Following the thread on fantasy books I was inspired to write a set of lists for "Empire Of The Ants" by Bernard Werber (English version is out of print, but can still be found at amazon.com, the original French version seems to be in print and widly available). Bernard Werber has made wildlife documentries on ants for French TV, and therefore can be assumed to know his stuff.

Basically it is two (roughly linked) stories, the first about a series of strange (human) disappearances in 21st century post global warming Paris, and the second about one ant's attempts to find the secret weapon that destroyed a patrol it was part of. Of most interest to HOTTers is the large set piece battle as the Black Dwarf ants attempt to destroy one of the cities of the Russet ant federation (the home of our hero).

The battle starts with a feigned attack by the Russets designed to lure the Dwarfs up a slope towards the rusets main body. Hidden in the rough gowing in the lower slopes are large numbers of Ruset ants buried up to their necks who lash out at any dwarf who comes near them, causeing large scale disruption to the Dwarfs, before they are overcome. A duel ensues with both sides firing formic acid at each other, which the larger, more powerful Russets win. They then unleash their secret weapon, the tank, on the Dwarfs. These are basically seed-crusher ants (large powerful jaws) carried by six workers (to give speed). This tactic smashes the advancing dwarfs but prooves hard to manouver, so when the dwarfs regroup and advance back up the slope, and the tanks are unleashed again the dwarfs dodge out of the way a surround the tanks destroying them in detail. The Dwarfs then unleash their secret weapon, corpses of ants infected by a fungoid disease this causes disruption in the Russet ranks allowing the Dwarfs to close just as the Russets finish "dealing with" their infected comrades. A mass close combat ensues with the size and skill of the Russet warriors finally overcoming the smaller but more ferocious (and numerous) Dwarfs, who flee the field.

Stronghold: an ants nest (strangely enough) represented by a mound with a few workers defending.

The battlefield is basically a fairly shallow slope with patches of bad going in the lower slopes, and the Russets positioned at the top.

Generals are tricky as both sides use a very distributed command structure (ants with anarchist tendencies) but I'd suggest a Warband element for the dwarfs, and a Blade for the Russets, more as a hardcore of the largest elite Warriors then as a general, with massive morale consequences if they are lost (I'm not sure ants really have morale but it seems a good compromise).

Although technically all members of both sides can fire acid and fight its easier to represent the warriors as a mixture of types to give the Russets the advantage in firing duels without reducing their overall numbers. Warbands seem to suit the Dwarfs who are described as fierce fighters, and who impetously follow the Russet retreat up the hill. Magician seems right for the "secret weapon", very deadly but capable of backfiring and infecting the wrong side. For the Russets, the tanks are initially effective but suffer from a lack of control (impetuous obviously) and are neutralised by the correct match up and a bit of luck.

For those who like a few options:
An ant eating bird (God)
Ants of either side disguised by the correct pheromones (Sneaker)
Other types of ant acting as mercenaries (pretty much whatever you like but blades, spears, shooters, warband seem good starting points)

Other battles mentioned in the text but in less detail are another Dwarff attack on a Russet city, where they actually manage to acheive the desired suprise, a Slave Raider Ant attack, and a war fought against the Wasps. I could see a campaign coming on...

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