Philosopher WormSource Alien Archive 3 pg. 78
The sapient arthropods of Nchak are unified in their veneration of the Forever Queen, whom they believe to be a mortal incarnation of the goddess Hylax. As efficient as autocracies can be, the unwillingness of subjects to question their ruler’s judgment can be a fatal weakness. To correct this potential problem, the first Forever Queen established a caste of trusted advisors she called the philosopher worms.
Unlike most of Nchak’s residents, a philosopher worm has only a few arthropodan features. It has an insectile thorax and six arms, but its lower body resembles that of a segmented worm. Its head is a flat, half-moon shape—a vertical semicircle of hardened flesh bearing a line of illuminated runes along its curved edge. The philosopher worms’ runes, which pulse in time with the beating of its three hearts, are manifestations of innate psychic magic and act as the creature’s sensory organs. An average philosopher worm is 8 feet long and weighs 500 pounds, but they grow throughout their long lives. The oldest can be up to 16 feet long and weigh more than 2 tons.
Philosopher worms occupy a unique role in the Forever Queen’s government. Although a vital part of church and state, they remain separate from both, acting with autonomy. The worms focus their minds on deciphering the intricacies of the universe. Through a mixture of magic and teleological reasoning, the worms study what they describe as the “metaphysical threads” from which the gods wove reality, manipulating them to learn hidden knowledge or future events. They use what they learn to educate the Forever Queen and challenge her thinking on matters of state, ensuring she benefits from their scholarship.
Only the most prestigious and accomplished worms warrant regular audiences with the queen. Most significant among these is the teleologarch, who acts as the queen’s primary advisor and is second only to her in authority. Philosopher worms who have yet to rise to such positions either assist their elders or organize other Nchaki citizens for institutional projects. Numerous trox serve the philosopher worms directly, most often working as the muscle and face to the worms’ intellect and political wishes. Most such trox serve as explorers, laborers, or sentinels, but some are aides, diplomats, or students. These trox act as surrogates for the worms in the wider galaxy, facilitating the worms’ aims and studies. This connection between the two species, which the trox are unforthcoming about, has led to all sorts of conspiracy theories about the nature of the philosopher worms. However, the trox speak the truth when they say the worms loyally serve the benevolent Forever Queen.
Shirrens are second only to trox in their service to philosopher worms. Since shirrens arrived in the Pact Worlds and rediscovered their ties to Hylax, countless shirrens have sought to serve on Nchak. Few shirrens work for a philosopher worm directly, instead taking positions in a worm’s staff, subordinate to the trox. However, the shirrens have been in the Pact Worlds for centuries now, and several have risen to prominence on Nchak and studied directly with the worms.Aliens in the "Philosopher Worm" FamilySource Alien Archive 3 pg. 78Philosopher Worm Teleologarch CR 16 XP 76,800
LG Large monstrous humanoid
Init +0; Senses blindsight (thought) 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +28
Aura soothing presence (30 ft., Will DC 24)DefenseHP 280
EAC 30; KAC 31
Fort +16; Ref +14; Will +21
SR 26 vs. mind-affecting effects only
OffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee claw +28 (6d8+18 P)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Offensive Abilities reality storm
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; ranged +29)
1/day—telepathic jaunt, vision
3/day—divination, greater dispel magic, greater synaptic pulse (DC 23), mind probe (DC 22), retrocognition
At will—augury, command (DC 19), detect thoughts (DC 19), discern lies (DC 22), mindlink, mind thrust (4th level; DC 22), psychokinetic hand, status, telekinetic projectile, telepathic bondStatisticsSTR +2; DEX +0; CON +4; INT +8; WIS +7; CHA +7
Skills Culture +28, Diplomacy +33, Life Science +28, Medicine +28, Mysticism +33, Physical Science +28, Sense Motive +33
Languages telepathy 60 ft., truespeech
Other Abilities evaluateEcologyEnvironment any (Nchak)
Organization solitarySpecial AbilitiesEvaluate (Ex) A philosopher worm can cast detect thoughts as a swift action, and when cast, the spell works as if it had been active for 3 rounds. If the worm reads a creature’s surface thoughts and the creature fails the saving throw against the spell, the worm also learns the creature’s defensive abilities, weaknesses, and active defenses from items or spells.
Reality Storm (Sp) This ability works like the cosmic eddy spell (Reflex DC 22), except the damage it deals has the force descriptor. The philosopher worm teleologarch can have only one reality storm present at a time, but this ability can otherwise be used every 1d4 rounds.
Soothing Presence (Su) A creature in the aura must succeed at a DC 24 Will saving throw to attempt to harm the philosopher worm. A creature that succeeds at the saving throw or is attacked by any philosopher worm is immune to this aura from any philosopher worm for 24 hours. The philosopher worm has a +4 insight bonus to Diplomacy checks made to influence affected insectile creatures of any creature type in this aura. Although the aura is a mind-affecting compulsion, mindless vermin aren’t immune to it.
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