Sleepfolk Swarm

Large swarm of small humanoids (sleepfolk, ozian), neutral

Armor Class 13
Hit Points 44 (8d10)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	10 (+0)	13 (+1)	8 (-1)

Skills Perception +3
Damage Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Small humanoid. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

ACTIONS

• Shovels. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm’s space. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage or 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer, and the creature must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be partially buried. In a failed save, a creature sinks into the dirt and is restrained, though it can use an action to end the restrained condition on itself by pulling itself free of the dirt.
• Fury. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 0 ft., one restrained target in the swarm’s space. Hit: Hit: (2d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage or 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer, and the creature must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be buried. On a failed save, the creature is blinded and restrained and has total cover. The creature gains one level of exhaustion for every 5 minutes it spends buried in the dirt. It can try to dig itself free as an action, breaking the surface and ending the blinded and restrained conditions on itself with a successful DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. The creature that fails this check three times can’t attempt to dig itself out again. A creature that is not restrained or incapacitated can spend 1 minute freeing another creature buried in the dirt. Once free, that creature is no longer blinded or restrained.

ABOUT

This round-faced and widely yawning guard stands in a little niche in the rock. Strapped to his shoulders, instead of a knapsack, is a fat feather pillow, and as you approach opposite the guard’s eyes close, and falling back against his cushion he begins gently to snore. The guard’s nap is rudely interrupted by a pailful of pebbles that cascaded merrily down over his ears. There are twenty pails operating on a moving belt above his head and at three-minute intervals they pelt him awake. The buttons on the guard’s uniform are illuminated and spelled out his name, “WINKS.” He holds a bow in one hand.

Sometimes known as gapers, these sleepy beings hibernate like bears. For six months of the year, they sleep in their burrows while the other half of the population stays away for six months, switching places as the time approaches. They are broadly divided into winkfolk and wakefolk.

Gillikin No More. Like hookfolk, sleepfolk appear to be drawn from gillikin stock. But how they got that way is a mystery. It seems likely they were affected by the Sand Man’s sand, and are perhaps refugees from there who have since settled down in gillikin country. Whatever the case, they live in Gaper’s Gulch now, and have adapted as best they can by sleeping seasonally.

Refugees from Mt. Illuso. Sleepfolk’s sleep habits are thought to have emerged from an incredibly hostile environment. It’s possible they were refugees from Mt.

Illuso, an incredibly dangerous place populated by the shapeshifting mimics. During the summer, when the shifting sun casts shadows, it’s easiest if most of the sleepfolk hibernate while a few alert companions watch for predators.

Taper’s Gulch. Sleepfolk live in Gaper’s Gulch. There are no houses in Gaper’s Gulch. In the center of the valley the rough stones and brush were cleared away and a series of flat rocks are spaced out almost like a gigantic checkerboard.

Tinkfolk are constantly sleepy, so much so that it’s all they can do fire their arrows at intruders. To account for this weakness, they gather in groups of forty, assuming that at least one of their arrows will force a creature unconscious until their winkfolk comrades can remove the intruders.

Sleepy Guards. Winkfolk are loath to stay awake, but they do so in times of great danger when wakefolk alone are not enough to protect the group. They make for ineffective guards who are saved only by the potency of their sleep arrows.

Tinkfolk nobles are known as Sleeperoos and Great, Grand, and Most Snorious Gapers. They are chiefly occupied with getting their six-months of rest, which they value more than anything else.

Wakefolk are the counterparts to winkfolk. When awake, wakefolk eat breakfast from July first to August thirty-first; lunch from September first till October thirty-first; and dinner from November first till New Year’s. When not eating, they sleep. The wakefolk are trained to sleep in summer and fall and to eat in winter and spring. The winkfolk constitute those who haven’t trained yet or in the “off-season.”

Sleep Contagion. Wakefolk are industrious diggers, creating sleeping burrows (which looks like graves to outsiders) for their wakefolk companions. They also routinely bury intruders, and it’s thought that humanoids who survive a full cycle while buried become sleepfolk themselves.