Buy me a coffee“Twigjack: The Shadow of the Withered Grove”
“Meet the Twigjack: the sinister forest sprite with a body of brambles and a penchant for chaos!”
Twigjacks are small, humanoid creatures composed of tangled, thorny vines and brambles, with bodies resembling bundles of sticks held together by natural bindings. Moss often grows atop their heads, resembling wild hair, and their “eyes” are hollow, knothole-like voids that exude an eerie sense of emptiness. Their mouths are jagged gaps of splintered wood, giving them a menacing and unnatural visage. New growths like leaves or sprigs occasionally sprout from their forms, further emphasizing their connection to the forest.
Behavior
Twigjacks are highly aggressive and territorial, especially toward humans and other intruders in their forested homes. They thrive on mischief and chaos, often engaging in acts of sabotage like breaking wagon wheels, disabling hunters’ tools, or wrecking settlements. Despite their truculent nature, they share a begrudging camaraderie with other sylvan creatures, particularly during collective threats to their habitats.
Habitat
These creatures dwell in dense, temperate forests, favoring old-growth woodlands with thick underbrush and abundant vegetation. Their existence is deeply tied to their environment, as they are not just protectors but also embodiments of the wild’s more violent and untamed aspects. They are sometimes mistaken for plant-based leshys, which they despise
Modus Operandi
Twigjacks utilize their unique abilities to defend their homes and terrorize intruders. Their signature techniques include:
- Bramble Jump: Teleporting short distances through forest undergrowth, enabling ambushes and escape.
- Splinter Spray: Launching a cone of sharp splinters to inflict piercing damage on foes.
They typically employ hit-and-run tactics, using their agility and the forest’s natural cover to their advantage. Their vulnerability to fire makes them cautious around flames.
Motivation
At their core, they are driven by an intense devotion to their forests. Their primary goal is the preservation of their woodland homes, often to the detriment of human settlers or adventurers. They are proud of their fey heritage and seek validation from other fey, sometimes to the point of humiliation in their attempts to impress.
Twigjacks epitomize the untamed spirit of the forest, serving as both protectors and reminders of nature’s feral power.
Twigjack 5e
Twigjack Pathfinder
Twigjack
Tiny Fey, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class: 15 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 33 (6d4 + 12)
Speed: 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 (-1) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 11 (+0) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws: Dex +5, Wis +4
Skills: Acrobatics +5, Perception +4, Stealth +7, Survival +4
Damage Vulnerabilities: Fire
Damage Resistances: Piercing, Slashing from nonmagical attacks
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages: Sylvan, Common
Challenge: 2 (450 XP)
Traits
- Fey Ancestry. The Twigjack has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put it to sleep.
- Woodland Stride. The Twigjack can move through nonmagical difficult terrain made of plants, such as thickets or undergrowth, without spending extra movement.
- Camouflage. While in a forested environment, the Twigjack can attempt to hide even when lightly obscured by foliage.
Actions
Multiattack. The Twigjack makes two melee attacks: one with its claws and one with its spear.
- Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage. - Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target.
Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage.
Splinterspray (Recharge 5–6). The Twigjack ejects a 15-foot cone of sharp splinters and brambles.
- Each creature in the cone must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
- Creatures that fail the saving throw are blinded until the end of their next turn as splinters obscure their vision.
Bramble Jump (3/Day). The Twigjack teleports up to 30 feet to a space it can see within 5 feet of natural undergrowth, such as shrubs or thickets. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Reactions
Retaliatory Thorns. When a creature within 5 feet of the Twigjack hits it with a melee attack, the Twigjack releases a burst of thorns. The attacker must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (1d10) piercing damage.
Tactics
The Twigjack is a skirmisher and disruptor:
- Ambush and Disrupt: It opens combat by using Splinterspray to disorient and blind enemies, then uses Bramble Jump to reposition or escape.
- Hit-and-Run: The Twigjack uses its Multiattack to harass foes with claws and spear while evading retaliation through terrain advantages and its mobility.
- Group Dynamics: Twigjacks excel in groups, using their abilities to disorient foes while allies exploit the chaos.
Twigjack
This tiny, vaguely humanoid creature seems to be made completely of bundles of sticks wound with thorny vines.
Deep in old-growth forests, twigjacks spend their time tormenting intruders and wreaking havoc on settlers. Maladjusted protectors of the wood, these malicious fey constantly threaten any attempts to civilize the wild. They delight in breaking wagon wheels from expansionists’ caravans, snapping hunters’ bows, and sabotaging isolated cabins and villages.
Although they possess a keen intellect, few creatures, even other fey, can tolerate these twig-born creatures for long. Treants especially find twigjacks bothersome, and resent any suggestion that they are related. Equally, twigjacks resent being considered plants, and are proud of their fey heritage. Twigjacks sometimes go out of their way to impress dryads, an effort that is rebuffed almost every time. But some spriggans, quicklings, and other evil fey associate with twigjacks, and while goblins fear and distrust the creatures, bugbears often bully them into service.
Gnarled sticks bundled by vines and brambles form a twigjack’s entire body. Atop its head, a mossy growth not unlike hair sprouts. The creature’s eyes appear as vacant dark knotholes, and its mouth is just a canyon of splintered and broken sticks bisecting its face. Leaves and sprigs of new growth randomly sprout from the creature’s body.
Twigjack CR 3
XP 800
CE Tiny fey
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size)
hp 27 (5d6+10)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +6
Weaknesses vulnerable to fire
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee spear +3 (1d4–1/x3) or 2 claws +7 (1d4–1)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft. (5 ft. with spear)
Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6, splinterspray
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 12
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +11, Climb +7, Disable Device +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +10, Stealth +22
Languages Common, Sylvan
SQ bramble jump, woodland stride
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Bramble Jump (Su)
A twigjack can travel short distances between brambles, shrubs, or thickets as if via dimension door as part of a move action. The twigjack must begin and end this movement while in an area of at least light undergrowth. The twigjack can travel in this manner up to 60 feet per day. This movement must be used in 10-foot increments and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Splinterspray (Ex)
A twigjack can eject a barrage of splinters and brambles from its body three times per day as a standard action. This effect creates a 15-foot conical burst of jagged splinters, dealing 4d6 points of piercing damage to all creatures in the area. A DC 14 Reflex saving throw halves this damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests
Organization solitary, pair, or gang (3–8)
Treasure standard
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Graeme Davis, Crystal Frasier, Joshua J. Frost, Tim Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal MacLean, Martin Mason, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Owen K.C. Stephens, James L. Sutter, Russ Taylor, and Greg A. Vaughan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.