Phouka

A phouka seems to have no true form at all and changes shape whenever it likes. Its favorite disguises are bait, such as a gold ring in the road that becomes a mule or a boulder once someone lifts it.

Best of all it loves to stand by the road as a splendid horse. Once a rider climbs on, it bolts at reckless speed over sheer mountain trails, through thorn hedges and gorse and into every sort of frightening scrape, then tips its passenger into a pond, a hedge or a dung heap and trots off neighing with laughter. A rider who keeps their seat comes away with nothing worse than bruised pride. The creature is driven by a love of jokes, not malice, and never sets out to injure anyone.

Phoukas dodge fights whenever possible, either becoming something swift and running or something tiny and hiding. Cornered, one may turn into a terrifying beast such as a dragon, but it still escapes at the first opening. In any form it gains that creature's physical abilities while keeping its own mind, but it never gains spellcasting or magical defenses from a shape.

They roam wild country without wandering far from human villages, and they especially like to lie in wait beside roads. Whether or how they breed is unknown; no claimed observer can prove they were watching phoukas and not some other creature.

Phoukas appear to eat anything. They often become goats at mealtime, apparently because a goat's stomach handles almost any food. They get by on scavenging and theft rather than hunting.