Sorry, I completely forgot about yesterday. Fortunately, this is a really long one to make up for it.
If you’re sick of monsters that consist of a base form and bunch of variants, sorry, you get more like that. In this particular case, that’s exactly how the monster was presented. These are
wurms, long, serpentine, wingless dragons with tiny limbs who are incredibly nature-oriented and effectively act as draconic druids. Four statblocks were created—wurmlings, young wurms, adult Wurms, and elder wurms—and then templates were created for each of the myriad varieties: cave, forest, grassland, lava, river, sand, sea, storm, swamp, and tundra wurm.
So let’s talk about dragons for a moment. There are a bunch in the MM, the ones I’ve converted, the ones in Mike Meyler’s
Oops! All Dragons, a bunch I’m going to do at some point in the future, and I’d imagine more are coming in LU’s MM2. Plus any you want to bring in from 5e. In a fantastical world (with lots and lots of prey species), you can easily have a population of every single variety, but for people who want more realistic numbers of dragon, only a few dragons can exist in the entire world. My personal go-to is to assume that a dragon’s egg may hatch out any type of dragon, regardless of its parents’ types (influenced by certain external elements, such as the local climate), thus giving me the freedom to have any type of dragon I want without having to worry about having a breeding population of each species. I’ve even been toying with the idea of doing something like the lung dragons of Kara-Tur did, which to have a generic baby stage (the carp dragon) that can then mature into any of the other types.
So anyway: the wurms. When you already have dragons, do you need wurms. Well, in a fantastical setting, sure, why not? For a more realistic setting… well. I could see one where the wurms are the base dragon form and the true dragons are extinct or nearly so, or are all lying dormant.
(Honestly, in a
realistic setting that also has dragons, , you'd have them, some very small predators—nothing much bigger than a fox or lynx—and probably very few predators in between because the dragons can out-compete any predator of animal intelligence and probably many of human- or greater intelligence. Unless the dragons of this setting only need to eat very rarely or you include
really big prey animals, like sauropods.)
The wurms, however, do have another use. In real-life medieval artwork, dragons are small and often wingless creatures. They were more fearsome animals than the intelligent, magical creatures that wurms are, but wurms otherwise fit the bill. Even the largest of them are only Huge, so you can easily interpret this as “elephant huge” and not “adult dragon huge.” The article itself has a sidebar on how to use wurms, and one of the options is that true dragons don’t exist and wurms take their place. And another given option is are actually manifestations of nature—making them, effectively a form of essence dragon, and possibly a replacement for them.
Wurm
The Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #296
Creature by Will McDermott; art by Darell Richie
Wurms are kin to dragons although they only barely resemble them. They look more like oversized skinks or short-legged snakes than dragons; at their absolute largest, they rarely exceed thirty feet in length. Their legs are tiny—not even long enough to lift their bodies off the ground. They have heavy, square jaws and oversized fangs which gives them an almost bulldog-like appearance. Their tails, however, are very long and sinuous and are used to constrict their prey.
Guardians of Nature. Of all the dragons, wurms are most closely related to essence dragons. Some believe that the wurms were originally spawned by essence dragons, or even still are. Each type of wurm is associated with a specific terrain type. While they’re not tied to that terrain like essence dragons are, they rarely venture far from those lands. Their territories are usually lush and filled with life. They perform many of the same duties that druids do—one legend says that wurms were first created by druids—but they perform those duties with more violence than humanoid druids typically use, as their draconic nature urges them towards destructive acts.
Close-Knit. Unlike essence dragons, wurms are not eternal beings. They reproduce the old-fashioned way, rather than be reborn as a wyrmling from their dead ancestor. In fact, they tend to form far closer families than most dragon-kin do, often staying close together for much of their lives.
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:
DC 10. Wurms are distant relatives to essence dragons.
DC 15. Strongly attuned to nature, wurms are tied to a particular territory and almost never leave it, even in the most dire of circumstances.
DC 20. Wurms are inherently magical beings; they share many of the same powers that druids have.
Wurm Encounters
Challenge Rating 1-2 wurmling, wurmling and 1-4 pixies or sprites
Treasure: 500 sp, 2 turquoises (10 gp each), vial of acid, fine belt with silver buckle (25 gp), spell scroll of
find traps
Challenge Rating 3-4 3-4 wurmlings; 2 wurmlings and 1-2 faerie dragons; wurmling with druid
Treasure: 350 gp, 550 sp, shortbow and quiver of arrows, agate cup carved with mythical imagery (50 gp), spell scroll of
animal messenger, potions of blur and
fire resistance
Challenge Rating 5-10 young wurm; young wurm, lizardfolk druid, and 2-4 lizardfolk; wurmling with 3-4 druids
Treasure: 10 pp, 600 gp, 2 spinels (500 gp each), ivory chalice banded with red gold (150 gp), masterwork quarterstaff covered in onyx-inlaid runes (125 gp),
+2 arrows, potions of mind reading and poison, spell scroll of
seed bomb
Challenge Rating 11-16 adult wurm; adult wurm and green hag or sea hag; adult wurm and weretiger; young wurm and 2 fey knights; young wurm with 1-2 striders
Treasure: 1,400 gp, dragonhorn coffer inlaid with gold (250 gp), chess set made of rare woods (250 gp), slightly water-damaged tome with information that leads to the discovery of a rare 3rd-level spell, pearl earring (250 gp),
+1 shield made of rare woods,
green bag of tricks, javelin of lightning, ring of swimming
Challenge Rating 17-22 elder wurm, elder wurm with unicorn; adult wurm and fey knight; adult wurm and treant
Treasure: 4,000 gp, 4 tourmalines (100 gp each), 2 topazes (500 gp each), coral bead necklace (750 gp), drinking horn covered in gold filigree (1,000 gp), gold ewer (750 gp),
horn of blasting, staff of swarming insects, wand of binding
Challenge Rating 23-30 elder wurm and faerie noble; elder wurm and forgotten nature god
Treasure: 1,000 pp, 7,000 gp, 2 opals (7,500 gp each), deed to a fort (2,500 gp),
arrow of aberration slaying, potions of stone giant strength, greater healing, and
heroism, staff of the woodlands, stone of controlling earth elementals
Signs
1. Unusually lush plant life and emboldened animal life.
2. A savagely maled humanoid hunter
3. A menhir covered in druidic runes
4. Drag marks on the ground alongside very small dragon-like claw-prints
Behavior
1. Tending to a wounded animal.
2. Patrolling; will confront the party to determine their intentions
3. Dozing on a rock
4. Teaching nature lore to a clutch of wurmlings
5. Guarding an area; will attack anyone who tresspasses
6. Convinced the party is responsible for a desecration of nature; will attack on sight
Names
Alaslym, Ilmandal, Minds-The-Earth, Sanshazan, Windwatcher
Elder Wurm
Huge dragon; Challenge 17 (18,000 XP)
AC 19 (natural armor)
HP 270 (20d12+140; bloodied 135)
Speed 40 ft.
STR 24 (+7)
DEX 18 (+4)
CON 24 (+7)
INT 16 (+3)
WIS 21 (+5)
CHA 16 (+3)
Proficiency +6;
Maneuver DC 21
Saving Throws Dex +10, Wis +11
Skills Nature +9 (+1d6), Perception +11, Stealth +10, Survival +11
Senses truesight 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 21
Languages Common, Draconic, Druidic, Sylvan, 1-2 others
Commune With Nature. The wurm can cast
commune with nature at will as a ritual.
Earth-Bound. The wurm has advantage on Nature, Perception, and Stealth checks when in its home terrain.
Innate Spellcasting. The elder wurm’s spellcasting trait is Wisdom (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At Will: druidcraft
3/day each: animal messenger, charm monster, hallucinatory terrain, healing word
1/day each: awaken, conjure woodland creatures
Keen Smell. The wurm has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell.
Actions
Multiattack. The wurm makes three attacks, only one of which can be a bite.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 21 (3d6+7) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 14 (2d6+7) piercing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target.
Hit: 16 (2d8+7) damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 21). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the wurm can’t make a tail attack on another creature.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6). The wurm exhales a particular breath weapon in either a 60-foot cone or in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in that area must make a DC 21 saving throw or suffer the breath weapon’s effects. The type of breath weapon and its effects are detailed in each wurm variant’s section. If the breath weapon inflicts damage, it inflicts 50 (11d8) damage, or half as much on a successful save.
Bonus Actions
Leap (Recharge 5-6). The wurm leaps up to half its Speed horizontally and half its Speed vertically without provoking opportunity attacks, and can land in a space containing one or more creatures. Each creature in its space when it lands must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (4d6+7) bludgeoning damage and being knocked prone on a failure. On a success, the creature takes half damage and is pushed 5 feet to a space of its choice; if that space is occupied, the creature is knocked prone.
Wild Shape. The wurm magically transforms into a Large or smaller beast or plant or back into its true form. While in beast or plant form, it retains its game statistics and can only cast spells with a range of self or touch. Any equipment the wurm is wearing or wielding merges into its new form. The wurm reverts to its true form if it dies.
Adult Wurm
Large dragon; Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
AC 17 (natural armor)
HP 189 (18d10+90; bloodied 94)
Speed 40 ft.
STR 21 (+5)
DEX 18 (+4)
CON 20 (+5)
INT 14 (+3)
WIS 19 (+4)
CHA 14 (+2)
Proficiency +4;
Maneuver DC 17
Saving Throws Dex +8, Wis +8
Skills Nature +8 (+1d6), Perception +8, Stealth +8, Survival +8
Senses truesight 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 18
Languages Common, Draconic, Druidic, Sylvan
Commune With Nature. The wurm can cast
commune with nature at will as a ritual.
Earth-Bound. The wurm has advantage on Nature, Perception, and Stealth checks when in its home terrain.
Innate Spellcasting. The adult wurm’s spellcasting trait is Wisdom (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At Will: druidcraft
3/day each: animal messenger, charm monster, hallucinatory terrain, healing word
Keen Smell. The wurm has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell.
Actions
Multiattack. The wurm makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 15 (3d6+5) piercing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 14 (2d8+5) damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the wurm can’t make a tail attack on another creature.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6). The wurm exhales a particular breath weapon in either a 45-foot cone or in a 60-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 saving throw or suffer the breath weapon’s effects. The type of breath weapon and its effects are detailed in each wurm variant’s section. If the breath weapon inflicts damage, it inflicts 31 (7d8) damage, or half as much on a successful save.
Bonus Actions
Leap (Recharge 5-6). The wurm leaps up to half its Speed horizontally and half its Speed vertically without provoking opportunity attacks, and can land in a space containing one or more creatures. Each creature in its space when it lands must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 15 (3d6+5) bludgeoning damage and being knocked prone on a failure. On a success, the creature takes half damage and is pushed 5 feet to a space of its choice; if that space is occupied, the creature is knocked prone.
Wild Shape. The wurm magically transforms into a Large or smaller beast or plant or back into its true form. While in beast or plant form, it retains its game statistics and can only cast spells with a range of self or touch. Any equipment the wurm is wearing or wielding merges into its new form. The wurm reverts to its true form if it dies.
Young Wurm
Medium dragon; Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
AC 15 (natural armor)
HP 85 (10d8+40; bloodied 42)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 18 (+4)
DEX 18 (+4)
CON 18 (+4)
INT 12 (+1)
WIS 17 (+3)
CHA 12 (+1)
Proficiency +3;
Maneuver DC 15
Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +6
Skills Nature +6 (+1d4), Perception +6, Stealth +7, Survival +6
Senses truesight 15 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Draconic, Sylvan
Commune With Nature. The wurm can cast
commune with nature at will as a ritual.
Earth-Bound. The wurm has advantage on Nature, Perception, and Stealth checks when in its home terrain.
Innate Spellcasting. The young wurm’s spellcasting trait is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At Will: druidcraft
3/day each: animal messenger, healing word
Keen Smell. The wurm has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 11 (2d6+4) piercing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 8 (1d8+4) damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the wurm can’t make a tail attack on another creature.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6). The wurm exhales a particular breath weapon in either a 30-foot cone or in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 saving throw or suffer the breath weapon’s effects. The type of breath weapon and its effects are detailed in each wurm variant’s section. If the breath weapon inflicts damage, it inflicts 18 (4d8) damage, or half as much on a successful save.
Bonus Actions
Leap (Recharge 5-6). The wurm leaps up to half its Speed horizontally and half its Speed vertically without provoking opportunity attacks, and can land in a space containing one or more creatures. Each creature in its space when it lands must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage and being knocked prone on a failure. On a success, the creature takes half damage and is pushed 5 feet to a space of its choice; if that space is occupied, the creature is knocked prone.
Wurmling
Small dragon; Challenge 1 (200 XP)
AC 13 (natural armor)
HP 32 (5d6+15; bloodied 16)
Speed 30 ft.
STR 14 (+2)
DEX 18 (+4)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 10 (+0)
WIS 15 (+2)
CHA 12 (+1)
Proficiency +2;
Maneuver DC 12
Saving Throws Dex +6, Wis +4
Skills Nature +4, Perception +4, Stealth +6
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 14
Languages Draconic
Earth-Bound. The wurm has advantage on Nature, Perception, and Stealth checks when in its home terrain.
Innate Spellcasting. The wurmling’s spellcasting trait is Wisdom. It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At Will: druidcraft
Keen Smell. The wurm has advantage on Perception checks that rely on smell.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6). The wurm exhales a particular breath weapon in either a 15-foot cone or in a 15-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that area must make a DC 13 saving throw or suffer the breath weapon’s effects. The type of breath weapon and its effects are detailed in each wurm variant’s section. If the breath weapon inflicts damage, it inflicts 4 (1d8) damage, or half as much on a successful save.
*
Variant: Cave Wurm
Resembling gigantic olms, cave wurms are white-scaled and sightless. Unlike olms however, they are fierce, active hunters. In many ways, they are the opposite of hill wurms—where hill wurms protect the weak and feed upon predators, cave wurms believe strongly in survival of the fittest. They actively pursue the weakest creatures they can find, often befriending other subterranean predators to do so, at least those of animal intelligence. They almost never associate with other wurms of any kind, for they have a compulsive need to prove they are the strongest. Surprisingly, though, they are quite honorable in their battles. They will even accept surrender, as long as the surrendering creature is willing to admit how weak they are.
Climate/Terrain: any climate; dungeon, Underland
Cave wurms are immune to the blinded condition and have blindsight to a range of 60 feet (blind beyond this radius). They have a burrow Speed equal to their walking Speed. They have the following altered trait:
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older cave wurm can cast
web 3/day. An elder cave wurm can cast
greater invisibility 1/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Phosphorous Breath. The cave wurm breathes a cone of burning, yellow goop. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw or take fire damage. A creature that fails its save is also outlined in glowing phosphorous. It takes 1d4 ongoing fire damage and is outlined in yellow light for 1 minute. While outlined, the creature sheds dim light in a 10-foot radius. Attack rolls made against the creature are made with advantage and an outlined creature cannot hide or benefit from invisibility. An affected creature can use an action to scrape the phosphorous off, ending the condition on itself.
*
Variant: Forest Wurm
Lurking in the branches of the largest trees in the deepest, darkest woodlands, forest wurms maintain a constant vigil against all forms of harm. They have a particular hatred of trolls, viewing them, rightly or wrongly, as the worst and most unnatural creatures in the woodlands, and are even willing to sacrifice themselves in battle against them. Their scales are a smattering of grays, greens, browns, and muddy blues.
Climate/Terrain: subtropical, temperate, subarctic; forest.
Forest wurms have a climb speed equal to their walking speed and the following altered trait:
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older forest wurm can cast
entangle 3/day. An elder forest wurm can cast
plant growth 1/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Resinous Breath. The forest wurm breathes a cone of sticky resin that hardens quickly upon contact with air. Creatures in the area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be restrained (escape DC equal to the wurm’s maneuver save DC). Creatures that succeed are slowed until they use an action to wipe the resin off.
*
Variant: Grassland Wurm
These wurms have the cunning and viciousness of a hunting tiger as they stalk through the tall grasses of their homeland. They protect the precious plants of the grasslands, savannahs, and plains. The only harm they allow to come to the plants are the normal grazing of the native herbivores and the occasional carefully-controlled fire, necessary to promote healthy new growth. Should an area they protect be clear-cut for farming or so domestic livestock can graze, they become violent. Grassland wurms have dark scales and flexible crests colored in the purples and oranges of a grassland sunset, and their eyes gleam a dark red.
Climate/Terrain: Temperate, subtropical, tropical; grassland.
Grassland wurms’ Speed is increased by 30 feet. They have the following new traits:
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older grassland wurm can cast
haste 3/day. An elder grassland wurm can cast
insect plague 3/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Confusion Breath. The wurm exhales a line of magic energy. Each creature in that area must make a Wisdom saving throw or become confused. A creature may make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
They also have the following new bonus action:
Dash. The grassland wurm takes the Dash action.
*
Variant: Hill Wurm
With knobby, brownish scales, surprisingly long legs, and oversized fangs sticking out of its bulldog jaws, hill wurms look far more vicious than they actually are. Hill wurms are known to be the keepers of the meek, as they keep tiny animals safe from harm. While they normally limit themselves to eating larger animals, such as bears, wolves, and elk, they see humanoid and giant hunters as fair game.
Climate/Terrain: Subarctic, temperate, subtropical; hills
Hill wurms’ Speed increases by 10 feet. They have the following new and altered traits:
Hill Leap. The hill wurm’s long jump is up to 40 feet and its high jump is up to 20 feet. It can make a running jump after moving only 5 feet rather than 10.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older hill wurm can cast
earth barrier 3/day. An elder hill wurm can cast
move earth 1/day.
It has the following new and altered actions:
Bite. If the wurm moves at least 20 feet straight towards the target before the attack, the target must make a Strength saving throw against the wurm’s maneuver DC or fall prone.
Breath Weapon: Thorn Breath. The wurm breathes sharp, irritating briar-like thorns in a cone, dealing piercing damage. A creature that fails its saving throw has its Speed reduced by 10 feet and has disadvantage on Dexterity ability checks and Dexterity saving throws until it uses its action to remove the thorns.
It also has the following new bonus action:
Opportune Bite. The wurm makes a bite attack against a prone creature.
*
Variant: Lava Wurm
Lava wurms have dull black scales with a line of glowing red spots down their back, and their eyes glow yellow-white. In some cultures, the appearance of a lava wurm is ominous, as its believed that they herald volcanic eruptions. This isn’t true, per se, but they still have earned their bad reputations, for they hate humanoid encroachments and use lava to wipe away the harmful structures humanoids build near volcanoes in an effort to take advantage of the fertile soil there. They especially hate those who attempt to channel lava for “useful” functions, such as dwarfs who build magma forges. They also despise efreeti for what the wurms believe to be a corruption of pure lava—although strangely, they enjoy the company of magmin.
Lava wurms’s Speed is reduced by 20 feet (minimum 15 feet), and they have swim and burrow Speeds of 20 feet. They are immune to fire damage. They have the following new and altered traits:
Lava Walk. The lava wurm can walk on lava as if it were solid ground.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older lava wurm can cast
heat metal 3/day. An elder lava wurm can cast
flaming sphere 3/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Molten Breath. The wurm breathes molten rock in a line. Half the damage dealt is fire damage; the other half, bludgeoning damage. A creature that fails its saving throw takes 3 (1d6) ongoing damage until it uses an action to extinguish the flames.
*
Variant: Mountain Wurm
These unpredictable creatures have such bulbous, knotty scales that they almost look like a group of boulders strung together. They are highly nomadic, never staying in one place (usually a shallow cave or an abandoned hut) for more than a couple of days before moving up and down the slopes. They even carry their eggs around with them instead of settling down until they hatch. Mountain wurms aren’t as protective towards animal and plant life as most wurms. Instead, they are dedicated to their mountain, fighting to defend it from humanoid and giant incursions and miners alike.
Climate/Terrain: Any climate; mountain
Mountain wurms have a climb Speed equal to their walking Speed and have tremorsense to 60 feet. They have the following new and altered traits:
Bloodied Frenzy. While the mountain wurm is bloodied, it makes all attacks with advantage and all attacks against them are made with advantage.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older mountain wurm can cast
spike growth 3/day. An elder mountain worm can cast
meld into stone (as with a 5th-level spell slot) 1/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Digestive Acid Breath. The wurm breathes acid in a line. Each creature in the area takes acid damage.
*
Variant: River Wurm
Peaceful by nature, these wurms can become vicious to anyone who might despoil the fresh water rivers and lakes in which they live. They somewhat resemble long salamanders with deep blue scales that are speckled with silver. They go out of their way to find water that is not occupied by river dragons, although when they cross paths with those essence dragons, the wurms usually defer to the dragons.
Climate/Terrain: Subarctic, temperate, subtropical; lake, river
Sea wurms have a swim Speed of 40 ft. They have the following new and altered traits:
Agile Swimmer. The wurm doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it swims out of an enemy’s reach.
Amphibious. The sea wurm breathes air and water.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older river wurm can cast
purify water (as
purify food and drink, but only on water; purifies a number of Supply worth of water equal to the wurm’s Proficiency Bonus +9) 3/day. An elder river wurm can cast
control water 1/day.
Speckled Scales. While in water, the wurm gains three-quarters cover from attacks made by creatures more than 30 feet away.
They also have the following new and altered actions:
Breath Weapon: Water Spray. The wurm exhales a sticky, foamy spray of water in a cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw or be covered in water and foam. Each time an affected creature moves, it must make a new Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. The foam lasts for a number of rounds equal to twice the wurm’s Proficiency Bonus, but if an affected creature takes 15 or more points of fire or acid damage, the foam is destroyed.
Leap (From Water Only; Recharge 5-6). The wurm leaps up to half its Speed horizontally and half its Speed vertically without provoking opportunity attacks, and can land in a space containing one or more creatures. Each creature in its space when it lands must make a Dexterity saving throw against the wurm’s maneuver DC, taking bludgeoning damage equal to its Bite damage and being knocked prone on a failure. On a success, the creature takes half damage and is push 5 feet to a space of its choice. If that space is occupied, the creature is knocked loose.
*
Variant: Sand Wurm
These wurms look almost like oversized, long-legged gila monsters. They scamper across sand dunes with ease, then bury themselves in the sand in a flash. Unlike many others of their kind, sand wurms are communal and live in matriarchal groups. The females rule, often claiming buried ruins as their domain, and form diplomatic alliances with other desert-dwelling creatures; the males roam the sands to hunt. And they typically hunt by burying themselves in the sand and then leaping out at unsuspecting passers-by.
Climate/Terrain: Tropical, subtropical; desert, ruin.
Sand wurms have tremorsense to 60 feet, have a burrow Speed of 20 feet, their land speed increases by 10 feet, and have resistance to fire damage. They have the following new and altered traits:
Dune Runner. The wurm’s movement and vision is not hindered by sand, dust, wind, or storms.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older sand wurm can cast
blur 3/day. An elder sand wurm can cast
wind wall 3/day.
They also have the following new and altered actions:
Breath Weapon: Poisonous Breath. The sand wurm breathes a cone of vaporous contact poison. Each creature in that area that fails a Constitution saving throw takes poisoned damage and falls unconscious for 10 minutes or until it takes damage or someone uses an action to make it.
Burrowing Action. The wurm burrows up to its burrowing speed without provoking opportunity attacks, and then resurfaces. If within melee range of an enemy, it makes a bite attack with advantage.
*
Variant: Sea Wurm
These sleek, almost eel-like wurms are covered in shimmering sea-green scales that resemble sea glass. They are violent, ruthless defenders of the sea—to them, all humanoid creatures are invaders. They make no distinction as to where those humanoids are from and will attack a merfolk city as readily as a human ship. They will sometimes—reluctantly—work alongside creatures such as merrows and sea hags, but their humanoid shapes make the wurms uneasy, and such alliances are fleeting. Sea wurms patrol their territories incessantly, only occasionally retreating to a cave or quiet shoreline for rest or recuperation.
Climate/Terrain: tropical, subtropical, temperate; ocean.
Sea wurms have a walking speed of 20 feet and a swim Speed of 120 feet. They have the following new and additional traits:
Amphibious. The sea wurm breathes air and water.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older sea wurm can cast
mirror image 3/day. An elder sea wurm can cast
control water 1/day.
They have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Salt Spray. The wurm sprays blinding salt spittle in a cone. Each creature in the area must make a Constitution saving throw or be blinded for 10 minutes. A creature may make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
*
Variant: Storm Wurm
It’s easy to locate the territory of a storm wurm, the mountains and hilltops they dwell on are constantly drenched with driving rain. Their sinuous bodies are covered in dark, sleek scales, and they have a frill of electric-blue horns that glow whenever lightning strikes nearby. Unlike other wurms, storm wurms have small, fin-like, allowing them to fly clumsily on the raging winds. Storm wurms enjoy causing havoc, but are far more mischievous than evil—they simply like noise and chaos.
Storm wurms have a fly Speed equal to their walking Speed. They are immune to lightning and thunder damage. They have the following new and altered traits:
Clumsy Flier. Storm wurms can only fly in a strong or stronger wind. It has disadvantage on Dexterity ability checks and Dexterity saving throws while flying.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older storm wurm can cast
wind wall 3/day. An elder storm wurm can cast
control weather 1/day. It does not need to concentrate on
control weather.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Lightning Breath. The storm wurm breathes lightning in a cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw or take lightning damage. On a failed save, a creature is also stunned. It may make a new saving throw at the start of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
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Variant: Swamp Wurm
Swamp wurms are capable of swimming through the dank waters of their homes as gracefully as a fish can. Their scales are grayish-brown, streaked with dull greens and purples. They mate for life and always hunt in pairs. They are staunch protectors of the wetlands and often ally themselves with lizardfolk and boggards against anything that might threaten the entire swamp. Swamp wurms often share territory with black dragons, whom they usually dislike greatly. Knowing that they are rarely a physical match for those dragons, swamp wurms usually engage in very subtle warfare against them, wherein they try to inconvenience the dragon and aid the dragon’s enemies or chosen prey as much as possible without drawing attention to themselves or putting the rest of the swamp at risk.
Climate/Terrain: tropical, subtropical, temperate, subarctic; swamp
Swamp wurms have resistance to poison damage and immunity to the poisoned condition, have a swim Speed of 30 feet, and have the following new and additional traits:
Hold Breath. The wurm can hold its breath for up to 15 minutes.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older swamp wurm can cast
water walk 3/day. An elder swamp wurm can cast
insect plague 1/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Muck Breath. The swamp wurm exhales rancid muck in a line. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw or be poisoned for 10 minutes. A creature may make a Constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s Constitution save fails by 5 or more, the creature spends its action retching.
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Variant: Tundra Wurm
With broad bodies built low to the ground and supported by thick, muscular limbs, tundra wurms tunnel through the snow and permafrost of their frozen homes. They dig out their own cave-homes, opening them up to be lairs of other cold-dwelling animals and protecting them from the predations of the more powerful monsters. However, like the violent winds that can rip through their homes, they are wild things, prone to fits of destructive behavior as well. Tundra wurms have subtly-changing scales of white, blue, gray, and yellow.
Climate/Terrain: arctic, subarctic; forests, hills, tundra
Tundra wurms have a burrow Speed of 10 feet and a climb speed of 20 feet, and are immune to cold damage. They have following new and altered traits:
Cold Mastery. The wurm’s movement and vision is not hindered by cold, icy surfaces, snow, wind, or storms. Additionally, the wurm can choose to burrow through snow and ice without leaving a trait.
Innate Spellcasting. An adult or older tundra wurm can cast
spike growth 3/day. An elder tundra wurm can cast
sleet storm 1/day.
They also have the following altered action:
Breath Weapon: Frozen Breath: The tundra wurm breathes a line of freezing, numbing air. Each creature in that area that fails a Constitution saving throw takes cold damage and is slowed for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is slowed until the end of its next turn. A creature may make a new saving throw at the end of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
