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Hoar-daa Queen

Image by Mark Pennington, © Kenzer and Co. 2001

[I love the design here, and I love it when the monstrous-looking creatures are more intelligent and reasonable than the more humanoid looking ones. This was not the case in the original. As originally written, the humanoid hoar-daa were male “bulls” and the female the “cow”, her “...only function in hoar-daa society seems to be continuous egg-laying, feeding and maintaining the nest for larval hoar-daa” and literally half as intelligent as her “bulls”. This is carried over from when these monsters appeared in AD&D as the aspis. It’s still gross and exist.]

Hoar-daa Queen CR 10 N Aberration This massive bloated creature resembles a parody of an insect. Its head is a mass of eyes and tentacles, and several rows of horns grow from her head like a crown. A white slime oozes from her carapace and coats her body.

The queen of a hoar-daa hive is the center of its life, as only she is capable of birthing eggs and creating new hoar-daas. She is tended, guarded and mated with by her alates, but she is not nearly as helpless as the queens of mundane ant or termite colonies. A hoar-daa queen has an intellect surpassing that of her children and concubines, and pairs this with massive physical strength and deadly acidic secretions.

Despite the ravenous nature of hoar-daa hives, they are not inherently evil and their queens can potentially be reasoned with. Hoar-daa queens are more concerned with the survival of their progeny than with niceties of property or philosophical ideas of good or evil, but they can be convinced to pay for the food they consume or to provide guardianship in exchange. Such negotiations are fraught with peril, however, as a hoar-daa queen in a position of strength may decide that the needs of her colony is better served by turning diplomats into meat for her many hungry children.

Hoar-daa Queen CR 10 XP 9,600 N Huge aberration Init +5 (+9 with hive mind); Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +20 Defense AC 24, touch 9, flat-footed 23 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +13 natural) hp 133 (14d8+70) Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +10 DR 5/- Immune acid; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10 Defensive Abilities protective slime Offense Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft. Melee bite +15 (2d6+7/19-20 plus 2d6 acid), gore +15 (2d8+7) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon (60 ft. line, 10d6 acid, Ref DC 22 half), powerful charge (gore, 4d8+10) Statistics Str 24, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 16 Base Atk +10; CMB +19; CMD 30 (36 vs. trip) Feats Blind-fight, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Outflank Skills Climb +32, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +19, Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Stealth +10 Languages Undercommon, telepathy 100 ft. SQ hive mind, resin stride Ecology Environment underground Organization hive (1 plus 20-200 hoar-daa larvae, 2-10 hoar-daa alates and 5-50 hoar-daa workers) Treasure double standard Special Abilities Hive Mind (Ex) A hoar-daa is in constant telepathic communication with its hive mates, which improves its senses. As long as a hoar-daa is within telepathic range of at least one hive mate, it gains a +4 racial bonus on initiative checks and Perception checks. If at least one hoar-daa disbelieves an illusion, all hoar-daa within its telepathic range are also considered to disbelieve that illusion. If one hoar-daa is aware of combatants, all other hive mates within the range of its telepathy are also aware of those combatants. Protective Slime (Ex) A hoar-daa queen coats herself in a thick acidic mucus that protects her from harm. She gains DR 5/-, resistance to cold, electricity and fire 10, and any creature that strikes her with a natural attack or unarmed strike must succeed a DC 23 Reflex save or take 2d6 points of acid damage. A manufactured weapon takes this damage automatically if it hits a hoar-daa queen—magical weapons are allowed a DC 23 Reflex save. A manufactured weapon that takes acid damage from a hoar-daa queen’s protective slime gains the broken quality. The save DC is Constitution based. A hoar-daa queen’s protective slime can be neutralized for 1 hour if the hoar-daa queen is sprinkled with dust of dryness (no save). Resin Stride (Su) A hoar-daa queen gains a +10 foot enhancement bonus to its speed on surfaces coated with hoar-daa resin.

#hoar-daa #eusocial insect #pathfinder rpg #hackmaster #creature design

Hoar-daa Larva

Image by Mark Pennington, © Kenzer and Co 2001.

[In the original, the larvae were just sacks of hit points that could bite but had no special abilities. I changed that, inspired by the real-world use of larval ants as construction equipment and the various chemical weapons employed by real ants and termites.]

Hoar-daa Larva CR 2 N Aberration This thing appears to be a beaked grub the size of a small dog. Its six legs skitter and twitch, barely able to propel its bulk.

The hoar-daa larvae are the most common hoar-daa found in a hive, but they are rarely if ever found outside of it. They are barely sentient, grub like creatures that eat and grow constantly, requiring a steady supply of meat to reach their full size and metamorphose into hoar-daa workers. Although they are pampered and groomed by workers, hoar-daa larvae do contribute to the health and function of a hive. They secrete vast amounts of hoar-daa resin, which is then sculpted by the workers into weapons, shields and walls for their subterranean galleries. They also can serve as living artillery in the hive’s defense, spewing acid at intruders as directed by a supervising worker.

Most hoar-daa larvae remain in this stage for a few months before transforming into workers. Some few hoar-daa larvae are selected by the queen to form new alates to serve her directly and to prepare for the formation of a new hive. These special larvae, called dauphins, are fed a more nutritious diet and various hormonal secretions made by the queen, and they require more than a year to grow to maturity. A hoar-daa dauphin is a hoar-daa larva with the giant simple template.

#hoar-daa #pathfinder rpg #hackmaster #eusocial insect #creature design

Hoar-daa Worker

Image © Kenzer and Co., artist unknown.

[It’s time for more Hackmaster! The hoar-daa appear to be their answer to the formians of D&D. In the original, all of the workers were male serving a single female queen, ala all of the terrible bee cartoons you can think of, but I changed it to a more termite-like system.

Edit: Thanks to @listmaker-lastcity for pointing out that the source material of the hoar-daa is not the formians, but instead the apsis from Monster Manual II]

Hoar-daa Worker CR 6 N Aberration This creature resembles a vaguely humanoid weevil, standing on two legs with four clawed arms.

The hoar-daa, sometimes referred to as “hive weevils”, are a race of insectile creatures that roam wide territory in search of food. Hoar-daa are omnivorous, preferring to feed on grains and sugars as adults but requiring large protein sources to raise their larvae to maturity. Their depredations can affect miles around a single hive as they scour for food, and agricultural regions are especially hard hit.

Most of the adults in a hoar-daa hive are workers, which can be either male or female. They are kept sterile through the telepathic commands of their queen and a diet that controls their hormones—only alates (see below) are allowed access to the richest foods. Hoar-daa workers outside the hive are responsible for foraging, and workers within the hive care for the larvae and the queen, maintain and expand the architecture of the hive and provide defense.

Hoar-daa Alates The alates are a caste above the workers in a hoar-daa hive—they consist of fertile males and females that protect the queen, mate with her and disperse to form new hives when the time comes. A hoar-daa alate is a a hoar-daa worker with the advanced template and a fly speed of 40 feet (good maneuverability). Most hives have only a small number of alates, but always have at least one fertile male and a “virgin queen” to escape and start a new colony in case of the destruction of the hive.

Hoar-daa Resin The hoar-daa produce a lightweight, sturdy resin from glands in their mouths. Adult workers produce only a small amount of resin, suitable for creating personal items or patching damaged structures, but hoar-daa larvae manufacture huge amounts of the stuff daily—enough to line all of the tunnels of a hoar-daa hive and make weapons and shields for all of its workers. Hoar-daa resin cannot be sculpted or shaped by non hoar-daa without the use of expensive alchemical reagents. Items made of hoar-daa resin have the hardness and hit points of steel, but weigh half as much. Complex moving parts, such as clockworks, cannot be made of hoar-daa resin, but it can be used to make simple hinges.

Hoar-daa Worker CR 6 XP 2,400 N Medium aberration Init +3 (+7 with hive mind); Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +10 (+14 with hive mind) Defense AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +4 shield) hp 65 (10d8+20) Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +8 Resist acid 10 Defensive Abilities dual shield Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee masterwork short sword +9/+4 (1d6+3/19-20) and masterwork short sword +9/+4 (1d6+3) or 2 claws +10 (1d4+3) Special Attacks rhythmic strikes, transmit weakness Statistics Str 16, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 7 Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 23 Feats Double Slice, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Outflank, Shield Focus, Two-Weapon Fighting Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +10, Craft (masonry) +5, Perception +10 (+14 with hive mind), Stealth +10 Languages telepathy 100 ft. SQ hive mind, militant Ecology Environment any land or underground Organization solitary, pair, platoon (3-8) or hive (5-50 plus 1 hoar-daa queen, 2-10 hoar-daa alates and 20-200 hoar-daa larvae) Treasure standard (2 mwork short swords, 2 mwork light steel shields, other treasure) Special Abilities Dual Shield (Ex) A hoar-daa worker can wield two shields and gain full benefit from each of them. When it does so, it takes an additional -1 armor check penalty per shield used. Hive Mind (Ex) A hoar-daa is in constant telepathic communication with its hive mates, which improves its senses. As long as a hoar-daa is within telepathic range of at least one hive mate, it gains a +4 racial bonus on initiative checks and Perception checks. If at least one hoar-daa disbelieves an illusion, all hoar-daa within its telepathic range are also considered to disbelieve that illusion. If one hoar-daa is aware of combatants, all other hive mates within the range of its telepathy are also aware of those combatants. Militant (Ex) A hoar-daa worker gains proficiency with all simple weapons, martial weapons and shields. Rhythmic Strike (Su) If a hoar-daa worker successfully hits with one of its melee attacks, it gains a cumulative +1 bonus to weapon damage on melee attacks made against that target, to a maximum of +5. If it does not make at least one melee attack a round against that target, this bonus resets to +0. A hoar-daa cannot have this bonus against more than one opponent at a time. If it attacks two or more opponents in a single round, the opponent it strikes last is the one that is affected by the rhythmic strike. Transmit Weakness (Su) If a hoar-daa worker successfully strikes an opponent with a critical hit, all other hoar-daa in that worker’s telepathy range gain a +4 competence bonus on all confirmation rolls made to confirm a critical hit against that opponent. This bonus lasts for one minute.

#hoar-daa #hackmaster #pathfinder rpg #eusocial insect #bug men

Hoar-daa Worker

Edit: Thanks to @listmaker-lastcity for pointing out that the source material of the hoar-daa is not the formians, but instead the apsis from Monster Manual II]

Hoar-daa Worker CR 6 N Aberration This creature resembles a vaguely humanoid weevil, standing on two legs with four clawed arms.

#hoar-daa #hackmaster #pathfinder rpg #eusocial insect #bug men

#hoar-daa

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