Buy me a coffee“Bogun: The Tiny Forest Construct”
“A Bogun is a druid’s handmade servant of mud, moss, and bark—an impish nature construct that stirs with eerie life, half-puppet and half-forest spirit, loyal until the wild heart within turns feral.”
A Bogun is a druid’s handmade familiar and servant—an animate figure of mud, bark, moss, and root brought to life through ancient nature rites. Its crude form conceals a flicker of independent will, a spark that mirrors its creator’s spirit. Though meant to serve faithfully, the Bogun’s loyalty is fragile; once neglected or masterless, it becomes a wild and spiteful fey-construct, haunting the wilderness like a twisted echo of its maker.
Appearance
A Bogun stands no taller than a halfling’s knee, its body a patchwork of earth, vine, and rotted wood bound together by druidic essence. Amber-sap eyes glow faintly beneath a mask-like face of bark, while fungal growths and mossy tufts spread across its limbs. When still, it is nearly indistinguishable from forest debris—a forgotten idol or scarecrow of the grove. But when it moves, it does so with unsettling animation: the wet creak of bark, the squelch of mud, and the whisper of leaves following in its wake.
Behaviour
Boguns act as caretakers, sentinels, and companions to their creators. They fetch tools, mend shelters, and watch over sacred glades with unwavering diligence. Yet beneath their obedience lies a childlike will—curious, fussy, and prone to mischief. When untended, a Bogun may rearrange its surroundings obsessively or craft crude effigies in mimicry of its master. If abandoned or mistreated, its devotion curdles into malice and sorrow, driving it to guard its territory with jealous, almost grieving fury.
Habitat
Boguns dwell where the natural world is strongest: ancient forests, swamp sanctuaries, overgrown ruins, or stone circles humming with primal energy. They are tethered to the land through the ritual that birthed them, rarely straying far from that source. Abandoned Boguns often claim forgotten shrines or ruined druidic sites, transforming them into eerie, half-living refuges blanketed in moss and decay.
Modus Operandi
In conflict, a Bogun uses guile and the terrain itself as weapons. It lurks in bogs, behind roots, or beneath fallen logs, striking when intruders least expect it. Its attacks are swift and opportunistic—muddy claws, thorny lashes, collapsing branches, and entangling vines. A Bogun seldom kills for pleasure; instead, it seeks to repel trespassers or reclaim its domain. Against those who threaten its grove or its creator, however, its fury is primal and relentless.
Motivation
A Bogun’s core desire is purpose and belonging. Created to serve, it measures its existence by its master’s attention. Deprived of that bond, it clings to rituals, habits, or relics of its past, imitating life as it remembers it. Some philosophers of the wild believe that each Bogun carries the seed of true sentience—a spark that, if ever nurtured, could grow into a self-aware being of its own will. Until then, it remains a creature poised between craft and creation, obedience and independence, nature and magic.
Bogun 5e 2024
Bogun, Pathfinder
Bogun 3.5
Bogun
Tiny Construct, typically Neutral (mirrors creator’s alignment)
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 27 (6d4 + 12)
Speed 25 ft., climb 20 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 (−1) | 14 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 8 (−1) | 12 (+1) | 9 (−1) |
Saving Throws Dex +4, Wis +3
Skills Nature +2, Perception +3, Stealth +6
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 13
Languages Understands Druidic and its creator’s languages but can’t speak
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) • Proficiency Bonus +2
Traits
Construct Nature. The Bogun doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Bound to the Maker. The Bogun is magically linked to its creator (usually a druid). While on the same plane, the Bogun always knows its creator’s direction and emotional state. If its creator dies, the Bogun becomes uncontrolled and shifts to Chaotic Neutral.
Nature’s Camouflage. The Bogun has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in forest, swamp, or other natural environments.
Druidic Servant. When within 100 feet of its creator, the Bogun can deliver a spell with a range of touch on the creator’s behalf, using its reaction to deliver the spell.
Innate Spellcasting (Druidic)
The Bogun’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 11). It requires no material components to cast its spells.
- At will: Druidcraft, Mold Earth
- 1/day each: Entangle, Barkskin (self only)
Actions
Multiattack. The Bogun makes two Claw attacks.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Spore Burst (Recharge 5–6). The Bogun releases a cloud of choking spores in a 10-foot radius. Each creature of its choice in that area must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) poison damage on a failed save or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is also poisoned until the start of the Bogun’s next turn.
Reactions
Earthen Shield (1/Day). When the Bogun or a creature within 5 feet would take damage, the Bogun raises a sudden wall of soil and roots. The target gains +2 AC and reduces the triggering damage by 1d6 until the start of its next turn.
Tactics
Boguns are opportunistic ambushers rather than front-line fighters. They:
- Use Entangle to hinder foes before darting from cover.
- Exploit natural terrain, hiding among roots, mud, or reeds.
- Focus on defending sacred places or their druid creator, retreating when their task is done.
- When uncontrolled, feral Boguns fight erratically—sometimes attacking trespassers, sometimes fleeing into the undergrowth to rebuild their lair.
Description
A Bogun is a druid’s crude but loyal construct, an animate figure of mud, bark, moss, and vine given life through primal ritual. It embodies the wild magic that lies between life and artifice—a servant of nature that can love, mourn, and defend with eerie intensity. When left alone, its sense of purpose withers, and it may become a feral guardian of its overgrown home, defending its patch of wilderness as though it were sacred ground.
Bogun
This squat construct of mud, moss, and bark shuffles forward with jerky motion, its sap-filled eyes glowing faintly amber beneath a mask of bark and vine.
Bogun CR 1/2
XP 200
N Tiny Construct
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)
hp 10 (2d10)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +1
DR 5/bludgeoning or magic
Immune construct traits, poison, disease, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, sleep effects
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., climb 10 ft.
Melee 2 claws +3 (1d3–1)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks spore burst (see below)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +1)
At will—druidcraft (minor natural effects)
1/day—barkskin (self only), entangle (DC 11)
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 14, Con —, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 9
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 9 (13 vs. trip)
Feats Stealthy
Skills Climb +10, Perception +5, Stealth +14, Survival +4
Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth, +8 Climb
Languages Druidic (cannot speak; understands creator’s languages)
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests, marshes, or druidic sanctuaries
Organization solitary (with creator)
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bound to the Maker (Su)
A Bogun is mystically linked to its creator. As long as both remain on the same plane, the Bogun always knows the direction and general emotional state of its master. If its creator dies, the Bogun becomes free-willed and its alignment shifts to chaotic neutral within 24 hours.
Druidic Servant (Su)
When within 100 feet of its creator, a Bogun can deliver a spell with a range of touch on the druid’s behalf, using its own standard action to do so.
Earthen Shield (Su)
Once per day as an immediate action, a Bogun can cause soil and roots to surge upward, granting itself or an adjacent ally a +2 deflection bonus to AC and DR 2/— until the start of its next turn.
Nature’s Camouflage (Ex)
A Bogun gains a +4 bonus on Stealth checks in natural environments and can remain motionless for hours, appearing as an inanimate mass of vegetation or earth.
Spore Burst (Ex)
Once every 1d6 rounds, a Bogun can release a 10-foot-radius cloud of choking spores as a standard action. Creatures (except constructs) within the area must succeed at a DC 11 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of poison damage and become sickened for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +1 racial bonus.
TACTICS
Before Combat
A Bogun conceals itself beneath roots or within mud, using nature’s camouflage to remain unseen.
During Combat
It opens with entangle to hinder enemies, then attacks with claws and spore burst while retreating into cover. Boguns exploit terrain, scaling trees or ducking into hollow logs to ambush foes.
Morale
A Bogun fights fiercely to defend its grove or creator but flees into the wild if reduced to half its hit points, using Mold Earth–like effects to obscure its trail.
CONSTRUCTION
Combat Role Minor guardian or druidic familiar
Creation Requirements Craft Construct, barkskin, entangle; creator must be a druid of 7th level or higher
Cost 500 gp; Price 1,000 gp
DESCRIPTION
A Bogun is a druid’s living servant—a crude, animate effigy of mud, moss, and bark, its form bound together by primal will. Though mute and simple-minded, its loyalty is unshakable. When its master perishes or abandons it, the Bogun’s sense of purpose decays, leaving behind a lonely, feral guardian that haunts its grove with confused devotion.
These creatures are sometimes mistaken for mischievous fey or forest gremlins, but they are truly nature’s constructs, animated by the balance between life and decay. Druids view them as reflections of their own craft—proof that even the soil can serve the wild’s will when shaped with care.
Bogun
A bogun is a small nature servant created by a druid.
It looks like a vaguely humanoid mound of compost. The creator determines its precise features, but the typical bogun stands about 18 inches tall and has a wingspan of about 2 feet. Its skin is covered with nettles and branches. Like a homunculus, it is an extension of its creator, sharing the same alignment and link to nature. It does not fight particularly well, but it can perform any simple action, such as attacking, carrying a message, or opening a door or window. For the most part, a it simply carries out its creator’s instructions. Because it is self-aware and somewhat wilful, however, its behaviour is not entirely predictable.
| Bogun | |
| Tiny construct | |
| Hit Dice | 2d10 (11 hp) |
| Initiative | +3 |
| Speed | 20 ft. (4 squares), Fly 50 ft. (good) |
| Armor Class | 15 (+2 size, +3 Dexterity), touch 15, flat-footed 12 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +1/-5 |
| Attack | Nettles +1 melee (1d4-2 plus poison) |
| Full Attack | Nettles +1 melee (1d4-2 plus poison) |
| Space/Reach | 2-1/2 ft./0 ft. |
| Special Attack | Poison |
| Special Quality | construct traits |
| Saves | Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +1 |
| Abilities | Strength 7, Dexterity 16, Constitution – , Intelligence 8, Wisdom 13, Charisma 10 |
| Skills | Hide +10, Move Silently +9 |
| Feat | Stealthy |
| Environment | Any (typically forest) |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating | 1 |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Any neutral (always the same as the creator) |
| Advancement | 3-6 HD (Tiny) |
| Level Adjustment | – |
Combat: A bogun attacks by brushing against opponents with harsh nettles that deliver an irritating poison.
Poison (Ex):Nettles, Fort save (DC 11); initial and secondary damage 1d6 temporary Dexterity.
The creator of a bogun is immune to its poison.
On rare occasions (5% of the time), It may refuse to perform a particular task. In that case, the creator must make a Diplomacy check (DC 11) to convince the creature to cooperate. Success means the bogun performs the task as requested; failure indicates that it either does exactly the opposite or refuses to do anything at all for 24 hours (DM’s option as to which).
A bogun cannot speak, but the process of creating one links it telepathically with its creator. It knows what its creator knows and can convey to him or her everything it sees and hears, up to a range of 500 yards.
A bogun never travels beyond this range willingly, though it can be removed forcibly. In that case, it does everything in its power to regain contact with its creator.
An attack that destroys a bogun also deals its creator 2d10 points of damage. If the creator is slain, the bogun also dies, and its body collapses into a heap of rotting vegetation.
Construct Traits: It has immunity to poison, sleep effects, Paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. It is not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain.
Cannot heal damage, but can be repaired.
Darkvision 60 ft. and Low-Light Vision.
Construction: Unlike a homunculus, a bogun is created from natural materials available in any forest. Thus, there is no gold piece cost for its creation. All materials used become permanent parts of the bogun.
The creator must be at least 7th level and possess the Craft Wondrous Item feat to make a bogun.
Before casting any spells, a physical form must be woven out of living (or once-living) vegetable matter to hold the magical energy. A bit of the creator’s own body, such as a few strands of hair or a drop of blood, must also be incorporated into this crude mannequin. The creator may assemble the body personally or hire someone else to do it. Creating the mannequin requires a Craft (basketweaving or weaving) check (DC 12).
Once the body is finished, the creator must animate it through an extended magical ritual that requires a week to complete. The creator must labor for at least 8 hours each day in complete solitude in a forest grove; any interruption from another sentient creature undoes the magic. If the creator is personally weaving the creature’s body, that process and the ritual can be performed together. When not actively working on the ritual, the creator must rest and can perform no other activities except eating, sleeping, or talking.
Missing even one day causes the process to fail. At that point, the ritual must be started anew, though the previously crafted body and the grove can be reused. On the final day of the ritual, the creator must personally cast control plants, wood shape, and beget bogun. These spells can come from outside sources, such as scrolls, rather than being prepared, if the creator prefers.