Witch-Hazel (yet another Undead Dryad)

[rferries]

WITCH-HAZEL

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MEDIUM UNDEAD
Hit Dice: 12d12+12 (90 hp)
Initiative: +10
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 22 (+6 Dex, +6 deflection), touch 22, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+5
Attack: +1 unholy wounding longbow +14 ranged (1d8/×3 plus 2d6 vs. good plus wounding)
Full Attack: +1 unholy wounding longbow +14/+9 ranged (1d8/×3 plus 2d6 vs. good plus wounding)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Blood-lust, spells
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron and good, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, tree guardian, undead empathy, undead traits, unearthly grace
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +19, Will +16
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 22, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 22
Skills: Concentration +16, Hide +21, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana, nature, religion) +19, Listen +18, Move Silently +21, Spellcraft +21, Spot +18, Survival +3 (+5 aboveground)
Feats: Empower Spell, Far Shot, Improved Initiative, Point-Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow)
Environment: Any
Organization: Unique plus skeleton pack (7-16 wolf skeletons)
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Advancement: 13-24 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -

Deep in the forest there is a meadow full of crumbling gravestones, an ancient graveyard long since fallen into disuse. A great leafless tree with black bark and gnarled branches casts its shadow over the headstones, a shadow that now threatens to reach beyond the forest and consume the nearby hamlets...

Witch-Hazel is a malevolent fey that has been cursed with undeath (so long ago that even she no longer remembers how or why). Her tree is just as dead as she is yet it continues to thrive, watered with the blood of her victims. As the tree grows so does her dominion over the cursed forest... and she has begun to turn her hateful intentions towards the towns and villages that lie at her borders.

Witch-Hazel's forest radiates strong necromancy magic throughout, and bears her arcane mark in multiple places. It is a deathly silent place, where all the trees seem dead, there are no animals to be found, and undead stalk in the darkness.

Witch-Hazel speaks Abyssal, Common, Druidic, Elven, Sylvan.

Combat
Witch-Hazel has no interest in negotiation. She launches an assault with her spells and her deadly bow from as far away as possible, sending in her undead minions freely. In melee she fights until destroyed, secure in the knowledge that her tree will restore her in time.

As an undead fey, Witch-Hazel has Good Reflex saves.

Witch-Hazel's natural weapons, as well as any weapons she wields, are treated as evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Blood-Lust (Su)
Witch-Hazel wields a +1 unholy wounding longbow. The longbow loses its properties if stolen and whenever she is destroyed. She can fashion a replacement longbow in a special ritual lasting 24 hours.

Spells (Ex)
Witch-Hazel casts spells as a 12th-level sorcerer and can also cast spells from the druid list. The druid spells are considered arcane spells for Witch-Hazel, meaning that she does not need a divine focus to cast them.

Typical Spells Known (6/8/8/7/7/6/4; save DC 16 + spell level)
0th-arcane mark, dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound, guidance, know direction, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance
1st-entangle, longstrider, mage armour, protection from good, shield
2nd-barkskin, flame blade, glitterdust, resist energy, scorching ray
3rd-call lightning, dispel magic, flame arrow, fly
4th-black tentacles, freedom of movement, greater invisibility
5th-baleful polymorph, shadow evocation
6th-transformation

Tree Guardian (Ex)
In life, Witch-Hazel was a dryad bonded to the Colossal tree in the centre of a meadow in her forest. In death, the tree has become blackened and twisted and radiates a combined darkness, desecrate and unhallow effect out to 300 yards. Creatures that Witch-Hazel sacrifices within this aura rise as skeletons or zombies on the next night; undead created this way are not under her direct control but can be "persuaded" via her Undead Empathy ability.

Witch-Hazel has hidden her heart (a blood-red chunk of crystal the size of a fist that sheds a ruby radiance and makes disturbing beating sounds) amongst the roots of her tree. Unless the heart is located and destroyed, Witch-Hazel reappears 1d10 days after her apparent death. The heart is Tiny and has 40 hit points, hardness 20, and a break DC of 40. The tree attacks as a Colossal animated object as soon as any enemy finds and touches the heart.

If the heart is destroyed, the tree and Witch-Hazel (if she has not yet been destroyed) both crumble into dust. All undead in the forest are instantly destroyed and the flora and fauna return to normal.

Undead Empathy (Ex)
This power works like the druid’s wild empathy class feature, except that Witch-Hazel has a +6 racial bonus on the check and it may only be used to influence mindless undead.

Unearthly Grace (Su)
Witch-Hazel adds her Charisma modifier as a bonus on all its saving throws, and as a deflection bonus to her Armor Class. (The statistics block already reflects these bonuses).

Skills
Witch-Hazel receives skills as though she were still a fey creature.

[Westhart]

Nice NPC, although I would have to give her some disguise abilities to use... "You know the handsome lass you saw in the bar last night... well..."

As always, looks nice!

[rferries]

Nice NPC, although I would have to give her some disguise abilities to use... "You know the handsome lass you saw in the bar last night... well..."

As always, looks nice!

Ha no! I deliberately gave her only Intimidate because she's too destructive to bother with Bluffing, she just wants to kill everyone and everything :D

[Westhart]

Ha no! I deliberately gave her only Intimidate because she's too destructive to bother with Bluffing, she just wants to kill everyone and everything :D

Awh, Fair enough then