BOGGART

The creature resembles a disheveled and bare-chested gnome. It wears a pair of dirty leather breeches and goes barefoot. It has wildly disarrayed fair hair, dusky skin, and large eyes.

Many scholars contend that the boggart is an immature form of the will-o'-wisp, and that seems so. The boggart shares many of the will-o'-wisp's most dreaded abilities and also can take a will-o'-wisp form briefly. Elf sages, however, contend that the boggart is a baleful fey creature that only superficially resembles the will-o'-wisp. Unlike a will-o'-wisp, a boggart has no ability to feed on emotions and wreaks havoc with other creatures for the sheer pleasure of doing so.

In its natural form, a boggart is about 2-1/2 feet tall and weighs about 15 pounds. Touching the boggart's skin triggers a harmless electrical discharge, much like a static shock. In its will-o'-wisp's form, a boggart's body is a globe of electrified gas about 1 foot across and weighing about a pound. The globe glows and sheds as much light as a hooded lantern (slightly brighter than a will-o'-wisp).

Boggarts speak Common and Sylvan, though they have a magical ability that allows them to converse haltingly with any creature that has a language.

Combat

Boggarts love to lure unsuspecting creatures to their doom. They usually employ their shape-shifting abilities to put victims off their guard before attacking. When possible, they use their confusion ability for the initial assault, then use their electrical shock attacks. If a foe proves immune to electricity, they attempt to escape, usually by assuming will-o'-wisp form and flying away.

Confusion (Su): A boggart can cause a magical confusion effect by keeping up a loud racket for 2 rounds. The boggart can sing, shout, bang pots and pans, or do anything else that makes a great deal of noise. Using this power requires 2 consecutive full-round actions. A single boggart creates a confusion effect in a 30-foot spread. Two or more boggarts can cooperate to create a bigger effect. To do so, the boggarts must be within 30 feet of each other and each boggart must make noise in the same general manner; for example, both boggarts might shout out bad poetry or both might sing. Each additional boggart that joins the effort add 10 feet to the spread radius, to a maximum radius of 80 feet. When two or more boggarts produce a confusion effect, each boggart produces a spread with the increased size.

The effect works just like the confusion spell except that it is a sonic, mind-affecting, compulsion effect. A DC 16 Will save negates the effect. If a creature is subjected to multiple boggart confusion effects at the same time, it need save only once (against the effect with the highest DC if they don't all have the same DC). The save DC is Charisma-based. Once a creature has made a successful save against any boggart's confusion effect, it cannot be affected again by any boggart's confusion effect for 24 hours. A boggart's confusion effect does not affect other boggarts.

Electrical Bolt (Ex): A boggart can produce an electrical spark that can affect a single target within 40 feet. The boggart must make a ranged touch attack to hit the target, and a hit deals 2d4 points of electricity damage. Once the boggart fires a bolt, it must wait 1d4 rounds before it can fire another.

Deflection (Su): No matter what its form, a boggart is continually surrounded by a protective field that gives it a +4 defection bonus to Armor Class (already figured into the numbers given above).

Invisibility (Su): A boggart can become invisible as a standard action. This power works just like an invisibility spell, except that it lasts for 3d4 rounds (or until the boggart attacks).

Magic Immunity (Ex): The only spells that can affect boggarts are magic circle against chaos, magic circle against evil, magic missile, maze, protection from chaos, and protection from evil. Other spells and spell-like abilities fail just as if the spellcaster had failed to overcome spell resistance.

Tongues (Su): A boggart can converse with any creature that uses language. This power works just like a tongues spell cast by a 6th-level character, except that it is always active and it allows for only basic communication (only one- and two-syllable simple words and simple syntax).

Unstable Form (Su): A boggart can assume its own form or the form of any Small or Tiny humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or fey with a humanoid form. The boggart also can assume the form of a ball of electrified gas similar to a will-o'-wisp, but less tangible. When in will-o'-wisp form, the boggart can fly at a speed of 50, with perfect maneuverability. The boggart also gains damage reduction 10/magic and becomes immune to poison and critical hits. It cannot speak or use its confusion power, but it can use its shock and electrical bolt powers. It has no Strength score, but it cannot enter water. It can, however, pass through small holes or even mere cracks.

A boggart must change form every 3d4 rounds (though it can voluntarily switch forms sooner if it wishes). If flying when forced to change form, the boggart descends 60 feet a round until it lands, and it suffers no falling damage.

The boggart does not regain any hit points for changing its form. When changing form, a boggart retains its fey types and shapechanger subtype. It gains the size of its new form, along with the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. The boggart retains its own special qualities and does not gain any special qualities of its new form except as noted above the will-o'-wisp form. The boggart retains its own special attacks except as noted above the will-o'-wisp form. The boggart retains its own ability scores except as noted above the will-o'-wisp form. The boggart is effectively camouflaged as a creature of its new form, and it gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks if it uses this ability to create a disguise.

See also:

• Book ov Faerie