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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Glacial Worm

Cave worm eggs that lie dormant for a long period may experience significant climactic shift. If the temperature falls below freezing, the worms may hatch as glacial worms, also called white worms. These creatures immediately migrate as far north as possible, seeking the glaciers or icebergs that will nourish and house them. Glacial worms lack stingers, as liquid venom is less effective in cold temperatures. Occasionally, such creatures are carried far south on icebergs that have carved off the main ice sheets of the polar regions.

Recall Knowledge - Animal (Nature): DC 37
Unspecific Lore: DC 35
Specific Lore: DC 32

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Glacial WormCreature 16

Legacy Content

Uncommon N Gargantuan Amphibious Animal 
Source Pathfinder #194: Cult of the Cave Worm pg. 67
Perception +22; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 100 feet
Skills Athletics +34
Str +10, Dex +0, Con +8, Int -5, Wis +0, Cha -1
AC 36; Fort +30, Ref +22, Will +22
HP 370 (cold healing); Immunities cold; Weaknesses fire 15
Cold Healing When a glacial worm is in extreme cold or surrounded by ice, it gains fast healing 10. When struck by a magical cold effect, a glacial worm regains Hit Points equal to half the cold damage the effect would otherwise deal.Inexorable The glacial 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.Leech Heat (aura, cold) 30 feet. A glacial worm's intense cold absorbs heat. Creatures that start their turn within the area take 3d6 cold damage (DC 34 basic Fortitude save).Shake It Off [reaction] Frequency once per day; Trigger The glacial worm would be affected by a condition or adverse effect (such as baleful polymorph); Effect The glacial worm negates the triggering condition or effect. Effects from artifacts, deities, or a similarly powerful source can't be avoided in this way.
Speed 40 feet, burrow 40 feet, swim 20 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +32 [+27/+22] (deadly 2d12, reach 15 feet), Damage 3d12+13 piercing plus Improved GrabMelee [one-action] body +30 [+25/+20] (reach 15 feet), Damage 2d8+12 bludgeoning plus 1d6 coldFast Swallow [reaction] Trigger The worm Grabs a creature; Effect The worm uses Swallow Whole.Swallow Whole [one-action] Huge, 3d8+12 bludgeoning plus 2d6 cold, Rupture 28Thrash [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.

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.