#ajatar

As a kid, I was taught that certain spirits lived just beyond the edges of the path. In Filipino folklore, the nuno sa punso might curse you for disturbing its mound. In Finnish folklore, a type of haltija called a tonttu could guard your house and required certain behaviour. I grew up saying “tabi tabi po, nuno” in the forest to avoid a nuno’s curse, and I often wondered if my house’s tonttu would ever appear to say hi.

To me, belonging is about how we enter a space and how we shape it while there. And as a mixed-race person, I’ve always fallen in the boundary between worlds. Maybe this is why certain stories and “creatures” come back into my life over and over.

The Boundary Keepers: 🜃 Nuno sa punso, a Filipino ancestor spirit protecting the land. 🜃 Haltija, a Finnish spirit guarding nature, home, and soul.

These guardians live in liminal spaces and teach relationship over conquest.

The Path Shifters: 🜃 Tikbalang, a Filipino trickster who spins travelers in circles. Precolonial Tagalog people believed they were guardians of forests or elemental kingdoms. Precolonial Kapampángan people saw them with the head of a bird. Spanish colonization brought the half-horse description. 🜃 Ajatar, a Finnish serpentine spirit who lures you into wild woods.

To learn more, check out my blog post sharing more about these mythic figures!

Here's a new idea for a creature for your Pathfinder 1e games. This creature is an evil spirit from Finnish folklore, though the idea for the conversion in and of itself comes from the 5e product Dragonix' Deadly Denizens 2. I may not be a fan of D&D 5e, but his works are really good, and I'd really advise taking a look at them.

I hope my conversion works well enough, while at least keeping some of the original myth's flavour. This creature has a lot of natural attacks, so I hope it doesn't feel overwhelming.

Please let me know what you think.

AJATAR

Author unknown, taken from Dragonix's Deadly Denizens II

This creature looks like a winged, reptilian biped with large dragonlike wings and the head of a wretched crone. It stands about twice as tall as a grown man.

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AJATAR       CR 11

XP 12’800

CE Large Monstrous Humanoid

Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +25

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DEFENSE

AC 25, touch 13, flat-footed 21 (+4 Dex, +12 natural, -1 size)

hp  147 (14d10+70) 

Fort +11, Ref +13, Will +13;

Damage Reduction 10/cold iron and magic

Resist acid 10, cold 10; Immune disease, poison

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OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)

Melee bite +21 (2d6+8 plus poison), 2 claws +21 (1d8+8 plus grab), tail slap +19 (1d8+4), 2 wing slaps +19 (1d6+4)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks haunting scream, pestilent gaze, poison

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th, concentration +17)

     At will – dancing lights, darkness, entangle (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 13), gust of wind (DC 15)

     3/day – contagion (DC 16), dimension door, invisibility, major image (DC 16), stinking cloud (DC 16)

     1/day – cloudkill (DC 18), control weather, summon (1d3 fiendish amphisbenas or fiendish emperor cobras, as summon monster VI)

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STATISTICS

Str 26, Dex 19, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 19, Cha 17

Base Atk +14; CMB +23; CMD 37

Feats Cleave, Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Hover, Intimidating Prowess, Multiattack, Power Attack

Skills Bluff +17, Fly +14, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (nature) +14, Perception +25, Stealth +22, Survival +16; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Sylvan

Special Qualities rotting presence

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ECOLOGY

Environment cold forests and swamps

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

Haunting Scream (Su): Once every 1d4+1 rounds, as a full-round action, the ajatar can emit a terrible psychic scream that assaults the mind of every non-reptilian creature within a radius of 60 feet from the creature. This attack deals 10d6 points of damage and leaves any victim frightened for 1 round. A successful Will save (DC 20) halves the damage and negates the frightened condition. The save DC is Charisma-based 

Pestilent Gaze (Su): Three times per day, an ajatar can use a gaze attack on a single living creature within 30 ft. of it. A victim must succeed on a Will saving throw or be subject to the curse of the debilitating rot.

Curse of the Debilitating Rot: Type curse; Save Will DC 20 negates; Onset immediate; Frequency 1/day; Effects 1d3 Con damage and the victim is unable to heal damage naturally. An healing spell cast on the victim must succeed at a caster level check (DC 20) or have no effect on the victim.

Poison (Ex): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 22; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4+1 Dexterity damage and slowed, a victim reduced to Dexterity 0 begins taking Constitution damage at the same rate; cure 3 consecutive saves (includes bonuses from rotting presence). The save DC is Constitution-based.

Rotting Presence (Ex): The presence of an ajatar makes all diseases and poisons more resilient and virulent. Any disease or poison effect within a radius of 1 mile from the ajatar’s lair requires one more successful saving throw to be cured, and any ability damage they inflict is increased by 1 point. Any attempt to magically heal a creature suffering from disease or poison within the radius of the rotting presence must succeed on a DC 22 caster level check, or the spell does not function. Success indicates that the disease or the poison is removed normally.

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A grotesque being that symbolizes rot and decay, an ajatar infests remote natural places, preying upon unsuspecting animals and travelers and infecting them with debilitating maladies. The ajatar revels in the chaos and suffering she sows, and takes a twisted delight in seeing animals and vegetation wither and die. This makes the ajatar a sworn enemy to all druids, and many druidic orders will go out of their way to exterminate any such creature that settles in their territories.

While an ajatar is not exactly cowardly, it much prefers to weaken the opposition before entering direct combat. An ajatar’s corruptive presence influences a vast area around its territory, making it harder to resist infections and poisons. An ajatar also has a limited control over the weather, which it uses to further confound prey and would-be hunters. When it actually gets ahold of its opponents, the creature tries to fight from the air, summoning foul serpents to keep them occupied or poisonous gases to slowly choke them to death. It can also unleash a bloodcurling psychic scream that leaves most victims shivering in terror or outright dead. Once most opponents are incapacitated, an ajatar typically swoops down on those who are still moving, overwhelming them with a flurry of physical attacks.  

The ajatar’s hatred for natural creatures makes exception for serpents, which the creature regards as pets and servitors. The presence of an ajatar often results in an increase of unnatural reptilian beings in the area, and the creature often enters alliances with evil fey, hags or even black dragons. However, the ajatar’s arrogance and power usually causes it to see itself as the dominant party in these partnerships.

Name: Ajatar, Ajattara, Aiätär, Aijotar

Type: Folkloric

Culture of Origin: Finnish

Description: A woman with long plaited hair, and breasts which hang to her knees. In modern culture, she is often depicted as a serpent or dragon-like creature.

Myth: N/A

Facts:

The Ajatar is a malevolent female spirit in Finnish Folklore.

She is said to be the granddaughter of Hiisi, the God of the Forest and Disease. Thanks to this heritage, she can spread disease herself.

Day 23. A couple of ghouls coming for your sugar. Hide your Halloween candy!

@femmefatalenet | event three (monsters) — a j a t a r

Astrid Lindgren - Sanzoku no Musume Ronja - Harpy