Aurumvorax The aurumvorax ( a - rum - VOR - æks ; see plural for the plural form ) , sometimes known as the golden gorger , is a small , shaggy hole - dwelling creature with eight legs that is able to eat gold . It is sometimes used to locate gold , able to detect and find its veins in the ground . It is not fearful and can become vicious , able to defend itself against formidable creatures like chimera e . Appearance . When fully grown , an aurumvorax measures around 3 ' ( 1m ) in length and 18 " ( 0 . 5m ) in height . It has a hide of 3 " - long , golden fur which is highly prized , capable of fetching 15 , 000 – 20 , 000 gold pieces . It weighs around 500 pounds ( 227kg ) . Its eyes are silver , with bronze whiskers . Its claws and teeth are copper - colored . Ecology . Habitat . The aurumvorax is found in light forests or near the timberline of mountains . Although it occasionally lives at the bottom of ravines , it is more usual to find an aurumvorax burrow in the side of a hill . The burrow will normally extend through the top soil and into the rock beneath where its enormous weight can be supported . Where possible , the aurumvorax will burrow into rock rich in gold ore . The burrow normally contains a small reserve of ore nuggets as a food supply . Society . Except when mating , the aurumvorax is solitary , patrolling an area of around ten square miles . They only seek mates once every eight or nine years , spending three or four weeks with a partner . The female usually gives birth to around half a dozen offspring . Diet . The aurumvorax must eat gold in order to survive ( except the Cormanthor aurumvorax ) , although it will also eat meat and other metals . Without gold , it will become ill and die in around a week , unless it has access to platinum , which may prolong its life by three weeks . The gold in its diet gives the aurumvorax the color in its golden fur . Offspring . The young of the aurumvorax are called kittens and are born hairless , with their eyes closed for the first two weeks . Most will die due to lack of gold , but the survivors stay with the mother for up to six years before becoming fully grown and independent , although they can reach full maturity much faster if their diet is rich in gold , not normally an option in the wild . It is not unknown for the mother to eat its own young when gold is scarce . Hibernation . The aurumvorax can hibernate , 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 . Biology . An aurumvorax ' s saliva is highly corrosive to metal . The aurumvorax is immune to all normal toxins and cannot be poisoned , and blunt weapons do it very little damage as a consequence of its high density . It also has an extremely high tolerance to heat , able to survive all but the largest of fires . The meat of the aurumvorax is highly toxic to other creatures , resulting in metal poisoning . Aurumvorax can eat their own kind safely . If its corpse is incinerated , up to 200 pounds ( 91kg ) of gold can be left behind . Aurumvorax hide can also be adapted to be worn as armor , which provides near - immunity to gold , but the intricate and time - consuming process of turning its hide into armor is very costly . Hide is sometimes made into a bed fur or a cape for a dwarven wedding . Parts of the aurumvorax , due to their combination of bone and metal , can be made into decorative objects or jewelry . Behaviour . The aurumvorax will usually tolerate small animals and creatures that do not pose a threat , but will become wary and possibly aggressive near human s and other larger creatures . Its jaw muscles are incredibly strong and once it has a grip , it will not normally let go until its victim is dead . Despite its small size , it is capable of dragging a creature up to its own body weight . Combat . When the aurumvorax attacks , it will first lock its powerful jaws onto an opponent , then rake with its claws . Its death is usually the only thing that can unlock its jaws once gripping a victim . If it attacks from its den , it will likely catch its opponent by surprise . The creature is immune to all poisons and gases . It can withstand all but the largest or magical fires . Plural . There appears to be a contradiction as to the plural form of ' aurumvorax ' . Mark Feil ' s " The Ecology of the Aurumvorax " in Dragon magazine # 132 uses ' aurumvoraxes ' , but the " Cormanthor " book from the " Elminster ' s Ecologies " boxed set uses ' aurumvorax ' . " Powers & Pantheons " claims that the plural is actually " aurumvorae " . Species . 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 armor , 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 ) . Rumors . An aurumvorax the size of a dragon was rumored to live in the Marching Mountains on Ruler ' s Ridge .