The Yaksha (or Yakshi, for the feminine form of the word) are reclusive and human-like spirits of nature who live in majestic kingdoms of the wild to protect the untamed forests, vast mountains, and flowing rivers. These spirits reside where the earth settles and vegetation flourishes, and treat their domains with the utmost pride and care.
Regal Yet Wild
Yakshas look fondly upon neighbors and visitors who treat their domains and citizens with the proper respect; stories spread in these regions of wealthy Yaksha caretakers, beautiful and statuesque wanderers gleaming like golden stone, bearing a walking staff and garbed in finery. These gentle caretakers seek the friendship of the courteous, learned, and virtuous, and lavish upon them generous gifts from the land, such as precious gemstones, or rare medicinal herbs.
Spirits of Two Faces
Bandits and swindlers who seek to take advantage of the Yakshas’ famed riches and magnanimity had best beware, however, as there are just as many stories of bloodthirsty and terrifying Yaksha destroyers. With their hair unbraided and loose like wildfire, body shining indigo in the night, they descend upon malefactors with six arms outstretched like the wrathful branches of some ancient tree, and tear the greedy limb from limb. Sometimes, these stories whisper, the fearsome destroyers do not restrict their violence to wrong-doers, but also destroy those who dare to trespass too far into their wilderness domains.
Yaksha PCs
Yakshas embrace a life of adventure with a mixture of curiosity and responsibility. When they hear about something new or unusual, they are driven to find out more, if only to make comparisons to the wealth of their own kingdoms, or collect a new trinket or anecdote with which they can impress their fellows and families back home. Once they make their discoveries, their dutiful ideals often motivate them to intervene in the situations they find, as a caretaker and nurturer, or a destroyer and avenger – and sometimes, both.
Witnesses’ accounts of Yaksha adventurers cast these spirits into these tropes, as the bequeathers of nature’s bounty, or the bestowers of nature’s judgment. But these stories are mythologies, not necessities; these tales are the stories non-Yaksha tell about them, not the Yakshas’ own reckonings. The truth of the matter is any individual Yaksha can encompass both aspects of nature, and may manifest into the incarnation they wish, as befits their situation. As more Yaksha venture into the world, each individual Yaksha can decide for themselves which is the face they wish to show the world most often.
Yaksha Names
Yaksha names are similar across the genders, and tend to be descriptive and evocative, sounding like titles and epithets (e.g. Mace-Bearer, Gold-Weaver, Iron-Gifter, Blood-Judge, Stone-Wielder). When a Yaksha is old enough to adventure, they would have made a reputation for themselves, and their families would have given them a name befitting their aptitudes and exploits. It is not uncommon for Yakshas to earn and choose new names for themselves over the course of their journeys and adventures, and return with glorious new titles.
Yaksha Ancestry Traits
Ability Score Increase. Due to their connections to the earth, Yakshas are heartier and more intuitive than most. Your Constitution, Strength, and Wisdom score increases by 1 each.
Age. Yakshas develop at the same pace as humans. Most live up to 350 years old and enjoy good health to the day of their deaths.
Alignment. Yakshas are usually neutral – as sophisticated, urbane spirits, at home both in cities and the wilderness, they take a holistic and pragmatic view of matters. Sometimes, they tend towards good behavior and ideals, especially when they are charitable and giving; at other times, they display evil behavior and ideals, especially when they are wrathful and judgmental.
Size. Yakshas possess tall, imposing physiques, ranging from 6 to 8 feet tall. Their size is Medium.
Speed. 30 feet
Chthonic Abode. The wild places of the world are your home, and you enjoy their unparalleled hospitality. When you take a long rest in a location which features certain types of natural terrain within a 1-mile radius, you gain a benefit specific to the terrain. If the location contains different types of terrain within a 1-mile radius, you may choose which benefit applies.
Fade into the Wilds: When you take a long rest in a location with coasts, forests, grasslands, or swamps, you gain advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made during this rest. During this long rest, you may also attempt to hide even when you are lightly obstructed by foliage, heavy rain, mist, and other natural phenomena.
Womb of the Earth: When you take a long rest in a location with deserts, hills, mountains, or the Underdark, you do not need to eat or drink until your next long rest. In addition, when you finish this long rest, you may recuperate as though you’ve spent three days of downtime recuperating.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Spellcasting. You can cast druidcraft and shilelagh with this trait, using Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for them.
Terrestrial Incarnation. At level 3, you gain the ability to manifest nature’s power in two different ways. After you’ve finished a long rest, you focus your energies into inhabiting one of two incarnations of the land’s power; you may become a Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures, or a Destroyer of the Land’s Foes. Until you finish another long rest, you gain access to the relevant abilities of the incarnation you’ve chosen; each time you finish a long rest, you may make your choice between these two incarnations again.
Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures: When you dedicate yourself to the nurturing aspects of nature, you become a Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures. Your clothing becomes cleaner and more luxurious, your hair becomes immaculately coiffed and groomed, and your body gleams like gold. In this form, you gain advantage on your Charisma (Persuasion) checks.
Once per long rest, as an action, you may enchant a pot, bag, or similar container, and reach within it to retrieve a single item (such as a weapon, armor, adventuring equipment, or trade good) from the Player’s Handbook which costs 10 x (2d4+2) gp or less. You may not sell or trade this item for another good or service, but you may use it, give it away, or consume it as usual. When you use this ability, any items created earlier with this ability disappear, leaving only leaves and mud in their wake. (At the DM’s discretion, any items you’ve given to NPCs might remain.) You regain this ability when you finish a long rest.
Destroyer of the Land’s Foes: When you dedicate yourself to the destructive aspects of nature, you become a Destroyer of the Land’s Foes. Your clothing becomes ragged and bloodstained, your hair goes loose and reddens like flame, and your body shimmers midnight blue. In this form, you gain advantage on your Charisma (Intimidation) checks.
Once per long rest, as an action, you may channel your wrath into manifesting two additional pairs of arms and hands, which sprout from above and below your existing arms. While you may not use these extra limbs to fight, wield weapons, or hold shields, they make you a more dangerous wrestler. While these additional arms are present, you gain advantage on Athletics checks made to grapple, escape grapples, or shove, and your speed is not halved when you move while grappling a creature. In addition, you also gain advantage on saving throws to resist effects that would knock you prone or back. These extra arms last for 1 minute, or until you fall unconscious. You regain this ability when you finish a long rest.
Languages. Common, Sylvan.
Yaksha (Creature Entry)
The Yaksha (or Yakshi, for the feminine form of the word) are reclusive and human-like spirits of nature who live in majestic kingdoms of the wild to protect the untamed forests, vast mountains, and flowing rivers. These spirits reside where the earth settles and vegetation flourishes, and treat their domains with the utmost pride and care.
Yakshas are usually encountered in their Caretaker incarnation, as gentle fey beings of wild and primal might prone to showering blessings and gifts upon those deserving visitors and neighbors who treat them with respect and civility. When a Yaksha feels an affinity for a particular land or its denizens, they dote on the place and its peoples, and claim them as their Chthonic Domains. Their generosity ensures the plants, animals, and people within their domains are healthy and well-fed, and preserve the pristine state of the land and its waters.
A Yaksha’s love and care for their domain is encapsulated in the form of a particular magic item – the Land’s Treasure – which bears and expresses the power of the land, as well as the Yaksha’s prestige and status within the land. When conjured forth in a rainforest, for example, the Land’s Treasure can summon aid from the jungle’s flora and fauna; when manifested in a volcanic range, the Land’s Treasure might grant mastery over flames.
As long as the Land’s Treasure is within safe hands, the Yaksha can nourish and protect the lands with supernatural ease. As a result, the majority of Yaksha choose to keep their Land’s Treasure on their person or entrust it only to their most reliable and loyal friends. In turn, these beneficiaries of the Yakshas’ generosity often teach their communities to respect these fey beings’ laws and territories. Worshippers and devotees often build shrines and villages near the Yaksha’s domain, protecting and nourishing their domain and treasure in a reciprocal manner. The sounds of laughter and play; the smells of cooking-fires and feasts – all these are common near a Caretaker Yaksha’s domain.
These pleasant situations, however, belie the dangers that lurk under the surface. Like all treasures, the Land’s Treasure can be stolen or robbed by the venal and the vicious. When some fool’s greed drives them to trick a Yaksha and steal their treasures, the wrath of these fey is terrifying to witness. When a Yaksha’s friendship and trust is repaid with thievery or thuggery, they are swift to assume their Destroyer incarnation, and stories soon follow, warning of multi-armed and merciless titans haunting the ruins of once-prosperous villages and temples.
5e D&D Stat Block:
Yaksha
Large fey (shapechanger), neutral
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 196 (17d10 + 102)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
22(+6) 12(+1) 23(+6) 13(+1) 19(+4) 13(+1)
Saving Throws Str +10, Con +10, Wis +8
Skills Athletics+10, Intimidation+5, Nature+5, Perception+8, Persuasion+5, Stealth +5, Survival+8
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons
Senses Passive Perception 18
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 12 (8400 XP)
Chthonic Domain. Most Yakshas encountered in the wild have claimed Chthonic Domains – a stretch of natural terrain at least a mile wide – to rule and protect. Within their Chthonic Domains, a Yaksha gains advantage to Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide, and always treats natural phenomena (such as rain, mist, or heavy foliage) as sufficient cover for hiding. Within their Chthonic Domains, a Yaksha does not need to eat or drink, and their movement is unimpeded by natural difficult terrain. A Yaksha may have only one Chthonic Domain at a time; if they claim a new domain, they lose their claims on other domains.
Land’s Treasure. Before a Yaksha can claim an area as their Chthonic Domain, they must first create a unique and valuable magic item – the Land’s Treasure – to symbolize their metaphysical connection with the land and its creatures. The Land’s Treasure grants the Yaksha magical power to conjure and manipulate natural forces; many Yakshas interpret this boon as the land’s acceptance of the Yaksha’s claims of dominion, and guard their Land’s Treasures very carefully, to ensure they do not lose or damage their relationship with the land.
A Yaksha has to engage in a week of ritual exertions to create the Land’s Treasure, and may have only one Land’s Treasure at a time. (If they wish to create a new Land’s Treasure, they must make a sacrifice of any other Land’s Treasures within their possession during their week of devotions.)
The Land’s Treasures invariably well-made magic items of the highest quality and adorned with gems and jade, and their Yaksha creators are always able to attune to them. All of these Lands’ Treasures grant their Yaksha creators the ability to cast commune with nature 3 / day, with Wisdom as their spellcasting ability.
In addition, the Yaksha may imbue the Land’s Treasure with the powers of a magic item from the DMG. The Yaksha may choose to emulate the abilities of different magic items, depending on the notable terrains within their Chthonic Domain.
Ever-Present Wave-Tamer: (Coasts/ Swamps) Folding Boat
Stave of the Elder Witness: (Grasslands/ Forests) Staff of the Woodlands
Volcanic Sand-Gift: (Deserts/ Mountains) Wand of Fireballs
World’s Secrets Revealed: (Hills/ Underdark) Gem of Seeing
Even if a Yaksha does not have its Land’s Treasure on their person, they may make use of its abilities as long as the Land’s Treasure is within their Chthonic Domain. (In this case, the magical effects of the Land’s Treasure seem to emerge from the Yaksha’s bag, pot, pocket, or similar receptacle.)
When the Land’s Treasure is in the Yaksha’s possession, or kept within their Chthonic Domain, the Yaksha gains the ability to use Lair Actions (see Lair Actions below). When a Land’s Treasure is no longer in a Yaksha’s possession or within their Chthonic Domain, the Yaksha loses both the ability to use their Land’s Treasure and their Lair Actions, but retains their claim over the Chthonic Domain. It is common for Yakshas to interpret the loss of the Land’s Treasure as a loss of favor and authority with the land; when the Land’s Treasure goes missing, so does the majority of a Yaksha’s affinity with the earth.
Terrestrial Incarnation. Once a Yaksha has claimed a Chthonic Domain, they may choose how they wish to incarnate themselves into the world – either as nature’s guiding hand, in the guise of a Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures, or as nature’s crushing fist, in the shape of a Destroyer of the Land’s Foes. Yakshas who have not bonded with the land to claim a Chthonic Domain do not have the necessary terrestrial might to change their shapes into these incarnations. The Yaksha’s choice of incarnation grants access to different Lair Actions (see Lair Actions below).
Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures: A Yaksha who enjoys positive bonds and intimacies with a land and its peoples may transform their shapes to become a Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures, an incarnation which reflects the benevolent aspects of nature. In this incarnation, a Yaksha is able to keep their Chthonic Domain and Land’s Treasure safe and sound. Caretaker Yakshas look like golden-skinned, statuesque humanoids with powerful builds, usually well-dressed and immaculately groomed. Their alignment becomes Neutral Good as they become hospitable and friendly patrons of their domains, welcoming visitors and residents alike with bountiful feasts and valuable gifts. Yaksha Caretakers may grant the use of their Lair Actions to the leaders of the communities within their domains, and often do so to aid their hunts and harvests.
Destroyer of the Land’s Foes: A Yaksha who suffers animosity and regrets toward a land and its peoples may transform their shapes to become a Destroyer of the Land’s Foes, an incarnation revealing the unfettered rage of the land. In this incarnation, a Yaksha has not been able to prevent the destruction or despoiling of their Chthonic Domain and Land’s Treasures. A Destroyer Yaksha is massively muscled, with indigo-hued skin and tusks jutting over their jaws. Their alignment becomes Neutral Evil as they become brooding and ferocious, seeking to challenge and conquer everything in their once-pristine lands. Yaksha Destroyers are still able to use their Lair Actions, even if their Chthonic Domains have been ravaged or their Land’s Treasures have been stolen.
Actions
Multiattack. The Yaksha makes two Earthen Mace attacks or two Rending Grasp attacks.
Four Storms. The Yaksha makes two Earthen Mace attacks and two Rending Grasp attacks, but the Yaksha must make each attack against a separate target.
Earthen Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage, or 19 (2d12 + 6) bludgeoning damage if used with two hands. Whenever the Yaksha hits an object with this attack, this hit is considered a critical hit.
Rending Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10 + 6) slashing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 18). Whenever the Yaksha hits a target it has already grappled with this attack, this hit is considered a critical hit.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), a Yaksha within their Chthonic Domain may use a lair action to cause one of the following effects; they can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row. Depending on the Yaksha’s incarnation (Caretaker or Destroyer), they have access to different lair action effects.
Caretaker of the Land’s Treasures
- Calling upon the rivers and rains, the Yaksha casts the control water spell. The yaksha’s spellcasting modifier is Wisdom, and their spell DC is 16. The Yaksha may not maintain concentration on more than one spell, as usual.
- Bidding life to flourish, the Yaksha casts the plant growth spell and may choose to cast this spell as if they had taken 8 hours to cast it. The Yaksha’s spellcasting modifier is Wisdom, and their spell DC is 16. The Yaksha may not maintain concentration on more than one spell, as usual.
- Uttering the summons of the earth, the Yaksha casts the wall of stone spell. The Yaksha’s spellcasting modifier is Wisdom, and their spell DC is 16. The Yaksha may not maintain concentration on more than one spell, as usual.
Destroyer of the Land’s Foes
- Two extra pairs of arms burst from the Yaksha’s torso, enhancing their stability and wrestling prowess. Until the end of the Yaksha’s next turn, they gain advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to grapple, escape grapples, and shove, as well as advantage on saving throws to resist effects that would knock them prone or back. (These arms remain even after these effects have ended; further uses of this effect do not generate more than two extra pairs of arms.)
- The Yaksha’s muscles bulge with titanic force, and they make two attacks with Rending Grasp on a creature within reach.
- The Yaksha’s frame hardens like diamond, as their skin becomes like midnight blue, and their hair flickers like dancing flames. Until the end of the Yaksha’s next turn, they become immune to attacks from nonmagical weapons.
Credits:
Creative Director: Kevin Andrew Murphy
Lore: Tan Shao Han
Statblock: Eugene Marshall
Ink: Bien Flores
https://www.deviantart.com/bienflores
Sensitivity Editor: Pamela Punzalan
https://www.patreon.com/thedovetailor
Art Director: Aaron Acevedo
This creature is from the upcoming Book of Beasts. Keep an eye out every Thursday for a new monster as part of our Monster of the Week series!
