Bajang

Bajangs were a race of evil, intelligent lesser spirits or fey native to Kara-Tur.

Description
A bajang had two forms. The form most encountered by other creatures was of a small, light-brown cat. A bajang's true form, however, was a short, thickset humanoid with brown skin, orange eyes, and thinning hair. They had no lips, and their mouth was wide with sharp teeth. A bajang's feet resembled those of a bird of prey, and its hands were bony with sharp claws. A bajang used shape change to switch between its forms.

Combat
Bajang preferred to avoid direct melee combat. A bajang would attack a creature who was weak or wounded, and its tactics often involved ambushing their target from behind or attacking them while asleep. If the bajang's tree was at risk of being destroyed, it would fight fiercely to the death. As a bajang was unable to wield weapons, it used its claws as its primary weapon.

In its humanoid form, a bajang could cast, three times a day, curse, divination, fate, ghost light, omen, steam breath, transfix, and wind breath. Once a day it could cast ancient curse. A bajang's tactics involved it first using steam breath and wind breath on its target, after which it used its claws directly. It would threaten to cast ancient curse on its opponents when it was near defeat or its tree was in danger.

In its cat form, it would use its claws to attack an opponent. A bajang couldn't cast spells while in its cat form.

Society
Solitary creatures, bajang lived in a tree called a lifeforce tree. This tree was usually in a dense jungle within a mile or two of a small village. Bajang collected coins and horded its treasure in its tree. Bajang were sometimes used as familiars by evil wu jen. For example, Utwa So, a villainous wu jen in the T'hai Salt Flats of T'u Lung had a bajang familiar around 1357 DR; it took the form of a wild cat.

Ecology
Bajang did not reproduce. When a bajang was killed, their spirit became quiescent until it was reborn in a corrupted forest, usually a site of a battle or near the grave of an evil wu jen. The spirit was drawn into a mature tree during a full moon, and a bulge would appear at the base of the three, slowly moving upwards. When the bulge reached the top of the tree, the fully grown bajang burst forth. The bajang's lifeforce was now forever tied to this tree. Bajang were carnivores, and would scavenge carrion if needed.

Background
The bajang is based on the bajang of Malay mythology. It is a spirit of an stillborn child in the form of a civet cat used as a familiar.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Dungeon #27: "Bride For A Fox"
 * Mad Monkey vs the Dragon Claw
 * Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior
 * Test of the Samurai