Description:
These are massive and, thankfully, extremely rare organisms that have evolved through the evil mutating power of the demon magic present in Caevalonia.
They live mainly in the Ruined Lands south of the Dragon Mountains. Here the high sulphur content from volcanic activity seems to suit them. But it has been reported that there is an earthmaw somewhere in the Desert of Shifting Sands (although quite how it managed to travel there from the species' origins remains a mystery).
No one has ever seen what the body of an earthmaw looks like as the creatures lie underground with only the gaping circular mouth exposed at the surface like a deadly pit-trap. The creatures' size (or at least the size of their mouths!) increases with age and can reach anything up to 50ft in diameter. But a large tooth-filled hole in the ground can actually be quite easy to avoid falling into so earthmaws have a secondary method for gathering food. The have many long, thin, sinuous tentacles that they can move easily through the ground which they use to grab unfortunate victims from below, and then drag them back to the main mouth. In some cases the dark magic that spawned them has given these tentacles mouths so that the earthmaw can use these to consume its prey instead. But, if possible, they always prefer to swallow their meals via the central mouth (which probably leads directly to the stomach). On some of the largest earthmaws these questing tentacles can stretch for miles!
Earthmaws have no eyes or ears and sense their prey through vibrations of the ground which they are highly sensitive to. They cannot move their bodies (apart from when they are extremely young when they move to the place where they will remain for the rest of their lives) and so rely upon their tentacles for food and can quickly repair and even regrow them if one is damaged or severed, but if it loses too many then the earthmaw cannot recover and so will starve and die. They are also quite intelligent and often make pitfall traps etc. to help catch potential prey.
Average Statistics
Size: unknown
Weight: unknown
Preferred Environment(s): flatlands, preferably with deep, rock-free soils.
Diet: carnivorous / hunters
Alignment (if any): evil - demonic
Life expectancy: unknown
Solitary/Group (number): solitary or possibly networked.