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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Shadow Worm

Shadow worms are monstrous cave worms that dwell on the Shadow Plane. Larger and more cunning than most cave worms, shadow worms are fearsome predators that leave swaths of devastation in their wake. Most have glossy, black-armored hide, but those that burrow near velstrac lands are streaked with dark red, for the blood the velstracs spill has soaked into the very stones these shadow worms consume.

Recall Knowledge - Animal (Nature): DC 45
Unspecific Lore: DC 43
Specific Lore: DC 40

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Shadow WormCreature 20

Legacy Content

Rare N Gargantuan Animal Shadow 
Source Pathfinder #186: Ghost King's Rage pg. 86
Perception +33; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 100 feet
Skills Athletics +41, Stealth +32 (+37 in dim light or darkness)
Str +10, Dex +2, Con +9, Int -4, Wis +0, Cha +0
AC 45; Fort +36, Ref +32, Will +30
HP 450 (shadow healing); Resistances cold 20, negative 20; Weaknesses shrink from the light
Inexorable The shadow worm recovers from the paralyzed, slowed, and stunned conditions at the end of its turn. It's also immune to penalties to its Speeds and the immobilized condition, and it ignores difficult terrain and greater difficult terrain.Shadow Healing As long as a shadow worm is in an area of dim light or darkness, it gains fast healing 20. When affected by a magical shadow effect from anything other than itself, a shadow worm becomes quickened 1 for 1 round.Shrink from the Light A shadow worm takes an additional 20 damage from any spell or ability with the light trait and uses the outcome one degree worse for saving throws made against a spell or ability with the light trait.
Speed 40 feet, burrow 40 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +38 [+33/+28] (deadly 2d10, reach 15 feet), Damage 4d10+20 piercing plus Improved GrabMelee [one-action] body +38 [+33/+28] (reach 15 feet), Damage 3d10+20 bludgeoningBreath Weapon [two-actions] (cold, evocation, negative, occult, shadow) The shadow worm exhales a blast of clinging shadow, dealing 11d6 cold damage and 10d6 negative damage to creatures in a 60-foot cone (DC 42 basic Reflex save). If the cone passes through an area of magical light or targets a creature affected by magical light, Breath Weapon attempts to counteract the light (+34 counteract modifier). The shadow worm can't use Breath Weapon again for 1d4 rounds.Fast Swallow [reaction] Trigger The shadow worm Grabs a creature; Effect The worm uses Swallow Whole.Rock Tunneler A shadow worm can burrow through solid stone at a Speed of 20 feet. It can leave a tunnel if it desires, and it usually does.Swallow Whole [one-action] Huge, 3d10+15 bludgeoning, Rupture 42Thrash [two-actions] The worm makes a Strike once against each creature in its reach. It can Strike up to once with its jaws and any number of times with its body. Each attack counts toward the worm's multiple attack penalty, but the multiple attack penalty doesn't increase until after it makes all the attacks.

Sidebar - Locations Midnight Worms

Though the worms are generally considered to be untamable, some powerful velstracs have recently begun experimenting on shadow worms in hopes of transforming them into mutilated war beasts. So far, only two shadow worms have survived the velstrac's ministrations. The resulting horrors have been dubbed midnight worms.

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.