Splinterwaif

The statistics block below contains details for more than one type of splinterwaif. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.

Splinterwaif • Splinterwaif Knave

Unlike most fey, who are most at home in the wilderness, the sinister splinterwaif lurks in the narrow alleyways and tangled slums of large cities. As long as its environment contains large amounts of old weathered wood in which to hide and a fair amount of young children to catch, transform, and eat, a splinterwaif is happy.

Splinterwaifs are masters of camouflage, and they are rarely seen except by their victims. A splinterwaif moves with remarkable speed, clambering up vertical surfaces with ease. A splinterwaif appears superficially like a thin, lithe humanoid. Its skin can change between a multitude of colors. Thorns jut from the skin, some dropping off while others rapidly grow to replace those that have fallen away. A typical splinterwaif is 5 feet tall and weighs about 70 pounds.

Splinterwaifs speak Sylvan.

Splinterwaifs lie in wait in piles of discarded lumber, ramshackle buildings, or decommissioned ships, attacking with surprise and sneak attacks. While they are rather adroit with their claws, their favorite attack is to spit a long, thin wooden splinter at a target from hiding. When forced into physical combat, a splinterwaif is somewhat cowardly and tries to escape so it can stalk its prey and attack later on its own terms.

Call Brambles (Su): As a standard action, a splinterwaif can cause a thorny branch to grow out of any nonmagical wooden surface within 30 feet. Treat this branch as a Medium animated object with a speed of 0 feet and the constrict exceptional ability. Splinterwaifs are fond of creating animated brambles to help flank opponents or to hold them immobile for sneak attacks. Controlling an animated bramble is a free action. A splinterwaif can animate and control only one bramble at a time.

Camouflage (Su): A splinterwaif’s skin changes color to match its surroundings. Doing this requires a full-round action on the part of the splinterwaif and grants it a +10 circumstance bonus on Hide checks. While camouflaged, a splinterwaif also gains concealment. As soon as the splinterwaif moves or attacks, it loses these benefits until it takes another full-round action to camouflage again.

Sneak Attack (Ex): A splinterwaif can sneak attack as a rogue, dealing an extra 2d6 points of damage on a successful sneak attack. As a splinterwaif advances in Hit Dice, its sneak attack ability improves. A splinterwaif with 4 or 5 Hit Dice deals an extra 3d6 points of damage with a successful sneak attack, while a splinterwaif with 6 Hit Dice deals an extra 4d6 points of damage with a successful sneak attack.

Splinterspit (Su): A splinterwaif can spit a splinter of wood at a foe as a ranged attack with a range increment of 30 feet. The act of spitting a splinter provokes attacks of opportunity from any creatures that threaten the splinterwaif. A hiding splinterwaif can attempt to snipe at targets with its splinterspit attack by taking a move action to immediately hide after making a ranged attack. It takes a −20 circumstance penalty on its Hide check to conceal itself after the shot. As long as the target is within 30 feet and unaware of the splinterwaif’s position, the splinterwaif can take full advantage of its sneak attack with this ranged weapon.

Superior Woodland Stride (Su): A splinterwaif can move through natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain at its normal speed without taking damage or suffering other impairment. This includes thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are magically manipulated to impede motion.

Transformation (Su): A splinterwaif can transform a dead humanoid or fey into a Medium thorny bush at will. Doing this requires a full minute of concentration; if the splinterwaif is interrupted during this time, it must start the transformation over from the beginning. A transformed body does not radiate magic, and is treated as a normal plant. Creatures that have been transformed into plants in this manner cannot be restored to life via raise dead or resurrection, although true resurrection, miracle, or wish can revive a dead character.

Skills: A splinterwaif has a +10 racial bonus on Hide checks. It also has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.

Splinterwaif knaves have adapted fully to their urban surroundings and display an uncanny knack for survival. They are the most vicious and cruel of their kind. Some lead bands of weaker splinterwaifs, while others are solitary hermits who despise all others, including their own kin.

A splinterwaif knave likes to make ranged sneak attacks using its splinterspit ability. If it can’t kill its mark quickly, it withdraws and seeks out easier prey. A knave accompanied by weaker splinterwaifs doesn’t flee as quickly, rushing into melee if it sees an opportunity to flank a foe and make sneak attacks.

No one is sure how splinterwaifs originated; the most popular theory is that they are little more than insane dryads that somehow managed to survive the harvesting of their chosen trees. It is said the act of harvesting her tree forces a dryad into a state of incorporeal hibernation, during which she transforms and twists into a mockery of her former self. Once her tree is converted to lumber and used to build ships, houses, or fences, she awakens and lays claim to the region into which she has been transplanted.

This theory starts to break down upon close examination. For example, splinterwaifs don’t seem to exhibit any particular symbiotic attachment to anything in their environment, and they are not bound to specific regions. Indeed, splinterwaifs are often unknowingly transported to new cities when they stow away on ships.

A splinterwaif’s lair is hard to detect, but one sure sign of splinterwaif activity is a predominance of small, thorny shrubs in a vacant lot or lumberyard. These shrubs invariably turn out to be the bodies of people the local splinterwaifs have captured, killed, and transformed. Splinter waifs are careful to gather these victims from random locations throughout the city, and they tend to focus on orphans or other children who won’t particularly be missed. Splinterwaifs have a singularly horrible reason for transforming the bodies of those they capture and kill⁠—​they relish the taste of slain children who have been transformed into dry thorny shrubs. Sometimes splinterwaifs are forced to kill adults. They transform these victims into shrubbery as well, if only to disguise the dead bodies. Splinterwaifs find transformed adults to be sour and unpalatable, however, so the shrubs of adult victims tend to accumulate over time and mark a region as one of splinterwaif activity. Curiously, splinterwaifs loathe destroying these shrubs, and once they become too dense or obviously denote an area as a splinterwaif lair, the creatures simply move on to a new home rather than destroy the shrubs.