Necrophidius
Also known as: Death Worm
A skeletal giant snake with a fanged skull of an adult human male for a head
OSRIC
| Armor Class | 2 |
|---|---|
| Hit Dice | 2 |
| Number Encountered | 1 |
| Attacks | 1 |
| Damage | 1d8 |
| Move | 90-ft |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| Intelligence | Average |
| XP | 3/125+2/hp |
| Size | Large (15-ft long) |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Lair | Nil |
Known to common folk as the “death worm”, the necrophidius is a skeletal giant snake with a fanged skull of an adult human male for a head. Death worms move completely silently, and are immune to sleep, charm, mind-affecting spells; they never check morale and they are immune to poison. In spite of these and other similarities to the undead, the necrophidius is not an undead creature and cannot be turned by a cleric.
Because of the artificial nature of the necrophidius, they are never encountered in a lair or as a wandering monster. Instead, they are created for a specific purpose, usually as an assassin or guard. They are perfect for this role because they never sleep, they never check morale, and they never give up.
Treasure: None, unless set to guard a specific treasure by its master.
Special Abilities
A necrophidius is a construct and there are several ways to go about creating one. First, the basic materials must be assembled: the skull of a cold-blooded murderer who has been killed within 72 hours of the ritual and the complete skeleton of a giant snake. The process will also require 10 days plus the services and laboratory of an alchemist, who will charge his or her full monthly fee plus 500 gp per hp of the completed necrophidius. At the end of 10 days, the potential owner has 24 hours to complete the ritual by one of the methods detailed hereafter;
First, a magical book can be used. These work the same way as a manual of the golems (q.v.) can be used to create a golem. Second, a high level magic user can cast the following spells in this order upon the pre-necrophidius alchemical mixture: limited wish, geas, and charm person. Upon completion of the charm person spell the death worm magically assembles from the various parts, absorbing the fluids of the mixture. Last, a cleric can cast the following divine spells upon the pre-necrophidius alchemical mixture in this precise order: quest, neutralise poison, prayer, silence 15-ft radius, and snake charm. As with the magic user, when the last spell is completed the necrophidius magically assembles from the various parts, absorbing the fluids of the mixture.