Bogle

A boggart is a household spirit which causes things to dissapear milk to sour and dogs to go lame. always mealevolant, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee. In Northern England, at least, there was the belief that the boggart should never be named, for when the boggart was given a name, it would not be reasoned with or persuaded and become uncontrollable and destructive though it is proven to be nonsense as boggarts named or not will always be extremely destructive.

It is said that the boggart crawls into people’s beds at night and puts a clammy hand on their faces. Sometimes he strips the bedsheets off them. Sometimes a boggart will also pull on a person’s ears. hanging A horseshoe hung on the door of a house is said to keep a boggart away but this also has proven to be ineffective.

The Farmer and the Boggart

In an old tale from the village of Mumby in the Lincolnshire countryside, the boggart is described as being rather squat, hairy and smelly. The story goes that a farmer bought a patch of land that was inhabited by the boggart. When the farmer tried to cultivate the field the boggart got angry, and after much arguing they decided to work the land together and share the bounty. The farmer, however, being greedy, began to ponder a way to cheat the boggart out of his share. When they were debating what to plant, he asked the boggart, ‘Which half of the crop do you want for your share, the part below the ground or the part above it?’ The boggart thought for a while before answering ‘The part below the ground.’ The farmer sowed the field with barley. At harvest time the farmer boasted a big pile of barley while all the boggart had to show for his work was stubble. It flew into a rage and screeched that next time it would take what lay above the ground. The next time the farmer sowed the field with potatoes. At harvest time the farmer laughed as he claimed his massive pile of potatoes while the boggart was yet again left with nothing to show for his efforts. Simmering with rage, the boggart stormed off, never to return again.

Bogle

“Spriggans” © Andrew L. Pacoriek. Accessed at his Strange Lands website here

Taken from the Creature Codex

This bruise-colored humanoid creature has a sloping brow, prominent ears and a muscular build. It wears the rough clothes of a farmer and clutches a scythe in its meaty hands. It glares with beady yellow eyes.

The institution of agriculture is one of the most prominent ways that humanoids interfere with the natural order. Although some fey creatures encourage agriculture and assist its works, others devote themselves to the downfall of farming communities—these are the bogles. Bogles view farmers and farming with destructive envy, simultaneously sabotaging farming activities while stealing livestock and crops.  A bogle’s mastery of vermin gives it ample ability to spread diseases and despoil farmland.

A bogle closely resembles a goblinoid creature, although they resent that comparison (and may seek to exterminate goblinoid tribes in their territories). Scholars of the faerie world suggest instead that bogles are close relatives of mites, which share the bogles’ love of vermin and disdain towards other creatures. Bogle lairs tend to be places such as abandoned barns and grain silos; these abodes are typically filled with giant and mundane vermin of all kinds. Due to their martial prowess, many fey nobles use bogles as foot soldiers and shock troops—even goodly fey such as nymphs may keep a few bogles on retainer, keeping them in line with threats and guile. A bogle stands about six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds.

Bogle   CR 3

XP 800

CE Medium fey
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, Perception +1

Defense

AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)

hp 32 (5d6+15)

Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3

DR 5/cold iron

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee scythe +7 (2d4+4/x4) or slam +7 (1d4+4)

Special Attacks terrible visage

Statistics

Str 16, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 9, Cha 14

Base Atk +2; CMB +7 (+9 bull’s rush); CMD 17

Feats Improved Bull’s Rush, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack

Skills Bluff +8, Handle Animal +10, Intimidate +10, Perception +1, Stealth +10

Languages Common, Sylvan

SQ martial training, uncanny power, vermin empathy +7

Ecology

Environment temperate plains

Organization solitary, pair, gang (3-8) or band (1-3 plus 1-6 giant vermin)

Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Martial Training (Ex) A bogle is proficient with all martial weapons.

Terrible Visage (Su) As a standard action, a bogle can deform itself into a hideous beast. All creatures that can see the bogle within 30 feet must succeed a DC 14 Will save or be panicked for 1d4+1 rounds. On a successful save, the creature is instead shaken for 1 round. A creature that successfully saves against this ability cannot be affected by the terrible visage of that bogle for the next 24 hours. This is a mind-influencing fear effect. The save DC is Charisma based.

Uncanny Power (Su) A bogle adds its Charisma bonus as an insight bonus to all weapon attack rolls and combat maneuver checks. This bonus is included in the statistics above.

Vermin Empathy (Ex) This ability functions as a druid’s wild empathy, save that it functions only on vermin. A bogle can use Handle Animal to train vermin and treats a swarm of vermin as a single creature for the purposes of this ability.