Monster - Swarm of Corpse Worms
This one's a cleanup and refurb of an old favorite - Corpse Worms! Designed to fix the problem that rot grubs are thematically awesome but mechanically shit. What if you had a monster that combined all the disgust and terror of rot grubs, but with mechanics that were actually fun and fair?
I love rot grubs thematically, but mechanically they're a giant pain. In the Monster Manual version:
They function more like traps than monsters.
If the PCs don't know how to remove them, they're incredibly lethal. (Turn 1, you can use fire. After that, it's Lay on Hands or Lesser Restoration.)
If the PCs have one of the cures handy, the rot grubs are a nuisance. If not, a character dies.
Monsters of the Multiverse reworks them, but they're still pretty unsatisfying - the cure's just slapping your buddy with a torch until they save, and there's nothing to their mechanics that feels like gross bugs under your skin.
Enter corpse worms! They're a little more flexible, but less swingy and easier to work with. They do less damage by default, but with a higher chance to hit. They have easier and clearer rules for removal. They don't insta-kill at 0 hp (though if you're infested by three or more, you'll still fail all your death saves within a turn). In general, they keep the fun parts of rot grubs while reducing the nonsense. (I actually went ahead and gave them another update since the reddit post, eliminating the AC interaction and instead changing the infestation to 1d4-1 worms).
If you have feedback, come talk to me in discord!
