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Tikbalang
Tikbalangs are forest creatures that delight in leading travelers astray. They deceive and mislead with their formidable magic, leaping from tree to tree while laughing or neighing uncontrollably. While not malicious, neither are they empathetic to the plight of their victims. Tikbalangs would sooner forget about those whom they've tricked and leave these unfortunate souls to die than lead them back to their intended path through guilty altruism.Tikbalangs' occult magic stems from the esoteric mystery of believing a lie. In the moment of crafting illusions or conjuring extradimensional spaces, tikbalangs themselves believe that what they're creating is real. This conviction makes their spells harder to resist, and this same principle also makes them very effective liars. But this readiness to believe also makes them susceptible to deceptions and illusions in turn, and they're particularly vulnerable to mind games. Lone travelers without magic of their own are advised to learn riddles, sleight of hand, or other tricks to defend against tikbalangs' oft-deadly entertainment. Other whispers suggest wearing one's shirt inside out to confuse the creatures, or passing by a tikbalang's forest quietly to avoid drawing their attention.
Unlike some illusionists, tikbalangs can also rely on their physical prowess should the need arise. They have unusually long legs that end in cloven hooves and stand as tall as ogres when upright. Skilled climbers and leapers, they're also well known as master wrestlers, where their long limbs put them at a distinct advantage over their foes. They have elongated faces that, when combined with their well-kept hair, suggest an equine appearance—although some tikbalangs have saurian or birdlike faces instead.
Recall Knowledge - Beast (Arcana, Nature): DC 28
Unspecific Lore: DC 26
Specific Lore: DC 23
Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level
Changes from being Weak are marked in red below.NOTE: The -2 damage penalty to non-strike offensive abilities (-4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.
Weak TikbalangCreature 8
Uncommon Medium Beast Source Monster Core 2 pg. 319
Perception +14; low-light vision
Languages Common, Fey
Skills Athletics +18 (+20 to Grapple), Deception +19, Nature +12, Stealth +15, Survival +14
Str +5, Dex +4, Con +4, Int -1, Wis +3, Cha +6
AC 25; Fort +17, Ref +15, Will +12
HP 177; Weaknesses mental 10
Believe the Lie The tikbalang takes a –2 circumstance penalty to saves against illusion spells and to their Will DC against checks to Lie to them.
Speed 30 feet
Melee [one-action] fist +18 [+14/+10] (agile), Damage 2d6-2+8 bludgeoningMelee [one-action] hoof +18 [+13/+8] (reach 10 feet), Damage 2d10-2+8 bludgeoningOccult Innate Spells DC 27 (-4 dmg); 8th quandary (once per week); 4th hypnotize, mirage
Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, occult, polymorph) The tikbalang takes on the appearance of any Medium or Large humanoid. This doesn't change the tikbalang's Speed or their attack and damage modifiers with their Strikes.Flailing Thrash [two-actions] The tikbalang makes two fist Strikes, with each Strike dealing an extra 1d6 damage against creatures grabbing or grabbed or restrained by the tikbalang. The multiple attack penalty doesn't increase until after both attacks.Unnatural Leap [one-action] The tikbalang jumps up to their Speed horizontally, or half that vertically.
Golden Strand
Why do adventurers go through the trouble of wrestling a tikbalang? Hidden among the luxurious ebony mane of the creature is a single strand of golden hair. Anyone who successfully Grabs the tikbalang can Seek (DC 27) the strand and Interact to pluck it from their head. Made of actual gold, this strand (worth 150 gp) holds magic particularly well and is highly sought after for creating magic items. A tikbalang regrows their plucked golden strand in a year.
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