Kami, Kodama

[This content was created for the Pathfinder rules by Paizo Publishing LLC and is part of the Pathfinder RPG product line.]

This little green humanoid figure stands only three feet tall. Its head is faceless save for two hollow pits for eyes.

Source: Pathfinder d20pfsrd.com

Revered by druids and rangers for their attunement with the wilds, kodama, known also as tree kami, are the guardians of the wild trees of the forest, they do not protect trees cultivated and grown in civilized areas. (Those trees are protected by different kami, if at all.) A kodama takes a single tree under its protection; typically, all of the trees in a forest that are protected by kodama are clustered together in one particular area. A kodama in its physical form resembles a barely humanoid creature with only the vaguest of features on its semispherical head. A tree kami is 3 feet tall and weighs 60 pounds. While one might expect the kami of something as large as a tree to itself be larger, the fact that forests are made up of so many trees tends to diminish the singular “presence” any single tree might have. Kodama are more curious about visitors than most kami, and often manifest their physical bodies simply to watch and observe newcomers to their groves. A kodama usually manifests on the far side of its tree, or in the shadows of the undergrowth, so that it can slowly step out into visibility to quietly observe with its distracting, empty-eyed gaze. This gaze can be particularly unnerving. Those who have fallen under its supernatural effects often have different descriptions of how the gaze made them feel (ashamed, frightened, curious, amused, and nervous being the most common reactions), yet the end result is essentially the same. While under observation by a curious kodama, few are those who can continue their actions without being at least somewhat distracted by the kami’s attention. When a kodama must fight (typically in order to defend its tree or other kami), it moves quickly – kodama work best in groups, and when confronted alone generally use tree stride to travel to another part of the forest to raise a small host of allies to aid it in defending its home.

A kodama lives in certain trees cutting down a tree which houses a kodama is thought to bring misfortune, and such trees are often marked.

Kodama CR 5

XP 1,600 N Small outsider (kami, native) Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dexterity, +2 Dodge, +4 natural, +1 size) hp 51 (6d10+18); fast healing 3 Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +4 DR 5/cold iron; Immune bleed, mind-affecting effects, petrification, polymorph; Resist acid 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 16

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +9 (1d3+2) Special Attacks distracting gaze, sneak attack +2d6 Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; Concentration +9)   At will – speak with plants (trees only), tree shape 3/day – charm animal (DC 14), entangle (DC 14), tree stride (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only)

STATISTICS

Strength 14, Dexterity 13, Constitution 16, Intelligence 11, Wisdom 14, Charisma 17 Base Atk +6; CMB +7; CMD 20 Feats Great Fortitude, Nimble Moves, Power Attack Skills Climb +11, Escape Artist +10, Perception +11, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +14, Survival +11 Languages Common; speak with plants, telepathy 100 ft. SQ merge with ward, ward (wild trees)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Distracting Gaze (Su) Staggered for 1d4 rounds, 30 feet, Will DC 16 negates. This is a mind-affecting effect that requires the kodama to be visible to those it wishes to affect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

ECOLOGY

Environment any forest Organization solitary, pair, group (3-7), or grove (8-16) Treasure standard

Variants

In cases where a tree is particularly ancient or immense, however, the kodama associated with it is much larger—statistics for such rare kodama can be generated by advancing the kodama given here by several Hit Dice and increasing its size—theoretically, a Colossal kodama with more than 20 Hit Dice could exist somewhere in the world. Not all kodama increase in power by gaining racial Hit Dice, though, as some instead progress by gaining class levels, particularly levels of druid, though a rare few kodama kami—those possessed of minds more ordered and structured than is normal for their race—take the path of the monk.

Section 15: Copyright Notice – Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.