Pomperipossa

Medium fey (troll), Neutral Evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)

Hit Points 204 (24d8 + 96)

Speed 20 ft.

STR 16 (+3) · DEX 8 (−1) · CON 18 (+4) · INT 20 (+5) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 12 (+1)

Saving Throws Dex +3, Con +8, Int +9, Wis +6

Skills Arcana +9, Deception +5, Nature +9, Perception +6

Gear 1 lb. of Troll-Snuff, Staff of Distortion (Magic staff; grants +2 to spell attack rolls and allows casting Polymorph 1/Day, Spell Save DC 17, but the target can only be transformed into a Goose)

Senses Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages Common, Giant, Sylvan

Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

Traits

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Pomperipossa fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.

Sensitive Proboscis. Pomperipossa’s massive nose is highly vulnerable. If she takes 25 or more damage from a single source, she experiences excruciating pain. Her face flushes plum-purple, and she cannot cast spells or use her Transmuting Ray until the end of her next turn.

Magical Backlash. If a spell effect created by Pomperipossa is successfully ended by Dispel Magic, Counterspell, or similar magic, she begins to petrify. Her speed is reduced to 0 and she has vulnerability to Bludgeoning damage until the end of her next turn.

Bjära Symbiosis. Pomperipossa is bound to her familiar via sympathetic magic. Whenever her summoned Bjära takes damage, Pomperipossa takes an equal amount of Psychic damage.

Actions

Multiattack. Pomperipossa makes two attacks with her Transmuting Ray. She can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting.

Transmuting Ray. Magic Attack: +9 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (4d10 + 5) Force damage. Upon a hit, the target's physical form wildly and painfully shifts for a split second, automatically applying the Prone condition to the target.

Spellcasting. Pomperipossa casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components (Spell Save DC 17):

At Will: Minor Illusion (PHB, p. 298), Prestidigitation (PHB, p. 307)

3/Day Each: Polymorph (Pomperipossa favors turning victims into Geese; use Eagle statistics without the Talons action; PHB, p. 306), Slow (PHB, p. 318)

1/Day Each: Animate Objects (typically animating cauldrons, tables, and chairs; PHB, p. 240), Hallucinatory Terrain (PHB, p. 283)

Summon Bjära (1/Day). Pomperipossa weaves a demonic familiar into existence from yarn and drops of her own blood. The Bjära uses the statistics of a Tiger, except its creature type is Construct and its attacks deal Force damage. The Bjära acts immediately after Pomperipossa on the same initiative count. It remains until it is reduced to 0 Hit Points or until Pomperipossa dismisses it as a Bonus Action.

Lore

A Swedish witch-troll with an ever-growing nose who lures victims to her edible forest house to transform them into animals and objects using dark magic.

Pomperipossa is a powerful, ancient, thoroughly malevolent witch-troll—what Swedish folklore calls a trollpacka. The creature first appeared in the satirical fairy tale “The Story of Pomperipossa with the Long Nose” by Swedish author Axel Wallengren.

Her looks are so hideous that she frightens off people and even other trolls. Two tiny, blood-red eyes glint in a face that holds only three working teeth in an enormous mouth—clear evidence of a lifespan that runs to thousands of years, as the tales themselves say she lived “many, many thousands of years ago.” The skin on her arms is covered in large warts, a mark of long exposure to dark magic, and a massive hump on her back limits her mobility and makes her slow.

From The Fairy Tale Compendium · Fern Flower Press