Robbert Raets
Explorer
'Happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For.... the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl.'
- The Necronomicon
CREATING A WORM THAT WALKS
"Worm that Walks" is a template that can be added to any evil wizard or sorcerer. It uses all the original character's statistics, special abilities, and equipment, except as noted here.
Type: The character's type changes to Aberration. Because it is a creature composed of thousands of discrete crawling worms, it gains the Swarm subtype.
Hit Dice: Increase to d8.
Special Attacks: A Worm that Walks retains any special attacks it had in life and gains those mentioned below
Spells: A Worm that Walks can cast any spells it could cast as a living character.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day- animal growth (vermin), animal messenger (vermin), animal shapes (vermin), animal trance (vermin), colossal vermin (as giant vermin, but it can increase the creature's size from Large to Gargantuan and from Huge to Colossal), creeping doom, giant vermin, summon swarm (vermin), summon vermin (as summon nature's ally, except it summons 10 HD of vermin per level), and vermin plague (as insect plague). Caster level equal to base creature's HD.
Special Qualities: A Worm that Walks retains any special abilities it had in life and gains those mentioned below.
Swarm Traits: A Worm that Walks has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking. A Worm that Walks, composed of Fine creatures, is immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a Worm that Walks to 0 hit points or lower causes it to break up, though damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack. Swarms are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent.
A Worm that Walks is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). A Worm that Walks takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.
A Worm that Walks is susceptible to high winds such as that created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind, treat the Worm that Walks as a Fine creature.
Swarm Attack: A Worm that Walks doesn't have to make standard melee attacks. Instead, it can deal automatic damage to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover.
Swarm Base Damage is 1d6 per 5 HD, rounded up.
Swarm attacks are nonmagical. Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a swarm attack's damage to 0, being incorporeal, and other special abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to this damage.
Worms that Walk do not threaten creatures in their square, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a Worm that Walks' damage that begins its turn in the same square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 Worm that Walks' HD + Worm that Walks' Con modifier) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells while 'engulfed' requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check.
Blindsight (Ex): Worms that Walk have blindsight 300 ft.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A Worm that Walks has spell resistance equal to its Challenge Rating +10.
Frightful Presence (Su): When a Worm that Walks engulfs a victim, witnesses must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the Worm that Walks' HD + the Worm that Walk's Cha modifier). Those who make the save are shaken. Those who fail by 5 or fewer points are frightened. Those who fail by 6 to 10 points are panicked. Those who fail by 11 or more points are cowering. All these conditions last for 1d4 rounds. Those who have seen a Worm that Walk use this attack before gain a +5 bonus on their saving throws. The victim of the Worm that Walk's engulf attack has a -5 penalty on his or her saving throw.
Discorporate (Ex): If gravely threatened, a Worm that Walks can discorporate as a free action, simply falling into a pile of individual vermin that slither quickly away. So long as any of the component vermin survive, they can breed and create a new body to house the wizard's intelligence and personality. Discorporating is a dangerous tactic, because once separated, the vermin are treated no differently than other vermin. Also, the Worm that Walks stands a good chance of losing all its equipment. However, discorporation almost assures that at least one maggot (if not dozens) will manage to crawl away, and so provide for the worm's continued existence.
Climate/Terrain: Any.
Organization: Solitary, occasionally with minions or master.
Challenge Rating: Same as the character + 3?
Treasure: Same as the character.
Alignment: Any evil.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: +5
- The Necronomicon
CREATING A WORM THAT WALKS
"Worm that Walks" is a template that can be added to any evil wizard or sorcerer. It uses all the original character's statistics, special abilities, and equipment, except as noted here.
Type: The character's type changes to Aberration. Because it is a creature composed of thousands of discrete crawling worms, it gains the Swarm subtype.
Hit Dice: Increase to d8.
Special Attacks: A Worm that Walks retains any special attacks it had in life and gains those mentioned below
Spells: A Worm that Walks can cast any spells it could cast as a living character.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day- animal growth (vermin), animal messenger (vermin), animal shapes (vermin), animal trance (vermin), colossal vermin (as giant vermin, but it can increase the creature's size from Large to Gargantuan and from Huge to Colossal), creeping doom, giant vermin, summon swarm (vermin), summon vermin (as summon nature's ally, except it summons 10 HD of vermin per level), and vermin plague (as insect plague). Caster level equal to base creature's HD.
Special Qualities: A Worm that Walks retains any special abilities it had in life and gains those mentioned below.
Swarm Traits: A Worm that Walks has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking. A Worm that Walks, composed of Fine creatures, is immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a Worm that Walks to 0 hit points or lower causes it to break up, though damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack. Swarms are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent.
A Worm that Walks is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). A Worm that Walks takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.
A Worm that Walks is susceptible to high winds such as that created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind, treat the Worm that Walks as a Fine creature.
Swarm Attack: A Worm that Walks doesn't have to make standard melee attacks. Instead, it can deal automatic damage to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover.
Swarm Base Damage is 1d6 per 5 HD, rounded up.
Swarm attacks are nonmagical. Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a swarm attack's damage to 0, being incorporeal, and other special abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to this damage.
Worms that Walk do not threaten creatures in their square, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a Worm that Walks' damage that begins its turn in the same square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 Worm that Walks' HD + Worm that Walks' Con modifier) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells while 'engulfed' requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check.
Blindsight (Ex): Worms that Walk have blindsight 300 ft.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A Worm that Walks has spell resistance equal to its Challenge Rating +10.
Frightful Presence (Su): When a Worm that Walks engulfs a victim, witnesses must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the Worm that Walks' HD + the Worm that Walk's Cha modifier). Those who make the save are shaken. Those who fail by 5 or fewer points are frightened. Those who fail by 6 to 10 points are panicked. Those who fail by 11 or more points are cowering. All these conditions last for 1d4 rounds. Those who have seen a Worm that Walk use this attack before gain a +5 bonus on their saving throws. The victim of the Worm that Walk's engulf attack has a -5 penalty on his or her saving throw.
Discorporate (Ex): If gravely threatened, a Worm that Walks can discorporate as a free action, simply falling into a pile of individual vermin that slither quickly away. So long as any of the component vermin survive, they can breed and create a new body to house the wizard's intelligence and personality. Discorporating is a dangerous tactic, because once separated, the vermin are treated no differently than other vermin. Also, the Worm that Walks stands a good chance of losing all its equipment. However, discorporation almost assures that at least one maggot (if not dozens) will manage to crawl away, and so provide for the worm's continued existence.
Climate/Terrain: Any.
Organization: Solitary, occasionally with minions or master.
Challenge Rating: Same as the character + 3?
Treasure: Same as the character.
Alignment: Any evil.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: +5
and i know there was a creature or two in the ELH that was created as an ooze but should really be a swarm...
