Were-Worm

Attributes	BRG 22 (+8)	NIM 15 (+4)	PER 22 (+8)	STR 22 (+8)	VIT 24 (+9)*	WIT 23 (+8)*
Reactions	STAM +10	SWIFT +8	WILL +9*	WIS +10

Defence	14	Size	Gigantic	Courage	4
Health	34	Move	96	Renown	15

Edges	none
Flaws	none
Special Abilities	Armour (16), Bewilder, Acid Breath, Multiple Attacks (claw, maw, tail), Natural Weapon (claws, 3d6), Natural Weapon (maw, 5d6), Natural Weapon (tail, 4d6), Slow Healing, Sweep of Tail, Terror, Spells
Skills	Armed Combat: Natural Weapons (Claws, Maw, Tail) +15, Games (Riddles) +9, Inquire (Interrogate) +10, Insight +15, Intimidate (Fear) +27, Language: Sindarin +10, Language: Westron +8, Observe (Smell, Spot) +15, Persuade (Bewilder) +15

Even though their hideous appearance may belie it, Were-Worms are not undead. They are a visage so emaciated that they appear skeletal with a translucent underbelly where you can see their very insides. Their scales are bone white and their eyes are sunken back so far into their skulls that only pale red glimmers can be seen when their ire is raised. Similar to their fire-breathing brethren, they project a cone of acidic gas stinking of death and decay, corroding everything in its area, except for things made of mithril or mithril alloy.

BEWILDER: Through its superior intellect, a Were-Worm can confuse any opponent with which it converses. Every round the Were-Worm speaks, all those able to hear its words must make opposed Wisdom tests against the dragon's Persuade (Bewilder) or lose an action to their confusion.

ACID BREATH: As a full-round action, a Were-Worm can expel a cone of acid in a cloud up to 50 yards long from its maw, as wide as the distance to the dragon at any given point. Those caught in the corrosive mist suffer 5d6 damage and 2d6 damage each subsequent round until neutralized.

SLOW HEALING: Were-Worms have an extremely slow rate of natural healing. After 10 years of rest, a Were-Worm regains 1 Health point per year.

SWEEP OF TAIL: Any creature that sustains damage from a Were-Worm's tail attack and fails a TN 15 Strength or Nimbleness test (target's choice) is knocked down.

SPELLS: Beast Speech, Break Binding, Display of Power, Dumbness, Enslave Beast, Forgetfulness, Reading the Heart, Voice of Suasion. (Some Were-Worms know additional spells such as Mind-speech, Misdirection, and Power of the Land)

Not a part of Morgoth's great arsenal before or during the Great Battle in Beleriand, Were-Worms were secretly sent away to the far reaches of Middle Earth to spread their dark lord's evil and destruction. Once they lost their guidance and will of Morgoth, they took up their own agendas in the distant deserts and mountains of far away regions and not taking part in the wars of Sauron. The Dúnedain encountered them occasionally when they were at their height in shipbuilding and exploration. Rumors and tales of them were so far reaching that even Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of The Shire, has heard and made reference to them.

Unlike any of their other brethren, Were-Worms have been known to take over and govern lands of Men, seeking to rule than to hide. They can be found in great palaces carved out of mountains or grottos along the far southern coastlines, ruling their subjects with ruthlessness. Those who have not chosen the path of dominion have taken to solitary and uneventful lives in the Last Desert and its surrounding mountains.

The Were-Worms' only downfall is that they are unable to spawn, so their numbers are indeed quite few, fewer than any of the other dragon species even after the Great Battle. Because of this trait and their devious tendencies, they are incredibly independent and seek to destroy any who wish to supplant them, including other Were-Worms. Were-Worm kingdoms are almost constantly at war with one another as well as they hunt other Were-Worms in the Last Desert to their destruction. Were-Worms that are of the Last Desert show naught but indifference when they encounter one another, but due to mistrust, always have an eye on the other.

As these dragons are so far away from the lands of Gondor, Rohan, and such, Were-Worms would only be encountered if a party were exploring the far-reaching and unknown-to-be charted regions of Middle Earth of the Far East and South. They are such a formidable foe, that they should be used as the ultimate or penultimate adversary in a chronicle. Perhaps a group of adventurers in the Númenorean navy discover a Were-Worm kingdom or encounter a battle between two Were-Worms in the desert. In the Fourth Age, perhaps a Were-Worm king discovers that Sauron has been destroyed and it sends spies to learn about the secrets of Gondor in preparation for an invasion by its own kingdom.