Terrify Your D&D Players with this Horror from 3e (updated for 5e)
By Beren Goguen
All-Consuming Hunger (5e version)
Large Undead - Evil
AC 15
HP 155
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
STR +3 | DEX +2 | CON +4 | INT +0 | WIS +2 | CHA +0
Saving Throws CON +7, STR +6, DEX +4
Senses Blindsight 120 ft., Perception +4, Passive Perception 16
Languages None
Challenge 8
Magic Resistance. Spells and magical effects that target a specific number of creatures do half damage to the Hunger, except for spells and effects that cause fire damage.
Damage Vulnerabilities. Fire
Damage Resistances. Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities. Necrotic, poison, psychic
Condition Immunities. Charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Undead Swarm. The Hunger cannot be grappled, flanked, or prone. It’s also immune to spells that turn undead.
Miasma of Decay. When a non-undead, non-construct creature comes within 60 feet of the Hunger, it must succeed on a DC 16 WIS save or become frightened for one minute. If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it's also stunned for the same duration. EOS (ends on save): A creature can repeat the save at the end of its turns. If a creature saves or the effect ends for it, that creature is immune to the miasma for 24 hours.
Nauseating Presence. If a non-undead, non-construct creature starts it's turn within five feet of a Hunger, it suffers a -1 penalty to all actions. Casting any spell that requires concentration (and maintaining concentration) requires a DC 16 CON save. On a failure, the spell fails or the caster loses concentration.
Create Spawn. Any creature that is killed by an All-Consuming Hunger rises as a new Hunger controlled by the DM within 1D4 turns.
Actions
The Hunger makes two attacks.
Rotting Slam. +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 22 (5d8) necrotic damage. The target must succeed on a DC 16 CON save or be afflicted with Wasting Curse. The cursed target loses 1D4 CON every 24 hours. If the curse reduces a target’s CON to 0, the target dies, and its body turns into a new Hunger. The curse lasts until removed by remove curse, greater restoration, or similar magic.
Shed Rot Worms. As a bonus action, the Hunger sheds 1d4+1 tiny Rot Worms (see below)
Rot Worms
Tiny Undead - Evil
AC 11
HP 1
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
STR -3 | DEX +2 | CON +0 | INT -3 | WIS -3 | CHA -3
Damage Immunities: Poison, Necrotic
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion, Poisoned
Senses: Blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
Languages: None
Challenge: 0
Actions
Infest. Melee Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: The target must succeed on a DC 15 CON saving throw or take 4 (2d4) necrotic damage as the worm burrows. On a success, the target takes no damage and the worm is destroyed.
Burrowing worms can be destroyed by applying fire to the point of entry within one turn (as an action), causing 1D6 fire damage or by succeeding on a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check and pulling the worm(s) out after making an incision (1D4 piercing damage). If a worm is not removed within one turn, it will burrow too deep, causing an additional 8 (4D4) necrotic damage.
If untreated, any worms that are not removed or destroyed within 24 hours will cause Wasting Curse (no saving throw).
The Swarm of Death is Back for 5e
The All-Consuming Hunger is a unique and rarely discussed third-edition undead monster last published in the Underdark sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting way back in 2003.
Now, the only reason I can think of why this particular baddie hasn't been reprinted is maybe because it's too deadly?
But we love deadly!
Now this monster is actually not a single creature but rather a swarm of undead body parts from multiple dead creatures that all writhe, pulsate, and slither en-masse through the depths in search of living beings to consume.
Taking damage from this swarm of death carries a high risk of contracting Wasting disease, which if not cured, withers the victim away until they eventually die and turn into a new undead swarm.
The Hunger is extremely hard to destroy, immune to disease, poison, paralysis, petrification, and psychic damage. It cannot be grappled, knocked prone, exhausted, charmed, or stunned and does not experience fear. It’s also resistant to normal weapons and magic that targets a specific number of creatures (actually, in the original version, its immune to spells that target a specific number of creatures).
Yikes.
As if all this wasn’t horrible enough, the Hunger is surrounded by a nauseating miasma that causes living creatures to either become absolutely terrified or incapacitated.
Now the book does not specify what shape the All-Consuming Hunger takes, other than to say that it has no obvious front or back (making it immune to flanking).
So, you could have this thing manifest in a spider-like form, similar to the spider monster in season 3 of Stranger Things or just a giant slug-like blob of pulsating undead body parts and fleshy tentacles.
Either way, it's going to be nasty.
Unpacking the 5e Stats
For the updated stat block above, I took a few liberties, because I felt that the original monster was a little too impervious to damage.
So in my 5e version, it's vulnerable to fire, which gives players one effective strategy to kill this thing, if they can figure out its weakness. It's resistant to all other non-magic damage.
Now, to further emphasize the disgusting swarming nature of this monster, I gave it the ability to shed 1D4+1 rot worms that can burrow into victims bodies. Gross! And of course, you should use the optional Cleaving Through Enemies rule in chapter nine of the DMG, so players can take out multiple worms in one hit, because players do not want to get hit by those.
KILL IT WITH FIRE
So basically, without fire, a Hunger will be very difficult to destroy, making this particular monster a great mini boss in your next Underdark adventure. Although you probably don't want to throw this at your characters until they’re at least level five or six, depending on party size.
This raises a question: Why would your players even attempt to fight this thing?
Good point. A smart party of non murder hobos would probably recognize this as a significant foe and avoid fighting it altogether. So here are two ways around this without totally railroading your players:
#1: You could always have a faction of NPCs hire the party to find and destroy the Hunger for a reward. Maybe this thing has been killing off a tribe of Deep Gnomes who beg the party to intervene, offering a rare magic item as a reward.
#2: The Hunger itself could be formed around a powerful magical object that can only be retrieved after the Hunger has been destroyed. Maybe a powerful necromancer created the Hunger as an undead guardian, placing a random legendary relic inside the swarm.
Creeping Out Your Players
However you choose to use it, your goal with this monster should be to freak out your players. And the scariest monster is always the unknown thing lurking in the darkness. So remember to establish a sense of foreboding before they actually encounter the Hunger.
Drop hints and clues that something truly vile is slithering out there in the pitch black Underdark.
The distant sounds of crunching bones and squelching flesh.
The rotten stench of decay...
You get the idea.
And also don't forget about the curse it transmits, as this is a big part of what makes the Hunger so terrifying, along with the rot worms, which can inflict some serious body horror if not dealt with quickly.
Plus, even if the players survive the battle and defeat this thing, they could still die later from being infected by the curse or just eaten from the inside out by worms.
Now that’s grimdark!
Thanks for checking out my update of this classic creature.
Also, don’t miss our 50+ completely free random tables for DnD to make building your next custom adventure a breeze. We’ve got tables for quests, monsters, items, traps, locations, factions, and a lot more!
Stay classy.
