Vespika

Vespika is a swarming nation of wasps that seek to feed and expand relentlessly to appease their bloodthirsty god.

Vespikan legend states that in the primordial dawn of the world, the Vespikan wasps arose under the leadership of hungry demons in a frothing cloud that rolled over the world, consuming its inhabitants. The ancient Pantokrator, shocked at what had occurred, banished the scourge to a prison outside of time. But their hunger could not be sated, and they ate their way through the walls of the prison and back into the realms of the real. Regardless of the veracity of this tale, the Vespikan killing swarms blacken the skies once again. The nation of Vespika is intensely xenophobic, seeing other races as little more than undigested food. They are divided into three castes: the most abundant are the sterile female workers, who toil in the hive cities and make up the bulk of Vespikan armies. The second are the male drones, who mate with queens to create future generations. The last are the queens, the only Vespikans capable of having offspring. Their constant reproduction drives the Vespikans to endlessly expand, always seeking more and more sources of food to bring back to the ever-growing throng of larvae. The queens form the backbone of the Hive Cult, a religion created around this never-ending reproduction and expansion. Now the Cult has found a new focus in the Devouring God and the killing swarms will feast on the world to appease their bloodthirsty master.

Race: Humanoid wasps. Can fly and wield weapons with four arms, as well as attack with poison stinger. Cold blooded and prefers heat scale +1.

Military: Flying light infantry with iron weapons, powerful monstrous commanders, several sacred beast summons. Strong offense but little armor or defense. Most troops will succumb to killing frenzy when wounded and fight to the death rather than retreat.

Magic: Blood, Earth, Nature, Air. Minor Fire and Water.

Priests: Powerful. Can perform blood sacrifices, but cannot preach. Most priests are blood mages as well.

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Units (Bottom row, left to right)

Hive Militia
When a hive city is under threat, its queens will call out all workers to defend the hive. These hastily levied troops are mostly young workers, inexperienced in combat. Because they have yet to experience the violent joy of battle, they do not have the bloodlust of their older sisters and often retreat from battle rather than fight to the death.

Hive Warrior (three variants; quad weapons, dual great cleavers, javelins and dual weapons)
The mainstay of the hive armies are workers armed with iron weapons created by the Stone Mages. They are vicious fighters, wielding four weapons at once and striking in flurries of blows. They have no armor, though, and pay little heed to protecting themselves during combat. Once their killing frenzy begins they will not rout, but fight to the death.

Charnel Berserker
The largest and strongest workers are taken in by the Cult and taught combat by its adepts. They become fearless fighters who wield massive ultra-greatswords that can cleave foes in half. These troops are indoctrinated into the Cult and considered sacred warriors.

Clipwing Guard
The Stone Mages maintain their own sworn protectors in the Clipwing Guard. They take some workers while they are still in their pupae and subject them to alchemical and magical treatments. This causes the workers to emerge with heavily thickened carapaces and augmented physiologies, giving them enhanced resistance to magic and poisons and partial resistance to physical damage. A side effect of this is that their wings are stunted; the Stone Mages clip these vestigial organs off. Because they do not need to fly, they are given heavy iron armor to supplement their natural protection, and fight on foot with two large cleavers. They are skilled defenders of the hive cities and of important Vespikans.

Commanders (Top row, left to right)

Ichor Queen
The word of a Vespikan queen is absolute law. Most queens are content to join the Cult and live out their days producing endless offspring in the depths of the hive cities, but some, blessed by the spirits of hunger, take to the field of battle as commanders. They are massive and terrifyingly ferocious combatants, wielding the characteristic gigantic cleavers of the Cult. They sit at the apex of Cult hierarchy and command swarms of lesser acolytes. This religious training makes them very skilled priests and blood mages, and some have picked up the rudiments of nature or earth magic from working with the Iron Queens. Members of the Cult have no patience for contemplation or study and make poor researchers. Like their acolytes, Ichor Queens will continually slaughter population in any region they occupy in order to feed their kin and the clutches of predatory insects they raise in their temples.

Hive Cultist
The largest and strongest workers are taken and raised by the Cult as its disciples. They learn the art of combat, as well as the rituals and magics of the Cult. They are skilled priests and adept blood mages, and their bloodlust knows no limits. Members of the Cult have no patience for contemplation or study and make poor researchers. While they are greatly respected by their sisters, they do not have the patience or tactical knowledge required to coordinate large swarms. They will continually slaughter population in any region they occupy in order to feed their kin and the clutches of predatory insects they raise in their temples.

Hive Commander
Older workers who have proven themselves by living through campaigns can be given charge of a killing swarm. They are entrusted by the queens to strike out at enemies of the Hive and return with food for the hive. While most other races see Vespikans as little more than mindless killing machines, they are intelligent and cunning combatants, and the more experienced commanders are highly capable tacticians. Many of Vespika's enemies have met their end by underestimating the prowess of their foe and finding themselves surrounded on all sides by a quick and decisive flanking strike. Commanders fight in combat armed, as many of their warriors, with two large cleavers.

Stone Mage (two variants)
The Stone Mages are the second of the great Vespikan factions and are responsible for the construction of hive cities and weaponry to arm the killing swarms. They are adept at the shaping of iron, believing this skill to be a sacred gift given by their divine ancestors to aid in their subjugation and consumption of lesser races. While not as skilled in combat as most of their sisters, they are capable casters of earth magic and often pick up other magical skills as well. Their expertise in construction allows them to expand hive strongholds and makes them excellent at defending them from attackers.

Wind Guide
Wind Guides are workers who have shown skills in air magic. Their primary purpose is to accompany killing swarms and ensure the winds remain favorable and the swarm can remain on the wing. While they all have skills in air magic, their connection with the elements allows them to often develop other skills as well. Sometimes a Wind Guide will lead a small swarm of warriors on her own.

Drone Cenobite
More male Vespikans, called drones, are hatched than are needed for reproductive purposes. Though intelligent, they are not regarded as people by the female Vespikans and are generally used as tools of the Cult. Many of those not chosen for breeding are used as low-level functionaries by the Hive Cult. The red veils they always wear hide their faces and reinforce that they are not to be treated as people, but as faceless emissaries of the Cult itself. Their tasks include conducting minor ceremonies and sacrifices, accompanying sacred warriors in battle as attendants or supervising the construction of temples. They are not combatants and have neither the killing frenzy nor venomous sting of their sisters. Though they carry a war cleaver, this weapon is mostly used for sacrificial offerings.

Hive Scout
Especially swift and stealthy workers will be sent ahead of the killing swarms to track enemy movements and locate sources of food. They generally avoid combat but will fight to the death if cornered.