The Spiky Worm is the smallest mob in Legendary Monsters, a knee-high spined grub with 7 health that lives in the Ancient Stronghold and bursts out of Ambushers when they die. One is harmless and three are a nuisance, and they exist to drop the 
Ancient Spike, which is one of the four parts of the 
Spiky Shield.
You’ll meet them in two ways, and the second is the one that matters. Seven are placed in the stronghold’s corridors when it generates, and every Ambusher you kill releases three more on the spot, so a full clear of one fortress is a dozen or so worms and a dozen or so spikes.
Spawning
Spiky Worms don’t spawn naturally in any biome. They come from the Ancient Stronghold, either placed in its halls or released by a dying Ambusher, and a cleared stronghold never makes more. The stronghold generates on the surface in Dark Forests, Taigas and Old Growth Spruce Taigas, and an 
Eye Of Many Ribs flies to the nearest one.
The placed worms wander the corridors on their own and the released ones appear on the Ambusher’s body, which is the version that matters. Kill an Ambusher at sword range and three worms are biting your feet before its death animation has finished.
Behavior
A Spiky Worm is hostile and goes for players first, then 
Iron Golems and 
Snow Golems, and it notices you from about 14 blocks. It has one attack, a bite for 3 damage that it lands as fast as it can reach you, and no wind-up worth reading. It’s slow, though, and it can’t jump much, so a single block step stops a chase.
| Stat | Value | What to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 7 | One hit from any Diamond Sword |
| Armor | 6 | Enough that a bare fist takes a while |
| Bite | 3 | Adds up fast when three land together |
| Size | Under a block tall | Sweeps catch them, single stabs miss them |
The worms are fine one at a time and awkward in a pack, because they’re small enough to miss with a normal swing and they arrive in threes. The sweep attack is the answer, as it hits everything in front of you at once, and it kills all three from full health.
Special Mechanics
A Spiky Worm takes no fall damage, which matters only in that dropping the Ambusher down a pit doesn’t solve the worms. Everything else works on it, including 
Arrows, fire and Potions, and it has almost no knockback resistance, so a sprint hit sends it flying.
Spiky Worms are half a block tall and dark, and in an unlit stronghold corridor you’ll feel them before you see them. Place 
Torches as you go, and when an Ambusher dies, back into the light and let the three worms come to you.
There’s no venom, no Bleeding and no effect of any kind on the bite, despite the spikes. It’s 3 damage and nothing else, which is why the worm is a nuisance and not a threat to anyone in armor.
Drops
Every Spiky Worm drops 1 Ancient Spike and 2 experience, with no Looting bonus. That makes a stronghold’s worth of worms the mod’s cheapest guaranteed drop, and the spike’s only use is the Spiky Shield, which wants one.
Spiky Worm Drops
Ancient Spike The Spiky Shield is an Ancient Spike, a 
Chiseled Ancient Dripstone Shard from an Ambusher, a 
Molten Metal Ingot smelted from the Ancient Guardian‘s Anchor Handle, and a plain Shield. When a hit lands on it while you block, half the time the attacker starts Bleeding and takes 5 damage plus a quarter of its own hit back.
The spike is the easy part of that recipe and the ingot is the hard part, since it costs the Guardian’s only drop. A stronghold gives you a dozen spikes and one ingot, so the spares go in a 
Chest for the day you find another Ancient Guardian.
Tips
There’s no strategy to a Spiky Worm beyond not letting three of them bite at once. Kill Ambushers in open rooms, step back as they die, and sweep the worms when they bunch up, which they always do. Iron armor turns the bite into a scratch.
A 
Bow works on them, unlike almost everything else in the stronghold, so if a pack is coming down a corridor, two Arrows thin it before it arrives. It’s not worth the Arrows most of the time, but it’s the one place in the fortress where ranged does anything.
FAQ
The Ancient Stronghold, and nowhere else in the world. Seven are placed in each stronghold’s halls when it generates, and every Ambusher releases three more when it dies. They never spawn naturally and don’t respawn.
1 Ancient Spike every time, plus 2 experience. The spike goes into the Spiky Shield with a Chiseled Ancient Dripstone Shard, a Molten Metal Ingot and a Shield, and it has no other use.
Step back as the Ambusher dies so the three worms spawn in front of you rather than under you, then hit them with a sweep attack. They have 7 health each, so one sweep from a 
Diamond Sword kills all three.
No, the bite is 3 damage with no effect attached, despite the spikes, so there’s nothing to cure afterward. The only thing they resist is fall damage, and Arrows, fire and Potions all work on them.
