Golem, Necrophidius
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Nil |
| Intelligence | Non- (0) |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. Appearing | 1 |
| Armor Class | 2 |
| Movement | 9 |
| Hit Dice | 2 |
| THAC0 | 19 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 1-8 |
| Special Attacks | See below |
| Special Defenses | See below |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | L (12' long) |
| Morale | Fearless (19-20) |
| XP Value | 270 |
Description
The necrophidius, or "death worm," is built and animated for a single task, such as protection or assassination. It has the bleached-white skeleton of a giant snake, a fanged human skull, and constantly whirling, milk-white eyes. Its bones are warm to the touch. The necrophidius is odorless and absolutely silent; the skeleton makes no noise, even when slithering across a floor strewn with leaves. A necrophidius is constantly moving with a macabre grace.
Combat
The necrophidius prefers to surprise opponents, and its silence imposes a -2 penalty to their surprise rolls. If the necrophidius is not surprised, it performs a macabre maneuver called the Dance of Death, a hypnotic swaying backed by minor magic. The Dance rivets the attention of anyone who observes it, unless a successful saving throw vs. spell is rolled. Intelligent victims are immobilized, as per the hypnotism spell. This allows the necrophidius to attack without opposition.
Besides taking damage as indicated, a bitten victim must make a saving throw vs. spell or be paralyzed and unconscious for 1d4 turns. This effect can be cancelled only by dispel magic; neutralize poison is useless.
This creature acts and reacts as if it had Intelligence 10. However, its mind is artificial, so mind influencing spells have no effect. The creature is immune to poison and requires no sleep or sustenance. It is not undead and cannot be turned.