Sand Spawn

A sand spawn looks like a miniature tornado, roughly 3 feet across at the top and narrowing to a point that never leaves the ground as it races along. The daemonlord brings them forth, either by its own presence or by hurling one of its flaming chaos meteors.

These creatures fan out so that every one of them can reach the enemy, and where they can they surround their targets or at least strike from two or three directions at once. Each lashes out with a whip of sand sharp enough to carve deep, painful cuts.

The grit flying around them is a second weapon. When a spawn attacks someone from the front and its attack roll is a natural 16 or higher, the target must save vs. breath weapon or have sand driven into the eyes, leaving the victim blind for 1d6+1 rounds. Spending a round splashing or dunking the face in water clears the sand, and sight returns the following round.

A spawn can only be formed over sand, but afterward it travels across any dry surface. Damp or boggy ground costs it 1 hit point per round, and crossing open water destroys it instantly. A band lasts 2d10+20 hours, and all its members expire together; when the time is up the wind simply stops and the sand drifts back to earth.

Spawn are mindless engines of destruction, yet they show a kind of animal craftiness, circling foes or slanting their approach to cut off an escape route.