Tikbalang

Tikbalang

(Creature)

Uncommon

CN

Large

Amphibious

Beast

Level

9

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Bestiary 2, pg(s). 267

Type

Monstrous humanoid

CR

9

Environment

warm jungles or forests

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Bestiary 4, pg(s). 260

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Tikbalangs are creatures of the forest that enjoy using lies and powerful illusions to leave travelers lost, and are also physically strong.

Appearance

A tikbalang is about as tall as an ogre when standing upright. They have long limbs that usually end in cloven hooves, with an elongated face and luxurious, well-kept ebony mane that makes them look equine, though some tikbalang faces are more saurian or bird-like.

Hidden in a tikbalang's mane is a single hidden hair made of gold that regrows in a year when plucked.

Abilities

Tikbalangs have low-light vision. They can speak and understand Common tongues and Fey. Tikbalangs' long, strong limbs make them well-suited to climbing, jumping between trees, and wrestling other creatures. They can change shape into other humanoids of similar size to help them deceive others.

Tikbalangs weave powerful occult illusions and create extradimensional spaces that they themselves believe are real. This belief in their own lies makes these illusory creations more difficult for other creatures to disbelieve, or for others to corrupt tikbalangs' minds. They can create magical mazes, create mirages that hide paths or make the jungle seem unfamiliar, or hypnotize others.

Ecology

Tikbalangs jump between trees while uncontrollably laughing or neighing as they use lies and illusions to lead travelers astray for their own entertainment, which they do with neither malicious intent nor guilt over letting the victim die because of their tricks and soon forget about them. Tikbalangs can mimic sounds to lure a traveler from a group and kidnap them, stalk and spy on their victim, and change their shape into someone familiar to the victim to disorient and draw them further into the woods.

Tikbalangs live alone, in pairs, or in gangs of three to five tikbalangs.

Society

Lone travelers who lack magic often learn mind games, riddles, and sleight-of-hand tricks to defend themselves from a tikbalang's tricks.

Uses

Many adventurers wrestle tikbalangs, despite their mastery of grappling, in order to pluck the gold hair hidden in its mane. The hair's magical properties make it a sought-after component for creating magic items and can be worth 150 gold pieces.

A mantle of the tikbalang can be crafted using the creature's hide. The long cloak with patches of a tikbalang's ebony mane improves its wearer's ability to deceive others but impedes its wearer's ability to disbelieve illusions. Once per day, the user can wrap their body in the cloak to create an illusion that makes them appear larger, and makes their blows harm a victim's mind as well as their body.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

External Links

• Tikbalang (real-world mythical creature) on Wikipedia