Desiccator, Lesser

Medium elemental (earth/anti-water), unaligned

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 49 (9d8 + 9); Wound Threshold 13
Speed 10 ft. (but prefers to remain immobile)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	6 (-2)	13 (+1)	5 (-3)	12 (+1)	5 (-3)

Skills Perception +3
Damage Vulnerabilities thunder
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning, piercing, slashing
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, petrified, poisoned, prone
Senses tremorsense 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 13
Languages Primordial
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• False Appearance. While the lesser desiccator remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from limestone.

ABOUT

Desiccators strange mineral elemental, the desiccator brings to mind a misshapen statue whose silhouette is barely visible under a calcified mass.

This creature absorbs humidity and turns it into stone, growing along natural or artificial walls, covering the corridors of its habitat with a solid substance made of calcites and other aqueous minerals.

Because of its properties, this elemental is sometimes summoned by conjurers to purify the air in tunnels invaded by dangerous fungi. Where a lesser desiccator will only absorb ambient humidity, a greater desiccator can dry up entire water bodies and can be used as an actual weapon against enemy communities.

When a desiccator suddenly finds itself in an environment with much more humidity than it can absorb (for example during a sudden flood), it enters stasis or is destroyed outright. Thus, even a very powerful desiccator can be eliminated by weak but industrious creatures.

Depending on the method used to destroy it, the elemental particles of a desiccator will scatter in different ways. If physical means are employed, it will be reduced to rubble, whereas magical attacks will turn it back into water. In the latter case, caution must be exercised, since the amount disgorged can be massive in the case of a particularly big elemental.

Imagine weeks or even years of running water being liberated at once! One can mitigate the risks by physically destroying the elemental, then dissolving each of its fragments with cantrips… which can be a long and tedious process, albeit a safe one.