The purple worm, which I've yet to have any reason to use in my Dwimmermount campaign so far, strikes me as a good candidate for such a re-imagining. I'm a big fan of re-imagining classic monsters in ways that aren't arbitrary but rather reflective of their complex histories/origins. Interestingly, the AD&D Monster Manual includes an aquatic variant of this creature, called the mottled worm, which recalls its first appearance in Chainmail. There is a poisonous sting at its tail, but its mouth is its most fearsome weapon, for it is so large as to be able to swallow up to ogre-sized opponents in one gulp.Other than its color, the main element that carried over from Chainmail is the worm's poisonous sting. Some reach a length of 50 feet and a girth of nearly 10 feet diameter.

These huge and hungry monsters lurk nearly everywhere just beneath the surface of the land. Of course, Volume 2 of OD&D, which contains the illustration accompanying this post, provides the first write-up of this creature, under the name by which it became staple of the game. As others have already noted, D&D's purple worm began its existence as a rare species of dragon in Chainmail.įinally, the Purple, or Mottled, Dragon is a rare, flightless worm with a venomous sting in its tail.No other details are given for this Purple Dragon.

D&d purple worm