Bloodworm infestation, how to clear one?

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Lurker
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Bloodworm infestation, how to clear one?

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I was reading through some of the modules I have on PDF while I was cooling my heels waiting to talk to the high school principal (begging for a classroom to teach in even if it is just as a substitute teacher) and I ran across a village that was infested with blood worms. That started me thinking about how a party would clear out the infestation.

I figured that it would be best if the party had a druid and they were able to use the reverse of summon swarm to disperse the worms. However where would the worms then go, would they then infest some new area?

After that I figured something like a cleric using various “bless” spells to drive out the little buggers. Then we are back to the question of where do they then go.

My next fix would be some good old bonfires and area effect fire spells to heat up the land enough to kill the worms. This of course will damage the area and require years of work to get it back to the pre infestation/burning condition.

Are there any other things I’ve missed, or are there spells etc that I haven’t thought of that would be useful?
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Rikitiki
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Re: Bloodworm infestation, how to clear one?

Post by Rikitiki »

Hmm...not 'up' on Bloodworms, but from the name I'm thinking they attach leech-like and suck up blood.
If so, just slaughter a few animals, poison the blood and leave them as a Bloodworm snack. Collect the dead Bloodworms, burn the bodies, and no residual damage to the crop-bearing soil, no?

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TheMetal1
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Re: Bloodworm infestation, how to clear one?

Post by TheMetal1 »

You got me thinking on this one. Which module has the Blood Worm infestation - sounds like a pretty cool adventure. Anyway back to the question. Blood Worms need rich, vibrant soil to grow (and the blood of evil fey), hence why farming villages would be such a great place for them. And of course they spread out over "vast fields" making it that much more difficult to deal with. Heating up the land won't really work as the worms are unaffected by temperature or weather - only fire.

I think a Lawful Good,. NG or CG, NPC Lord or Mayor would probably try to find an Assassin or Ranger might know a cure. Once that's done, It's time evacuate the area and wait until Autumn. Then burn the crops - hopefully dealing with the infestation. Perhaps a second burn in the spring just to be sure before planting begins. In effect, the area and village would be a off limits. If they were able to manage it, they also might get a Paladin, Cleric or Druid to cast Neutralize Poison or Cure Disease for a magical option for the affected villagers/farmers. A few Magical options for dealing with the Blood Worms are as follows:

If the PCs were high enough level they could use the 'Fire Storm' Spell
d20 SRD wrote:When a fire storm spell is cast, the whole area is shot through with sheets of roaring flame. The raging flames do not harm natural vegetation, ground cover, and any plant creatures in the area that you wish to exclude from damage. Any other creature within the area takes 1d6 points of fire damage per caster level (maximum 20d6).
As this doesn't harm the crops but does the job as Blood Worms only have 1d4 hp.

Otherwise, you need at least a 5th Level Druid to cast Plant Growth.
d20 SRD wrote:Plant growth has different effects depending on the version chosen.

Overgrowth
This effect causes normal vegetation (grasses, briars, bushes, creepers, thistles, trees, vines) within long range (400 feet + 40 feet per caster level) to become thick and overgrown. The plants entwine to form a thicket or jungle that creatures must hack or force a way through. Speed drops to 5 feet, or 10 feet for Large or larger creatures. The area must have brush and trees in it for this spell to take effect. At your option, the area can be a 100-foot-radius circle, a 150-foot-radius semicircle, or a 200-foot-radius quarter circle. You may designate places within the area that are not affected.

Enrichment
This effect targets plants within a range of one-half mile, raising their potential productivity over the course of the next year to one-third above normal.
If the Party burns the current crop and if enough seed was available. Then they had the farmers replant -no matter what time of the season. The druid then cast's "Plant Growth" in the affected areas. Since the druid can only do this once a day for like a 200 foot area, it will take a couple of weeks and possibly a reduced harvest - but that is better than none. Further, once the initial crops are grown as per the Plant Growth, have the Druid use the alternate method for Plant growth which affects a 2 mile radius and increases the production and vitality by 50%.

As the party goes into burn the crops, a 'Sanctuary' spell would probably work well to keep them from being attacked by the Blood worms for a time. One thing that does need to be kept in mind is that it's not just the land or the people, but the animals as well - both wild and domestic. They can keep the infestation spreading, so those need to be dealt with as well. Gnomes ability to speak with burrowing animals or simply the Speak with Animals or Plants would help the PCs get a general idea of the extent of the infestation.
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Re: Bloodworm infestation, how to clear one?

Post by TheMetal1 »

Just took a look at 'Of Gods & Monsters' as well, wondering what spells in there might help. There are few:

1. Heal The Land - a 6th Level Druid/Cleric spell, American-Indian. Would totally restore the land, but causes damage to the caster.
2. Enemies, What Enemies - 5th level, all Casters, Gnome only. As long as the enemies are attacking a Gnome then anything in a 30ft radius per level will be banished back to their homes.
3. Bumper Crop - 1st Level, all Casters, Halfling only. Causes seeds to double their normal yield.
4. Death Mist - 5th Level, Humanoid Shaman. 100-yard radius save vs. Int. or die.

Additionally, some other spells that might work:

1. Charm Person or Animal -2nd Level Druid. Works on Magical beasts, have the Blood Worms all move to one location to burn.
2. Cloudkill - 5th Level wizard. Just kills everything.
3. Commune with Nature - 5th Level Druid. Know 3 things in a big area. Figure out the extent of the infestation.
4. Control Water - 4th Level Cleric. Raise the creek or river near by and flood the area drowning the worms.
5. Creeping Doom - 7th Level Druid. The swarm - which are all insects and arachnid types all move through the area killing the worms.
6. Insect Plague - 5th Level Cleric/Druid. Swarm remains stationary but will kill creatures over time.
7. Repel Vermin - 4th Level Druid. Would keep out worms in a 20foot radius for 10 mins per level. One way to offer some protection.
8. Sound Burst - 1st Level Cleric. Good area affect damage for dealing with the creatures.
9. Summon Swarm - 2nd Level Druid. Much smaller radius and duration than the other ones, but lets lower level PCs still act and have the insects do the fighting - though the rats and bats will likely have to be destroyed as they'll just be infected by the worms.
10. True Seeing - 5the Level Cleric/Illusionist. Another option for finding out where the worms are all located.

And of course a wish or limited wish would deal with the infestation as well.
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