Medium Undead, Neutral Evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 67 (9d8 + 27)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
15 (+2)
DEX
16 (+3)
CON
16 (+3)
INT
13 (+1)
WIS
16 (+3)
CHA
13 (+1)
Saving Throws DEX +5, INT +3, WIS +5
Skills Arcana +3, Nature +5, Perception +5, Religion +5, Stealth +5
Damage Vulnerabilities Fire
Damage Resistances Lightning, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities Cold
Condition Immunities Exhaustion, Paralyzed
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 15
Languages Druidic, Sylvan
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

Necrotic Sap Infusion. The blood-sap of pine kindred contains a necrotic toxin they call the Gift of Nidhogg. A pine kindred jarl has eight doses of this gift and can spend up to three doses per round.
 A pine kindred can touch a target to infuse their circulation with sap from its own veins. Treat this as a touch attack spell, the kindred need not spend doses if its misses. The kindred takes 1d6 damage per dose from the blood-sap it sacrifices. If the target is an undead, it regains 1d6 hit points plus 1d6 per dose (so 3d6 for two doses). If the target is a living creature, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage plus 1d6 per dose and 1d6 poison damage plus 1d6 per dose.
 Pine kindred jarls also use Necrotic Sap Infusion for various necromantic practices, such as Pine Kindred Initiation.
 If a pine kindred performs Necrotic Sap Infusion in an unholy grove (see Groves of Death), it takes half damage from sap sacrifices it makes (round down).
 Should a kindred wish to conserve its health, it can bleed only a few drops when it spends a dose and take half damage (no multiple doses); if it's in an unholy grove it only takes 1 damage from the sap sacrifice. However, the effectiveness of the dose is also halved (half damage, half healing, counts as a "half dose" towards the doses of a Pine Kindred Initiation, et cetera).

Pine Blood. Pine kindred count as both plant and undead for any effect related to type.

 

Pine Kindred Initiation. A pine kindred jarl knows a special ritual spell that transforms humanoids of Medium size (living or dead) into pine kindred. This spell can only be cast in a "Grove of Death" (see Description), and its 20 minute casting time must end during the hour after midnight. Other pine kindred can assist the jarl with Pine Kindred Initiation. If their assistance is interrupted (to fight intruders, for example), it does not break the spell.
 The living humanoids and corpses to become pine kindred are slowly drained of blood. A living humanoid will die 12 to 18 minutes into the ritual (average 150 rounds*). Living victims must be immobilized or cooperative, for a single action can bind a victim's cut and stop the bleeding.
* If it matters, the exact round a living victim will bleed to death can be determined by rolling 3d20 + 1d4 + 116.
 Finally, during the last two minutes of the ritual, the drained victim's empty veins are filled with pine sap from ceremonial vessels (at least a gallon of sap per body) and the pine kindred use Necrotic Sap Infusion to transition them into undeath.

The ritual can create any combination of pine kindred, pine kindred fircarls, and pine kindred resin-thralls the jarl desires. The requirements are as follows:

  • To initiate a pine kindred requires a living victim. The animation requires four doses of necrotic sap, at least two doses of which must come from a Jarl.
  • To initiate a fircarl requires a living victim or fresh corpse (intact and less than three days old). The animation requires two doses of sap; if a corpse is used the necrotic sap must include at least half a dose from a Jarl.
  • To initiate a resin-thrall requires only a body in any condition, although thralls without limbs are of little use. The animation requires one dose of necrotic sap, or half a dose for a living victim.

Since Pine Kindred Initiation is in an unholy grove, pine kindred only take half of the 1d6 damage per dose from using Necrotic Sap Infusion on the initiates. They can split a single dose to give two initiates half a dose each.
 The bodies rise as undead when the spell is finished. If an initiate received insufficient necrotic sap, it becomes the strongest type of pine kindred it qualifies for (three doses would create a fircarl, for example) or just a dead body.

Spellcasting. the Pine Kindred jarl is a 6th-level spellcaster that used Wisdom as its spellcasting ability (spell save DC 13; +5 to hit with spell attacks). The jarl has the following spells prepared from the druid's spell list

Cantrips (at will): druidcraft, guidancechill touch*poison spray*resistance

1st level (4 slots):  entanglefaerie fireinflict wounds*protection from evil and good*thunderwave

2nd level (3 slots): augury*enhance abilityhold personmisty step*moonbeam

3rd level (3 slots): animate dead*bestow curse*conjure animalsdispel magicwind wall

*Some pine kindred know spells from outside the druid's spell list (see Dark Druidic Mysteries).

 

 

Actions

Multiattack. The pine kindred jarl makes two longsword attacks or three dart attacks. It can use its Shrieking Wail in place of one longsword attack or dart attack.


LongswordMelee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage, or 7 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage if used with two hands.


DartRanged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.


Shrieking Wail. The pine kindred jarl howls a terrifying dirge. Every humanoid and giant within within 300 feet of the pine kindred that can hear the wail must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the wail ends and compelled to flee in panic; acting as if they had failed a save against a suggestion spell telling them to "run in terror". The kindred must take a multiattack action on its subsequent turns to continue wailing but can stop wailing at any time. The wail ends if the kindred is incapacitated.
 While affected by the wail, a target ignores the wails of other pine kindred. If the target is within 300 feet of the kindred, the target must move on its turn away from the kindred by the most direct route, trying to get as far away as possible. The target tries to circumvent opportunity attacks and obvious damaging terrain, such as lava or a pit.
 Whenever it takes damage, the target can repeat the saving throw. The target can also repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If the saving throw is successful, the suggestion effect ends on it. The suggestion also ends if the target stops hearing the wail or flees outside ear shot (i.e. more than 300 feet away from the wailing kindred). A target who successfully saves is immune to the wails of any pine kindred with the same or fewer Hit Dice as the pine kindred jarl they saved against, but can be affected by wail attacks from pine kindred with more Hit Dice.

Description

A pine kindred jarl is a mighty undead chieftain who rules a tribe of pine kindred. These spellcasters look like pine kindred thanes but often have elaborate crowns, horned headdresses, carved staffs and other complex paraphernalia that reflect their status, especially when the jarl performs spells or ceremonies.​

 

Pine Kindred Creation. The jarl is usually the only pine kindred in a tribe able to create full-blooded pine kindred using the Pine Kindred Initiation power. Due to this, the tribe’s pine kindred view the jarl not just as their ruler and prophet, but as their parent; considering themselves all to be daughters or sons of the jarl (Note this disregards the gender of the humanoid the tribe member was when alive: thus, If the jarl is viewed as female, all the tribe members are “daughters”). Powerful jarls are also able to produce full-blooded pine kindred using a Dark Druidic Mystery spell called create pine kindred, similar to the necromancy spell create undead.​

 

Groves of Death. A jarl performs most of their important magics, especially the Pine Kindred Initiation ritual, in an unholy grove. These are gruesome places where ancient living and dead pine trees loom over blood-soaked altars, ancient stones and wooden idols, all carved with occult runes. The jarl and their attending thanes dwell nearby in the Jarl’s Hall.​

 

Jarldoms. The territory of a jarl is called a jarldom. A pine forest may contain a single jarldom, but large and ancient forests may have multiple jarls within them. If two or more pine jarldoms exist in close proximity, they will either be deadly rivals or one of the jarls will rule over the others. Such a pine king may be no more powerful personally than its subordinate jarls, although it often is, and is almost always the ruler of the oldest and largest pine kindred tribe. The jarls under the king’s command are usually former thanes of his that progressed far enough in the Dark Druidic Mysteries they became jarls in their own right. Once a pine kindred becomes a jarl they found their own tribe of pine kindred apart from their parent community. Relations between jarldoms can be as complex as mortal politics, with much jockeying for power and prestige, which often includes espionage to try stealing the magical secrets of a rival jarl. It’s rare for a subordinate jarl to not be a descendant of the king’s sapline, such jarldoms are effectively conquered territories and far more likely to rebel.​

(Originally created by Julian Lawrence; appeared in White Dwarf Magazine #21 (Oct/Nov 1980) as part of the Fiend Factory mini-module "One-Eye Canyon", edited by Albie Fiore.)​

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Environment: ArcticForest

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