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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Larval Cave Worm Brood

While gestating, cave worms adapt to their surrounding environments, becoming accustomed to extreme temperatures and hazards nearby. For example, cave worms hatched in volcanic environments mature into crimson worms, while those raised near water sources mature into azure worms. Regardless of their environment, larval cave worms all have translucent bodies and pallid carapaces that harden and change color as they mature.

When a brood of cave worms hatches from their eggs, the foot-long worms mass together, forming a swarm of ravenous larval worms. This swarm travels ceaselessly, consuming anything in its path. The young are drawn to movement, as living, squirming prey tends to be the most nutritious. As they age, they incorporate more minerals into their diet to support carapace growth.

Recall Knowledge - Animal (Nature): DC 32
Unspecific Lore: DC 30
Specific Lore: DC 27

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Larval Cave Worm BroodCreature 10

Legacy Content

Rare N Huge Animal Swarm 
Source Pathfinder #195: Heavy is the Crown pg. 85
Perception +4; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 100 feet
Skills Athletics +12
Str +6, Dex +3, Con +6, Int -5, Wis -2, Cha -2
AC 17; Fort +11, Ref +9, Will +2
HP 220; Immunities precision, swarm mind; Resistances bludgeoning 7, piercing 13, slashing 13; Weaknesses area damage 13, splash damage 13
Relentless When a larval cave worm brood gains the paralyzed, slowed, or stunned condition, reduce the duration by half, to a minimum of 1 round. They also recover from penalties to their Speeds and the immobilized condition at the end of their turn. Finally, they ignore non-magical difficult terrain and treat greater difficult terrain like difficult terrain.Shake It Off [reaction] Frequency once per day; Trigger The larval cave worm brood would be affected by a condition or adverse effect (such as baleful polymorph); Effect The larval brood negates the triggering condition or effect. Effects from artifacts, deities, or a similarly powerful source can't be avoided in this way.
Speed 30 feet, burrow 30 feet, swim 20 feet
Ferocious Gnaw [one-action] Each foe in the larval swarm's space takes 6d6 piercing damage (DC 19 basic Reflex save).Pummeling Thrash [one-action] (attack) Requirements The larval swarm's most recent action was Ferocious Gnaw; Effect The larval swarm frantically thrashes in an effort to consume its prey. The larval swarm attempts an Athletics check and compares the result to the Reflex DC of each creature in its space.
Critical Success The creature falls prone and take 4d6 bludgeoning damage.
Success The creature falls prone and takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Early Hatching

A single cave worm egg can produce several thousand larval cave worms when it slowly matures over a millennia. However, if a cave worm egg is disturbed or damaged before its natural cycle completes, the egg enters a rapid stage of maturation. Only a few hundred worms survive this process, creating significantly fewer offspring than when allowed to mature slowly.

All Monsters in "Cave Worm"

NameLevel
Azure Worm15
Crimson Worm18
Glacial Worm16
Gray Worm11
Juvenile Cave Worm8
Larval Cave Worm Brood10
Purple Worm13
Shadow Worm20

Cave Worm

Source Bestiary pg. 56
Cave worms are gigantic scavengers that bore through the depths of the world, eating whatever material they find. Named for their distinctive colorations, these worms are ravenous and display overwhelming destructive capabilities. Cave worms of different colors and abilities lurk in the more remote corners of the world—tales speak of white worms that dwell within immense glaciers or icebergs and gray worms that burrow through the boneyards of long-forgotten ruins, to name a few.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Belly of the Beast

The adventure need not end simply because the party was ingloriously swallowed whole by a giant cave worm. Perhaps the PCs find an undigested item that helps them survive the inhospitable environ, or maybe the worm regurgitates them in a cavern far off from where they started. Whatever the specifics, you can easily draw from folklore and popular fiction to create your own "belly of the worm" adventure for heroes who wind up on the wrong side of the monster’s scales.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Cave Worm Guardians

Cave worms are notoriously dim witted, driven primarily by purely animalistic needs to feed and reproduce. This hasn’t prevented attempts to use them as guardians for their lairs, if not to tame them. Magic can be used to maintain control over a worm, but gifted, patient, and brave animal trainers can condition cave worms to serve in all manner of roles, such as living siege engines, shocking methods of executing foes, or merely pets.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Notorious Worms

Some societies view the immense cave worms as natural disasters or incarnations of wrathful gods. Cave worms that have been active in a region often become part of that area’s local lore. For example, in the notorious Cinderlands of eastern Varisia, Shoanti have long told tales of Cindermaw, an immense crimson worm viewed by some as worthy of worship, and by others as the ultimate test of bravery.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Ravenous Tunnelers

Cave worms are infamous for being nearly unstoppable and for swallowing their prey whole. A cave worm also ingests earth and minerals as it tunnels. The worm processes some of these minerals, resulting in its armored hide and toxic sting, while it leaves others behind—often including treasure or other valuables that incidentally serve to lure explorers into the worm’s proximity and, more often than not, its gullet. While not completely mindless, cave worms are difficult to train, and most attempts to domesticate them (in theory, a cave worm would make an excellent mining resource) result in disaster.