Make a purple worm encounter interesting

[Alerad]

I need some help to make a purple worm encounter interesting.

I was thinking of having a tunnel network, which the party has to explore (seeking treasures - this is the original purpose of visiting the place).
The encounter can be spread out over several smaller encounters, where the PW attacks drilling from one of the sides of the tunnel, tries to eat a player and escapes.

Has anyone run similar encounters and do you have any advice, links, maps? I am in need of mechanics or ideas which can be stitched together. For example, if the PW eats a PC and makes a run, can the other PCs follow it and try to save the eaten character. How long is the PW (its diameter is 10ft).

The party is level 13, 3-5 people depending on how many show up. Party composition is not relevant.

[djreynolds]

Have weak sections of the floor and make sure that it forces the players to take there time.

They might be able to perceive the weakness and possible weight restrictions... and that's when the worm attacks... and players possibly fall through into another tunnel and maybe another worm

Even add in perhaps the rumbling of the floor forces dex saves or prone. It will hamper movement of the party and can even eat up resources like spells and such.

Not traps, but geological weaknesses

[mgshamster]

Read Chapter 13 of Out of the Abyss. The entire chapter is dedicated to a purple worm nest.

[Specter]

You could also make the worm intelligent (maybe with a semi-humanoid face to scare them?), and have it use clever tactics, like digging underground and then resurfacing only to swallow one of them.

[ThurlRavenscrof]

Put something the party needs/wants in the stomach of the worm. They only find it when one of them gets swallowed... Bonus points if it's and NPC

[Errow]

Maybe the worm is protecting a nest of newly - hatched baby purple worms? You have to homebrew those but that would change the normal-sized worm's behavior

[Errow]

Or other people (something surprising)have been using the worm tunnels and know how to summon a worm or two?

I'm a big fan of encounters where the party thinks it's one kind of fight but it becomes another