Aurumvorax

The aurumvorax (plural aurumvorax) is a hole-dwelling creature that is able to eat gold. It is sometimes used to locate gold, able to detect and find its veins in the ground. It has a golden hide which is highly prized, capable of fetching 15,000–20,000 gold pieces. It can become vicious, able to defend itself against formidable creatures like chimera.

The aurumvorax can hiberate, usually during the winter, and during this time it buries itself in the ground. Although it usually breathes through its nostrils, while hibernating it breathes through its skin, a small patch of which it leaves exposed, above the ground. This can easily be confused for gold. It can be woken easily at any point during its hibernation, reacting fiercely and angrily to any disturbance.

An aurumvorax's saliva is highly corrosive to metal. When its corpse is burned, gold is left behind. Aurumvorax hide can also be adapted to be worn as armour. It provides near-immunity to gold.

Cormanthor aurumvorax
The Cormanthor aurumvorax can be found in the rimwood and midwood areas of the forest. It was introduced to the forest in the 1000s DR by a group of treasure hunters from Ylraphon, in an attempt to discover gold in the area. Although the aurumvorax found gold, they became very protective over it, and devoured their masters when they tried to get to the gold.

Although the aurumvorax thrived in the plains of the rimwood east of the River Lis, making many holes in the ground in that area, the gold on which their diet was based was gone within a decade, and they were forced to adapt to a different diet. It adapted its digestive system to allow it to eat iron ore, onyx and other minerals. Its hide also changed as a result, becoming mottled with dull red and blue streaks. As a result, they only fetch 7,500–10,000 gold pieces, about half that of a regular aurumvorax hide. Cormanthor aurumvorax claws are usually bright green or purple, and can fetch up to 100 gold pieces and 1,000 gold pieces, respectively.

Like the regular aurumvorax hides, Cormanthor aurumvorax hides can be turned into armour, although the type of near-immunity granted varies depending on the diet of the aurumvorax. It could potentially provide near-immunity against azurite, copper, gold, jade, onyx, opal, silver or turquoise.

As a strange side-effect from the Cormanthor aurumvorax's non-native surroundings, about one in five suffer from allergies during the spring, causing them to sneeze, expelling their highly corrosive saliva up to 10' (3m).