Crossroads Guardian

APPEARANCE

This clear-eyed humanoid stands with flowing hair and a noble bearing. It holds its weapon at the ready, not threatening but standing prepared to protect.

Crossroads Guardian CR 7

XP 3,200
N Medium fey
Init +0; Senses low-light vision; Perception +19

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+6 armor, +4 natural)
hp 89 (12d6+48)
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +12
Defensive Abilities primal purpose

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor), swim 30 ft.
Melee greatsword +13/+8 (2d6+9/19–20)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +18)

TACTICS

Before Combat The crossroads guardian casts obscuring mist to confound ranged attackers.

During Combat The crossroads guardian enters combat without hesitation and supplements its attacks with solid fog, especially if a creature threatens the object of its quest.

Morale The crossroads guardian fights to the death. If it is rendered incapable of fulfilling its quest, it casts plane shift with the knowledge it will reappear at the site of its quest a day later.

STATISTICS

Str 23, Dex 10, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 19, Cha 22
Base Atk +6; CMB +12; CMD 22
Feats Arcane Armor Mastery, Endurance, Light Armor Proficiency, Martial Weapon Proficiency (greatsword), Medium Armor Proficiency, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Skills Diplomacy +21, Heal +16, Knowledge (arcana, religion) +16, Knowledge (local, nature) +19, Perception +19, Perform (oratory) +21, Sense Motive +19, Survival +16, Swim +9
Languages Celestial, Giant, Sylvan; tongues
SQ bound, recognize hero
Gear chainmail, greatsword

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Bound (Su)

The crossroads guardian is bound to the site of its creation, but it can leave so long as it remains within 100 feet of the object it is guarding or individuals under a geas to fulfill the guardian’s need. If it strays farther than 100 feet, it vanishes and reappears within 1 day at the site of its creation.

Primal Purpose (Su)

The crossroads guardian can’t be permanently destroyed while its need remains unfulfilled. If killed, it reforms within 1 day near the object it guards, near someone under a geas to fufill its need, or at the site of its creation. Once the guardian’s need is fulfilled, it dissipates naturally within a week unless it finds a new quest.

Recognize Hero (Su)

The crossroads guardian knows the name, lineage, and significant history of everyone who speaks to it. If that individual has two or more identities, the crossroads guardian knows all those identities and which one is most true.

ABOUT

When a village is threatened by a horde of bandits but there’s no one to help, when a monastery’s divine relic must be guarded but the last monk is on their deathbed, when the world can be saved only through the use of an artifact no one alive remembers, nature responds by creating a crossroads guardian, a naturally occurring entity of primal magic. Every crossroads guardian exists to satisfy a particular need—usually a quest that must be carried out, helpless individuals who must be saved from harm, or an object or location which must be guarded. Although they often appear at actual crossroads, a crossroads guardian can materialize anywhere there is a community, from a giant metropolis to a lizardfolk village in a remote swamp.

Some crossroads guardians are martial beings—defending a mystic fountain against all intruders, for example—but most are helpers and assistants, guiding heroes through the wilderness to where they’re needed. A guardian is a skilled warrior and can defend a location, but when its purpose involves a quest, or the need is so great that the guardian isn’t up to the task alone, the guardian must persuade others to voluntarily accept their quest.

Once a crossroads guardian has fulfilled its purpose, it either shifts to satisfy a new need or quest—often changing its alignment and abilities as well—or else slowly vanishes, returning to the raw primal magic from which it was formed.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Faerie Bestiary (PF1) © 2023, Legendary Games; Authors Jason Nelson, Mike D. Welham, Matt Goodall, Victoria Jaczko, Alistair J. Rigg, Greg A. Vaughan, Tom Phillips

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