Blood Flurry

Medium swarm of Tiny Aberrations, neutral evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)
Speed 15 ft., fly 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
5 (–3)	21 (+5)	18 (+4)	6 (–2)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)

Damage Resistances cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages understands Primordial but can’t speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Blood Sense. The blood flurry can pinpoint, by scent, the location of creatures that aren’t Undead or Constructs within 30 feet of it.
• False Appearance. While the blood flurry remains motionless, either resting on the ground or carried by natural winds, it is indistinguishable from a collection of snowflakes. The blood flurry loses this trait if it has consumed blood in the last 24 hours.
• Rust Vulnerability. The large amount of iron in the blood flurry’s diet makes it susceptible to effects that harm ferrous metal, such as the rust monster’s Antennae.
• Swarm. The blood flurry can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the blood flurry can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny crystalline Aberration. The blood flurry can’t regain hp or gain temporary hp.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The blood flurry makes two Free Bleeding Cuts attacks.
• Free Bleeding Cuts. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm’s space. Hit: 27 (6d8) slashing damage, or 13 (3d8) slashing damage if the blood flurry has half of its hp or fewer. If the target is a creature other than an Undead or a Construct, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or lose 13 (3d8) hp at the start of each of its turns due to a bleeding wound. Any creature can take an action to stanch the wound with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check. The wound also closes if the target receives magical healing.

ABOUT

Red tinges the edge of this gentle drifting of snow.

Blood flurries are the remaining survivors of a slowly disintegrating dimension where the creatures fed on scraps of decaying iron. Just before the Great Crunch, which spelled the final doom for their dimension, the creatures slipped through a planar gap, bringing them to polar regions of worlds throughout the Material Plane. With readily digestible iron in short supply, the creatures adapted to the iron-rich blood of creatures populating their new homes.

Safety in Numbers. The crystalline creatures’ bodies are as fragile as a snowflake, forcing them to organize into colonies for mutual protection and to improve their chances at hunting prey.

Lightweight. A single, crystalline aberration from a blood flurry weighs a quarter of an ounce. While it can propel itself, it prefers to float gently on the breezes like a snowflake. Collectively, a swarm moves along with the real snow found in its habitat, hidden on the wind.

Red in Body. Each individual aberration has jagged limbs sharp enough to penetrate ordinary flesh. The creature’s saliva induces the flow of blood from the cuts it produces. Because the creatures feed by absorbing iron from their victims’ blood, their coloration reddens, and the blood flurry’s snowy façade quickly fades. When desperate for food, a blood flurry may devour abandoned tools or weapons, but it consumes and processes iron from such objects slowly and with difficulty.