Iceworm

Small monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 13
Hit Points 38 (7d6 + 14)
Speed 20 ft., burrow 30 ft., swim 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	16 (+3)	15 (+2)	3 (–4)	8 (–1)	4 (–3)

Skills Perception +1
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Damage Immunities cold Condition Immunities prone
Senses blindsight 90 ft. (blind beyond this radius), tremorsense 30 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages —
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Amphibious. The iceworm can breathe air and water.
• Cold Physiology. The iceworm can’t abide constant warmth. Each hour it spends in an area with a temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the ice worm must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion that can’t be removed until it finishes a long rest in an area with a temperature below 40 degrees.
• Heat Sensitivity. The iceworm has disadvantage on attack rolls when within 5 feet of a strong source of heat that isn’t a warm?blooded creature’s natural warmth, such as a torch or campfire. In addition, the iceworm can pinpoint the location of warm-blooded creatures within 90 feet of it and can sense the general direction of such creatures within 1 mile of it.
• Slippery. The iceworm has advantage on saving throws and ability checks made to escape a grapple.

ACTIONS

• Icy Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage.
• Icy Spit. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) cold damage, and the target is coated in freezing, viscous slime. While coated in the freezing slime, a creature’s speed is reduced by 10 feet, and it has disadvantage on the first attack roll it makes on each of its turns. A creature, including the target, can take its action to clean off the slime, ending the effect.

ABOUT

A writhing worm erupts from the glacial ice and turns its blind gaze toward adventurers huddled around a meager campfire.

This strange, tube-like worm sports several rows of teeth in its round mouth and is just at home burrowing through the permafrost as it is deep within frozen arctic waters.

Drawn to Warmth. The iceworm can sense the warmth of living creatures, but it is sensitive to strong sources of heat, which cause it acute discomfort. An iceworm that senses abundant prey near strong sources of heat (such as a group of travelers around a campfire) will patiently encircle the encampment, waiting for the fire’s warmth to cool to embers. Once the fire has died down, the iceworm strikes, often killing sleeping prey by burrowing up from the ground.

Freezing Saliva. Once an iceworm has killed its prey, it waits for the body to cool, using its cold saliva to speed up the process. It then burrows into the soft insides to feast on the frozen corpse over the course of days or weeks.