Formic guide

Copypasted from the thread for now:

Formics: An Introductory Course

Well, first things first: Formics are a caste-based society that is modeled on ant hives. They are divided into four castes, which I'll get into in a second, but one of the most important things to remember is this: don't get attached to the buggers. The vast majority of them will not see their eighth* birthday.

Two other important differences from Halflings and the mythical dwarves: they do not sleep, and they have exoskeletons. Their chitinous exteriors make them far more durable than only-flesh-and-bone softskins could be, but due to the rather violent and equally chitinous nature of much of the fauna they need this advantage just to be able to go toe-to-tarsus in battle. Their lack of sleep means you will never need to build a bed outside of a hospital - the tyranny of the Third Migration Wave is over! No more rush to build a giant dormitory or (oh God why) individual bedrooms for the new migrants; they wouldn't appreciate it even if you did. This does, however, come with drawbacks.

The Caste System

Workers

These are the bedrock of Formic society, and of Formic colonies that you found. They are by far the most numerous, but also a bit dim-witted - they learn all skills except fishing, farming, mining, and wood cutting at 60% efficiency. At fishing, farming, mining, and wood cutting, they improve their skills 20% faster, though - and they'll need all that speed, because they'll keel over at the ripe old age of 5. They are literally born ready to work, though, or very nearly so, so any domestically produced workers will provide more use than immigrants. Their tiles flash between 'A' and 'w', to help pick them out of a crowd.

Soldiers

Born shock troops, Formic soldiers are bigger than any other caste save the Queens. They learn Formic-related combat skills faster (spear, sword, dodging, shield, and fighting), but where they really shine is their ability to enter martial trances. The also feel no fear, and so will fight to the death to defend the hive. As a downside, they have 3 years of useless resource sucking before being able to take up a scimitar; they do, however, live longer than the workers - up to 12 years if you're lucky, allowing them time to earn some experience and train the next generation. Their tiles flash from 'A' to 's'.

For those poor softskin-players whose Halflings start at war with the Formics, take note that Formic Soldiers are trapavoid. Have fun with that :)

Drones

Drones are there for breeding. That is basically all they should be used for - producing babbies, and artisan jobs that workers have trouble grasping. They have neither skill bonuses nor maluses, and are larger than the average worker (not quite soldier-size); they also live for up to thirty years. Most importantly, they are exceptionally rare - 150 times less likely to be born than workers, and 50 times less likely than a soldier - and thus should be protected almost as well as a Queen. Whatever you do, don't send these guys to the front lines against the spider-centaurs - not unless you have backups. If you only have one, send a legendary miner worker to battle ahead of him, for the Queen's sake. Workers are expendable. Drones, less so.

Queens

The immortal female caste of the Formics. They are incredibly rare - 1500 times less likely than a worker! - and incredibly valuable. A single queen is not picky about what male she mates with (no husbands!), and can produce as many as 8 nymphs at once. If you get a Queen, protect her - keep her in a well-provisioned chamber deep under a mountain, with a labyrinth of atom smashers between her and potential threats, or something similarly thorough, because in all likelihood if she dies you will never see another. If you have a queen, workers are basically expendable, and a single Queen and Drone together could theoretically repopulate an entire hive after some kind of magma-related apocalypse, though how that would happen I'm not sure, since I don't think we have any magma-safe materials to make a pump stack out of.

Queens are the largest caste of Formics as well, so their size should provide some measure of defense against the average home invader, but I recommend not ever letting it become a factor.

The Nobility

Allets

Formic word for "chief". This is an expedition leader. He is your broker and that guy who meets with dissatisfied workers and such, as well as judge and jury in the Hive in the Everqueen's name.

Ashalim

...and this guy is your executioner. None of those sissy dwarven hammerings, either - just a sharpened scimitar to cut down any fool worker who decided to disobey his superior. Additionally he fills the role of militia commander, and leads the as-scuteri squad in defense of the hive.

Scribe

A combination manager/record keeper, of whom you can have three.

Mesarthim

The Ashalim's subordinates, in charge of mes-scuteri squads (basically, the militia, though thanks to the biological caste system this holds a bit more weight than it does among softskins)

Chirurgeon General

Chief medical formic. Not much else to say.

Regent

The chief representative of the Everqueen in each settlement. Properly, a drone, though often a member of a lower caste if they prove capable. They expect rather odd quarters for Formics, but then, folks in power tend to be a bit eccentric, right? In any case, they'd very much like a bedroom, and some other rooms. They can impose demands and mandates, too, so you'll have those to deal with.

The Everqueen

The immortal goddess-queen herself. Always a member of the Queen caste, and if she ever shows up at your fortress I had no part in it because I haven't a clue how to properly work monarch-arrival thing, if it's even possible. If she does, though, hey - free Queen!

On Alcohol

Insects are not immune to drunkenness, sadly. While Honeywine is safer than water reservoirs due to its inability to be contaminated with lovely syndromes, Formics will get drunk off of it as well. Like with haflings, it's a good idea to maintain some form of safe water cistern for drinking purposes.

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And that's the quick-reference guide to Formic society. Have fun, don't talk to strange insects, etcetera.