Sand Elemental
- Habitat
- Deserts, sandy shores, dry caverns
- Biomes
- desert, +underground, summoned
- Spawn
- solo, any
- Temper
- Placid but savagely territorial
- Threat
- Moderate
- Rarity
- Rare
- Move
- run; burrow.
- Special
- Difficult to damage physically; a heavy dousing of water slows it and halves its blows; heaves up to trap those who step on it, striking before they notice it; immune to sleep, charm, hold, and mind-influencing spells; matches ambient heat, so heat-vision cannot pick it out
- STR19
- DEX11
- CON16
- INT1
- Health152
- Damage37
- Armor28
A solitary, mineral-eating elemental that looks like nothing more than a heap of loose sand until it moves. Roughly ten feet across at full growth, it shifts its colour to match the ground, making it nearly invisible to a careless wanderer who may blunder right into its claimed patch. Provoked, it lashes out with a coarse, grinding pseudopod that scours flesh raw, and if trodden upon it heaves upward to trap whoever stepped on it. It despises moisture and burrows under sand to escape rain. Sages believe these creatures drift up from an elemental plane of earth, subsisting on stone, sand and swallowed gems.
Behavior
- Sits motionless in its territory, all but indistinguishable from ordinary sand.
- Strikes only when intruders enter or disturb its claimed ground.
- Lunges upward reflexively when stepped on, trapping man-sized prey.
- Burrows beneath the surface to avoid water, which it loathes.
- Buds tiny offspring and culls any that grow large enough to rival it.
Abilities
- Abrasive Slam. Grinding pseudopod that flays the skin from a target.
- Shifting Camouflage. Colour-matches its surroundings and matches ambient heat, defeating sight and heat-vision.
- Engulfing Trap. Heaves up to seize and pin those who step on it, fouling their footing.
- Water Vulnerability. A heavy dousing slows it and halves its blows.
- Mindless Resilience. Immune to sleep, charm and other mind-bending effects.
Drops & Crafting
- Fine silica sand for glassmaking
- Coarse abrasive grit for sharpening and polishing
- Adhesive binder rendered into remarkably strong mortar or glue
- Occasional uncut gems swallowed from its diet
- Grinding powder for alchemists