Flesh-burrowing Grub
- Habitat
- Refuse heaps, carrion, swamps, rotting vegetation
- Biomes
- +wetland, +settlement
- Spawn
- swarm, any
- Temper
- Mindless and ravenous
- Threat
- Moderate
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Move
- crawl.
- Special
- Rot grub. Burrows into bare flesh automatically on contact; the victim must sear the wound with flame (harming themselves but killing the grubs) or purge them with curative magic, or the grubs reach the heart and kill within minutes.
- STR4
- DEX5
- CON6
- INT1
- Health76
- Damage13
- Armor4
A pale, soft-bodied grub no longer than a finger, ranging in colour from milky white to dung-brown, marked only by two small antenna-nubs that set it apart from common maggots. Most travellers never notice them until it is too late. The moment bare skin presses against one, the grub tunnels inward, weeping a numbing secretion so the victim feels nothing while it chews steadily toward the heart. Left untreated, an infestation is fatal within minutes. They breed in offal, dung, carcasses and rotting plant beds, making them a dreaded hazard for anyone foolish enough to wade barefoot through filth.
Behavior
- Lies hidden in refuse, waiting for warm flesh to brush against it.
- Burrows automatically on skin contact, no missed strikes.
- Secretes a deadening fluid that masks the wound and the pain.
- Tunnels ever deeper, becoming impossible to burn out after a short while.
- Forms loose swarms but acts only on blind hunger, never coordination.
Abilities
- Burrowing Infestation. Tunnels into exposed flesh on contact, ignoring armour worn over uncovered skin.
- Numbing Secretion. Dulls the wound so victims fail to notice the invasion.
- Creeping Death. Untreated infestations reach vital organs and kill within minutes.
- Flame-Purge Weakness. Searing the wound or curative magic destroys the grubs before they burrow deep.
Drops & Crafting
- Rendered grub-fat used by apothecaries as a numbing salve base
- Harvested larvae as fishing bait
- Reagent grubs for harm-causing tinctures
- Chitinous nub-casings for minor alchemical dust