The Jungle Hagkin
This is it for Herbs Week, folks. I hope you’ve all been enjoying our new book, A Necromancer’s Grimoire: Herbs of the Jungle, and have taken this opportunity to make the most out of your recent purchase. If you haven’t bought Herbs of the Jungle yet, there is still time to explore the wonderful world of foraging and harvesting your own alchemical ingredients. If you still need more convincing, however, check out the awesome items that the new book has to offer by throwing them mercilessly at your players. The jungle hagkin is the perfect monster to showcase what the book has to offer.
Jungle Hagkin
Out of the shrubbery emerges a hunched over crone smearing a thick paste upon yellowing claws. She smiles with crooked teeth and cruel eyes before vanishing into the jungle mists with a shrieking cry of mocking laughter.
JUNGLE HAGKIN CR 2
XP 600
CE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +6; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 22 (3d10+6)
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +5
Immune poison
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +6 (1d4 +2)
Special Attacks camouflage, curse of poison
STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw)
Skills Craft (alchemy) +6, Intimidate +7, Perception +8, Stealth +8
Languages Common, Sylvan
SQ grow herb
ECOLOGY
Environment jungles
Organization solitary, pair, or coven (3d6 plus 1 anis hag, 1 green hag, and 1 night hag)
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Camouflage (Ex): A jungle hagkin has a special natural magic which allows her to blend into her surroundings. Any round she does not make an attack, she gains concealment (20% miss chance) until she chooses to make an attack. Additionally, while so concealed, she receives a +8 racial bonus to her Stealth checks and can use the Stealth skill to hide even when observed.
Curse of Poison (Su): As a standard action, a jungle hagkin can cause a single living creature within 30 feet to become exceptionally vulnerable to poisons, causing the target to suffer a -4 penalty on all saving throws made to resist poison for 1 round.
Grow Herb (Su): A jungle hagkin can spend a full-round action in order to grow a single herb, which can be of any type which grows natively in a jungle environment. She can then harvest a single dose of that herb from that plant as a free action.
Ecology
Hagkin are twisted humanoids resulting from the dilution of hag blood over the centuries. Hagkin strongly resemble their distant relatives in a physical sense including the warty skin and misshapen bones but tend to have slightly more savage bearings and expressions making them look less like exaggerated crones and more like degenerated and vile versions of early humans. Jungle hagkin in particular are known for their savage appearance which stems from a potent bond with their harsh homes which feeds their powers. While jungle hagkin are able to draw upon the land for supernatural powers, they lack much of the magical strength of true hags and instead utilize this bond with the land to enhance their savage cunning in order to survive.
Jungle hagkin live in the deep and remote jungles far from civilized tribes which view hagkin as evil and suspicious, a reputation they have earned through centuries of savage treachery. Instead most jungle hagkin live in isolation with each claiming a small part of the jungle as their own. An area occupied by a jungle hag kin tends to be easily distinguished by the wide array of poisonous jungle herbs growing in close concentration. These deadly gardens are created as a result of the jungle hagkins supernatural bond with which they form with the jungle. The bounty of plants help enhance the jungles eco system while the poisonous herbs extracted from the plants aid the jungle hagkin in hunting prey and defending their homes.
When threatened jungle hagkin rely almost exclusively on the potent herbs native to the jungle both because of their familiarly with these herbs and because of their ability to create more making them a readily available source of power. A jungle hagkins other abilities both enhance their use of these special herbs allowing them to easily withdraw from combat to plant and harvest more while avoiding there enemies attacks and enhancing heir efficacy as weapons. Only when surprised or cornered does a jungle hagkin turn to its claws and usually then only for as long as it takes to flee from danger, preferring to avoid any danger that could threaten their lives. That said jungle hagkin are rarely surprised and are most often encountered in combat as a result of an ambush set by a jungle hagkin in search of meat or mischief.