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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Abilities | Monsters | NPCs

The King of Biting Ants, Megalomaniacal Sorcerer

Among the many evil forces that Old-Mage Jatembe faced to bring the world back into light, perhaps none was as insidious as the sorcerer known as the King of Biting Ants. This villain's original name is long lost; indeed, the wicked sorcerer claims it was the first thing he consumed when he transformed within a strange ruin deep in the Mwangi Expanse known today as the Cathedral of Nothingness. The King of Biting Ants sought to grasp power within the ruin, only to become corrupted in mind and transformed in body into a swarm of ants held together only by his prodigious will. In his time with a nihilistic cult, he learned the secret of the nearby Doorway to the Red Star—that it was a gateway to the distant planet of Akiton established by the hyper-intelligent but erratic creatures of that world called the Contemplatives of Ashok—but he wasn't interested in that distant world. Instead, he used the doorway's magic to grant his armies of red-cloaked acolytes immortality and set about conquering the Mwangi Expanse.

Jatembe would not let this evil stand. He traveled to the doorway and fought with the King of Biting Ants, scattering his form and driving him through the doorway along with his ageless acolytes. The King of Biting Ants was banished and his evil quelled—or so Jatembe thought.

A few centuries ago, Jatembe learned that the King of Biting Ants was able to eventually restore some of his power on Akiton and had developed a flying airship bearing a devastating superweapon. Jatembe traveled to Akiton to confront his old foe, but he knew that another victory in combat would be as temporary as his previous one. Instead, he let the King of Biting Ants appear to defeat him, trusting that his foe's arrogance would blind him to Jatembe's plan. Sure enough, the King of Biting Ants captured Jatembe and imprisoned him aboard his fortress-airship, the Mandibles of Fate. Jatembe only pretends to be a prisoner; he makes regular trips across the planes, as he did before being captured, and leaves a magical duplicate in his cell when he does. Still, he spends much of his time aboard the Mandibles of Fate, infusing its half-living superstructure with his bodiless spirit. Meanwhile, the King of Biting Ants has greater plans for his superweapon: use it to destroy Jatembe's legacy while making the wizard witness the carnage firsthand.

The superweapon the King of Biting Ants worked so hard to create, the soulshredder cannon, is indeed terrifying; it can pull souls from the living and compress them together into formidable (and loyal) nemhaiths. But the insectile sorcerer has greater plans; he wants to expand the power of his superweapon to destroy entire communities, starting with the Magaambya on Golarion. Jatembe has secretly stymied this latest goal, but the King of Biting Ants has proven too tenacious at pursuing his plan of revenge. Indeed, he's finally succeeded in mastering the community-shattering power of his ship-mounted soulshredder cannons, and he's just a few test-fires away from returning to Golarion with the Mandibles of Fate and a wicked plan for revenge.

Campaign Role

The King of Biting Ants is the heroes' final foe in this adventure. With Jatembe's assistance and their own skills, the heroes have the opportunity to stop the King's current plans and put an end to the wicked sorcerer at last. His psyche survives, in part, within the Vesicant Egg at the Magaambya, but ending his efforts on Akiton saves countless lives.

Recall Knowledge - Aberration (Occultism): DC 49
Unspecific Lore: DC 47
Specific Lore: DC 44

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

The King of Biting AntsCreature 19

Legacy Content

Unique LE Medium Aberration Swarm 
Source Pathfinder #173: Doorway to the Red Star pg. 90
Male worm that walks sorcerer
Perception +13; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 30 feet
Languages Abyssal, Akitonian, Aklo, Common, Infernal
Skills Acrobatics +17, Arcana +15, Crafting +15, Deception +19, Intimidation +19, Occultism +15, Society +13, Stealth +17
Str +5, Dex +9, Con +6, Int +5, Wis +5, Cha +9
Items wand of manifold missiles (7th)
AC 25 all-around vision; Fort +12, Ref +17, Will +13
HP 300; Immunities disease, paralyzed, poison, precision, swarm mind, unconscious; Resistances physical 15; Weaknesses area damage 15, splash damage 15
Counterspell [reaction] Trigger A creature Casts a Spell the King of Biting Ants knows; Effect The King of Biting Ants expends a spell slot to counter the triggering creature's casting. The King of Biting Ants loses his spell slot as if he had cast the triggering spell. He then attempts to counteract the triggering spell.Discorporate When the King of Biting Ants is reduced to 0 HP, he discorporates, and the component ants that make up his body disperse in every direction. If even a single ant escapes, the King of Biting Ants will eventually reform using a process that typically takes 1d10 days. Applying area damage immediately after the King of Biting Ants is killed prevents his return.
Speed 30 feet, climb 20 feet
Melee [one-action] tendril +15 [+10/+5] (reach 10 feet), Damage 4d10+15 persistent piercing damage plus swarming bitesOccult Spontaneous Spells DC 25, attack +15; 10th time stop, visions of danger (biting ants only) (2 slots); 9th foresight, wail of the banshee, weird (3 slots); 8th disappearance, dispel magic, maze, mind blank, prismatic wall (4 slots); 7th dispel magic, phantasmal killer, visions of danger (biting ants only), warp mind (4 slots); 6th dominate, paranoia, slow, teleport (4 slots); 5th black tentacles, mind probe, phantom pain, subconscious suggestion (4 slots); 4th dimension door, modify memory, suggestion, veil (4 slots); 3rd dream message, haste, hypercognition, slow (4 slots); 2nd comprehend language, illusory creature, mirror image, undetectable alignment (4 slots); 1st charm, illusory disguise, mindlink, ray of enfeeblement (4 slots); Cantrips (10th) daze, detect magic, light, mage hand, shield
Squirming Embrace [one-action] The King of Biting Ants Strides to a creature, ends his movement sharing a space with it, and deals 3d8 piercing damage and 3d8 poison damage to it (DC 20 basic Reflex save). A creature that fails this save also takes 2d8 persistent piercing damage.Swarm Shape [one-action] (concentrate) The King of Biting Ants collapses into a shapeless swarm of ants. He drops all held, worn, and carried items. While discorporated, The King of Biting Ants can't use attack actions and can't cast spells, but he can move through areas small enough for his individual ants to fit without having to Squeeze. He can use the same action to coalesce back into his normal form.Swarming Bites While a creature is taking persistent piercing damage from the King of Biting Ants's tendril Strike or Squirming Embrace, or while within a visions of danger area that it has not disbelieved, it is also clumsy 1. If the creature attempts a concentrate or manipulate action while affected, it must succeed at a DC -14 flat check or the action is lost; roll the check after spending the action, but before any effects are applied.