Glaistig

A mien of strange, primal beauty surrounds this woman, magnified by the inhuman tone of her skin and her bestial legs.

Glaistig CR 21/MR 10

XP 409,600
CN Medium fey (earth, mythic)
Init +26; Senses low-light vision, tremorsense 120 ft.; Perception +37; Aura reveler’s rapture (30 ft., Will DC 32)

DEFENSE

AC 40, touch 32, flat-footed 28 (+10 deflection, +12 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 422 (25d6+335); regeneration 30 (air; see airbane)
Fort +18, Ref +26, Will +23; second save
DR 15/cold iron and epic; Immune daze, mind-affecting effects, stagger, stun; Resist acid 30, cold 30, electricity 30, fire 30, sonic 30; SR 32; Weakness airbane

OFFENSE

Speed 60 ft., burrow 60 ft., climb 60 ft.; earth glide
Melee earth whip +26/+21/+16 (10d6+20/19–20 bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing plus hex) or leaf whip +26/+21/+16 (20d6+30/19–20 slashing plus hex)
Ranged earth blast +36 (10d6+30/19–20 bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing plus hex) or leaf blast +36 (20d6+40/19–20 slashing plus hex)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with earth whip or leaf whip)
Special Attacks infusions (bowling infusion, deadly earth, entangling infusion, extended range, fragmentation, grappling infusion, impale, kinetic whip, mobile blast, pushing infusion, snake, wall), mythic power (10/day, +1d12), terrakinesis, witch of the fey
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 25th; concentration +35)

Constantfreedom of movement, pass without trace
At willcreate water, know direction, purify food and drink, transport via plants
3/dayclashing rocks (DC 29), quickened confusion (DC 23), flesh to stone (DC 26), move earth, summon nature’s ally IX

STATISTICS

Str 28, Dex 35, Con 30, Int 27, Wis 28, Cha 31
Base Atk +12; CMB +21; CMD 69
Feats Combat Casting, Combat ReflexesM, Defensive Combat TrainingM, Improved CriticalM (kinetic blast), Improved InitiativeM, Improved Precise Shot, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (confusion), Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Sense Motive), Weapon Finesse, Weapon FocusM (kinetic blast)
Skills Acrobatics +40, Bluff +44, Climb +17, Diplomacy +38, Disguise +28, Escape Artist +40, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (geography) +21, Knowledge (local) +37, Knowledge (nature) +37, Perception +37, Perform (dance) +38, Sense Motive +43, Sleight of Hand +40, Stealth +40, Use Magic Device +38
Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan, Terran
SQ divine source, sylvan grace

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Airbane

A glaistig’s sylvan grace ability and regeneration are suppressed whenever she is in the air. While a glaistig is on the ground, only pure elemental air attacks (such as an kineticist’s air simple blast or an air elemental’s slam attack) can suppress the glaistig’s regeneration.

Infusions

A glaistig has access to the listed kineticist form and substance infusions, which she can apply to any of the blasts granted by her terrakinesis ability without needing to accept burn.

This applies to only the base burn cost; a glaistig can’t pay additional burn to gain a greater effect with infusions such as pushing infusion.

Reveler’s Rapture (Su)

Glaistigs emit a bacchanalian aura of euphoria to a range of 30 feet. Creatures that enter the aura’s area engage their wild side, with an effect equivalent to irresistible dance. A successful Will save renders the subject immune to that glaistig’s aura for 24 hours, but the creature still dances for 1 round, even on a successful save. A creature under the effect of a glaistig’s reveler’s rapture can attempt a new save at the end of each turn after the first to end the effect and become immune to the aura. A glaistig can exclude any targets she wishes from her aura’s effects.

Sylvan Grace (Su)

A glaistig gains a deflection bonus to AC and a bonus on attack and damage rolls with her non-melee earth and leaf blasts equal to her Charisma bonus.

Terrakinesis (Sp, Su)

A glaistig has access to a variety of earth wild talents as if she were a 20th-level kineticist, but she manifests them in a visual blend of earth and plant matter. As a being associated with earth and plants, she can perform the earth blast, as well as a special composite blast of the earth element called leaf blast, at no burn cost. A glaistig’s leaf blast is a physical composite blast that deals slashing damage. The glaistig can apply the infusions of deadly earth, entangling infusion, impale, and pushing infusion, as well as any of the glaistig’s universal infusions, to her leaf blast. The glaistig also gains infusions and utility talents listed under her other special abilities, but doesn’t gain any other abilities of a 20th-level kineticist.

Witch of the Fey (Su)

A glaistig can use the blight, disguise, fortune, and misfortune minor hexes, the agony and retribution major hexes, and the natural disaster grand hex as if she were a 20th-level witch; this ability counts as the hex class feature for the purposes of qualifying for feats. The save DC for this ability is Charisma-based. On a successful melee attack, a glaistig can affect her target with either her agony, misfortune, or retribution hex as an additional effect. When she uses her earth blast or leaf blast, she can choose one of these hexes to affect all creatures damaged by the blast.

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate forests or swamps
Organization solitary
Treasure double

Hailed as either protectors or plagues, glaistigs are ancient fey, tied to the earth and wielding its powers. Although not evil, glaistigs are unpredictable and hot-tempered—easily stirred to anger and possessing powerful magic to deal great harm to the objects of their scorn.

A glaistig resembles a comely human woman with greenish skin and the lower legs of a goat, similar to a faun or satyr. Glaistigs usually cover their bestial lower body in flowing robes or gowns, typically woven from leaves frozen in the colors of summer or autumn, and adorn themselves with simple but elegant jewelry. Their haunting eyes show no pupils, and every step they take seems as one move in an endless dance. They can be whimsical, but often move and act with great deliberation, especially when their anger is roused.

Glaistigs are among the oldest and most powerful fey in existence. Legends say that they were once incorporeal spirits of the earth that strove to protect early humans living the simple lives of farmers in harsh worlds, and it was through that protection and proximity that these spirits coalesced into the forms they now hold. Regardless of their origins, many glaistigs still protect swaths of rural countryside, forests, and swamps, as well as the people who live therein. Their protection is often unobtrusive; they prefer to manifest their power and protection from the camouflage of foliage, making it seem like the wilderness itself is acting against interlopers. In times of great need, however, or when they become very angry, glaistigs confront dangers in the open. Inhabitants of places protected by a glaistig often leave food, drink, jewels, and crafts at a designated place of honor, or gather to sing songs or tell tales for the glaistig to hear from the shadows.

Such communities tell stories of the green maiden who lives in the forest or some other stretch of pristine wilderness, and relate a number of cautionary tales about their fickle protector.

Such tales have twofold purpose: to keep the favor of a local glaistig and to protect the young and foolish from doing something that angers the green maiden, which can often mean death. In return for such cautious reverence, those under the elder fey’s protection often find furrows dug and earth mysteriously moved for them, troughs and barrels filled with fresh water during droughts, or even marauding monsters driven far away. But such harmony is often tenuous, and those that leave tribute for a glaistig do so as much to placate her as to praise her. For the same glaistig that brings water and turns earth can blight an entire countryside or cause the ground to tremble. A glaistig’s mere presence can incite others to uncontrollable fits of dancing and demented antics, and those that move a glaistig to rage earn themselves a powerful foe indeed.

In combat, a glaistig moves with ease and grace, typically targeting those under the effects of her aura with debilitating hexes before withdrawing to summon earth elementals to aid her, and bombarding her opponents with leaves and dirt. The living link of her body to the earth and its plants and trees makes a glaistig vulnerable in the air, and she does what she can to stay grounded. Even at the height of anger, however, a glaistig can still sometimes be reasoned with. A glaistig will typically pause to parley, and can be swayed to cease hostilities in exchange for some valuable, preferably magical, item of sufficient value, particularly a wooden or stone item.

While glaistigs themselves have no compunction about bending the truth or flagrantly dissembling, they take extreme offense when others lie to them, and are quite adept at sniffing out falsehoods. When a glaistig deduces that someone has lied to her, even if the untruths were spoken in an attempt at flattery, her outrage is such that she is unwilling to even speak with that person again.

Among some of the most prevalent cautionary tales involving glaistigs is that they sometimes lure young children deep into their wilderness homes, kidnapping them and even replacing them with some form of fey impostor. In truth, these fey enjoy the innocence, honesty, and playfulness of children, and usually keep them only to chat and dance with for a short while before sending them home unharmed.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Logan Bonner, Creighton Broadhurst, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Thurston Hillman, Eric Hindley, Joe Homes, James Jacobs, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Ben McFarland, Jason Nelson, Thom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, David N. Ross, Wes Schneider, David Schwartz, Mark Seifter, Mike Shel, James L. Sutter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.

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