PURPLE WORM

Flexible. A purple worm’s body is very flexible and thus, it is not considered immobile (per the condition) while partially burrowed. However, given the creature's size, it does not normally gain cover bonuses.

Poison. If damaged by the stinger, a creature must make a save vs. Poison or become poisoned and fall into a coma and die (save negates).

Swallow Whole. If a purple worm's bite attack strikes a creature (up to 8 ft. tall and 6 ft. wide or less) with a dice roll of 4 higher than that needed to hit, or a natural 20, the creature will be swallowed whole. Even creatures immune to the worm's bite damage can be swallowed. A 50-ft. long purple worm can swallow up to 12 man-sized creatures (the GM will adjust for difference in creature sizes).

SWALLOWED CREATURES

• Creatures are trapped in the purple worm's gut and lose any actions once swallowed for the remainder of the round.

• Creatures are hindered and restrained.

• Creatures with access to a small (3-ft. or shorter) piercing, cutting, or slashing weapon can attack the inner lining of the purple worm (AC 9) beginning the round after they are swallowed. 

• Once a purple worm reaches 0 hit points (from any damage source) anyone cutting their way out will be successful.

• Each round after being swallowed causes the trapped creature to suffer additional hindrance penalties. In addition to the standard condition, the trapped creature suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to damage when using melee weapons (-1 on round 2, -2 on round 3, -3 on round 4, etc.).

• After 4 rounds, breathing creatures must hold their breath or begin to suffocate before dying of asphyxiation.

• Creatures outside of the worm's body can recover those trapped within (if the 'worm is dead) in 1d4 rounds of slashing or chopping, subtracting one round for each individual working at it (to a minimum of 1 round).

• After 2 hours, any organic matter is fully consumed (gone).

Purple worms are giant scavengers that inhabit the deepest regions of the world, consuming any organic material that they encounter. They are notorious for swallowing their prey whole. It is not uncommon to hear of a group of adventurers vanishing down the ravenous maw of a purple worm, screaming as they disappear one by one.

Although they seek to consume living creatures, purple worms also consume vast amounts of dirt and minerals as they burrow underground. The insides of a purple worm may contain a considerable number of gemstones and other items able to withstand the corrosive acid inside its gullet. In areas filled with valuable minerals, such as those near dwarven mines, the natural tunnels created by burrowing purple worms are often filled with vast amounts of unrefined ores.

A purple worm usually claims a large underground cavern as its den, and while it returns here to rest and digest (and expel) food, it spends the majority of its time on the prowl, burrowing through the endless dark or slithering along established tunnels in the constant drive to feed its immense hunger. 

Environment. Underground

Mottled Worm. Similar in many respects to the purple worm save for its brown and gray coloration, the mottled worm is an aquatic relative of the purple worm that dwells in salt or fresh water. Rather than conserve oxygen within their coelums as their violet cousins do, mottled worms are actually able to draw water into their coelums, where oxygen diffuses into their surrounding bloodstream via specialized gill-like organs. As a result, like fish, mottled worms can stay submerged indefinitely if the surrounding water is properly oxygenated. Since their coelums have enough stored fluid to allow their internal gills to function, mottled worms are also able to survive out of water for several hours, though the uncomfortable drying process makes them inclined to return to the water after about an hour on land.

Mottled worms cannot burrow through stone like their cousins, but are adept at moving through the muck and sand found on the seafloor and on tidal shelves (burrow speed 20 feet in mud, sand, or silt). Varieties exist that lurk both in shallow waters, preying on aquatic species, birds, and land animals, and in the deepest reaches of the sea where they build gigantic upright tubular formations created from their bodily waste. Such deep sea specimens are highly resistant to extremes in both temperature and pressure and, as a result, are often found near volcanic vents.

Unlike purple worms, which are solitary, mottled worms of this deep-dwelling variety typically live in colonies of three to 12 individuals, and even the mighty krakens think twice before invading their hunting grounds.