D&D General How To Work an Ant Death Spiral into a Campaign?`

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Strange question: How would you work an ant death spiral into a campaign? The idea popped into my head the other day and I've been trying to develop a workable adventure/encounter.

My first idea was pretty simple; a random encounter where a group of giant army ants gets trapped in a death spiral. Maybe the adventurers come across it in the woods and either have to avoid it or fight the ants.

My second idea was that it could be some sort of religious ceremony for Thri-kreen, or another sentient ant race. Maybe when Thri-kreen are getting old and know they're going to die soon, they take a pilgrimage to a holy site that is surrounded by a death spiral. New Thri-kreen could arrive daily and march around in circles until they die. Maybe it could be purely religious, or be some grand necromantic ritual? I'm not sure how to work this into an adventure.

Any ideas? In the rare possibility that someone has done something like this before, what did you do?

 

[aco175]

In the article it talks about ants getting lost and wander into a circle looking for the scent to go home and that they may die from exhaustion. The circle mentioned was a circle 4 football fields across with tiny ants. Using giant ants, the circle could be around a town. The townsfolk start to see giant ants circling the town and think they are going to attack, which they might depending on if they are attacked first. It could be a stare-down for several days with the villagers not getting in supplies and the ants causing disruptions on the outskirts of town.

I do not think the players will know the ants are just lost and can go find the other ants and create a new scent trail to save the town. There should be some NPCs that can point to things such as the old man who knows the ants are in the hills but never bother us since we leave our trash over there. The little child that tamed an and to do tricks and can lead it around by using a stick that was touching another ant. The farmer that wants them all dead since they are causing damage to his fields. The local BBEG who wants to use the situation to gather his skeleton army to attack the town since the ants will not really bother the skeletons. Maybe there was a natural occurrence that started a day before the ants started circling the town such as an earthquake or storm to hint that it might be more natural.

 

[LordEntrails]

(nothing here)

 

[Baron Opal II]

In the Arduin Grimore there is a phenomenon known as the helltide. This is when giant army ants decide to swarm and go "that a way". I can imagine that, either before or after the town in its path is eaten, a terrible rainstorm washes away the trail, and now they just circle the town. Flight or tunneling is the only way out.

 

[MNblockhead]

I thought the tread title was a typo and was going to make a joke, but wow, what a cool idea. Set it up so that a local village tried to get the ants to travel further away from the village. In doing so, they unwittingly broke the pheromone trail and cause the ants to attack, chasing the villagers into town. Now there is this massive giant-ant mill in the middle of the village. I would just use giant ants. I'd make it very low level so they can't just AOE them away and if they try to go into melee it will be a TPK. Ranged may be possible, but would take a long time and, I would have the ants not just sit there and circle but if they are attacked they will break from the ant mill and attack the players, only to go back into an ant mill afterwards. Give some clues and with some nature checks perhaps they can find a way to get the ants to back on the pheromone track.