Buy me a coffee“The Burning Colossus: Wickerman of the Forsaken Wood”
“The Wickerman doesn’t just burn its victims—it imprisons them alive in a cage of living fire.”
“The Wickerman is not a beast of rage—it is a ritual made manifest, a towering idol fueled by sacrifice, bound to burn until the last scream fades.”
The Wickerman stands over 30 feet tall, a hulking humanoid effigy woven from scorched wicker, ancient timber, and iron bindings. Flames lick constantly across its frame without consuming it, casting flickering shadows from the gaps in its woven body. Most horrifying is the iron-barred cage embedded in its chest—blackened by past victims, glowing faintly from within. The air near a Wickerman shimmers with heat, and the stench of smoke and scorched flesh lingers long after it has passed.
Behavior
The Wickerman is not a mindless destroyer, but a ritual construct guided by the purpose instilled in it during its creation. Though unintelligent, it reacts with terrifying precision to the presence of living beings, prioritizing capture over destruction. It singles out humanoid targets and attempts to grapple them, shoving them into its chest cage to immolate them alive. Once ignited, its constant magical blaze fuels its wrath until its body is suppressed by water or shattered by force.
Its movements are ponderous but relentless, each step accompanied by creaking wood and raining embers. In battle, it uses flaming projectiles torn from its own body and grapples with overwhelming force, dragging enemies into close range. It is drawn to ritual sites, sites of nature worship, or areas of strong elemental energy.
Habitat
Wickermen are most commonly found in remote, wild places—forests twisted by dark druidic cults, scorched moorlands, or atop sacrificial altars in long-forgotten groves. Though constructs, they are often bound to a specific region by the wards or rituals that animated them. Some are hidden and dormant, only awakening when a sacrificial rite is completed or when the land is desecrated. Others are active guardians, patrolling sacred grounds or unleashed during religious festivals that end in fire and blood.
Modus Operandi
A Wickerman’s method of attack is deeply symbolic—it doesn’t merely kill, it ritually sacrifices. Upon detecting intruders or targets, it engages with:
- Burning brands hurled from afar to weaken and ignite foes.
- Crushing slams intended not to kill outright but to initiate a grapple.
- Once grappled, the Wickerman shoves its victim into the burning cage in its chest, causing ongoing fire damage and setting them ablaze.
If the Wickerman is damaged by fire, it heals instead of suffering, feeding on the energy meant to harm it. Only cold or raw force can truly slow it down. Should it be immersed in water, its flames sputter out temporarily, diminishing its most dangerous abilities.
Motivation
Wickermen are created to serve a sacred or blasphemous purpose, not to act with intent. Their motivation mirrors that of their creators—druids seeking to appease primal forces, cultists venerating fire deities, or mad warlocks binding elemental spirits into form. Some are forged as weapons of terror, unleashed to punish enemies of the faith. Others are left to guard cursed relics or sacrificial grounds.
Once active, a Wickerman fulfills its purpose with unwavering drive. It has no self-preservation instinct, no moral restraint—only a burning hunger for the screams of the living and the completion of the rite it was born for.
Wickerman 5e
Wickerman, Pathfinder
Wickerman
Gargantuan Construct (Elemental, Fire), Unaligned
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP) • Proficiency Bonus +5
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 225 (18d12 + 108)
Speed 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 (+9) | 12 (+1) | 22 (+6) | 3 (–4) | 12 (+1) | 6 (–2) |
Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +11
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Damage Vulnerabilities cold
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages —
Proficiency Bonus +5
Magic Resistance
The Wickerman has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Fire Absorption
Whenever the Wickerman is subjected to fire damage, it regains hit points equal to half the damage dealt.
Constant Blaze
The Wickerman is constantly wreathed in magical fire. A creature that touches it or hits it with a melee attack while within 10 feet takes 7 (2d6) fire damage. If the Wickerman is submerged in water, its flames are suppressed, disabling Constant Blaze, Burning Brand, and Wicker Cage until it is no longer submerged.
Siege Monster
The Wickerman deals double damage to objects and structures.
Actions
Multiattack
The Wickerman makes two Slam attacks or one Slam and one Burning Brand attack.
Slam
Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target.
Hit: 21 (3d8 + 9) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be grappled.
Burning Brand
Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 60 ft., one target.
Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) fire damage. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or catch fire, taking 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. The creature can repeat the save at the end of each turn, ending the effect on a success.
Wicker Cage (Recharge 5–6)
The Wickerman attempts to imprison a creature it is grappling in the cage embedded in its chest. The target must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be shoved into the cage.
- A caged creature is restrained, blinded, and begins burning, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.
- The creature automatically catches fire and must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw at the end of each of its turns to extinguish the flames.
- The cage has AC 17 and 30 hit points. If it is destroyed, the creature escapes.
- The Wickerman cannot use this ability again until it finishes a long rest or regains all hit points.
Legendary Actions
The Wickerman can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Scorching Step. The Wickerman moves up to half its speed. Any creature it moves through or ends adjacent to takes 5 (1d10) fire damage.
Ignite. The Wickerman flares violently. All creatures within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or take 9 (2d8) fire damage and catch fire.
Cage Slam (Costs 2 Actions). The Wickerman makes one Slam attack. If the target is grappled, the attack is made with advantage.
Description
The Wickerman is a towering humanoid construct woven of blackened timber and iron, alight with eternal magical flames. Created through sacrificial rituals by fire cults or dark druids, it serves as a vessel of execution and terror. In battle, it captures victims in its burning chest cage and immolates them alive, feeding the flames that power its form. Though mindless, it fulfills its creator’s will with horrifying efficiency.
Wickerman
This humanoid-shaped colossus is a towering fury of burning wicker and wood.
A wickerman is a towering wicker statue with a cage in its chest. Inanimate ones are used for sacrifices to gods or nature faiths, and the constructs to terrify a faith’s enemies.
Source Bestiary 4 pg. 277
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys
| Wickerman CR 13 |
| XP 25,600 N Colossal construct (fire) Init +3; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision; Perception +0 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 20, touch 5, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dexterity, +15 natural, -8 size) hp 157 (14d10+80); fast healing 1 Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +4 Defensive Abilities fire healing, hardness 5; Immune construct traits, fire Weaknesses vulnerable to cold |
| Offense |
| Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 slams +19 (2d8+13 plus burn and grab) Ranged burning brand +9 (4d6+13 plus burn) Space 30 ft., Reach 30 ft. Special Attacks burn (1d6 fire, DC 17), wicker cage |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 37, Dexterity 16, Constitution -, Intelligence -, Wisdom 10, Charisma 7 Base Atk +14; CMB +35 (+39 grapple); CMD 48 SQ constant blaze |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Burning Brand (Ex) Once per round, a wickerman can draw forth pieces of its own body and throw them as a ranged attack with a range increment of 60 feet. Constant Blaze (Su) A wickerman constantly burns but is never consumed. Its flames are magical. Immersion in water only suppresses the flames, and only for as long as the wickerman is immersed. While its flames are suppressed, the wickerman loses its burn ability, and its wicker cage ability doesn’t deal fire damage or cause creatures to catch on fire. Fire Healing (Ex) A magical attack that deals fire damage heals the wickerman 1 point of damage for every 3 points of damage the attack would otherwise deal. Wicker Cage (Su) If a wickerman successfully grapples a creature, as a move action it can shove the grabbed creature into the cage built into its chest. This works like swallow whole (4d6 fire damage plus the target automatically catches on fire [Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 444], AC 17, 15 hp). The DC to put out this fire is 17. If a creature cuts its way free, the wickerman can’t use this ability again until it is fully healed. The save DC is Constitution-based. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any land Organization solitary Treasure none |
Construction
A wickerman is created from 12,000 pounds of wicker and rare wood costing 10,000 gp. Activating the wickerman requires sacrificing a living humanoid inside its chest cage. Sacrificing a creature is an evil act.
Wickerman
CL 14th; Price 110,000 gp
Construction Requirements
Craft Construct, fire seeds, wall of fire, warp wood, creator must be caster level 12th; Skill Craft (carpentry) or Craft (sculptures) DC 15; Cost 60,000 gp