A Little Worm Can'T Hurt
Boozeworm
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any |
| Frequency | Rare |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Special |
| Intelligence | Non- (0) |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. Appearing | 1-2 |
| Armor Class | 2 |
| Movement | 12, Br 3 |
| Hit Dice | 1/4 (2 hit points) |
| THAC0 | 20 |
| No. of Attacks | Nil |
| Damage/Attack | Nil |
| Special Attacks | Special |
| Special Defenses | Special |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | T (1 inch long) |
| Morale | Special |
| XP Value | 50 |
Description
This small worm is greatly feared by almost all people because it is attracted to alcohol. It can smell alcohol of any type at a distance of 100 feet.
Normally a dark brown, a boozeworm's chameleon-like abilities enable it to instinctively blend into any background. Its higher Armor Class is due to its speed and agility. If found motionless the boozeworm is Armor Class 9.
A boozeworm can survive while submerged in liquids as easily as it can in air.
Combat
The boozeworm initially imposes a -7 on its surprise rolls of adventurers because of its color-changing ability. If the victim can see invisible things, the boozeworm's modifier is reduced to -4. Note that these chances apply even to creatures normally hard to surprise (like rangers and monks), because of its small size, speed (very great in proportion to its size), and inoffensive nature. If the boozeworm does initially gain surprise, it may discover (25%) on the victim's body. Otherwise, it will remain unnoticed unless the victim hears the boozeworm's noisy slurping (base of 50% chance per round). A feeding boozeworm is motionless until attacked. After any attack it will flee (if possible) by first jumping 10 feet and then crawling away at top speed.
The biggest danger of a boozeworm is when it is residing in a cup, mug, goblet, or other drinking vessel. If a person doesn't detect the boozeworm, then there is a 75% chance that the boozeworm will be consumed by the person. Once the boozeworm is inside the victim, it can burrow its way out of the victim causing 1d20 points of internal damage. After which, it will jump away from the victim in search of more alcohol.
A boozeworm can burrow through dead wood at a rate of 3 inches per round. A boozeworm can consume living material but cannot gain nourishment from it. Only alcohol can nourish a boozeworm.
To survive a boozeworm consumes alcohol. A boozeworm can consume 2 ounces of alcohol per round. The amount of alcohol a boozeworm can take in is unlimited but most won't drink more that a gallon a day. Actually, a boozeworm can consume a gallon in just over an hour (64 minutes), but prefers to drink leisurely. The boozeworm must have a minimum of 40 ounces of alcohol a week or it will die.
Habit/Society
A boozeworm lair is always a tavern, storeroom, distillery, breweries, wineries, or any other place where alcohol is found.
A breeding pair of boozeworms lay 80 eggs; about half of these hatch a month later. The larvae have less than hour to find alcohol nourishment, or they die. When first hatched, the larvae are pure white, but they develop their dark brown color from ingesting the soft woods that most alcohol is contained in. The average life-span of a boozeworm is two to three years. A boozeworm breeds only once in its lifetime, after which it dies.
When an adventurer is careless enough to encounter a new breed of boozeworm larvae, he can inflict incredible damage by carrying them unwittingly with him to other places. A handful of larvae in a jug of wine that is carried down a city street can find many new homes in the many taverns, inns, distilleries, wineries, breweries, and powerful person's personal stock.
Ecology
A boozeworm is a relative to the bookworm. Both are dangerous: the boozeworm when swallowed, the bookworm when near magical tomes. Sages don't know how many more variants of strange worms exist, but if there are more out there then it can't be good.
A boozeworm will always be attracted to the largest volume of alcohol in an area.
Because of its unusual diet, the boozeworm is a valuable ingredient in various magical, intoxicating elixirs. The most popular is Tequila. Tequila is a potent alcohol with a dead boozeworm floating in the bottom. Salt, shake, a little lick of lime...
The boozeworm can be a very useful tool under the right circumstances. Many alcohol establishments have been put out of business by competitors who have carefully places boozeworms in the booze. Such use of boozeworms is both difficult and dangerous: difficult because it is hard to keep a boozeworm alive under captivity, and dangerous because the boozeworm, once released, may not leave its owner. Releasing a boozeworm at the opponent's place and then having it follow you home is an unpleasant experience at best.
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