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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardNanoshard Swarm

This bizarre entity is actually a massive collective consisting of tens of thousands of constituent parts, each a tiny metal sphere barely the size of a pebble. Controlled by a single elemental spirit, the swarm is capable of flowing like liquid through the smallest openings before shaping itself into a powerful combatant, a solid wall, or any other form circumstances might require.

Recall Knowledge - Elemental (Arcana, Nature): DC 26
Unspecific Lore: DC 24
Specific Lore: DC 21

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Nanoshard SwarmCreature 9

Huge Elemental Metal 
Source Rage of Elements pg. 157
Perception +18; darkvision
Languages Talican
Skills Acrobatics +21, Athletics +19, Stealth +21
Str +6, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +3, Cha +3
AC 28; Fort +17, Ref +21, Will +16
HP 120; Immunities bleed, paralyzed, poison, precision, sleep, swarm mind; Resistances bludgeoning 5, electricity 10, piercing 10, slashing 10; Weaknesses area damage 10, splash damage 10
Electromagnetic Dispersal When a nanoshard swarm takes electricity damage, they automatically shift into swarm form.
Speed none (barrier), 15 feet (battle), or 25 feet (swarm)
Melee [one-action] tendril +19 [+14/+9] (reach 60 feet, versatile B), Damage 2d8+9 piercingBarrier Form [three-actions] (concentrate, polymorph) Requirements The nanoshard swarm is in swarm form; Effect The nanoshard swarm forms a continuous 6-inch-thick solid wall, up to 60 feet long and 10 feet high, originating from any one square in its current space. The wall can follow any path, with each 5 feet being placed on the border between squares. It doesn't need to stand vertically, so it can form a bridge or set of stairs, for example. The wall must be formed in an unbroken open space where its edges don't pass through any creatures or objects.
A single 5-foot-by-5-foot section of the wall can be destroyed by dealing 18 points of damage to it, which also reduces the swarm's total Hit Points. A nanoshard swarm can't be knocked prone or forcibly moved while in barrier form, nor can it voluntarily move. A nanoshard swarm in barrier form can originate tendril attacks from any square of its wall.Battle Form [two-actions] (concentrate, polymorph) Requirements The nanoshard swarm is in swarm form; Effect The nanoshard swarm coalesces into a Huge shape that looks like a humanoid or beast and can hold items. In battle form, its Speed is 15 feet, it's clumsy 1, and it has the following Strike.
Melee [one-action] limb +19 (reach 20 feet), Damage 4d8+9 bludgeoningSwarm Form [free-action] (concentrate) The nanoshard swarm collapses into its natural form: a Huge sea of tiny metal spheres. It drops anything it's holding. While in swarm form, the nanoshard swarm's Speed is 25 feet, it can move through any area large enough for a single sphere to fit through without having to Squeeze, and it gains Engulf.
Engulf [two-actions] DC 27, 2d8+6 bludgeoning, Escape DC 27, Rupture 18

Sidebar - Additional Lore Some Reassembly Required

Nanoshard swarms are notoriously difficult to permanently dismantle. Should even a single constituent of a swarm manage to escape destruction, the minuscule elemental immediately seeks out the nearest source of raw metal and begins extracting material in order to create as many exact duplicates of itself as possible. Each subsequent duplicate then dutifully repeats the same behavior, doubling the number of constituents every few minutes, until the entire swarm has been fully reconstituted.

All Monsters in "Elemental, Metal"

NameLevel
Abysium Horror10
Ferrous Butterfly1
Kinzaruk3
Living Lodestone6
Melomach13
Mercurial2
Nanoshard Swarm9
Oregorger11
Quickiron Plasm4
Rust Scarab5
Skymetal Striker7

Elemental, Metal

Source Rage of Elements pg. 153
Metal elementals can manifest in a wide variety of different forms, from shapeless amalgams of different metals to humanoid and beast-like monstrosities.

Elemental

Related Groups Elemental, Air, Elemental, Earth, Elemental, Fire, Elemental, Mephit, Elemental, Water, Elemental, Wisp, Elemental, Wood
The Elemental Planes—primordial realms defined by aspects of air, earth, fire, or water—are home to a diverse group of beings known as elementals. Spellcasters on the Material Plane call upon elementals for aid, though these enigmatic creatures can also travel to the world of mortals via interplanar gateways and rifts. The elementals on these pages exemplify the creatures of the Elemental Planes, but this list is by no means exhaustive.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Metal Forms

Though metal elementals are made almost entirely of metal, most are composed of layers of different metals in tiny fragments, as complex as a body of flesh or plant matter. Many of these metals are rusted or decayed from the natural, slow entropy of the Plane of Metal.