Cloudsting

Huge elemental (titanspawn), chaotic neutral

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	16 (+3)	14 (+2)	11 (+0)	10 (+0)	11 (+0)

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 102 (12d12 + 24)
Speed fly 60 ft. (hover)
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +9
Damage Resistances thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities lightning, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Primordial, Titan Speech (can’t speak); telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Special Traits

• Gold Scent. A cloudsting can detect the direction of gold unerringly, by scent, at distances of up to 1 mile even through stone, earth, or other barriers. The cloudsting can pinpoint the location of even gold ore and trace amounts of the precious metal within 60 feet.

Actions

• Multiattack. The cloudsting can use its Wind Blast and then make two tentacle attacks.
• Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) lightning damage. The target must also succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be unable to take reactions until the start of its next turn.
• Wind Blast. The cloudsting summons a blast of strong wind 60 feet long and 10 feet wide, stretching outward from itself in a direction it chooses. Each creature in the line must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away from the cloudsting in a direction following the line.
• Lightning Burst (Recharges after Long or Short Rest). The cloudsting emits a web-like spread of lightning in a 15-foot radius around itself. All creatures within the area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 27 (6d8) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

Tactics

The cloudsting will use its Wind Blast and the threat of its tentacles to corral as many enemies as possible into a small space, then use its Lightning Burst on them. Afterwards it will use its multiattack on those still standing. Characters carrying lots of gold on their person should be especially beware of the cloudsting, some report that they can be driven into a battle-fury by the scent of gold and attack an individual relentlessly.

Description

These floating creatures, created by a forgotten titan of storms and perhaps still bound in service to her, seem to be made of semi-solid air.

Cloudstings wander widely, drifting upon the air currents to distant lands know little or nothing at all. They predominantly haunt in mountain ranges, especially near gold mines and veins, but they have been known to attack caravans anywhere. A cloudsting’s huge, floating body looks rather like a semi-transparent cloud colored by occasional pulses of light, reminiscent of heat lightning, which it can suppress at will. A number of remarkably long, wispy tentacles hang down like those of a jellyfish, extending nearly thirty feet from the bloated form above.

Gold Sniffers. Merchants and travelers tell tales of cloudstings’ uncanny knowledge of where gold is hidden. Sometimes, these creatures float low to play the part of the thief and take bags of coins while a caravan slumbers. Other times, they raid wagons laden with ore returning from mines. Cloudstings desire gold for reasons unknown – some have speculated that they must consume it to survive. In any case, their sense of gold has led some merchants to label them “gold hounds” and even to pay adventurers to track cloudstings in the wild, in the hope that the elemental will lead them to locations where a new gold mine might be established.

Stealthy Thieves. Cloudstings tend to avoid combat entirely, preferring to spy on prey from high above; they follow at a distance and await the right opportunity to abscond with any gold coins or items. A cloudsting engages in melee only if pressed, using its tentacles and Wind Blast against smaller or less dangerous foes, or Lightning Burst against creatures it perceives as a serious threat. Once its Lightning Burst ability is exhausted, a cloudsting normally soars up out of range and flies off, perhaps returning later if it thinks it might still win some golden prize.