Bendris Noulg said:
I'll take that as a sincere compliment.
Yes sir, that was a genuine compliment.
Bendris Noulg said:
The Warp Worm is derived from a creature in
Where Madness Dwells; My own isn't written to straight Core Rules, so I always recommend the source (and it's free; can you beat that?).
An older version of the adventure had the creature with a Chaotic Presence ability akin to Frightful Presence but only effected Lawfuls. Don't know why it was removed (I put it back, but that's me...).
Ick... Please say that you can make an OGC version for me?
Seems like a cool adventure- I'll read it and probably yoink some stuff for my game. And here is the OGC version of the Worms of Chaos. Insidious little bastards, and damn near impossible to get rid of. My players' nerves were on edge the few times they have encounterd these nasty creepy crawlies. Enjoy!
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Worms of Chaos
Small Aberration (Chaotic, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 20 ft., burrow 20 ft
AC: 13 (+0 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-2
Attack: Bite +2 (1d4 + Chaos Spoor)
Full Attack: Bite +2 (1d4 + Chaos Spoor)
Space/Reach: 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks: Chaos Spoor, Corruption, Whisper of Madness
Special Qualities: Multiplication, Regeneration 3, SR 12, Tremorsense, Vermin Traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +4
Abilities: Str 11 Dex 10 Con 14 Int - Wis 12 Cha 10
Skills: Hide +2, Move Silently +3
Feats: Great Fortitude
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Pack (2-5), or group (7-12), or swarm (10-100)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: always Chaotic Neutral
Advancement: 3-5 HD (small), 6-10 HD (medium), 11-15 HD (large), 16+ HD (huge)
Writhing on the ground before you is a wormlike creature, about three feet long and as big around as your leg, the color of bleached bone with ugly, throbbing purple veins running across its surface. It is covered with a thick yellowish-brown substance, and the mucousy material sticks to everything in its wake.
Worms of Chaos are the living incarnations of mindless chaos, contaminating and befouling everything around them. From an alien dimension known as the Far Realm, Chaos Worms often appear in the material plane where the Old Ones or their cultists are active. Although physically very weak, Worms of Chaos pose an insidious threat to all that is sane and natural by corrupting their surroundings with the sludge they secrete. These creatures burrow through the earth around areas with a Far Realm rift, honeycombing the ground with tunnels. Some worshippers of the Old Ones actually use the worms to send messages to other faithful, and many cultists often spend hours with their heads pressed to the earth, reveling in the sounds of mindless chaos the worms physically embody.
Combat
Worms of Chaos typically avoid combat, fleeing in the most direct path possible. If cornered, worms might attempt to bite, but only as a last resort.
Chaos Spoor (Su): Worms of Chaos constantly secrete a thick, foul-smelling yellowish-brown mucous from their skins. This waste is very hazardous to any living creature, either by contact or ingestion, as it is raw chaos in physical form. If the spoor is touched with bare skin, the character must make a DC 13, +1 for each time that day the character has come into contact with the spoor. Failure results in the character being afflicted by a confusion spell (caster level 8th). If a critical hit is inflicted on a Worm of Chaos, spoor discharges in a 5 foot radius around the worm, forcing a save on any characters in the area as if they had touched the spoor. The save DC is Constitution based.
If a character is unfortunate enough to ingest raw spoor, he must make a DC 20 Fort save or suffer the effects of an insanity spell (caster level 8th). If the first save is failed, the character must make a second DC Fort save or develop a random mutation, which manifests over the next week. Such mutations are only rarely (10%) beneficial, and often (50%) detrimental to the creature. At the end of the week, the character must make a final DC 20 Fort save or die from complications of the mutation as it twists his body.
Worshippers of the Old Ones seem strangely immune to the effects of Chaos Spoor.
Corruption (Su): When at least 20 Worms of Chaos remain in an area for one week, they begin to contaminating the area with the essence of the Far Realm. Sounds seem warped, vision is distorted, sense of time is altered, and the world becomes physically warped. Every week, the worms can corrupt a 100 foot radius area, causing any creatures in the area to suffer a -1 penalty to any perceptual rolls (Balance, Listen, Spot, and Search). This penalty increases by a further -1 every month as the world is literally reshaped by the power of the Far Realm to a maximum penalty of -10. An area with a -1 penalty is only slightly unusual, and many people think their senses are playing tricks on them. An area with a -3 penalty has something noticeably wrong with it, and such spots are often considered “haunted” or “cursed”. An area with a -6 penalty is often extensively physically warped, and only a fool or madman would stay in such an area for any length of time. An area with a -10 penalty is truly hellish, as reality is literally reshaped and becomes a nightmare to anyone in the area. The worms will continue to spread to a radius of one mile per HD of the most powerful Old One in the area, or a 5 mile radius if no Old One is in the area.
In addition, the presence of the worms and their spoor in an area affects all living things in it. Plants become twisted and deformed, developing strange growths and sometimes moving. Animals and sentient beings begin to act erratically, and often develop cancerous growths or mutations. For every week a living being lives in such an area, it must make a DC 13 Fort save, +1 DC for every week it has failed a save, or suffer 1 point Constitution drain, to a minimum of 3 Constitution. For every 1/3 of Constitution drain the character suffers, it develops a physical deformity (80%) or random mutation (20%), with a 10% chance of beneficial mutation, and 50% chance of harmful mutation. In addition, every week a living being with a Wisdom score lives in a corrupted area, it must make a DC 13 Will save, +1 DC for every week it has failed a save, or suffer 1 point of Wisdom drain. Once two-thirds of a character’s Wisdom has been drained, the character is irrevocably insane, and suffers from a full range of psychological disorders and hallucinations. This condition can be cured by magic that can normally restore drained ability scores. A character who reaches a 0 Wisdom score becomes catatonic, and will starve without help.
Worshippers of the Old Ones seem strangely immune to the effects of Corruption.
Multiplication (Ex): Worms of Chaos multiply rapidly, dividing once every two weeks. Thus, the number of Worms of Chaos will double every two weeks, growing exponentially. In addition, if a Worm of Chaos is stuck a blow in combat that is over ½ the creature’s maximum hit points, there is a 50% chance the worm splits, creating two Worms of Chaos. Such creatures have ½ the hit points of the parent worm, but their regenerative capabilities quickly allow them to reach their maximum size within a few rounds.
Whisper of Madness (Su): Although mindless, Worms of Chaos have a disruptive effect on the minds of living beings, causing them to sleep restlessly with horrible nightmares. While those in an area sleep, the worms never cease their burrowing, that can be faintly heard if no other distracting noise is present. Those who have heard the worms claim it sounds like distant scraping, buildings shifting, and low whispering. Any creature sleeping in an area where the worms are active must make a DC 11 Will save or be unable to sleep that night, and suffer the fatigued condition until such time as they can get 8 hours of sleep. If a character misses more than three consecutive nights of sleep in this manner, he becomes staggered until such time as he can get 8 hours of sleep. If a character misses five or more nights of sleep, he suffers the effects of an insanity spell until such time as he can get 8 hours of sleep. These effects are cumulative. The DC of the Will save increases by 1 for every night the character missed sleep. In addition, for every night past the fifth that a character gets no sleep, he must make a DC 11 Fort save or take one point of Constitution damage due to the terrible strain on his body. The DC of the Fort save increases by 1 for every night the character missed sleep. The save DC is Charisma based. Worshippers of the Old Ones seem strangely immune to the effects of the Whisper of Madness.
Vulnerabilities: Worms of Chaos are nearly impossible to completely eradicate. They multiply far too quickly, and even a small area may have miles of tunnels burrowed by the worms in which they can hide. The only sure way to destroy the Worms of Chaos en masse is to eliminate the Far Realm source of energy the worms are feeding from. Usually this manifests as some sort of rift or corruption in the center of the worm’s area. Once their connection to the Far Realm is gone, the worms shrivel up and die within a week. However, the taint of the worms remains, and the land requires one year per point of Corruption penalty to recover. However, the taint of the worms never fully leaves the central area equal to 10% of the maximum size of the Corruption zone. This central area will always have a chaotic aura, and will impose a -1 penalty to Balance, Listen, Spot, and Search rolls. Powerful magic, such as a wish or miracle might be able to remove this corruption though.
