Question pertaining to the 1st Ed DMG

[Tarbaen]

I'm new to the board, this is my first post. I have a question that has bugged me ever since I got my first 1st Ed DMG and read it cover to cover so that my DM wouldn't have anything to hold over me. What the heck is a "humble ant?" Supposedly this thing can destory artifacts. Now, the only references I could come up with would be Sinatra's song about the rubber tree plant, or a reference in Proverbs about a humble ant and being frugal. Nothing to describe what Gygax was talking about, or how we find one and get it to crush something under it's heel .... maybe I missed something ... please enlighten ....

 

[hong]

A humble ant is harder to find than a rich merchant who can pass through the eye of a tree falling in a forest with angels dancing on it.

 

[Xarlen]

That's hong for you.

Fun and Right enough to be kept, and sharp enough to do so at a distance.

 

[dcollins]

It's a hook for the DM to expand upon (probably using the Proverbs line for inspiration)... just like most all the other artifact-destroying methods make mythological references that are not actually detailed in any AD&D rulebook.

 

[Tarbaen]

Well, that's not necessarily true ... we know who Bahamut is and who Jubilex is and what ancient dragons are ... I was wondering if there was any other reference to the humble ant beyond the Proverbs ... guess not ....

 

[dcollins]

As I said, "most all".