Shard

A shard is a sentient crystal of low intelligence, one of the lesser quasi-elementals native to the plane of Mineral. Travelers tell of shards more than 15 feet long and as heavy as several tons, though no one has proven such giants exist.

A shard's crystal body is so hard that only weapons of +2 or better can hurt it, and a normal weapon that hits it has a 25% chance to shatter; magical weapons get a save vs. crushing blow to avoid that fate. It attacks by slicing with its keen edges, which count as +2 weapons and deal 2d4+2 damage, with a bonus of +1 for each Hit Die (+5 to +10).

Once a day a shard can spin rapidly in place and throw off a burst of many-colored light like color spray, filling a 30-foot radius. Anyone in the area who fails a save vs. spells is left dazzled and helpless for 2d4 rounds, even under attack, and attackers gain +4 to hit them.

On their home plane, these fast-moving crystals haunt the region where Mineral meets the Positive Material plane, soaking up the energy that animates them, then ranging through Mineral and sometimes deep into the elemental plane of Earth. They always travel in swarms. Most (90%) number 2d10 shards of assorted sizes; 9% hold 100; and 1% are vast hosts of more than 1,000.

Shards seldom reach the Prime Material plane. Spellcasters sometimes summon them as treasure guards, nearly always for gems, which they protect without hesitation. On rare occasions a swarm is sent across on a special errand, usually to hunt down adventurers who looted a large haul of gems from their home plane.