50 miles of the queen. If one formian is aware of a threat, all of them are.
Make Whole. Three formian workers can spend 1 minute working together to repair any broken object weighing 1000 pounds or less. They must be able to touch the object, or lift pieces of it, to perform this task.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Workers are the lowest caste of formian society. They cannot speak, but can convey simple messages through body language. They are about 3 feet long and tall, weighing about sixty pounds. A group of formian workers is usually protected by 1d3 formian warriors.
Formian Warrior
Medium monstrosity, lawful neutral
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16)
Speed 40 ft.
Str 17, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 11
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Damage Resistances fire, lightning, thunder
Condition Immunities charmed, petrified, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages -
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Hive Mind. Any formian within 50 miles of its queen is in constant communication with her, and all other formians within 50 miles of the queen. If one formian is aware of a threat, all of them are.
Magic Resistance. The formian warrior has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack. The formian warrior makes two melee attacks, each with a different weapon.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (2d4+3) piercing damage and the target must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 12) or take an additional 10 (3d6) poison damage.
Formian warriors are responsible for the protection of the tribe, and form the backbone of its military. Through the hive mind they report to the myrmarch who commands them. On their own, formian warriors will be led by one of their number. They can form rudimentary tactical plans but do so in such a formulaic fashion as to be easy to predict and counter. Warriors are about 5 feet long and tall, and weigh around 180 pounds.
Formian Taskmaster
Medium monstrosity, lawful neutral
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24)
Speed 40 ft.
Str 18, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 16, Cha 19
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Damage Resistances fire, lightning, thunder
Condition Immunities charmed, petrified, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages -
Challenge 5 (1800 XP)
Hive Mind. Any formian within 50 miles of its queen is in constant communication with her, and all other formians within 50 miles of the queen. If one formian is aware of a threat, all of them are.
Magic Resistance. The formian taskmaster has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Innate Spellcasting. The formian taskmaster’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). The formian taskmaster can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: dominate monster
Actions
Multiattack. The formian taskmaster makes two attacks: one with its sting, and one with its claws.
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) piercing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take an additional 21 (6d6) poison damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) slashing damage.
Formian taskmasters lead and direct groups of workers. They also can dominate the minds of captives and direct them to aid the formians in their work. This is particularly useful on larger creatures who can provide the extra muscle that formians lack. Ogres, trolls, and hill giants are common choices. A formian taskmaster can have up to four creatures under its dominate monster power at one time. They stand about 5 feet tall and weigh about 180 pounds.
Formian Myrmarch
Large monstrosity, lawful neutral
Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 180 (24d10 + 48)
Speed 50 ft.
Str 19, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 17
Saving Throws Dex +8, Con +6, Wis +7
Skills Stealth +8, Insight +7, Perception +7, Survival +7
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Damage Resistances fire, lightning, thunder
Condition Immunities charmed, petrified, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 17
Languages Common, Formian
Challenge 10 (5900 XP)
Hive Mind. Any formian within 50 miles of its queen is in constant communication with her, and all other formians within 50 miles of the queen. If one formian is aware of a threat, all of them are.
Magic Resistance. The formian myrmarch has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Fast Healing. At the start of its turn, if the formian myrmarch has more than 0 hit points, it regains 10 hit points.
Innate Spellcasting. The formian myrmarch’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). The formian myrmarch can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: clairvoyance, detect thoughts, dominate monster, magic circle, teleport
1/day each: divine word
Actions
Multiattack. The formian myrmarch makes two attacks: one with its bite, and one with its sting.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) piercing damage.
Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (2d4+4) piercing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take an additional 35 (10d6) poison damage.
Javelin. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage.
Direct lieutenants of the formian queen, myrmarchs are among the few formians to have free will. They still obey the queen’s orders, but are able to think on their own, and speak. Myrmarchs are incredibly powerful combatants, possessed with spellcasting capabilities, including the ability to teleport. As a result, they are not to be trifled with, as their cunning often surprises foes. Myrmarchs wear bronze helms to signify their position; the more intricate the helm, the higher-ranking the myrmarch. Some myrmarchs also carry javelins to augment their ranged combat capabilities. A myrmarch stands about 5 feet tall, is around 7 feet long, and weighs approximately 1500 pounds.
Formian Queen
Large monstrosity, lawful neutral
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 357 (34d10 + 170)
Speed 0 ft.
Str 1, Dex 1, Con 20, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 21
Saving Throws Con +10, Wis +10
Skills Arcana +10, Deception +10, Insight +10, Intimidation +10, Nature +10, Perception +10, Persuasion +10
Damage Immunities cold, poison
Damage Resistances fire, lightning, thunder
Condition Immunities charmed, petrified, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 20
Languages Common, Formian
Challenge 13 (10000 XP)
Hive Mind. Any formian within 50 miles of its queen is in constant communication with her, and all other formians within 50 miles of the queen. If one formian is aware of a threat, all of them are.
Magic Resistance. The formian queen has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Fast Healing. At the start of its turn, if the formian queen has more than 0 hit points, it regains 10 hit points.
Telepathy. A formian queen can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet of it that has a language.
Spellcasting. The formian queen is a 17th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). The formian queen has the following sorcerer spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): acid splash, light, mending, minor illusion
1st level (4 slots): magic missile, comprehend languages
2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, invisibility, scorching ray
3rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, slow
4th level (3 slots): confusion, greater invisibility
5th level (2 slots): cone of cold, insect plague
6th level (2 slots): move earth, true seeing
7th level (1 slots): prismatic spray
8th level (1 slots): power word stun
9th level (1 slots): time stop
Queens are the center of the formian hive. The queen cannot move, and thus relies on her workers to haul her about. However, a queen rarely moves, and normally remains in her chambers, from which she can use her magical abilities to defend herself. Queens often will use invisibility or greater invisibility to protect themselves from attack, and use confusion or slow to hinder her enemies. A queen who inhabits a taller chamber might know reverse gravity instead of prismatic spray, so as to give intruders a rude surprise. The queen is the nexus of the hive mind, and can communicate with the entire hive telepathically. As such, any queen under attack will summon dozens of soldiers and workers to defend herself in short order.
These monsters originally come from the D&D 3.5 Monster Manual. A request from Tumblr user wormdrake. If you have a favorite monster from D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder that you want to see converted to 5e, feel free to send me a message or submit a monster request on the submit page.
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