Ondlibi Worm Infestation
In years past, I’ve done Advent and/or Christmas-themed posts once December rolls around. For example. I’m not doing that this year, but I am doing something similiar via social media. For example, in the Old-School Essentials (OSE) public Facebook group, I’m participating in the Dicember challenge to follow the Dicember calendar and come up with something for each day of December. I’m going to stick to OSE content for those posts, which I’ll compile into a document of some sort once January hits.
Speaking of OSE, a long time ago, some Germans coined the term Öhrwurm, which was a compound of dried, ground insects used to treat ear ailments. I think in the 1970s, some author used the English translation of Öhrwurm to mean a bit of music so catchy that it metaphorically burrows into your ear and keeps humming away, which brings us to today’s creature.
Ondlibi Worm Infestation
Found in the steaming Ondlibi rainforests, these gray-brown, psionic maggots that hatch from tiny Ondlibi fly eggs, usually deposited in narrow, warm orifices, such as ear canals. Wise travelers wear headgear that covers the ears.
AC 9 [10], HD 1 hp, Att NA, THAC0 NA, MV 3’ (1’), SV D14 W15 P16 B17 S18 (NH), ML 12, AL Neutral.
- Infest: 4-16 eggs hatch in 1-6 hours. Worms burrow into host right after. Symptoms include itchy rashes, low-grade fevers, and psychic cacophony (see below).
- Just a Maggot: No threat at all in combat. At its largest, it’s a fat worm about the size of a human pinky’s terminal knucklebone.
- Psychic Cacophony: Worms detect and mimic host’s thoughts, mentally echoing snippets of them repeatedly. Host cannot concentrate or sleep. Cure disease kills the infestation.
