Buckawn [Brownie]

Buckawns resemble ordinary brownies but usually have darker skin and paler hair, and they wear russet and green to melt into the woodlands. They share the brownie tongue, though each finds the other's accent dreadful, and most also speak one or more sylvan languages, such as those of pixies, sprites, nymphs, or satyrs.

Small as it is, a buckawn is a dangerous foe thanks to its agility and innate magic. Its nimbleness explains its low Armor Class and gives it an 80% chance to hide in shadows or move silently. Its senses are superb. It knows every normal sound of its forest, so anyone trying to sneak near it suffers a -50% penalty, and it picks up odd scents as fast as a bloodhound. Its eyes see into the infrared, letting it see well in darkness, and it notices invisible creatures effortlessly. In the wild it cannot be surprised.

Once per round, with just a thought, it can use change self, audible glamer, invisibility, or dancing lights. It can also use entangle, pass without trace, summon insects, and trip once each per day. None of these needs any visible casting; they take effect instantly, can accompany another action, and operate at 6th level.

For weapons buckawns prefer knives and darts, and against an especially hated enemy they gladly add poison or drugs. Their poisons rank among the strongest known, imposing a -4 penalty on saves.

Buckawns want nothing to do with other creatures, and that caution extends even to buckawns of other clans, who are not attacked but are watched warily until their aims and abilities are known. Anyone who presses or pesters them may be removed permanently. A clan shares one home hollowed out of a huge tree, usually the largest in the forest. A third of the clan hunts the small animals they like to eat; the rest divide equally between household work and gathering the nuts and fruit that complete their diet. Occasionally a clan herds chipmunks or squirrels as livestock and no longer needs to hunt.

Like sprites, pixies, and dryads, buckawns are magical beings bound to the life force of the woodland. While their forest flourishes, so do they. If rot or blight creeps into their corner of the woods and they cannot defeat it, they sicken and die. Because of its strength, buckawn poison is scarce and fetches double the price of ordinary poisons.