Brain Worm 5 (15)

Gunslinger Knights

Look at this nightmare wrong, and it gets inside your head, Sancarans say. Literally. At first sight, the creature doesn't seem especially dangerous—a lumbering thing of several limbs, blubbery flesh, and presumably something like a human.sized head coiled and tucked away as if afraid to regard the world. Seeing a brain worm in this conformation means all may not be lost; running away or (if a Knight of sufficient skill) slaying it outright could provide salvation. Until it unfurls its head, revealing the absence of reason, space, and the brain.wracking, patterned movements of thousands of fluttering worms inside a space just large enough for a face. But there's no face—only worms.

Characters who avert their gaze while attacking a brain worm can avoid the effect, but their attacks are hindered by two steps.

Motive: Hungers for psychic energy and brain matter

Environment: In, near, or after a Fundament Storm; sometimes as a Veen Alix or Veen Morund steed (in which case, the Veen has fitted a hood to the creature)

Health: 21

Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)

Movement: Short

Combat: A brain worm could cudgel a target with a blubbery limb.

A brain worm also has the following options.

• Faceless Visage: As part of another action, a brain worm can unfurl its head and regard its surroundings. When it does, anyone within short range seeing the display must succeed on an Intellect defense roll, or the victim’s brain tissue reacts by spontaneously spawning tiny worms in their skull, which begin to feed, dealing Intellect damage (ignores Armor) each round. Infected targets can attempt another Intellect defense roll each round to rid themselves of their psychic parasites, but only if they’re not looking at the brain worm’s faceless visage. Once an infected target has been cleared, their tasks to resist (and eliminate) another infection are eased.
• Nourishing White Matter: Each round in which one or more targets within short range suffers Intellect damage from a brain worm’s Faceless Visage, the creature regains 5 health.v

Interaction: Chaotic, changeable, and even dangerous to other creatures of the Crawling Deeps it encounters while outside their home realm, brain worms are mostly loners, without language or goals other than to feed.

Use: A Sancaran farmer claims that something is trapped in her barn, and anytime someone looks in to take its measure, they scream, clutch their head, and die.

GM Intrusion: The character averting their gaze from the brain worm is distracted and steers their steed into a structure or boulder, off a cliff, or the like.