The Gnawmother is a gnawling queen: a big, hunched gnawling of shaggy black fur with four yellow eyes in a row and a wide mouth of teeth, dragging behind her a swollen brood sac with little gnawlings curled up inside. She is one of the woods' hardest night creatures. She is slow, but she bites, lunges, slams her brood down on anyone behind her, and keeps giving birth to new gnawlings.
CONTENTS
Where and when
- In the woods, at night, rarely. Only one Gnawmother is about at a time.
- In the woods' dungeons of the Dire and Fatal tiers, now and then. See Dungeons.
Like the other night creatures, she leaves at dawn (Day and Night).
Health and damage
Out in the world, her health and damage grow with the number of Jewels you hold (Jewels): each Jewel adds 70% of her base health and 40% of her base damage. Health is rounded; damage is before your defence lowers it.
| Jewels held | Health | Lunge bite damage |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 121 | 31 |
| 1 | 206 | 44 |
| 2 | 290 | 56 |
| 3 | 375 | 69 |
| 4 | 460 | 82 |
| 5 | 545 | 94 |
In a dungeon, her health and damage follow the dungeon's tier and the Jewels you hold instead.
Attacks
Damage below is with no Jewels.
Shriek
The first time she hunts you, she rears up with her mouth wide and screams. Every Gnawling within 260 px of her comes running at you, and her first two gnawlings are born.
Snap
When you are right in front of her head, she rears up with her eyes on you (0.55 seconds: the tell), then bites (0.24 seconds) for 25 damage, pushing you back.
- Parry: press right-click or R as she bites. She flinches and the bite does nothing.
- Block: a guard held up earlier blocks it, and you take 7 damage instead.
- Jump: the bite only lands if you are low to the ground.
Lunge
When you are in front of her and 70 to 170 px away, she rears up the same way, then rushes forward 0.42 seconds and bites for 31 damage, throwing you back. If the bite misses but her body runs into you, it does 16 damage and shoves you aside. She lunges at most once every 4.5 seconds (every 3 seconds once she is below 40% health).
- Parry: press right-click or R as she bites. She flinches for 1.1 seconds.
- Block: you take 9 damage instead.
- Step aside: the lunge goes straight, so get out of its line during the rear.
Brood slam
If you stay behind her, near her brood sac (within 56 px, for more than 0.35 seconds), she usually hauls the sac up off the ground, trembling (0.8 seconds: the tell), and slams it down. A shockwave rolls out up to 62 px and does 20 damage to anyone on the ground, knocking them flat. If you stand pressed against her side, she brings her whole length down instead, in a 58 px ring.
- Jump: Space over the shockwave as it reaches you.
Birth
Every 8 to 11 seconds (5.5 to 7.5 seconds once she is below 40% health), if you are within 230 px, her brood swells and throbs (1.05 seconds), then a lobe splits and flings out two gnawlings (three once she is below 40%). No more than 6 of her gnawlings can be about at once.
Her brood sac
- Blows on the sac (from behind her) do 25% more damage.
- Every time you deal 16% of her health to the sac, a lobe bursts: two gnawlings spill out, she stops for 0.9 seconds, and that lobe can never give birth again. A plunge on the sac counts double toward bursting it. Her sac has three lobes; once all three have burst, she can't give birth any more.
Behaviour
- She is slow: she drags herself along in surges, a little faster once she is below 40% health.
- She turns about slowly, so getting behind her is the easiest way to reach the sac.
- Flinching: how often your blows make her flinch depends on your weapon: every second blow with the greatsword or war hammer; every third with the sword, blade staff or mattock; every sixth with the daggers or bow; every fourth with anything else. She never flinches while she shrieks, snaps, heaves, slams or bursts.
How to fight her
- Deal with the first gnawlings quickly, then get behind her and strike the sac: it takes 25% more, and bursting all three lobes stops the births for good.
- When she lifts the sac and trembles, jump the slam, then strike again.
- Don't stand in front of her at middle range: that is where she lunges.
Drops
Each one you defeat leaves:
| Item | Amount | Chance | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
 Gnawmother Fang | 1 | ALWAYS | Any Tooth, Warrior's Raincoat, Fighter's Charm, Gnawmother Fang Charm |
 Tooth | 3 | ALWAYS | Any Tooth, Warrior's Raincoat, Fighter's Charm |
 Hide | 2 | ALWAYS | Leather, Runner's Raincoat, Tank's Raincoat, and more |
Spirits and experience
When it falls it lets go of 9 Earth and 7 Wind spirits. You gain experience in:
