Insect (Volukinesis)

**Volukinesis** is the control of insects. Insect users have a mental manipulation trait which can control a huge number of minds, but is only strong enough to work on the weakest of minds. Only bugs are simple enough to manipulate: insects, worms, spiders and so forth. By deepening their spiritual connection to these creatures, they can also gain access to additional insect-based magic, embodying the might wielded by powerless individuals in sufficient numbers.

Sometimes referred to in slang as creepies.

### **Common Strengths**

* Swarms of things are difficult to protect against. Armor is the usual answer to large numbers of weak attacks, but its value is diminished when the creatures can enter through even the slightest cracks.
* By contrast, the volukinetic has a wide range of defensive tools at their disposal to negate many incoming attacks: rapid reflexes, protective exoskeletons, limb regeneration, and in some cases, even the ability to temporarily disperse into a swarm of flying critters—the more experienced the user, the more of these options they're likely to have.
* Whether their power manifests as swarms of insects, individual insectile monsters or their own twisted anatomy, volukinetics instill panic and fear through their unsettling ability set. Many of them use this psychological effect to their advantage—arachnophobes are especially susceptible, but the volukinetic can still quickly discover what lures their prey out of a strategic mindset.
* Insect controllers have easy access to rapid flight, whether by riding on the back of a giant beetle, being carried by the combined strength of hundreds of butterflies, or sprouting their own dragonfly wings.
* Volukinetics boast impressive utility by drawing on the powers of different insects. Their potential means of attack are as varied as the countless species composing their namesake.

### **Common Weaknesses**

* Some armor has no cracks. If insects can't find a weakness in their prey's defenses, they're often powerless to help.
* Swarms of things are easy to blast away with area-of-effect damage. Insects are hardy for their size, but they can only survive so many fireballs.
* The volukinetic's defensive tricks are often compensation for lower underlying durability. If opponents can circumvent these protections, the volukinetic can be squashed like a bug.
* Volukinetics relying on fear-tactics still have to probe their targets to find what works—and those opponents could feign terror at specific tactics, misleading the insect user into an ineffective tactic.
* Not all volukinetics have perpetual control of the insects under their command. Some have to actively maintain it, and if this force is broken, the hive might turn on what was supposed to be its queen.

### **Sample Abilities**

* Try starting with just two or three insects your character commands, then have them branch out over time, summoning different types with their own effects—perhaps wasps are the aggressive pure-damage option, ticks can drain blood from opponents and transfer it to the user as healing, and spiders can create tangling webs.
* What physical powers of an insect could your character manifest in themself, magnified to a creature of human size? Durability? Speed? Flight? What might they envy about their tiny brethren, which they could never achieve in turn?
* Have your character research some of the strange insects out in the wild, searching for unique biological abilities that would make that creature useful as part of their swarm—or which they could replicate themself!
* Many insects are scavengers. When some insects go down, maybe others can eat them to bolster themselves... or perhaps your scavenger creatures can be extra aggressive and deadly when attacking an enemy who's already taken significant damage.
* Whatever other unique abilities you want to give your character!

#### **Sample Archetypes**

Feel free to take inspiration from these archetypes when making your volukinetic. Emulate one of their styles, combine their features, or go another direction entirely!

**The Swarmlord** controls huge groups of mundane insects, calling different friends for different circumstances. They often seem to control swarms the way an elemental kinesis would manipulate their chosen substance, sending offensive insects forward in a stinging, biting stream, but area-of-effect damage can easily slay these hordes of bugs.

**The Beastmaster** prefers a smaller circle of better friends, riding into battle on the back of a giant insect with several others close behind. They probably fight with mundane weapons, sacrificing the utility of summoning different bug-types in order to play up their pack's ability to impale their enemies and feast on the corpse (after applying enough digestive juices).

**The Predator** incorporates the qualities of their kin into their own bodies, transforming into an insectile abomination that manifests more and more creepy traits as they suit the battle in question. This removes the weakness to area effects that other volukinetics deal with, but manifesting enough insectile weapons to reach their final form takes time—foes with high burst damage can squash them before their metamorphosis is complete.