Sand salamanders come from the Elemental Plane of Earth. A sand salamander resembles a giant sea turtle with six flippers and a serpentine neck and head, with scales of varying shades of gray or brown.

The sand salamander’s most feared attack is its bite, for any living creature bitten by one must save vs. Petrify or be turned to stone. In addition to attacking, a sand salamander can temporarily transform any stone within a 20 foot radius into sand. Characters in the affected area must save vs. Paralysis each round in order to move through the sand, and if the save is successful, the character is still reduced to half their normal movement. Whenever the sand salamander moves out of range, the sand “congeals” back into stone, and any character in the affected area must save vs. Paralysis or become trapped. Extraction of a trapped person may take quite a long time, chipping and hammering at the stone to break it apart.

A sand salamander is immune to piercing attacks (such as spears or arrows) and suffers half damage from cutting attacks. It is intelligent and can speak the language of the Plane of Earth; many may also know Elvish, Common, or Dragon.