The Pullulex
The Pullulex [1]
A collection of Insidious Insects for Draw Steel inspired by the Zerg, Tyranids, Formics, Glyphids and other creepy crawly hivemindy mutatey nasty buggers.
One giant bug? You’ve got an Ankheg problem; any wayfaring band of heroes can take care of that. One hundred giant bugs? You’ve got a Pullulex problem. Flee.
The Pullulex are a species of large colony building ant-like insects with a wide variety of subtypes within a single hive. They vary in size based on the individual Pullulek’s caste, ranging from that of a large dog to an elephant.
Psysocial Hivemind
“They have a thousand thousand bodies, but only One Mind.”
A Pullelex hive is ruled by a single monarch who extends their will psychically across all individual bugs within their influence; the further the swarm, the more effort the monarch must exert to control them. All non-monarch Pullulek individuals are limited to instinctual pseudo-emotional thoughts. Only the monarch is capable of language and consciousness and views the lower castes more as limbs than children.
A Pullulek Monarch is a jealous creature; it views other monarchs and thinking creatures as threats to its own supremacy. Usually, a new Monarch is born only when the old one is ready to die and improve the swarm with a new body; but occasionally by genetic accident.
Local Tyrants
The arrival of a Pullulex hive on the surface is a rare thing; most Monarchs prefer to conquer existing hives and slowly expand their colony over centuries. Should some outstanding circumstance surface a swarm, the local town, city, and animal population will surely be decimated. Thankfully once the colony is established it is an incredibly rare Monarch that has the psychic fortitude to expand it without limit.
Caste Creatures
“If the Pullulek mind could be understood, they would make our wisest sages seem as pupils.”
Each Pullulek Monarch organizes their swarm into a variety of different forms and purposes through careful applications of nutrients and psychic resonance to broods of larvae. Though each hive has unique varieties, all hives contain mainly Drones to carry out mundane tasks, many Soldiers to defend and expand the colony, and a few flying Alates with deep psionic connections to the monarch.
Pullulex are experts in lore of the natural form. When a creature displays phenomenal power or prowess in the presence of an Alate, they may be carried away alive to be vivisected and studied by the monarch.
Pullulex Malice
Hivemind Creatures
Each Pullulex drone or soldier is directly controlled by their queen if within its range, or by the queen’s Alates while on tasks distant from the colony. If the queen or Alate controlling a swarm of Pullulex is killed, the remaining lower caste creatures revert to an instinctual confused state. They may go inert, flee, or attack the nearest creatures including other Pullulex.
Pullulex Malice
At the start of any Pullulek’s turn, you can spend malice to activate one of the following features.
Overwhelming Swarm (3 Malice): Each Pullulex can immediately move 2 squares toward any hostile creature.
Can’t Get Away! (5 Malice): Each Pullulex Soldier immediately grabs an adjacent enemy, then each enemy who is currently grabbed or restrained takes 2 damage for each adjacent Pullulex creature.
Why is the Ground Moving?!? (7 Malice): a number of Pullulex Swarmlings equal to the number of players + 2 immediately burst from the ground in any empty squares of your choosing.
Pullulex Swarmling | Level 1 Hexer Minion |
Pullulex, Drone | EV 3 |
Stamina 4 Speed 6 (burrow) | Size 1S / Stability 0 Free Strike 1 |
Might -1 Agility +2 Reason -4 Intuition -2 Presence -2 | |
Gnawing Horde (Action) ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ Signature Keywords Attack, Melee, Weapon | |
Distance Melee 1 | Target 1 creature per minion |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 2 damage 3 damage 4 damage |
Effect: If the target is adjacent to 3 to 5 Pullulex creatures, this attack gains A1 Slowed (save ends). | |
Pullulex Bullhead | Level 1 Brute |
Pullulex, Soldier | EV 11 |
Stamina 26 Speed 7 | Size 1L / Stability 1 Free Strike 5 |
Might 3 Agility 0 Reason -4 Intuition -2 Presence -2 | |
Head Bash (Action) ◆ 2d10 + 3 ◆ Signature Keywords Attack, Melee, Weapon | |
Distance Melee 1 | Target 1 creature or object |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 6 damage; M1 prone 8 damage; M2 prone 9 damage; M3 prone |
Effect: If the target is already prone, this attack gains a [surge]. | |
Head Pin (Maneuver) ◆ Might RR Keywords — | |
Distance Melee 1 | Target 1 prone creature |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | restrained (until end of bullhead’s next turn) restrained (save ends) no effect |
Effect: The target becomes pinned. If the Bullhead moves, dies, or attacks a creature other than its pinned target, the target is no longer restrained. A creature pinned in this way cannot use the knockback maneuver against the Bullhead. | |
Pullulex Spitter | Level 1 Artillery |
Pullulex, Soldier | EV 9 |
Stamina 11 Speed 6 (burrow) | Size 1M / Stability 0 Free Strike 2 |
Might -1 Agility +2 Reason -4 Intuition -2 Presence -2 | |
Caustic Expulsion (Action) ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ Signature Keywords Attack, Ranged, Weapon | |
Distance Ranged 10 | Target 1 creature or object |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 4 acid damage 5 acid damage 6 acid damage |
Effect: A pool of acid appears in the targeted creature’s square. The first time a creature moves through or when they start their turn in an acid pool, they take 2 acid damage. | |
Caustic Explosion (Triggered Action) ◆ Agi RR Keywords Area, Resistance | |
Distance Burst 2 self Trigger The spitter dies | Target all creatures in burst |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 8 acid damage 4 acid damage 2 acid damage |
Effect: a pool of acid appears in each square adjacent to the Spitter, If the Spitter was killed with a melee attack, the attacker takes an additional 2 [surges] of acid damage | |
Pullulex Grasper | Level 1 Controller |
Pullulex, Soldier | EV 9 |
Stamina 18 Speed 6 | Size 1M / Stability 0 Free Strike 3 |
Might 2 Agility 1 Reason -4 Intuition -2 Presence -2 | |
Grasping Slash (Action) ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ Signature Keywords Attack, Melee, Weapon | |
Distance Melee 1 | Target 1 creature or object |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 4 damage; slide 1 6 damage; slide 2 8 damage; slide 3 |
Grasping Claws | |
The Grasper can use a grab maneuver in place of a free strike. It can also use a maneuver to Restrain a creature it has grabbed, a restrained creature can free itself using the ‘Escape Grab’ Maneuver.. | |
Pullulex Alate [2] | Level 1 Leader |
Pullulex, Alate | EV 21 |
Stamina 45 Speed 7 (Fly) | Size 1L / Stability 1 Free Strike 7 |
Might 2 Agility 2 Reason -4 Intuition 2 Presence 0 | |
Diving Sting (Action) ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ Signature Keywords Attack, Melee, Weapon, Charge | |
Distance Melee 1 | Target 1 creature or object |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 7 poison damage; I 0 weakened (save ends) 8 poison damage; I 1 weakened (save ends) 9 poison damage; I 2 weakened (save ends) |
Effect: If the Alate moves at least 4 squares in a straight line before making this attack, the attack gains an edge. | |
Envenomate (Action) ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ 5 Malice Keywords Attack, Melee, Weapon | |
Distance Melee 1 | Target 1 restrained creature |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | Target’s stamina is reduced to its winded value. Target’s stamina is reduced to its winded value, if winded, it is reduced to 1 stamina Target takes damage equal to its winded value |
Effect: If the target would take less than 7 damage from this ability, it instead takes 7 poison damage | |
Rejuvenating Resonance ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ Maneuver ◆ 3 malice Keywords, Psionic, Ranged | |
Distance Ranged 5 | Target special |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 2 targets 4 targets All targets in range |
Effect: the target regains 5 stamina | |
Agression Resonance ◆ 2d10 + 2 ◆ Maneuver ◆ 7 malice Keywords, Psionic, Ranged | |
Distance Ranged 5 | Target special |
✦ ≤11 ★ 12–16 ✸ 17+ | 1 target 2 targets 4 targets |
Effect: the target immediately makes a signature attack as a free triggered action | |
Psionic Connection The Pullulex Alate acts as a connection between all Pullulex drones and soldiers within about a quarter mile radius and the distant Pullulex Monarch. If an Alate dies in combat and another Alate or Monarch is not within range, the remaining Pullulex creatures in an encounter will go feral, they may immediately go inert or they may begin to attack any nearby creatures including one another at the Director’s discretion. | |
[1] Pullulate: to breed, produce, create rapidly; to exist abundantly; swarm; teem
[2] An Alate is a winged bug, it also kinda sounds like ‘Elite’ :D