Worm Week Entry #3: Rider Worm (New Monster)

DESCRIPTION Rider worms are rust colored and their skin has the appearance of wet red clay. They are quite fast moving and their five-fanged bite emits a very effective paralytic toxin (all saves at -3, duration of 6-24 turns.) Rider worms enjoy a symbiotic relationship with their carriage worm hosts (see carriage worm), wherein the rider worm does the carriage worm's bidding in furtherance of subduing its prey and, in return, the carriage worm provides it's parasitic forces with nutrition and sustenance. While rider worms are typically non-intelligent, the telepathic commands they receive (through a morse-code like system of electronic pulses) from their carriage worm host are able to provide them with basic objectives against a carriage worm's prey (e.g., to bite a specific nearby creature, to retreat, etc.) Given the type and the duration of the rider worm's toxin, it is not uncommon for victims debilitated by a rider worm to be lubricated and ingested by the carriage worm, and remain conscious while being digested. The by-product of this digestive process is an intoxicating secretion that provides the rider worm all the nutrients it needs.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 20-30 ARMOR CLASS: 7 MOVE: 12" HIT DICE: 1+2 % IN LAIR: Nil TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3 + special SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralytic toxin SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to poison MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: See below ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: S (1-2' long) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 7 HIT DICE: 1+2 MOVE: 120' ATTACKS: 1 bite DAMAGE: 1-3 + toxin NO. APPEARING: 20-30 SAVE AS: Fighter: 1 MORALE: 12 (in presence of host) TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral