Patupaiarehe

Small fey, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 14 (woven vine coat)

Hit Points 45 (10d6 + 10)

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR 8 (−1) · DEX 16 (+3) · CON 12 (+1) · INT 12 (+1) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +4

Skills Acrobatics +5, Perception +4, Performance +5, Survival +4

Damage Vulnerabilities radiant

Damage Resistances psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical attacks while the patupaiarehe is in dim light, darkness, or heavy fog

Condition Immunities charmed while in bright sunlight

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14

Languages Common, Māori; telepathy 60 ft. with creatures that understand a language

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Traits

Mist-Dweller. The patupaiarehe can take the Hide action as a bonus action while in dim light, darkness, or heavy fog. In addition, difficult terrain composed of undergrowth doesn’t cost it extra movement.

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the patupaiarehe has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, and it loses its damage resistance.

Hypnotic Music. While the patupaiarehe plays its bone flute (see Enchanting Flute below), non-deafened creatures within 30 feet have disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws to resist being charmed.

Actions

Multiattack. The patupaiarehe makes two attacks with its Carved Spear.

Carved Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

Enchanting Flute (Recharge 5–6). The patupaiarehe plays a haunting melody. Each creature of its choice that can hear it within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed for 1 minute. While charmed, the creature is incapacitated and must use all its movement on each of its turns to move toward the patupaiarehe by the safest route it can find. The effect ends for a creature if the patupaiarehe or its allies attack it or if it ends its turn in bright sunlight. A charmed creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns and whenever it takes damage, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to any patupaiarehe’s Enchanting Flute for the next 24 hours.

Bonus Actions

Veil of Mist (3/Day). The patupaiarehe conjures swirling fog in a 10-foot cube centered on itself; the area becomes heavily obscured for all creatures except the patupaiarehe until the end of its next turn.

Reactions

Mist Step. When the patupaiarehe is hit by an attack but before the damage is rolled, it can teleport up to 20 feet to an unoccupied space it can see that is in dim light, darkness, or heavy fog, causing the triggering attack to miss.

Lore

Pale-skinned, fair-haired forest fairies encountered in wooded areas.

Patupaiarehe are forest- and mountain-dwelling fairies found in the lore of the Māori of New Zealand (Aotearoa). These beings are the spirit inhabitants of wild, untamed places.

There is an opinion that the word Patupaiarehe developed from Pākehā, the Māori term for New Zealanders of European descent. Early Māori encounters with European explorers—people with light skin and hair—led them to classify the newcomers by using an existing archetype of supernatural forest beings, thus placing the arrivals inside an already formed mythic context.

From Oceanian Bestiary 5E, p. 68 · Fern Flower Press