Ottoia

Ottoia is a priapulid (a type of primitive worm) that is strictly carnivorous, burrowing in the sand and waiting for prospective prey to come to it. The creature senses the approach of prey by feeling the vibrations generated by its movement, and its head is several feet below the top of the hole that is its ambush point. When a victim is close enough, Ottoia extends its proboscis up to six feet and bites (doing 2d8 damage). In the AD&D game, if the beast's attack roll is four or higher than what was needed, the victim is swallowed whole. In the BUGHUNTERS game, the creature has a Success Margin of 7 to determine if its prey has been swallowed.

Swallowed victims have one chance to break free (make a Strength or a Fitness roll); anyone swallowed will take 1d10 points of damage from digestive juices until he dies. To make matters worse, these worms often live together in clusters of six, with their burrows arranged in a circular formation, so getting hit by one Ottoia is equivalent to stepping on one mine in a minefield.

As usual, swallowed victims take half damage from any attacks on the swallower, but this shouldn't happen too often. Remember, the animal is completely buried under up to ten feet of sand, save for its head. Once the proboscis is withdrawn, the head presents a blank, roughly spherical front, and is covered with short spines that do 1d6 damage to any characters coming in contact with them. BUGHUNTERS PCs also remove three damage points and two lethality ratings to any attack on the head.