Akka of Kebnekaise

Small fey, Lawful Neutral

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 55 (10d6 + 20)

Speed 10 ft., fly 50 ft.

STR 8 (−1) · DEX 16 (+3) · CON 14 (+2) · INT 16 (+3) · WIS 18 (+4) · CHA 14 (+2)

Skills History +5, Insight +6, Perception +6, Survival +6

Gear None

Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages Common, Sylvan, can communicate with any Beast

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Traits

Flock Leader. Akka's allies within 30 feet of her have advantage on saving throws against being Charmed or Frightened as long as she is not Incapacitated.

Mystic Guide. Akka has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks, cannot become lost by magical means, and intuitively knows the exact path to any destination she has previously visited.

Keen Sight. Akka has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Actions

Multiattack. Akka makes two attacks: one with her Beak and one with her Wing Strike. She can replace one attack with Spellcasting.

Beak. Melee Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) Piercing damage.

Wing Strike. Melee Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) Bludgeoning damage. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is knocked Prone (no save required).

Spellcasting.

At Will: Guidance (PHB, p. 282), Message (PHB, p. 298)

1/Day Each: Animal Messenger (PHB, p. 240), Gust of Wind (PHB, p. 282), Sanctuary (PHB, p. 313)

Bonus Actions

V-Formation. Akka issues a commanding honk to one allied creature within 30 feet that can hear her. That ally can immediately move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

CR 1 Fox Smirre

The crafty fox Smirre is a large male red fox with a thick russet coat. Outwardly he looks like an ordinary—though very big and self-confident—predator, with nothing supernatural about him. His one and only distinguishing mark is the missing half of his right ear, torn off in a vicious fight with other foxes long before the events of the book.

Smirre originally lived in the province of Skåne in Sweden and behaved like a normal territorial hunter. According to the canonical story, he committed the gravest crime in the animal world during the annual Great Truce on Mount Kullaberg, when all creatures gather and predators are strictly forbidden to attack herbivores. Smirre lost control and attacked the wild geese, and for that the fox elders sentenced him to the shame of banishment from Skåne. From then on he became a homeless avenger and wanderer, obsessed with pursuing the flock led by Akka of Kebnekaise all across the country, from forests and fields to frozen lakes and cliffs.

By nature Smirre is spiteful, vindictive, proud, self-admiring, and fiercely stubborn—a true loner. In the story’s universe, where animals talk, he is a reasoning creature with a sharp mind, able to plan ahead, weave elaborate schemes, and practice diplomacy. His main drive is not hunger but wounded pride and a thirst for revenge, for which he is willing to endure hardship and chase his enemies to the ends of the earth.

Physically Smirre is extremely fast and agile on land, swims well, and can cover great distances without rest. His attacks are purely physical, relying on his sharp fangs and claws for a precise, deadly bite to the neck. He has an outstanding sense of smell that lets him track a specific flock of birds across the vast expanse of Sweden, and he commands “beast diplomacy,” allowing him to strike deals with other predators. Yet the fox is vulnerable to anything that kills ordinary animals, including firearms and big chained dogs. One of his weaknesses is a tendency to give in to anger too easily, which makes him slip up.

Blinded by revenge, the fox gradually loses caution. In the original story this obsession lands him in human hands; they secure the proud beast with an iron chain and turn him into a watchdog, while in some translations he is sent to the Stockholm Zoo—the worst punishment imaginable for a freedom-loving animal.

Lore

She is more than a hundred years old, and every wild goose has heard of her and considers it an honor to join her flock. She’s named for Kebnekaise, the tallest and most majestic mountain in northern Sweden, the place her birds fly to every spring in flawless formation.

Akka’s look betrays her great age. From head to tail she’s wrapped in gray feathers, and — unlike younger birds — her plumage is perfectly uniform, without a single lighter spot. The most noticeable thing about her is a damaged wing that never fully unfolds, the relic of an old injury; but the flaw is only cosmetic: it’s never kept her from covering vast distances.

From The Fairy Tale Compendium · Fern Flower Press