Letiche

Small Humanoid (Aquatic, Reptilian)

Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (22 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 16 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +2 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3 / +0
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6+1 plus grab)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6+1 plus grab) and 2 claws +4 melee (1d4+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, capsize, death wail
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, hold breath, swamp stride, damage reduction 5/magic
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +5
Ability Scores: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 7, Wis 14, Cha 11
Skills: Hide +11, Move Silently +9, Swim +9, Listen +6, Spot +6, Survival +4
Feats: Stealthy, Weapon Finesse
Environment: Warm marshes and bayous
Organization: Solitary, pair, or clutch (3–6)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 5–8 HD (Small), 9–12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

Special Attacks

Improved Grab (Ex):
To use this ability, a Letiche must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it can attempt to drag its opponent into the water.

Capsize (Ex):
A Letiche lurking beneath the surface can attempt to overturn a small watercraft (such as a canoe, skiff, or rowboat) as a full-round action. This requires a successful Strength check opposed by the highest Balance or Profession (sailor) check among the occupants (DC 15 if none apply). Creatures in the boat must succeed on a DC 14 Reflex save or be thrown into the water. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Death Wail (Su):
Once per day, a Letiche may emit a horrifying, infant-like wail as a standard action. All creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or become shaken for 1d6 rounds. Creatures that fail by 5 or more are instead frightened for 1 round, then shaken. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Wisdom-based.

Special Qualities

Hold Breath (Ex):
A Letiche can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 × its Constitution score before risking drowning.

Swamp Stride (Ex):
A Letiche moves through natural difficult terrain in marshes, bogs, and shallow water without penalty and leaves no trail unless it chooses to.

Description

The Letiche is a stunted, nightmarish figure standing no more than four feet tall, its hunched silhouette barely distinguishable from the tangled roots and reeds of the bayou. Its skin is a sickly green-gray, slick with moisture and patterned with faint, uneven scales that glisten in dim light. Long, webbed fingers end in cracked, claw-like nails, and its feet splay outward like those of some malformed amphibian.

Its head is the most disturbing feature - vaguely human in shape, but stretched and warped. The mouth is too wide, filled with small, needle-like teeth, and its eyes reflect light like an alligator’s, glowing faintly in darkness. When still, it can be mistaken for driftwood or a half-submerged corpse, but when it moves, it does so with unsettling, jerking speed.

The creature smells of stagnant water, rot, and mud. In the silence of the swamp, its presence is often betrayed only by faint ripples in black water - or the soft, almost pitiful sound of something that might be mistaken for a crying child.

Behavior

Letiches are ambush predators, preferring to remain submerged with only their eyes and nostrils above water. They are patient, sometimes watching prey for hours before striking. Small boats are their favored targets, as they delight in isolating victims and dragging them beneath the surface one by one.

They are cruelly intelligent in a primitive way, often testing prey - tapping at the hull of a boat, circling silently, or mimicking distant sounds to lure travelers into vulnerable positions. Once panic sets in, the Letiche strikes swiftly, aiming to pull victims into deep or murky water where visibility is nearly nonexistent.

Despite their size, they rarely flee once committed to an attack. Instead, they become more aggressive when injured, emitting their signature wail - a sound that blends infant distress with something far older and filled with malice.

Lore

Among the people of the bayou, the Letiche is not merely a monster - it is a warning. According to one widely told tale, these creatures are the restless spirits of unbaptized or abandoned infants, denied peace and twisted by the swamp into something vengeful. Their cries echo what they once were, a haunting reminder of neglect, sin, or misfortune.

Another tradition speaks of them as living beings - children lost to the swamp and raised among predators. Over time, they become something else entirely: neither human nor beast, shaped by survival into cunning, amphibious hunters. These versions of the legend often describe Letiches as territorial and even capable of forming small hunting groups.

Scholars and occultists argue over their true origin, but most agree on one thing - the swamp changes things. Whether born of spirit or flesh, the Letiche embodies that transformation: innocence drowned, reshaped into something patient, hungry, and unforgiving.

Some grim tales suggest that particularly old Letiches grow larger and more intelligent, eventually leading small broods. In these rare cases, they may even begin to mimic human speech more convincingly, using it to lure victims deeper into the mire - where the water is black, the roots run deep, and nothing that is taken is ever returned.