Marehag - Brood Marehag

Marehag

Large Fey

Hit Dice: 8d6+24 (52 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 20 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +9 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+15
Attack: Claw +10 melee (1d6+7)
Full Attack: 2 claws +10 melee (1d6+7) and 2 hooves +5 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, dreadful conversation
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, damage reduction 10/cold iron, woodland stride, scent
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +10
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 19
Skills: Bluff +15, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +8 (+10 acting), Gather Information +10, Hide +5, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (nature) +8, Listen +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Survival +14
Feats: Alertness, Ability Focus (Dreadful Conversation), Iron Will
Environment: Temperate forests, ancient roads, haunted moors
Organization: Solitary or Pair
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Chaotic Evil
Advancement: 9–16 HD (Large); 17–24 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: —

A marehag resembles an elderly female centaur at first glance, though her proportions are subtly wrong. Her horse body is unnaturally long and lean, while her human torso emerges farther forward than it should. Tangled white hair hangs over a face lined by impossible age, and her arms dangle nearly to the ground, ending in black, iron-hard claws. She carries herself with the weary stoop of an old traveler until the instant she attacks, whereupon she erupts into terrifying speed.

Marehags wander forgotten roads, abandoned villages, and deep forests. Unlike most hags, they rarely keep permanent lairs, preferring to hunt by gaining the trust of travelers before revealing their true nature.

Combat

A marehag delights in weakening her victims emotionally before striking physically. She opens encounters with conversation and subtle enchantments, resorting to her claws only after sowing fear and doubt.

Dreadful Conversation (Su): A marehag possesses an uncanny ability to identify emotional weaknesses. If she converses with a creature capable of understanding her language for at least 1 minute, that creature must succeed on a DC 18 Will save or become shaken for 24 hours whenever it can see or hear the marehag. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. Creatures that successfully save are immune to that marehag's dreadful conversation for 24 hours.

Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 8th. Save DCs are Charisma-based.

At will - detect thoughts (DC 16), ghost sound (DC 14), minor image (DC 16)

3/day - bestow curse (DC 18), deep slumber (DC 17), suggestion (DC 17)

1/day - hallucinatory terrain (DC 19)

Woodland Stride (Ex)

A marehag may move through natural undergrowth without taking damage or suffering impairment, as the druid ability.

Skills

A marehag gains a +8 racial bonus on Bluff and Sense Motive checks. She may always take 10 on Bluff checks, even when rushed or threatened.

Lore

Most people mistake a marehag for an aged centaur until it is far too late. Travelers tell stories of kindly old women who offered food, directions, or sympathetic ears before revealing themselves as monsters. Those who survive often insist the creature knew things it could never have learned - childhood regrets, forgotten promises, buried guilt.

Centaurs deny any kinship with marehags, though they avoid the forgotten roads where the creatures roam. Entire herds will alter seasonal migrations rather than pass through a marehag's hunting grounds. Whether this fear stems from ancient shame, long-forgotten wars, or some darker shared ancestry remains unknown.

Among hags, however, marehags are treated with uncommon respect. Green hags gather misery, annis hags revel in brutality, and night hags traffic in souls. Marehags are said to specialize in something subtler: breaking hope itself. Even other hags sometimes seek one out to learn the art of unraveling a victim with nothing more than a pleasant smile and patient conversation.

Brood Marehag

Large Fey

Hit Dice: 12d6+48 (90 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 23 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +11 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+19
Attack: Claw +15 melee (1d6+9)
Full Attack: 2 claws +15 melee (1d6+9) and 2 hooves +10 melee (1d8+4)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, dreadful conversation, broodmother's command
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, damage reduction 10/cold iron, woodland stride, scent, spell resistance 20
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +13
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 19, Cha 22
Skills: Bluff +21, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +12 (+14 acting), Gather Information +18, Hide +8, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (nature) +15, Listen +19, Sense Motive +23, Spot +19, Survival +19
Feats: Alertness, Ability Focus (Dreadful Conversation), Combat Casting, Iron Will, Leadership¹
Environment: Temperate forests, ancient roads, forgotten villages
Organization: Solitary or Brood (1 brood marehag plus 2–8 awakened beasts and 2–12 animated scarecrows)
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Usually Chaotic Evil
Advancement: 13–20 HD (Large); 21–30 HD (Huge)

¹Leadership is listed for flavor and should not be used by PCs.

A brood marehag is an elder among her kind. While ordinary marehags wander the old roads alone, brood marehags establish domains that slowly become places of whispered dread. Animals cease behaving naturally, scarecrows appear where no fields exist, and lonely travelers begin reporting conversations with an elderly woman who somehow already knew their names.

Within a generation, the entire region belongs to her.

Combat

A brood marehag rarely fights alone. She allows her servants to isolate prey while she watches from the edge of the woods, speaking softly until despair has already taken hold.

Dreadful Conversation (Su): As the marehag.

Broodmother's Command (Su): As a standard action, a brood marehag may command any awakened animal, vermin, plant creature, or animated scarecrow within 300 feet. This functions as mass suggestion (DC 22) but affects only such creatures, which obey without receiving a saving throw if they already serve the brood marehag. This is a mind-affecting compulsion.

Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 12th.

At will - detect thoughts (DC 17), ghost sound, minor image, speak with animals

3/day - bestow curse (DC 20), deep slumber (DC 19), hallucinatory terrain (DC 21), suggestion (DC 19), tree stride

1/day - animate objects, awaken, veil (DC 22)

The awaken ability functions only once per month and is used exclusively upon beasts that willingly remain in her service.

Ecology

As marehags age, many eventually tire of wandering. Rather than stalking forgotten roads, an elder marehag chooses a place where despair already lingers—a deserted hamlet, an abandoned coaching inn, the ruins of a monastery, or a crossroads where tragedies have become commonplace.

Over decades, the land itself begins to change.

Animals grow unnaturally quiet. Travelers lose their sense of direction. Old footpaths seem to rearrange themselves after sunset, always leading strangers toward the brood marehag's domain. Those who survive an encounter often speak of hearing friendly voices just beyond the trees, only to discover no one was ever there.

A brood marehag rarely serves alone. Ordinary marehags sometimes seek out an elder to learn the subtler arts of manipulation, while bewitched beasts, enchanted servants, and creatures broken by years of psychological torment willingly carry out her wishes. Such followers are not slaves so much as disciples, each believing the brood marehag understands them better than anyone else ever could.

Lair

Unlike younger marehags, a brood marehag eventually settles in one place. Her lair is almost never a hut.

Instead, she claims an abandoned village, ruined monastery, forgotten tollhouse, or crumbling estate swallowed by the forest. Birds nest freely in the rafters. Moss carpets every stone. Animated scarecrows stand motionless among dead gardens.

Travelers often remark that the place doesn't feel evil.

It feels...

lived in.

Krowljing

Krowljing, Mire-Mother of the Crooked Fen

Female Green Hag, Medium Fey

Hit Dice: 9d6+27 (58 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (+2 Dex, +7 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d4+3)
Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d4+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, horrific insight, corrupting brew
Special Qualities: Amphibious, damage reduction 10/cold iron, darkvision 60 ft., mimicry, resistance to fire 10, spell resistance 18
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +9
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +16, Concentration +15, Disguise +16 (+18 acting), Hide +14, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (nature) +13, Listen +14, Move Silently +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Swim +15
Feats: Alertness, Combat Casting, Deceitful, Iron Will
Environment: Temperate marshes and fens
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 10–15 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

Special Attacks

Spell-Like Abilities: At will - disguise self, ghost sound (DC 14), invisibility, pass without trace; 3/day - charm person (DC 16), deep slumber (DC 17); 1/day - suggestion (DC 18). Caster level 9th. Save DCs are Charisma-based.

Horrific Insight (Su): Krowljing can see into the insecurities and prejudices of those around her. As a standard action, she may target one creature within 30 ft. That creature must succeed on a DC 18 Will save or be overwhelmed with self-loathing and disgust for others, becoming shaken for 1d6 rounds and taking a –2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks. If the creature already harbors prejudice or disdain for others, it instead becomes frightened for 1 round and shaken thereafter.

Corrupting Brew (Ex): Krowljing carries foul concoctions brewed from swamp rot, blood, and worse. Once per day, she may force-feed or trick a creature into consuming the brew (usually via deception). The target must make a DC 17 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Constitution damage and become afflicted with a creeping revulsion toward others unlike itself, taking a –4 penalty on Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks for 24 hours. Repeated exposure can cause long-term personality degradation at the DM’s discretion.

Special Qualities
Mimicry (Ex): Krowljing can perfectly imitate voices and sounds she has heard, gaining a +10 bonus on Bluff checks to deceive via auditory means.

Description

Krowljing is not merely cruel - she is fundamentally repulsed by difference. Where most hags delight in suffering, Krowljing fixates on sameness. She despises variation in form, thought, culture, or identity. In her warped worldview, anything that deviates from her own nature is inherently foul, offensive, and deserving of eradication or correction.

To that end, she collects victims not only to torment them, but to “improve” them. She forces captives through degrading rituals meant to strip away individuality - shaving heads, marking skin, drowning personalities beneath fear and repetition. Those who resist are broken. Those who comply are discarded, as their transformation is never truly enough to satisfy her twisted ideals.

Her voice is a constant weapon. She whispers judgments, comparisons, and insidious observations, breaking down her victims psychologically before ever raising a claw. She does not scream or rage - she dissects, critiques, and erodes.

Lore

Krowljing is said to have once been part of a coven that rejected her. Not for her cruelty - that was expected - but for her obsession with uniformity. Where the others reveled in chaos and contradiction, Krowljing sought to impose a singular, suffocating identity upon everything she touched. She viewed even her fellow hags as “impure” for their differences.

After her exile, she retreated into the deepest reaches of a choking fen, where she began shaping her domain into a reflection of her ideals. The swamp itself has grown unnaturally still and repetitive under her influence. Trees grow in unnatural symmetry. Animal calls echo in identical patterns. Even the mist seems to move in uniform waves.

Travelers who stumble into her territory often report an overwhelming sense of being watched - not by something hunting them, but by something judging them. Those who escape speak of hearing their own flaws whispered back at them in the dark, twisted into accusations.

More disturbing still are the remnants of those who did not escape. In the deeper parts of her swamp, one can find figures - silent, unmoving humanoids with blank expressions and identical features crudely forced upon them. Whether these are victims, constructs, or something worse is unclear. What is certain is that Krowljing does not see them as failures… but as progress.

Mirewood Warden

Mirewood Warden

Medium Fey (Augmented Plant)
Hit Dice: 8d6+24 (52 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 20 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (+5 Dex, +3 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+6
Attack: Vine lash +9 melee (1d6+2 plus entangle)
Full Attack: 2 vine lashes +9 melee (1d6+2 plus entangle)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./10 ft. (with vines)
Special Attacks: Entangling grasp, gaze of the sunken grove, call of the mire
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/cold iron, low-light vision, plant traits (partial), swamp stride, camouflage, regeneration 3 (suppressed by fire)
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +11, Will +9
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 18
Skills: Hide +16, Listen +14, Move Silently +15, Spot +14, Survival +14, Knowledge (nature) +12
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Alertness, Ability Focus (gaze of the sunken grove)
Environment: Warm marshes and bayous
Organization: Solitary or grove (2–4)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: 9–12 HD (Medium), 13–16 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —

DESCRIPTION

The Mirewood Warden appears at first glance to be a woman half-claimed by the swamp itself. Her flesh merges seamlessly with bark, moss, and fungal bloom - not as a corruption, but as a slow and deliberate becoming. Vines coil along her cheekbones and jaw like living veins, and her hair hangs in damp cords threaded with root and lichen.

One eye burns with a dim, golden bioluminescence - not bright enough to illuminate, but impossible to ignore. The other remains dull, as though drowned in shadow. Her skin glistens perpetually with moisture, as if the swamp refuses to release her from its grasp even for a moment.

When still, she is nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding cypress and rot. Only the faint rise and fall of breath - or the slow turning of that glowing eye - betrays her presence.

COMBAT

Mirewood Wardens do not rush into violence. They wait. They watch. They let the swamp soften their prey first.

They prefer to strike from concealment, using terrain and mist to isolate intruders. Combat often begins only when escape is no longer possible.

Entangling Grasp (Ex): A creature struck by a vine lash must succeed on a DC 17 Reflex save or become entangled as roots and creeping vines erupt from the Warden’s limbs and the surrounding ground. The target may attempt a Strength check (DC 17) or Escape Artist check (DC 15) as a move action to break free.

Gaze of the Sunken Grove (Su): 30 ft., Will DC 17 negates. The Warden fixes its glowing eye upon a target, forcing visions of drowning, suffocation, and slow burial beneath roots. On a failed save, the creature is shaken for 1d4 rounds and takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks. If already shaken, the target becomes frightened instead. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Call of the Mire (Su): Once per day, as a full-round action, the Warden may animate the swamp in a 20-ft. radius. The area becomes difficult terrain, and all enemies within must succeed on a DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone as the ground softens and shifts unnaturally. The effect lasts 5 rounds.

SPECIAL QUALITIES

Swamp Stride (Ex): A Mirewood Warden may move through natural marsh, mud, and shallow water without penalty and leaves no trail.

Camouflage (Ex): In swamp or forest terrain, a Warden gains a +10 bonus on Hide checks. If it remains motionless, creatures must succeed on a Spot check opposed by Hide to notice it at all.

Regeneration (Ex): Fire and acid deal normal damage to a Mirewood Warden. All other damage is converted to nonlethal damage.

Plant Affinity (Ex): Though a fey, the Warden counts as a plant for effects that specifically target plant creatures, though it is not immune to mind-affecting effects.

LORE

There are those in the bayou who insist the Mirewood Wardens were once human - women who wandered too far into the drowned places and were claimed not by death, but by something patient. Others claim they are older than humanity entirely, the swamp’s attempt at making something that can watch.

What is certain is this: they do not guard the swamp in any simple sense. They tend it. They prune it. They remove what does not belong - whether that be invasive beasts, careless travelers, or entire encampments that linger too long.

The golden eye is a thing of particular superstition. Some say it is a gift - a fragment of sunlight trapped and preserved in a place where the sky rarely reaches. Others say it is bait, meant to draw the lost and the curious just a few steps deeper into the mire, where footing fails and voices carry strangely.

Encounters with Mirewood Wardens are rarely witnessed twice by the same person. Those who survive often speak of a feeling more than a memory - of being watched long before they ever saw her, and of the swamp itself seeming… disappointed… when they escaped.

Madame Grands Doigts

“Madame Long Fingers” - Hag of the Attic Shadows

Medium Fey

Hit Dice: 7d6+28 (52 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (+2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +3 / +7
Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d4+4 plus weakness)
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d4+4 plus weakness)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Weakness, mimicry, attic whisper
Special Qualities: Change shape, mimicry, attic passage, swamp attunement, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +8
Ability Scores: Str 19, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 15
Skills: Bluff +12, Climb +12, Hide +10, Listen +8, Move Silently +10, Spot +8, Use Rope +4
Feats: Alertness, Ability Focus (weakness), Stealthy
Environment: Warm marshes and bayous (and inhabited structures)
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 8–10 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

Weakness (Su)

A hit from Madame Grands Doigts’ claw forces a DC 16 Fortitude save or the victim takes 1d4 points of Strength damage.

Mimicry (Ex)

Madame Grands Doigts can imitate the voice of any child or familiar adult she has heard (DC 14 Sense Motive to detect).

Attic Whisper (Su)

Within a structure, she may project faint voices through ceilings and walls. Children (typically under 12) must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or become fascinated for 1d4 rounds.

Change Shape (Su)

As a green hag; typically assumes the form of a frail Cajun grandmother, veiled penitent, or masked celebrant of La Fête Humide.

Attic Passage (Su)

Madame Grands Doigts can move through attics, crawlspaces, rafters, and wall gaps without penalty, ignoring squeezing restrictions and passing through openings as small as 6 inches while within a structure.

Swamp Attunement (Ex)

Within 1 mile of swamp or bayou, Madame Grands Doigts gains a +2 bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks and may track by scent.

Description

Madame Grands Doigts appears as a gaunt, elderly woman stretched unnaturally thin, her limbs elongated beyond human proportion. Her most horrifying feature is her hands - impossibly long, jointed fingers like skeletal branches, each digit bending at too many angles, ending in yellowed, splinter-like nails.

Her skin has the pallid, waterlogged quality of something steeped too long in swamp water, faintly gray-green and drawn tight over sharp bone. Sparse strands of damp, wiry hair hang across her face, often obscuring her expression - though when visible, her eyes gleam with a patient, knowing malice.

She moves with disturbing silence, often clinging to beams or crouched in upper corners like a great, thin insect. Most never see her clearly. Instead, they hear her first - soft creaks overhead, dragging fingertips across wood, or whispers slipping through ceiling boards in voices that should not be there.

Behavior

Madame Grands Doigts is a patient and ritualistic predator. She selects homes with children - especially during times of excess, distraction, and noise - and infiltrates the upper spaces where she can remain unseen.

She is most active during La Fête Humide, when households are consumed by celebration. Music, drink, and masked revelry below create the perfect cover for her movements above. Doors are left open, routines break down, and children wander.

She does not strike immediately. Over several nights, she cultivates fear - footsteps overhead, voices calling softly, objects shifting where no one has touched them. She tests boundaries, waiting for a child to respond.

A child who climbs toward the attic, answers a whisper, or separates from the safety of others becomes her target. Only then does she act - extending her long fingers through cracks, stairwells, or ceiling gaps to seize her prey with sudden, silent violence.

Lore

In the parishes of your setting, Madame Grands Doigts is a warning spoken quietly to children as La Fête Humide approaches. She represents the danger that comes not from sin or judgment, but from losing control in the midst of celebration.

Where the festival encourages masks, indulgence, and chaos, she is the thing that does not play along.

Folklore claims she listens for certain signs: children calling into empty spaces, laughter where no one stands, or voices answered when they should be ignored. Some traditions insist she cannot take a child who remains grounded among family - but any child who climbs, hides, or answers a voice from above risks inviting her in.

Scholars and rootworkers believe she is a localized manifestation of Green Hag malice shaped by cultural fear, bound to the liminal space between celebration and neglect. During La Fête Humide, when identity blurs and attention falters, that boundary weakens - and she slips through.

There are darker whispers still: that she does not merely kill, but collects. That somewhere between attic and swamp exists a place that belongs to her - a warped, impossible space of beams and shadows where the taken are kept.

And in some homes, before the music begins, the old warning is still given:

“Dance all you like… but don’t go climbing where the house creaks.”

Père Malfait

“Father Wrong-Doer”

Size/Type: Large Fey (Shapechanger, Spirit)
Hit Dice: 14d6+56 (105 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 22 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +11 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +7 / +17
Attack: Slam +12 melee (2d6+6 plus mire grasp)
Full Attack: 2 slams +12 melee (2d6+6 plus mire grasp)
Space/Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Special Attacks: Mire grasp, hypnotic call, ghost-music lure, judgment of the swamp
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, swamp stride, moss-shroud form, fast healing 5 (in swamp), spell resistance 21, shapechange
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +12
Ability Scores: Str 22, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 20
Skills: Hide +19 (+27 in swamp), Listen +21, Move Silently +19, Survival +21, Knowledge (nature) +15, Sense Motive +21
Feats: Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Cleave, Ability Focus (hypnotic call), Track
Environment: Warm marshes and bayous
Organization: Solitary (unique)
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: Standard (often partially submerged or hidden in roots and muck)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (often appears Chaotic Evil)
Advancement: 15–20 HD (Large), 21–28 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: —

Special Attacks

Mire Grasp (Ex):
Any creature struck by Père Malfait’s slam must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex save or be partially dragged into spectral swamp matter. The target is treated as entangled and takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage each round as roots, mud, and phantom debris constrict them. Escape requires a DC 20 Strength or Escape Artist check.

Hypnotic Call (Su):
As a standard action, Père Malfait emits a low, crooning call. Creatures within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or become fascinated and compelled to move toward him at half speed. This is a mind-affecting sonic effect. Creatures already in swamp terrain take a –2 penalty on the save.

Ghost-Music Lure (Su):
At night, Père Malfait can produce faint, disembodied music audible up to 300 feet. Creatures who hear it must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or wander aimlessly toward the sound for 1d4+1 minutes, ignoring hazards unless directly threatened. This effect ends if the creature takes damage.

Judgment of the Swamp (Su):
Once per day, Père Malfait may target a creature that has committed a morally questionable act (DM discretion). The target must make a DC 22 Will save or be overwhelmed with supernatural guilt, taking 6d6 psychic damage and becoming shaken for 1d6 rounds. On a successful save, the damage is halved and no condition is applied.

Special Qualities

Moss-Shroud Form (Su):
Père Malfait’s body is cloaked in living Spanish moss and swamp detritus. He gains concealment (20% miss chance) in any natural swamp terrain. As a swift action, he may increase this to total concealment (50% miss chance) for 3 rounds, once every 1d4 rounds.

Swamp Stride (Ex):
He may move through bogs, deep mud, and water without penalty and leaves no trail unless he chooses.

Shapechange (Su):
At will, Père Malfait may assume the form of a Large humanoid draped in moss, a hunched beast-like figure, or dissolve into a drifting mass of swamp vegetation. This functions as alter self, but also grants a +10 bonus to Disguise checks in swamp terrain.

Fast Healing (Ex):
Père Malfait gains fast healing 5 while in swamp or marsh terrain. This ability is suppressed for 1 round if he takes damage from a weapon made of gumwood.

Description

Père Malfait is less a creature and more a manifestation of the bayou’s will, an ancient, watchful presence that punishes those who disrespect the swamp or stray too far into its depths. His form shifts subtly between sightings, but certain elements remain constant. A towering silhouette draped in wet Spanish moss, long limbs that seem too strong and too fluid, and two faint, glowing eyes that hover within the tangled mass.

Up close, his body appears to be made of layered vegetation, mud, and something disturbingly animate beneath, like roots flexing as muscle. His movements are unnaturally quiet for something so large, accompanied only by the soft drag of moss and the distant sound of water disturbed where none should be.

His voice, when heard, is never direct. It comes as a hum, a melody, or a whisper carried on thick, humid air. Those who hear it often describe it as familiar, like a lullaby half-remembered from childhood, or a song that feels safe right until it isn’t.

Behavior

Père Malfait does not hunt in the traditional sense. He observes.

Travelers who pass respectfully through the swamp may never notice him at all. But those who pollute, desecrate, or act with cruelty, especially in isolation, may begin to feel watched. The air grows heavier. Sounds become muffled. Then the music begins.

He prefers to separate individuals from groups, using his ghost-music lure to draw them away before revealing himself. Even then, he does not always attack immediately. Many accounts describe him simply watching, as though judging, before deciding whether the trespasser deserves punishment.

When he does act, it is sudden and overwhelming. Roots burst from water, mud pulls at limbs, and his massive form strikes with crushing force.

Lore

Local Cajun folklore paints Père Malfait as both a warning and a guardian, a spirit born from the swamp itself, tasked with punishing wrong-doers, though what defines wrongdoing varies from tale to tale. Some say he was once a man who committed terrible acts and was claimed by the swamp as eternal penance. Others insist he has always existed, older than any settlement, older even than memory.

Children are warned not to wander after dark, especially near still water or hanging moss. Adults know the stories too, but treat them with a cautious respect rather than dismissal. Many carry small charms, prayers, or tokens when traveling through the bayou, just in case.

Recorded legends suggest that Père Malfait cannot be overcome by strength or steel alone. The only known way to drive him back involves spiritual protection, ritual preparation, or weapons crafted from gumwood trees, often shaped into stakes and blessed through old rites. Even then, such measures do not destroy him permanently, but instead force him to retreat into the depths of the swamp, where he reforms over time.

Above all, Père Malfait stands as a symbol of the wild, untamable power of nature. He is not merely a monster, but a lesson. The swamp does not belong to those who walk through it. It must be respected, feared, and left unchallenged by those who would survive its depths.