Hasamidachi 鋏裁

Small fey (tsukumogami), chaotic evil

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)

Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)

Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR 8 (−1) · DEX 17 (+3) · CON 14 (+2) · INT 7 (−2) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 8 (−1)

Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +4

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +7

Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning

Damage Resistances piercing, slashing from non-magical attacks

Condition Immunities charmed, frightened

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14

Languages understands Common and Sylvan but can’t speak

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Traits

Ambusher. During the first round of combat, Hasamidachi has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised, and each of its Blade Snip attacks that hits deals an extra 7 (2d6) slashing damage.

Keen Shears. Hasamidachi’s weapon attacks ignore the AC bonus granted by non-magical shields and by non-magical armor made of fabric, hide, or chain.

Fragile Blades. Whenever Hasamidachi takes at least 1 point of bludgeoning damage, its AC is reduced by 1 until the end of its next turn (to a minimum of 12).

Actions

Multiattack. Hasamidachi makes two Blade Snip attacks.

Blade Snip. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) slashing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or begin bleeding. A bleeding creature takes 3 (1d6) slashing damage at the start of each of its turns. The bleeding ends if the creature or an adjacent ally uses an action to stanch the wound with a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check or if the creature receives any magical healing.

Seam Ripper (Recharge 5–6). Hasamidachi targets one creature it can see within 5 feet that is wearing armor or natural armor. The target must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the armor (or natural armor) is shredded, and the creature’s AC is reduced by 2 (to a minimum of 10) until the armor is repaired, the creature finishes a long rest, or natural armor is restored by magic such as regenerate.

Bonus Actions

Shadow Skitter. Hasamidachi moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks if it starts this movement in dim light or darkness.

Reactions

Deflecting Shears. When a melee attack made by a creature Hasamidachi can see would hit it, Hasamidachi adds 2 to its AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss.

Lore

A demon that slices travelers with enormous scissors.

The yokai known as Hasamidachi is what people call a “scissor monster.” In the name 鋏裁, the first character points to scissors—the form the spirit now inhabits—while the second means both “to cut, to tailor” and “to pass judgment,” underscoring the creature’s essence. Anything that slips between those blades—fabric, thread, or human flesh—is severed in an instant. In Japanese demonology such beings fall under tsukumogami, the spirits of tools that have served for a hundred years or were discarded without respect. For Hasamidachi the trigger was likely a pair of high-quality tailor’s shears that had faithfully served a craftsman for years, then were thrown away after breaking or being replaced; the accumulated resentment condensed into a vengeful spirit obsessed with a single function: to cut. Its ability to slice human tissue suggests the shears may once have doubled as surgical instruments, and the purpose they served in life influences the yokai’s temperament.

Visually, the creature is small: a wiry body, tangled hair, crazed bulging eyes, and—most striking—a huge pair of steel blades fused to its skull as though bone and metal were one. This isn’t a weapon it holds; it is an anatomical organ, both sensory hub and killing tool. Artists often show the blades rusty and uneven, as if crusted with dried blood—a nod to years of neglect and countless victims.

From Yokai Bestiary 5E, Book Two, p. 36 · Fern Flower Press