Re: Brainstorming

[Bees]

Ant nests make good "taverns" too, given the number of myrmecophiles around. Provided some hidden assassin bug or alcon blue caterpillar doesn't decide you'd make a tasty morsel, of course.

"Hey, this aphid looks kinda wei--AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH"

[Berserker Steve]

One of the number one things that have been on my mind is that many bugs have lifespans less then a couple of days and most of the time male die after mating and so on, do you think maybe that should change so it would be more logical to play a typre of character or should we just stick with the real thing.

[Bogleech]

An insect's perception of time might be such that a day by human standards is weeks or months worth of activity to them. Or it's just another thing to handwave.

[Quest Lord]

An insect's perception of time might be such that a day by human standards is weeks or months worth of activity to them. Or it's just another thing to handwave.

Alternatively you could play on as your progeny, who genetically inherit any traits, etc. you have?

[Bees]

Increasing their lifespan a bit is good, though I also like the idea of bugs adventuring deep inside a dark cave to ask the meaning of life to an "immortal" cave spider guru that lived no less than forty years, or god-empress termite queens alive for longer than anyone can remember.

[Naryzhud]

An insect's perception of time might be such that a day by human standards is weeks or months worth of activity to them. Or it's just another thing to handwave.

Alternatively you could play on as your progeny, who genetically inherit any traits, etc. you have?

That's what i originally thought, but i don't think you would have the same level of character identification if it was not an actual character, but a whole family of the buggers?

see what i did there?

[Quest Lord]

An insect's perception of time might be such that a day by human standards is weeks or months worth of activity to them. Or it's just another thing to handwave.

Alternatively you could play on as your progeny, who genetically inherit any traits, etc. you have?

That's what i originally thought, but i don't think you would have the same level of character identification if it was not an actual character, but a whole family of the buggers?

True Dat. So handwave it is I guess.
I saw.

[Bogleech]

Finding a mate to keep playing as one of your young sounds fun, though. I guess it might turn out to be more of a hassle than anything else, but if some species have totally different skills as larvae and adults it could add a cool dynamic. Optional rules?

Increasing their lifespan a bit is good, though I also like the idea of bugs adventuring deep inside a dark cave to ask the meaning of life to an "immortal" cave spider guru that lived no less than forty years, or god-empress termite queens alive for longer than anyone can remember.

And cicada nymphs, who really don't care to be bothered with your nonsense while they're busy climbing. It's almost time! Time to sing and fly! It's everything! THE END AND THE BEGINNING.

[Naryzhud]

what about communication? do they all speak a post apocalypse radiation handwaved "common" language? Pheromones? Do different species have their own secret languages?

[Quest Lord]

what about communication? do they all speak a post apocalypse radiation handwaved "common" language? Pheromones? Do different species have their own secret languages?

I think there should be some level of general communication at the least, as a handwaved thing. But ants should be able to send pheremones that only ants, and certain other species that have evolved to do so, can pick up. Bees would have their dance as a secret language, etc.

[Alpharius]

what about communication? do they all speak a post apocalypse radiation handwaved "common" language? Pheromones? Do different species have their own secret languages?

Pheremones - A universal type that all insects can understand, and then species-specific types as well.

[BrokenMuse]

Body language and appearance should play a part too.

[Naryzhud]

But to what extent do they understand each other? Are they able to have complex communications? If not this could be problematic amongst parties and for quest givers and such.... I'm thinking handwave it so that they can.

[Bees]

Handwaved common language. Pheromones could be a cool way of secret communication, and would make moths an amazing intelligence agency, given some males have antennae so sensitive that they can detect single pheromone molecules. They could be listening in on you from a mile away.

Though some animals also use pheromones to mask yourself as the member of another species, like say, the death's head hawkmoth does (to infiltrate hives undetected and steal honey. ) Perhaps there'd be seperate linguistic skills like "Pheromone Communiation: Ant" (indicating that you understand what specific ant pheromones mean and can also send them via your handwavium gland, basically you can "speak ant") and stealth skills like "Pheromone Disguise: Ant " (indicating that you give off the same "smells" identifying you as an ant)

And then as mentioned there would be visual communication and disguises, or even sound-based communication (crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers) and sound-based disguises (that one katydid mimicking the mating song of a cicada or something to eat the males coming to mate, for example. )

[Naryzhud]

Handwaved common language. Pheromones could be a cool way of secret communication, and would make moths an amazing intelligence agency, given some males have antennae so sensitive that they can detect single pheromone molecules. They could be listening in on you from a mile away.

Though some animals also use pheromones to mask yourself as the member of another species, like say, the death's head hawkmoth does (to infiltrate hives undetected and steal honey. ) Perhaps there'd be seperate linguistic skills like "Pheromone Communiation: Ant" (indicating that you understand what specific ant pheromones mean and can also send them via your handwavium gland, basically you can "speak ant") and stealth skills like "Pheromone Disguise: Ant " (indicating that you give off the same "smells" identifying you as an ant)

And then as mentioned there would be visual communication and disguises, or even sound-based communication (crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers) and sound-based disguises (that one katydid mimicking the mating song of a cicada or something to eat the males coming to mate, for example. )

I like this... adds a whole arena of stealth and infiltration skills along with the possibility of entirely different flavours of game, or at least quest.

[Quest Lord]

Handwaved common language. Pheromones could be a cool way of secret communication, and would make moths an amazing intelligence agency, given some males have antennae so sensitive that they can detect single pheromone molecules. They could be listening in on you from a mile away.

Though some animals also use pheromones to mask yourself as the member of another species, like say, the death's head hawkmoth does (to infiltrate hives undetected and steal honey. ) Perhaps there'd be seperate linguistic skills like "Pheromone Communiation: Ant" (indicating that you understand what specific ant pheromones mean and can also send them via your handwavium gland, basically you can "speak ant") and stealth skills like "Pheromone Disguise: Ant " (indicating that you give off the same "smells" identifying you as an ant)

And then as mentioned there would be visual communication and disguises, or even sound-based communication (crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers) and sound-based disguises (that one katydid mimicking the mating song of a cicada or something to eat the males coming to mate, for example. )

This is looking very good. Definately this.

[Naryzhud]

in a similar vein to the short lives thing, what about bees and their stingers? Should they be powerful one use attacks that kill the bee shortly after, or should they have the chance to heal and regrow it? Either way, it shouldn't be something they are able to use too often but should the whole kamikaze aspect be handwaved or kept as delicious fluff?

[BrokenMuse]

in a similar vein to the short lives thing, what about bees and their stingers? Should they be powerful one use attacks that kill the bee shortly after, or should they have the chance to heal and regrow it? Either way, it shouldn't be something they are able to use too often but should the whole kamikaze aspect be handwaved or kept as delicious fluff?

Maybe both? Perhaps some bees don't have the barbed stingers anymore or they learn how to not get stuck. If a bee wants to just stab quickly with no poison and small damage and she's careful, it might work. Make a mistake or want to go all the way, time to die.

[Bees]

Bee stingers do not often come off in arthropod combat, only against soft skin are they embedded deeply enough to rip out the poison gland and kill the bee.

Multiple stings allowed against other insects but one sting would mean death against mammals and birds (though inflicting good amount of damage too) ?

[Alpharius]

in a similar vein to the short lives thing, what about bees and their stingers? Should they be powerful one use attacks that kill the bee shortly after, or should they have the chance to heal and regrow it? Either way, it shouldn't be something they are able to use too often but should the whole kamikaze aspect be handwaved or kept as delicious fluff?

Perhaps Bees can take talents that allow them to sting things without losing their entrails. That way, combat-oriented bees can use their stingers repeatedly, and Scouting/Buffing bees, while still able to use their stingers, either die straight out, or are able to take some sort of test to see if they survive or not.

[Quest Lord]

in a similar vein to the short lives thing, what about bees and their stingers? Should they be powerful one use attacks that kill the bee shortly after, or should they have the chance to heal and regrow it? Either way, it shouldn't be something they are able to use too often but should the whole kamikaze aspect be handwaved or kept as delicious fluff?

Actually only honey bees lose their sting, and only against mammals, etc. with our elastic skin. It's an unfortunate side effect of their crazy barbed stings, which have evolved to become better at it to drive off mammals attacking the hive. IMHO keep it, as a heroic sacrifice in the BBEG fight thing. And give higher level bee PCs a change to survive it, and live without their sting and venom. Probably make a retiring point for the character then anyhow.

[Grawflemaul]

I guess this is where I'd post this sort of thought.

So I was thinking today, and I got to thinking about historian insects. Now, it seems to me that there are only a few arthropods that would have the ability and/or inclination to preserve historical information.

Ants and Termites might carve that sort of thing into the walls of their cities, but with how I see their societies, I doubt those would be any more trustworthy than some Soviet or Nazi Propaganda.

"IN THE FIFTH YEAR OF THE COLONY THE GLORIOUS ARMIES OF THE QUEEN CRUSHED THE INVADING CENTIPEDES OF THE HATED GENERAL GARDAK. SPONTANEOUS CELEBRATIONS ERUPTED ALL OVER AND THERE WAS NO OPPOSITION TO THE BELOVED QUEEN'S BENEVOLENT RULE" and so on.

Instead, perhaps there exists somewhere in this setting a small colony of spiders that has begun spinning webs that tell the tales that travellers tell. They're kept secret and safe deep underground and maintained by young spiderlings not yet trusted with writing new history-webs. These spider-monks mostly work together to feed each other so that some can dedicate themselves to the Webs.

[Quest Lord]

"IN THE FIFTH YEAR OF THE COLONY THE GLORIOUS ARMIES OF THE QUEEN CRUSHED THE INVADING CENTIPEDES OF THE HATED GENERAL GARDAK. SPONTANEOUS CELEBRATIONS ERUPTED ALL OVER AND THERE WAS NO OPPOSITION TO THE BELOVED QUEEN'S BENEVOLENT RULE"

IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE COLONY THE QUEEN'S MOST MIGHTY ARMY INVADED THE LANDS OF THE EVIL TERMITE LORD. THEY CAST DOWN HIS FOUL CITADEL AND LIBERATED THE AREA FROM THE TERMITE TYRANNY.

[BrokenMuse]

Instead, perhaps there exists somewhere in this setting a small colony of spiders that has begun spinning webs that tell the tales that travellers tell. They're kept secret and safe deep underground and maintained by young spiderlings not yet trusted with writing new history-webs. These spider-monks mostly work together to feed each other so that some can dedicate themselves to the Webs.

After a while, the spider historians would be able make predictions about future trends in weather or natural events and if a problem had plagued the area before, surely they would know about it. but who would be brave enough to go into a den of spiders and find out?

[ChickenSpider]

I belive someone mentioned alignments. Amazonian ants; always chaotic evil, spiders; lawful evil, social insects; lawful neutral,

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