Nisid

Small fey, chaotic good

Armor Class 16 (grace and poise)
Hit Points 40 (9d6 + 9)
Speed 30 ft., swim 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 13 (+1) 18 (+4)

Skills Acrobatics +4, Athletics +4, Performance +6, Survival +5
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered
Damage Immunities cold, lightning
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Innate Spellcasting. The nisid’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • Invisible in Water. The nisid is invisible while fully immersed in water.
  • Island Bond. A nisid who resides on a small, uninhabited island for an extended period of time forms a strong bond with the land, gaining a number of powers meant to protect the sanctity of its territory. The island must be no larger than 1 square mile in area per Hit Die the nisid has (usually 9 HD), and the nisid must be the only intelligent creature on the island for 1 uninterrupted year to cement the bond. After the bond has been formed, the nisid gains the isolation and never come back traits (see below) and has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks while on his island. A nisid who leaves his island for more than 1 hour per Hit Die or whose island is inhabited by an intelligent creature for longer than 1 month per Hit Die loses its island bond and must restart the bonding process, either on a new island or on the same island once all prerequisite conditions are met.
  • Isolation. A trespasser on the nisid’s bonded island must succeed at a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw every full day it remains on the island or it takes 1d2 points of Wisdom damage as the nisid magnifies the trials of survival on an uninhabited and dangerous island with little hope of rescue. This Wisdom damage does not heal naturally until the trespasser leaves the nisid’s island (though it can be healed through magic normally), slowly driving it mad.
  • Magic Resistance. The nisid has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
  • Never Come Back. The nisid’s ties to its island help keep it hidden from repeat visits, ensuring that even trespassers who want to return find doing so difficult. When a trespasser leaves a nisid’s bonded island, it must attempt a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. Failure results in its memories of the place becoming hazy — especially when it comes to locating it again. The trespasser takes a –10 penalty on Wisdom (Survival) checks and any related skill check (GM’s judgement) to determine the island’s location or find it again, and the island and the nisid are treated as though under the effects of a permanent nondetection spell for any divination spells the target casts. The nisid can suppress this ability at will; typically, it does so until it determines the trespasser will not soon leave of her own volition or is otherwise going to be trouble.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. The nisid attacks twice with its lightning dagger or cold longbow.
  • Lightning Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) lightning damage.
  • Cold Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d10) cold damage.

REACTIONS

  • Nisid’s Reproach (1/Day). When the nisid is damaged by a creature within 60 feet of the nisid that it can see, the creature that damaged the nisid must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 16 (3d10) cold or thunder damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

ABOUT

Nisids are castaway spirits, protectors of uninhabited or deserted islands. These little fey look like they might once have maintained a more delicate and youthful appearance, but after having spent decades or centuries alone, they look haggard, with unkempt hair and tough skin. Nisids rarely wear clothing, as they have little need for modesty or protection. They are excellent survivalists, living off what their island can provide. A typical nisid stands 4 feet tall and weighs 70 pounds.

Lonely Islanders. Loners by nature, a nisid claims and forms a bond with a single uninhabited island as his territory, and he seeks to preserve the island’s untouched sanctity—and his own solitude. Should someone happen upon a nisid’s island, whether as a castaway, stranded by a storm, or deliberately seeking something, the nisid first spies on the interloper. If the trespasser simply wishes to get off the island, the nisid often offers to help his guest survive and escape (if only to hasten the process and return the island to its isolation). Using magic and his natural skill at survival, he may give the castaway access to water, food, or shelter—in exchange for leaving the island unsullied when she leaves.

Those who agree and please the nisid might even be gifted with a final gust of wind to send them on their way. However, those who arrive with no intention of leaving hastily, or who drastically overstay their welcome without hope of escape, find the nisid a more hostile host, as a nisid finds murder a small price to pay for solitude.

Unwelcome guests find the trials of survival and hopelessness to be maddening, and each day drift closer to insanity through the nisid’s isolation ability. Once the trespassers have been driven toward madness, the nisid attempts to turn them against each other, sowing distrust and casting confusion on large groups. If all else fails, the nisid might coax charmed animals, the nisid’s only companions, into attacking interlopers: nothing says “get off my island” like a giant beast crashing out of the jungle.

Even when helping agreeable castaways, the nisid won’t make life too easy, lest the trespassers decide to extend their stay. He makes just enough food and water available to sustain the “guests,” using abilities like hallucinatory terrain to keep any particularly bountiful areas of the island hidden.

Should the island be a truly deserted one, perhaps where an ancient civilization once flourished, a nisid is especially vigilant in keeping ruins or artifacts that could attract further interest in the island well hidden. And once a castaway leaves a nisid’s island, she rarely finds a way to return.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Faerie Bestiary (5E) © 2022, Legendary Games; Authors Matt Kimmel, Michael “solomani” Mifsud, Miguel Colon, Robert J. Grady, Jason Nelson, Jeff Ibach, Tim Hitchcock.

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