Shuffling inside of shelves and books, this long mass of old cover leather and pages writhes, continuously devouring the materials around it, old passages of words still visible on its body.
Pagerend Worm | CR 6
XP 1,600
N Tiny magical beast
Init +4 Senses Tremorsense 60ft, Blindsight 30ft; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex, +4 natural, +2 size, +1 dodge)
hp 44 (8d10)
Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +5 (+0 vs charm and compulsion effects)
DR 5/magic Weakness Born to Serve, Blind, Deaf
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., burrow 30 ft. (Materials under hardness 10 only)
Mele bite +14 (1 plus bore)
Space 2 ½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks Bore (4d4+1d4 bleed, DC 16 Reflex), Assimilate, Leap Attack
STATISTICS
Str 2, Dex 19, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 6
Base Atk +8; CMB +2; CMD 16 (cannot be tripped)
Feats Weapon Finesse, Ability Focus (Bore), Skill Focus (perception), dodge
Skills Acrobatics +11 (+19 to jump), Perception +11, Stealth +17 (+21 in areas that match their shell); Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics (jump), +4 stealth (in areas that match their shell)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bore (Ex)
Voracious for nearly any material, the Pagerend Worm can bore into a creature it successfully hits, chewing and crawling into the creature’s body, dealing 4d4 points of damage plus 1d4 points of bleed damage. Each round the Worm remains inside a creature, it deals bore damage and increases the bleed damage by +2. This stacks with all instances of the Worm’s bore ability, even if from different Worms. A DC 16 Reflex save prevents the bore attempt. Removing a Worm from within a creature is a 1 round action that deals 4d4 damage and 1 constitution damage as the Pagerend Worm struggles to remain inside.
Assimilate (Su)
Pagerend Worms turn everything they eat into a part of their body, typically taking the form of a protective shell, to defend their fragile core. Most Worms have a shell made of old parchment and book leather, the words still visible, firmed and strengthened by some natural process, though other materials have been seen incorporated into a Worm’s shell, such as bone. The parchment and book leather shell grants the Worm a +4 Natural Armor bonus.
Leap Attack (Ex)
As a standard action, a Pagerend Worm may make a single attack during a jump. It can make this attack at any point along the course of the leap—the start, the end, or while in mid-air. While jumping, a Pagerend Worm does not provoke attacks of opportunity for leaving a threatened square. The Worm gains a +8 racial bonus to Acrobatics when jumping. The Worm is treated as always having a running jump.
Born to Serve (Ex)
Created as a way to organically store knowledge, the Pagerend Worm flawlessly memorizes the entirety of anything it consumes, including the written word and magical scrolls. If a Worm consumes a living creature, there is a 25% chance that the Worm creates a perfect copy of that creature’s memories. All of this information may be accessed in the form of raw memory data and knowledge so long as the Worm is under the character’s control in some way and the character has access to telepathy. By asking a question, the character directs the Worm to divulge all information relating to that question. Scanning a Pagerend Worm’s mind without directing the inquiry causes the character to take 1d2 intelligence and wisdom damage, as the assault of raw, unformed data damages their mind. All Pagerend Worms take a -5 to Will saves versus charm and compulsion effects.
ECOLOGY
Environment
Organization seed (4-6), swarm (7-12), hive (30+)
Treasure double
The Pagerend Worm is roughly 3 feet long and 6 inches in diameter. Covering the soft, fragile core of the creature is a thick wreath of parchment and leather, hardened by the Worm’s digestive processes, many of the words and symbols still visible. Its maw is a mass of serrated teeth leading down into its throat, easily chewing through any soft material.
Despite being quite intelligent, Pagerend Worms behave as mindless for all intents and purposes, the entirety of their mental ability reserved for memorizing and categorizing the information they consume. They react violently to any perceived danger, boring into the offending creature. An injured Worm will slap against the ground, alerting any Worms within tremorsense range to help it. All worms leap at their targets, guided by their blindsight, aiming for necks, stomachs and other soft areas to bore into their victims.
Upon consuming enough materials, a Pagerend Worm will split apart, giving birth to a new Pagerend Worm. This causes the gathered materials composing the Worm to split in half. Should a Pagerend Worm be slain, the items it has consumes can be restored with a make whole spell, so long as all the pieces of the item are part of the Worm. If a Worm has split, all Worms with a part of the item must be slain and gathered to restore the item. This also works for any magic scrolls the Worm has consumed.
