Worm (MM)

For other Worms, see Gastropoda and Clitellata.

	Purple Worm	Giant Bloodworm	Bookworm	Rot Grub	Tenebrous	Tunnel
Climate/Terrain:	Subterranean	Subterranean pools	Any land (books)	Any land (refuse)	Forests	Subterranean
Frequency:	Rare	Rare	Rare	Uncommon	Uncommon	Rare
Organization:	Solitary	Solitary	Solitary	Swarm	Solitary	Swarm
Activity Cycle:	Any	Any	Any	Any	Any	Any
Diet:	Carnivore	Blood	Books	Scavenger	Carnivore	Carnivore
Intelligence:	Non- (0)	Non- (0)	Non- (0)	Non- (0)	Animal (1)	Non- (0)
Treasure:	(B,Q×5,X)	Q	Nil	Nil	Nil	(M, N, Q)
Alignment:	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral	Nil	Nil
No. Appearing:	1	1-4	1-2 (10-40)	5-20	1	1-6
Armor Class:	6	4	2	9	1	4
Movement:	9, Br 9	6, Br 1	12, Br 3	1, Br 0	10	6
Hit Dice:	15	6	¹⁄₄	1 hp	10	9+3
THAC0:	5	15	0	0	11	11
No. of Attacks:	2	1	0	0	1	1
Damage/Attack:	2-24/2-20	1-8	Nil	Nil	2-16	2-8
Special Attacks:	See below	Blood drain	Nil	See below	Acid	Lunging
Special Defenses:	Nil	Nil	Camouflage	Nil	Poison bristles	Nil
Magic Resistance:	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Size:	G (25' long)	H (20' long)	T (1” long)	T ( ¹⁄₂-2” long)	M (6' long)	G (25' + long)
Morale:	Steady (12)	Fanatic (17-18)	Unreliable (2-4)	Unsteady (5)	Elite (13)	Steady (12)
XP Value:	13,000	420	15	15	5,000	1,400

Though they vary widely in size, all the worms in this listing have some common characteristics. They are all burrowers with long, cylindrical shapes.

Purple Worm[]

A constant threat to subterranean explorers, the purple worm burrows through the earth in search of prey. The worm is sensitive to minute vibrations in the earth, and can sense prey at a range of 60 feet. Adult purple worms as large as 8–9 feet in diameter and 140–150 feet long have been reliably reported.

The worm attacks by biting; an attack roll that exceeds the required score to hit by 4 or more indicates the victim has been swallowed whole. This worm can devour creatures up to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. A swallowed creature dies in six rounds, is digested in two hours, and cannot be raised from the dead.

Anyone trapped inside a purple worm may attempt to cut their way out. The interior is AC 9, but digestive juices weaken the victim, causing a cumulative -1 penalty to the damage the victim can cause.

This worm has a stinger on its tail. Anyone hit by the stinger suffers 2d4 points of damage and must make a successful saving throw vs. poison or be slain instantly.

The purple worm is solitary and seeks a companion only to mate. The moment a new worm hatches, it burrows into the ground, never to be seen by its siblings again. As the worm tunnels, it consumes vast amounts of material that are excreted when it returns to its lair. Among the discharged substances are precious metals and gems.

The mottled worm is an aquatic variety of the purple worm. It inhabits shallow bottom muck, but it often surfaces to search for prey. Otherwise, it is the same as a purple worm.

The thunderherder is desert variety of the purple worm; they travel in herds of 10–100, several feet under the sands. They feed on small creatures in the sand, their bodies ejecting sand. They are 3–5 feet in diameter and 5–10 feet long, and have 7 Hit Dice. Their mouths are unable to cause damage, but their passage beneath an area causes an earthquake-like effect.

Giant Bloodworm[]

These worms are mottled green in color, with a dark, slimy, brown underbelly. A giant bloodworm attacks when hungry or when stepped on, by trying to fasten its mouth to its victim. If it hits, it causes 1d8 damage, and continues to cause 1d8 damage per round from blood drain, until killed or removed (removal requires a successful open doors roll).

These worms are especially vulnerable to fire, taking double normal damage from such attacks, or full damage when they make a successful saving throw despite a -2 penalty to the roll.

Bookworm[]

See also Bookworm.

This worm can change its normal gray color to match its surroundings; opponents suffer a -6 to surprise rolls. Bookworms inhabit libraries, eating through the pages and bindings found there. They cannot eat living matter, but they will burrow through dead wood, leather, and other normal book materials at a rate of 3 inches per round. They are very fast and seek to avoid capture and combat when discovered.

Rot Grub[]

See also Rot Grub.

These maggot-like creatures live in refuse. If they touch exposed skin (they have a percentage chance to do this equal to the victim's AC, not counting shield), they burrow into the flesh and secrete a mild poison that deadens the burrowing area; a victim must make a successful Wisdom check to notice the burrowing; one check is allowed each round. Fire kills 2d10 grubs per application to infested flesh, but after 1d6 rounds they are too deep to be burned. A cure disease will kill the rot grubs. If the worms are not stopped, they reach the heart in 1d3 turns, killing the victim.

Tenebrous Worm[]

See also Gloomwing.

These natives of the demi-plane of Shadow resemble giant caterpillars. In combat, they strike with their powerful mandibles and anyone bitten by the worm must roll a successful saving throw vs. poison, with a -3 penalty, or suffer double damage from the toxic bite. The head and forebody are covered with poisonous bristles that inflict Id4 points of damage to anyone whose bare skin comes into contact with them. A successful saving throw vs. poison is required to avoid paralysis for Id4 rounds after contact. If a neutralize or slow poison spell is not administered by the end of that time, the victim dies. The chance of an attacker being hit by the spines is equal to 10% times his base Armor Class (before shield and Dexterity modifiers). Attacking the worm's head reduces the chance of contact by 20% (but only one character can attack the head at a time). The mandibles of this worm are attractive and worth from 1,000 to 3,000 gold pieces per set.

Tunnel Worm[]

This cousin of the giant centipede feeds on and lays its eggs in carrion. A tunnel worm attacks by lunging out of its hidden burrow to strike with a +2 bonus to the attack roll. Success indicates that the target has been seized in its mandibles, but no damage is inflicted until the worm chews through the victim's armor. This takes one round for leather or worse armor, two rounds for armor tougher than leather but no tougher than chain mail, and three rounds for armor tougher than chain mail. Once the armor is breached, the worm inflicts an automatic 2d8 points of damage each round. If the worm suffers 15 or points of fire damage or loses 60% of its hit points, it will drop its victim and retreat to its lair. Tunnel worm lairs often have treasure in them from earlier victims.