#french folkore

[lucilledraws]

Belle au bois dormant / sleeping beauty for folktale week, day two!

[thecreaturecodex]

Chapalu

“Acid Panther” © Anya McNaughton, accessed at her deviantArt page here

[The French name for a cait sith like creature, which is difficult to search for without getting a ton of Final Fantasy.]

Chapalu CR 4 NE Magical Beast Emerging from the shadows is a great greenish panther, a crescent moon of white fur emblazoned on its chest. Its eyes glimmer with malice.

The chapalu, also known as a cat sith or faerie panther, is an immense supernatural feline able to change its mass at will. Chapalus are nocturnal predators that stalk the thick forests and foggy moors where the boundaries between the Material Plane and the world of the fey are thinnest. Despite their bestial appearance, they are as intelligent as a man, and use this intellect to devise the best ways to injure and kill. Their favorite food is human flesh, but they are cunning enough to limit these attacks in order to avoid retaliation.

A chapalu spends most of its life as light as a feather, affording it the ability to walk on thin air, but when it catches prey in its grasp it shifts until it weighs as much as a stone. The remains of a chapalu’s victims are often found with broken bones and crushed ribcages, as the beast delights in pressing the last air from its prey’s lungs. Chapalus are haughty and proud creatures but feel an affinity with wicked fey, with whom they are willing to ally. The chapalu in this arrangement makes sure its rider knows that it is a peer, not a mere mount, and any rider who disobeys such instructions often finds itself removed from the chapalu’s back at a great height. Some common combinations of chapalu and rider, as well as the CRs for such an encounter, are found below:

chapalu and forlarren—CR 5 chapalu and satyr—CR 6 chapalu and redcap—CR 7

A chapalu grows to 8 feet long from nose to tail.

Chapalu                CR 4 XP 1,200 NE Large magical beast Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +8, scent Defense AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +5 natural) hp 37 (5d10+10) Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5 Defensive Abilities shadow blend Weakness light sensitivity Offense Speed 40 ft., air walk Melee bite +9 (1d8+4 plus grab), 2 claws +8 (1d4+4) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks pounce, press 1d6+6 Spell-like Abilities CL 5th, concentration +6 Constant—air walk Statistics Str 18, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 12 Base Attack +5; CMB +9 (+13 grapple); CMD 22 (26 against trip and grapple) Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Acrobatics +8 (+12 when jumping), Climb +9, Perception +8, Stealth +13; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth Languages Aklo, Sylvan Ecology Environment temperate forests and marshes Organization solitary, pair or ride (1-4 plus 1 rider per chapalu) Treasure half standard Special Abilities Press (Su) A chapalu can alter its weight as it wills, crushing held creatures under its magical bulk. Every round a chapalu maintains a grapple, it deals an extra 1d6+6 points of bludgeoning damage. In addition, a chapalu gains a +4 to its Combat Maneuver Defense against grapples. Shadow Blend (Su) In any lighting other than bright light, a chapalu gains the benefits of total concealment. A daylight spell negates this ability. The chapalu can dismiss or resume this ability as a free action.

[thecreaturecodex]

Traicousse

“BUGS” © Austin Mengler. Accessed at his deviantArt page here

[According to @abookofcreatures, the traicousse is a water bogey that is described as a crab monster in some parts of France and a river witch in others. So I thought, “why not a crab monster that’s also a witch?”]

Traicousse This creature appears to be a man-sized parody of a crab, with a slavering maw and far too many clawed legs. Its eyes glint with a malicious intelligence.

Loathsome creatures found in the remote waterways of the world, traicousses were once mortal spellcasters whose power was matched only by their misanthropy. Disgusted by the world and all of the people in it, they retreated from society, growing in bitterness until it became something like a physical disease. Some traicousses transform themselves intentionally through ritual magic; others find themselves transformed against their will by their sheer magnitude of hate. Either way, the spellcaster degenerates into a leathery chrysalis, which tears open under the darkness of an eclipse to reveal a crab-like monster that combines arcane skill with physical might.

Traicousses lair in either salt or fresh water, but prefer remote, desolate or cursed lands. Some are religious and venerate a demon prince or Horseman of the Apocalypse, but many care for nothing except for violence and spite. They ambush and devour any humanoids they come across, with a particular fondness for the skins of their victims. Their bodies follow no sane anatomy, with seemingly too many joints and claws on their too many legs. The largest internal organ a traicousse has is a blood reservoir, which is filled with blood drained from their victims and charged with negative energy to serve as a disgusting weapon.

Although they have completely shed the humanoid form, a traicousse still covets treasure and decorates itself with jewelry and magical items of all kind. Many of them are capable of crafting their own magical gear, which they use to augment their offensive and defensive capabilities. Due to their crafting skills and genius-level intellects, some extremely desperate people may attempt to buy or beg for a traicousse’s favor, but most of these unfortunates merely find themselves the next victim of the monster.

Traicousse          CR 13 XP 25,600 CE Medium aberration (aquatic) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +19, scent Defense AC 30, touch 12, flat-footed 28 (+2 size, +18 natural) hp 184 (16d8+114) Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +10 DR 10/cold iron and magic Immune curses, disease, poison; Defensive Abilities negative energy affinity, stability Offense Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee 6 claws +20 (1d8+7 plus grab) Special Attacks constrict (1d8+10), gnaw, spew blood, trample (DC 25, 2d8+7) Spells CL 11th, concentration +15 (+19 casting defensively) 5th (4/day)—baleful polymorph (DC 19), prying eyes 4th (7/day)—bestow curse (DC 18), crushing despair (DC 18), dimension door 3rd (7/day)—dispel magic, haste, lightning bolt (DC 17), vampiric touch 2nd (7/day)—blur, bull’s strength, knock, mirror image, scorching ray 1st (7/day)—expeditious retreat, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), shield, ventriloquism (DC 15) 0th—arcane mark, detect magic, ghost sound (DC 14), mage hand, mending, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue (DC 14) Statistics Str 25, Dex 15, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 18 Base Atk +12; CMB +19 (+23 grapple); CMD 31 (39 vs. forced movement) Feats Combat Casting, Craft Wand, Empower Spell, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Lunge, Toughness, Weapon Focus (claw) Feats Climb +18, Intimidate +23, Knowledge (arcana) +22, Perception +19, Spellcraft +22, Stealth +21, Swim +26, Use Magic Device +20 Languages Aklo, Aquan, Common SQ amphibious Ecology Environment any aquatic Organization solitary Treasure double standard Special Abilities Gnaw (Ex) A traicousse may make a bite attack as a swift action against a creature it is grappling (+19 to hit, 2d6+7 damage). A creature struck by this bite attack must succeed a DC 24 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Con damage. The save DC is Constitution based. Spells A traicousse casts spells as an 11th level sorcerer. It does not gain a bloodline or any other class abilities of a sorcerer unless it takes levels in the sorcerer class. Spew Blood (Su) Three times per day, but no more than once every 1d4 rounds, a traicousse may spew necromantically charged blood in a 30 foot cone as a standard action. Creatures in the cone take 13d6 points of negative energy damage and are sickened for 1 minute; a successful DC 22 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the sickened effect. The save DC is Charisma based. Stability (Ex) A traicousse gains a +10 bonus to its CMD against trip, bull rush or any other type of combat maneuver that would change its position. Trample (Ex) Due to its many clawed limbs, a traicousse deals bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage with its trample attack. A traicousse can trample creatures of its own size without penalty.