This mod overhauls antmen, giving them mandibles (and an associated attack), antennae, thicker chitin, larger bodies, and civilizations. Antman anatomy was changed, removing many of the vertebrate organs to reflect ants' invertebrate reality (and open circulatory system). In the mod, queens lay hundreds of eggs, and antmen are adult upon hatching (though they only live 5-8 years). They have 2 legs and 4 arms, meaning they can wield 4 weapons (or 2 2-handers, or 1 2-hander and 2 shields, etc.). Their mandibles can crush bone, but they only use this attack when unarmed. Like in reality, they can walk up most surfaces, so don't rely on walls much.
In vanilla, the chitin exoskeleton of antmen was pathetically weak, so I made it far stronger. Previously, a single punch from a kobold could destroy ant man limbs, but now even several good thwacks from a dwarf won't totally destroy them. Don't worry, though; only antmen have this chitin. All other insect(oid)s have vanilla chitin.
When wearing metal armor, antmen are now very tough. And wear metal they can, as they hail from underground (and also can make tunnels). They use arms and armor inspired by ancient Greek hoplites (to fit the mod's name). Only they can manufacture this equipment, so be sure to take it if you survive a siege. Their subterranean origin is reflected in their use of cave creatures (mostly trolls and elk birds). Their site populations are also increased, allowing many hundreds to occupy one site.
I also modified goblins, making them eventually die of old age and need food and drink.
The mod isn't huge, but it should add some !!fun!! to your game. Included with the download is a save where dwarvenkind is almost destroyed and you are its last hope against the combined onslaught of goblins and antmen.
http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=11532To install, download the files from this link and copy the .txt files into the Dwarf Fortress/raw/objects folder. I recommend making a backup first. Put the save folder in Dwarf Fortress/data/save.
While created for Dwarf Fortress 42.03, it should be compatible with most past versions (and future ones, barring drastic changes to antmen).