Sandman

ECOLOGY

Environment any land (Plane of Earth
Organization solitary, gang (2–4), or shoal (5–10)

Stealthy and unpredictable, the sandman is a terror to on desert worlds where residual magical energies bring them to life or draw them forth from the elemental planes. At rest, sandmen resemble ordinary piles of sand, blending in perfectly with barren surroundings or dusty ruins. They rely on their soporific powers in most situations, putting their enemies to sleep and killing their unconscious opponents or dragging them back to their summoner.

Although they themselves are elementals, sandmen don’t typically associate with other elementals, seeing their unquestioning obedience as weak. Sandmen pride themselves as free thinkers, and when summoned by magic they often interpret commands as they see fit. Because of their arrogance, usually only the most confident or most desperate mystics bother with sandmen. It is not uncommon for summoned sandmen to voluntarily stay on the Material Plane, fiendishly playing with its inhabitants as they wreak silent havoc.

A sandman takes the form of a rough humanoid about 6 feet tall. Its shape is never quite certain, and its animate muscles constantly shift and flex as it pummels its targets. Sandmen can manipulate their bodies in many ways but prefer to keep their legs and feet in the form of dusty clouds of sand, so as to easily maneuver about in their preferred environments. Some of these creatures pride themselves on their ability to control their shapes.

Just as a mortal artist might sculpt incredible works of art from stone with a chisel, so do these artist sandmen sculpt their own bodies into works of art.