Medium or Small Humanoid, Neutral
AC 18 Plate    Initiative +0 (10)
HP 52 (8d8 + 16)
Speed 30 ft.
Mod Save
STR 14 +2 +2
DEX 10 +0 +0
CON 16 +3 +6
Mod Save
INT 11 +0 +0
WIS 14 +2 +5
CHA 15 +2 +2
Immunities Frightened
Senses Passive Perception 10
Languages Common plus one other language, Sylvan Ardenharts Primary language
CR 6 (XP 2,300; PB +3)
Traits

Verdant Bond

The Ardenhart Warden draws power from the living forest. Once per short rest, the Warden can activate this bond as a bonus action. The bond lasts for 1 minute. When activated, the Warden chooses one of the following effects:

• Roots surge from the ground, granting the Warden half cover and advantage on Strength checks. • Bark hardens across the Warden’s armor, increasing its AC by 2. • Vines lash outward, allowing the Warden to make one additional melee attack as part of its Attack action each turn.

While Verdant Bond is active, the Warden’s eyes glow green and faint antlers of light shimmer above its helm.

Actions

Multiattack. The knight makes two attacks, using Greatsword or Heavy Crossbow in any combination.

Greatsword. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) Slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) Radiant damage.

Spellcasting (Druidic Knight)

The Ardenhart Warden channels the primal magic of the wilds through their martial discipline. Spellcasting Ability: Wisdom (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks) Spell Slots: 3 (1st‑level), 2 (2nd‑level), 1 (3rd‑level) Spellcasting Focus: A carved antler talisman bound to their armor.

Prepared Spells

  • 1st‑Level (3): Entangle, Cure Wounds, Thunderwave

  • 2nd‑Level (2): Barkskin, Moonbeam

  • 3rd‑Level (1): Call Lightning

When the Warden casts a spell, the air hums with forest energy — vines coil, antlers shimmer, and the scent of pine fills the battlefield. Their magic feels ancient, drawn from the Ardenhart’s pact with the living woods.

Bonus Actions

Stagstep

The Ardenhart Warden channels the spirit of the great stag to move with supernatural speed. The Warden magically teleports up to 20 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. When it teleports, faint spectral antlers sweep through the air, and the Warden does not provoke opportunity attacks from this movement.

Reactions

Parry. Trigger: The knight is hit by a melee attack roll while holding a weapon. Response: The knight adds 2 to its AC against that attack, possibly causing it to miss.

Description

Ardenhart Warden 

Clad in antler‑crested plate and wrapped in a mantle of wind‑torn black, the Ardenhart Warden stands like a living monument to the ancient pacts of the wild. Their armor bears the sigil of the great stag, not merely etched but grown into the metal as if the forest itself claimed the steel. Moss clings to the grooves of their pauldrons, and faint green light pulses beneath the seams like a heartbeat shared with the earth.

Their eyes burn with a steady, emerald glow — not the fire of rage, but the quiet, immovable certainty of an old forest that has weathered a thousand storms. When they move, the air stirs with the scent of pine and cold stone, and spectral antlers flicker in their wake like the afterimage of a guardian spirit.

The Warden speaks rarely, for their presence alone is a declaration: the wilds endure, and those who threaten them will face the full weight of nature’s wrath. In battle, they stride forward with the inevitability of a falling oak, greatsword raised high, vines coiling at their feet as if eager to join the fight. To allies, they are a bulwark of calm strength; to foes, a silent omen of the forest’s judgment.

Some say the Ardenhart Warden is not merely a knight, but the chosen vessel of the Stag‑Lord — a bridge between mortal steel and primal magic. Whether myth or truth, one thing is certain: when the Warden arrives, the land itself seems to breathe easier, as though welcoming home its favored child.

Habitat: Any

GypsyEnigma

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