Purple Worm
Gargantuan Monstrosity · · CR 15
- Monstrosity
- Gargantuan
- Tier 3
Purple Worm, CR 15, fills the gargantuan monstrosity role with unaligned disposition. Encounter regions: desert and underground. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 15
- Type
- Monstrosity
- Size
- Gargantuan
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Desert, Underground
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Purple worms are gargantuan apex predators of the Underdark and the deep desert, tunneling through solid rock as easily as water. They feed on duergar mining parties, grimlocks, beholders, and entire villages unfortunate enough to settle above their tunnels. Their bores leave perfectly-circular tunnels used by drow caravans, mind flayers, and other deep-dwelling races as established trade routes. A worm's territory extends miles in all directions, and miners read the tunneling patterns like weather patterns.
Behaviour
Purple worms are not intelligent in any humanoid sense, but possess a beast cunning sufficient to track prey, lay ambushes, and remember rich feeding grounds. They are sensitive to vibration above all else; mining operations drive them mad with hunger. They mate only every century and lay clutches of dozens of eggs deep in the warmest underground vents. Adult worms ignore each other except during mating, and rarely fight unless territory directly overlaps. They sleep for years between feeding cycles.
Origin
Purple worm eggs are laid in volcanic underground chambers, where the warmth incubates the larva for decades before hatching. Newly-hatched purple worms are merely large, the size of common giants, and immediately tunnel away to hunt smaller prey. Over centuries, they grow continuously without true ceiling; the largest worms recorded approach 100 feet long. They are eaten only by other worms or by the rarest of underdark predators. Drow consider purple worm hunts religious challenges.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Purple Worm
- What is the challenge rating of Purple Worm?
- Listed CR for Purple Worm: 15. Match it to a party that matches tier-3 encounter math.
- What type of creature is Purple Worm?
- Purple Worm is classified as a monstrosity in D&D 5e, gargantuan size.
- Where does Purple Worm live?
- Habitats for Purple Worm: Desert, Underground.