Nekker

Take heed, gents, there's nekkers under this bridge. If you all cross at once, without slowing or stopping, there's nothing to fear. But if your cart throws an axle and you get stuck out there... Well, close your eyes and pray to the gods.— Kurt Hammerbach, city guardsman in Vengerberg

Vicious Ambusher. Imagine a drowner that burrows tunnels, climbs trees, is more vicious than usual, and when ambushing its prey, it does so with many of its kin. Now you have a good idea of what a nekker is. These primitive fey creatures are the bane of the wilderness and found in numbers across the world, preferably near roads. The inhabitants of forest villages fear them, and animals give their nests a wide berth. Nekkers typically live in cave networks with maze of tunnels giving access to the surface, where they can easily retreat if things turn sour. Some particularly bold nests will extend their tunnel to inside a settlement, harassing the inhabitants day and night.

Tribal Society. Nekkers are social creatures, gathering in something akin to tribes, for they can only repel the attacks of stronger assailants with sheer numbers. They use war paints to establish social status, and will occasionally fashion tribal icons out of bones, wood and razorvine, which they seem particularly found of. When nekkers venture out as a war or hunting party, they are led by thornhearts, their prophets and leaders. Thornhearts give orders, turning a wild band into an organized unit, thus they should be eliminated first. As malicious as they are, nekkers are cowardly creatures by nature and will not hesitate to flee if too many of them are slaughtered or an opponent seems too dangerous. This obviously changes when a thornheart is leading the tribe, exalting them.

Innocence Lost. Legends say that the nekkers were once gentle and playful fey, living quietly in the realm of Arcadia. A powerful Archfey, known only as the Lady of Thorns, twisted their entire race and turn them into the vicious and pesky beings they are today. The Lady used the nekker to find and trick children with the spark of magic to wander into the Feywild, never to be seen again. Some say the Lady was a crone or hag, keeping herself alive by feeding on the children, other legends pretend that she was a dryad queen. Nobody knows who the Lady really was and what happened to her. None have heard of her in centuries, still, the nekkers remain, doing her biding.

Overwhelming Swarm. A lone nekker is harmless. Five are dangerous. Ten can kill even a veteran monster slayer. Individual nekkers are weak, easy marks compared to other monsters; Nekkers do not tend to fight as individuals. One must be ready to repel many foes at once. If you see one, expect anywhere from 2-10 more. They burrow from beneath the ground or fall from trees and swarm upon their prey. Though primitive, the tactic is surprisingly effective. Nekkers overwhelm their targets through sheer numbers, surrounding them, then pummeling and clawing victims to death. Even veteran adventurers can fall prey to this. When facing large groups of nekkers, it is best to take advantage of tactics that can harm several opponents at once, such as spells and explosives that can help thin out the swarm with ease. As with other agile creatures, running from nekkers is not the best idea, for the monsters will catch up to their prey and swiftly kill it with multiple hits of their claws

Thornheart

Astrological Ceremony. During rare astrological events, when the barrier between the Feywild and the Material world is thinning, the nekkers will venture into settlements, led by phoocas, looking for children with the spark of magic in them. Tragedies usually follow, as the nekkers swarm slaughters the entire village and every mage, priest or druid they can find. The children found are taken to the Thorn Garden, a fey crossing at the deepest point of the nekker’s burrow, filled with deadly razorvines. During a strange ceremony, the heart of the children are pierced with a Thornshard, one of the many magical thorns that used to be part of the Lady of Thorn’s dress, a sacred item for the nekkers. The ones that survive turn into nekkers known as thornhearts, wielding a fraction of the Lady’s power

Prophets of the Lady. Thornhearts are seen as prophets and heralds by the nekkers, revered as priests of the Lady. They are thought to one day find again the Lady of Thorn. Thornhearts are larger and have more expressive faces than regular nekkers, akin to the innocent face of a child. The thorn in their heart is clearly visible, pulsating with magic. They have some basic understanding of fate magic, wielding a form of raw primitive power. These abilities makes them natural leaders of their race, channeling their inner strength to inspire their cowardly kin to daring feats. Thornhearts often wear jewelry made of bones & razorvines, and mark their faces with blue and green pigments.

A Thornheart’s Lair

A thornheart lair is located deep underground, after a maze of tunnels and caves leading to a place called the Thorn Garden, a crossing to the Feywild surrounded by deadly razorvine and beautiful eerie lights.

Lair Traits

A thornheart's lair might have any or all of the following effects in place:

• Razorvines (p.110 Dungeon Master's Guide) are growing unpredictably and uncontrollably fast in the lair and its surrounding
• Hallucinogenic spores float in the air. Every breathing creature that spends more than 10 minutes in the lair without protection against inhaled poison must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 24 hours. While poisoned the creature suffers from a random long-term madness (p.260 Dungeon Master’s Guide). Fey and creatures with the Fey Ancestry trait are immune to the spores
• A fey crossing, a portal connecting to the Feywild known as the Thorn Garden, lies at the bottom of the burrow, surrounded by razorvines, roots and eerie lights.

If the thornheart is killed, these effects fade over 10 days.