Savage Bloodshadows: Blood of Tarrian Creatures
A subterranean, predatory worm of unnatural size and aggression, characterized by powerful, chitinous claws used for burrowing and tearing flesh. They are often found in dark, damp environments – sewers, forgotten catacombs, deep caves, or even the rotting foundations of derelict buildings.
The tell-tale scraping sound often precedes a Claw Worm’s arrival. These aren’t your garden variety earthworms; they are thick, segmented tubes of mottled gray and pink flesh, glistening with slime, capable of growing to the size of a man’s arm or even his leg. At their head-end is a pair of wickedly sharp, jointed claws, chitinous and black, used for digging through packed earth and stone as easily as tearing into living tissue. They are sensitive to vibrations and scent, often erupting from the ground or a wall with startling speed to ambush prey. Their origins are debated – some claim they are a mutation from the GodWar, others a natural monstrous part of Marl’s subterranean ecosystem. They’re a nuisance, a menace, and occasionally, a deadly surprise for anyone venturing off the beaten path or into the forgotten depths.
Claw Worm (Individual)
This represents a single, average-sized Claw Worm, roughly the size of a human arm to a leg.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d8 (Vibration/Scent), Stealth d8 (Ambush from burrow)
Pace: 4 (Slithering, but can move quickly in burrows) Parry: 6 Toughness: 5 (1)
Special Abilities:
- Aberration: Claw Worms are unsettling. Though not traditionally Undead or Construct, they are biologically unnatural. They are immune to disease, poison, and environmental effects from extreme heat/cold. They do not breathe, eat, or sleep in the conventional sense. They take half damage from Called Shots to their squishy bodies (unless targeting the claws).
- Armor +1 (Chitinous Claws/Head): The head-end and claws provide some protection.
- Burrow (Pace 4): Claw Worms can burrow through soft earth, sand, or loose rubble at their full Pace. Through rock or packed earth, their Pace is halved. They often emerge from beneath unsuspecting prey.
- Frightening Howl (Optional): Some larger or older Claw Worms might emit a guttural, wet clicking sound before an attack. This could cause Fear (-1), or be simply unnerving.
- Keen Senses: Claw Worms rely on vibrations and scent rather than sight. They ignore penalties for darkness and gain +2 to Notice rolls to detect creatures moving on the ground or in enclosed spaces.
- Low Profile: When burrowed or slithering close to the ground, a Claw Worm is difficult to hit, imposing a -2 penalty on ranged attacks targeting it.
- Squirming: Even when grappled, a Claw Worm is slippery and difficult to hold. Opposed rolls to maintain a grapple against it are made at -2.
Attacks:
- Claw Rake: Str+d4. On a raise, the claws tear deeply, causing the victim to be Distracted.
Claw Worm Swarm (Infestation)
This represents a dense, squirming mass of smaller Claw Worms, or a particularly large group of average-sized ones, perhaps infesting an area.
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d8, Strength d10 (The combined might of many), Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting: d8, Notice: d8, Stealth: d8
Pace: – (The swarm moves, but its area is fixed) Parry: 4 Toughness: 6
Special Abilities:
- Aberration (Swarm): Immune to disease, poison, and environmental effects from extreme heat/cold. They do not breathe, eat, or sleep in the conventional sense. Immune to being Shaken.
- Burrow (Pace 4): The swarm can effectively “flow” through soft earth or rubble, repositioning its area.
- Keen Senses: Ignores penalties for darkness and gains +2 to Notice rolls to detect creatures moving on the ground.
- Size 4 (Large): Represents the broad area covered by the swarm.
- Swarm: Attacks affect everyone in the template. Individual attacks have no effect on a Swarm; it takes damage only from area effect attacks (like explosions, cone attacks, or large-template powers).
- Vicious Gnawing: Anyone entering or starting their turn within the Swarm’s area takes 2d4 damage. On a raise, the victim is also Distracted by the multitude of biting claws.
Attacks:
- Gnawing Mass: The Swarm attacks everyone in its area, making a single Fighting roll. Any character hit takes 2d4 damage, and on a raise, is also Distracted.
GM Notes for Bloodshadows:
- Environment: Claw Worms are perfect for encounters in sewers, abandoned tunnels, crumbling basements, or even a sudden eruption from under a street in a neglected district.
- Sensory Experience: Emphasize the sound (scraping, slithering), the smell (damp earth, rot, slime), and the unsettling visual of their movement.
- Tactics: Claw Worms are ambush predators. They will burrow and wait, then erupt from the ground, walls, or even ceilings (if the material is loose enough). The individual worm might try to grapple and drag a victim into a burrow. Swarms are more about overwhelming and devouring.
- Resource Depletion: In Bloodshadows, resources are often scarce. Could the claws be harvested for some purpose (e.g., weapons, tools, or even a strange alchemical ingredient)?
- Beyond Combat: A Claw Worm infestation might be a mystery to solve—what’s attracting them? Is there a larger “queen” worm? Are they a symptom of a deeper corruption?
- Fear Factor: The idea of something unseen burrowing beneath your feet, only to erupt and attack, is inherently unsettling and fits the horror elements of the setting.