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SPRING-HEELED JACK

CREATURE 3

RARE

CE

SMALL

FEY

Recall Knowledge (fey) Nature DC 23

Perception +10; Low-Light Vision

Languages Common, Sylvan

Skills Acrobatics +9, Athletics +10 (+14 to High Jump or Long Jump), Deception +8, Intimidation +10, Stealth +11, Thievery +9

Str +3, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +3

Items Jack’s Tattered Cape (below), Little Love (below)

AC 18; Fort +6, Ref +13, Will +8

HP 45

A creature that first enters the area must attempt a Will save. Regardless of the result of the saving throw, the creature is temporarily immune to this monster’s Frightful Presence for 1 minute.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected by the presence.
Success The creature is frightened 1.
Failure The creature is frightened 2.
Critical Failure The creature is frightened 4. (aura, emotion, fear, mental) 15 feet, DC 17

Trigger A creature within the monster’s reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it’s using. Effect The monster attempts a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If the attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, the monster disrupts that action. This Strike doesn’t count toward the monster’s multiple attack penalty, and its multiple attack penalty doesn’t apply to this Strike.

Speed 40 feet

Melee Little Love +12 / +8 / +4 (agile, finesse, versatile S), Damage 1d4+5 piercing

Ranged Little Love +12 / +8 / +4 (agile, thrown 10 feet, versatile S), Damage 1d4+5 piercing

Primal Innate Spells DC 20; 5th passwall; 1st feather fall (at will); Constant (2nd) pass without trace

Breath Weapon (evocation, fire, primal) Spring-Heeled Jack exhales a gout of bright blue fire that deals 4d6 fire damage in a 15-foot cone (DC 20 basic Reflex save). He can’t use Breath Weapon again for 1d4 rounds.

Malicious Stab Spring-Heeled Jack deals an additional 1d6 precision damage to flat-footed or frightened creatures (2d6 precision damage to creatures that are both flat-footed and frightened).

Vault (move) Spring-Heeled Jack jumps up to 20 feet in any direction, including vertically. This movement doesn’t trigger reactions based on movement.

Alternate Abilities

You can also add one of these abilities to an ordinary Spring-Heeled Jack to distinguish them from others, hinting to the players that more than one of these wicked creatures exist.

Change Shape (concentrate, polymorph, primal, transmutation) Spring-Heeled Jack takes on the appearance of a Medium humanoid dressed in exquisite finery. This doesn’t change his Speed or his attack and damage modifiers with his Strikes. When in this form, Spring-Heeled Jack gains a Diplomacy modifier equal to his Intimidation modifier.

Resonant Terror (concentrate, curse, emotion, enchantment, fear, mental, primal) Spring-Heeled Jack glares at a creature he can see within 30 feet. The target must immediately attempt a Will save (DC equal to the DC of Jack’s Breath Weapon) or become frightened 1 (frightened 2 on a critical failure), and it can’t reduce its frightened condition below 1 for 24 hours or until this curse is removed. After attempting its save, the creature is temporarily immune to this ability for 24 hours.

Vanishing Leap (illusion, primal) Trigger Spring-Heeled Jack uses Vault; Effect Spring-Heeled Jack becomes invisible for 1 round.

The greatest secret of the murderous trickster known as Spring-Heeled Jack is that he isn’t a unique creature. Instead, he’s one of a rare type of fey native to the First World who enjoy causing bloody mayhem in the Material Plane. These fey are so rare and so distrustful of one another’s company that two have never been seen together; the mistaken assumption that only a single Spring-Heeled Jack exists is therefore entirely understandable. The fact that sightings occur across Ustalav (and beyond) and across centuries of time is ascribed to the trickster’s long lifespan and mysterious ability to travel quickly, or to the belief that there’s no such creature, merely an urban legend that twisted minds attempt to bring to life through costumes, magic, and a series of murders and mayhem. Even in fear-drenched Ustalav, no one has yet guessed that multiple Spring-Heeled Jacks exist or postulated that some future event might drive them to overcome their mutual disdain and gather into a murderous cabal, far more powerful than the sum of its parts.

Spring-Heeled Jacks are cruel-eyed, hairy fey with vaguely humanoid shapes and extra features that cause them to be easily mistaken for demons or devils. Glowing eyes, cloven hooves, menacing horns, and a pointed tail combine to create the mien of a wicked imp; his love of sudden and sadistic violence completes the impression. Almost all have jet-black skin and fur, though a few exceptions might exist.

Spring-Heeled Jacks typically hide their features in tattered cloaks, appearing as a hunched elder or a youth in the nighttime conditions they enjoy. Such a disguise rarely holds up to any scrutiny, but that doesn’t matter much to the Spring-Heeled Jack, who only needs something that offers just enough doubt for their target to move within striking distance, which can be from much farther away than most other creatures even realize. Once close enough, the Spring-Heeled Jack leaps startling distances in the blink of an eye to easily slash at a victim who had, until that moment, considered themself safe.

A Spring-Heeled Jack has drastically more treasure for his creature level than usual, so even though Jacks aren’t unique, be mindful of how much wealth you’ve added to your group. On top of giving too much treasure, fighting multiple encounters with several Spring-Heeled Jacks is anti-thematic for the creature’s lore. Instead, you should consider balancing an encounter with Spring-Heeled Jack with encounters that give a little less treasure to keep in line with the expectations.