The USR Adventure Continues Plus an NPC and another Monster

The last two sessions of my Unbelievably Simple Role-playing (USR) adventure (calling it a dungeon crawl when it's not in the dungeon at the moment seems a misnomer) went in an unexpected direction. Mythic GME featured heavily, although USR got its fair share of the action in the second session.
I'm tempted to write this up in detail, but I don't think it'd make fun reading for me let alone anyone else, so I'll just hit the highlights (the NPC and Monster are detailed below):

Session Highlights

• Blarg's first order of business was to get some healing. Enter Briza the Healer:

• Mythic had some odd ideas about what healing costs, and Briza wouldn't accept gold, the offer of a quest (don't people always need adventurers to go an do something for them they don't want to do themselves?). He took the strange, well made tunic. Even then, he only healed Blarg part way

• While resting, the attacks increased in frequency

• The townsfolk started clamoring for Blarg to be run out of town (You've got to love Mythic)

• Finding a porter and torch bearer, let alone fighting men, to accompany him back into the dungeon proved impossible - word had spread about the deaths of his comrades (probably thanks to Reginald the Frail, Jr. (torch bearer on the expedition))

• Some sleuthing around the sites of the most recent attacks revealed some tracks - the creature appeared to have at least six feet! (thanks Rory's Story Cubes)

• At this point I realized what I had thought would turn out to be a troll or an ogre, turned out to be a large insect or arachnid of some kind. I created a table of giant sized bug possibilities and also added the possibility that Blarg had mis-read the tracks.

• A little shopping trip for a bow, arrows and other supplies and Blarg was close to bankruptcy but he was better prepared to save his good name and the names of his dead comrades. He would wait for the creature to attack again and be ready to meet it.

• On the second night after he took up a post where he could oversee many of the pastures used by the local farmers, bingo! (roll on my table) A giant ant! I checked the D&D bestiary, ants "fight to the death". Fantastic.

• The battle lasted 7 rounds before the thing gave up the fight and died. Blarg's victory dance was short as 3 more showed up moments later.

• Both sides were heavily armored, the ants getting a -3 and Blarg a -4 on damage taken.  8 rounds later and it looked for a moment that a badly beat up Blarg was going to come out victorious (no thanks to the villagers, who, to a one, either ignored or did not hear his calls and the sounds of battle). Alas it was not to be.

• The ants left his body but dragged away their fallen (these choices were Mythic decisions), which leaves the town rid of Blarg, but in the unenviable position of still not knowing just what's been attacking them.

The ants were an unexpected twist. I can see this turning into a fantasy version of Them! Perhaps the ants were disturbed by the gnomes who have been opening up new mines (which is how the gnomes got into the dungeon in the first place)  which connected inadvertently to the ant tunnels. Using the same mine shafts as the gnomes, the ants have only been sending a few scouts up into the dungeon and into the surrounding country side. The attacks are increasing in frequency because it is turning out to be an excellent and nearly unimpeded source of food for the colony.


Will the village send out a plea for help and the PCs respond? Will the village be overrun and destroyed, to be discovered by some PCs who arrive with the next merchant caravan? 

NPC (Stat'd for USR):

Briza the Healer
Action: d8 Wits: d6 Ego: d10 HP: 9,
Specialisms: Cure light wounds(wits + 5), cure serious wounds (wits+2), cure disease (Wits + 3),Bless (wits+4). Roll against recipient's Ego.

Background (written after my encounter):

Briza is not motivated by money. If he was he would never have come to a small village to offer healing and blessing to farmers and merchants.The big cities provide far more opportunity for profit. He is dedicated toward serving his fellow beings. 

That does not mean he does his work for free, but rather uses his skills to barter for things he likes - choosing to take whatever appeals to his eye and is within the means of his patrons to give. A dairy farmer might pay in milk or cheese, a vintner in wine, or a merchant in a fine imported rug. 

He will not go off adventuring if he is asked, although he does wish to travel northward to the monastery and temples of the monks of the sect of Ulrich the Goat (makers of the tunic), as he has heard enlightenment is easily attained there (all of this came up thanks to Mythic), and it never hurts to have some body guards on the long journey.

Monster (Stat'd for USR):

Giant Ant

(I'm using Scott's suggestion that monsters/npcs aren't limited to the same dice rules as PCs as he explains over on Trollish Delver)

Action: d10, Wits: d10, Ego:d6
Specialisms: Crushing Mandibles(Action+2), Lifting(Action+5) (they're strong!), Summon Other Ants(Ego+2) - roll against difficulty based on likelihood any are nearby.
Armor: natural body armor -3

They're especially fast (60' per combat round) - think of a tiny little ant, and how fast they go. Now, imagine the ant is 6' long and a few feet off the ground!

They always fight to the death.

The queen didn't come into play but if she did, I'm thinking:

Action: d12; Wits:d10; Ego: d8.

In addition to the other Giant Ant specialisms, she has:

• Colony Summon(Ego + 3) roll difficulty based on distance from colony (if in colony this is very easy): the ability to summon the entire colony to its aid
• Ant Control(Ego +4) roll ego vs ego: ability to direct other ants in intelligent ways to benefit the queen and colony during battle.