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Stonemite Swarm

Appearance

Individual stonemites resemble mobile shards of crystal which move about upon four spindly, spidery legs. Their approach is often unheard since they prefer to use their earthglide ability to move through the ground, but above ground they are accompanied by the sounds of thousands of clicking legs ticking upon the ground surface. Each stonemite is roughly the size of a common frog. Most are bluish-white colored crystals, like cheap glass, but their bodies are fortified with elemental energy and are thus more difficult to damage than they appear.
    Stonemites do not speak and usually ignore intruders who keep a safe distance, unless antagonized.

Combat

    Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a stonemite swarm's damage that begins its turn with a swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a DC 19 Fortitude save negates the effect. Even after a successful save, spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills requiring patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check. The save DC is Constitution-based.
    Matter Demolition (Ex): Stonemite swarms are able to extend their attacks directly upon stone and steel equipment carried by their victims. The natural hardness of items is only half as effective against a stonemite swarm's demolition ability due to the magical nature of the stonemite's attack. Thus, a +2 longsword has an effective hardness of 9 (one-half of a natural hardness of 10, plus 2 per magical "plus"). Over time, all but the hardest

Order     Item 1st Shield 2nd Armor 3rd Helmet, hat, or headband 4th Item in hand (including weapon, wand, or the like) 5th Cloak 6th Stowed or sheathed weapon 7th Bracers 8th Clothing 9th Jewelry 10th    Anything else

of materials can be destroyed by a swarm. Use table 10-1: Items Affected by Magical Attacks, from the Player's Handbook (reproduced here for your convenience) to determine in what order equipment is attacked. Affected equipment automatically suffers the same swarm damage as the target creature which wears it.
    Earthglide (Ex): A stonemite swarm can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing stone mite swarm flings the swarm back 30 feet, stunning the swarm for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save.
    Eyeless: Stonemites have no eyes. They use their tremorsense to navigate. Their own movement across the ground creates miniscule vibrations which they use to "see" the terrain around them. Stonemites are attracted to each other since they are able to "see" better with more of their kind producing vibrations. Stonemites are immune to attacks which require or target the sense of vision by sight. A deafened stonemite loses it's ability to "see" its surroundings and becomes blind.
    Matter Reconstruction (Ex): Stonemite swarms are able to use their attacks to repair damage to stone and metal materials. Stonemites have a natural sense of the correct shape of the object and restore it to its original shape. A stonemite can repair 3d6 points of damage each round by pulling raw material directly from their elemental plane and magically rebuilding the object.
    It is not unheard of for Large earth elementals to allow stonemites to swarm over their bodies, effectively granting them a method of fast healing. A Large sized elemental with a stonemite swarm covering its body increases its challenge rating by +2.
    Elemental Traits: Darkvision 60 ft.; immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning; not subject to critical hits or flanking; does not eat, sleep, or breathe.
    Skills: Stonemites receive a +10 racial bonus to Climb skill checks.

Ecology

Stonemites are a common and natural denizen of the Elemental Plane of Earth. They function as an immune system for the plane, attacking creatures which are hurting large sections of earth and repairing any damage done. Intelligent dwellers on the plane sometimes employ the creatures to repair their earthen and metallic structures. Swarms of stonemites form when a large swath of planar material is damaged. When the damage is repaired, these swarms then move about as a single entity, seeking ill-doers or other damage to deal with.