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The opposite of a dragon is a wurm. Like dragons, they are also hoarders and destroyers, but they tend to seek the metaphysical, rather than base metals.
Wurms are brothers to whales. They are most closely related to certain breeds of malformed horses native to the Londeep Swamp, which feed on algae and bird's eggs.
They are hairy, limbless things, like pink-skinned slugs or shaggy worms. They do not fly, but instead burrow. Their features vary, but in most cases their faces tend towards the mammalian, and sometimes even the simian. They have flattish faces, with forward facing eyes, and their teeth are often blunted. The smallest of them is a furlong in length.
They lay fertile eggs, but compulsively devour their young.
HD 12+ AC plate Bite 2d8 + swallow
Move human Burrow 1/2 human Int 10 Mor 7
*Slurp (30' cone, save or be pulled into mouth)
*Aura (100', unique to each wurm, see below)
*Attendants (2d6, unique to each wurm, see below)
THE LAUGHING WURM
Its skin is bright gold, and it weighs 484,000 lbs. Its expression has been described as fatuous. It enjoys eating elephants, and this is how it does it. First, it breaks the elephant's legs. Then it sucks on the elephant for about 18 hours, like a gobstopper, until the elephant's skin comes off.
It lives in the Tau Solen, where it churns the rivers into pinkish foam.
The Laughing Wurm consumes joy. That is why it is so happy. All creatures in its aura must make a Charisma check each turn. On a failure, they lose 1d6 Wisdom. If their Wisdom reaches 0, the PC stops and sits down, overcome by regret, nostalgia, and nihilism. Wisdom lost in this way is recovered as soon as they leave the aura. They regain 1d6 Wisdom if an ally dies or is swallowed (first time only) or if something motivating occurs (first time only). Creatures in the aura are unable to benefit from it.
The Laughing Wurm is surrounded by 2d6 despondent ibises (1 HD each). Initially inert, they will attack once they wurm is bloodied.
When the Laughing Wurm is killed all creatures in 1000' must save or celebrate together for the next 1d20 hours. Expect to spend the time dancing with wolves and kissing ibises.
The Heart of the Laughing Wurm is a tiny, shriveled grey thing the size of a fist. It can be used to make a make any sentient creature suicidal. (50' range, creature saves, failture means that they will attempt to kill themselves in the next 24 hours. The heart is not used up by a successful save.)
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| picture unrelated by Marco Nelor |
The Verdant Wurm is bright, grassy green, except for its teeth (which are white) and its gums (which are red). Its expression has been described as incredulous. It enjoys impersonating a grassy hill, something that it is very bad at, since all the adjacent hills will be dead. It weighs 660,000 lbs.
The Verdant Wurm consumes life. That is why it is so vibrant. All creatures in the aura lose 1d6 HP per turn (half on a successful save). For each HP lost in this way, a butterfly is born from the Verdant Wurm's back. They attack as a swarm.
The Verdant Wurm begins surrounded by 2d6 butterflies. They are not true insects, and lack mouthparts or reproductive organs. They have only a single leg, like a razor blade.
When the Verdant Wurm is killed, its stomach spills open and a forest grows explosively. All creatures in 1000' must save or take 1d20 damage from being speared, tossed, or crushed.
The Heart of the Verdant Wurm can be used to restore a creature to life. Creatures restored to life in this way will return larger (+1 Str), dumber (-1 Int), and with shaggy green hair.
Other Wurms
Slow, Conquerer, and Heartstring. TBA.
Party of flying mages stumble onto the Anti-Wurm over the Sea of Flowering: a degenerate, intestine-like Dragon whose wings have shriveled, who believes she is a Wurm, and has the mission to un-burrow the skies (i.e. fill in all the gaps between sea clouds with her water-steam breath, that she reloads by taking short dives into the ocean, expunging air and gulping water, much like a reverse whale spouting water in the surface to inhale - she knows her Centerrean phylogenetics)
ReplyDeleteOf course, in their first several instars every Wurm consumes size. That is why they grow so large, and why ponds that have hosted a Wurm nymph are later prized for their ecologies of thumbnail-sized lilies and dollhouse fish
ReplyDeleteSo then, is the Great Elder Verdant Wurm at the center of the Land of Flowers? Because that's my new Centera headcannon
ReplyDeleteFuck, that's a good idea. #stolenback
DeleteI just want to let you know that your blog is full of such strange and astonishing Things, with a capital T. I do not regret finding it.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful
ReplyDelete