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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Juvenile Cave Worm

A juvenile cave worm has left its brood or eaten them, and has started to establish its own territory, hunting in regular intervals. These young worms tend to be more aggressive towards other life forms than their relatively mellow adult kin.

Recall Knowledge - Animal (Nature): DC 26
Unspecific Lore: DC 24
Specific Lore: DC 21

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Juvenile Cave WormCreature 8

Uncommon N Large Animal 
Source Pathfinder #195: Heavy is the Crown pg. 84
Perception +12; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 100 feet
Skills Athletics +18, Stealth +14
Str +6, Dex +0, Con +6, Int -5, Wis -2, Cha -1
AC 26; Fort +20, Ref +14, Will +10
HP 170
Relentless When a juvenile cave worm gains the paralyzed, slowed, or stunned condition, reduce the duration by half, to a minimum of 1 round. It also recovers from penalties to its Speeds and the immobilized condition at the end of its turn. Finally, it ignores non-magical difficult terrain and treats greater difficult terrain like difficult terrain.Shake It Off [reaction] Frequency once per day; Trigger The juvenile cave worm would be affected by a condition or adverse effect (such as baleful polymorph); Effect The juvenile cave worm 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
Melee [one-action] jaws +20 [+15/+10] (deadly d10, reach 10 feet), Damage 2d12+9 piercing plus Improved GrabMelee [one-action] body +18 [+13/+8], Damage 1d8+10 bludgeoningClumsy Leap [two-actions] The cave worm flings its body, Leaping 30 feet. If it lands next to a creature, it can Strike that creature with its jaws. If the jaws Strike fails, it can Strike with its body using the same multiple attack penalty as the failed jaws Strike, but it becomes flat-footed until the start of its next turn.Killing Shake [two-actions] Requirements The juvenile cave worm has a Medium or smaller creature grabbed; Effect The juvenile cave worm shakes the creature back and forth quickly, tearing flesh with its multiple rows of teeth. The target takes 2d12+9 slashing damage and is knocked prone. If the creature is adjacent to a solid surface, such as a stone wall, it takes an additional 2d6 bludgeoning damage. The creature attempts a DC 23 basic Reflex save against all damage; if the creature succeeds, it isn't knocked prone.Rock Tunneler A juvenile cave worm can burrow through solid stone at a Speed of 10 feet. It can leave a tunnel if it desires, and it usually does.Swallow Whole [one-action] Medium, 1d8+10 bludgeoning, Rupture 18

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Brood Variance

The cave worms presented here are typical of standard rock worms. For crimson worms, use the elite adjustment and add immunity to fire. For azure worms, increase their swim Speed to 40. Gray worms gain negative healing and a weakness to positive energy 5. Glacial worms gain immunity to cold.

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.