Shards are a class of monster in Dungeon Siege.
Description[]
Shards are found in the Subterranean River passage in Ehb and the Crystal Caverns on the Peninsula. On Aranna, the Shadowjumper sets miniboss Shards, named Crystal Guardians, to impede the hero's progress to a Displacer Pad that would get his team closer to the Great Clock.
They are not much of a threat, as they deal little damage and if one circles, they can avoid their homing projectiles; and can break them on a stalagmite. They pose most threat in singleplayer, where micromanagement of this kind can be tricky.
Shards idle on the ground as a pretty but inert pile of broken crystals. As the player approaches, the crystals coalesce into a body core and four pronged legs. How and why they are hostile to the player, but not to the other inhabitants of their cave networks, is never made clear.
They are one of the unique, "cool" features that draw people into the caves. One would be disappointed traveling through the Sulfur Tunnels, though. Although the many present yellow crystals and subterranean river are a sight to see, there are no more than 3 shards total; all purple, near the Lang side of the cave.
Basic Shards come in 4 varieties; listed from weakest to strongest:
- Teal (aquamarine): The Krug Scavengers of shardkind.
- Green (emerald): The basic shard.
- Blue (topaz): Larger-sized, these are the equivalent of lieutenants among shards.
- Purple (amethyst): These are the largest and most powerful shards, but rare.
Attack[]
The shard employs a ranged, homing projectile attack spell against its target. An electrical beam matching the color of the creature is instantly formed between the shard and the target, and a conjured crystal tracks the victim down along this beam.
The projectile's homing ability not perfect. If the difficulty setting warrants it, and the surroundings permit, a player standing at range can dodge the attack by sidestepping during its trajectory and letting it slam into an obstruction behind the player before it can turn around. This is good practice for later battles with Wraith Mages, whose homing attacks behave similarly and are very dangerous.
