Worms, worms everywhere

[hong]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/12/1065917280002.html

Insects stop train
October 13, 2003


A swarm of young millipedes stopped a train in the mountains near Osaka, western Japan, as they covered a length of the railway track following a massive hatch, press reports said.

The one-coach train, carrying only two passengers, skidded to a halt after crushing an "enormous amount" of the white insects, each measuring three to six centimetres, along 400 metres of track, the reports said.

The incident occurred yesterday on a shadowy upward slope on a local train line in Hyogo prefecture, about 450 kilometres west of Tokyo, the reports said.

Millipedes are known to favour dark conditions and a hatch of the insects has occurred once every eight years in the area, the reports said.

AFP

If this sort of thing happens in Japan, the snake lady assassin in Ninja Scroll and the wormy death that afflicted the animals in Mononoke suddenly make a lot of sense.

 

[Aeolius]

"I was afraid of worms, Roxanne!"

 

[Pbartender]

Ignoring for the moment that millipedes are not worms...

From the SRD:

CENTIPEDE SWARM
Diminutive Vermin (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 9d8–9 (31 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (+4 size, +4 Dex), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/—
Attack: Swarm (2d6 plus poison)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immune to weapon damage, swarm traits, tremorsense 30 ft., vermin traits
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 19, Con 8, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: Climb +12, Spot +4
Feats: Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary, tangle (2–4 swarms), or colony (7–12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —

Combat
A centipede swarm seeks to surround and attack any living prey it encounters. A swarm deals 2d6 points of damage to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of its move.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a centipede swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 13, initial and secondary damage 1d4 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Skills: A centipede swarm has a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks and a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks, and uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier for Climb checks. A centipede swarm has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.

(Yeah, I know they're not really centipedes either, but its a lot closer than worms.)