Bacar

Bacars are giant enchanted ants, made by thorn and feather magic, that carry weapons and shields. Their bodies shade from deep red to black across the thorax, with steel-blue plated undersides.

They live by military order, roaming in patrols of 2-8 except at their home lair in the sacred valley. A single bacar has Intelligence 6 and thinks only of its task, but each other bacar within 20 feet raises the group's Intelligence by one: three together reach 8, six reach 11. Below that level they only bite. At 11 or more they arm themselves with obsidian knives (1-3), obsidian-edged macas (1-8), and slings (1-4). Maca fighters carry shields for AC 4; knife and sling users go shieldless and fight with a knife in each hand.

At 13 or higher, bacars may leave the valley and can mentally direct local army ant colonies, effectively casting creeping doom once a day in typical jungle.

Theirs is an enhanced ant society with limited telepathy. Orders pass from the queen, and here also from the sorceress Itzmalli, to the soldiers by antenna touch. Individually they show no initiative; a forager ignores an oncoming army unless the army is edible, in which case it hauls off pieces and reports the new food source.

Common tasks: Gather carrion, small creatures, and juicy plants. Scout for anything new or changed and report at once; if a scout dies, one runs home while the rest hold the rear. Guard, letting nothing pass but bacars and Itzmalli's people, never reporting, fighting to the death at morale 18. Attack an enemy identified by scent, killing every non-bacar and using creeping doom when possible. Capture, as Attack but knocking targets out and dragging them back, with any creeping doom used to herd them. Track a fleeing foe, using creeping doom if possible and ignoring others unless attacked, then return home. Maintain, the usual peacetime job, tidying the grounds and checking with their antennae the wards that bind the Star Worm; the colony can restore wards that weaken over time. Maintenance crews fight only if attacked and report odd activity.

All bacars defer to a queen who lays fewer eggs than a normal ant queen and issues orders. She is a bloated, helpless creature (AC 9, 50 hp). Attacking her draws every bacar within 50 yards, plus 2-12 more each round after. If she dies, the bacars lose their telepathy and become ordinary monsters that fight when attacked or hungry, and her death also shatters the bonds holding the Star Worm Xal'Teruk.