This spell turns the recipient into a “sand worm”-a man-sized, mouthless, mute, mottled thing that no longer needs to breathe, eat, drink, or eliminate. It can burrow through sand with ease to hide or sleep beneath the surface. The worm can sense major temperature changes, such as nightfall on the surface above, but temperature extremes do not harm it.
While underground, its infrared sense also allows it to detect warm-blooded creatures that are man-sized or larger within 30 feet; above ground the range is doubled. Transformation into worm-form heals 2d4 points of damage for the recipient. A sand worm can wriggle on the surface with a movement rate of 9. It can wriggle at the same rate upon a sea floor or lake bottom, though it can't swim. When burrowing beneath the sand, its movement rate increases to 12. The sand worm can carry objects up to the size and weight of an armored man-provided someone else ties the cargo to the worm. The worm has no limbs (or mouth) with which to hold anything.
A sand worm's Armor Class is 6 and its THAC0 is 17. It can fight only by rolling over or slapping at an opponent with its bulk, inflicting 3d4 points of crushing damage per round. The spell recipient's intellect and senses are unchanged, but the worm cannot speak or cast spells. Further, the recipient cannot escape his worm-form before the spell expires unless the caster wills it, or unless someone applies dispel magic or a similar spell. The material component of this spell is any live worm, which must be swallowed by the caster.
Notes: Common for spellcasters from an Arabian setting; otherwise, very rare.
Sand Worm: AC 6; MV 9 Br 12; hp as creature; THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg 3d4; SZ L.