Purple Worm

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Purple Worm (CR 14)

Purple worms are enormous worms with purple plated hides and gigantic mouths filled with sword-like teeth. Purple worms are renowned burrowers, but can be found nearly anywhere. Their unique physiology allows them to easily adapt to hot and cold climates with equal indifference.

Purple worms are drawn to vibrations, and will approach areas being disturbed, usually messily consuming anything they find. This makes them particularly hazardous to miners, as well as those building new construction in unsettled areas. Strangely enough, the worms will tend to shy away from areas with a LOT of vibrations, perhaps out of some instinctual avoidance of things which might prove large enough to kill them. As a result, purple worms rarely threaten large cities or large herds of animals, and far more frequently prey on small groups on the outskirts of civilization.

Purple worms burrow by way of eating everything in front of them and can digest stone and metals as easily as flesh, though it is unclear if one of these things provides more nutrition than another.

GENERAL

CR 14 Hit Dice 20

XP 38,400

N Gargantuan Magical Beast

Init +6; Senses Tremorsense 120 ft., Perception +21

DEFENSE

AC 36, touch 25, flat-footed 32 (+9 armor, +4 dex, +6 natural, +7 deflection)

hp 315

Fort +17, Ref +12, Will +13

Aura: -

SR: -

Special Defenses: ER 30/Acid, ER 30/Fire, ER 30/Cold

Immunities: Illusions, gaze attacks and any other visual-based attacks (they have no eyes)

Weaknesses: -

OFFENSE

Speed 60 ft., Earth Glide 60 ft.

Space / Reach: 20 ft. / 20 ft.

Single Melee Bite +23 (2d8+17/x2) plus Grab

Full Melee Bite +23 (2d8+17/x2) plus Grab, Tail Sting +23 (2d8+17/x2) plus Poison

Special Attacks Grab, Swallow Whole, Poison

Action Points 0

STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 14, Con 22, Int 6, Wis 8, Cha 8

Base Atk +14; CMB +23 (+25 with Grapple); CMD 31

Feats Improved Grapple

Skills -

Languages -

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Grab

After any successful bite attack, the Purple Worm may make a free Grapple attack, rolling its CMB (d20 + 25) versus the target's CMD. If successful, the target is Grappled in the Purple Worm's mouth. Note that the Purple Worm is never treated as being Grappled while grappling an enemy with its mouth, though the grappled opponent suffers the normal penalties for being Grappled.

A Purple Worm can only hold a single creature in its mouth at a time, though it is never considered Grappled while doing so.

Swallow Whole

If the Purple Worm begins its turn with an opponent grappled in its mouth (see Grab), it can use a free action to attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though attempting to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it swallows its prey, and the opponent takes bite damage. If the check fails, the purple worm may try again as a standard action, or may spit the target out into any adjacent space as a swift action. The opponent can be up to one size category Smaller than the Purple Worm.

Being swallowed causes a creature to take 7d6+1 Acid damage each round. A swallowed creature keeps the Grappled condition, while the Purple Worm remains un-grappled. A swallowed creature can try to cut its way free with any light slashing, light piercing or close weapon. It requires 63 points of damage to successfully cut free of the Purple Worm's belly, and this damage is NOT applied against the Purple Worm's hit points, instead coming from a separate pool. The Armor Class of the interior of the Purple Worm is equal to its Touch AC (AC 21), and does not benefit from the Purple Worm's Energy Resistance vs Acid, Cold or Fire. If a swallowed creature cuts its way out, the Purple Worm cannot use swallow whole again until the damage is healed.

Alternatively, a swallowed creature can just try to escape the grapple, with success putting it back in the Purple Worm's mouth (where it may be bitten or swallowed again).

A creature which cuts its way free of the Purple Worm is deposited on an interior square of the Purple Worm's space, allowing it to set up Interior Flanks for his allies. Assuming the escaped creature is size Medium or smaller, he is not considered squeezing while occupying this interior space (and neither is the Purple Worm).

Poison

Creatures struck by the Purple Worm's tail are stung by a 5-foot-long shiny black stinger which injects poison into its target. Creatures so struck must make a Fort save, DC 22, or suffer the following poison effect:

• Purple Worm Venom (Injury), Save: Fort DC 22; Frequency: 1/round for 6 rounds, Effect: 3d6+3 non-lethal piercing damage and 1d4 Strength damage, Cure: 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is CON-based.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 13,750 gp

COMBAT TACTICS

Purple worms are simple-minded, but driven by instincts that help them excel against creatures not used to burrowing for a living. Purple worms will begin a combat by attacking through intervening stone or soil, biting whatever foe is in their reach. Their tremorsense lets them get line of sight on a target even through stone floors, walls or ceilings, while their earth glide movement ability gives them line of effect through that same stone. Note, however, that all squares through which a purple worm passes become tunnels accessible to anyone. Purple worms always eat everything they tunnel through! While a purple worm might begin an attack with total cover against their target (from their target's perspective), they can never end their attack with cover, because of the way they use Earth Glide.

Once they bite, they can perform a grab for free. Note that, while they can never bite a target when they already have a creature in their mouths, they also get a free Swallow Whole attempt at the beginning of each turn. Even if the swallow whole attempt fails, the Purple Worm can either attempt it again (using a standard action this time, instead of a free), or if they decide the target isn't very swallow-able, they can spit them out as a swift action, in order to bite someone new.

During full attacks, the purple worm can also attack with its tail. The tail is not capable of burrowing (only the mouth can create new tunnels), so it must have line of effect to make attacks. However, the tail can deliver a very nasty poison on its target.

Note that purple worms have 20 feet of reach, so even though several of them may appear in a given encounter, they can easily arrange themselves to bring their full might to bear against any target or targets.