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Message: <blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 8375254" data-attributes="member: 97077">Given what I described as to the enormity of the kruthik hive, I don't think it ever truly ends - there will always be more kruthiks. So either the party flees having achieved little more than keeping themselves alive or they slay the purple worm and try to salvage whatever precious metals and gems are inside it before escaping while keeping kruthiks at bay long enough. I'm picturing the fights on Klendathu in Starship Troopers if you're familiar with that classic. Essentially it's "Try to get the most XP and treasure out of this challenge and get out."That said, I believe there is lore about kruthiks that says they give off a strong vinegar smell when they die which is a warning to other kruthiks of danger. So you could say that once the PCs are around a certain number of dead swarms that they have, in effect, a safe zone (if the purple worm is dead). This could trigger the hive lord and its adult kruthik protectors to come out and, if the PCs have some way of speaking Kruthik, they can parley. This turns it into a social interaction challenge, but then whatever could the hive lord want?And of course, once they flee, they then have the exploration challenge of traveling through a sandstorm!</blockquote>