Juniper Sheriff

Small fey, lawful neutral

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 31 (7d6 + 7)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
7 (–2)	16 (+3)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)	17 (+3)	10 (+0)

Skills Insight +5, Investigation +3, Perception +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Aura of Honesty. A creature that enters a space within 10 feet of the juniper sheriff for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be unable to speak a deliberate lie until it starts its turn more than 10 feet away from the sheriff. Creatures affected by this trait are aware of it, and the juniper sheriff knows whether a creature in the area succeeded or failed on its saving throw.
• Sheriff’s Duty. The juniper sheriff knows if it hears a lie and can’t speak a deliberate lie.
• Unfailing Memory. The juniper sheriff remembers every creature that has ever spoken to it. If a creature has spoken to the sheriff and speaks to the sheriff again while polymorphed or disguised, the sheriff has advantage on Intelligence (Investigation), Wisdom (Insight), and Wisdom (Perception) checks to identify or recognize that creature.

ACTIONS

• Saber. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit:7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage.
• Bitter Truth. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) psychic damage, and the target has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against the juniper sheriff’s Aura of Honesty within the next 1 minute.

BONUS ACTIONS

• Hop Away. The juniper sheriff takes the Dash or Disengage action.

ABOUT

While it resembles a rabbit poised for flight, this childlike creature wears brown trousers and a blue blazer with a small branch of juniper berries pinned to its breast.

Long ago, fey kings and queens prohibited the juniper sheriffs from telling lies. They also decreed that, whenever a sheriff meets an intelligent creature, the sheriff must ask three questions and hear its answers (or follow it until it does). The fastidious sheriffs follow their instructions, and once every year they visit their ruler’s court to report on all they have learned. The rulers record the reports in magical bottles, kept for their own enigmatic purposes.

Mountain Ramblers. Juniper sheriffs live on forested mountainsides and foothills, where their namesake juniper trees grow. They protect fairy rings, shadow roads, and fey portals.

Sheriffs perform their duties with utmost seriousness, which led other fey to nickname them “grim guardians.”

Memory for Faces. A juniper sheriff never forgets the face, voice, or name of a creature it has spoken to, and it remembers the responses to its questions (if any). Even if a creature has taken another form and speaks with the sheriff years later, a juniper sheriff can often identify it by its voice or by quirks of speech, scent, or body language.

When a creature truthfully answers the juniper sheriff’s three questions, it plucks one juniper berry from the branch pinned to its breast, imbuing the berry with a portion of its power. No matter how many a sheriff gives away, it always has more. If a creature given a sheriff’s juniper berry presents the berry to a fey, that fey must accept it and be bound by the authority it represents. The creature that presents the berry is safe from the recipient’s attentions for three days. During that time, the fey must not attack, deceive, or hinder the creature in any way. At the GM’s discretion, presenting a sheriff’s berry to a particularly powerful fey, such as a fey lady or lord, has no effect.