Sand maws are eyeless, bipedal creatures resembling giant slugs with a pair of legs and a massive, toothless mouth. They inhabit dry, sandy environments where they can burrow underground for safety and rest. Long cilia extend from their bodies, allowing them to feel subtle vibrations and search for potential prey. Instead of chewing prey, a sand maw will rely on strong stomach acids to break down creatures it swallows whole.
Sand maws are not greedy hunters. They flee as soon as they’ve swallowed a decently sized creature. Once a sand maw starts to run, it can be difficult to catch, though their speedy escape leaves visible tracks in sand and soft ground.
Although the sand maw’s acids are potent, digestion takes time. During this period, the sand maw hibernates, sometimes for weeks, until its prey is completely broken down. At the end of digestion, the sand maw lays eggs and regurgitates anything indigestible. It then abandons its eggs to search for its next meal and a new resting place.
People living near sand maws have learned to tie small animals like goats along the perimeter of their camps and villages as sacrifices to these creatures. Some tribes view this practice as a religious offering to gain the favor of the gods.
Sand Maw
Large Monstrosity, Unaligned
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 76 (9d10 + 27)
Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 3 (-4) | 12 (+1) | 4 (-3) |
Skills Perception +3
Senses tremorsense 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 13
Languages —
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Sprint. If the sand maw used the Dash action last turn, it’s walking speed increases by 10 feet for the rest of the turn.
Unsteady. The sand maw has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws to avoid the prone condition.
Actions
Swallow. The sand maw opens its mouth to swallow creatures in a 10-foot long line that is 5 feet wide. Each Medium or smaller creature in the area must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage and be swallowed by the sand maw. A swallowed creature has the blinded and restrained conditions, and it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the sand maw.
At the start of each of the sand maw’s turns, each swallowed creature takes 10 (3d6) acid damage from the sand maw’s stomach acid and nonmagical armor worn by the creature is partly dissolved and takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armor is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10.
The sand maw’s stomach can hold up to two creatures at a time. If the sand maw takes 15 damage or more on a single turn from a swallowed creature, the sand maw must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, each of which lands in a space within 10 feet of the sand maw and has the prone condition. If the sand maw dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained and can escape from the corpse by using 10 feet of movement, exiting with the prone condition.
Downloads
Further Reading
A quest for the pendant of sand sculpting could involve searching a sand maw infested desert for the magical regurgitated belongings of a wandering storyteller.
Regions popular with sand maws might have groups of terra sharks.
Imagery created with Midjourney.
