For as long as skimmers have plied the Silt Sea sailors have reported sightings of mammoth serpents diving in and out of the pearly waves. These creatures are silt wyrms, and little is known of them, mainly because no-one has ever witnessed one up close and survived. Relatives of both silkwyrms and sand wyrms, silt wyrms grow to over a hundred feet in length and are supported on the silt by a baglike internal organ. They have flat bodies with diamond-shaped heads, thick grey hides, and a ridge of spines on their backs. Four translucent tentacles protrude from the creature’s sides, catching the sunlight as it propels itself through the dust. Silt wyrms only inhabit deep silt, another reason why so little is known of them.

Combat: Silt wyrms are deadly predators, holding a spot on the food chain contested only by silt drakes. They hunt using their detect life and radial navigation abilities, cloaking themselves with chameleon power before moving in for the kill. Before a silt wyrm attacks it rises up like a titanic cobra, bringing its front pair of tentacles to attack. These cause no damage, but any creature struck by one must save vs paralysis or be paralysed for 3d6 rounds. It also attacks with its fang-filled jaws, doing 3-30 points of damage. If it rolls 4 or more higher than needed to hit on its bite attack, the silt wyrm severs a limb (25% chance of each). If it rolls a natural 20, the silt wyrm can swallow man-sized opponents. Swallowed victims can take no action, including psionics, as they are assaulted with acidic digestive juices (2d10 damage per round). Even if a silt wyrm is defeated, its victims can rarely be rescued as the beast immediately sinks beneath the silt.

A silt wyrm can fly for short periods of time at a movement rate of 3, maneuverability class E. This flight lasts for one turn, and the wyrm needs only wait another round (it may attack or use psionics in that round) before it can take off again. A silt wyrm uses this ability for its own leisure and rarely in combat, preferring to use telepathic attacks to bring down flying prey. The wyrm can also dive beneath the waves for short periods of time to retrieve those paralysed victims who slip into the silt.

Habitat/Society: The mating cycle, mortality rate, and lifespan of the silt wyrm are unknown, as a live specimen has never been observed nor captured. They live solitary lives, necessitated by their constant feeding cycle and the scarce prey available in the dusty environs. Most likely the giant serpents have mating grounds in a distant, unexplored region of the Silt Sea, and the resulting eggs sink to the bottom before they hatch. Such a mating ground would contain 2d6 silt wyrms, all very hostile to intruders.

Ecology: Silt wyrms are related to silkwyrms and sand wyrms, gaining the ability to fly from the former and their huge size from the latter. How such a union came about is unknown, but it is more likely the result of magical experimentation or the Pristine Tower than racial interbreeding. A silt wyrm carcass is difficult to obtain, especially as the creature sinks once it is killed, but many magical components can be collected from one. The tentacles can be made into a paralytic poison, or gloves of paralysis, and a hard stone-like section of the organ which allows the wyrm to fly can be set and used in a ring of feather falling.