The Krell are an ancient insectoid race whose very existence revolves around their massive colonial structure and absolute devotion to their queen. These chitinous beings live in enormous underground or mountain-carved hives that can house thousands of individuals, all working in perfect harmony toward the colony's goals. Every few centuries, when the current queen lays princess eggs, the colony prepares for the violent succession that will determine their future.
The princesses are raised in luxury for fifty years before engaging in ritual combat to the death. The survivor becomes the new queen, selects a mate, and leads a great migration called a "swarming" to establish a new colony elsewhere. During these swarmings, the Krell become a force of nature, destroying everything in their path as they claim new territory for their queen.
Individual Krell communicate through complex patterns of pheromones, antenna movements, and rhythmic footsteps that outsiders find impossible to decipher. While they possess vocal cords, they rarely use them, preferring their natural forms of communication. A single Krell poses little threat, but when the hive mobilizes, entire settlements vanish without a trace.
The making
The Krell are beastfolk, the hive-insect among Gaea's minor animal-children (see Beastman). There is no special cause behind the princess-duels, the swarmings, or the single queen every Krell lives for. That is simply the insect Gaea named, its colonial nature carried up whole into a people with hands and a tongue. What an ant-mound does without thinking, the Krell do as a civilization.
Vitals
- Size: Medium
- Height: 5-6 feet
- Weight: 120-180 pounds
Aspects
- Hive-minded
- Colony before self
Game mechanics
Hive Network
Passive ability. You can communicate telepathically with other Krell within 1 mile through pheromone resonance. When within 30 feet of another Krell, you both gain advantage on attack rolls and cannot be surprised. You automatically know the general emotional state and basic intentions of any Krell within range.
Swarm Tactics
Minor ability. When you make an attack roll while adjacent to at least one ally, you may activate this ability to gain advantage on the attack and add an additional 1d4 to it for each ally adjacent to you (maximum +3d4). If this attack reduces an enemy to 0 hit points, you and all adjacent allies may immediately move up to your speed toward another enemy without provoking opportunity attacks.