b'Shale Swarm \n'b'  Family:   Shale  \n'b'  Large   swarm of Small elementals ,  unaligned  \n'b'  Armor Class  16 (natural armor)  Hit Points  37 (5d10 + 10)  Speed  25 ft., burrow 25 ft., climb 25 ft.\n'b' STATS STR: 17 (+3) DEX:  12 (+1)  CON:  14 (+2)  INT:  3 (-4)  WIS:  12 (+1)  CHA:  7 (-2)  \n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'\n'b'  Damage Resistances  bludgeoning, piercing, slashing  Condition Immunities   charmed ,  frightened ,  grappled ,  paralyzed ,  petrified ,  prone ,  restrained ,  stunned   Senses   darkvision  60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive  Perception  11  Languages  \xe2\x80\x93  Challenge  2 (450 XP)  Proficiency Bonus  +2 \n'b' SPECIAL TRAITS \n'b'\n'b'  Churning Wake . The swarm leaves behind a trail of furrowed earth and scree as it burrows through the earth. After the swarm burrows, any spaces above the swarm\xe2\x80\x99s path (including open spaces such as a cavern floor) become  difficult terrain . \n'b'  Rock Stride . The swarm ignores  difficult terrain  in caves and rocky areas. \n'b'  Swarm . The swarm can occupy another creature\xe2\x80\x99s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Small, newly hatched shale splitter. The swarm can\xe2\x80\x99t regain  hit points  or gain  temporary hit points . \n'b'\n'b' ACTIONS \n'b'\n'b'  Bite .  Melee Weapon Attack : +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.  Hit : 13 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage, or 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage if the swarm has half of its  hit points  or fewer. \n'b'  Cloud Cover . Each shale spitter in the swarm rapidly gnaws on nearby rock material and kicks apart clods of loose dirt, causing a dust cloud to form in the swarm\xe2\x80\x99s space. The area is heavily obscured. The dust cloud lasts for 1 minute or until it is dispersed by a strong wind. \n'b'\n'b' ABOUT \n'b' When the time is right, shale spitters lay clutches of pebble-like eggs in the walls of their burrows. Shale spitter clutches-also called shale swarms or \xe2\x80\x9ccompactions\xe2\x80\x9d tend to emerge from their eggs all at once. Newly hatched, shale spitters are less dangerous than common voles, and so they must rely on their compaction\xe2\x80\x99s sheer numbers for safety. Only a few shale spitters out of a hundred survive to adulthood. \n'b' Shale swarms are as adept at rooting through rock as scuttling atop it. The activity of so many little chomping mouths means that shale swarms leave trails of churned stone and rock dust behind them, much like woodlice leave trails of sawdust as they wind through tree trunks. \n'b' Unwary miners can run into trouble if they disturb hidden shale spitter burrows. To say nothing of the biting, clawing swarm of isopods as individual menaces, an upset shale swarm constitutes a deadly hazard to all around it when the compaction gets to tumbling down steep mountainsides and rocky gulches. Entire caravans, mining camps, and mountain villages have been reduced to rubble as a result of so-called shale swarm avalanches.'